NFL's Hot & Cold Stats Through Week 12

Tom Brady may have thrown only 1 TD in week 12, but he's easily on track to shatter the passing TD record and take his team undefeated into the AFC playoffs. Brady has another national televised game in week 13...another opportunity for the whole world to watch Brady and the New England offense get it done.

QUARTERBACKS

HOT - Hold everything! Tom Brady had only 1 passing TD in week 12 against the Eagles. To tie Peyton Manning's TD passing record, Brady must throw an average of 2 TDs in each of his remaining 5 games (which shouldn't be a problem considering he's averaging over 3.5 per game to date). Tony Romo's performance this season is still sensational regardless of Brady's unbelievable year. Derek Anderson is having a career year and Brett Favre is also probably playing some of the best football of his life. Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer are playing well this year, but not great. Big Ben Roethlisberger wasn't able to score in the 3-0 win over the Dolphins, but is still a very HOT QB in 2007 with 23 TDs through 11 games.

COLD - Vince Young is playing okay, but certainly isn't playing up to his preseason hype. 5 passing touchdowns in 11 games certainly is not what most of his fantasy owners were expecting when they drafted Young. Some think Joey Harrington is doing as well as he is capable given the situation. Daunte Culpepper is again battling injuries and may witness the emergence of JaMarcus Russell in week 13. J.P. Losman, Josh McNown, Steve McNair, Alex Smith, David Carr, and Byron Leftwich have all either fallen out of favor, played poorly, or have been injury riddled...which leads to more time on the pine than on the field.

Quarterbacks Hot/Cold Through Week 12
QB	Pass Comp	Pass Att	Pass Yards	TDs
Tom Brady	284	392	3439	39, 2 (run)
Tony Romo	233	352	3043	29, 2 (run)
Derek Anderson	212	365	2758	22, 3 (run)
Brett Favre	291	425	3356	22
Peyton Manning	240	379	2821	19, 3 (run)
Carson Palmer	282	418	3076	21
Ben Roethlisberger	193	288	2380	23, 1 (run)
Drew Brees	307	456	2997	18, 1 (run)
Matt Hasselbeck	251	402	2887	18
Vince Young	162	264	1663*	5, 3 (run)
Joey Harrington	198	314	2031	7
Daunte Culpepper	108	186	1332	5, 3 (run)
J.P. Losman	111	175	1204	4
Josh McCown	71	123	760	5
Steve McNair	133	205	1113	2
Alex Smith	94	193	914	2
David Carr	73	136	635	3
Brodie Croyle	58	97	614	2
Byron Leftwich	32	59	279	1

*Young has 291 rushing yards

RUNNING BACKS

HOT - Brian Westbrook continues to get it done and leads the pack of fantasy running backs. SuperRookie Adrian Peterson is planning to play this week and could regain his grip as the best fantasy RB of the 2007 season if he performs up to his pre-injury form. Joseph Addai is 4th in total yardage, but leads the league in RB TDs with 11 (and would have more of each if he hadn't suffered a sidelining injury in mid-season). Despite Baltimore's woes, Willis McGahee has performed very well of late. Maurice Jones-Drew will continue to climb the stat lists if he can match last year's numbers when he visited Indy as a rookie in the RCA Dome. Edgerrin James leads all RBs in carries with 222 and is having a respectable season...Edge gets a nice matchup this week.

COLD - Thomas Jones has touched the ball a whopping 227 times for 909 yards! So how is it that this running back has no scores?...maybe TJ will get it done this week against a porous Miami run D and move him him out of the COLD. Fred Taylor and Julius Jones are victims of crowded backfields. Who knows whether Travis Henry or Shaun Alexander will finally play and produce this week? The lack of playing time and minimal production by Laurence Maroney is perhaps more baffling than the unbelievable New England offense. Just what has happened to Rudi Johnson?...maybe the Bengals have realized that in order to be a more successful team, they need a more versatile running back (the Colts come to mind...maybe Cincy also needs to work a quality tight end in there somewhere as well). For those who thought that Jerious Norwood would replace Warrick Dunn by week 3 or 4 (and I was one of those people), it certainly hasn't happened and Norwood has become sleeper gone bust.

Running Backs Hot/Cold Through Week 12
RB	Rush Att	Rush Yards	Rcptns	Rec Yards	Total Yards	TDs
Brian Westbrook	195	901	62	558	1459	10
LaDainian Tomlinson	216	872	47	407	1279	10, 1 (pass)
Adrian Peterson	169	1081	15	220	1301	9
Joseph Addai	202	876	31	269	1145	11
Willis McGahee	213	910	33	201	1111	7
Clinton Portis	213	870	30	218	1088	6
Marion Barber	144	713	29	201	914	8
Jamal Lewis	181	741	17	151	892	8
Maurice Jones-Drew	123	579	26	255	934	7
Reggie Bush	144	517	70	404	921	6
Edgerrin James	222	810	13	106	916	6
Thomas Jones	207	763	20	146	909	0
Fred Taylor	159	708	7	34	742	2
Julius Jones	125	492	17	155	647	2
Travis Henry	128	580	7	65	645	1
Shaun Alexander	149	492	12	56	548	2
Laurence Maroney	105	467	2	37	504	2
DeAngelo Williams	79	386	17	109	495	2
Rudi Johnson	126	355	11	102	457	2
Jerious Norwood	61	348	20	162	510	1
Ahman Green	70	260	14	123	383	2

WIDE RECEIVERS

HOT - Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are heads above the wide receiving crowd...although Braylon Edwards and T.J. Houshmandzadeh aren't so far back that they can't close in with strong finishes. Reggie Wayne is doing his best without Marvin Harrison to alleviate much of the coverage. Top 5 ranked WRs Chad Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald have each jumped back in the mix at the top with strong production over the past few weeks. Plaxico Burress has solid numbers thus far, but is at risk of falling off as his injuries catch up to him. Marques Colston and Greg Jennings have strong stats to date and are two of the hottest receivers playing on the field.

COLD - Chris Chambers has been considered in the NFL's elite of wide receivers, but just 2 TDs over 12 weeks isn't near the payoff for when Chambers was drafted in most fantasy leagues. Most also thought it would be Reggie Brown stepping it up as the top wide receiver in Philly. Seahawk fans sure aren't missing Darrell Jackson in Seattle. Former number one Titans wide receiver Drew Bennett hasn't made the impact in St. Louis that most thought he was capable of making. Javon Walker may be on the field, but yet to produce...he gets another chance in week 13.

Wide Receivers Hot/Cold Through Week 12
WR	Rcptns	Rec Yards	TDs
Randy Moss	71	1095	16
Terrell Owens	64	1093	13
Braylon Edwards	55	894	11
T.J. Houshmandzadeh	83	872	11
Reggie Wayne	68	1011	7
Larry Fitzgerald	76	1063	6
Chad Johnson	71	1041	6
Wes Welker	81	878	7
Plaxico Burress	52	728	9
Marques Colston	68	847	6
Greg Jennings	39	625	9
Torry Holt	66	809	5
Joey Galloway	42	732	6
Chris Chambers	49	641	2
Reggie Brown	37	492	2
Santana Moss	38	455	1
Devery Henderson	17	280	2
Darrell Jackson	28	320	1
Drew Bennett	23	238	2
Marvin Harrison	20	247	1
Troy Williamson	13	201	1
Javon Walker	19	230	0
Joe Horn	18	165	0

TIGHT ENDS

HOT - Antonio Gates' 8 TDs and 834 yards put him clearly on top of the NFL's tight ends. Like last season, Kellen Winslow is hauling in the catches and producing big yardage...but Winslow is just a touch behind in scoring. Chris Cooley has 7 TDs and is looking like the top target in Washington of late. Dallas Clark has been the top benefactor with the injury to Marvin Harrison. Benjamin Watson (26/292) has half the catches and less than half the yardage of Owen Daniels (51/624), but Watson has outscored Daniels 6 to 1.

COLD - These guys had higher expectations at the beginning of the season. Of this list, L.J. Smith may be the most likely to jump out of the COLD as he continues to strengthen and produce while distancing himself from his injury.

Tight Ends Hot/Cold Through Week 12
TE	Rcptns	Rec Yards	TDs
Antonio Gates	60	834	8
Kellen Winslow	62	874	5
Jason Witten	59	750	6
Tony Gonzalez	62	738	4
Chris Cooley	46	495	7
Dallas Clark	42	467	7
Heath Miller	33	457	6
Jeremy Shockey	52	572	3
Donald Lee	39	468	4
Owen Daniels	51	624	1
Benjamin Watson	26	292	6
Bo Scaife	36	316	1
Marcedes Lewis	27	286	1
Todd Heap	23	239	1
L.J. Smith	18	207	1
Daniel Graham	20	189	1
Jerramy Stevens	8	78	0

____________________________________________________

Send your fantasy questions to [e-mail]