FANTASY: As season draws to a close, time to look back

Published 11:30 pm Wednesday, December 18, 2013

As we come to the end of another fantasy football season, it’s important to look back at how it all started.

What were the surprises?

What did I get right? What did I get wrong?

Which advice do I wish never appeared in print?

Here are some answers to those questions and a couple more.

1, What were the surprises?

Wide receivers are now more important than running backs; a consistent receiver like Detroit Lion’s Calvin Johnson’s now could be considered a Top 3 overall player. Be honest with yourself. If you could go back and draft again this season with a Top 3 pick, are you taking Arian Foster or Megatron? Forget the fact that Foster was injured halfway through the season. Even a consistent Foster was proven to not be as valuable as Johnson.

Another surprise this season had to do with backup quarterbacks putting up similar, and in cases like Philadelphia Eagles’ Nick Foles even better, numbers as the starters. Take last week for example: In one league I play in that rewards six points for passing and rushing touchdowns, the top five QB point producers from last week were: Foles, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Cassel, Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins. All of them produced 40 or more points and I guarantee not one owner drafted any of them to be their starting quarterback at the start of the season.

What does this tell fantasy owners next season: do not reach for a QB in the early rounds.

2, What did I get right and wrong?

I advised owners midseason to buy the recent performances of Larry Fitzgerald, Ryan Matthews and Stevan Ridley while selling Vincent Jackson. Well, two out of four isn’t terrible, I guess. Both Fitzgerald and Matthews have gone on to be very productive, with Matthews delivering 127 yards rushing and a touchdown last week for an owner during the fantasy playoffs. Ridley was a disaster and I wouldn’t advise trusting a Bill Belichick running back again, as they can be pulled from the game at a moment’s notice. Jackson delivered a solid season despite the Bucs changing quarterbacks.

This is just one example, but there are other suggestions that I hope you followed like picking up Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery, Chargers receiver Keenan Allen or St. Louis Rams running back Zac Stacy. Each one of these guys were suggested by yours truly on Oct. 9 before they became household names.

3, Which advice do I wish was never in print?

“It is that kind of inconsistency that makes me wary of drafting him with my first pick.”

Guess who I was talking about on Aug. 7 in my draft preview?

If you said Jamaal Charles, you would be right and I hope you did not listen to me. Charles not only was consistent this year, but the fantasy MVP of 2014.

Now, in my defense, my logic was based on 2013 when Romeo Crennel gave Charles the ball as much as Jason Garrett does to Demarco Murray (sorry, still reeling from Sunday’s loss). New head coach Andy Reid, however, has turned Charles into a superstar.

In my defense, the other running back I mentioned in that preview talking about consistency was C.J. Spiller — the bust of 2014 based on average draft position, which was Top 10.

4, Who should we look out for next year?

The fantasy season still has this week to go as a champion is crowned in most leagues, but some names you should already be circling to target in next year’s drafts are: receivers Keenan Allen, Rod Streater, Josh Gordon (obviously) and Cordarelle Patterson; running backs Eddie Lacy, Demarco Murray, Zac Stacy and yes, Trent Richardson; and quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger (more points than Tom Brady, if you can believe it), Russell Wilson and Matthew Stafford (yes, he throws interceptions, but if he cuts that down, he will be a beast).

Last Action Heroes Update: Well, my team is not accustomed to playing golf during the second round of the playoffs, but we were spectators as the two semifinals in Dereliction League ended up being shootouts. Orchard Park defeated BHorns 146-108, thanks to 32 points from Matt Flynn and 40 from Desean Jackson. The other semifinal saw Gamblers defeat 2013 champion Under Construction, 157-107. The Gamblers enter as the favorite sporting Jamaal Charles, Josh Gordon and Peyton Manning at quarterback.