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 Jacksonville Jaguars fantasy section. Crossing over, Morris writes the fantasy sections for the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA. Just send him an email and he will reply back the same day with your answer.
The Bengals fought hard this weekend, but the Texans defense was just too tough and the Bengals lost a close one. Andy Dalton didn't have the best game of his career as he finished with 189 yards passing and a TD, but both he and A.J. Green (5 catches for 59 yards) are showing they have chemistry and the future is bright for the WHO DEY nation!
Don't lose faith Bengals fans, the team is certainly headed in the right direction and is already turning heads with its QB-WR duo. The future is bright and I am excited to see what a summer of bonding will do for Dalton and Green.
Matt Ryan: Ryan was someone I was high on heading into this week and he did me proud. Matty Ice racked up 340 passing yards and 4 scores without throwing a single INT this week, and that ranked him No. 1 in standard scoring formats. I take a bow for this pick.
John Skelton: And the worst trade of the 2011 season is going to go down as Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals. Kolb was again forced from the game due to injury and Skelton stepped in. All Skelton did was throw for 282 passing yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. I can promise you that nobody played Skelton on purpose this weekend, so just take it as a missed opportunity.
Maurice Jones-Drew: MJD was a fantasy beast this weekend as I mentioned earlier. The problem I have with Jones-Drew's owners is that they show him no love, despite owning him and refusing to trade him. The guy is leading the league in rushing, and I still have to tell owners to play him from week-to-week. MJD finished as the No. 2 fantasy player this weekend, missing the No. 1 spot (Matt Ryan) by a single point in standard scoring.
Ryan Grant: I read an article this weekend by a highly-touted fantasy sports columnist and another by a guy that works under him. The veteran writer picked Grant as a waiver-wire pickup this week and the underling said he would take Brandon Saine over Grant. Who was right you ask? Well, Grant finished the game with 85 yards rushing and 2 TDs while Saine had seven yards rushing and 14 yards receiving. I guess that is why one guy headlines the website and the other guy is a junior writer for the website.
Marques Colston: I had someone ask me just before kickoff if they should play Colston and I told them no, but it was because their other options were better on paper. You see, before this weekend Colston had hit the 100-yard mark just twice this season and he hadn't scored since Week 7. That being said, Colston hauled in 7 passes for 105 yards and 2 TDs this week, giving him the No. 1 spot for WRs. Luckily the reader's other WRs did just fine and he only missed out on a few points with Colston on the bench.
Julio Jones: Jones was a WR I saw hit the waiver wire in a few of my leagues back when he was dealing with injuries midseason. I snatched him up because of his raw talent and he is paying me dividends in the playoffs. This weekend he managed to hook up with Ryan just three times, but they produced 104 yards and 2 TDs as a result. Jones is a fine WR2 to finish the season and should be played accordingly.
Rob Gronkowski: Gronk set a new NFL record for TD passes caught by a tight end in a single season this weekend. Not only did he set a record, but he looked amazing while doing it as he hauled in 6 passes for 160 yards and 2 TDs. And to make things worse for Redskins fans, I counted 13 broken tackles and six red-zone targets. This kid is just 22 years old and could easily break more records in the future with Tom Brady at the helm.
Jacksonville Jaguars Defense: Playing the Buccaneers in an in-state rivalry game brought the best out in the Jaguars. I already laid out their accomplishments, but allow me to gloss on them a little more by saying this is a team with a lot of pride that gave its fans a much-needed win in the aftermath of so much change within the organization. The team stepped up this weekend as a whole, and the Jaguars defense did their fantasy owners proud!
Carson Palmer: I should have known better than to trust Palmer, but I did and I was wrong. Palmer didn't get any of those fantasy garbage time stats after falling behind to the Packers, and he finished with a nasty line of 245 yards passing, one TD and 4 INTs. The Raiders are too young to be consistent and this just proved it as the Packers defense gives up a ton of fantasy points normally.
Michael Vick: Vick may have been victorious on the football field, but he failed to win any hearts over in fantasy leagues this week. He finished Week 14 with 208 passing yards, a TD and an INT. Vick finished in the 17-20 range for QBs this week, far from the numbers you expected when you took him No. 1 overall in your draft.
Chris Johnson: CJ2K is the prime example of the type of player you have to cut your losses with earlier. Sure, he has the talent to break the NFL single-game rushing record on any given week, but the same can't be said for his offensive line. This week they managed to get him 23 yards on the ground and Johnson managed to reel in 5 passes for 43 yards. There isn't anyone on the waiver wire worth owning in Week 14, so your best bet is to just let Johnson rot away on the bench since he can no longer be trusted this season.
Arian Foster: And the hits just keep on coming in Week 1 of the fantasy playoffs. Foster managed to run for just 41 yards on the ground, while racking up another 33 yards via the pass. Foster failed to score this weekend and he will go down as a Week 14 bust in any format because of it. You have to play him to finish the season out, but with T.J. Yates under center, you might see these type of numbers again before the season is up.
Calvin Johnson: The losers list is starting to look like a Pro Bowl roster this week! Megatron was a mega disappointment this weekend as he finished the game with 29 empty yards receiving and 11 yards rushing. He is another one of those guys that is far too talented to ever bench, so just write it off as a bad week at the worst possible time.
Greg Jennings: I wish I was making this list up as it is looking like a who's who of the NFL. Even though Aaron Rodgers threw for 281 yards and 2 TDs, he found Jennings twice for 20 yards and no end zone visits. I can assure you that with all the studs on the losers list, many of you were also losers in the first round, just like me in a few leagues. There is also word that Jennings may have torn his right MCL in Sunday's win over Oakland.
Jermichael Finley: I am officially done with Finley this season. He was targeted just once this weekend and the ball ricocheted off his hands and was intercepted. Finley has yet to hit 100 yards in 2011 and half his touchdowns came in Week 3 (3). Finley is going to get you a few catches and maybe 50 YPG as we wrap up the season, so be aware and beware.
San Francisco 49ers Defense: I am not very high on the 49ers this season as I think they are more a product of a weak division than they are a serious contender as we get into the NFL playoffs. The Cardinals proved me right this weekend by not only beating them, but holding their defense to just 2 sacks, 2 INTs and a fumble recovered. That may be good for most defenses in most weeks, but the 49ers were ranked so high in the Week 14 projections that these numbers put them as a bust in terms of fantasy points.
