Midseason award winners - for better or for worse
Fantasy football can be a lot like marriage.
We draft players in August, hoping for a season of bliss. And in keeper leagues, if they perform well enough, we tie the knot for years to come.
Years ago the honeymoon would last all season with our high draft picks, and oftentimes we'd multiply our earnings by two, three, four times the league's entry fee.
In the past year or two, though, things have become trickier. Players aren't as consistent as they used to be so we fight more and divorce papers are often filed before September ends.
What this has done is create amazing parity, at least in the leagues I'm involved in. Check this out:
• In one league, eight of our 10 teams are 3-5, 3-4-1, 4-3-1 or 4-4.
• In another, eight of 12 teams are 4-4 or 3-5.
• And in the DH experts league, eight of the 10 teams are 5-3, 4-4 or 3-5.
I think this speaks to just how unpredictable things have gotten in the NFL, and how tough it is to find three or four players you can count on at any time.
With that in mind, here are our studs, duds and surprises at the midway point - the players making a difference, for better or for worse.
QB stud: The Colts' Peyton Manning. Mr. Consistent has 15 touchdown passes and has thrown for 2,227 yards. He has six 300-yard games and is on pace for 5,090 yards.
QB dud: The Cardinals' Kurt Warner. I went out on a limb and ranked Warner fourth in the preseason. He hasn't been truly awful, but Warner ranks 16th in fantasy points among QBs with 11 TD passes and 11 interceptions. Don't file for divorce just yet, though. Arizona's schedule the rest of the way is truly inviting - the Bears, Seattle, St. Louis, Tennessee ... and then San Francisco, Detroit and St. Louis if you make the playoffs.
QB surprise: The Vikings' Brett Favre. What a career renaissance this guy's had. He's tied for the league lead with 16 TD passes, has thrown just 3 interceptions and ranks sixth in fantasy points. He's on pace for 3,850 passing yards and 32 touchdowns, which would be his second-highest total since 1998.
RB stud: The Vikings' Adrian Peterson. The clear-cut No. 1 choice on Draft Day has scored in six of eight games and has 790 rushing yards. He's one of the very few RBs we can count on every Sunday.
RB dud: The Bears' Matt Forte. Besides beating up on the Lions and Browns, Forte has killed his fantasy owners. I ranked him fifth before the season; he sits in 18th. Besides his two big games, Forte is averaging 39 rushing yards per game.
RB surprise: The Jets' Thomas Jones. Despite his 13-TD campaign in 2008, most experts were way down on Jones before this season. Well, he's proving them all wrong. Jones (7 TDs, four 100-yard games) is fourth among RBs in fantasy points and has racked up 433 rushing yards the last three games.
WR stud: The Colts' Reggie Wayne. Forget the Big Three - it's Wayne's World this year. He's getting the last laugh by scoring double-digit fantasy points in every week but one.
WR dud: The Bills' Terrell Owens. When elite receivers go to teams with a putrid QB, we need to remember that their production is going to tank. Owens is sinking his owners with just 2 TDs and 281 receiving yards.
WR surprise: The Cowboys' Miles Austin. Not even ranked in the preseason, Miles is now tied with Wayne in one of my leagues. He has 482 receiving yards and 5 TDs the last three games.
TE stud: The Texans' Owen Daniels. Yes, he's gone for the season, but let's give Daniels (torn ACL) his due for a terrific first half in which he amassed 519 yards and 5 TDs.
TE dud: The Cowboys' Jason Witten. When Ben Watson and Zach Miller have more points than Witten, you have to wonder if the Earth's spun off its axis. Let's hope Tony Romo rediscovers his STUD tight end in the season's second half.
TE surprise: The Niners' Vernon Davis. Only Daniels and Dallas Clark have more points than Davis (32-375-7).
My teams: Not a bad week. My DH experts team (7-1) won 120-108 thanks to big games from Reggie Wayne, Adrian Peterson and the Bears defense (26 points). I finally got another win in my unit league (2-6) with a 621/2-49 triumph. That team has the fourth-most points (out of 12) and can still make the playoffs based on the fact that our sixth team gets in based on points. I took a brutal 88-51 loss in the regular league (3-5) with Michael Turner (24) scoring nearly half my points. Losing Owen Daniels for the season may be that team's death knell.
Good bets
• Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles at Jacksonville. I'm not expecting 150 yards here, but 75-plus seems reasonable with a chance at a touchdown.
• Eagles QB Donovan McNabb vs. Dallas. McNabb sits a solid eighth in points per game for QBs. He'll have a good game against a Dallas defense that's given up 12 passing TDs and allows 237 pass yards per game.
Bad bets
• Bears RB Matt Forte vs. Arizona. Forte owners need to be hit by amnesia immediately. Yes, Forte scored twice last week. And yes, the Cardinals gave up 270 yards on the ground to Carolina. It doesn't matter - the Bears' O-line still can't block, meaning Forte will struggle once again.
• Niners QB Alex Smith vs. Tennessee. Don't get cute here and start Smith just because you see he's facing the league's worst pass defense. CB Cortland Finnegan returned last week for Tennessee and his presence helped shut down the Jaguars' David Garrard (139 yards, 2 INTs).
• Get more Good and Bad bets at dailyherald.fantasyfootball.com