What the hell happened to Philip Rivers? Lost in Tebowmania on Sunday was another dismal fantasy performance by Rivers who was once considered a must-start in most fantasy circles. Now Rivers is more Boller than Brady.
But at least we weren't starting Kyle Boller.
The excuses are at the ready, a familiar refrain in the Norv Turner Era: The Chargers were playing the Jets, the game kicked off at 10 a.m. on the West Coast, etc. But the problems had previously existed. Rivers hadn't thrown for more than two touchdowns in a game since Week 2. He has put up some decent yardage, but he had more interceptions than touchdowns heading into Sunday's game and he finished with a lone touchdown along with two interceptions.
I liked the Chargers a lot more when they had a losing record in the opening months, and Rivers was putting up huge fantasy points no matter who was in the lineup. Right now, you should be thinking of putting Rivers on your bench. He certainly has not earned the must-start status for 2011. Same goes for Vincent Jackson who also has been washed away in the fantasy collateral damage.
Some more storylines from Sunday:
Same goes for Johnson, too
This seemed like a good week for Chris Johnson to finally break out of his doldrums, but we are still waiting for that to happen. The Texans ended all debate on who was the best team in the AFC South by smothering the Titans, and crushing any fantasy hopes from Johnson who is another guy who should be removed from "must-start" status in your fantasy leagues.
Oh yeah, Tebow played
We started toying with the idea of quarterback closers on the Dave Dameshek Football Program. You know, starting the game with one guy and ending with another. Because in a perfect football world, you would start Tony Romo for three quarters and then summon Tim Tebow to close it out. Now, my good friend Doc Z had started Tebow this week and I was moments away from sending him an unfriendly text about it, but something told me to hang on. I had seen Tebow rally to score a flurry of fantasy points before so I held off. Thankfully, I did. We all saw what happened. It unfolded like an Adam Sandler movie with the hero rallying the team in the closing minutes against seemingly impossible odds. So what does it mean for your fantasy team? You can just never sit the guy.
Point machine
Matt Forte was a one-time frustrating fantasy player, but now he is on pace to pick up 3,000 scrimmage yards. Forte is a fantasy stud, even while he yields the occasional fantasy touchdown to Marion Barber. Hey, that only seems charitable. Forte has become a scoring machine, and I don't want any more social media questions asking to start him. That answer is yes.
Pregame injuries
How about a little warning about guys who pull up lame with last-minute injuries? Anybody who played Marshawn Lynch on Sunday has to be feeling this. And to think, I was touting this guy as a must-play after increasing his fantasy points every week. Thanks for nothing. Literally.
Dukes Duds
Nobody wants to hear about other's fantasy teams, but I did want to point out that I played Jamie Dukes in our NFL Experts Fantasy league and he started DeMarco Murray and Matt Forte on Sunday. That seems unfair.
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL.com Fantasy Live, Michael Fabiano or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL.com Fantasy has 35,000 followers, Fabiano has 38,000, me, I only have 3,100. So your odds are better that I will answer a question, just based on the numbers. So hit me up on both via Twitter or via Facebook. Be sure to catch the latest on the Dave Dameshek Football Program.