FanHouse Kris Brown

It's no secret that kicker is the most fickle and unpredictable position in fantasy sports. Even the most seemingly sure-fire starters can throw up a terrible stat-line due to exterior variables (like Nick Folk last week, though he did miss a field goal).

Still, we have to plow forward and the best we can do is judge the stats in front of us or hope to find a high-scoring affair. In Week 12, we have a doozy of a Monday Night Football game with serious shootout potential. So we'll roll with those two kickers atop the rankings.

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

It's been a weekly crap-shoot trying to determine which New York Giant running back would perform better between Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Both have been dinged up and Bradshaw rarely practices more than once per week, but each rusher still trots out there and dutifully carries the ball each week.

Over the last four weeks Bradshaw has received 41.6% of the carries and 49.6% have gone to Jacobs. Their yardage has been a bit more varied as Bradshaw has rushed for 126 yards total and Jacobs 268 over those four games.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around pointing skyward, while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds for Week 11.

Studs

Ricky Williams, RB, Miami (22 carries, 119 yards, three touchdowns): No, it's not 2002. Yes, Ricky Williams was on the top performers of the week. Williams, filling in as the starting running back for injured Ronnie Brown went nuts against Carolina last Thursday, topping the 100-yard mark and finding the end zone three times -- twice on the ground, one through the air -- in a 24-17 Miami win. Williams' 22 carries were the most he's had since a 28-carry day in Week 17 of 2005. He followed that up by violating the league's substance abuse policy and being suspended for all of 2006. Let's hope he's got healthier plans this time around.

Before Jeff Reed arrived in Pittsburgh, field goal kicking was sometimes a scary event for Steelers fans. Any Pittsburgh fan who has been around a while can't help but remember Kris Brown's four missed field goals in a 13-10 loss to the Ravens in 2001. It was one of those rare cases where a field goal kicker can truly be blamed completely for a loss.

Reed has never had a game like that. Two years ago, he missed two field goals for the entire season. Before Sunday, he hadn't missed two field goals in one game in five years. So it's worth cutting Reed a little slack after he botched two makeable field goals in the Steelers' 17-14 loss to the Bears.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Houston has forgotten what it is like to root for its hometown NFL team in the playoffs. It's been since the 1993 season that a playoff berth has graced this football-obsessed region, and everyone wonders after two 8-8 Texans seasons whether the team finally has the pieces to make a legitimate playoff run. The Texans have replaced the Cardinals as the trendy dark horse pick that might break out in 2009. No really. Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin's comments are pretty representative of this sort of thinking.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Quiet Contenders. With an explosive offense -- last season's third most prolific to be precise -- Houston is a hot topic this season in fantasy terms. Last season, starter Matt Schaub and backup Sage Rosenfels combined for a franchise record in passing offense. Furthermore, rookie running back Steve Slaton proved to be the sleeper of the season.

This year, with an improved defense and a healthy Schaub, the Texans look like real deal contenders. The defense remains the big question mark, but the offense should keep them in contention, and more importantly continue to provide fantasy owners with big-time points.

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The Texans signed kicker Kris Brown to a four year, $10 million dollar extension. This includes $2.5 million dollar guaranteed, making him one of the best paid kickers in the league.

This happens to refute linebacker DeMeco Ryans' recent contention that the Texans don't reward their own players. Ryans and the Texans are working on a long term deal, and Ryans is a little grumpy that TE Owen Daniels, CB Dunta Robinson and he don't have them worked out yet. Maybe they are next in line? After a kicker?

One question is whether Brown's accurate performance of the last two years is going to continue. As FootballGuys.com notes, Brown has improved in scoring performance every year as a Texan, especially so since his scoring opportunities improved after Gary Kubiak took over head coaching duties.

Before you move any further, make sure to check out Part 1, if you haven't done so. I explain things in the intro. For our purposes on this post, however, there's no need to twiddle the thumbs. Let's dive in:

Wide Receiver

How about that Sunday night game for the Denver receivers? Last time around, they completely schooled the Chargers secondary. Now Eddie Royal has tons more experience under his belt, and Brandon Marshall is still just as talented. Both of them are in line for an obscene stat-line in what should be a shootout.

Only illegal formations by his teammates can stop Megatron. Yes, start Calvin Johnson in all formats. He's just too good to sit.

I'd avoid Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez, because of the fact that Jim Sorgi should be under center for the majority of the afternoon for the Colts. It's just too much of a gamble to try and predict where the touches go for Indy.

I'm a Bears fan, and I have absolutely no idea how they can do anything to remotely stop Andre Johnson. He's likely to go berserk. Again.

When Texans #1 receiver Andre Johnson strained his knee in Week 2 against the Panthers, estimates on his return were as long as five weeks. The Houston Chronicle is reporting today that it is likely that Johnson won't be back until the November 18th home game against New Orleans.

Uh-oh.

The Texans have a history of providing overly positive assessments to fans of when players will come back. See e.g. Tony Boselli, Domanick Davis/Williams, Charles Spencer. Hopefully, Johnson's situation is not in that league of unhappy results. For an additional information about Johnson's injury, please check out my September discussion.

The Texans have been able to throw the ball in Johnson's absence even without a functioning running game, but his presence is particularly missed in the red zone. If they can't figure out how to improve red zone scoring in Johnson's absence, field goal kicker Kris Brown is going to have a lot more opportunities like he did against the Dolphins.

Probably the only thing that this game will be remembered for is Miami quarterback Trent Green suffering a concussion after blocking Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson in the knees and flipping him onto his head. And Johnson angrily yelling and walking past the motionless body of Green. And then going into a tirade in the locker room about how Green's play was dirty. And then apologizing.

(There's lots being written and said about this--some inaccurate--so I suggest watching the video and deciding for yourself).

Whether or not Green's play was dirty, It's pretty ugly to watch someone scream at an unmoving body, or hear of such a locker room rant after a game being stopped for a long time after Green was being put on a stretcher. Apparently, Green has a concussion, and at least some are suggesting that this incident demonstrates that he should retire.

The game was nearly as ugly as the play on the field. Though Ted Ginn Jr. played well on returns against a good special teams, getting a great average field position for Miami, he also was part responsible for that broken play that led to Green's concussion. Miami fans are still waiting for his break out receiving game, though he did have one catch for a 36 yard gain.

Ugly defines the Texans running game. Against the worst run defense in the league, the Texans managed to get 59 yards from their backup running backs, Ron Dayne and Samkon Gado for an average of 2.4 yards a carry. The Texans need Ahman Green back and healthy, but given his history so far, they are in desperate need for a Plan B.