Fantasy Football 52: Mid Season Surprises

Credit: RonAlmog / Flickr.com -- Creative Commons License

Tools

Fantasy Football 52: Mid Season Surprises

Story Created: Nov 5, 2010 at 8:25 AM CDT

Story Updated: Dec 9, 2010 at 9:50 AM CDT

By Eric Pedigo

It seems like we wait an eternity each off-season for kickoff of the next year to begin. Months, and months we wait. We talk about the few off-season moves that are made, be they coaching changes, or players switching cities. We watch a little NBA, we fill out our NCAA brackets, we’ll catch up on who’s fighting who in the UFC, and if we’re over sixty, we may even watch a little baseball. But none of it measures up. All of the LeBron dunks, Cinderella stories, and mound visits barely do enough to get us through until we can finally become fully invested once again. We bravely tolerate months of lesser sports, and when it’s football time, we’re all in. But much to our dismay, the season comes and goes before we even get the chip crumbs brushed off of our shirt. It feels like just yesterday I was drafting a bunch of astoundingly mediocre teams and gearing up for the season. Now, we have week nine staring us right in the face. So, with the season essentially half over, let’s take a look at some of the more surprising aspects of the fantasy season so far.

Kyle Orton- The top 5 QBs at this point are basically the same guys we thought should be there. Except for Orton. Largely undrafted, KO currently sits as the 4th best fantasy QB out there. And throwing the ball is all that Denver’s got, so expect Kyle to keep producing.
Arian Foster- Remember Ben Tate? I can assure that Arian Foster does. If Ben Tate doesn’t go down in the pre-season, then it’s highly unlikely Arian becomes the top fantasy RB at the halfway point.
Antonio Gates- Gates having a huge first half of the season isn’t necessarily a surprise, but Antonio being the top receiver of any kind is a little surprising.
Brandon Lloyd- The league’s biggest surprise at QB needs a favorite target. Brandon Lloyd has put up WR1 numbers all season, and was a free agent in every fantasy league in the universe week one.
Darren McFadden- I wasn’t sure McFadden would reach 900 yards and 6 touchdowns in his entire career. He’s about there already this year.
Ryan Fitzpatrick- He’s the eleventh best fantasy QB in most formats, outscoring guys like Flacco and Schaub. And I have a feeling the second half of the year will be even better for him.
Austin Collie- He’s played one less game than Reggie Wayne this year, but Collie only trails Wayne by one fantasy point (PPR scoring). Now Reggie will know how Marvin Harrison felt. Not how he felt after shooting a guy in Philly, how he felt after handing his job over to a younger receiver.
LaDainian Tomlinson- I think we all owe LT an apology. I was especially hard on him, so I’ll buy the card and you guys can just sign it. LT’s running like he’s 28 and a half again.
Mike Vick- Before he was injured, Vick was on pace to be the surprise story of the year. And to think, going into the year we only wondered if Kolb could fill McNabb’s shoes. No one thought Vick could be viable starter, even if he did get a chance
Mike Williams- This covers both the Tampa Bay and Seattle versions. The Bucs’ Williams is having the better season, but Seattle Mike has had quite an impressive year after being written off as a bust a few years ago.
Brett Favre- This one’s not fantasy related. I’m just totally shocked that Wrangler dropped Favre. I heard it was because he was wearing stonewashed Lee jeans in those picture messages.

Good luck in Week 9 everyone! Contact me at the commish52@live.com

Next Article Illini Men's Golf: Heading to 6th Straight NCAA Championship Tournament

Most Popular

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

On Demand

Weather

68.0 F (20.0 C)

Overcast

Pressure : 1005.3 mb

Humidity : 87 %

Wind : South at 6.9 MPH (6 KT)

More Weather