Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

This week, once again, it’s Bruno Boys Whooley that will be covering our weekly Carrots or Karats? - Identifying Fantasy Value article. This in an article that takes you “beyond the box score,” filling everyone in on some of the more alarming fantasy happenings that surfaced throughout the NFL in Week 17. And as a quick refresher, a “Carrot” means the fantasy situation DID NOT benefit the player, while a “Karat” means the fantasy situation DID benefit the player. With that covered, let’s dive into the review of Week 17.

Frank Gore ended the 2009 season with a bang, racking up 107 rush yards, 25 receiving yards, and 2 TDs against the St. Louis Rams for a very solid day of 24 fantasy points; yet, it could have been an even 30 for the 49ers’ running back. After taking a screen 22 yards to St. Louis’ 3-yard line in the third quarter, Gore missed out on a TD as the team fed full back Moran Norris two straight times, allowing the full back to nab his first rushing TD of his career. A congrats and a Karat go to Norris, while Gore despite his huge outing gets the Carrot.

The Indianapolis Colts did indeed rest their starters in Week 17, but not until after their big names got a chance to get into the end zone. In the first quarter, with the Colts driving and sitting at the Buffalo Bills’ 11-yard line, Peyton Manning hit Dallas Clark on a screen pass that the tight end took to the Bills’ 1-yard line. On the next play, Manning attempted to hit Reggie Wayne in the far corner of the end zone, but his pass ended up incomplete. On 2nd-and-goal, the Colts decided to punch it in on the ground, leading to a Mike Hart TD. Karat goes to Hart for the score, while Manning, Clark, and Wayne come up short and receive a Carrot.

Even with the disappointing finish they had, the Jacksonville Jaguars played things out till the bitter end as David Garrard hooked up with tight end Zach Miller for a score in the waning seconds of the Jags’ match-up with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. As a result, Garrard, Miller, and Josh Scobee, who nailed the extra point, all earn a Karat, while the Browns D/ST receives a Carrot.

Matt Forte’s been a disappointment all season long, so it’s no surprise that he’s the recipient of a Carrot here in Week 17. In the fourth quarter of the Chicago Bears’ soiree with Detroit Lions, Forte received a chance at pay dirt on a 1st-and-goal play from the 3-yard line. He carried the ball two yards getting stopped at the one. The next play was a Jay Cutler TD pass to tight end Desmond Clark.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back, Willie Parker, has taken a back seat this season to teammate Rashard Mendenhall; however, he did have a chance to end 2009 on a high note as he appeared to have rack up his first rushing score of the season on a 8-yard scamper into the end zone during the fourth quarter of the Steelers’ game with the Miami Dolphins. The TD, though, was called back due to a holding penalty on Hines Ward. Instead of his first score of the season, Parker gets a Carrot, while Steelers’ kicker Jeff Reed gets the Karat for kicking a field goal to end the drive.

Surprise! Surprise! Jason Snelling once again failed at the goal-line. This time, Snelling’s shortcomings came against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who kept the Falcons’ back out of the end zone twice from the 1-yard line near the end of the first half of their match-up this past Sunday. Rather than Snelling getting the score, quarterback Matt Ryan was forced to throw on 3rd-and-goal, hooking up with Justin Peele for six. Once more, Snelling gets a Carrot - on the bright side, his nighttime vision is rapidly improving.

The Houston Texans’ may have given up 27 points to the New England Patriots, but the Texans D/ST still made for a strong play this past weekend, reaching double digits for the third time in four weeks. The big point getter for the Texans, a fumble by New England Patriots’ running back, Fred Taylor, in the Texans end zone that they recovered for a score. The Texans D/ST receives the Karat, while Taylor gets a Carrot to go along with Bill Belichick’s glare.

Matt Schaub stayed healthy this season, and as a result, he finished among the top-5 fantasy QBs; however, with one more score, he could have topped Peyton Manning for the fourth spot. Schaub was oh so close to getting that score too on a completion to Andre Davis in the fourth quarter of Week 17’s action; however, Davis came up just short of the goal-line as the Patriots stopped him at the one, leading to the first of Arian Foster’s two rushing scores. I’m guessing you know this already, but Karat to Foster, while Schaub and Davis get the Carrot.

Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver Dwayne Bowe failed to score in any of the three games following his four-game suspension, though he was close once again this past Sunday as he was tackled at the 1-yard line in the Chiefs’ utter beat down of the Denver Broncos. You would think it was Jamaal Charles that benefited, but it wasn’t. Rather, it was Mike Cox getting the TD and the Karat.

Green Bay Packers’ running back, Ryan Grant, had just 11 carries on Sunday, but for the thirteenth time this season, he surpassed the nine point mark with 11 fantasy points in Week 17 thanks to a goal-line score. He could have made it 17 fantasy points had the Packers not opted to sneak it in with Aaron Rodgers on a play from the 1-yard line near the end of the first quarter. It’s tough to do to someone who has been so consistent this season, but Grant gets the Carrot. As difficult as that was, it’s just as easy to give the league’s best fantasy QB in Rodgers the Karat.

Finally, as great as Chris Johnson’s season was, with the Titans’ running back leading all fantasy point getters with 329 points on the season, it could have been even better as the running back saw a 62 yard rushing TD called back due to an offensive holding penalty in his week 17 match-up with the Seattle Seahawks. It would be customary to give him a Carrot as a result, but I just can’t do so to the sixth 2,000 yard rusher the league has seen.

Wild Card Round Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE |  K | DEF   (click to read)

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