Fantasy Football Failure: Week 12

How do I keep winning? I have 2 guys that put up zeros last week, and I still manage to eke out the win 89-83 over Tina's Eli's Coming team. Marion Barber returned to being Marion Barber, and Chris Johnson, while he didn't find the end zone, still put up some decent yardage. And Thigpen-Bowe hookup I needed? Happened twice. Love it, hope it keeps on happening.

So I'm now at 9-2, riding a 7 game win streak, and alone in first place (thank you Smouther, for beating Loizeaux). This week I'm up against the league's foreign correspondent, Rob, a.ka. Belgiumland Waffles.

QB: Tyler Thigpen vs. Jason Campbell
RB: Marion Barber vs. Larry Johnson
RB: Chris Johnson vs. Tim Hightower
RB/WR: Laveranues Coles vs. Donnie Avery
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Randy Moss
WR: Dwyane Bowe vs. Brandon Marshall
TE: Zach Miller vs. Antonio Gates
D/ST: Jets vs. Patriots
K: Matt Prater vs. Rob Bironas

QB: Thigpen's scored 19+ fantasy points each of the past 4 weeks; if he continues that streak, I'll be happy. He seems to have something going on with Dwyane Bowe, so while the Chiefs aren't winning many games (though I like them this week against Buffalo), they're still putting up good fantasy numbers. Campbell's been okay this year, but he's playing Seattle, so there's the chance he puts up big numbers. But I have faith in Tyler Thigpen.

RB: San Francisco's terrible, so Marion Barber should be poised for another big game. Chris Johnson's up against the Jets D, which isn't the easist team to run on, but I'm hoping he get at least one touchdown, either running or receiving. Larry Johnson's done nothing this year, but he's also probably good for at least one TD against Buffalo (just as long as it comes a Thigpen pass). And I don't expect anything out of Tim Hightower. He was flash in the a pan and unless he scores a long run, he's not getting the goalline carries (those are going to J.J. Arrington, who's currently residing on my bench and could end up in the flex slot).

WR/TE: San Diego has no pass defense, so, like Marion Barber, I expect a big game from Reggie Wayne. It looks like he and Peyton Manning are back on track, so that means lots of yards and lots of scores. I've already mentioned Dwyane Bowe; I'm loving him and Thigpen, and that should continue at home against the Bills. And I've got Coles in the flex slot because, well... I don't know why. Since he's huge 3 TD game back in Week 4 (when I had him on the bench), he's only scored 1 more TD (back in Week 8). There's always that chance that Favre will find him in the end zone, but that just hasn't been happening; Favre's been throwing too many picks and the Jets offense is going through Thomas Jones and the running game. So I'm pretty certain I'll be benching Coles in favor of J.J. Arrington (as mentioned above), but that'll be a gameday decision. Randy Moss and Brandon Marshall will most certainly put up numbers comperable to Wayne and Bowe, so that's a wash. But I expect nothing from Donnie Avery simply because he plays for the Rams. He had a couple good games earlier in the year, but not much since, so no worries. I've come to accept that whoever I start at TE will garner me 0 points, so anything positive I take as a win. And besides, whoever I throw out there won't be able to match Antonio Gates anyway, so its pretty much just a coin flip.

DEF/K: I need the Jets to intercept Kerry Collins mulitple times and record a dozen sacks, but let Chris Johson get two scores; that would be ideal. And Rob doens't have a DEF in play right now, but he just dropped the Browns D for the Pats, so I imagine he'll make the change before kickoff Sunday. I've got Prater back at K because the Broncos are playing the Raiders, so there should be ample scoring opportunities, both PAT's and field goals. And Bironas should get a lot of work because the reality is, Jets-Titans will most likely be a defensive battle with few touchdowns and a lot more field goal tries.

In summary, I think I get the win over Beglium (yes, the entire country), run the win streak to 8 games, and remain in first place. I have to admit, this season is playing out very similar to last season, and that's not a good thing for me. Last year, I finished with the best record (12-2) and the most points scored, but I got bounced in the playoffs when none of my guys player a whole lot in the final weeks of the season. So I'm hoping for a slightly different result this year.