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Week 17 was a very unpredictable week. Many NFL teams rested and limited the play of top fantasy performers. As usual, we didn’t give you recommendations on obvious starts like Larry Johnson, but we did give it our best shot on some of the marginal players for week 17. This is the final Wrap Up for the 2005 season. As always, we take responsibility for our good and our bad calls. Join us as we take a look back at the last week of the NFL regular season.

Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Tatum Bell – If you needed a performance week 17 and had Tatum Bell stored away on your bench, you were rewarded for dusting him off and plugging him into your lineup. Bell had only 52 yards, but his 3 TDs were more than enough to make any fantasy owner smile.

Chris Simms – Simms did not throw an interception and threw for 143 yards and 2 TDs. That is a solid effort in most scoring formats. We hope you were able to cash in on this performance during week 17.

Chris Chambers – Chambers didn’t break 100 yards and he didn’t have a TD, so if you are in a TD only or a milestone league, Chambers wasn’t very impressive. However, if you are in a yardage league or in a league that awards points per reception, Chambers was pretty solid with 5 receptions for 75 yards.

Josh McCown – McCown was only 3 yards shy of throwing for 300 yards and he rushed for 42 more yards on the ground. He also had a TD pass and an interception. Overall it was a very good performance from the Cardinals signal caller. We have a feeling that McCown will make a good backup somewhere in the NFL in 2006. However, we would be surprised if it was with the Cardinals.

Donald Driver – Driver had a great week 17 with 6 receptions for 118 yards. In a standard high performance scoring league, this was a good game. In a point per reception league, this was a stellar game. We hope that you were able to benefit from this start.

Trent Green – Trent Green was a great start recommendation week 17. He had one of the better QB performances. Green racked up 344 yards passing and a TD pass with no interceptions.

DeShawn Foster – Foster had a huge day against the Falcons. 165 yards rushing and a TD made for one of the better week 17 starts. The Falcons also managed to keep the franchise streak alive of no back-to-back winning seasons.

Bench:
Chris Brown – Brown did not play and was a good bench call week 17.

Mike Anderson – Anderson was riding a hot streak, but he didn’t play week 17. Hopefully you were able to make the switch to Bell and cash in on his 3 TD performance.

Rod Smith – Rod Smith did play, but, as we expected, he didn’t contribute much fantasy wise. Smith only had 1 reception for 11 yards. This was a performance best left on your bench.

Jake Plummer – Plummer is another player that we suspected would not be very useful to fantasy teams week 17. He didn’t let us down. Plummer only threw for 91 yards...yuck.

Matt Hasselbeck – Hasselbeck was another player that was sent to the bench early week 17. His 76 yards was a sad performance from a player that had been hot coming into week 17. Hasselbeck is a classic example of why fantasy leagues should avoid a week 17 championship.

Thomas Jones – Jones entered this game only long enough to reach a franchise milestone in yardage gained. After that he was put on the shelf. We hope that you avoided the 2005 breakout player week 17.


Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
T.J. Houshmandzadah – Houshmandzadeh had just enough yardage and receptions to be a lukewarm start week 17 in point per reception leagues. It wasn’t a pretty start by any means, but it wasn’t a complete wash either.

Drew Bledsoe – Bledsoe had good numbers, but he also had too many turnovers. His yardage and his TD were pretty, but those turnovers will kill you every time.

Bench:
Michael Jenkins – Jenkins’ receptions and yardage would have squeaked him into the busted calls of the week, but he had a fumble that knocked him into the so-so bench calls week 17.


Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Tom Brady – Brady ended up being a bust because he was pulled early. Thanks to the Patriots not having a bye in the first round of the playoffs, Brady was given most of the week 17 game off.

Corey Dillon – Dillon was also given the week off. We are starting to get the feeling that Dillon is near the end of his fantasy career.

David Carr – Carr should have been a better start, but he was injured early in the game. We find it a little suspicious that Carr had to leave a game that the Texans needed to LOSE so that they could lock up the #1 draft pick in the 2006 draft.

Jacksonville Starting QB – If you were able to start a team QB and you started the Jacksonville signal caller, you got a pretty solid performance. However, most leagues don’t let you do that and Jacksonville had three different players complete passes week 17. Thus the “Starting QB” for Jacksonville didn’t have a very impressive game despite the team scoring 40 points.

Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn– We thought that Vick and company would rise to the occasion and try to bust the Panthers’ bubble. However, we have mistaken the Falcons for a team that will fight to the end. The Falcons were whipped for the second time this season. As a result Vick and Dunn were whipped as well.

Jonathan Wells – Wells did not play week 17, but his absence was announced prior to his game. Hopefully you avoided this change in plans.

Julius Jones – As quickly as Jones exploded week 16 he vanished week 17. He only had 35 yards rushing.

Bench:
Michael Bennett – Out of no where, Bennett busted out over 100 yards of total offense and a TD. He was clearly a busted call.

L.J. Smith – Smith only had three catches, but he sure made the most of them. Smith had 73 yards and that was more than enough to make him a busted call for a TE.

Shawn Bryson – Bryson only had 11 yards rushing, but he rolled off a 63 yard reception. A 63 yard reception will crush your bench call every time.