Ricky O'Donnell: December 2009 Archives

During baseball season, I always try to convince people that all a fan can reasonably hope for is a division title. If you cheer for the Cubs, White Sox, Yankees, whoever, and you go into every season with a "World Series-or-bust" mentality, then you'll never - or, very rarely - be happy.

The fact of the matter is that baseball is an extremely random sport. You build baseball teams to excel over the course of a 162-game season, not over the course of a best-of-seven playoff series. To win in the playoffs, you need skill, but you also need a ton of luck. As a fan, a division title is all you can realistically expect.

Fantasy football is similar. If you made the playoffs, awesome. You did your job. Now that we're here, it's pretty much just a coin flip.

That doesn't mean I haven't been scouring the Web looking for the best sit-and-start advice. Let's get to it, after the jump...

1) Brandon Jacobs - Giants
Vs. Cowboys

It's hard to classify Jacobs as anything other than a disappointment this season. He was spectacular in 2008, scoring 15 touchdowns. But much like his team, Jacobs has seen his performance dip this season. Going into Sunday's game against Dallas, he had just three touchdowns this year.

It's rare that a running back earns a spot here when rushing for under 40 yards, but Jacobs did just that with his performance against the Cowboys. He got in the end zone twice (one rushing, one 74-yard reception), and in a down week for top individuals, that's all it took.

If you needed a push to get into the playoffs, Jacobs' breakthrough couldn't have come at a better time. If you're on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, perhaps Jacobs' effort was too little too late.

We're approaching the last week of the fantasy regular season, and, as such, now seems like a good time to deem the fantasy football's most valuable player.

As always, there are lots of good candidates.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was the concensus number one overall draft pick, and he has performed about as well as everyone expected. He's averaging over 98 yards per game on the ground, has 12 rushing touchdowns, and has already set a new career high for receptions with five games remaining. He's still fumbles too much, but the man deemed Purple Jesus has put together an all-around fine year.

Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars has been great as well. The Mighty MJD was a top five pick in most leagues, and he performed like it. Jones-Drew is currently fifth in the NFL in rushing yards, and tops in touchdowns with 13. Unlike Peterson, he never fumbles - he's coughed it up just once this season. Jones-Drew has been great in the passing game as well, notching 41 receptions so far. He will be a top three pick without question next season.

But there is only one guy we can give MVP to. This shouldn't be a surprise. Titans' running back Chris Johnson has been the most dynamic player in football all season.

Instead of listing his mind-boggling stats, let's watch some videos. Follow along, after the jump...