FANTASY FLASHBACK: Jets’ soaring value

4:35 PM, December 1, 2011 ι By ANTHONY SULLA-HEFFINGER

For as much as I have ripped Mark Sanchez as a fantasy quarterback, he has not been an absolute nightmare this season.

The Jets QB had arguably his best fantasy performance this past week against the Bills, throwing for 180 yards and four TDs. For what it’s worth, Sanchez tied with Saints QB Drew Brees for the highest TD total in Week 12, although his yardage total was 22nd among all other fantasy QBs.

Richard Brightly

Sanchez has turned into a servicable fantasy QB, and though he is still not close to being elite, Sanchez is ranked 11th at the quarterback position in standard scoring leagues and could be a nice stop-gap for Schaub/Leinart, Vick or Cassel owners.

Sanchez isn’t the only Jets player who showed he has value this weekend, with almost all of the main playmakers on the team making a significant contribution for their fantasy owners.

Dustin Keller, TE: Four catches, 61 yards, two TDs

Plaxico Burress, WR: Four catches, 54 yards, TD

Santonio Holmes, WR: Four touches, 50 yards (28 receiving, 22 rushing), TD

Shonn Greene, RB: 16 touches, 90 yards (78 rushing, 12 receiving)

The Jets’ main players will not provide jaw-dropping numbers, but if they can get sustained and consistent production out of their offense, fantasy owners will be pleased.

Card Luck

Beanie Wells owners were pleased with the Cardinals running back’s performance in Week 12, but does that mean he is an automatic start this week? Not exactly.

Wells carried the ball 27 times for 228 yards and a TD in the Cardinals’ 23-20 win over the St. Louis Rams.

It’s hard not to get excited about that kind of performance, but there are three factors that make me a bit skeptical when it comes to Wells’ value for not only this week, but also down the stretch.

AP

First, Wells’ combined output from the three weeks before Sunday’s outburst was 41 carries, 115 yards and 0 TDs. Wells was having a strong season before a knee injury limited him over that three-week span so there is some precedent, but the best rushing day of his career did come against St. Louis and their abysmal run defense.

Wells and the Cardinals play the Cowboys, 49ers, Bengals and Seahawks over the next five weeks, which does not bode well for owners of the Arizona running back. All four of those teams sport run defenses ranked 11th or better, with the 49ers and Bengals ranked first and fifth, respectively.

Combine that with Wells’ knee injury, which flared up again this week in practice, and he could be a disappointment for fantasy owners as they head into the playoffs.

Patriot-ic Push

There has been a lot of negative chatter surrounding New England’s defense, but from a fantasy perspective, they should be among the most coveted heading into the season’s final five weeks.

New England’s opponents for Week 13-17 (Indianapolis, Washington, Denver, Miami and Buffalo) have a combined record of 8-37 and all sport offenses in the bottom half of the NFL, with Buffalo the only exception (14th overall).

EPA

In addition, New England’s pass defense may yards through the air, but they also force turnovers. New England is tied for second in the NFL with 16 interceptions, seven of which belong to cornerback Kyle Arrington.

New England’s defense has improved over the past three weeks, allowing an average of 13.3 points per game, and that is including a garbage-time touchdown pass to Jason Avant in Week 12’s 38-20 thrashing of the Eagles.

As the old adage goes, defense wins championships, and that’s including fantasy.