Week 15- Top 5 LOOT-less Fantasy performances

By Sterntreter (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ah, here we are, Week 15 of the NFL schedule, and the semi-final round of most fantasy leagues*. It was an exciting Sunday slate of games, as a lot of league blow-outs provided fantasy gold for some (See Moreno, Peterson, & Brees), and coal for others (See Martin, Freeman, and Rivers). Because nobody is dumb enough to own a Jets or Titans player outside of Chris Johnson (semi joking), Monday Night Football this week is essentially irrelevant for fantasy purposes, and your league's Super Bowl match-up is set.

Anyways, here are the "Top 5 Fantasy Scapegoats For Week 15". (If you started any of these players, you can blame them for keeping you from making it to the Super Bowl.):

Original Image By Keith Allison
 [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)],
 via Wikimedia Commons-"Remixed" by Flootball.

1. Reggie Wayne- It was hard to tell if Colts leading receiver Reggie Wayne played on Sunday, because he barely made a blip on the stat sheet. Wayne caught a measly 3 passes for 14 yards; which amounted to by far his worst performance of the year. The Colts were stomped by a Houston team that was obviously out for blood after their embarrassing week 14 showing against New England. If you started Wayne and somehow managed to squeak out a victory despite his pathetic performance, you've gotta keep the faith and roll with him against the lackluster Chiefs secondary in week 16.

2. Jamaal Charles- Was there a more up and down player in fantasy football this year? Jeebas Jamaal, 10 total rushing yards against Oak? This performance is especially painful, considering many owners drafted Charles as their #1 option. Of course, the KC coaching staff deserves to shoulder a lot of that blame as well; Charles got 10 carries all game. If you started Charles, there is a 99.82% likelihood that you lost, (unless you started Adrian Peterson the Invincible, Slayer of Defenses, Father of Rushing Records, and Protector of the Realm as well). If that was the case, then you have to roll the dice with Charles again in week 16, as the Chiefs are at home hosting Indy and their less than stellar run defense.

3. Stevan Ridely- Ridely has been a solid, "leave'em in your lineup" type back from the get go this season. But on the Sunday, the 49'ers "Big Red Brick Curtain", (it will catch on), snapped Ridely's consecutive games with a TD streak at 6.  Ridely managed only 23 yards on the ground on 9 carries, and lost a fumble in a key possession in the 3rd QTR. Despite Ridley's embarrassing performance Sunday night, he remains a must start option against the lowly Jags in week 16.

4. Ray Rice- Changing up the offensive coordinator did nothing to help the enigmatically awful Baltimore offense, as they extended their losing streak to 3 games Sunday against Denver. Ray Rice, a stat hog, especially in PPR leagues, was awful, picking up just 38 yards on the ground, and 3 yards through the air. It appears even Rice, a top 3 pick in most leagues this year, is not immune to the sputtering Ravens offensive woes. However, you know you're gonna start him next week against the Giants; that is if he didn't end your playoff run yesterday.

5. Doug Martin- Martin had a freakin' awful day Sunday against New Orleans. For the majority of this season, Martin was doing his best Adrian Peterson impression, thrashing defenses for big fantasy points. But on Sunday, he laid a big fat egg in the fantasy playoffs, rushing for only 16 yards on 9 carries. Granted, the Saints were crushing the Bucs early, which forced Greg Schiano to abandon the running game in favor of having Freeman throw more interceptions. But that doesn't lessen the pain of Martin's disappointing fantasy performance.

*Don't be a novice and be a part of a fantasy league that starts its playoffs in week 15. It only leads to heart break for owners who have players on dominate teams. See the 2009 Colts. The Colts clinched home field advantage by week 14 that year, (they were 14-0), and instead of going for the undefeated season, Coach Dungy decided to sit fantasy studs Manning, Wayne, Clark for the duration of the regular season. 

This set back many a fantasy owner who rode one or more of those three players into their fantasy league playoffs. (In fact, there is one Flootball staffer that owned and started ALL THREE that year, and had to find playoff replacements on the waiver wire. Needless to say, he is not a Tony Dungy fan to this day.)