Fantasy Football Reality Check: Adrian Peterson's No-Show a Teachable Moment

How many of you got stuck with an inactive Adrian Peterson on Monday night? How many of you cost yourself a trip to the Super Bowl because of it?

You have no one to blame but yourself.

I realize most AP owners probably aren't reading this. After all, if they were eliminated, they're probably not reading anything fantasy football-related right now. I'm just tired of hearing the whiners blame AP, Brett Favre, Mother Nature, or Tarvaris Jackson for their own lapse in judgment. You asked for it. Plain and simple.

Fantasy football, or more specifically, the fantasy football playoffs, is all about avoiding risk. Why would anyone wait until the most important week of the season to depend on a guy listed as questionable without a backup plan in place? Especially when that guy is playing on Monday night? Remember, in most leagues, the guys who played on Sunday are locked from being added/dropped until that week's games are finished, which means if you didn't own any Bears or Vikings except for Adrian Peterson this past week, you would've had to cut AP to get a Toby Gerhart, Chester Taylor, or -- it pains me to even say his name -- Lorenzo Booker.

Obviously, if you needed the points and were desperate, you would've cut AP, no questions asked. Even for Booker. But why would anybody willingly choose to paint themselves in a corner like that? Even if you managed to survive, you would've essentially handed Peterson to your opponent on a silver platter. Just in time for the championship game. Now that's genius.

I'm not a kick-a-guy-while-he's-down or I-told-you-so type at all; I just want to make sure people learn from their mistakes. Luck and skill will bring you places in this game, but dumb will make sure you don't get far.

Rodgers to the rescue? Not so fast.
Obviously, this isn't a reflection of anything Rodgers did in Week 15; he didn't even play (concussion). This is more about the risk you're taking with him as your starter in Week 16. Look, I'm not telling you to bench Rodgers for, say, Rex Grossman (more on him in a bit). But if you're in a shallow format or happened to get lucky with a really good backup -- like Roethlisberger, who you were able to grab late on draft day, or Matt Schaub, who's playing his best fake football of the year right now -- it might not be a bad idea to keep Rodgers in reserve. I say this for two reasons. One, as previously mentioned, Rodgers is coming off a concussion. Two, he's facing the Giants. Can you remember the last time the Giants didn't knock a QB out of a game (Mike Vick aside)? You can bet they'll be out for blood after the way they lost to Philly last week. A win also clinches a playoff spot for the Gmen. I certainly won't begrudge you for sticking with your stud; just know that if Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Jason Pierre-Paul get to Rodgers early, you could get stuck with a bagel.

Stickin' with Shiancoe
Visanthe Shiancoe saw nine balls thrown his way in Week 15, second only to Jason Witten in targets among tight ends. Expect more of the same this coming weekend when Shiancoe takes on the Eagles. Philly's ceding a league-high 10.2 points per game to opposing tight ends in 2010. They've allowed 10 TDs to the position over the last 11 weeks.

In Tebow we trust?
Not really. Tebow's arm-slash-mechanics (or whatever you call that thing he does) still leave much to be desired. He was throwing ducks pretty much all afternoon on Sunday; even the TD to Brandon Lloyd was a horribly-thrown ball (it should've been picked off). Tebow does, however, have a couple things working in his favor. He'll face the worst pass defense of all time in Week 16 (Houston), and with Knowshon Moreno questionable (ribs), the Broncos will lean on Tebow's legs to chew up yards on the ground. I'm probably not starting him in standard 12-team, one-QB leagues, but anything larger and he's a viable play.

To the next Webb-isode
Webb as a QB? No thanks. Webb as a WR? Me likey a lot more than I thought I would. He's a top-30 WR in Week 16.

That's Gross, man.
I'll give credit where credit is due -- Sexy Rexy was fantastic against Dallas (322 yards, four TDs). Key word: Dallas (28th-ranked pass defense). Can he do it again against Jacksonville? I wouldn't bet on it. The Jaguars are just as bad against the pass as the 'Boys, but I just can't see the journeyman QB as anything more than a one-week wonder. Dog's a** and sunshine type if you know what I mean. You weren't seriously considering pinning your title hopes on him anyway, right?

Hedge on Benson
Just because Benson went off against the Browns (150 rushing yards, TD), don't be fooled into thinking he's a must-start in Week 16. I don't care if the Bengals are using a fullback or if they've decided to commit to the ground game. With Terrell Owens out, Chad Ochocinco questionable, and Carson Palmer, well, being Carson Palmer, Benson is a marked man. He's also going up against the Chargers second-ranked run defense. I'm not saying you have to bench him; just consider your other options.

Charles in Charge
Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part -- I've been one of Jamaal Charles' biggest supporters -- but now that Thomas Jones has gone over the 10,000-yard mark and Charles has a legitimate shot to lead the league in rushing, maybe Todd Haley can finally get out of his way and give him the damn ball. He's only averaging 6.4 yards per carry this season (6.0 for his career). Also worth noting: Charles scored on a goal-line carry against the Rams. It was just the fifth time this season he'd touched the rock inside the five. Maybe we'll see more of that against Tennessee.

I don't want to hear more about Sam.
Seven of Sam Bradford's 17 TDs came against Denver, Carolina, and Seattle. That impress you? So what if he throws the ball 35-40 times a game. He's got a sub-60-percent completion rate and is averaging just 5.9 yards per attempt (among QBs with at least 150 attempts, only Jimmy Clausen's been worse). He averaged 4.2 YPA against KC this past weekend, the fourth time this season he's posted a sub-5.0 mark. I'm sorry, but that's not the makings of a good NFL QB -- present, future, real-life, or fantasy.

Mike Vick vs. Peyton Manning
Vick (41 points in Week 15) is running laps around Manning (19 points in Week 15) at this point. He's like Michael Jordan to Manning's Harold Miner. Over the last four weeks, Vick has outscored Manning 124-77. He's actually the top-scoring QB in standard formats, despite starting just nine games. That's sick.

Each week of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.