Fantasy Football Week 14

122-55.

He never had a chance.

The victory is nice, but I have to admit, it's pretty sweet when you can blow our the 2nd best opponent in the most critical game of the year. Gotta give credit where credit is due - the guys practiced hard all week, stuck to the game plan, and just went out there & executed. It also helps that I made the right lineup choices this week - the only dispute was at TE, where my bench would've given me one more point. But we won't argue about that. My opponent, however, made some peculiar choices. One, he started Jerry Porter over Larry Fitzgerald. I know that Fitzgerald was sore, but even the AZ papers were reporting him as OK against the Seahawks. Two, he started Adrian Peterson (CHI) over Addai. I know Addai has been struggling, but do you really want to start last week's waiver wire pickup over your No.1 back in the biggest game of the year? Nevertheless, he could have made all the right choices yet it still wouldn't have mattered - that's how dominant I was this week.

Starters

Peyton Manning - I wasn't going bench him 3 weeks in a row, and he rewards me with his best game of the year. I officially take back all the things I said about being disappointed with him.

Brian Westbrook - If it wasn't for some dude named Brady, this guy would have to be the Fantasy MVP. He doesn't have as many big games like LT or AP, but his consistency is his biggest asset. I know that starting him is automatically 12 points at least; I'm thankful that I got him for the whole season this year

Earnest Graham - Talk about coming through in the clutch. I was just hoping for double digits & he puts up a huge 22 point effort instead.

Andre Johnson - There was a lot of talk this week about how Joey Galloway was going to be big, and how AJ was up against a tough TB defense. I considered starting Galloway but I couldn't bring myself to do it, and it paid off for me. If only AJ didn't get injured - he'd be giving Moss & TO a good battle for top fantasy WR this year.

Reggie Wayne - Not the best effort but the TD gives him double digits for another week.

Heath Miller - What happened to this guy?

Mason Crosby - He's just the kicker, but the highest scoring kicker in FF this year.

Seattle D - Wow. It's not often you see a team give up 21 points and still give you 21 points in FF. A bittersweet victory against my hometown team, but the $140 soon to be in my pocket will ease the pain.


Bench

Nothing notable other than Marshawn Lynch is back and might get the start next week.


Other Thoughts

So this victory mathematically guarantees that I'll do no worse than second for $140 profit. I just have to win one of my next three games to guarantee 1st place & $300 but it is definitely no guarantee. With the end of the season on the horizon, teams start changing their lineups to protect their starters or to give young players some PT. So I might have to do some lineup adjustments to counter this:

QB - Since the Colts haven't clinched the division yet, I think Manning is OK to start next week against OAK, but after that, we'll probably see a lot more of Jim Sorgi. At least I have Derek Anderson in his place, and the Browns are still in the thick of the playoff hunt against some easy opponents. I'll start Manning this week, but if I lost, it'll probably be DA the rest of the way.

RB - I'm not quite sure what to do with Westbrook. He's on the road against Dallas in a meaningless game. I don't think they disrespect him by not letting him play, but even so, it's already a tough matchup. I've also got Lynch @ Cleveland & Graham vs ATL next week, so I might have to bench Westbrook. But it's not like the Eagles have some young RB to test out. I'll have to see what the experts say this week.

WR - I'm living or dying with AJ & Wayne, it's that simple. My bench (Galloway & Engram) is done for the year.

TE - It's a cointoss between Miller & Ben Watson. I'll roll with the Steelers each time.

K - Crosby or bust

Defense - Both Green Bay (@ STL, @ CHI, vs DET) and Seattle (@ CAR, vs BAL, @ ATL) are playing well & have some great matchups, but I give Seattle the nod here. Gotta represent the new home town.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading my posts - even despite the lack of comments, I've enjoyed writing these, and I hope you've gotten something out of them too. If I win next week, that'll be my last FF post, so wish me luck!