By JIMMY D / Drew brilliant play is stupid for NFL fantasy | Jimmy's archive

The reality of the situation was that it was a brilliant and unselfish tactical move.

The fantasy of the situation is that Maurice Jones-Drew potentially killed your football pool or head-to-head league with a selfish and inconsiderate play.

So if there is someone cursing and muttering and maybe even kicking the water cooler at work today, he’s a Jones-Drew owner who lost Sunday when Jones-Drew deliberately didn’t score in the dying seconds of Jacksonville’s upset win against the Jets (link to the highlight is on www.JimmyDSports.com).

If there is someone snickering and watching that guy kick the cooler, he’s a fantasy owner who won because Jones-Drew took a knee.

It harked back to Brian Westbrook’s 2005 decision to not score against Dallas. But stopping and dropping on the one-yard line, the Eagles were assured they would run out the clock and clinch a 10-6 win.

On Sunday, Jones-Drew did the same thing as the Jets defense basically begged him to score. The Jets hoped to get the ball back and march down the field to win. By stopping, the Jags wound down the clock and kicked a field goal to win, leaving the Jets no time to rally.

The fantasy community wanted to give Jones-Drew a knee to the groin. But he had already scored twice and generated 123 rushing yards, so don’t be greedy!
For his part, Jones-Drew acknowledged he had hurt fantasy owners.

“Sorry to my fantasy owners,” Jones-Drew deadpanned. “I apologize. I had myself today. It was a tough call, but whatever it takes to get the victory, that’s what counts.”

Running back to the waiver wire

If you own Brian Westbrook, Michael Turner, Julius Jones, Clinton Portis, Ronnie Brown or Cedric Benson, you would be wise to check the waiver wire for any of these players, after the injury bug bit hard Sunday.

Westbrook suffered another concussion, which probably spells the end of Philly’s tailback for a while. LeSean McCoy is the player to grab if you think the Eagles will pay any attention to the ground game next week.

Jamal Charles got the lion’s share of touches for Kansas City in the wake of Larry Johnson’s twit-headed twitter posts which got him suspended. Rookie Bernard Scott will play if Benson can’t go in Week 11 and Jason Snelling could get bonus production if Turner’s ankle injury is serious as feared.

Jones broke a rib, which means Justin Forsett will get touches next week. He was terrific against the Cardinals, who got a great game from Beanie Wells.

One running back showing signs of life (after his wife showed him signs of life by giving him a package just before gametime that featured a positive pregnancy test), was LaDainian Tomlinson. He scored twice, ran for 85 yards and looked like his old dominant self.

LT owners hope the missus has some other good news for him next week at Denver.

Ovie exile over tonight?

Alex Ovechkin was expected to return tonight after missing two weeks of action. While he was resting, Anze Kopitar flew past him and everyone else in the scoring race, thrilling owners who selected the Slovenian stud in the second or third round of their drafts.

With 31 points, Kopitar sits six points clear of Marian Gaborik atop the NHL scoring list. The main beneficiary of Kopitar’s kingly start is Ryan Smyth, who has 23 points in 21 games. The Kings remained tucked behind the Sharks in the Pacific Division.[ NHL Moneyline and over under odds ]

Gaborik owners, meanwhile, continue to cross their fingers and toes – and anything else they can cross for good luck - that he can stay healthy.

Jimmy D
jpoole@herald.ca