Week 16 certainly fell in line with what has been one of the strangest fantasy football seasons ‘Ole Toad can remember.

That certainly wasn’t the revenge game folks were hoping for from DeSean Jackson. With a stat line of 4/40/0, Jackson suddenly became a team player and focused on the win.

On the flip side, there are a lot of smiling Pierre Garcon owners right now.

This just in… Jordan Reed owners are winning some championships.

Here’s a quick fun fact and something to file away for future reference.  When Zach Ertz plays against the Washington Redskins in Week 16 you start him. Over the past two years in Week 16 tilts between the teams, Ertz has been targeted 35 times and has 28 receptions.

So, Kirk Cousins has become a fantasy football star. I really never thought I would be typing that and I am a bandwagon Michigan State fan. Few had the foresight that Mike Shanahan did back in 2012 when he drafted Cousins in the 4th round after being forced to mortgage the future by owner Daniel Snyder in a trade that landed them Robert Griffin III.

Malcolm Smith was an afterthought on the Seattle defense after being the Super Bowl MVP. He has been a stalwart on the Raiders defense as well as in IDP leagues and figures to be so in the future. I picked up Malcolm Smith in mid-November after he was dropped by another team. Ironically, I’m facing the that very same team in the championship of our experts league. Thankfully, he did drop Smith, as Smith scored 22.3 fantasy points this week, compared to a total of 20.3 fantasy points for his three LBs combined.

This week worked out just as Latavius Murray owners hoped it would. In a season full of injuries and disappointments it was nice to see things fall into place at a critical time at the RB position. Unfortunately, most of Murray’s owners were already on vacation. Of course, some more second half production would have been nice.

Another name to keep in mind for 2016 is Dontrelle Inman of the Chargers.  Playing opposite of Keenan Allen he could post great numbers next season as Malcom Floyd and Stevie Johnson are on the way out.  We can avoid Inman in Week 17 as the Chargers face the Denver Broncos.

Hats off to the Raiders for trying to give Charles Woodson the chance to win the game in overtime on offense.

Owners in PPR formats (and standard leagues in Week 15) have loved Danny Woodhead lately. It’s too bad that his performance in the previous month was so dismal that he likely cost teams the chance to get to the playoffs.

A full season of DeAngelo Hall at safety could be an interesting IDP option in 2016.

The way Frank Gore looked this week is why I was pimping him so hard in the preseason. Unfortunately, weeks like this one were too few and far between for Gore over the season.

Brandon Weeden is now passing and running for touchdowns as the quarterback for the Houston Texans. That has got to be hard for Cowboys’ fans to take. Yes. I am piling on but there’s not a team that deserves it more than Jerry’s kids. Speaking of Cowboys’ fans, what are the odds that Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith will have the Cowboys as a debate topic today? As long as that team employs Greg Hardy all bad things that happen…well…what is the saying? “Karma is a …BITCH”

Kawann Short led a lot of IDP teams to a championship this week. The kid is a name to keep high in rankings come fantasy draft day 2016.

Another name we want to remember at the DE position in 2016 drafts is Demarcus Lawrence of the Cowboys. The kid is finally healthy and flat out getting after quarterbacks down the stretch.

Zach Mettenberger has thrown an interception in every game he has started. Just thought I would throw that fun fact in.

Remember when the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills met in back-to-back Super Bowls way back when? Those blowouts were more fun to watch than the debacle between the teams on Sunday. Ugh. Well…unless you owned Karlos Williams or Mike Gillislee.

J.J. Watt’s first sack since injuring his wrist was a huge one. He strip-sacked Zach Mettenberger when the Titans were inside the five-yard line.

So, Ryan Mallett led the Ravens to victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Case Keenum beat the Seahawks in Seattle. Yep. We all saw those victories coming.

Well it took until overtime but I get to write this again. Another week and there is another Eric Decker touchdown.  I won’t even write about the cluster fuck OT coin toss call!  That speaks for itself….

If you ever wonder why fantasy pundits suggest ‘handcuffing’ running backs look no further than DeAngelo Williams. Owners that drafted Le’Veon Bell and didn’t select Williams are cursing themselves and having a slightly less ‘Happy’ Holiday season.

Nice to see a great game from Julio Jones in helping the Atlanta Falcons to upset the previously unbeaten Carolina Panthers.  That’s how a true professional responds to a challenge. Especially considering how badly the Panthers crushed the Falcons only a few weeks ago. 

At the worst possible time, big name quarterbacks came up woefully short this week likely costing many owners championship runs. Cam Newton, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger all finished outside the top 15 in most standard scoring formats. Earlier this season, I paid dearly to acquire Rodgers in an experts league and as it turns out, I should have just gone with my backup, Jameis Winston, as Rodgers has only out-scored Winston by 27 points this season. Or in other words, they finished lower than Ryan Mallett, Brandon Weeden and Blaine Gabbert. Just let that sink in.

If you can’t laugh at this crazy game sometimes then you will spend a lot of time crying.

Bears running back Ka’Deem Carey has made plenty of fantasy owners angry this week. No one likes a vulture Ka’Deem and no one holds a grudge like a fantasy football owner scorned.

It feels strange riding Tim Hightower to a championship. It also feels so fuckin’ good!

It also feels good to see the season Brandon Marshall has had. I’ve always had a soft spot for him and also scooped him up in a ton of drafts this year. Yes. This is where Toad pats himself on the back just a little bit.

This is where Toad goes in the other direction.

Did anyone else bench Doug Baldwin for Sammy Watkins this week?  Really? It was only me… Sigh.

That was quite the beat down that Calais Campbell and the Cardinals defense put on the Packers this week. Sorry ‘Cheese heads’ but there is no long playoff run in store for that offense. There is no worse feeling than when a team is so far ahead that they bench your fantasy starters. Thanks Green Bay for getting so badly pummeled that Carson Palmer was lifted early. Wait…Aaron Rodgers was just sacked again.

I am trying to find something exciting to write about the Lions and 49ers game. Hang on…I’ve got it…Matthew Stafford had another strong game and Ameer Abdullah didn’t fumble. Whew…that was not easy. I will say this. Abdullah and Jeremy Langford are my very early 2016 sleeper running backs.

The Vikings are manhandling a New York Giants team that is without Odell Beckham Jr. or a sense of purpose after the Redskins won the NFC East.  Breaking this game down from a fantasy perspective would be an insult to all of us. Let the fire Tom Coughlin cries commence.

This is where I leave you for Week 16. Good luck to those that made their leagues Final Show.

It has been my pleasure to have once again been able to bring folks another year of  The Toad Zone  and I look forward to doing so again in 2016.