Welcome to our Week 12 Beast, Busts and Sleepers. In this feature we try to dig deep and look beyond the obvious. We look for players that may produce over their heads as our Beasts. We look for players who may underachieve as our Busts. We look for players who could surprise as our Sleepers.

THE CRITERIA

QB: 20 FP or more = Beast
RB/WR: 15 FP or more = Beast
TE/PK/DST: 10 FP or more = Beast

RECORD BY CATEGORY

Beasts: 53-46
Busts: 63-36
Sleepers: 25-60

THE BEASTS
Beyond the obvious:

QB: Carson Palmer CIN vs CLE - Palmer will use his arm, not his legs to win this one for the Bengals.

QB: Matt Ryan ATL vs TB - Without Turner the Falcons will take flight under the dome.

RB: LaDainian Tomlinson SD vs KC - The Chargers are firing on all cylinders and LT is leading the way.

RB: Justin Forsett SEA at STL - Forcett, fighting for the starters role, is a dynamic pass catching back.

WR: Pierre Garcon IND at HOU - This track meet style game will produce a ton of Fantasy points.

WR: Vincent Jackson SD vs KC - After scoring 11.6 FP over his last two games VJ will have a big week.

TE: Greg Olsen CHI at MIN - QB Cutler will need a safety valve against the tough Vikings defense.

PK: Jason Elam ATL vs TB  - It’s been a down year for Elam but he will get his chances in this one.

DST: Bengals vs Browns - Fired up after the loss to the Raiders, the Bengals may pitch a shutout.

THE BUSTS
Studs to Duds:

QB: Donovan McNabb PHI vs WAS - The Eagles will attack on the ground against the Skins leaky run D.

QB: Chad Henne MIA at BUF - The Bills have given up a league low 130.7 FP to the QB position.

RB: Mike Bell NO vs NE - Facing the Patriots, Bell will come back to earth after a huge Week 11.

RB: Matt Forte CHI vs MIN - Sophomore jinx will continue for Forte against the stout Vikings run D.

WR: Jerricho Cotchery NYJ vs CAR - After two hot weeks, Cotchery will cool off versus the Panthers pass D.

WR: Steve Smith CAR at NYJ - Smith has been hot as well. The Jets will keep him in check in this one.

TE: Vernon Davis SF vs JAC - Jags have allowed just one TE TD all season and none since Week 3.

PK: Billy Cundiff BAL vs PIT - Don’t expect a repeat of his 19.4 FP in Week 11 against the Steelers.

DST: Saints vs Patriots - The Saints have been reliable all season but can’t be trusted here.

THE SLEEPERS:
Underachievers with a chance to shine:

QB: Kyke Boller STL vs SEA - This is a reach but the Seahawks have allowed 19 passing TD’s.

RB: Bernard Scott CIN vs CLE - If Benson sits, Scott will have a field day against the Browns run D.

RB: Jason Snelling ATL vs TB – Snelling is another backup who will produce RB1 numbers this week.

WR: T.J. Houshmandzedah SEA at STL - Housh will rebound in a game that should be a high scoring affair.

WR: Jason Avant PHI vs WAS - Avant will find space when the Redskins key on Jackson and Maclin.

TE: Fred Davis WAS at PHI - The Eagles rank last in TE D, expect a repeat of his Week 7, 13 FP.

PK: Nick Folk DAL vs OAK - Folk will feast on the Raiders who rank 29th against the PK position.

DST: 49ers vs Jaguars - Garrard struggles on the road and SF is facing a must win game.

FANTASY FACTS:

Left on the waiver wire in most drafts, Matthew Stafford (39.8 FP) and Brady Quinn (31.6 FP) led all QB FP scoring in Week 11. Their nine TD passes were more than Peyton Mannng (1), Tom Brady (1), Tony Romo (1), Philip Rivers (1) and Aaron Rodgers (2), threw combined.

After posting 26.7 FP in Week 11, Brett Favre needs 116 FP in his last six games to exceed his career high of 320.8 FP he recorded in the 2001 season. Farve is tied with Peyton Manning for second with 21 TD passes that is one back of Drew Brees who has 22 TD passes.

Teams facing injury woes at the RB position got a boast from their backups in Week 11. Ricky Wiiliams (33.8 FP), Jason Snelling (23.9 FP), Justin Forsett (22.9 FP), Mike Bell (21.0 FP), Bernard Scott (18.1 FP) and LeSean McCoy (15.9 FP) all posted solid starting RB FP.

RB Marshawn Lynch (68.3 FP) was suspended for the first three games of the season but was drafted fairly high in most drafts. Owners who expected Lynch to be fresh and help them down the stretch have to be disappointed by his paltry 9.8 FP per game average.

Despite missing two weeks to injury, WR Wes Welker leads the league in pass receptions with 79. He is now tied with Larry Fitzgerald with 108 targets. His 23.8 FP per game is second only to Aaron Rodgers (25.3 FP PG). Welker now sits fourth overall in WR FP scoring.

Two relatively forgotten WR rewarded their patient owners who stuck with them in Week 11. Terrell Owens (34.7 FP) and Calvin Johnson (29.1 FP) both recorded season high FP totals. Their FP totals were second and third behind Welker (35.3) in WR FP scoring in Week 11.

TE Kevin Boss has averaged 17.2 FP PG over his last three starts after starting the season with a 5.6 FP PG average in his first six games. Brandon Pettigrew has averaged 14.5 FP per game in his last three starts after posting a 4.7 FP PG average in his first seven games.

After missing on several key attempts this season, the Ravens cut PK Steve Hauschka and signed PK Billy Cundiff this past week. Cundiff led all PK in FP scoring in Week 11 with 19.4 FP. Don’t expect a similar result this weekend against the Steelers.

It was a rough weekend for DST FP scoring. Despite having a full slate of 16 games, the 32 DST managed just 190 FP in Week 11. That is the lowest single weekly total since the 188 FP scored back in Week 2.

The Saints (1322) lead all teams in FP scoring. The Patriots (1285) are second and the Colts (1251) are third. At the other end of the spectrum, the Raiders (622) have the least FP. The Browns (655) are second last and the Redskins (756) round out the bottom three.

FANTASY FACTOR:

The Fantasy Factor was a modest 12-4 in Week 10 and we currently sit with a 109-51 record. No one saw the Bengals and Steelers both losing while the Panthers and Texans both choked at home.

Let’s take a look at Week 12.

A mismatch of Fantasy Beasts versus Fantasy Busts goes a long way to deciding the outcome of NFL games. If you wager on the outcome of games, especially on the Money Line, you need to consider the Fantasy Factor.

B: Bad Bet (17-23): These are not good games to select a winner from based on the Fantasy Factor. You should stay away from these games.

M: Middle Bet (40-16): These are decent games to select a winner from based on the Fantasy Factor. You should still consider all the facts before picking from these games.

E: Excellent Bet (52-12): These are excellent games to select a winner from based on the Fantasy Factor. Load up and enjoy!!!

	B	M	E			B	M	E			B	M	E
Panthers @					Giants @		X			Packers @			X
Jets	X				Broncos					Lions
	B	M	E			B	M	E			B	M	E
Jaguars @					Dolphins @		X			Bucs @
49ers	X				Bills					Falcons			X
	B	M	E			B	M	E			B	M	E
Cardinals @					Seahawks @		X			Browns @
Titans	X				Rams					Bengals			X
	B	M	E			B	M	E			B	M	E
Steelers @					Redskins @					Chiefs @
Ravens	X				Eagles		X			Chargers			X
						B	M	E			B	M	E
					Colts @		X			Bears @
					Texans					Vikings			X
						B	M	E			B	M	E
					Patriots @					Raiders @
					Saints		X			Cowboys			X

VFFP Crew

Photo Credit: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1141926/1/index.htm