FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 11

Eagles' WR Riley Cooper apologizing for using a racial slur before the 2013 season. (cbssports.com)

FAABulous will recap the week of football activity and point fantasy owners where to spend their hard earned (not really) FAAB or waiver priority. Players will be owned in at most 50% of Yahoo! FFL. This is the one time where mo' money probably wouldn't mean mo' problems.

Colonel Nathan R. Jessup: 

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

I do my best to avoid preaching on here. Without a proper dialogue, anything that rubs someone the wrong way nowadays can be misconstrued, taken out of context, and tossed as kindling and catches fire that burns a flame of controversy whose ember never dampens. 

Last night, the NFL had the misfortune of putting the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football a week after the world's microscope has been focused on them for abusive behavior that reached a point where starting tackle Jonathan Martin left the team. The main culprit in this abuse was starting guard Richie Incognito. 

This has been a #HotSportsTake to say the least bringing in all aspects of race, bullying, football culture, warrior culture, leadership, and anything else that talking heads on sports television and radio want to stoke the flames with. What makes this so interesting is that the people talking about this Dolphins situation all have different perspectives. Some are current and former football players, some are writers, some are bloggers, some are investigative reporters, some are lawyers, some are members of Dolphins' brass, some are parents and normal everyday people.

I'm finding it hard to accept that the Marlins might not be the most loathsome professional sports team in Miami.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) November 6, 2013

Yes, what has made this such a BIG DEAL is that everyone is able to chime in. Furthermore, everyone can look at this from their own perspective and have their own opinion, and the tricky part is that no one is really wrong.

Each person that has their own opinions is entitled to them, but everyone has to realize that personal experiences dictate how you'll look at this or any siutation. I put the quote from A Few Good Men at the beginning of the article to show how different opinions contradict different views. While Col. Jessup was doing what was best for his country, all Kaffee was doing was defending two potentially innocent Marines who followed orders.

Ultimately Jessup was arrested and charged for ordering the "code red" but he didn't think he was wrong. From his unique experience that Kaffee's Harvard mouth could never understand is the brutality and real life decisions that take place within the Marine core.

Everyone wants to be omipotent and speak on behalf of everyone when it comes to having an opinion. No one wants to be wrong in their opinion or seem ignorant for how someone else might feel. Well, we don't live in a utilitarian society. Never have and never will. People are allowed to express their feelings and can make it a personal one.

As this investigation develops, there has already been special committees and investigations launched. People will probably lose their jobs. There is punishment to be dealt and policies to be reviewed. There is a common need to not want a situation like this to happen again, but attempts to understand what happened or cancel out the so-called warrior mentality and culture that probably floods NFL locker rooms is something maybe we don't want to know. Maybe we want to praise performances and commend players on the field, but seeing first hand what it takes to become that player is too dark for a Sunday afternoon.

These back corridors of society where the elite occupy aren't happy and care free. They are brutal and competitive and stressful. It's easy to paint Jonathan Martin as a victim because that's probably how most people respond to hearing this story. The only place you hear differing opinions are among the players that know that world the best. It seems odd that while many players voiced displeasure during Riley Cooper's incident earlier this year, a seemingly worse incident with Incognito is getting a mixed reception. Is this because this had more to do with the culture of football as opposed to say at a Kenny Chesney concert? Maybe words used by both Cooper and Incognito were both unacceptable and acceptable in their locker rooms/one-to-one relationship as teammates? These are all aspects of this complex case that can't be unfurled through an investigative report.

In today's message board culture, it's easy to just post a response. It's harder think about why something happened.

The truth of this matter lies deep within the people and the individuals involved in this case. With the generations of football from the NFL level, to college, to high school that breed these types of people. People that have transgressions just like anyone - athelete or not - but maybe have to be hard wired to truly succeed and be an NFL player or a UFC fighter or a CEO or a General or a scientist. Everyone has their own motives and reasons for why something happens. If you're not one of those people, and you try to understand it, you won't. And if you dig deep enough you probably won't like what you find.

Tavon Austin showing some footwork in Week 10. (sportsgrid.com)

Shane Vereen, RB - NE (49% owned) +Carolina Panthers 

Vereen is due back in the fold in New England. This isn't great news for Stevan Ridley owners as Vereen appeared on the cusp of taking over a higher percentage of carries in the New England offense before his injury. As Andre Brown showed us last week, just because you're back from IR doesn't meant your team won't feed you the ball.

Tavon Austin, WR - STL (44%) BYE

By definition, Austin's blow up performance last week was an outlier of a game. Over his past 6 games Austin averaged 1.15 fantasy points per game. He could have scored 75 points against Indy and it wouldn't have made up for all the damages he's caused this year. He has a bye this week, and is facing some pretty solid defenses for the rest of the year, so I'm still not a believer, but in the off chance the guy did finally have the light bulb go on - he's worth an add just to see.

Dennis Johnson, RB - HOU (21%) v OAK

Arian Foster is done for the year and Ben Tate has busted ribs. Johnson looks to be in the fold and get a good amount of touches. Should anything happen to Tate, then Johnson would be the man.

Rashad Jennings, RB - OAK (49%) +Houston Texans 

Our failed fantasy savior is back. After we all hoped Jennings would rescue Maurice Jones-Drew owners only a little while back, he's now firmly entrenched in Oakland with Darren McFadden injured (shock!). If you can't add Andre Brown this week, Jennings is a good and cheaper alternative.

Rishard Matthews, WR - MIA (4%) v SD

He looks to be taking to that slot receiver role very well. Worth a look for this week against the Chargers.

Tyler Eifert, TE - CIN (18%) v CLE

Second on the team in targets last week with Jermaine Gresham out. Of course that could mean something if Andy Dalton isn't your quarterback. The first tight end selected in this past year's draft looks to be rounding into form a bit.

PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

Mark Ingram, RB - NO (16%) v SF

It's nice to see one Alabama running back trying to not be terrible this year. But unlike Austin, where at least there is upside, there isn't much for Ingram this year. He's still mixing things up with Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles, and he doesn't have a good match-up next week against the 49ers.

THE 1%

Bobby Rainey, RB - TB (4%) v ATL

I wasn't on the Mike James bandwagon, and he actually looked pretty good filling in for Doug Martin. Rainey looked impressive against a poor Dolphins team, so I wouldn't put too much stock into that overall, but Rainey has the ability to out pace Brian Leonard for snaps.

PERSONS OF INTEREST

Josh McCown, QB - CHI (8%), Jarrett Boykin, WR - GB (44%), Kenny Stills, WR - GB (40%), Mike Tolbert, RB - CAR (37%), Case Keenum, QB - HOU (30%),  Riley Cooper, WR - PHI (49%), Andre Brown, RB - NYG (49%), Donald Brown, RB - IND (16%)

FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 15

You...are welcome for wi..nning you a spot in your lea...gue's playoffs. - Adrian (espn.com)

FAABulous will recap the week of football activity and point fantasy owners where to spend their hard earned (not really) FAAB or waiver priority. Players will be owned in at most 50% of Yahoo! FFL. This is the one time where mo' money probably wouldn't mean mo' problems

There are two things we can confirm after week 14 of the 2012 NFL Season.

1. Adrian Peterson is a man.
2. Fantasy football might be the most unfair game ever conceived.

At this point we should all be entering fantasy playoffs if we aren't there already. The week or two prior to playoffs are almost just as important because in the fickle world of Fantasy Football, most of us are hovering a couple of games over .500 and looking to win out to clinch a spot in the tournament. With so many ponies running down a narrow track, there's going to be bumps, stumbles, and falls down the stretch, but where fantasy football really kicks you in the groin is the monster individual game. To continue my half-hearted horse racing analogy, this would be like there are 2 horses in a pack looking to show, and just when both of them are lined up - nose to nose, hoof to hoof - one of the jockeys hits the other horse in the head with an oversized cartoon mallet - complete with tweety birds - and then straps rocket boosters to his horse and is 10 lengths ahead before you can even react.

See, not the greatest analogy.

Basically that's what happened to teams facing  Adrian Peterson or Seattle defense.

Let's start with Peterson. His performance. That shouldn't be all that surprising as his past 4 games he's rushed for 171, 108, 210, and 154 with 4 TDs. Even if you want to say, it was against the Bears, I'm still not all that shocked. What is continuing to amaze me is that Peterson is doing this coming off of ACL surgery. And not just coming off ACL surgery, but coming back early. As a running back. And he's crushing fantasy leagues everywhere. The much questioned fantasy pick early in the year has now become a bargain. Some one took him with the 10th pick of the 1st Round in my draft and people were iffy about it. Now, he's laughing his way to dead last in our league (well, that's not Adrian's fault).

There has been a lot of oooh's and ahhh's about AD's performance this year, and although the award doesn't have a lot of clout, there is no doubt in my mind he should win Comeback Player of the Year. Look, we're all happy Peyton Manning is back, and looking reasonably like Peyton Manning. Sure he had some doubts, just like Peterson, but the question surrounding Manning was more of whether his nerves would regenerate properly to give his arm the proper strength and if his neck would hold up. If his nerves regenerated fine, then he'd be fine. Multiple doctors gave him clearance to play. It was just a matter of getting back into action.

Peterson said he'd be ready to go Week 1 and people just said he was being optimistic. To this day, doctors still aren't quite sure how he got healthy so fast, and I'm sure other athletes that have had this operation wonder how he is running as hard and as well as he is without holding back. If anything it appears overcoming this injury has strengthened him mentally. He put up 29 fantasy points when his owners needed him. Not that he hadn't all ready done it, but he more than justified their pre-season faith in AD.

Update: Thought this column posted today on Grantland was relevant. 

While it's a major bummer to go up against Peterson, at least you had hopes of him being contained. I'm sure little time was wasted worrying about the Seattle Seahawks defense. Sure they were at home facing the Cardinals (who after their 4-0 start have quickly morphed into one of the worst teams in a long time - they're so bad I'm openly wondering whether or not Larry Fitzgerald is vastly overrated) and Yahoo! had them projected at 11.62 points. A fair amount, sure, but seemed to be more of a product of the match-up than anything. This defense has only put up double digit fantasy points once in the past 6 weeks.

So when they left the Cardinals pie faced into the grass at CenturyLink Field they took 41 fantasy points with them. 41! That made Seattle DEF the highest scoring "player" in all of week 14. This was an absolute death blow. Anyone with this defense should have been well on their way to winning the week. They scored 2 TDs with 8 turn overs and 3 sacks to complete their shut out of the Red Birds. To work all this way and be kept out of the playoffs thanks to a defense with two soon to be suspended players on it is just unfair. Then again, disappointment and injustice is all part of the fantasy football game.

Let's see who will break some opponents' hearts in playoff football...

Former Heisman winner Mark Ingram isn't worth your money. (sportsnola.com)

Kenny Britt, WR - TEN (49% owned) NYJ

A lot of people have been waiting on Britt to find his form this season after multiple knee surgeries. His 143 yard performance against a hapless Indy defense helped raise some eyebrows, and Britt seems to be clicking with Jake Locker nabbing 2 TDs in his last 3 games. They'll play the Jets on Monday night, and will be a good homerun threat to close out the week.

Montell Owens, RB - JAX (23%) @MIA

M-O, M-O, M-O, M-OOOOOOOO, M-O, M-OOOO. Sounded better when it was TO for Terrell Owens, but he did have the 2nd best individual performance by a Jags running back this year. Miami defense is no joke, but there is room to get some points if Chad Henne can get the pass game working. It's a big if, but if you need an RB (at least an RB out of one's I haven't already talked about) Owens looks to be a valuable add.

DuJuan Harris, RB - GB (0%) @CHI

It has been a troubling season for Green Bay. Their offense just isn't that strong, and it's mainly a result of injuries to the offensive line and wide receivers. Randall Cobb can only do so much. The lack of run game hasn't helped ease the pain of Aaron Rodgers. Harris was respectable in that he scored a TD, but the RB's in Packerland have been a rotating door and Mike McCarthy appears to have no patience to make things work. Harris is a speculative add with the potential to score in Chi-town.

PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

Mark Ingram, RB - NO (28%) TB

Even when Ingram is given the role of primary back, he can't out fantasy Darren Sproles. He did average 5.2 yards per carry against the Giants last week, but he did not find the end zone. It's hard to tell what the Saints have with Ingram or why he was drafted by them. They don't need or use a conventional running back and never have with Drew Brees' offense. I'm not willing to give up on the former Heisman winner, but he's a no go for fantasy owners.

THE 1%

Dwayne Harris, WR - DAL (0%) PIT

You probably heard the loud groan of Dez Bryant owners' after it was revealed Dez broke/injured a finger in the closing minutes of the Cowboys Bengals game (a couple plays before his 27 yard TD catch). It's being reported that Dez is giving it a go on Sunday as the Cowboys look to make it to the playoffs. While Dez has been one of the best fantasy receivers over the past couple of weeks, it's hard to trust a wide receiver with a broken finger. The risk of ineffectiveness or getting pulled from the game are high, especially against a stout pass defense like Pittsburgh. While people may be running to go get Kevin Ogletree again, I think Harris is a better pick. Harris has been more consistent and garnered more targets recently than Ogletree. We've seen what (little) Ogletree is capable of, so it would make sense for hot seated head coach Jason Garrett to let the second year man from East Carolina have a go.