James Morris hails from Rio Rancho, NM and has been playing fantasy sports for just over 15 years. Not only does he write the Bengals fantasy section, but he also does the Miami Dolphins fantasy section. Crossing over, Morris writes the fantasy sections for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA. Just send him an email and he will reply back the same day with your answer. Or, find him on Twitter (Fantasyguy23) and get all your NFL news before it hits the national media. *
The big news of Week 10 will end up being that Texans RB Arian Foster was shut down for the season after three different doctors confirmed that back surgery is unavoidable. Foster was drafted at the top of Round 1 in all fantasy drafts, and will certainly be near the top of the fantasy bust board when the season in review article comes out.
The 69.1 percent of people still holding on to fantasy draft bust Tavon Austin finally got paid back when he hauled in just two passes, but they totaled 138 yards and both were for touchdowns. While the yards and TDs are impressive, the red flag to me are the two catches. It shows that he is still nothing more than a vertical route-runner who finally burned a secondary 10 weeks into the season.
Titans QB Jake Locker's season is most likely over as the early indications are that his foot injury was actually a Lisfranc injury and surgery "is a possibility" according to reports. Packers backup QB Seneca Wallace pulled his groin early in Sunday's game, and Scott Tolzien came in and proceeded to throw for 280 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. After the game, the Packers announced that Tolzien will start the Week 11 game against the Giants. And speaking of the Giants, anyone smart enough to take my advice and grab Andre Brown off the waiver wire was rewarded on Sunday as he ran the ball 30 times for 115 yards and a touchdown!
And for those wondering, I do not regret saying to sit Kenny Stills. Had the Cowboys defender not been completely out of position, he might have had himself an interception instead of Stills getting a 52-yard touchdown. Wipe that catch out and Stills finishes with 2 catches for 23 yards and no touchdowns. But, as it were, Stills finished with 3 catches for 75 yards and a TD. That's the bad thing about fantasy football: one bad play and a dud turns into a solid play.
Nick Foles – QB, Eagles: I saw a few well-known Web sites saying that Foles shouldn't be trusted because of what he did in Weeks 4 and 7. My question is what does that have to do with Week 10? The answer: nothing! Foles finished with 228 yards passing, 38 yards rushing, and 3 touchdowns on Sunday. His 22.92 fantasy points ranked him No. 4 on NFL.com's standard scoring format and that means top-tier QB.
Kellen Clemens – QB, Rams: Playing the Colts defense made Clemens look better than he really is as he finished with 247 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. He did lose a fumble, but the yards and TDs propelled him into the top 10 for fantasy QBs this week. I wouldn't chase points with him as he is sure to revert backwards with the Bears, 49ers, Cardinals and Saints up after their Week 11 bye.
Andre Brown – RB, Giants: Brown was on my sit list despite the recommendation to pick him up because Peyton Hillis was listed as the starter and the Giants said they wanted to ease him back into the game. Well, if by "ease" they meant run him 30 times, then yes, they eased him back in. Brown finished with 17.90 fantasy points on NFL.com and a No. 3 RB ranking this week.
Giovani Bernard – RB, Bengals: Bernard was someone I truthfully wasn't expecting a whole lot from since the Ravens defense was ranked No. 1 against fantasy running backs this season. But, he ended up piling up 95 yards of total offense and scoring a touchdown in the overtime tie. All totaled Bernard put up 15.50 fantasy points on NFL.com, and was in the top 7 for fantasy RBs this week.
Tavon Austin – WR, Rams: As I mentioned in the opening, Austin put up 138 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on Sunday. All the numbers came on just two catches, so don't listen to the big-box Web sites when they tell you this was a coming-out party for Austin. If you think he will do that again this season, I have some magic beans I want to sell you.
Riley Cooper – WR, Eagles: I am not a fan of the WR in the NFL, but his production with Foles throwing him the ball cannot be ignored! Cooper finished Week 10 with 102 yards and 2 touchdowns on three catches, bringing his two-week total up to 241 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. He has to come back to earth at some point, but I'd ride this bandwagon until the wheels fall off!
John Carlson – TE, Vikings: And the No. 1-ranked fantasy TE for Week 10 is, John Carlson. A guy that has totaled 4.10 fantasy points on NFL.com all season long managed to put up 15.80 fantasy points this week thanks to his 98 yards receiving and a touchdown. Carlson is a textbook definition of fluke, so please do not go pick him up.
Jacksonville Jaguars Defense: I had the game right, but the defense wrong. The Jaguars not only won their first game of the season, but they did it while racking up threee recovered fumbles, a sack, an interception, a safety and a defensive touchdown on the day. It didn't even matter that they gave up 27 points, because all the other defensive stats got them 17.00 fantasy points. The Jaguars finished as NFL.com's No. 2-ranked fantasy defense this week.
Jake Locker – QB, Titans: There is a reason why I don't like putting much faith in Titans players, because they seem to disappoint in fantasy leagues every year. Because of the injury, Locker's day was cut short and he managed just 24 yards passing, 18 yards rushing, an INT and a lost fumble. No touchdowns for Locker this week as he finished with -1.24 fantasy points on NFL.com's standard scoring format.
Colin Kaepernick – QB, 49ers: As I predicted, Kaepernick was a victim of the Panthers defense in Week 10. With nowhere to run and nowhere to throw, Kaepernick finished with an abysmal 91 yards passing, 16 yards rushing and an INT. With no touchdowns to help pad the stats, he finished with just 3.24 points on NFL.com and ranked as their No. 24 QB this week.
Tony Romo – QB, Cowboys: The Saints defense is ranked 19th this season on NFL.com in their fantasy game, yet Romo managed to throw for just 128 yards and a touchdown Sunday night. Over the course of the season Romo has been top 5 in standard scoring formats, but he had a horrible game this weekend and his owners paid for it. With the weapons the Cowboys have on offense, there is simply no excuse for this to happen against a defense that is below average in terms of statistics.
Matt Forte – RB, Bears: In a game the Bears desperately needed to win for divisional purposes, the Bears were forced to pass more than run and Forte was a victim because of it. He finished with a modest 49 total yards of offense on the day, which ended up being a middle of the road flex play for Week 10. Sorry Forte owners, but that is the nature of the beast in close games.
Andre Ellington – RB, Cardinals: The return of Rashard Mendenhall pretty much canceled out both players' value as Ellington finished with 55 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards, while Mendenhall managed 42 yards on the ground, 9 yards in the air, and a critical fumble lost late in the fourth quarter that nearly cost them the game. When all was said and done, Ellington was NFL.com's 20th-ranked RB. But consider that Colts RB Dan Herron was just two fantasy points behind him this week, and he had just a single catch for 57 yards. Running backs have been hard to count on in fantasy leagues all season long.
Larry Fitzgerald – WR, Cardinals: Since Week 4 Fitzgerald has had one good game then one bad game, and Week 10 was his bad game. While he was targeted six times on Sunday, he managed to reel in just three of them for a total of 23 yards and no scores. You have to wonder how much longer he can continue to stay in Arizona and put on a happy face with the well below par level of QB talent the Cards have run out on the field since Kurt Warner. All-in-all this season Fitzgerald is ranked 26th for WRs on NFL.com in their standard scoring format. His schedule the rest of the way is favorable until he hits the Seahawks in Week 16, so there is some good news I guess.
Harry Douglas – WR, Falcons: Well, his run of production had to come to an end sometime, and it did this weekend. While Douglas did haul in 7 passes, he managed just 49 yards with no touchdowns. And, he lost a fumble. He finished just outside the top 50 WRs in Week 10, but the Seahawks tend to have that effect on offensive players. He will bounce back from this.
Vernon Davis – TE, 49ers: Davis left the game in the second quarter and managed just one catch for two yards on the day. In fantasy terms, TE is a boom-or-bust position anyway, but games like this hurt because there is no way to predict it, or prevent it from happening. Although, with Kaepernick managing just 91 yards passing, I doubt he was in line for a good day anyway.
Chicago Bears Defense: The Bears defense was never a good play this week against the high-powered Lions offense. But, that didn't stop 69.7 percent of NFL.com owners from starting them this week. For that trust, the Bears managed just one interception and allowed 21 points, giving them a total of 2.00 fantasy points on NFL.com. The Bears are riddled with injuries and can't be trusted as anything more than a possible top 10 defense most weeks.
