James Morris hails from Rio Rancho, NM and has been playing fantasy sports for well over a decade. Not only does he write the Bengals fantasy section, but he also does the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers fantasy sections, as well as the Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz fantasy basketball sections in the NBA. Last season James finished with an 82 percent accuracy rating for fantasy predictions and will be here to answer any questions you may have about your specific team. Just send him an email and he will reply back the same day with your answer.
Week 13 of the NFL season is officially in the books, and with that your fantasy playoffs are now set for a Week 14 first round matchup. You are either in the circle looking to win that league title, or you are on the outside looking in trying to win the toilet bowl game in order to not finish with the shame of being dead last. If you are out, it has been fun; but, if you listened to my advice all season and you made it to the show, read on so we can win that league title and get you one step closer to being one of the Champions of the World! Make sure you read very closely starting this week so you know who to start and who to sit in your playoff matchup.
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Tony Romo: One of the most overrated QBs in my opinion actually had the best game of all fantasy players this weekend as he threw for 392 yards and three TDs while not giving up a single interception. Being the top dog isn't hard when you complete 41 passes, but I'm sure the Cowboys would rather have had a win than Romo elite stats.
Jason Campbell: Did you start Campbell? Neither did anyone else. Owned in just 23 percent of all Yahoo leagues, Campbell managed to pass for 367 yards and three TDs. Don't get too excited because the Saints are down to their third or fourth safety at this point and they are going to give up yards in the air for the rest of this season.
Brandon Jacobs: With just seven RBs gaining over 100 yards on the ground, and only two of them scoring a TD (Stewart and Mendenhall), running back wasn't the position that won too many matchups this weekend. Because of that, Jacobs and his 39 yards rushing, 74 yards receiving, and two TDs made him a winner at RB this weekend.
Jerome Harrison: Harrison managed just 35 yards on the ground and 62 via the air, but his two touchdowns got him enough fantasy points to allow him to be among the top RBs in standard fantasy scoring formats.
Devin Thomas: Thomas was the lucky recipient of a Campbell career game and he was able to haul in seven catches for 100 yards and two TDs. Prior to this game he had a total of 187 yards receiving and just one touchdown.
Louis Murphy: Murphy continues the trend of unowned players who came up big this weekend. Murphy hooked up with Bruce Gradkowski four times for 128 yards and two scores. We saw this type of production from Murphy in Week 1, but he has been a non-factor since then and can't be counted on moving forward.
Jason Witten: A Jason Witten sighting has been reported in New York as he finished the rivalry game with 14 receptions for 156 yards. He didn't score, but those in PPR leagues loved this showing and 156 yards from a TE is about as much as you can ask for.
Denver Broncos Defense: The Broncos routed the helpless Kansas City Chiefs this weekend and their defense came up big. Sure, they allowed 13 points, but they also recorded two sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and one defensive touchdown that netted them the No. 1 defensive spot in standard scoring formats. If your defense scores a touchdown, that is golden in fantasy-land.
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Matt Schaub: Schaub was supposed to do great things this weekend against a Jaguars defense that is ranked 23rd against the pass. Instead, Schaub threw for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception before dislocating his non-throwing wing. That second round receiver named Andre Johnson just got a lot scarier to play down the stretch.
Jay Cutler: Cutler is still owned in 87 percent of fantasy leagues, which is just absurd since he hasn't thrown for more than 171 yards in the past three games and has a 1-1 TD-INT ratio (3 TDs and INTs) over that same span. This weekend he finished with 143 yards and a TD, but managed to not play pitch and catch with the defense.
Frank Gore: Gore is not one of my favorite fantasy running backs because he either breaks a long run during the game or he finishes with 2.2 YPC. On Sunday Gore finished with 25 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving and no TDs, hardly worth starting him for those stats.
Ray Rice: Rice found a way to be outscored by Willis McGahee again this week as he finished with 54 yards rushing, 17 yards receiving, and no TDs. McGahee vultured the rushing touchdown that should have gone to Rice and that is something that has been killing fantasy managers all season long with Rice.
Reggie Wayne: Wayne wasn't Peyton Manning's favorite receiver this weekend as he caught just four passes for 48 yards and no visits to the endzone. This isn't going to be typical for Wayne, but if the Colts lose just one game they are sure to sit their starters for the NFL playoffs.
Mike Sims-Walker: Because the passing game isn't the Jaguars strong suit, Sims-Walker is one of the more streaky fantasy WRs out there. This week he finished with just one catch for 12 yards and no scores, so he was a little disappointing to those who started him.
Greg Olsen: When your QB flops, you know almost for certain that anyone he was throwing to flopped also. That was the case for Olsen as he finished with the most awkward line ever of two receptions for one yard. Not even 1-yard per pass?
Pittsburgh Steelers Defense: The old adage "any given Sunday" certainly applied on this Sunday as the Oakland Raiders scored 27 points and didn't allow a single interception against the Steelers. Pittsburgh was highly ranked for Week 13 because the Raiders offense is sputtering and their defense has been one that shut down the best of offenses in the past. Chalk this one up as a fluke as we head into the fantasy playoffs.
So you've all been asking for my weekly ratings to come back. This week I missed on six picks (Palmer, McCoy, Olsen, Kevin Smith, Fred Davis and Eli Manning). That made me 10-for-16 on my picks for a 62.5 percent accuracy rating, still far better than the fantasy picks from the other guys out there. I've done some checking and the other big name sites are sporting a rating closer to the 47 percent area heading into the playoffs and I am above 75 percent on the season. Who you gonna trust?
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