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LaDainian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander, Terrell Owens, Peyton Manning and
Daunte Culpepper all had great years, again. Owners
needed/expected big production from these fantasy studs, and that’s just
what they got.
Like any year, however, a few players emerged as pleasant surprises or
disturbing duds. Some, like Curtis Martin, added a little punch to your
season while others like Clinton Portis, just knocked your team out.
Here’s a look at who surprised, for better or worse, this fantasy
football season.
The
Surprises
Drew Brees, San Diego Chargers – No one can argue that
Brees was the biggest surprise at quarterback in 2004. He was on the way
out when the Chargers drafted Eli Manning and then traded him to the
Giants for Phillip Rivers but Rivers held out and Brees took advantage.
He finished the year with 3,159 yard passing 27 touchdowns. He had
29 touchdown passes in his previous three years combined.
Jake Plummer, Denver Broncos –
Plummer had the most famous finger in the 2004 but he also finished as
the 4th best quarterback in fantasy. The problem was that when he was
good, he was great but when he was bad, he was horrible. He finished the
season with 4,089 yards and 27 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who was
ranked out of the top ten on most pre-season cheat sheets.
Tiki Barber, New York Giants – For years Barber was part
of the thunder and lightning attack in New York but this year he proved
that he could be an every down back. He finished the year with
career highs in rushing yards (1,518) and touchdowns (13).
Curtis Martin, New York Jets – Was
one of my disappointments in 2003 but Martin had a huge comeback in
2004. Most sites had him ranked 15th or worse after last year but all
pre-season we preached how healthy he was and he didn’t disappoint us.
He finished with a career high 1,697 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns,
his most since 1996.
Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina Panthers – Muhammad was finally
able to play an entire season without injury, his first since 2000. He
was the No.1 receiver in fantasy football, finishing with 1,405 yards
and a league leading 16 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy ranked in
the mid-30’s last summer.
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts –
The Colts' offense was historic this year and Wayne was the main
benefactor. He finished the season with a career high in receptions
(77), yards (1,210) and touchdowns (12). Those are solid numbers for a
guy who wasn’t the primary receiver when the season started.
The
Disappointments
Jeff Garcia, Cleveland Browns – Garcia was a perennial
top-ten quarterback until this year. He missed most of the second half
but before then he was terrible. He finished the year with only 10
touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Even when his injury was healed the
coach didn’t want him to play…Ouch!
Steve McNair, Tennessee Titans – All
of the years of taking beatings finally caught up to McNair. A bruised
sternum really hampered his ability to throw the ball. He played 8 games
but finished with only 8 touchdown passes.
Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins – Most everyone,
including me, thought that the move to Washington was going to hurt
Portis’ production but no one could have thought it would have been this
bad. I thought he would drop from the 4th or 5th best to the 8th or 9th.
What he ended up doing was finishing 14th. He was still a decent back
but not up to the standards that his owners expected.
Kevan Barlow, San Francisco 49ers –
All of those owners who had Barlow as a sleeper please stand up. Okay, I
will sit down now. Barlow produced better in a part time role (1,024
yards and 6 touchdowns) then in a full time role (822 yards and 7
touchdowns). At one point he even lost his starting job to Maurice
Hicks.
Laveranues Coles, Washington Redskins – Just 1 touchdown
this year? Seriously? He averaged 6 the previous 3 years.
This is really hard to believe when you consider that he had a career
high in receptions (90). The problem is that most fantasy football
scoring systems don’t get points for receptions.
Ike Hilliard/Amani Toomer, New York Giants
– Can you guess how many touchdowns the Giants' starting receivers had?
I will give you a clue…it is less than 1.
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