We hand out some deserving awards from this weekend’s playoff action…

QB
Colin Kaepernick, SF (263 PaYd, 2 PaTd, INT; 181 RuYd, 2 RuTD) – On a weekend loaded with huge performances by quarterbacks, Kaepernick’s effort in knocking out the Packers tops the list. After throwing a pick six on his first drive, the 49ers’ signal caller rebounded nicely by throwing for a pair of scores and rushing for two more while setting a single-game NFL record with 181 yards rushing by a quarterback.

RB
Shane Vereen, NE (41 RuYd, RuTD; 5 catches for 83 ReYd, 2 ReTD) – Taking advantage of an early injury suffered by Danny Woodhead, backup Patriots running back Shane Vereen became a key weapon in the Patriots’ offensive attack against the Texans out of the backfield. Stevan Ridley had four more touches (16:12) than Ridley, but it was Ridley that came up with the hat trick with three trips to the endzone.

WR
Michael Crabtree, SF (9 catches for 119 ReYd, 2 ReTD) – Crabtree continued to remain in sync with Kaepernick as he pulled in nine of his 11 targets for 119 yards and two scores in San Francisco’s win over the Packers.  Over his last six games dating back to Week 13 the 4th-year wideout is enjoying one of the best stretches of his career with 44 catches for 656 yards and six scores. That’s 24.2 fantasy points per week in PPR formats.

TE
Zach Miller, SEA (8 catches for 142 yards, ReTD) – The surprise performance of the weekend came courtesy of the Seahawks’ tight end. He pulled in nine balls and a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately Miller Time didn’t last long though as the Falcons hit the game-winning field goal as time expired to send the Seahawks home to Seattle.

PK
Matt Bryant, ATL (3/3 XP, 3/3 FG) – Bryant knocked down three field goals on the day, including a 49-yard, game-winning kick as time expired. Lucky for him Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll called a timeout to ice him on the first attempt, which he missed. The veteran drilled it the second time around to finally give the Dirty Birds a highly coveted playoff win.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Randall Cobb, GB (23 RuYd; 5 catches for 24 ReYd) – For the second straight week of playoff action the Packers’ wideout earns our Game-Used Sock Award. While he looked than the previous week, Cobb clearly was not himself and mostly a non-factor until late in the game after things were pretty much out of hand. He lost a little of his luster down the stretch of the season, but remains a very appealing option heading into 2013.

Fantasy Football 2012 nfl playoffs, game balls, colin kaepernick, shane vereen, michael crabtree, zach miller, matt bryant, randall cobb

We hand out some deserving awards from this weekend’s playoff action…

QB
Joe Flacco, BAL (284 PaYd, 2 PaTD) – The pending free agent came up in big way for the Ravens as they pulled away from the Colts.  Only two starting quarterbacks had fewer completions than Flacco on Wildcard Weekend, but he definitely got the most out of his 12 completions.

RB
Arian Foster, HOU (32 carries, 140 RuYd, RuTD; 8 catches, 34 ReYd) – After ending the regular season with some dismal outings, Foster ripped through the Bengals’ rushing defense for one of his best efforts of the season.  Marshawn Lynch was the only other running back to crack the century mark and find the end zone all weekend.

WR
Anquan Boldin, BAL (5 catches, 145 ReYd, ReTD) – Sunday’s tilt against the Colts was only the fourth game all season in which Boldin crossed the goal line. Add to it a season-high 145 total yards and the veteran turned out to be one of the week’s most pleasant surprises.

TE
Owen Daniels, HOU (9 receptions, 91 ReYd) – Despite not finding the end zone Daniels rewarded owners that gave him a shot, especially in PPR formats. No player at any position pulled in more than the nine balls Daniels registered (Reggie Wayne also had nine catches) in the win over Cincinnati.

PK
Shayne Graham, HOU (4/4 FG, 1/1 XP) – Graham led all kickers as he drilled four field goals against his former team. It was the third time in four games that the veteran kicker has had at least three field goals.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Randall Cobb, GB (1 reception, 7 ReYd) – One week removed from being a scratch due to a knee injury, Cobb was active for the Packers’ playoff opener but he was limited in the team’s rout of the Vikings. He was only targeted twice all night.

Fantasy Football, NFL game balls, 2012 nfl playoffs, joe flacco, arian foster, anquan boldin, owen daniels, shayne graham, randall cobb

There’s no bigger week in fantasy football than Week 16. Here’s a look at the players that made help make a BIG difference:

QB
Tony Romo, DAL (416 PaYd, 4 PaTD) – He may not produce for the Cowboys in big games, but Romo definitely came through for owners in championship weekend as he shredded the Saints secondary.

Aaron Rodgers, GB (342 PaYd, 3 PaTD; 11 RuYd, RuTD) – After an up and down season, Rodgers finished with a flurry in a route of the Titans.

RB
Jamaal Charles, KC (226 RuYd, RuTD) – A week after being held to 10 yards on 9 carries, Charles rewarded owners that remained patient and were able to stay alive.

Reggie Bush, MIA (65 RuYd, RuTD; 42 ReYd, 2 ReTD) – The free-agent-to-be is making his case for a big pay day.

WR
Dez Bryant, DAL (9 receptions, 224 ReYd, 2 ReTD) – The broken finger doesn’t appear to be an issue for Bryant, who is emerging as one of fantasy’s top players.

Roddy White, ATL (8 receptions, 153 ReYd, 2 ReTD) – White was tough to recommend as he’s been battling injuries, but he came through when needed.

TE
Lance Kendricks, STL (4 receptions, 119 ReYd, 1 ReTD) – OK, so nobody started him. Still the Rams’ tight end deserved the nod.

Antonio Gates, SD (2 receptions, 44 ReYd, ReTD) – His skill set is on the decline in a big way, but he managed to put up some decent totals in Week 16.


GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Aaron Hernandez, NE (1 reception, 13 ReYd) – After posting some stellar numbers a week earlier, Hernandez mustered just one reception. That’s hard to believe considering Rob Gronkowski remained out of the lineup and Tom Brady threw the ball 41 times.

Fantasy Football, NFL game balls, week 16, game-used sock

There were several players that stepped up big time in Week 15 and many that didn’t show up at all for fantasy owners hoping to advance in the playoffs.

QB
Drew Brees, NO (307 PaYd, 4 PaTD) – Brees broke out of his mini-slump in a big way for owners when it counted most by throwing all over the Bucs on Sunday. It marked the 20th time in his career Brees has thrown at least four TD’s in a game and it couldn’t have come at a better time for his owners.

Russell Wilson, SEA (205 PaYd, PaTD; 92 RuYd, 3 RuTD) – The Seahawks’ rookie continued his stellar late-season surge. Since Week 8 Wilson has thrown for 13 touchdowns with just one interception and he’s starting to do more damage on the ground too, including his three rushing scores on Sunday.

RB
Adrian Peterson, MIN (212 RuYd, RuTD) – All Day continues to defy odds by turning in historic numbers despite coming off a major knee injury. Peterson is now just 293 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s all-time, single-season NFL rushing record and has emerged as fantasy football’s top running back option in the process.

Beanie Wells, ARZ (67 RuYd, 3 RuTD) – The Cardinals’ anemic offense actually offered some production as the team snapped a nine-game losing streak with a big win over the Lions. Wells was at the center of the success scoring three times on a season-high 17 carries.

WR
James Jones, GB (5 catches, 60 ReYd, 3 ReTD) – With much of the attention centered on Randall Cobb and Greg Jennings it was Jones that came away with the big day in Week 15 against the Bears. He made his way into the endzone three times. Amazingly he now leads the NFL with 12 touchdown receptions.

Michael Crabtree, SF (7 catches, 107 ReYd, 2 ReTD) – Nobody saw the shootout coming as the 49ers traveled to New England. It led to a big day for many players, including Crabtree. It was his second multi-TD game of the season and it was his third time this year he’s broke the century mark.

TE
Dennis Pitta, BAL (7 catches, 125 ReYd, 2 ReTD) – Pitta posted a big day and scored for the fourth time in six games. Granted poor tackling by the Broncos’ defenders helped paved the way for one of his TD’s, but fantasy owners don’t care how it looked as they gladly took the points.

Aaron Hernandez (10 catches, 92 ReYd, ReTD) – With Rob Gronkowski still sidelined, Hernandez continued to soar as the top option in the Patriots’ passing attack. When healthy, Hernandez could be argued as fantasy football’s top tight end.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
NY Giants: The Entire Team – The Oddsmakers in Vegas listed the total at 50 points, but somebody forgot to tell the Giants. Eli Manning was awful and that led to terrible stat lines for all involved. Rookie David Wilson looked good early, but became a non-factor after the team was forced to abandon the running game early in the third quarter. Kicker Lawrence Tynes came away with no points for his owners as a result and the defense proved to be a terrible fantasy option.

Fantasy Football, NFL game balls, week 15, fantasy advice, game-used sock award

This is the time of year when fantasy owners are either elated or exacerbated. The first week of the fantasy playoffs had lots of ups and downs. Hopefully you’re on the up side, and not the down side, like I am. My fantasy seasons came to a tragic end in all my leagues, so put me down on the exacerbated side of the ledger. Here are the Week 14 Game Ball awards:

QB
Cam Newton, CAR (287 PaYd, 2 PaTD, 116 RuYd, RuTD) – I’ve been a proponent of Cam all year. He’s had his ups and downs, but he’s still a viable fantasy football quarterback. In fact, Cam is now tracking to put up similar numbers to his breakout rookie performance. For all those who wrote him off, well, you weren’t paying attention, and to all those owners who stayed patient, well, congrats. Your patience is paying off.

Eli Manning, NYG (259 PaYd, 4 PaTD) – Manning has been very frustrating this year, and is a two-time Game-Used Sock winner here in this column space. So, during the fantasy playoffs, he stepped it up for his owners. Hopefully they started him to reap the benefits of his 4-TD game.

RB
Adrian Peterson, MIN (154 RuYd, 2 RuTD) – He occupied this space last week, and he’s back for an encore. What more needs to be said about the best running back in the NFL (which is not even up for debate). Peterson is a fantasy stud. Wish I had taken the chance on him, as I’d probably still be playing now if I had.

Marshawn Lynch, SEA (128 RuYd, 3 RuTD) – Lynch proclaims himself to be a beast, and his 3-TD game against the hapless Arizona Cardinals showed why he is a fantasy beast.

WR
Brandon Marshall, CHI (10 catches, 160 ReYd, ReTD) – Marshall is consistently good week to week in fantasy football. He’s an elite WR and one of the best fantasy options in all formats.

Danario Alexander, SD (7 catches, 88 ReYd 2 ReTD) – DX is one of the best waiver wire grabs of the year for owners.  Performances like this, against an allegedly tough Pittsburgh defense, make his owners smile from ear to ear. Alexander has escalated himself from the waiver wire to must-start status.

TE
Greg Olsen, CAR (4 catches, 55 ReYd, ReTD) – Olsen has always had potential, but has only started becoming viable during the last 5 weeks. Keep him in your lineup for the rest of the fantasy playoffs.

Martellus Bennett, NYG (5 catches, 32 ReYd, ReTD) –The Giants tight end has had an up and down year, but right now he’s up. He’s had back-to-back weeks with TDs, and is averaging 6 targets per week since Oct. 21.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Bryce Brown, PHI, 12 total yards – From rags to riches to rags again. What a couple of weeks Brown has had. His two previous weeks filling in for Lesean McCoy have been nothing short of spectacular. He gave his owners no choice but to start him this week, likely benching other players who’d normally be started. So, that makes his AWFUL performance this week that much more disheartening. He gets the Game-Used Sock Award for knocking many fantasy owners out of the playoffs with one of the worst performances in fantasy playoff history. Just unacceptable. Enjoy the stinky socks Bryce, it’s a much deserved award for you.

Follow Jimmy Dinsmore, The Fantasy Geek, on Twitter @fantasy_geek.

Fantasy Football fantasy advice, game balls, week 14, game-used sock

Now is not the time for players coming up lame, or dropping goose eggs on the stat line. Last week of the regular season for most fantasy leagues, and there were some stellar performances and some lousy performances. Here’s the Week 13 Game Balls.

QB
Andrew Luck, IND, 391 yards, 4 TDs, 33 rushing yards – His fourth TD came with seconds left on a clutch play. Luck sure doesn’t look like a rookie to anyone, and his owners are finding him to be quite helpful down the stretch.

Tony Romo, DAL, 303 yards, 3 TDs – I’ve been a Romo apologist for a long time. He’s worthy of some of the criticism he takes, but from a fantasy perspective, Romo is a consistent performer. This week against the hapless Eagles, he put up 300 yards and 3 TDs without throwing a pick too.

RB
Adrian Peterson, MIN, 210 yards, 1 TD – I’m convinced that Peterson is some kind of terminator robot. He is absolutely inhuman in the way he conducts his professional football career. He’s consistent, and relentless.

Bryce Brown, PHI, 169 yards, 2 TDs – The rookie has been one of the best waiver wire acquisitions for fantasy owners. Four TDs over two games and Brown is turning heads. McCoy fans should be worried about what Brown does his value, even once he returns from his concussion.

WR
Wes Welker, NE, 12 catches 103 yards, 1 TD – Welker was on pace for 20 catches with 10 of his grabs coming in the first half. In a PPR format, there are few receivers you’d rather have heading into fantasy playoffs than Welker.

Calvin Johnson, DET, 13 catches, 171 yards, 1 TD – Megatron is paying off his value as a first round draft pick for fantasy owners. When it matters most, Calvin is catching everything thrown to him and putting up huge numbers.

TE
Brandon Myers, OAK, 14 catches, 130 yards, 1 TD – Myers is quickly becoming a fantasy stud at the tight end position. He’s not Gronk-like yet, but he’s a notch below that and is a must-start for his fantasy owners.

Kyle Rudolph, MIN, 6 catches, 51 yards, 1 TD – Since Percy Harvin has been out, Rudolph has stepped up his game. He’s become a nice option at tight end.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Roddy White, ATL, 1 catch, 20 yards – A player like White is too good, and too talented to disappear from the playbook and to let down his fantasy owners. Inexplicably, on Thursday night, in what looked like a juicy matchup, White put up almost nothing, leaving his owners angry and frustrated. Where do we proceed with Roddy from here? You have to keep starting him, but Roddy, for this dog of a performance, here’s a game used sock. Now don’t earn another one!

Follow Jimmy Dinsmore, The Fantasy Geek, on Twitter @fantasy_geek.

Fantasy Football game balls, week 13, game-used sock award, andrew luck, tony romo, roddy white

And down the stretch we come! Turkeys are eaten, leftovers are gone, fantasy playoffs are in sight. Week 12 had some mighty fine results. Here are those who earned Game Balls this week.

QB
Robert Griffin, III, WAS, 311 passing yards, 4 TDs, 29 rushing yards – RG3 is now officially a fantasy stud. After his Thanksgiving performance, he solidified his stature. He was already there, but now he’s producing so consistently you can’t bench him. He’s on pace for over 900 rushing yards too.

Matthew Stafford, DET, 441 passing yards, 2 TDs – Stafford and the Lions have discovered their passing ways, much like they did last year. It could be too little too late for many of his owners who suffered through early season disappointment. Stafford has 1,300 passing yards in the month of November. Needle is pointing up for Stafford and his owners.

RB
Arian Foster, HOU, 102 yards, 2 TDs, 5 catches, 15 yards – Pre-draft debate about who was number one overall has been silenced. It’s Foster, and it’s not even close. Foster is a relentless fantasy player, racking up double digit points every week. Foster already has 12 TDs on the season, so do the math here in Week 12.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, CIN, 129 rushing yards, 1 TD – It’s now back-to-back game balls for BJGE and back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances for the Bengals RB. He’s paying nice dividends for his owners who had previously benched or released him. Now he’s showing his fantasy value when you need it most.

WR
Dez Bryant, DAL, 8 catches, 145 yards, 2 TDs – Bryant always had potential as a WR1, and was likely drafted as such. Now he’s starting to show that he’s more than just hype. Tony Romo and the Cowboys are starting to throw the ball a lot and Bryant now seems to be Romo’s preferred target.

Julio Jones, ATL, 6 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD – Believe it or not there was talk of fantasy owners benching Jones over concerns about a nagging injury. But Jones showed again this week why he is a must-start every week, regardless of situation or matchup. He’s just too explosive and too talented.

TE
Charles Clay, MIA, 6 catches, 84 yards, 1 TD – The Dolphins tight end was one of the top fantasy scorers of the week and is owned in .1% of all leagues. Is this a fluke or a trend? Probably closer to a fluke, but after this performance, he still earned his game ball.

Dustin Keller, NYJ, 5 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD – I’ve been a Keller fan for a while. He’s the best scoring option on the Jets offense. That doesn’t say much, I realize, but Keller has been underutilized most the year, and has battled injuries. Now finally healthy, Keller may be a nice play for fantasy owners down the stretch.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Vernon Davis, SF, Goose eggs – Davis got ZERO fantasy points. None. Zilch. Goose eggs. And it was Davis who was supposedly the benefactor of having Colin Kaepernick under center. Yet, he was invisible again. This isn’t the first time it’s happened for Davis, who lacks consistency to be counted on regularly. In one league, I made the great choice to start Cecil Shorts over Davis in a flex. Boy am I glad I did. Nevertheless, Davis has earned this game used sock award for his lack of performance this week.

Fantasy Football game balls, week 12, dez bryant, vernon davis, arian foster, robert griffin iii, julio jones

Things are getting more interesting by the minute. Just when you think you have fantasy football figured out, something goes awry. With that, here’s the performers from Week 11 who’ve earned game balls.

QB
Matt Schaub, HOU, 527 passing yards and 5 TDs – Wowzy woo! That’s a big stat line. Unfortunately, many Schaub owners only have him as a backup and didn’t benefit from this tremendous day. In one of my leagues, believe it or not, Schaub is on the waiver wire (but not for long).

Chad Henne, MIA, 354 yards, 4 TDs – Hey, speaking of waiver wire quarterbacks, here’s Chad Henne. He came in for an “injured” Blaine Gabbert to obliterate a previously-stout Texans defense. Henne looks like a safe grab for the coming few weeks too, as Jacksonville seems to have found some passing offense, finally.

RB
Marcel Reece, OAK, 103 rushing yards, 90 receiving yards – It’s rare to put a player who didn’t find the end zone  on the Game Balls list, but Reece’s yardage, especially in PPR leagues, is just too good to ignore. Reece is an absolute must start for as long as McFadden is out. He’s a top 12-type of RB, and will eventually find the end zone too.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, CIN, 101 rushing yards, 1 TD – The Law Firm had been quite pedestrian for quite some time, so likely wasn’t started by many. It had been almost a year since BJGE ran for more than 100 yards, so this may be a trend of things to come for the Bengal running back

WR
Andre Johnson, HOU, 14 catches, 273 yards, 1 TD – Andre Johnson is showing that patience pays off for fantasy owners who took him as their first wide receiver. Down the stretch, Johnson is starting to click as this was his first TD since September.

Justin Blackmon, JCK 7 catches, 236 yards, 1 TD – In shallow leagues, Blackmon is most definitely on waiver wires and even in other leagues, the Jacksonville rookie may have been kicked to the curb after being invisible in the Jags playbook. But, he really clicked with quarterback Chad Henne and is now someone who will be highly sought on the waiver wire.

TE
Rob Gronkowski, NE 7 catches, 137 yards, 2 TDs – Same old same old for Gronk owners, except for one thing. At the end of the game, in a meaningless extra point play, Gronk broke his forearm and is having surgery and will be out 4-6 weeks. Devastating news for the Patriots and his fantasy owners. It was a great run for his owners who still got full value from him. If your league goes deep into the season, hold onto Gronk just in case.

Garrett Graham, HOU, 8 catches, 82 yards, 2 TDs – Despite Owen Daniels playing, the other Texans tight end had a career game. He caught back to back TDs in the fourth quarter and hauled in 8 catches altogether. Graham is very likely on your waiver wire, but this may just be a one week wonder.


GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
The entire Philadelphia Eagles offense. Nick Foles got his first NFL start and it couldn’t have been any worse. With a terrible offense line and a clueless quarterback, the entire offense suffered. Desean Jackson had 2 catches. Lesean McCoy only had 45 yards running and then got a concussion. All this from a team that wanted to scapegoat Mike Vick as the reason for their problems, when the Eagles' problems are pervasive. So, for this reason, the entire Eagles team gets this week’s game used sock.

Follow Jimmy Dinsmore, The Fantasy Geek, on Twitter @fantasy_geek

Fantasy Football game balls, week 11, rob gronkowski, andre johnson, matt schaub

Don’t get defensive or anything, but some of the best scorers in fantasy football it seems are coming from the other side of the football. Defenses rule in 2012, and if you’re fortunate enough to grab some of these high-scoring defenses, well you’re probably in playoff position. With that being said, here’s the game ball recipients for Week 10 from the offensive side of the ball.

QB
Joe Flacco, BAL, 341 yards, 3 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD – I’ve been very critical (and rightfully so) of the Ravens QB. He’s wildly inconsistent, but in Week 10 he exploited a weak Raiders secondary for 4 total TDs. Many of his owners likely didn’t reap the benefits however, since he probably was on the bench due to his inconsistency.

Andy Dalton, CIN, 199 passing yards, 4 TDs – The biggest stat for Dalton was ZERO interceptions as the Bengals offense clicked on all cylinders and Dalton showed he can be a viable fantasy quarterback.

RB
Fred Jackson, BUF, 80 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 4 catches for 35 yards – Please allow me to toot my own horn here. I loved Fred Jackson this week. So much that in one league I traded for him and then started him, which paid off big for me. All the talk went to CJ Spiller, and Jackson went mostly unnoticed. So, is this a sign of Jackson now reemerging in the Buffalo backfield? That’s hard to say. I just hope you listened to the Fantasy Geek and played Jackson this week.

Stephen Jackson, SL, 101 rushing yards, 1 TD – Rumors of Stephen Jackson’s demise were greatly exaggerated. While the matchup for Jackson looked bad (on paper) against the 49ers, he managed to show flashes of his one-time greatness with a solid performance, which included 2 catches for 26 yards in addition to a 100+ yard rushing performance.

WR
Calvin Johnson, DET, 207 yards, 1 TD – What Madden Curse? Calvin finally thrilled his owners with a stat line that was familiar to him last season. So, is this a sign of things to come for Megatron?

Golden Tate, SEA, 51 yards receiving, 1 TD, 1 passing TD – Golden Tate is looking like one of those bench players that is going to make owners have to think twice about not starting him. Tate is a red zone machine and this week he even threw a TD pass.

TE
Tony Gonzalez, ATL, 11 catches 122 yards, 2 TDs – I had a chance to acquire Gonzalez and opted not to. Then I played that owner this week, and lost. Typical, right? Gonzalez is a fantasy force and other than Gronk and Graham, there are no better tight end options in the game. Heck, Gonzalez is a must start as a flex option even outscoring many WRs too.

Greg Olsen, CAR, 9 catches, 102 yards, 2 TDs – Again, I will admit when I’m wrong. On Twitter I recommended an Olsen owner steer clear of him because he had just been so underperforming all year. I was wrong, in a big way. Olsen was a fantasy stud this week with 9 catches and 100+ yards and two scores. Now, where has that been the rest of the year? Olsen hadn’t scored a TD since September and didn’t top 100 yards all year.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Eli Manning, NYG, 215 yards passing, 2 INTs, 1 Fumble – He won this award last week, and he’s back for an encore this week. Manning had a great matchup against a vulnerable Bengals secondary, and absolutely stunk it up (again). It’s time to be concerned now and maybe slide Eli to your bench until the Giants pull out of this slump. Until then Eli, here’s now a matching pair of Game Used Socks. Enjoy.

Follow Jimmy Dinsmore, The Fantasy Geek, on Twitter @fantasy_geek

Fantasy Football game balls, week 10, tony gonzalez, eli manning, golden tate, fred jackson

We've officially reached the halfway point of the NFL season, and more than halfway for most fantasy leagues. This week saw two rookie records fall, and without a doubt, 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the rookie. A few of those rookies receive this week’s game balls.

QB
Andrew Luck, IND, 433 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs – Luck broke the single game passing yard record for rookies and is on pace to shatter the total yardage record for rookies too. Luck looks so natural under center that it’s hard to believe he actually is a rookie. For those owners who have Luck in a dynasty format, well, congrats, he’s gonna be something special for a long time.

Carson Palmer, OAK, 414 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs – It pains me to include Palmer on this list, as I’ve been critical of Palmer for years. And if you started Palmer on your fantasy team, you enjoyed a statistic-rich performance. A lot of those yards were junk time, as were the TDs, but they still count. And you can’t deny 400+ yards as a quality fantasy performance.

RB
Doug Martin, TB, 251 yards, 4 TDs, 4 catches for 21 yards – Another rookie record, as Martin ran three TDs of 40+ yards en route to one of the top 10 best fantasy performances by a running back in the history of fantasy football. And did I mention that he’s a rookie?

Adrian Peterson, MIN, 182 yards, 2 TDs, 3 catches – I’m not convinced that Peterson is actually human. Most athletes coming back from a major knee injury aren’t nearly this productive. Peterson leads the league in rushing yards and has not missed a single beat. Fantasy owners who took the risk on him have found their investment paying off big time.

WR
Brandon Marshall, CHI, 9 catches 122 yards, 3 TDs – Everyone expected Marshall reunion with Jay Cutler to pay dividends, but this week was beyond those expectations. 3 TDs for the Bears receiver means fantasy gold for his owners.

T.Y Hilton, IND, 6 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD – Sticking with the rookie theme, Hilton made his presence known as Andrew Luck targeted him 7 times and Hilton caught his second TD of the year, but easily had his best performance of his young NFL career.

TE
Brandon Myers, OAK, 8 catches, 59 yards 2 TDs – Myers is quietly becoming a viable fantasy option at the tight end position. This week, in both PPR and non-PPR formats, he was valuable.

Jermaine Gresham, CIN, 6 catches, 108 yards – The only thing that could’ve made his performance better would’ve been a trip to the end zone, but the Bengals tight end was a beast making athletic catches and showing off the prowess that got him drafted in the first round by the Bengals.

GAME-USED SOCK AWARD
Eli Manning, NYG, 125 yards passing, 0 TDs, 1 INT – Nobody has been a bigger Eli fan than me. I’m still a fan. And Eli still has value for his owners. This was a blip on the radar, I believe, an enigma, a fantasy mirage so to speak. But, come on already. 125 yards passing and no TDs? That is just unacceptable. And so, justifiably, he lands here and receives his first game used sock award. I don’t anticipate him being here again this year though, especially with the Bengals as his next opponent.

Follow Jimmy Dinsmore, The Fantasy Geek, on Twitter @fantasy_geek

Fantasy Football, NFL game balls, doug martin, andrew luck, eli manning, carson palmer, brandon marshall