Ray Rice didn’t find the end zone Sunday night, but it’s long past time for me to post a picture of a guy who’s quickly becoming one of my favorite players.

One of my teams opened its season by running into a six-TD performance by Drew Brees, and the Saints quarterback is in position to ruin another week for me tonight, as both of my teams are leading but my opponents in both leagues have Brees left up their sleeves, and a repeat of that six-TD explosion would spell trouble for both of my teams.

The Outlaws of the Marsh are holding a 30-point lead despite another subpar week. In fact, the only non-QB in the lineup to find the end zone for the Outlaws this week was tight end Dallas Clark. Normally reliable DeAngelo Williams had his worst game since Week 5, managing just 50 total yards, and Ray Rice and Rashard Mendenhall put up some nice yardage but no touchdowns. The wide receiver position was just flat-out ugly, as Jerricho Cotchery and Mike Sims-Walker combined for just 58 yards, or two fantasy points. There were plenty of points left on the bench this week in Antonio Gates (118 yards, 2 TDs), Chris Chambers (70 yards, TD), and Derrick Mason (62 yards, TD). Yet, thanks to the fact that my opponent was starting the likes of Nate Burleson and Rock Cartwright, I have a healthy lead and still have Roman Harper left to counter Brees.

The Thamesmen, on the other hand, are in a much tighter game, up by less than a point and facing Brees plus the Saints defense, Laurence Maroney, and DL Will Smith. Fortunately, I do have Tom Brady and Stephen Gostkowski left to give me at least a fighting chance. It doesn’t help that my opponent got more than 24 points — 24! — from Charles Woodson alone on Thanksgiving, or that I left Donald Driver’s 142-yard, 1-TD outing on the bench for another disappointing day by Vincent Jackson (27 yards), or that Joseph Addai picked the one week I plugged him into the lineup ahead of Ray Rice to end his touchdown streak. Thank goodness I started Antonio Gates in this league and reaped the reward.

Week 12 Highs and Lows

Vincent Jackson after a catch — an suddenly rare act for him.

• I’m going to rant just a tad more about Vincent Jackson’s funk. He hasn’t sniffed a 100-yard outing in a month and hasn’t found the end zone in three games. His last three games have been atrocious for a guy who was looking like a must-start through nine weeks. In Weeks 10-12, he has a TOTAL of seven catches for 93 yards. That’s after averaging five catches and 90 yards and scoring seven TDs in the eight games before that. This three-game funk coincides with the Chargers’ renewed commitment to the run, even though LaDainian Tomlinson still doesn’t look like his 2007 self. In the last three games, Tomlinson has averaged four more carries, 20 more yards, and scored five times.
• Who would’ve thought that going to the Bengals would give your career a boost, but that’s what happened with Larry Johnson. After getting cut by the Chiefs and scooped up by the suddenly mighty Bengals, Johnson had his best game since Week 16 of last season, running for 107 yards. Of course, it did come against the Browns, so maybe you should take 25 percent off that figure. Johnson would be a hot pickup if not for the fact that Cedric Benson is assured of returning to the starting lineup upon his return.
• If you need help at RB, the successor to Johnson in KC, Jamaal Charles, has shown himself to be a viable pickup. He has run for 103, 58, and 93 yards the last three games, scoring twice, and he’s averaging a pretty gawdy 5.2 yards a carry on the season.
• Ray Rice and Rashard Mendenhall both impressed me Sunday night. Considering they were going up against the league’s No. 1 (Steelers) and No. 6 (Ravens) run defenses, you won’t have expected a whole lot, but both performed at or above their average this season. Rice continued his terrifice all-around play with 88 yards on the ground and 67 through the air, while Mendenhall grounded out 95 yards and added 22 yards receiving.
• I know I’m jinxing myself for writing this, but I think Chris Chambers might be going into my starting lineup next week. In four games since joining the Chiefs, he has averaged 79 yards and found the end zone three times. He has been able to deliver at least one big play per game. You know the Chiefs will throw a lot since they are usually playing from behind, and with Dwayne Bowe suspended, Chambers has quickly established himself as Matt Cassel’s big-play guy.

Just in case writing about T.O. doing well isn’t enough to jinx him, here’s a picture.

• I know I’ve bad-mouthed Terrell Owens a lot, and I still refuse to have him on my fantasy team, but I’ll give credit where credit’s due. Something seems to have clicked for Owens in the last three games. After averaging 35 yards through the first eight games, he has average 126 in the last three. Yes, the 197-yard outing two weeks ago throws that average off a bit, but he has had at least 85 yards each of the last three weeks, with two touchdowns. And he’s had catches of 46, 51, and 98 yards in that span. He at least seems like a viable play now. There, I said it. Maybe that’ll jinx him into sucking again.