The Top 10 Most Frustrating Fantasy Football Players of 2011

The feeling I get when I pick up a John Skelton off the waiver wire in Week 10 and he goes off for 315 and 3 TDs is so much better than the feeling I get, having wasted my 2^nd round pick on Roddy White and watching him average 62 YPG and .33 TDs per game for the first 10 weeks of the season.

It’s a year where Ryan Fitzpatrick comes out of relative obscurity and fires off 9 TDs to 3 INTs and averages almost 280 YPG through 3 games.  It’s a year where Ben Roethlisberger goes for 3 TDs and 4 INTs over the same stretch of 3 games.

To start or sit, that is the question.  This is not about players who are having disappointing or bad years.  Those guys are easy to bench.  This is about the guys who leave you guessing.  Total crapshoot.  Due to indecisiveness I have had more Sunday morning, 11:59am transactions this year than ever before.  The frustrations have been endless.  We’ve all felt them.

Chris Johnson

How many of you drafted this guy 1^st or 2^nd overall only to see him fail week after week: fail to get any significant yardage; fail to get in the end zone?  Do you trade him in Week 7 or 8?  Hoping to get some value in return?  Now, he goes for 130 and 190 in 2 of his last three games.  Even with this said, he sandwiched a 12 carry for 13 yard performance in the middle of those stellar outings.  And, he still can’t find the endzone with a Garmin.

Roddy White

White's seasonal frustration hits close to home.  I thought this guy would have a huge year—somewhere in the 1350 yard, 12-15 TD range.  He currently sits on 4 TDs though week 12.  He’s had two nice receiving games back to back, but how does this change when Julio Jones comes back at full strength?  Does he go back to the 60 YPG and a TD every 3 games?

Philadelphia Eagles Defense and Special Teams

In most leagues, defense includes special teams in point totals.  The Eagles defense should be a money maker!  Going into the season the defense was stacked to the point of absurdity.  The special teams was no slouch.  DeSean Jackson, love him or hate him, is very exciting and capable of just about anything with the ball in his hands.  Week 1 they get 5 sacks and a FF recovery, which went back for a TD while giving up only 13 pts.

Week 2 they get 4 sacks and 2 INTs but give up 35 pts. The downward trend continues in 4 straight losses.  Then in Week 8 they drill Dallas – 4 Sacks, 1 INT and give up 7 pts in the 4^th quarter.

Philip Rivers

A Top 8 QB prospect coming into the season, Rivers has been a safe bet to start for the last couple of years.  This year he is the model of frustration.  His yardage is through the roof at 292 a game.  But he’s averaging an INT for every TD (16 / 17) and almost a fumble a game at 8.  Rivers has twice thrown for over 375 yards and has thrown for 6 TDs in those games.  He also threw 5 INTs in those games.

Tony Romo

Year over year this guy seems to be a given for the All Frustration team.  This year is no different.  Through the first 14 quarters and 2 minutes 37 seconds of the season, Romo was gunning at a 7 TD to 2 INT rate.  Then the second half of the Detroit game happened.  Over the next 3 weeks, including 2 loses, he went a pedestrian 4 TDs to 2 INTs and 228 ypg.  Since the second half of the Seattle game in Week 9 through Week 11 he goes on another tear – 8 TDs to 0 INTs.  Last week – another average performance 2 TDs / 2 INTs and 228 yards.

Chris "Beanie" Wells

This guy was a fringe Top 20 RB in most FFL drafts.  One of those DeAngelo Williams' or LaGarette Blount—could have a great year, could get hurt and sit down for 15 games. Wells started the year on a tear with 90 yds (1 TD), 93 (1 TD) and 138 (3 TDs).  He then went through a 6 game stretch where he averaged 50 YPG and .33 TDs a game.  Yesterday, Week 12 against St. Louis, out of nowhere, he blows up for 228 and a TD.

James Harrison

For those of you playing in a Defender in addition to Defense league, Harrison has been a true source of frustration.  He starts off the year with 9 tackles.  That’s a nice chunk of points.  Follows that up with 4 tackles, no sacks.  Week 3—7 tackles and a sack.  Week 4 gets hurt. Comes back Week 9 and secures 8 tackles and 3 sacks! This is the guy you drafted!  The guy who averaged over 12 sacks a year and 93 tackles for the last 3 years.   Week 12—5 tackles, no sacks.

David Akers

Due to his accuracy and ability to kick from long range outdoors, Akers has been “starter worthy” in FFL for a lot of years now. This year has been frustrating. How many guys on your FFL play for a team you don’t give a damn about? Or seriously despise? Vick is on my team.  He’s whatever for me, but I hate the Eagles.  So, when the 49ers beat the Cardinals in Week 11, but Akers misses 3 field goals it is not okay, “Because we got the win”.  I didn’t get the win. I lost in my league by 5.  I don’t care if the Niners got the win. I lost in FFL because Akers decided to botch 30, 46 and 49 yard field goal attempts: 2 blocked, 1 sailed wide. He missed two 40 something yard field goals in Week 4 too. I don’t care that they beat the Eagles… okay, I care a little, but only because I hate the Eagles. The 8 pts I missed out on were far more important to me. Outside of these 5 misses, Akers is 28/28 on the year.

Houston Texans and Their TEs

Seriously, pick one.  For the love of Fantasy Football, and the fact that we can only have one TE on our starting roster, either throw to Dreessen or Daniels—not both and not on alternating weeks. 

Traditionally, Owen Daniels has been a solid FFL start.  This year you never know what you’re going to get. The guy who gets 1 catch for 12 yards? (Week 1)  Or 2 catches for 13 yards? (Week 6) Or 3 catches for 31 yards? (Week 10)  Or are you going to get 76 yards and a TD? (Week 3)  Or 69 yards and a TD? (Week 4)

Perhaps you saw Owens’ slide and dropped him for his understudy, Joel Dreessen, who went off for 112 yards and a TD in Week 5?  He followed that up with a missed game due to injury, but followed that up with 2 TDs over his next 2 games.  Then he went scoreless with only 27 yards receiving.  Then he missed a game due to injury.  Then he scored another TD…

Adrian Peterson

Though he's not having an awful year, he is certainly a bright(er) spot in the misery that is the Minnesota Vikings season. But AP has got to be frustrating for Fantasy owners.

Being a consensus top 3 pick in every FFL draft around the world, owners expect more.  Averaging 83 ypg and over a TD a game are nice stats... if you're Willis McGahee, Ryan Matthews, Rashard Mendenhall among others.  Not if you're Adrian Peterson. 

Those who drafted AP shouldn't be down on him, but clearly frustrated makes sense.  He is doing almost nothing on screens, with 16 catches this year to date.  The last two years he averaged nearly 40 catches to go along with his 300 rush attempts per season. 

Week 2 he goes for 120 yards and 2 TDs.  He follows that up with 78 and 80 yards a game for the next two, with a single TD scored.  Week 5, 122 yards and 3 TDs.  Then, Week 6—39 yards, but he does get in the end zone.  Week 7—175 yards and a TD.  Since Week 7 AP is averaging 53 yards and a TD a game. 

These are not Top 3 draft pick numbers. These are not what fantasy owners expected when they drafted him.  The numbers aren't awful either... which is what makes it so frustrating.