MVN: Most Valuable Network

Giving the Gift of Touchdowns

Week 13 is the last week of the regular season in most fantasy football leagues and some owners clinched playoff spots, while others will be planning for next season.

***Before I continue, I hope that nobody in your league broke Fantasy Football Rule #1 by not changing their line-up.  If you had a tough year, at least show other owners respect by not abandoning your club.  This hasn't happened in any of my leagues for years because all of the owners take it pretty seriously, but years ago it was an issue.***

Okay, I will step down from the soap-box and get back to Week 13. 

Two running backs gave the gift of 4 touchdowns this holiday season and almost assuredly helped their fantasy teams to victories.  Brian Westbrook lit up the Cardinals on Thanksgiving for 4 TD's and DeAngelo Williams torched up the Packers at Lambeau Field for 4.

The only way you didn't win if you owned one of these guys is A) the rest of your team was awful or B) the owner you were facing had the other one.

I am kind of curious if anyone had both...

So what does this mean moving forward? 

Well, Westbrook remains a stud as he has all year, and Williams has solidified his spot as the number one back in Carolina.  He was losing goal-line carries to Jonathan Stewart earlier this season, but it appears he will tote the load for the remainder of the season.

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Turkey Day Explosion

Three teams combined for 129 points on Thanksgiving in games that might not have been competitive, but they certainly provided fantasy points.

Here were some of Thursday's Winners:

In the early game, Chris Johnson and LenDale White each tallied a pair of TD's and over 100 yards rushing in the 47-10 pounding of the win-less Lions.  The Tennessee defense also had a great game as expected.

The next game featured the Cowboys and Seahawks, with Dallas dominating 34-9.  Tony Romo threw for 331 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception with Jason Witten and Terrell Owens each catching a TD.

In the final game, Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook stole the show and crushed the Cardinals 48-20.  As mentioned earlier, Westbrook crossed the goal-line four times.

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The Ravens New-found Offense

Over the past seven weeks, the Ravens are 6-1 with the following point totals: 27, 29, 37, 41, 10, 36, and 34.  (The week when they scored 10 was against the Giants defense.)

Mark Clayton stole the show yesterday with a TD pass and 164 yards receiving with a receiving TD and Joe Flacco had another nice game with 280 yards passing and 2 TD's.

Flacco has improved each week and he has 2 touchdown passes in four of his last five games.

From a fantasy perspective, there aren't too many good options when it comes to Baltimore other than their defense.  Flacco is a good leader and perhaps a decent fill-in, but there are no stud receivers and the running back situation changes week to week.  Washington, Pittsburgh, and Dallas are next up on the schedule for Baltimore and it will be interesting to see if they can keep racking up the points.

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Cassel Came Crashing Down

Hopefully the Patriots dismal performance against the Steelers will quiet the talk of Tom Brady being expendable.  Matt Cassel has done a great job filling in this year and he may start for another club next year, but all the talk of trading Brady was ridiculous.

Brady has been one of the best quarterbacks of this generation and there is no way he is going anywhere.  Cassel has earned himself a starting spot somewhere in the NFL, but it will be interesting to see if he decides to stay loyal to the Patriots who gave him his chance.