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QUARTERBACKS
1. Carson Palmer
- Palmer broke out in 2005 to lead his Bengals to a home
playoff game and also lead stats for all NFL fantasy quarterbacks. With
32 passing TDs, a season passing rating of 101.1, and at least 2 TDs in
all but 4 games, Palmer was very consistent and led many fantasy owners
to the championship.
2. Peyton Manning
- Manning got off to a bit of a slow start with no TDs in weeks 2 and
3, but seemed to find some of his 2004 form to finish the season with
a 104.1 final passing rating. His 28 TDs (and 4000+ yards) did not approach
the 49 TDs from last season, but he still ranked 2nd of NFL quarterbacks
this year. Manning basically sat out of games 15 and 16 or he may have
again topped the list.
3. Tom Brady -
Brady started the season by completing 1 TD or less in 5 of New England's
first 7 games, but then increased his touchdown performance and became
pretty consistent for fantasy owners. Yardage numbers stayed solid throughout
and rarely fell below 250 for a game. Brady's 4110 yards led all quarterbacks.
4. Matt Hasselbeck
- Hasselbeck was very consistent from a fantasy perspective. And
other than a meaningless game 16 where he was pulled against Green Bay,
he only had one other scoreless game (week 3 against Arizona). Hasselbeck
may have benefitted from a soft schedule...but with the loss of primary receiver
Darrell Jackson for most of season, Hasselbeck showed much poise and emerged
as one of the NFL's top tier quarterbacks. Hasselbeck may be no Michael Vick, but his 124 rushing yards with a pair of rushing TDs were a nice
bonus for his owners.
5. Eli Manning
- Eli threw at least one TD in every game except against Dallas on 12/4.
He was a fairly consistent scorer through most of the season, but yardage
numbers were up and down with several interceptions spread throughout.
Owners of Manning during the fantasy playoffs may have had a bit of a
letdown, however. Manning finished the month of December with only 4 touchdowns
in 5 games.
6. Drew Brees
- Brees was consistent in his 2005 season and had only
3 games without a score (one was in game 16 upon being injured and sidelined).
Although his game 16 shoulder injury may have some effect on his future,
Brees' showing against a difficult schedule convinced coaches and
fans that he is number one in San Diego (over P. Rivers). A 4 TD
game on Nov 20th against the Bills was nice for his fantasy owners and
helped move Brees toward the elite of NFL QBs.
7. Drew Bledsoe
- Bledsoe joined Bill Parcells in Dallas and played 2005 like
he was in the 1990's. He was very consistent with only one goose egg (game
10 against Detroit). Bledsoe had three 3-TD games (games 1, 5, and 13).
For fantasy owners who gambled on him, Bledsoe put up decent touchdowns,
nice yardage, and was a nice find.
8. Jake Delhomme
- Delhomme led the Panthers to the NFC championship game, but
his play was rather inconsistent during the season. He had 8 games with
1 TD or less and had 6 games where he threw for under 200 yards. Ultimately,
Delhomme was a top 10 fantasy QB in 2005...but his fantasy stats varied
from week to week for his owners.
9. Mark Brunell
- Brunell completed passes for only 70 yards in game 1 without a touchdown, but he then threw for 12 TDs over the next 5 games and averaged nearly
300 yards per game. Mark Brunell was looking like a fantasy stud by the
end of week 6 and eventually led the Redskins to the NFL playoffs, but his fantasy
numbers fell back to Earth with few TDs and closer to 150 yards per game
for his final 10 games.
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Top Fantasy Quarterbacks
- 2005
|
|
QB
|
Pass Comp
|
Pass Att
|
Pass Yards
|
Pass Rtng
|
Int
|
Pass TDs
|
Rush Yds
|
Rush TDs
|
|
Carson Palmer
|
345
|
509
|
3836
|
101.1
|
12
|
32
|
41
|
1
|
|
Peyton Manning
|
327
|
491
|
4037
|
104.1
|
10
|
28
|
45
|
0
|
|
Tom Brady
|
334
|
530
|
4110
|
92.3
|
14
|
26
|
89
|
1
|
|
Matt Hasselbeck
|
294
|
449
|
3459
|
98.2
|
9
|
24
|
124
|
2
|
|
Eli Manning
|
294
|
557
|
3762
|
75.9
|
17
|
24
|
80
|
1
|
|
Drew Brees
|
323
|
500
|
3576
|
89.2
|
15
|
24
|
49
|
1
|
|
Drew Bledsoe
|
300
|
499
|
3639
|
83.7
|
17
|
23
|
50
|
2
|
|
Jake Delhomme
|
262
|
435
|
3421
|
88.1
|
16
|
24
|
31
|
1
|
|
Mark Brunell
|
262
|
454
|
3050
|
85.9
|
10
|
23
|
111
|
1
|
RUNNING
BACKS
1. Shaun Alexander
- Alexander the Great! Alexander put up 27 TDs on the year and had only
2 games where he failed to score (also held to under 100 yds in those
games). Fantasy owners who drafted him as number one were rewarded heavily
with his 1958 total yards and 28 touchdowns. To put things in perspective,
Alexander doubled the touchdown numbers of Edgerrin James (who finished
4th of all fantasy running backs).
2. Larry Johnson
- Deja Vu! Larry Johnson filled in for Priest Holmes in the final 8 games
of 2004 with huge success and was destined to repeat the same in 2005. Holmes and Johnson split carries early in '05 and held down
Johnson's numbers to a minimum. LJ had only 4 TDs in first 7 games and only one over
100 yds...but then in the absence of Holmes (due to injury), Johnson busted out for 16
TDs in the next 9 with every game well over 100 yards (2 over 200 yds).
Larry Johnson was the most dominant fantasy performer over the last half of
2005...and especially when it counted - the fantasy playoffs!
3. LaDainian Tomlinson
- LT2 started off the season strong to eventually finish with 23 total
touchdowns (3 of them passing) and 1834 total yards (not including passing
yards). And, although Tomlinson most likely got your team to your fantasy
playoffs, he fell off with nagging injuries toward the end of the season.
He had only 1 td in the last 5 games and none over 100 yds...this after
starting off the season with 9 of first 11 games with touchdowns.
4. Edgerrin James-
Consistent, consistent, consistent. Edge had over 100 total yards in every
game while the NFL season mattered for the Colts (through mid Dec). James
finished with 1843 total yards and 14 TDs, but he did fall off at the
very end of the season due to lack of playing time...sometimes owners
find it's possible to have a player on too dominant of a team and they
suffer in the playoffs (think 2004 Eagles when they benched McNabb, Westbrook,
and TO at end of season...although TO was actually injured).
5. Tiki Barber-
BIG Yards! Tiki put up 2390 total yards (many in 2nd half of season).
For touchdown based leagues, Barber still had a nice number with 11
(9/2). But for leagues that give points for yardage, Tiki Barber was like
a 2 for 1.
6. Mike Anderson
- Anderson had 1 td in first 5 games with only one game over 100 yds,
but then became a TD machine with a couple of big yardage games. Tatum Bell became a problem for Anderson owners since Denver and coach Mike
Shanahan held their cards close and wouldn't reveal who would get the
carries. Anderson lost some carries to Bell (esp. toward end of season),
but still got short yardage touchdowns. For owners who stuck with Anderson
and the unpredictability of the Bronco backfield, he yielded them 16 touchdowns
and 1226 total yards...which ended up better than respectable.
7. Clinton Portis
- Portis looked like a potential early bust with no TDs in Washington's
first 5 games, but he then put up consistent big yardage and TDs for the rest
of the season. Portis finished with a whopping 1732 total yards and 14 touchdowns
(one of them a pass). Owners who traded for Portis or decided to stick with him were
definitely rewarded with his perseverance down the stretch.
8. Rudi Johnson
- Similar to Larry Johnson (but not quite the calibur), Rudi Johnson scored
only 2 tds in his first 8 games with only 1 - 100 yard performance. Then
Rudi seemed to turn it on for the last half of the season. He finished
with 1548 yards and 12 touchdowns and was a strong and consistent performer
for the final 8 games.
9. Corey Dillon
- Dillon did not play in games 6, 9-11 due to injury and had no TDs through
the stretch (games 6-11). But, Dillon was otherwise consistent and finished
with 13 touchdowns and over 900 yards.
|
Top Fantasy Running Backs
- 2005
|
|
RB
|
Rush Att
|
Rush Yards
|
Rcptns
|
Rec Yards
|
Total Yards
|
TDs Rush
|
TDs Rec
|
|
Shaun Alexander
|
370
|
1880
|
15
|
78
|
1958
|
27
|
1
|
|
Larry Johnson
|
336
|
1750
|
33
|
343
|
2093
|
20
|
1
|
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
|
339
|
1462
|
51
|
370
|
1834
|
18
|
2*
|
|
Edgerrin James
|
360
|
1506
|
44
|
337
|
1843
|
13
|
1
|
|
Tiki Barber
|
357
|
1860
|
54
|
530
|
2390
|
9
|
2
|
|
Mike Anderson
|
239
|
1014
|
18
|
212
|
1226
|
15
|
1
|
|
Clinton Portis
|
352
|
1516
|
30
|
216
|
1732
|
11
|
2**
|
|
Rudi Johnson
|
337
|
1458
|
23
|
90
|
1548
|
12
|
0
|
|
Corey Dillon
|
209
|
733
|
22
|
181
|
914
|
12
|
1
|
* - plus 3 Passing Touchdowns
** - plus 1 Passing Touchdown
WIDE
RECEIVERS
1. Steve Smith
- Steve Smith was definitely the top fantasy wide receiver
of 2005. He had 12 receiving TDs, 1 rushing TD, and 3 returns for TDs.
Smith kept his yards consistent for the season, but his touchdown production
is another story. He had 9 TDs in his first 8 games...but only 3 TDs in
last 8. Smith may have been enough to boost owners to their fantasy playoffs,
but his lack of TD production in the last half of the season may not have
been enough to send his owners to their fantasy superbowl.
2. Larry Fitzgerald
-Fitz scored in 10 different games and had 7 - 100+ yard games...pretty
consistent. He had a touchdown and/or 100+ yards in all but 4 games...again,
pretty consistent. Larry Fitzgerald was the perfect wide receiving fantasy
compliment. He wasn't impossible to acquire and he produced quality numbers
all season long.
3. Santana Moss
- Moss and Mark Brunell were often on the same page. But, like
Brunell, Moss was somewhat inconsistent for his fantasy owners. On the
plus side, he had 3 games of 150+ yards and 2 or more touchdowns...but
he also had 10 games with under 100 yards and no touchdowns. When Moss
was on, he was a huge hit and gave his owners a most likely win...but
he also could be a miss.
4. Chad Johnson
- CJ finished the season with 1432 yards on 97 grabs. He was able to spread
his 9 tds across 8 games....which was consistent and nice for his fantasy
owners.
5. Marvin Harrison
- Marvin Harrison didn't quite put up the yardage of past years (1146
yards in 2005), but his 12 TDs were a nice touch. He was fairly steady
and never went more than 2 consecutive games without a score.
6. Chris Chambers
- 6 of Chambers' 11 touchdowns came in December. Chambers may not have
led your fantasy team to the playoffs with his average performance from
September through November, but if you did happen to make the fantasy
playoffs,...Chambers' outstanding scoring performance during the month
of December were a huge boost towards your superbowl.
7. Joey Galloway
- Galloway was a seasoned and well oiled machine in Tampa Bay (some would
argue the only one in the area other than Cadillac Williams). Galloway
consistently spread his 10 TDs and 1287 yards across the season (with
a couple of goose eggs in games 2 and 10). Galloway was a great value...he
should have been cheap and was definitely effective.
8. Torry Holt
- Even though he missed games 7 and 8, Holt was able to grab 102 receptions
for 1331 yards. Holt stayed consistent for the season even though the
quarterback situation in St. Louis seemed to be otherwise.
9. Anquan Boldin
- Similar to Holt, Boldin was out of games 8 and 9 (and pretty much nonexistent
in game 6). But Boldin spread his touchdowns across 7 different games
of remaining 13 and had 8 - 100+ yard games. Boldin's 102 receptions and
1402 receiving yards were beyond admirable...imagine if he was healthy
the full season!
10. Hines Ward
- Ward rounds out the top ten with 11 TDs and nearly 1000 receiving
yards. But Ward was either hit or miss across the season. He had 5 games
with 40 or less yards without a TD....and had 5 games with either multiple
scores or 100+ yards with a score.
|
Top Fantasy Wide Receivers
- 2005
|
|
WR
|
Rcptns
|
Rec Yards
|
TDs
|
|
Steve Smith
|
103
|
1563
|
12, 1 (run)
|
|
Larry Fitzgerald
|
103
|
1409
|
10
|
|
Santana Moss
|
84
|
1483
|
9
|
|
Chad Johnson
|
97
|
1432
|
9
|
|
Marvin Harrison
|
82
|
1146
|
12
|
|
Chris Chambers
|
82
|
1118
|
11
|
|
Joey Galloway
|
83
|
1287
|
10
|
|
Torry Holt
|
102
|
1331
|
9
|
|
Anquan Boldin
|
102
|
1402
|
7
|
|
Hines Ward
|
69
|
975
|
11
|
TIGHT
ENDS
1. Antonio Gates
- Other than missing game 1 (suspended), Gates had 4 or more
grabs in 12 of remaining 15 games and consistently spread his scoring
across the season. Antonio Gates soundly claimed the throne as the 'Best
Tight End in Football'. His 89 receptions for 1101 yards and 10 touchdowns
were more than impressive and would fall within top ten wide receiving
rankings.
2. Jeremy Shockey
- Shockey's 7 touchdowns came in the first 11 games, but stayed
consistent in the stretch since there was no game where he had more than
1 TD. Shockey did have 2 games with 10 catches and 4 - 100+ yard games
sperad across the season. Shockey had nearly 900 yards on the season and
is a scoring threat anytime the Giants are on the opponents' side of the
50 yard line.
3. Todd Heap
- Heap had very similar numbers to Shockey, but without much of a passing
game in Baltimore. 5 of Heap's 7 TDs came in the final 6 games....which
was a huge benefit to fantasy playoff teams. Heap was otherwise consistent
with his yardage and catches spread out across the season
4. Chris Cooley
- Like Heap, Cooley scored 5 of his 7 TDs toward the end (in last 5 games
and 3 in game 14). And...also like Heap, Cooley spread his yards and grabs
consistently across the season.
5. Alge Crumpler
- His 5 touchdowns and 877 yards were consistently spread from
game to game with no real highs or lows in catches, yards, or touchdowns.
6. Heath Miller
- All 6 of Miller's touchdowns came in his first 7 games. He
seemed to slow down with 5 of remaining 9 games with 2 or less grabs and
no TDs.
7. Mike Sellers
- Sellers had only three games with over 4 yards (7, 21, and 26), but
scored in games 3, 4, 6(2), 9, 14, and 16.
|
Top Fantasy Tight Ends -
2005
|
|
WR
|
Rcptns
|
Rec Yards
|
TDs
|
|
Antonio Gates
|
89
|
1101
|
10
|
|
Jeremy Shockey
|
65
|
891
|
7
|
|
Todd Heap
|
75
|
855
|
7
|
|
Chris Cooley
|
71
|
774
|
7
|
|
Alge Crumpler
|
65
|
877
|
5
|
|
Heath Miller
|
39
|
459
|
6
|
|
Mike Sellers
|
12
|
72
|
7
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Send your fantasy questions to scoutfantasyfreak@yahoo.com
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