It’s November, the month of turkey and pumpkin pie. The month of falling leaves and crisp fall air. The month of the greatest American holiday…Thanksgiving! A day in which you can stuff yourself with an array of wonderful foods, give gifts to no one and watch several games of professional football…what is more American than that? November is also for being thankful. Thankful for the things we do, or do not, have. Friends and family, for the things we are grateful to have, and Ebola or the Bird Flu, for the things we are grateful not to have. But every year there are things and individuals who do not get the “thanks” that they deserve. Things like the refrigerator, which keeps your food cold and fresh and is an afterthought (unless you happen to live in New England where a freak October snow storm claimed your electricity for a week, and you are well aware of how wonderful a job the refrigerator does when working). This same “thankless” moniker can be placed on some NFL players, who have had pretty stellar seasons to this point, but for some reason are not getting any stuffing or mashed potatoes from fantasy owners. Here’s to you…the Mid-Season All Thankless Team:
RB-Marshawn Lynch (398 rushing yards, 4.1 YPC, 91 receiving yards and 4 TD’s)
Number one on our list is the only player I have ever known to cause an earthquake (click here), and he is quietly having a very solid season. More importantly he has scored a touchdown in his last four games, so he is starting to get comfortable in an improving Seattle Seahawks offense. Keep in mind that he missed one game this season (so the stats should be a little better), and he is on track to set a career high in rushing touchdowns. Small chance he is available on the waiver wire after the last four weeks performances with TDs, but he is a very solid number two RB option for the rest of the season if you can get him.
TE-Jake Ballard (395 receiving yards and 3 TD’s)
Hate Eli Manning all you want, and say he doesn’t belong in the “elite” category with Tom Brady, but this guy loves his tight-ends. And year-over-year he brings an unknown tight-end into fantasy relevance when most people hadn’t heard their name to start the season (a la Kevin Boss in 2010). Ballard fits this mold perfectly, as he graduated from Ohio State in 2009 but didn’t catch on in the NFL in 2010. In his first season now in 2011 he is off to a great start with an outside shot at 1,000 yards receiving and 6 TD’s. That would put him in the top 10 TE ranks for any season. ESPN.com has him listed as available in almost 75 percent of leagues, so get to your waiver wire as he is in the top 10 for receiving yards and TD’s amongst tight-ends.
QB- Andy Dalton (1,696 passing yards, 12 TD’s and 7 INT’s)
Coming into the NFL this season, evaluators questioned Dalton’s ability to make all of the NFL throws. Through the first half of the season the only thing that is left to be questioned is “will he lead the Bengals to the playoffs”? Dalton has been mighty impressive thus far and it only makes sense that he will get better. He has the weapons (A.J. Green, Cedric Benson and Jermaine Gresham) and is gaining crucial experience and reps each week. Who would have thought through the first half of the season that he would have a better QB rating than Jay Cutler, Mark Sanchez, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers, Joe Flacco and Josh Freeman? Oh, and he’s available in over 75 percent of ESPN.com leagues…
Check out this great article by Eric Mack, of SI.com, on players who look to rebound in the second half (click here).
Also, follow my useless ramblings on twitter @joshuabrier.
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