The NFL continues its unpredictable ways. Mediocrity and absurdity prevail from week to week in the NFL and therefore in your fantasy leagues. Here’s some players who deserve game balls for their performances this week.

QB:
Drew Brees, NO, 377 passing yards, 4 TDs: Few things are as predictable and guaranteed as Drew Brees putting up big numbers. He is a fantasy juggernaut and can be counted on every week for fantasy domination.

Josh Freeman, TB, 420 yards, 3 TDs:  Freeman is coming off back-to-back weeks of 300+ passing yards and 3 TD games. It’s time to consider him as a matchup play each week. And after his 420-yard performance this week against the Saints, Freeman is finally living up to some of the hype.

RB:
Chris Johnson, TEN, 195 rushing yards, 2 TDs: After weeks of my public ridiculing of his lackluster and downright disappointing performances, CJ2K finally emerged in a huge way. Hopefully you listened to my advice last week when I said to be patient with him. Either way, kudos to Johnson on the best running back performance of the week.

Adrian Peterson, MIN, 153 rushing yards, 1 TD: The owners who by taking Peterson early in their drafts have to be pleased. Peterson is back in rare form atop the list of elite running backs.

WR:
Vincent Jackson, TB, 216 receiving yards, 1 TD: He had a 95-yard catch that actually didn’t result in a TD this week. But the absurd numbers didn’t stop there for Jackson, who set a Tampa record for receiving yards in a game. Jackson has been less than consistent for his owners, but those who started him, reaped the benefits for sure with one of the best fantasy performances of the year.

Santana Moss, WAS, 67 receiving yards, 2 TD: Remember when Santana Moss was a fantasy stud? Yeah, it seemed like forever ago. And believe it or not, Moss resides on 35% of fantasy leagues’ waiver wires. But after this week, where he caught two huge TDs from RG3, Moss might be back in consideration as a fantasy starter.

TE:
Dustin Keller, NYJ, 7 catches, 93 yards, 1 TD: A New York Jet offensive player on this list? Hard to believe, but Keller’s performance against New England is quite worthy. Keller has had injury issues most of the season, but if he’s finally healthy, and it appears he is, Keller could be a nice fantasy option in coming weeks.

Owen Daniels, HOU, 7 catches, 59 yards, 1 TD: I preach about consistency, and for good reason. And Daniels is the epitome of consistency from the tight end position. He won’t put up huge numbers like the Grahams and Gronks of the world, but he’ll grab 5-8 passes and find the end zone with regularly – just like he did this past week against Baltimore.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Vernon Davis, SF, zero catches:  If you didn’t watch Thursday Night Football, you might’ve assumed that Davis was injured or inactive. Nope. He played the entire game and accumulated ZERO stats. Goose egg. Zilch. Nada. Delanie freaking Walker even caught a pass for a TD, so what gives? Granted it was a tougher matchup against Seattle, but for a guy who’s played at a top-tier level, Davis has to be a part of a game plan every week. So, for that, he gets a game used sock, and we’ll give the other matching sock to his coach Jim Harbaugh for ignoring their best receiving option in a vital game.

For fantasy advice, follow Jimmy Dinsmore on Twitter @fantasy_geek

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Records were broken and hearts were broken this week in the NFL. Hopefully you were on the record-breaking side of the ball instead of the heart-breaking side. Here are this week's game balls.

QB
Drew Brees, NO - 370 yards passing, 4 TDs - You can't talk about Week 5 without mentioning Drew Brees who broke Johnny Unitas' record for consecutive games with a TD. Brees got his TD early to break Johnny U's record, but kept going throwing 4 TDs and nearly 400 yards. Brees is, what he always is, a fantasy juggernaut.

Alex Smith, SF - 303 yards, 3 TDs - Under boring in the fantasy dictionary is Alex Smith's picture. He's rarely ever started by most fantasy owners, but those who did play him this week got quite a performance with 300 yards and 3 TDs. He even scrambled for an additional 49 yards to add to his point total.

Honorable mention: Andrew Luck, IND, 362 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 rushing TD - Luck is proving his value week after week, as he gets more comfortable in his NFL skin.

RB
Ryan Matthews, SD - 80 rushing yards, 1 TD, 6 catches 59 yards - Hopefully Matthews performance this week puts this Jackie Battle nonsense to rest. Matthews is, without a doubt, the most talented player for the Chargers, and needs the ball in his hands. Norv Turner may have finally figured this out, as Matthews had a statistically solid week, especially in PPR leagues.

Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG - 200 rush yards, 1 TD - Despite one costly fumble, Bradshaw put up huge numbers against a depleted Browns defense. Bradshaw even caught 4 passes for 29 yards.

Honorable mention: Rahsard Mendenhall, PIT, 81 yards, 1 TD - Welcome back to the NFL Rahsard Mendenhall! He scored a TD early and even caught two passes to add to his point total.

WR
Marques Colston, NO - 9 catches, 131 yards, 3 TDs - Three TDs for Colston lifts him as the top of a bunch of great wide receiver performances. Colston's owners who stayed patient with him are rewarded greatly with his stud-like performance last night.

Reggie Wayne, IND - 13 catches for 212 yards and a TD - In an emotionally-charged game, Wayne put up a career day. In PPR formats, Wayne was phenomenal. Heck, in all formats, the Colts receiver was superb.

Honorable mention: Victor Cruz, NYG, 5 for 50 yards, 3 TDs - This just in, Victor Cruz is pretty darn good.

TE
Tony Gonzalez, ATL - 13 catches for 123 yards and a TD - Gonzalez was passed up by many to get the younger, sexier players at the tight end position. Those who waited have been rewarded with phenomenal production from the future hall of famer. This week, Gonzalez put up big fantasy numbers for his patient owners.

Vernon Davis, SF - 5 catches, 108 yards - The only thing that could've made his performance better would've been a TD, but Davis has been solid and consisten all year.

Honorable mention: Jared Cook, TEN, 5 catches, 37 yards 1 TD - The lone fantasy highlight for the Titans was Cook, who has been very consistent for his owners all year.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Chris Johnson, TEN, 29 total yards, fumble lost - He's getting quite a collection of stinky socks, but, well, he's earned each of them. This first-round selection is killing his owners and leaves them in a quandary. They can't trade him (no return value), but they have to bench him, unless they have no other options. So, as a CJ NoK owner myself, I graciously present him with yet another, game-used sock and urge him to get it going. PLEASE!

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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Bountygate hangs over the New Orleans Saints, who are, all that aside, a fantasy juggernaut in so many regards. So, from a fantasy perspective, put the suspensions of Sean Peyton and Jonathan Vilma aside and look at what the Saints, especially on offense, are. Last year, the Saints were the top offensive unit averaging 467.1 yards per game. That’s about all you need to know from a fantasy perspective. No reason to expect anything less than that type of prolific output again this year.

SCHEDULE
The Saints have the 11th hardest schedule, according to Vegas. Playing in the NFC South, wher e there aren’t a bunch of defensively stout opponents helps the Saints out. Expect high-scoring affairs more times than not. The Saints’ bye week is Week 6.

STUDS
You could look many places here, but it’s just so obvious to select Drew Brees. It’s not overly insightful to point out that Drew Brees is a fantasy stud who is a must start, and a safe first-round selection. He broke passing records last year, and there is absolutely no reason to believe there will be any drop at all. I’m throwing in another no-brainer here in tight end Jimmy Graham, who is going in the early rounds of fantasy drafts, and for good reason. He had 99 catches for 1,310 yards and 11 TDs making him elite. In leagues that require the starting of tight ends, Graham is a must-grab early. Darren Sproles could be on this list too, especially in PPR formats.

DUD
Robert Meachem departed via free agency, and some have said that Devery Henderson will benefit. I’m not buying Henderson as a viable fantasy option, even in this prolific offense. Between Marques Colston, Graham, Lance Moore and Darren Sproles, there’s too many options, and Henderson is low down the target list.

SLEEPER
Mark Ingram came in last year as someone who was predicted to flourish as a rookie. Injuries hampered him a little, and depth at the RB position kept his numbers way down to only 474 yards and 5 TDs. Ingram looks to be in line for more goal line opportunities this year, as the Saints have demonstrated in preseason already. Ingram will improve on his numbers from last year, and can be a nice mid-round selection and potential FLEX or RB3 on your fantasy squad.

NEW ADDITIONS
The Saints’ off season was quiet from a free agency standpoint. And the one big signing is someone who won’t get drafted on anyone’s fantasy squad. Guard Ben Grubbs arrives to shore up the Saints offensive line. His impact will be felt in protecting Brees and blowing open more holes for the running backs.

POSITION BATTLE
The real battle lies in the backfield. Pay no attention to who gets named the starter, as the Saints give lots of love to their running backs.  Sproles, Ingram, Pierre Thomas and even Chris Ivory get plenty of opportunities in the backfield. But, which one of this group grabs the most touches is something to watch.

BENCH BUILDER
Pierre Thomas only had 5 TDs and 500 yards rushing last season. Nothing to write home about, but Thomas can be looked at as a nice bye week or emergency fill in, and someone to consider handcuffing if you draft Sproles or Ingram.

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5-Star & T-Bone sound off on Saints' QB Drew Brees contract situation...

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Andy Dalton had a breakout rookie season after the Bengals nabbed the quarterback in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. While much needs to still be written in terms of Dalton’s career will shape up to be it does leave some optimism for teams that may look to fill a need at the position after their first pick. However, history is not on their side.

The best QB taken in Round 2 over the past decade or so was Drew Brees, who was drafted by the Chargers with the No. 32 overall pick (before league expanded to 32 teams). Brees has delivered during his career, posting Hall of Fame type numbers. In between Brees and Dalton though there have been some swings and misses:

Andy Dalton (Bengals), 2011
Colin Kaepernick (49ers), 2011
Jimmy Clausen (Panthers), 2010
Pat White (Dolphins), 2009
Brian Brohm (Packers), 2008
Chad Henne (Dolphins), 2008
Kevin Kolb (Eagles), 2007
John Beck (Dolphins), 2007
Drew Stanton (Lions), 2007
Kellen Clemens (Jets), 2006
Tarvaris Jackson (Vikings), 2006

*No quarterbacks were drafted in the second round of the 2002-2005 drafts.

Furthermore, you can go back all the way to 1991 and the Falcons’ second-round selection of Brett Favre.  While Favre will go down as one of the greatest signal callers of all-time there were another slew of busts in the ten drafts between him and Brees including:

Quincy Carter (Cowboys), 2001 - 34 starts
Marques Tuiasosopo (Raiders), 2001 - 2 starts
Shaun King (Bucs), 1999 - 24 starts
Charlie Batch (Lions), 1998 - 53 starts
Jake Plummer (Cardinals) - 136 starts
Tony Banks (Rams), 1996 - 78 starts
Todd Collins (Bills), 1995 - 21 starts
Kordell Stewart (Steelers), 1995 - 87 starts, career 77:84 TD-to-INT ratio
Matt Blundin (Chiefs), 1992 - 0 starts
Tony Sacca (Cardinals), 1992 - 0 starts

Assuming Dalton continues his success and you include Plummer in the mix that means NFL teams have only produced quality players in 3-of-22 incidents of the past 20 drafts and that is not a good percentage.

COMPLETE DRAFT HISTORY (NFL.com)

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Here's an updated list (3/3) of NFL players that received the franchise tag from their teams this week:

Team	Player, Position	Tag Salary
	DeSean Jackson, WR	$9.5 million
	Brent Grimes, CB	$10.4 million
	Ray Rice, RB	$7.7 million
	Dashon Goldson, S	$6.2 million
	Calais Campbell, DL	$10.6 million
	Mike Nugent, K	~$2.6 million
	Phil Dawson, K	$3.8 million
	Fred Davis, TE	$5.4 million
	Tyvon Branch, S	$6.2 million
	Matt Forte, RB	$7.7 million
	Drew Brees, QB	$14.4 million

WHAT THE TAG MEANS (Wikipedia.com)

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2012 free agency opens on the afternoon of March 13. Here's a look at some of the top players on offense...

QUARTERBACKS
*Drew Brees
Matt Flynn
Kyle Orton
Chad Henne
Alex Smith
Jason Campbell

RUNNING BACKS
*Ray Rice
*Matt Forte
*Michael Bush
Marshawn Lynch
Peyton Hillis
Cedric Benson
Mike Tolbert
Kevin Smith
Jason Snelling
Justin Forsett
BenJarvus Green-Ellis
Tim Hightower

WIDE RECEIVERS
Vincent Jackson
*Dwayne Bowe
*Wes Welker
Brandon Lloyd
Marques Colston
DeSean Jackson
Stevie Johnson
Reggie Wayne
Robert Meachem
Mario Manningham
Pierre Garcon
Laurent Robinson
Braylon Edwards

TIGHT ENDS
*Jermichael Finley
Fred Davis
Martellus Bennett
John Carlson
Jacob Tamme

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Carl Nicks
Jared Gaither
Ben Grubbs
Evan Mathis
Chris Myers
Jeff Backus
Kareem McKenzie
Jake Scott
Chilo Rachal
Samson Satele
Bobbie Williams 

COMPLETE LIST (NFLTradeRumors.com)

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The weekend featured four wildcard games and not single wildcard team advanced.  Here are some of my initial thoughts from the opening weekend of the playoffs:

Saints Looking Super - New Orleans broke the postseason mark for total yards with 626 and Drew Brees accounted for 466 of them through the air as the Saints pulled away from the Lions late.  With the team clicking on all cylinders, the Saints are going to be a tough out. They are the key challenger to the Packers in the NFC, but now have to hit the road to take on a rested 49ers’ team.

Tebow Stuns Steelers – The Broncos were eight-point underdogs at home to a beat up Pittsburgh team that lost even more key players during Sunday’s tilt at Mile High Stadium. Tim Tebow turned in his best effort in weeks, including a game-winning 80-TD strike on the first play of overtime as Denver dashed the Steelers’ playoff hopes with a 26-23 win. Ben Roethlisberger made it through the game on his bum ankle, but he was clearly limited. It will get much tougher next week for Denver as they head to New England.

A Giant Effort – If defense wins championships, you have to like what you saw from the Giants on Sunday in their 24-2 domination of the Falcons.  The G-Men got their ground attack going well too as Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for 172 yards. Since dropping a 38-35 heartbreaker to the Packers on December 4th, New York has now won four of their last five including three straight. The latest run resembles made by the 2007 Giants’ squad on their way to becoming improbable Super Bowl Champs. They’ll have to play even better next week as they head to Lambeu Field to face to the top-seeded Packers.

Bengal Blowup – Making their third playoff appearance in seven years, the Bengals once again came up short as they to the Texans in Houston 31-10.  Kevin Watt returned the first of three Andy Dalton interceptions for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half as Houston took a 17-10 lead that they would never relinquish. The Bengals’ offense showed its inexperience as it struggled in a raucous environment.  Cincinnati was the surprise team of the season, but the loss dropped them to 0-8 against playoff teams and marked the sixth time they’ve loss over their past nine contests.

STAT PILE
*Texans’ RB Arian Foster picked up 102 of his 152 rushing yards prior to initial contact Saturday. That comes after getting just 17 yards before contact against the Bengals in Week 14.

* The Bengals are the 1st team in NFL postseason history to play 4 consecutive playoff games, score first in each and lose each of the four games.

* Saints’ QB Drew Brees finished the regular season with seven straight 300-yard or more passing games and finished Saturday’s contest vs. DET with 466 yards passing.

* Calvin Johnson is the third player since the merger with 200 receiving yards and 2 TD catches in a playoff game. It marks the third time over the past four weeks that Johnson has eclipsed the 200-yard mark. He has caught 36 balls for 771 yards and a six touchdowns in that span.

* Entering Sunday, Eli Manning had been flagged for intentional grounding 11 times in his career (since 2004). Only Matt Hasselbeck (12) had more during that span.

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Saints quarterback Drew Brees passed Dan Marino’s 27-year old, single-season record for passing yards by throwing for 307 yards in Monday night’s 45-16 win over the Falcons as New Orleans clinched the NFC South. Marino threw for 5,084 yards in 1984.

There has been some criticism for the manner in which Brees got to the number as the Saints were still passing late in the game with a big lead, but take nothing away from the veteran’s accomplishment.

Comparing eras in the NFL is always difficult as much about the game has changed over the nearly three decades since Marino’s magnificent season.  The league is more pass friendly and more pass-heavy now, but Brees’ 2011 season still surpassed Tom Brady’s 2007 numbers, several great seasons by Peyton Manning and even all of Brees’ own Pro-Bowl campaigns.

To get to the mark Brees has thrown for 300 more yards in 12 of his 15 games, including eight games with over 350 yards. With a Week 17 tilt versus Carolina still on tap Brees will have a good chance to further pad his numbers.

It's easy to root for Brees. Check out his post-game comments to his team below and you will agree:

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