Fantasy football recap, week 14

--- Top performers
QB: Drew Brees, 44.76 points – started by Jeff
RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, 36.60 points – started by Ant
WR: Donald Driver, 25.07 points – started by Eric
TE: Antonio Gates, 25.93 points – started by me
K: Josh Scobee, 16.00 points – started by Eric
DEF: Miami, 26.00 points – started by Joel
        I do believe that’s the first time this year we’ve started all the top performers. I could go back and check, but frankly that seems like a lot of work when I can just lie to y’all.

--- Worst performers, defenses we started
Third place: Indy, -3.00 points – started by Jeff
Second place: Dallas, -5.00 points – started by Ant
First place: St. Louis, -6.00 points - started by me
        It’s always nice to see Dallas near the bottom of the standings. And it’s nice to see Ant there too for a change.

--- “Who is winning despite all logic” stat of the week
** Seattle: 290 points allowed, 281 points scored, 8-5 record.
** Hotlanta: 244 points allowed, 256 points scored, 7-6 record.
** Broncos: 235 points allowed, 236 points scored, 7-6 record.
** Jets: 254 points allowed, 269 points scored, 7-6 record.

--- Andy Reid blown call of the week award
        The award goes to Fox, courtesy of G's reccomendation. After the Iggles game finished, the network decided to give the good people of Phily bonus coverage of ... the Detroit Minnesota game, which has virtually no playoff implications. Besides, who wanted to see how that Panthers/Giants game was going? What could that possibly mean to Eagles fans?
        Honorable mentions go to Jeff, who left 32 points on his bench, and Jim, who started one Mike out for the year (WR Clayton) and one who has been cut from his team (K Vanderjagt).

--- Saying something nice about the Giants
** Eli Manning had a great day on Sunday, throwing for three TDs and no picks. It's the first time this season he has made it two games in a row without throwing an interception. You'd have to go back 24 games for the last time he managed two games in a row without a turnover. He's currently fifth in the league in interceptions, with 15.
** The Giants defense was excellent this week too, keeping Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson out of the end zone and holding Chris Weinke, who has one win in 17 starts, to a mere 432 yards passing.
** Tiki Barber is fourth in the league in rushing, with an impressive 1,282 yards on the ground. That's 12 trips from goal line to goal line this year. That's where he has been running, too: He only has one touchdown in 13 games. He's tied for 61st in the league in that category.

--- Stupidest thing I heard this week
        Mike and I heard a ton of great candidates while attending the Landover Racial Slurs game against the Eagles, including a number of Philadelphia fans who insisted that Jeff Garcia will lead the team to the Super Bowl.
        But the best was a 20-something drunk Slurs fan who tried to pick a fight with a blonde wearing a Trotter jersey, nearly came to blows with his own father (also a Slurs fan), and then shouted down the many, many Eagles fans in our section as the game wound down.
        With two minutes left, the Slurs out of timeouts, and with the Iggles faithful yelling out another E-A-G-L-E-S, he stood up and yelled, “It ain’t over yet! Sit down! Nothing has been decided yet!”
        Three kneel-downs later, I’m still not sure he understood the game was finished.
        The stupidest thing I read was in the Post Monday morning, headlines side by side in the sports section:
        “Washington fans: Not all is lost.”
        “Redskins are eliminated from playoff contention and ensure a last place finish in NFC East.”
        I guess they still can hold out hope for a 7-9 record…

--- Cowboys anagram insult of the week
        Who could have seen that drubbing the Saints put on the Cowboys Sunday night? I could have, because it was clearly spelled out by “Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher.” Look:
** D’oh! Saints end cow fever, deny scabs jello. Ha! **
        It’s so sad: No win means no jello for the little cowboys. And I bet T.O. won’t get to take his normal naptime next Saturday either.

--- For the record
** The professional column is up yet again.
** For those of you scoring at home, QBs who have passed for 400-plus yards this year are now 1-5 this year, after Chris Weinke's 432 yards in that loss to the Giants.
** I'm traveling this week and next, so my update probably won't come until Wednesday night next week. Think of it as a way to waste that worthless Thursday and Friday on the schedule right before the holiday.