The start of this season was a rough one for Rams’ receiver Donnie Avery. In the preseason Avery injured his knee and this help contribute to his slow start.

After the first eight weeks of the season Avery had only 22 receptions for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Since the Rams’ bye in week nine Avery has turned his production around with 12 catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns in his past three games.

Part of the turnaround for Avery has been his new attitude and approach to the game of football since embarrassing his team in week five against the Vikings. That week Avery scored a touchdown late in the game and started dancing around.

Seeing that the team was losing by four touchdowns at the time it didn’t seem to be the greatest time to celebrate and Avery took heat from local and national media.

Since that time Avery has dedicated himself to turn his game around and the performance from a fantasy stand point is starting to look good.

Can Avery Be Trusted?

This week Avery makes for a good third receiver option as he plays on the road against the Bears. After that game Avery and the Rams will travel to Tennessee and face the Titans, now healthy secondary.

I wouldn’t recommend using Avery next week against the Titans as he will be blanketed by corner back Cortland Finnegan all game long.

After that game Avery finishes up with three games that fantasy owners can take advantage of. In the final three weeks of the NFL season, Avery will face the Texans, Cardinals and 49ers.

Look for Kyle Boller to go Avery’s way often from this point on as he is the one solid target this team has in the passing game.

Heading into 2010

Next year Avery will be in his third year as a receiver and I believe he will be a good bet for consistent production. This season the Rams new offensive line has had a full year to work together and by next year they should be ready to provide good protection in the passing game.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams draft a quarterback like Colt McCoy or Jimmy Clausen, so Avery may have a rookie under center next year.

At this time, I would say one of those rookie’s can’t do much worse than Boller or Marc Bulger have done this season.

With a new dedication to the game, Avery should be a nice late round pick in 2010.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

It looks like the Tennessee Titans are alive and well for the 2009 season after all. With Vince Young leading the team to its fifth straight win this week they still have a chance for the playoffs.

Next week the Titans play against the Colts and that game should be another close game for the Titans that comes down to the end of the game.

Below I have some observations from the 12th week of the regular season and how I see those points of interest playing out from a fantasy perspective.

2009 NFL Regular Season Week Twelve

• Packers vs Lions
• Cowboys vs Raiders
• Broncos vs Giants
• Colts vs Texans
• Seahawks vs Rams
• 49ers vs Jaguars
• Titans vs Cardinals
• Ravens vs Steelers
• Saints vs Patriots

Regular Season First Eleven Weeks

• Week One
• Week Two
• Week Three
• Week Four
• Week Five
• Week Six
• Week Seven
• Week Eight
• Week Nine
• Week Ten
• Week Eleven
  

Fantasy Football Regular Season Week Twelve Notes:

Brandon Jacobs: A Huge Disappointment

Hopefully, this season doesn’t mark the end of a short stay in the top twenty fantasy football running backs for Brandon Jacobs. This season only marks the third year that Jacobs has been the starting tailback for the Giants and fantasy owners have been very disappointed in this big backs performance.

Coming into this season Jacobs was a clear top twelve fantasy running back after he had a big year in 2008.

Sure, Jacobs missed three games last year and has always been a little injury prone, but you could count on him to have some big rushing days and always score touchdowns. Those expectations were backed by his four games with over 100 yards and 15 touchdowns from a year ago.

This year through week twelve of the fantasy football season Jacobs has zero 100 yard games and only three touchdown scores.

Because of his lack of production the Giants were rolled over by the Broncos and have lost five of their last six games.

If Jacobs can’t turn his season around, I fully expect the Giants to miss the playoffs this season.

From a fantasy perspective, I wouldn’t recommend starting this runner until he starts showing signs of playing the way his is capable.

For the third game in a row, Seahawks second year running back Justin Forsett has had a solid fantasy football week. In this game he shredded the Rams defense for big plays and touchdowns in a win for Seattle.

Taking Over

Forsett has had a tough go to get into the starting lineup in the NFL as even the Seahawks released him after the preseason last year. After a short stay with the Colts, Forsett came back to the Seahawks and handled special team’s duties at the end of the year.

This season Forsett has played strong all year but until three weeks ago he was mostly used as a special teamer and a third down back.

Upon Julius Jones’s injury against the Cardinals, Forsett has played very well for three straight weeks now.

Every week Forsett has had at least one touchdown and in two of those games he has over 120 yards rushing. As long as Jones is out because of health reasons, Forsett will make for a solid fantasy play.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

For the third game in a row, Seahawks second year running back Justin Forsett has had a solid fantasy football week. In this game he shredded the Rams defense for big plays and touchdowns in a win for Seattle.

Taking Over

Forsett has had a tough go to get into the starting lineup in the NFL as even the Seahawks released him after the preseason last year. After a short stay with the Colts, Forsett came back to the Seahawks and handled special team’s duties at the end of the year.

This season Forsett has played strong all year but until three weeks ago he was mostly used as a special teamer and a third down back.

Upon Julius Jones’s injury against the Cardinals, Forsett has played very well for three straight weeks now.

Every week Forsett has had at least one touchdown and in two of those games he has over 120 yards rushing. As long as Jones is out because of health reasons, Forsett will make for a solid fantasy play.

Rams Suck

Kyle Boller proved why he doesn’t belong in the NFL once again this week as he made poor decisions throughout the game. The Seahawks aren’t a juggernaut defense but you wouldn’t of known that by the way they played against the Rams.

It’s time to say that the Rams are very likely to grab a quarterback early in the 2010 NFL draft.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

Last week was all about big name running backs getting injured and this week is all about quarterbacks. Both Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner suffered varying degree’s of concussion problems last week. Hopefully, you have a decent backup quarterback in case your stud can’t play this weekend.

Below we have the top players you might want to pay attention to, for waiver pickups. Even if you don’t select a waiver (or have already done so) it’s good to keep these names in mind for the future weeks.

Quarterbacks

Cardinals- Matt Leinart

Some owner probably has Matt Leinart stashed away in your fantasy football league, but if he is available you should nab him up. Starter Kurt Warner suffered a concussion against the Rams this past Sunday and Leinart finished the game.

Even though Warner says he will play week 12 it is a good idea to have Leinart as a backup. If Warner should suffer another head injury than Leinart will be the start for the rest of the fantasy football season.

Steelers- Dennis Dixon

Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion and back Charlie Batch injured his wrist and will be out for the next six weeks. At this time, the signs are good that Roethlisberger can play this coming week, but it is definitely not official yet.

If Roethlisberger is down than the team will probably look to Dennis Dixon to start this week against the Ravens. If you get points for rushing yards from your quarterback than Dixon has added value in those leagues.

The Steelers are also looking into signing veteran Jeff Garcia and he is worth a look as well if he is signed.

Lions- Matthew Stafford

Now that Calvin Johnson appears to be healthy again Matthew Stafford makes for a decent waiver pickup for depth. Even though Stafford threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns last week I wouldn’t recommend starting him right now.

At the end of his great game against the Browns’ Stafford injured collar bone and is questionable for Thanksgiving. Even if Stafford wasn’t hurt this kid isn’t reliable enough to start over so many other solid quarterbacks this season.

Just the Same he does make for a decent backup for your team, and if he catches fire down the stretch and your usual start goes down with an injury, Stafford could help you.

Running Backs

Redskins- Rock Cartwright

Clinton Portis may not play again this season because of a concussion problems and Ladell Betts tore his acl and mcl last week. Once Betts was out of the game Rock Cartwright took over as the starting tailback.

The Redskins still have a couple of games on their schedule that could help a running back perform well for your fantasy football team. Look for Cartwright to give you good depth on your team.

Wide Receivers

Bills- Terrell Owens

Many fantasy football owners have given up on Terrell Owens weeks ago but the former star fantasy receiver has picked it up of late. This past week Owens had a 98-yard touchdown catch and nearly 200 yards receiving. Even the week before he had a decent 85 yards against the Titans.

With a new head coach on the team Owens may see more looks in the game plan every week. If he is sitting out on your waiver wire, I would pick him up in a heart beat. This surge may not be for real but it worth finding out while he’s on your bench and not someone else’s bench.

Chiefs – Chris Chambers

I recommend fantasy football owners go out and pick up Chris Chambers two weeks ago, and now I’m saying it again. With Dwayne Bowe still out another three weeks because of a suspension, Chambers is the No.1 receiver on the Chiefs.

This veteran has now had three productive games in a row with his new team and should continue to be productive. If you need a receiver than I suggest to find out if Chambers is still available.

Kickers

Ravens- Billy Cundiff

The former Cowboy kicker Billy Cundiff was signed this past week by the Baltimore Ravens. This signing took place after the team lost faith in former kicker Steven Hauschka and cut him from the team.

In Cundiff’s first game, he was five of six on field goal attempts and has now solidified his spot on the team. Look for Cundiff to continue his success as Baltimore is a good place for a kicker to score points.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

This season has been a bumpy ride for Texans star running back Steve Slaton. The season low for fantasy football owners with Slaton had to be when he was benched against the Bills and Ryan Moats had a huge game.

Because of Slaton’s fumbling issue’s head coach Gary Kubiak continued to go with Moats as his starter when the Texans faced off against the Colts a week later.

Bye Week Magic?

After the Texans lost a close game to the Colts they went into their week ten bye with question marks still looming around their running game.

Over this time off Slaton was busy working on his ball handling skills and watching film of Tiki Barber running the football. Barber was a smaller running back like Slaton and in the early part of his starting career, he had trouble holding onto the football.

Barber corrected his fumbling mistakes with a new ball holding technique, and it saved his career as a starting runner.

Not only did Slaton watch film of Barber, but he went back and talked to old college coaches from West Virgina to see if they had any pointers on what he was doing different.

This commitment and attention to detail must have paid off in the eye’s of his head coach because two days before their Monday night game against the Titans, Slaton has officially won his starting job back.

Fantasy Game Plan for Using Steve Slaton

This week is a tough matchup for Slaton and the Texans running game, so I wouldn’t recommend starting Slaton as more than a flex play at best. However, if Slaton shows that he has used his off time well and starts playing the way we all know he can then he could do some damage down the stretch.

After this week Slaton has the Colts, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams and Dolphins for the rest of the fantasy football season. Those last three opponents listed are all games during the fantasy football playoffs.

Look for Slaton to shine now that he’s back in the saddle again.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

It’s been a disappointing season for Anquan Boldin’s fantasy football owners. Boldin had a strong season a year ago and was one of the top ten fantasy receivers heading towards this season.

Coming into last week’s game against the Seahawks, Boldin only produced 35 receptions for 404 yards and one touchdown on the season. These are not the numbers you want to see from a player that fantasy owners drafted somewhere around the third or fourth round of most fantasy drafts.

While these numbers are disappointing I do believe Boldin may be ready to produce on a consistent basis for fantasy owners.

Getting Healthy

Boldin made it known in the press that he was very unhappy about being benched two weeks ago, but truthfully it was probably the best move for his future play. The Cardinals went on to crush the Bears without him and the time off allowed Boldin to recover from his high ankle sprain from a few weeks before.

Last week against the Seahawks, Boldin was back in the lineup and had eight receptions for 105 yards. Those totals were both a season high’s for the pro bowl receiver and this production shows that he is ready to bounce back.

Now that Boldin is relatively healthy again I expect him to continue his success this weekend against the St. Louis Rams. Not only do I expect him to have strong reception and yardage totals, but he should find the end zone at least once.

Getting Boldin back and playing like himself should only help the Cardinals’ chances of winning their division out right by mid December.

As it stands right now the 49ers are the only team that has a realistic chance of beating the Cardinals for the division title. This is mainly because the 49ers beat the Cardinals in Arizona.

If the 49ers can beat them again in San Francisco than it could make things interesting down the stretch.

Fantasy Football Outlook for Boldin

Look for Boldin to be a solid every week starter for the rest of the fantasy football season. Now that he is healthy it should be expected that Boldin will give you solid fantasy numbers from here.

That being said I’m not sure you will see him amass the type of numbers, he was putting up a season ago when he was healthy. The Cardinals are starting to run the football better than ever before with the emergence of Chris “Beanie” Wells.

Because of this and the continued progress of third receiver Steve Breaston, Boldin is not going to get as many big days as before.

Even still I do like him and especially after this week against the Rams. Mainly, because the team will play three defenses in a row that are stout against the running game. When the Cardinals can’t use their running backs to close out games than they will lean on their receivers more often.

Start Boldin on your fantasy football squads and expect production.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

The time has come for the Seattle Seahawks to start their best running back. Finally, Justin Forsett will be given an opportunity to produce as the starter and help fantasy football squads.

This opportunity has come about because of an unfortunate injury to Julius Jones last week against the Cardinals. In that game Jones injured his rib and went to the hospital with bleeding in his lung.

Forsett took over as the starter and went on to rush the football 17 times for 123 yards rushing and a touchdown. This production was excellent, especially when you consider that Cardinals were the 3rd best team against the run coming into that game.

Beyond Forsett’s solid rushing total’s, he is also very good out of the backfield as he’s totaled five receptions in each of his last two contest’s.

Justin Forsett Equals Steve Slaton?

Forsett’s skill set is very comparable to the way Steve Slaton played a season ago. When Slaton was on top of his game a year ago he was one of the top ten fantasy football running backs in the league.

Forsett may not be that good, but I fully believe he can be a top twenty fantasy back in the future. All he needs is an opportunity to show that he can handle the load and prove he can physically hold up to the challenge.

Fantasy Football Strategy

If Forsett is still a waiver wire option in your fantasy football league than I suggest you nab him up right now. This kid is an instant flex play option for this week, even if the Seahawks are playing the Vikings.

Minnesota’s run defense is still solid this season (9th in the league), but they are having problems dealing with runners that can get out on the edge. This is the reason why Ray Rice was able to gash this defense a few week’s back.

Not only has Rice had success against this defense but Rashard Mendenhall and Kevin Smith have found success as well.

Forsett probably won’t go over 100 yards rushing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has over 100 total yards from scrimmage.

Next week Forsett has a great matchup against the Rams and is a no brainier start.

Reports out of Seattle are saying that Jones may be ready for that game but with his lung issue that is wishful thinking right now.

If Forsett has success in the next two week’s, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jones comes back and finds out that he’s lost his starting job. Reason being that Forsett is a better running back than Jones at this point in his career.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

For all the success, the Cardinals have had on the road this season they have struggled mightily at home. Early in the game the Seahawks took the lead but the Cardinals worked their way back for a home victory.

Chris Beanie Wells Scores Twice

The Cardinals never abandoned the run in this game and this was one of the reason why they won this game. Both Chris Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower continued to split carries this week but Wells was the better runner.

For the game Wells had 16 carries for 85 yards and two touchdown scores. It’s easy to see that Wells is the better runner in this two back set, and eventually he will see close to twenty carries a game.

Another Cardinal player that had a strong game was Anquan Boldin as he had eight catches for 105 yards. This was a nice bounce back game from sitting out a week ago because of his recent ankle injury.

Look for Boldin to have a good second half of the season as he looks healthy for the first time this year.

Both Boldin and Wells should have solid games next week when the Cardinals go to St. Louis to take on the Rams.

Justin Forsett Taking Over

Seattle’s starting tailback Julius Jones left the game early because of a broken rib and Justin Forsett took over. Forsett has played well when given a chance, and today he showed why he’s worth starting in the future.

For the game Forsett had 17 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown score. He also added five catches and twenty six yards in the passing game as well.

Forsett will be a hot waiver wire pickup this week so make sure you target him if you lost a player or two this week.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

This contest was supposed to be a blowout but instead the Saints had a very poor performance and the game came down to the last play. The final score favored the still undefeated Saints as they won the game 28 to 23.

Brees Has Off Game

This was a bad game for Drew Brees standards has he 18 of 23 for 223 yards passing and two touchdowns. Considering that he was playing the Rams this was a very disappointing game for fantasy football owners with Brees.

The hero for New Orleans today was running back Reggie Bush as he posted a touchdown on the ground and through the air.

Not only did Bush score, but he had 83 yards rushing on only six carries. This was the kind of performance this team needed to win a game they should have walked away with early on.

For the past four weeks in a row the Saints have found a way to finish off victories when their opponent has played them tough. Hopefully, this team will start to play better early on as they can’t continue to pull wins out like this forever.

Rams Play Well

Steven Jackson had another very strong game and is now looking like a solid second round pick for fantasy owners this season. Look for Jackson to continue to have a strong second half of the season and perform at a steady pace.

The Rams are starting to pull it together and should have more competitive games going forward this season.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

Chicago Bears’ running back Matt Forte has had a bust season for fantasy football owners in 2009. Forte was a top four draft pick in many fantasy leagues, and he’s been unable to get things going most of the year.

Even this past week against the 49ers when Forte had 161 total yards from scrimmage he only had 41 yards rushing on twenty carries.

For the season Forte has 143 carries for 482 yards and a woefully bad 3.4 yards per carry. I don’t believe Forte will do much better in this area for the rest of the season as his offensive line just doesn’t run block well.

Beyond the line blocking issues the Bears will face the Eagles, Vikings, Rams, Packers, Ravens and Vikings for the rest of the fantasy football season. The one strong matchup Forte has for the rest of the fantasy season (unless you’re in a league that plays week 17 when the face the Lions) and that’s not great news for fantasy owners.

Catching the Ball for Production

If Forte is going to be a consistent fantasy player for your fantasy team than he will need to continue his production in the passing game.

In the past two weeks Forte has 14 receptions for 194 yards in the air. This is especially useful for fantasy owners in PPR leagues as you receive points just for his catches alone.

Another area that needs to improve is Forte’s touchdown total that stands at three for his first nine games of the year.

If Forte can sustain consistency in these area’s than he can still help fantasy owners earn a playoff spot this season.

Fantasy Football Ranking for Matt Forte

Forte’s fantasy football value has dropped from a top four pick this year to a No.2 running back on your team for next year. The Bears offensive line changes this offseason didn’t do Forte any favors, and it seems the coaching staff is content with Jay Cutler slinging the football.

As long as Cutler continues to find Forte underneath than the Bears starting running back is still a starter in fantasy.

Look for Forte to help your team as the season winds down but don’t expect him to be a driving force for your success.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com