Time once again to shine the white-hot light of shame on those who deserved it most in Week 4...
One-hit wonders:
The early '80s had bands like Kajagoogoo, Dexie's Midnight Riders, and Men Without Hats. 2012 NFL fantasy football has Kevin Ogletree, Andre Brown, and Brian Hartline. The common thread? Each of the aforementioned names gave a single noteworthy performance, causing optimists to buy into the artist's full body of work. In each case, that was a mistake. In other words, shame on you if you were one of those optimists.
Mark Sanchez, QB, New York Jets:
Not only has he not come anywhere close to elevating his play from the subpar level on which he's operated over the previous three seasons, he's been so apocalyptically awful, he's about to lose his job to Tim Tebow. (On Sunday, Sanchez scored 0.12 points to Tebow's .36, which he got on just one throw.) Great - now the remainder of the NFL season will be overshadowed by up-the-second Tebow updates. Thanks, "Sanchise".
Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens:
For what he's done to Ray Rice's fantasy value. Yeah, Joe Cool is appears to have elevated his play this season, but look how it's affected the production of his teammate who so many of us used a first-round pick to get. So selfish, Joe. Definitely not cool.
And now, for the Get Out of Shame Free Card.
Find yourself in any shameful spot, just play this card, you and me is square. This week, it goes to...Baltimore tight end Dennis Pitta. In three of my four leagues last week, I faced owners who started one of Flacco's favorite targets. Pitta was gracious enough to post a donut against Cleveland on Thursday.
Before we award this week's Brown Paper Bag of Shame, let's look inside the seasonally appropriate Cornucopia of Shame, chockfull of candy corn-sized bites of shame, starting with...
Christian Ponder, QB, Minnesota Vikings: Who got everyone excited about his 25.22 scoring performance in Week 3, then posted 4.94 in Week 4.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks: (1.80 fantasy points) - in a related note, pick up Matt Flynn now.
Brandon Bolden, RB, New England Patriots: (Wait...who?) For creating a possible backfield-by-committee, diminishing the value of Stevan Ridley.
Shonn Greene, RB, New York Jets: 3.40 pts.
Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders: Darren McFading, thanks for your 3.80 fantasy points.
Ryan Williams, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Carries the load (13 carries) and winds up with 2.60 fantasy points.
Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings: 3.40 points, but did return a kick for a touchdown.
Jeremy Maclin, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: One catch for 0.70 points on the day.
Michael Crabtree, WR, San Francisco 49ers: 1.5 fantasy points against the Revis-less Jets.
Robert Meachem, WR, San Diego Chargers: Posted his second donut of the season. Hasn't scored more than 4.9 in two other games.
Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco 49ers: 2.8 fantasy points.
Kyle Rudolph, TE, Minnesota Vikings: 0.80 points in Week 4 after 15.60 points in Week 3.
Oakland Raiders Defense: Negative two points.
All of the Above - you hereby share the dishonor of the #2 spot. As we head towards Halloween, please make it your goal to disguise yourselves as good players.
And at #1, earning this week's Brown Paper Bag of Shame...Big-Name, High Pedigree Wide Receivers
The guys whose fantasy production last weekend barely exceeded the round in which we drafted them.
I'm looking at you, Calvin Johnson: (5.40 points), with only one game over 11.1 points this season.
And you, Andre Johnson, and your measly 5.60 points, too.
C'mon, Gregg Jennings. Heal up now, make up later for the lost time. Right now, your 6.90 points (the high watermark for the season) isn't helping anyone (except people who drafted Randall Cobb or James Jones instead).
Same goes for you, Julio Jones. Three fantasy points in Week 4? Shame on you, Julio...shame on all of you!
Until next week, try not to embarrass yourselves.
Tweet your videos to #FantasyShame to be a part of the Shame Report this season. For all things Shek - including the Shame Report, the N-if-L, the Shek List, and his podcast - go to NFL.com/Shek.
