Fantasy Football
BY Staff Reports
Monday, December 10, 2012
12/10/12 at 3:20 AM
Our contributors Matt Doyle, James
Royal, Jason Collington and Matt
Clayton hand out advice throughout the
fantasy football season.
1. Here's something you don't see in next week's top 5 fantasy scorers: Cam Newton, the Seahawks defense, Nick Foles, Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson. That would be one of the biggest busts so far - a decent defense, a quarterback who looked like CFL material two weeks ago, someone who was arrested and almost suspended for the season and a freak who blew his knee out so badly no one thought he would be back to full strength. This is why we play, people.
2. Robert Griffin III shouldn't have come back in the game. But he did and he helped the Redskins get the win with a little help from Kirk Cousins (KC1 if you will). RG3 will get smarter, but until then it is really hard to hate this guy. Another receiver to go with Pierre Garcon and RG3 will be even more valuable.
3. Brandon Marshall will end up as a top 5 wide receiver next season, after his seventh game with 9 or more receptions. He ranks second in the league in total targets, receptions and end zone targets. He is what we wish Larry Fitzgerald could be. He can't be covered.
4. Trent Richardson ran for two more touchdowns to bring his total to 9. He has done better than I thought he would. He's getting the ball about 20 times a game and Brandon Weeden and Josh Gordon have helped keep defenses honest. Not sure what the new owner is going to do with the Browns lineup, but I think they are closer than they have been in years to being competitive.
5. Darren Sproles is the reason you never drop an injured star who isn't put on injured reserve. His two touchdowns helped a team win a playoff game in one of my leagues after he was picked up Sunday morning off waivers.
- JASON COLLINGTON
Put on your radar (for 2013)
Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
Oklahoma fans are well aware what Tavon Austin is capable of on the football field, but can that translate to the NFL? At 5-9, 172 pounds, Austin is smaller than your average receiver, but that doesn't mean he can't make an impact on offense. Austin can return kicks, punts, carry the ball out of the backfield and catch passes as a receiver, averaging 198 all-purpose yards per game in 2012.
Austin will be compared to many other undersized players in the NFL, including Percy Harvin, DeSean Jackson and even Wes Welker. He's not as polished as those three players, but Austin has the capability to turn a routine play into a touchdown at any point. Would someone like Bill Belichick in New England take a chance on a player like Austin? Might be a nice alternative if the Patriots can't secure the services of Welker to a long-term contract. At that point, Austin would have a ton of fantasy value.
- MATT CLAYTON
