O'Malley's Tallies: Week 14: Playoffs Begin

For almost all leagues, the Fantasy playoffs are now in full force. Unlike real professional football, the seedings truly mean nothing just as long as you make the playoffs. On any given week, that fantasy juggernaut on your club may run into a tough matchup, deal with tough weather, or be benched with their team clinching a seed in the NFL playoffs. While the regular season can always be a grind, now is the time when fantasy managers must buckle down and do their homework in order to win that desired league championship. Here are the highs and lows of what Week 14 brought to us…

STUDS

1. Trent Edwards – It definitely may not have been pretty at times, but when it was all said and done, Trent Edwards had a huge day for the Buffalo Bills. With each game being a must win for the Bills in the wildcard hunt, Edwards stepped up and led his team to a 38-17 beatdown of the lowly Fish in Orchard Park. On the day, Edwards finished 11-23, 165 yards, and 4 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. The Bills will head to Cleveland next week in a huge matchup vs. the Browns..

2. Jason Witten – Just when you thought it was safe to say Jason Witten and the Cowboys were dead in the water today vs. the Lions, the former Tennessee Volunteer and Tony Romo took over. Down 6 with under two minutes left and no timeouts, the Cowboys came right down the field with no problems and eventually took the lead with a beautiful touchdown grab by Witten. When it was all said and done, J Witt had a whopping FIFTEEN CATCHES for 138 yards and that aforementioned game winning touchdown grab.

3. LaDanian Tomlinson – After struggling to get going for nearly the entire first half, LaDanian Tomlinson and the Chargers eventually pulled off a huge overtime victory in Nashville. L.T’s 146 yards rushing, 27 yards receiving, and and 2 touchdowns were definitely the difference in the Bolt’s 23-17 victory Sunday, all but assuring the team the AFC West crown.

4. Plaxico Burress – Struggling for weeks with nagging injuries that have affected his performance greatly, Burress finally showed up on Sunday in the City of Brotherly Love. In a game in which Eli Manning was finally efficient throughout, Burress dragged in 7 balls for 136 yards and a touchdown in Big Blue’s 16-13 victory. With the 5^th spot in the playoff race about to be clinched for the Giants, Burress owners must remain cautious in the event the Giants bench the receiver to heal his injuries before playoff time.

5. Ryan Grant – After weeks of running back questions in the beginning of the year, the Packers have definitely found their answer heading into the playoffs with Mr. Ryan Grant. Since earning the starting gig, Grant has not disappointed with Sunday being no different. In a game in which temperatures were in the mid teens, Grant carried the rock 29 times for 156 yards and a touchdown in the Pack’s 38-7 rout of the Raiders in Lambeau.

6. Marion Barber – Anytime you scored three touchdowns, your name must be noted somewhere. For MB III, those touchdowns along with his 10 receptions and 100+ total yards were a great holiday gift to all his owners countrywide.

7. Tom Brady – is there even a question anymore???

DUDS

1. Vinny Testaverde – After initially starting out as a nice, feel good story when he had his first start a few weeks back, Vinny Testaverde is definitely beginning to show his age. With the offense sputtering in all phases of the game, a matchup Sunday vs. the hot Jacksonville Jaguar club was not what the Panthers had hoped for. Before getting pulled in favor of a backup, Vinny was a dismal 13-28 for 84 yards and an interception. While Vinny has already expressed his interest in returning next season, one must wonder if there are any teams out there that would take a chance on the 43 yard old quarterback.

2. Josh McCown – For years, Lambeau Field has always been considered one of the toughest places to place for visiting clubs in the month of December. Unfortunately for Josh McCown, Sunday was a day in which he had to learn the hard way. Before being replaced by Andrew Walter, McCown went 7-15 for 110 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs in that blowout loss to the Cheeseheads. While the team has definitely grown leaps and downs from last year, the constant revolving door of quarterbacks from the bench to under center needs to become more consistent going forward.

3. Baltimore Ravens – How does a team with leaders like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Derrick Mason get embarrassed that bad on national television!?!? Right from the outset, this Ravens club looked the polar opposite of what they looked like last week vs. the Patriots on Monday Night Football. That 43-20 final score is much closer than it could have been if the Colts would have gone full throttle all four quarters…

4. Kolby Smith – Going up against a suspect Denver rush defense, many including myself expected Kolby Smith to have a day to make fantasy owners smile. The result instead was 13 carries for 12 yards. The Chiefs and Smith would of nearly been just as good if they would of stayed in Kansas City and forfeited the game. Another ugly performance for Herman Edwards’ crew..

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