feature // 7

Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016

NFL FANTASY FOOTBALL 2015 SEASON REVIEW

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JACK FROELICH, MAC WELSHER & MICHAEL

FRENCH, all 17 // Staff Writers

As the 2015 NFL Fantasy Football season has come

to an end, South students have voted on the fantasy
seasons MVPs, busts and breakout players.
MVP TEAM
Quarterback: Cam Newton, Panthers
Projections: 3,525 Passing Yards // 22 TD // 14
Int // 560 Rushing Yards // 4 TD// 272.6 Points
15 Statistics: 3,837 Passing Yards // 35 TD // 10
Int // 636 Rushing Yards // 10 TD // 389.1 Points
Newton battled rib injuries all last season leading to a year with only four rushing scores. This
year he put the Carolina Panthers on his back,
carrying them to a 15-1 record. Newton tossed 35
touchdowns and was able to punch in a career high
10 touchdowns.
He is a great fantasy option because he can get
you points threw the air and most importantly on
the ground, Jack Liagre 17 said.
Newton did all of this with no stud receiver and
is the frontrunner for the league MVP.
Running Back: Adrian Peterson, Vikings
Projections: 1,622 Total Yards // 9 Total TD //
222.6 Points
15 Statistics: 1,707 Total Yards // 11 Total TD //
230.7 Points
After taking a year off, Adrian Peterson won
the NFL rushing title for the third time in his career, with 1485 rushing yards and 11 scores on the
ground.
He is a game changer that is fun to watch because he can break out at any time, Ryan Sullivan
17 said.
Peterson eclipsed over 10 points 12 times, over
20 pts four times and over 30 points once. Peterson
helped lead his Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs
for the fourth time in his career.
Wide Receiver: Antonio Brown, Steelers
Projections: 115 Receptions // 1513 Receiving
Yards // 9 TD // 209.1 Points
15 Statistics: 136 Receptions // 1834 Receiving
Yards // 10 TD // 252.2 Points
Antonio Brown lived up to expectations this
year, leading all fantasy wide receivers in points
with 252.2.
He was just a clutch player plain and simple. He
battles in every game he plays in and wants to top

his personal best. He is very competitive and likes

to win making him valuable in fantasy because he
always wants to do his best which helps the fantasy
team, Liam Kavanagh 17 said.
However, Antonio was consistent all throughout the year, being over ten points 10 times, over
20 points six times, and over thirty once. Brown
helped lead the Steelers to a playoff spot.
Tight End: Rob Gronkowski, Patriots
Projections: 88 Receptions // 1087 Receiving
Yards // 9 TD // 162 points
15 Statistics: 72 Receptions // 1176 Receiving
Yards // 11 TD // 183.6 points
Rob Gronkowski once again led all tight ends
in fantasy points. Tight ends are becoming easier to
draft in fantasy after many NFL teams, with Gronkowski leading this trend gaining many points every week.
He is almost uncoverable and seems to score
a touchdown every week, and a must get fantasy
player, Andrew Vyletel 18 said.
Almost every week, Gronkowski put up double
digit fantasy points.

UNDERRATED TEAM
Quarterback: Kirk Cousins, Redskins
Projection: 2,641 yards // 13 TDs // 12 Ints //
134 points
15 Season: 4,461 yards // 29 TDs // 11 Ints //
283 points
Cousins started the season slow, but after two 30
point games, Cousins ended the season being the
only Redskins quarterback to ever go all 16 games
with throwing at least one touchdown. The performance he showed late in the season was able to earn
the Redskins into the playoffs.
Running Back: Devonta Freeman, Falcons
Projection: 1,046 Total yards // 6 Total TDs// 138
points
15 Season: 1,639 Total yards // 14 Total TDs // 231
points
Freeman emerged as the Falcons lead running
back with 231 points. A running back by committee was taking away a lot of attention from the Falcons until an injury to rookie running back Tevin
Coleman occurred in week two. In the following
weeks Freeman was able to amount 342 total yards
along with 6 touchdowns.
He came in clutch for me when all my players
got injured, said Jacob Brauer 17

Freemans Falcons were not able to make the

playoffs but helped many fantasy teams into their
playoffs.
Wide Receiver: Allen Robinson, Jaguars
Projections: 1,039 yards // 5 TDs // 133 points
15 Season: 1,400 yards // 14 TDs // 217 points
The Jaguars second year receiver was able play
in all 16 games of the regular season. Tying for the
league lead in touchdowns, Robinson was able to
draw some eyes to Jacksonville and the potential of
such a young offense. Robinson posted the fourth
most amount of points by any wide receiver.
Allen Robinson deserves to be in elite wide receiver talk because he is putting up numbers that
only compares to Jerry Rice and Randy Moss, said
Joey Veneri 17.
Robinson put himself in elite receiver talk and
should be inside the top the 10 when draft season
rolls around.
Tight End: Jordan Reed, Redskins
Projections: 624 yards // 4 TDs // 85 points
15 Season: 952 yards // 11 TDs // 150 points
Plagued by injuries the past two season, Reed
was able to bounce back while posting double digit
touchdowns and near 1,000 receiving yards. The
breaking out of Kirk Cousins helped a lot, but the
excellent speed and size at tight end, Reed was able
to dominant line backing corps.
Jordan reed used his powerful battering ram
like abilities to crush defenders get yards and score
those touchdowns, said Jamey Daley 17.
There was a surprising amount of good tight end
play this year and Reed was able to post the second
most points at his position. Barring injury, the tight
end should be a top five tight end heading into the
draft.

throwing 4 interceptions with no touchdowns and

was held under 100 yards. Resulting in -7 points,
Manning was replaced by Brock Osweiler and
watched him take his Broncos to the end of the regular season. Manning has now taken back his job
for playoffs, but fantasy owners should not expect
much of an improvement next season.
Running Back: DeMarco Murray, Eagles
Projected: 1,357 yards // 12 Total TDs // 204
points
15 Season: 1,024 yards // 7 Total TDs // 129
points
Coming off leading the league in rushing yards,
Murray signed with the Eagles after the Cowboys
were not able to agree on a bigger deal. Being apart
of Chip Kellys fast paced offense he was looked at
to be one of the best backs yet again. Offensive line
troubles and the east-west running style of the Eagles forced Murray into the worst start of his career.
When DeMarco Murray was given a bad offensive line he failed because he is just an average back
who got lucky being behind the best offensive line
in the NFL on the Cowboy, said David Toth 17.
Wide Receiver: Dez Bryant, Cowboys
Projected: 1,367 yards // 10 TDs // 194 points
15 Season: 401 yards // 3 TDs // 54 points
After a week one injury, Bryant was sidelined
for the next 5 weeks. Which is not too bad but the
only other problem was his star quarterback Tony
Romo broke his left clavicle, placing him on designated IR. Romo was able to return for a couple
games until re-breaking the bone yet again, ending
his season for good.
I had Dez until he got hurt and he wasnt throwing up the X (touchdown celebration) anymore,
said Brandon Carey 18.
Bryant and backup quarterback Matt Cassel
were never able to get into rhythm resulting in Bryant into putting together one of his worst seasons
of his career.
Tight End: Jimmy Graham, Seahawks
Projected: 775 yards // 9 TDs // 30 points
15 Season: 605 yards // 2 TDs // 69 points
One of the biggest offseason trades included star
tight end Jimmy Graham being shipped from New
Orleans to Seattle, however, he had inconsistent
plays to start the season.
He was terrible for my fantasy team because
he never scored touchdowns and then he got hurt,
said Maria DiCrese 18.

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Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have their work cut out for

them. Though the Seahawks have a great
playoff history, other teams in their division starting to perform better.

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4:40p.m.

VS.

Sunday, Jan. 17

Historically, the Steelers have seen lots of

success during the postseason. The last
time the Steelers were ranked 6, they won
the Super Bowl.

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Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC North
Runners-Up

#6 seed
in AFC

NFC West
Runners-Up

VS.

#6 seed
in NFC

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers had the best season in team

history, going 15-1. They are matched
with the Seahawks this weekend, who
have been in the Super Bowl the last two
years.

8:15p.m.

Favored to win the NFC, the Cardinals

have high expectations for this years
postseason. The cardinals finished the
season with a record of 13-2. Carson
Palmer threw for well over 4,000 yards.
The teams defense is seen as the strong
suit, but losing Tyrann Mathieu to an
ACL injury may affect their success.

everything you
need to know
about the...

#1 seed
in AFC

Arizona Cardinals

#5 seed
in NFC

Saturday, Jan. 16

Saturday, Jan. 16

AFC West
Champs

NFC North
Runners-Up

#2 seed
in AFC

4:35p.m.

After a tough week 17 loss to Minnesota, The Packers started the playoffs with
a over Washington. Despite the receiver
problem, Rodgers made sure that would
not be a problem in the divisional game.
The Broncos had a successful start to
their season, but fell down the rankings
in the later half. The last three weeks of
the season the Broncos lost two out of
three games to the Raiders and Steelers,
in addition to barely beating the Chargers. After being hurt, Peyton Manning is
now back in his starting role.

AFC East
Champs

NFC West
Champs
#2 seed
in NFC

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#5 seed
in AFC

Green Bay Packers

Denver Broncos

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The Patriots started the season with a

perfect 10-0 record. Tom Brady threw for
4770 yards in the air to top off finishing
the year 12-4. In addition, Rob Gronkowski caught 11 touchdowns and Julian
Edelman caught seven. The team is has
13.6% chance in the Super Bowl odds.

AFC West
Runners-Up

en

New England Patriots

VS.

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The Chiefs finished the regular season on

a ten game winning streak. Being lead by
Alex Smith, The Chiefs are a team that
may make a run at the Super Bowl.

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Kansas City Chiefs

ALL-BUST TEAM
Quarterback: Peyton Manning, Broncos
Projection: 4,675 yards // 34 TDs // 14 Ints //
299 points
15 Season: 2,249 yards // 9 TDs // 17 Ints // 87
points
Just two years after tossing a league record 55
touchdowns, Mannings age finally hit him as he just
was never the same at all. Arm strength was a problem that caused Manning not to be able to hook up
with his big play receivers Emmanuel Sanders and
Demaryius Thomas. Then week 10 rolled along and
Manning had one of the worst games of his career,

1:05p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 17

NFC South
Champs
#1 seed
in NFC