Brady midseason MVP, but you must have backup handy
The numbers are downright scary.
Twenty-seven touchdown passes. Two interceptions. A 137.9 quarterback rating. And 2,125 passing yards.
Sick stuff, indeed.
New England quarterback Tom Brady has almost single-handedly put many fantasy football owners within arm's reach of the playoffs -- after just seven weeks!
For his phenomenal performances and his amazing consistency, he easily wins our midseason MVP award.
The two teams that have him in my leagues are a combined 11-3 (6-1 and 5-2), and one of those teams has Randy Moss. The other one has LaDainian Tomlinson. If there are teams like that in your leagues, good luck catching them.
But there is something Brady owners need to pay attention to -- and it's the same thing Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison owners dealt with in 2005: The Patriots may actually be too good.
If New England (7-0) keeps winning and has homefield advantage wrapped up through the playoffs by Week 14 or 15, coach Bill Belichick may be tempted to rest his regulars. The Colts did it in '04 and paid dearly by getting beat by eventual champ Pittsburgh.
So you can hope Belichick realizes that rust can kill. Or you can have a contingency plan and make sure to get backups for Brady, Moss and others.
Hint: Get the backups now.
OK, on to the rest of our midseason awards.
Surprise QB: This could easily be Dallas' Tony Romo, but we can't ignore Cleveland's Derek Anderson, who wasn't even ranked in some preseason publications. Anderson has 14 TD passes and 2 rushing touchdowns. He has a marshmallow-soft schedule down the stretch, meaning this guy could actually be playing in fantasy title games.
Surprise RB: The Dolphins' Ronnie Brown, who was lost for the season after tearing an ACL on Sunday, gets this award. He obviously won't be eligible for postseason hardware, but what a first half by a guy ranked anywhere from 14-24 among RBs in the preseason. Brown had 602 rushing yards, 389 receiving, 5 TDs and four 100-yard games. In many leagues, he has the most fantasy points after Week 7. He'll be greatly missed.
Surprise WR: How could it be anybody other than Randy Moss? Here's a guy we ignored in many drafts, or just plain didn't believe in anymore. Shame on us. Moss (with a big assist to Tom Brady) has made us believe again with 10 TD catches and 732 receiving yards. With 8 more TD grabs, Moss would set a career high.
Bust QB: The Rams' Marc Bulger wins this in a landslide. Not all of the blame for Bulger's putrid season can be placed on his shoulders; injuries to the offensive line and RB Steven Jackson have certainly contributed. But fantasy owners don't want excuses -- they want production. And we're not getting it, especially when you consider Joey Harrington, Trent Green, two Raiders QBs (Josh McCown and Daunte Culpepper) and two Ravens QBs (Steve McNair and Kyle Boller) are all outscoring Bulger (2 TD passes, 7 interceptions). Amazing.
Bust RB: Whatever happened to all of those 160-yard, 3-TD games Seattle's Shaun Alexander used to produce? They are a thing of the past. Even last week, with a favorable matchup, Alexander managed just 47 rushing yards. He's averaged 46.25 rush yards with zero TDs the last four weeks and has made his owners wished they'd taken Brian Westbrook or Willis McGahee on draft day.
Bust WR: Lots of candidates here, including Washington's Santana Moss (14 catches, 207 yards, no TDs) and Indy's Marvin Harrison (1 TD). But I'm giving Harrison a pass because of injury and handing this clunker award to two players: New Orleans' Marques Colston and Buffalo's Lee Evans. Both Colston (26-263-2) and Evans (17-211-0) were in many people's top 10, but they currently rank 44th and 89th, respectively, in one of my leagues. Evans owners may want to take solace in the fact that rookie QB Trent Edwards hit Mr. Co-Bust five times for 98 yards last week. It could be a sign of things to come as Buffalo faces the Jets, Bengals and Dolphins the next three weeks.
Pickups: There have been some red-hot receivers lately worth a look if they're on your waiver wire: Houston's Kevin Walter, who has 29 catches for 401 yards and a TD the past four games. The last two weeks (12-160 and 6-97-1) have been really impressive. … The Bucs' Ike Hilliard is becoming a favorite target of Jeff Garcia. Hilliard has 28 catches for 323 yards and a TD the last four games. … The ageless Amani Toomer has scored the past two weeks for the Giants. … And look! The Bears' Muhsin Muhammad has re-discovered his knack of getting in the end zone, scoring in three of the past four weeks. Muhammad's yardage totals are still weak, but if you're in a bye-week bind this week, he's a good play against a bad Lions defense.
Buy low: As I mentioned above, the Bills' Lee Evans is a co-bust of the year at wide receiver. But with his schedule easing up, maybe you can get his owner to bite on a painless deal and add Evans at little risk. Then, if last week's 98-yard game wasn't a mirage, you can find a pot of gold as the season progresses.
My teams: A pair of wins. In my unit league (5-2), I won 68-54 thanks to Kenny Watson scoring three times (my opponent had Carson Palmer). In the regular league, my team exploded with a 132-104 win thanks to Wes Welker (28 points), Terrell Owens (19), Josh Brown (24) and Matt Hasselbeck (17). That team is also 5-2.
Good bets
• Bears QB Brian Griese vs. Detroit. With back-to-back 300-yard games and 8 TD passes in four starts, Griese is suddenly a viable fantasy option. Consider starting him this week against a pathetic Lions defense.
• Giants QB Eli Manning, WR Amani Toomer and RB Brandon Jacobs vs. Miami. You get the idea -- start any and all Giants.
• Browns RB Jamal Lewis (or Jason Wright) vs. St. Louis. If Lewis (foot) can't go, Wright is an excellent option against the winless Rams.
• Jets WR Jerricho Cotchery vs. Buffalo. With the Bills allowing 270 passing yards a game, Cotchery will continue his recent solid play (11-131-1 last two).
• Bills RB Marshawn Lynch vs. New York Jets. Remember what the Bengals' Kenny Watson did last week to New York: 3 rushing TDs. Watch for Lynch to have a big day.
• Texans WR Kevin Walter vs. San Diego. Houston will have to throw to keep up, so Walter figures to keep his hot streak going.
• Bucs defense vs. Jacksonville. Tampa let me down last week, but coach Jon Gruden's team will tear apart a Jaguars team without starting QB David Garrard.
Bad bets
• Redskins RB Clinton Portis vs. New England. Thank goodness Portis has scored in four of six weeks because his yardage totals have been pathetic. He doesn't figure to accomplish much against the Patriots.
• Raiders RB LaMont Jordan vs. Tennessee. The Titans have given up just 59.7 rushing yards per game with 3 rushing TDs.
• Bengals RB Kenny Watson (or Rudi Johnson) vs. Pittsburgh. Whoever starts for Cincy will have a rough go of it against a Steelers unit that's allowed 1 rushing touchdown all year.
• Saints WR Marques Colston vs. San Francisco. Colston's rough season should continue.
• Broncos QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall vs. Green Bay. Coming off a bye, watch the Packers to play inspired defense.