Fantasy football stats: The worst of Week 12
Are there just more bad fantasy games this year than ever? Or am I crazy?
Full disclosure: I have no idea if what I’m about to say is true. I could check the numbers -- and I might eventually -- but it would take more time than I have to write this piece. So I’m just going to theorize that the average fantasy player game score, and thus the average fantasy team score, is lower this season than it has been in some time.
Just in Week 12, seven different starting quarterbacks had single-digit fantasy production, and that's with always-a-threat-for-a-bad-game guys like Kyle Orton and Michael Vick playing Monday night. On top of that, we're seeing an alarming number of zero-point games from players, and not just guys who are fantasy afterthoughts. Players. Starters.
It’s frustrating, and there’s not much we can do about it -- and, heck, I might not even be right -- but the point totals this season are just a group of sad that I don’t remember seeing. It continued in Week 12, too:
Worst quarterbacks in Week 12
Robert Griffin III, WAS (106 passing yards, 11 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost, 3 fantasy points)
This whole thing is (a) silly, and (b) really annoying. Griffin has been terrible this year, it's true. In his five starts, he has averaged eight fantasy points, and the only one of those that Washington has won was the one Griffin left after only three pass attempts. All true. But what the hell is the Washington front office doing, talking openly about benching Griffin for Colt damn McCoy? This team is 3-8. Kirk Cousins isn't ever going to take them anywhere. Colt McCoy isn't ever going to take them anywhere. Robert Griffin III? It looks bad right now, but he might. Considering his pedigree, his upside and the price Washington paid to get him, Griffin is their quarterback. The whole thing is nonsense.
Next game: The team travels to Indianapolis next week, which is going to lead to a whole host of “Griffin bad, Luck good” stories this week, and ugh already. Still, Griffin is not only un-startable, he’s un-ownable.
The quadro of sadness
Blake Bortles, JAX (146 passing yards, 1 interception, 25 rushing yards, 5 fantasy points)
Shaun Hill, STL (198 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble lost, 5 fantasy points)
Ryan Mallett, HOU (189 passing yards, 1 interception, 2 rushing yards, 5 fantasy points)
Drew Stanton, ARI (149 passing yards, 1 interception, 23 rushing yards, 5 fantasy points)
And it wasn't just these guys. Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer account for only seven fantasy points apiece. The average fantasy quarterback in Week 12 put up exactly 14 fantasy points, and only the guys in Denver-Miami and New York-Dallas managed 20-plus. Of the four guys in the quadro of sadness, only Hill managed even a single touchdown. It was a bad week, guys. Bad, bad week. (In Mallett's defense, there are rumors he might have suffered a torn pectoral muscle Sunday, which would likely end his season.)
Worst running backs in Week 12
Jonas Gray, NE (0 fantasy points)
A week ago, Gray wouldn't have been a relevant enough fantasy player to even warrant mention in this space, But then in Week 11, he ran for 201 yards and four touchdowns, and Gray vaulted into the discussion, only for him to not even play a snap Sunday as the Patriots beat the Lions. Part of the reason is the return of LeGarrette Blount to New England, but the bigger reason -- at least according to rumor -- is that Gray was late to practice Friday. Bill Belichick hasn't told us either way.
Next game: At Green Bay next week. Gray will probably be back on the field, probably get some touches, but it’s hard to imagine you could run him into your lineup if you have any real alternative.
Frank Gore, SF (36 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost, 1 fantasy points)
Right after they started giving him more touches (21 carries a game in his last two), the 49ers pulled back from Gore again Sunday, giving the veteran only 13 carries. It wasn't the lost fumble, as Gore didn't turn the ball over until the fourth quarter. The team just couldn't get anything going on the ground -- Gore, Carlos Hyde and Colin Kaepernick combined for only 2.3 yards per carry. Washington -- for all its failures -- isn't a bad run defense, so this might not be a long-term problem, but man, Sunday was frustrating for Gore owners.
Next game: The opposing-defense thing doesn't really get better, as the 49ers host the Seahawks on Thanksgiving night. Gore will be a reasonable flex play.
Denard Robinson, JAX (25 rushing yards, 47 receiving yards, 1 fumble lost, 4 fantasy points)
Since taking over the starting job for Jacksonville, Robinson had averaged 105 yards and a touchdown per game before Sunday. And against an Indianapolis run defense that is no great shakes at all, this looked like a good time for Robinson to keep it going. Instead, he had his fewest carries, fewest rushing yards, fewest everything as a starter, and he lost a fumble for the second straight game.
Worst wide receivers in Week 12
Doug Baldwin, SEA (6 receiving yards, 0 fantasy points)
In his first game after Percy Harvin got traded away, Baldwin had 123 receiving yards and a touchdown, and it was the worst thing for fantasy owners. After that game, we all thought he needed to be owned, maybe even needed to be started, as the best receiver on a good team. Instead, Baldwin has put up 4.4 fantasy points a game since that game, bottoming out with two catches on two targets Sunday. The moral of Percy Harvin's trade wasn't "go find the next Seattle receiver," it was "ignore the Seattle receivers." This just isn't a passing offense.
Next game: At San Francisco Thanksgiving night, Baldwin not only shouldn’t be started, he probably shouldn’t be owned.
Reggie Wayne, IND (10 receiving yards, 1 fantasy points)
Wayne caught only three passes Sunday, but he was targeted nine times. He just looked slow for much of the game, unable to get the separation on a couple of plays that should have yielded touchdowns. The veteran now has four games this season of three or fewer fantasy points, and only two with 10-plus.
Next game: The Colts host Washington next Sunday. That’s a cake matchup, so anyone with Wayne should give him one more week to turn things around.
Brandon Marshall, CHI (32 receiving yards, 3 fantasy points)
I noted a week ago that Marshall has been maybe the most frustrating good fantasy player this season, and that didn’t change Sunday. He’s still in the top 15 in fantasy scoring among wide receivers, only something like 43 percent of his production has come in two games, and those two games were the ones where he came in injured, meaning several owners were avoiding him. And in the two games following those big ones, Marshall put up zero and now three fantasy points. I don’t know what it means, but I know that anyone owning Marshall just hasn’t had a lot of fun.
Next game: What can you do? If you have Marshall, you’re using him at Detroit in Thanksgiving’s first game. Just hope for good things.
Worst tight ends in Week 12
Jacob Tamme, DEN (-1 receiving yard, 0 fantasy points)
Sometimes it isn't as simple as just sliding the next guy in. With Julius Thomas out injured Sunday, Tamme was a popular plug-and-play option at the position, with the thinking that the Denver offense is so versatile that whatever tight end does the job will do it well. And then Peyton Manning just leaned on his regular option more, targeting Tamme with only one pass all game.
Next game: Thomas was close enough to playing Sunday that you have to assume he’ll be back on the field next week. Tamme is fully droppable.
Mychal Rivera, OAK (8 receiving yards, 0 fantasy points)
If it were only my opinion doing fantasy stuff, Rivera wouldn’t even warrant mention here, as I never for a second thought he was as good as his numbers had shown the last few weeks. But I was seeing him ranked as a top-10 tight end in some places, despite the fact that this was the same guy who has managed seven total fantasy points through Week 6. It’s great that he had a hot stretch, but it wasn’t anything that was likely to continue.
Next game: Oakland plays at St. Louis next week. Sure, tight end is a disaster position, but even then, it’s hard to trust Rivera.
Antonio Gates, SD (14 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
Since his 54-yard, two-score game in Week 8, Gates has played three games. His cumulative line in that time: eight catches, 74 yards, no touchdowns. That gives the tight end five games this season with three or fewer fantasy points. And he’s still going to be ranked as a must-start at the position, because what the heck else can you do? But his stock is undeniably falling.
Next game: At Baltimore next week, you’re starting Gates if you have him. And it’s so yawn-inducing.
Worst defense/special teams in Week 12
Miami Dolphins (39 fantasy points, 1 fumble recovered, 1 sack, -5 fantasy points)
This is the second straight week the season’s No. 1 fantasy defense entering the week has put up the worst defense score of the week. Of course, Philadelphia played at Green Bay a week ago, and Miami played at Denver this week. I know I’ve been hammering this point home all season, but a defense’s fantasy production is so dependent on the team they’re facing.
