Rex Grossman Is Our Quarterback

Heading into this year’s draft, we heard all about how 2009 would be the Year of the WR in fantasy football. The thinking here was that WRs would be the beneficiary of the NFL’s gradual shift to RB by committee approaches and increasing passing totals. But after setting your sights on grabbing some elite receivers early in your draft, you’re heading into Week 14 kicking yourself for choosing Calvin Johnson, Steve Smith 1.0, or Greg Jennings over more reliable RB options like Frank Gore, Ryan Grant, and, God forbid, Chris Johnson.

When you dig a little deeper into the numbers, you find that the top WRs have been no more productive (relative to QBs and RBs) than they were last year. For example, Randy Moss (currently the #1 rated WR) is projected to score only three points less than what Larry Fitzgerald put up last year as the #1 WR in 2008, but remember, it’s all relative. While Fitzgerald finished in the top 20 in fantasy points last year, this year, no receivers are projected to match that feat. Six WRs finished in the top 40 in ’08, and we’re projected to get the same number included in ’09. So much for the year of the WR.

There’s no point crying of spilled milk at this point, but it’s worth noting that fantasy WRs are letting owners down when games matter the most. I’m not referring to Laveranues Coles’s two point effort against Cleveland or Derrick Mason’s one point disappearance against Green Bay. If you’re relying on those players, you’re likely not in great shape for the playoffs anyway. I’m talking about starting fantasy WRs who have disappeared or put up real stinkers in recent weeks. Today we’ll take a look at which players we’re dealing with and whether or not they’ll return to form down the stretch of the fantasy season.

Vincent Jackson – Week 14: 5 points
There hasn’t been a party in Vinny J’s pants recently. After rising to stardom in the first half of the season, Jackson has totaled 14 points in the last four weeks. San Diego is getting Antonio Gates more involved in the offense, possibly because the safety help Gates was seeing early on has moved to Jackson. The outlook for Jackson is mixed going forward as he faces the Cowboys and Bengals, who have both been stingy against fantasy WRs. Consider him a low end WR1 since you know the Chargers will still be slinging it around.

Reggie Wayne – Week 14: 4 points
Did Marvin Harrison threaten to gun Wayne down if Reggie got too close to Harrison’s team records? Wayne hasn’t scored in double digits over the last three weeks, coincidentally right after I traded for him in our RexQB league, and things look bleak going forward. After likely matching up with one of the game’s best in Champ Bailey this weekend, there’s a good probability that Wayne will see limited minutes in the coming weeks. A Colts win will lock up home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and if that happens, Jim Caldwell has already indicated he will be resting his players. Ruh roh.

Mike Sims-Walker – Week 14: 1 point
If after Week 11 I told you that Robert Meachem would have more points than MSW in Weeks 12 and 13, you would’ve had me sent away to an insane asylum. That’s the reality we face these days, but things look brighter for our hyphenated hero. Two home games and a road game against an extremely questionable Patriots pass defense await him on the schedule, so Sims-Walker should be able to get back to being the player we’ve become accustomed to this season.

Terrell Owens – Week 14: 3 points
Despite my early season hate indicator, Owens has come on in recent weeks. Last week, however, he was marooned on Revis’s Island. He has developed some chemistry with Ryan Fitzpatrick and upcoming games against the KC, NE, and ATL look favorable. Hopefully he does some pushups in his driveway so he can approach the line of scrimmage, pull up his jersey, and announce to the cornerback that he’s got a situation on his hands.

Quick hits on some lesser names:

T.J. Houshmandzadeh – Week 14: 3 points
He’s got three TDs all season and only two games over 100 yards, so hopefully you’re not relying on him for much. He’s got a decent schedule upcoming, but it’s hard to put faith in someone who hasn’t delivered for a majority of the season.

Devin Hester – Week 14: 3 points
The former Hurricane hasn’t scored in double digits since Week 7. Things looked positive for him early in the year, but the submarining of the Bears’ passing game should leave you looking for other options.

Steve Breaston – Week 14: 1 point
Breaston has disappeared in the last three games and there hasn’t been much explanation. Leinart’s cameo didn’t help, and Fitz and Boldin’s great play of late hasn’t, either. The matchups are favorable going forward, so it’s only a matter of time before Breaston returns to WR3 form.