by Brandon Marianne Lee | Feb 18, 2015
Green Bay Packers 12-4 Welcome to the NFC North Week and the Green Bay Packers 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows. Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. The Packers were one of the easiest teams to cover. Almost everyone was a fantasy starter or not a realistic option. They were SO CLOSE to a Super Bowl run, and we think sticking with their players for your fantasy team will help bring you a championship in 2015. Highs: Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb Jordy Nelson caught 98 passes for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns. Randall Cobb caught 91 passes for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns. These guys are on the same team. Unbelievable. Jordy was the third ranked fantasy Wide Receiver in standard scoring leagues. Randall Cobb was sixth. Wow. Sadly, Green Bay wants to keep Cobb rather than lose him to free agency, but it’s complicated. Eddie Lacy I’ll admit it, I lost faith in the bruiser after his first four weeks of lackluster performances. But then he turned a corner and because the fantasy standout we thought he would be in the preseason. He actually increased his yards-per-carry from 4.1 to 4.6 and became more of a factor in the passing game (42 catches for 427 yards and four touchdowns). I’m excited about him for the 2015 season. The world is his oyster. Lows: Tight Ends Each week that the Packers had a nice Tight End match up we had to let everyone down by referring to the facts… there was no Tight End in Green Bay worth a roster spot on your... read more
by Courtney Kirby | Feb 16, 2015
New England Patriots 12-4 Congratulations to the New England Patriots on their 2015 Superbowl win. It was a great game and an even better ending but this article is not about the Superbowl. Here are my highs and lows for the 2014 New England Patriots season. Highs: Rob Gronkowski played a whole season!!!! He missed game 17 but only because the Patriots had locked up the number one seat. He was a machine all season and the only Tight End you could trust this season. He had 30 more fantasy points then Antonio Gates that finished second in fantasy points and averaged 11.1 points per game. He was targeted a position high of 130 times for 82 receptions, 1124 yards and 12 touchdowns. Winning!!! Stephen Gostkowski was the best Kicker in 2014. He made 34 out of his 36 attempts on field goals for a career high success rate at 94.6 percent. He also made all of his 51 extra points. He had more fantasy points then Calvin Johnson with 170 points. Kickers do matter! Lows: There was no real low for the Patriots, unless you drafted one of the Running Backs. There was no consistency in the position for fantasy owners. The Patriots started with Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen as their one-two punch in the backfield. Vereen took the fantasy points in Week 1 but the very next week Ridley was the main back. The next two games you didn’t want to start either of them and then in Week 5 they both had a nice game. In Week 6 things get interesting.... read more
by Brandon Marianne Lee | Feb 13, 2015
New York Jets 4-12 Welcome to the AFC East Week and the New York Jets 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows. Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. The Jets were a tough team to cover this year due to the complete lack of offensive activity. Highs: The Future The Jets hired former Arizona Cardinals Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles to be a head coach and turn this organization around. Bowles is highly respected and reserved with the media. The team also goes into free agency with an estimated $48.9 million in cap space due to the fact that they inexplicably didn’t fully utilize their cap space in the 2014 season. But, hey! Let bygones be bygones and focus on all of the opportunity. Rumors are swirling about a possible return of both Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis, they might draft a Quarterback high in the draft and there’s even a possibility that former teammate Demaryius Thomas might join Eric Decker in Gang Green. Geno Smith and Eric Decker’s Week 17 Performances Ah, what could have been… Geno Smith went to Miami in Week 17 and put on a clinic! He threw for 358 yards and three touchdowns. Eric Decker caught 10 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown. The silver lining of the season for the Jets was learning that Eric Decker is not Peyton dependent, but he does need A Quarterback. To be fair, Percy Harvin showed some flashes before his injury and Jace Amaro was decent for a rookie Tight End. By far his best performance was in Week 6 when he caught... read more
by Brandon Marianne Lee | Feb 12, 2015
Buffalo Bills 9-7 Welcome to the AFC East Week and the Buffalo Bills 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. Frankly, the Bills were a Tale of Two Teams. There was the Offense. There was the Defense. One was confused. One was spectacular. The result was missing the playoffs, but they did have their first season over .500 since 2004. Highs: Defense The Bills Defense was on fire last year. They gave up the second fewest total points to opponents (273 total). They amassed a league high 54 sacks, the second highest was Baltimore, with 49. They ranked 6th in the league with 19 interceptions. They were a top-10 unit in every category except defensive touchdowns. They only scored twice on their numerous turnovers. That’s okay because newly appointed head coach Rex Ryan needs at least one challenge. Sammy Watkins-ish And the award for Mr. Potential goes to… Adam Schefter reported on NFL Countdown that ex-coach Doug Marrone stormed out of the draft room when the Bills traded up and lost a first round pick to draft Watkins. After hearing about all of the drama surrounding Marrone’s departure, I’m surprised the Bills’ season went as well as it did. But if the Bills can shore up the Quarterback situation Watkins could be great. He shows flashes of talent. His best game was Week 7 versus Minnesota when he went 9 of 14 for 122 yards and two touchdowns. They can build on that. Lows: Trying with all of my might to tell you not to play Boobie Dixon and/or... read more
by Brandon Marianne Lee | Feb 9, 2015
San Diego Chargers 9-7 Welcome to the AFC West Week and the San Diego Chargers 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. Very little of the Chargers’ off-season news has anything to do with fantasy football (most of the team news revolves around their stadium needs), so there is no need for an update. However, San Diego had a fantasy relevant year and we look forward to upgrades at a variety of positions before the start of the season. Highs: Antonio Gates Early in the season I gave unconventional advice: trade for Antonio Gates. Why? Because Tight Ends are terrible and over the course of the season Gates averaged over 51 yards per game and scored 12 touchdowns in 16 games. And if you played him in Week 15 and Week 16, he scored 11.4 and 21.2 fantasy points respectively in standard scoring. If you play PPR, he caught 6 and 7 passes respectively and that’s good math. The Emmergence of Dontrelle Inman In Week 16 and 17 Dontrelle Inman, a former CFL star, went 7/79 and 5/79 in his only two games with a catch all season. Eddie Royal will be a free agent this offseason, so Inman could step right into a starting role for the 2015 season. Many predict that the Chargers will target a high impact receiver in free agency, but Inman will compete and if he keeps catching the ball, he will not be ignored. Low: Keenan Allen Keenan Allen was unstartable the majority of the season. You got more value if you... read more
by Ashley Williams | Feb 9, 2015
The fantasy season is over but that doesn’t mean that there won’t still be plenty of football to talk about. This week we are talking about our take aways from the Superbowl and the coaching changes that have taken place in the off season. Believe it or not coaching changes can have a very big impact on your fantasy players production so listen in to see if any of your favorites will experience some change. Check Out Football Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Her Fantasy Football on... read more
by Ashley Williams | Feb 6, 2015
Miami Dolphins 8-8 Welcome to AFC East Week and the Miami Dolphins 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. This team has a lot of potential for next year. They were able to hold their own against a lot of really difficult teams and are finally starting to find a groove. They haven’t made many changes over the off season, so it will be a fine tuning kind of off season. So let’s briefly chat about what was good and bad last year that they will take into consideration when tightening elements up. Highs: My highs with the Dolphins are much like the Dolphins, not very exciting but quietly relevant. Mike Wallace showed up this year and was the 18th highest scoring wide receiver in the league. He has always been a hot and cold player, and he was a little bit this year, but for the most part he was good. Ryan Tannehill was similar that he quietly snuck his way into the top 10 quarterbacks of the year. I also enjoyed that I could count on them to give teams hell. Usually I would count them out against a team like the Patriots but this year was a little nerve-wracking each time they met. Lows: The low for me was when Knowshon Moreno got hurt. I really wanted to see how it played out between him and Lamar Miller. Moreno made Miller up his game and he did for sure. Moreno looked to be the starter and then Miller came in when Moreno was hurt but... read more
by Courtney Kirby | Feb 3, 2015
Oakland Raiders 3-13 Welcome to AFC West Week and the Oakland Raiders 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. Bleacher Report just came out with their 2015 Power Rankings. The Oakland Raiders fell at 26th. That means that there are six teams that need more work then the Raiders this offseason, crazy. The Raiders have made some smart moves this offseason starting with the hiring of Jack Del Rio as their new Head Coach. Hopefully they will give Del Rio time to build the team before firing him for another poor record. But before we get too excited about the 2015 Raiders, lets review 2014. Highs: There is one consistent player on the Raiders. You must be asking yourself who the heck that could be. Sebastian Janikowski has been the Raider’s Kicker since 2000. On a fantasy note he was worthless because the Raiders were always behind so if they got down the field at all they had to go for the touchdowns, but Janikowski only missed 3 field goals. Compared to the rest of the Raiders, Janikowski was the “Star”. Latavius Murray was a nice surprise. No one knew who he was until his performance against Kansas City’s great rush defense in Week 12. On four attempts he had 112 yards and two touchdowns. He zeroed out the next game, as did the Raiders in the blowout against St. Louis (52-0), but rebounded and saw the majority of the carries going forward. He could be a star next year under new OC Bill... read more
by Brandon Marianne Lee | Jan 30, 2015
Only a few days remain until Super Bowl XLIX. Two teams remain. There is only one game. And for the only time in the season, fantasy football is such a small piece of the puzzle. Some of you might be in a playoff-specific fantasy formatted competition, but for the most part, we put away our fantasy football spreadsheets and either won the big prize or started scheming for next year’s revenge. For now, watch for the Seahawks and Patriots momentum that they may bring into the 2015 season, watch for bragging rights if you picked the right team or prop bets, and watch for fun. Russell Wilson Redemption Russell Wilson had one of the worst games of his career in the NFC Championship game two weeks ago against the Green Bay Packers… until he rocked it out at the end of the game. Wilson is one of, if not the best read-option quarterback in the league. If he was a Running Back, he would have tied with C.J. Anderson for the 16th most rushing yards this season (849) and tied with five other backs for 17th in rushing touchdowns (6). He would have been a top-20 fantasy option. That is insane. And he somehow never gets hit. Containing Russell Wilson will be key for a New England victory, but that’s easier said than done. Not only can Wilson get yards with his feet, he is also the most accurate on-the-move passer in the NFL. New England is a man-based defense and not their best against mobile Quarterbacks. They’ll try to set the edge and keep Wilson in the pocket... read more
by Ashley Williams | Jan 29, 2015
Kansas City Chiefs 9-7 Welcome to AFC West Week and the Kansas City Chiefs 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. This team had very few fantasy relevant players on it and only one week in and week out player that you could count on. Jamaal Charles had a bit of a rough start but came back from injury after a couple weeks and played lights out for you. Travis Kelce was a bit hot and cold but so is every other tight end in the league. He was worth a start here and there but that is really the only fantasy relevant players that were on the Chiefs. Well…other than Knile Davis who stepped in to the solo running back role in a big way for Jamaal Charles when he was hurt. The Chiefs will need to make some changes next year to make the passing game more effective, which leads us to… High and Low: My low and my high are the exact same. The Kansas City wide receivers, yes, that is right. There was not a more under-achieving group of wide outs in the league this year than this crew, and yet…..I held my breath when Dwayne Bowe looked as if he scored a touchdown but alas he fumbled and Travis Kelce picked it up in the end zone for the touchdown. It looked very close to Bowe having crossed the plane before he fumbled so was it a touchdown? Who would get the credit? I whispered under my breath, please don’t let it be... read more
by Courtney Kirby | Jan 27, 2015
Indianapolis Colts 11-5 Welcome to AFC South Week and the Indianapolis Colts 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. When the NFL schedule for 2014 was released we all assumed that the Colts would have a good season. I would say making it to the AFC Championship game after beating the Broncos is a pretty good season. I t was kind of like owning a Colt’s player in fantasy. Great throughout the season but game up short when we needed them the most. Highs: Fleener Everyone knew that Andrew Luck was going to have a great year. He ended his 2014 season only six points behind the Quarterback leader, Aaron Rodgers, and averaged 21 fantasy points a game. But my high of the season was someone no one drafted, Coby Fleener. He finished in 6th place for Tight Ends with 118 fantasy points, 774 yards, and 8 touchdowns. That is with a third less receptions then the Tight Ends ahead of them. He would have had more receptions but he likes to drop the ball. Notable: T.Y. Hilton was fantastic too until playoffs. Lows: Running Backs FFtoolbox had Ahmad Bradshaw as a handcuff and Trent Richardson as Possible Comeback of the Year. Not the case. It was pretty clear after game one against Denver that Bradshaw was the better back. After Bradshaw’s second week where he scored 21 fantasy points, he continued to dominate until the Colts bye in Week 10. He ended up breaking his leg and ending what could... read more
by Ashley Williams | Jan 27, 2015
Denver Broncos 12-4 Welcome to AFC West Week and the Denver Broncos 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. This team was supposed to be Super Bowl bound since the beginning of the season and pretty much played that way until the last few games. Peyton’s injury and conservative play was a problem for the team in the end and they surmised to the Colts in the playoffs. Now they have a new coaching staff and there is the question as to whether or not Peyton will return. All we can do is wait to see what will come and talk about what happened this past season. Highs: Emmanuel Sanders and the running game for the most part were the highs for me. Sanders came in to fill Decker’s spot and boy did he ever! He came in as the 6th highest scoring receiver for the year, meaning that Denver and GreenBay were the only two teams that had 2 receivers in the top 10. Beast status! If he hadn’t gotten hurt the Broncos would have been the only team to have 2 receivers in the top 5. I was also pleasantly surprised with the run game. We were all nervous about the Montee Ball hype as we said he was unproven…but he got hurt and Ronnie Hillman came in and tore it up. Then he got hurt and C.J. Anderson came in and did even better! The running game is strong and that is surprising since the Broncos are such a pass heavy team. Low: Julius Thomas…you... read more
by Ashley Williams | Jan 26, 2015
Houston Texans 9-7 Welcome to AFC South Week and the Houston Texans 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. Highs: The high for me is a toss up between Arian Foster tearing it up and J.J. Watt and the Texans defense who were the 4th highest scoring DEF in the league this season. We knew the Texans Defense was good, we knew Arian Foster would come out and play big ball and we knew J.J. Watt was good, but 5 touchdowns good? He was good all season but really heated up at the end there. During the last five games, Watt had 27 tackles, 11 sacks, 20 hits on the quarterback, a touchdown, and a safety. He finished with 20½ sacks to become the first player with at least 20 in two seasons. The really scary part is that he had more sacks than the entire Bengals team! I am saying it right now, he should be MVP. Period. I don’t want to hear any argument because you are wrong;) Lows: I really think it is toss up between Andre Johnson’s sad slide into mediocrity this season (42nd highest scoring wide receiver) and the quarterback woes. Insert Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Case Keenum, Thaddeus Lewis and Tom Savage. You needed more out of Johnson and it was hard to expect it when you had the circus of quarterbacks who are all average at... read more
by Brandon Marianne Lee | Jan 21, 2015
Jacksonville Jaguars 3-13 Welcome to AFC South Week and the Jacksonville Jaguars 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. The Jaguars had a rough season, to be sure, but there were some highlights and certainly reasons to be optimistic moving forward into 2015. The first bit of good news is that the Jaguars kept their head coach and didn’t have to go into the off season fighting for a leader. The second is that they have some young, talented players that should serve as a nice foundation moving forward. Highs: Young Talent Frankly, this team has a TON of young talent that needs to be developed. Remember that four game stretch of double-digit fantasy gold for Denard Robinson? From Week 2 until his injury, Allen Robinson never caught less than four passes in a game. The stats didn’t tell the whole story, but Marqise Lee showed in his last prime time game versus the Tennessee Titans that he is the real deal. And even Mr. Interception, Blake Bortles, showed improvement and an eagerness to learn. Jacksonville is hiring former Raiders offensive coordinator, Greg Olson, to turn the offense around with the hope that he can develop Blake Bortles. They also hired former Bills head coach, Doug Marrone, to be the offensive line coach and assistant head coach. Bortles was sacked a league high 55 times (and he only started 13 games). Defense The defense is plucky and I like that. They started off terribly by allowing 11 touchdown passes in their first four games. But then they improved and only... read more
by Ashley Williams | Jan 17, 2015
Tennessee Titans 2-14 Welcome to AFC South Week and the Tennessee Titans 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. The Tennessee Titans are consisted of a perfect group of player for fantasy owners out there who enjoy the will he or won’t be game every Sunday. Sadly, that game will not win you fantasy championships…or clearly many NFL games for that matter. Highs: My high point was week in and week out getting to chat about or beat up on Bishop Sankey. I mean it. There were times when I was thinking, “do I really even half to talk about this team, there is no one relevant unless you are in a seriously deep league to talk about or unless you want to stack your bench in case of the apocalypse”? But Bishop Sankey owners out there, tried and true…gave me plenty of motivation and material to work with. I thank you all for the fun. Bishop Sankey will be better next year and I wish him well. Lows: I really struggled with the entire wide out crew on this team. I wanted them to be better; I was even on the Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright sleeper train for a while, but it lost steam. Unfortunately it didn’t derail in a quick fashion like some other teams; but instead it was a slow, painful train with many stops in the 36, 58 and 69 realm in the rankings. That means that none of the wide outs on this team in a standard sized league should have been in... read more
by Courtney Kirby | Jan 12, 2015
Baltimore Ravens 10-6 Welcome to AFC North Week and the Baltimore Ravens 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. High: Justin Forsett was quite the surprise of the 2014 season. For a player that wasn’t even drafted in most leagues, he came out and had his best year in the NFL. He has played in four different offenses in the last four years, but found his groove in Baltimore. Forsett rushed for twice as many yards then his previous best year in 2009 where he had only 619 yards and had twice as many touchdowns with 8 touchdowns this year. He didn’t have as many receiving yards but had more receptions. He was clearly a main part of the Baltimore’s offense and to our fantasy teams. Great waiver wire pick up. Steve Smith Sr. had a bounce back year for Baltimore after being released by the Panthers last year. He finished his season with 1065 yards and 6 touchdowns. This 35 year old shows no sign of stopping. He was nothing but a big playmaker for the Ravens and very fun for all of us to watch. After Baltimore lost to New England, Smith Sr. said that he would not be retiring so we can continue to watch the show next year. Low: When we heard that Coach Kubiak was going to Baltimore we all rushed to get Dennis Pitta. Don’t remember us talking about him? That is because he got hurt in the third week of the season and was put on IR. So... read more
by Courtney Kirby | Jan 12, 2015
Cincinnati Bengals 10-5-1 Welcome to AFC North Week and the Cincinnati Bengals 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. High: My high is Jeremy Hill, especially in playoffs. In the last three weeks he had 27,18, and 11 fantasy points in standard leagues. In PPR it wasn’t too much different because the Bengals really don’t involve him in the passing game like they do with Bernard. For a Rookie in a two set Running Back backfield and with the Coaches not really knowing what to do with him in the first half of the season, Hill finished just three spots below Jamaal Charles in fantasy points. Let’s hope that Cincinnati either can figure a way to get both guys enough touches or they trade one of them and give them both a chance to be the number one back. Bernard may be able to catch but Hill can run. Low: A.J Green was not worth that high of a draft pick at all this season. He had five games with zero points whether he was out with injury of was nothing more then a decoy. In the Playoffs he had 4,0, and 6 fantasy points. If your Championship game was in week 17 at least you can add 8 more points for receptions. He suffered a concussion in Week 17 so he was out for the first week of NFL Playoffs where the Bengals lost against the Colts. He is a freak so hopefully he gets healthy this off-season so he can dominate in 2015. He... read more
by Ashley Williams | Jan 11, 2015
Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5 Welcome to AFC North Week and the Pittsburgh Steelers 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. The Steelers as a team started off a little slow but in terms of fantasy production, they were strong from the start. Big Ben took a minute to amp up his fantasy points but Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown were magic from the beginning. Highs: The high for me was to see Le’Veon Bell take such a giant leap up the rankings to the 2nd highest scoring running back for the season. He was easily the best all purpose back as he had 1,361 rushing yards in comparison to DeMarrco Murray the lead rusher with 1,845 yards, but Bell over doubled Murray’s receiving yards with 854 yards compared to 416. My favorite moments of his were when he went off on Tennessee and Cincinnati. He had over 200 yards in the Tennessee game and 185 yards in the Cincinnati game. The guy scored 41 points in the Cincinnati game…the only thing stopping Bell that game was the game clock as he didn’t look even a remote bit tired. Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant both had encouraging moments throughout the season to make you excited about their stock for next year; Antonio Brown was nothing short of brilliance game in and game out as the leading receiver in the league and Big Ben started to pick up steam as the season went on and managed to work his way up to the 5th highest scoring quarterback in the league. This team... read more
by Brandon Marianne Lee | Jan 8, 2015
Cleveland Browns 7-9 Welcome to AFC North Week and the Cleveland Browns 2014 Fantasy Highs and Lows! Each week we will go division by division breaking down each team. This year was a roller coaster of emotions. The Cleveland Browns offered an exorbitant amount of drama and yet a modest amount of fantasy points. Hopefully next year we will say the opposite. Highs: Head Coach – Mike Pettine This guy doesn’t even have a remote chance of winning NFL Coach of the Year, but I wanted to give him some serious respect. This guy came to an organization that just fired a coach after only one year with the team. Management decides to draft the most controversial Quarterback in the draft, Johnny Manziel. At the beginning of training camp it is clear to Pettine that Manziel is not ready to play, and even though the media and surely the management wanted otherwise, Pettine announced that Brian Hoyer was his man and he stuck with him until they were out of playoff contention. Their top producing offensive weapon, Josh Gordon, gets suspended for the whole season, which later gets reduced to 10 games. Their second best weapon, Jordan Cameron, struggled with concussions again all season long, along with a nagging shoulder injury. He technically played in 10 games, but Cameron was limited in a majority of his showings. Not to mention the biggest blow to his season long plans, the loss of Pro Bowl Center, Alex Mack. All in all, the Browns were not good, but they were not terrible. They play in a tough division (literally, everyone else in... read more
by Ashley Williams | Jan 8, 2015
This week we wrap up the 2014 season by going match up by match up and saying what our highs and lows for each team were. It’s a lot of gronking... read more
