It was one of those dreaded weeks where I got a big effort from a player in one league and played against him in the other.

It was the last weekend of the fantasy football regular season in my leagues, and I suffered the smite of the double-edged sword known as Dallas Clark. The Colts tight end caught three TDs for one of my teams, the Outlaws of the Marsh, and against the other (The Thamesmen). That pretty much lifted the Outlaws to a much-needed victory while keeping The Thamesmen in their funk, as a third straight loss cost them the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The good news is that the team I lost to happens to belong to my wife, who will most likely jump up into the final playoff spot with her win, so I guess Clark was trying to preserve my marital bliss. So as it stands, it looks like the Outlaws will be a fourth seed in the playoffs, while The Thamesmen will have to settle for the No. 2 seed in their league.

Aside from Clark’s big day, the Outlaws also got big efforts from Ray Rice (219 total yards, TD) and Rob Bironas (19 fantasy points). That trio pretty much lifted the team to victory, overcoming subpar days from Philip Rivers, DeAngelo Williams, and Rashard Mendenhall and a typical day from one of my wide receivers (Jerricho Cotchery: 1 catch, 12 yards). The Thamesmen, meanwhile, were again done in by another so-so game from Tom Brady (192 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). That squandered a strong effort from Adrian Peterson (97 yards, 2 TDs). It also didn’t help that I left Ray Rice on the bench in this league, along with Desean Jackson (178 receiving yards, 2 TDs), Ryan Grant (132 rushing yards, 2 TDs), and Vincent Jackson (120 receiving yards). I really, really need to add at least one more W/R/T slot to the starting lineup for this league next year. There are too many good players just going to waste on teams’ benches (well, at least my team’s bench).

Week 14 Highs and Lows

• After a strong start to the season, Mike Sims-Walker has been slowed by injuries and poor play the last few weeks. He has 53 catches for 758 yards and 6 TDs on the season, but has had only six catches for 64 yards and no TDs the last three games. That decline has been a key reason for the Outlaws’ recent wide receiver woes.

With a string of solid efforts since taking over for the departed Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles might be a name worth keeping in mind in next year’s draft.
• The joyride for Chris Chambers might be over in Kansas City now that defenses have realized they need to actually defend him, but fill-in RB Jamaal Charles keeps rolling. He had his biggest day yet since taking over for the released Larry Johnson, rumbling for 143 yards and finding the end zone for the third straight game. And this is despite the fact that his team lost and managed only 10 points total.
• Hakeem Nicks hadn’t made a whole lot of noise fantasy-wise since his four-game TD streak in the first half of the season, but he’s quietly putting together a very nice rookie season. He’s on pace for more than 800 yards and already has six TDs, including one in each of the last two games. He also had his second 100-yard game Sunday. Three of his TDs have been 54 yards or longer, and he’s averaging 18 yards a grab. Another Desean Jackson, perhaps?

Watching opposing DBs run the other way after picking off one of his passes has become a routine for Josh Freeman (5).
• Bucs QB Josh Freeman has oscillated between unexpectedly good and ridiculously bad in his outings. He threw three TDs against the Packers in his debut as a starter and tossed two against the Falcons. In his other four starts, however, he has thrown 12 interceptions and just two TDs. From a fantasy perspective, it’s at least good that the Bucs are letting him keep airing it out despite his woes, since that means (theoretically) more yards for owners of Bucs receivers (and if you are one of them, god help you) and more chances for points for owners of defenses facing the Bucs.
• A study in contrast: While Broncos QB Kyle Orton sent 21 of his 29 completions Sunday in the direction of Brandon Marshall, Rams QB Keith Null spread his 27 completions among nine receivers, which one usually accomplishes only in Madden football games. Heck, Null even completed five passes to three Titans defenders.