Rotisserie By The Numbers: The Top 10 Turkeys

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BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - Thanksgiving is about a lot of things, such as cranberry sauce, the first sighting of Santa Claus and putting up with annoying in-laws. But the two things Thanksgiving is most known for is turkey and football. So on this Thanksgiving weekend, let me make this wonderful marriage of food and football even better by announcing my Top 10 Turkeys in Fantasy Football. These 10 gentlemen have cooked the gooses of their fantasy owners by either being injured, playing terribly or both. Since the season is more than halfway done, it will be hard for these players to make my Top 10 Christmas Presents list a month from now, so I think it my duty to carve these guys up. I hope your appetites are hardy! Here are the RBTN Top 10 Turkeys of 2006: 10. Mike Nugent, Jets: There is not much a kicker can do when his team has given him the least field goal opportunities in the NFL, although Nugent could have helped himself out if he did not miss two easy field goals and one extra point during Week One. Nugent only has 45 points in 10 games and has been one of the worst kickers in fantasy football. 9. Cincinnati Bengals defense: The 2005 Bengals defense was known for giving up a lot of yardage, but were also known for being the best at picking passes off and adding some sacks and fumble recoveries. This season they still give up the yardage (ranked last in total defense) and intercept fewer passes. I know Cincy's linebacker corps has been ravaged by injuries, but you would think coach Marvin Lewis would be enough of a defensive guru to at least make his unit mediocre. 8. Troy Williamson, Vikings: Williamson headed into the season as Minny's No. 1 receiver. Too bad the only thing he is No. 1 in is dropped passes. Williamson has been downright horrible, catching just 27 passes for 357 yards and zero touchdowns. He has not had more than 50 yards in a game since the second week of the season. Thanks for nothing, Troy! 7. Kurt Warner, Cardinals: Good old "Fumble Fingers" was definitely looking over his shoulder coming into the campaign, though no fantasy owner probably thought he was going to lose his job faster than you could say, "Gee, LaDainian Tomlinson has some moves!" It took Warner four weeks to hand over the quarterback reigns to rookie Matt Leinart, which effectively made Warner worthless to fantasy owners. 6. Edgerrin James, Cardinals: Edge has to fire his agent immediately. Allowing him to leave Indianapolis and the comfort of that terrific system and offensive line for the porous O-line and terrible history of Arizona was mindless. Edge has not had 100 yards rushing in any game this year, has not had a scamper over 18 yards, has just three touchdowns when he is usually good for double digits and is averaging only 3.1 yards per jaunt. If fantasy owners wanted numbers like that they could have just drafted Reuben Droughns three rounds later. 5. Clinton Portis, Redskins: Forget about all his characters and get-ups. Forget about all his ability to break long plays and find the end zone when he gets inside the five. All that matters is that Portis' season started late and ended early. Only 523 rushing yards, seven touchdowns and eight games played, not enough for a first-round fantasy pick. Hopefully his 19 offseason surgeries will have him ready in time for the 2007 season. The 2006 campaign has been a god-awful year for running backs not initialed L.J. or L.T. 4. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: From Super Bowl hero to fantasy negative in one year. Big Ben has turned into the Human Interception Machine this year, finding open cornerbacks and safeties as easily as he finds his own receivers. He has come on a bit lately to give his fantasy owners some passing yards and TD tosses, but his 17 interceptions override everything and anything else he has accomplished. Blame it on his motorcycle accident, his appendectomy, his concussion or his wildness. Does not matter. A pick is a pick no matter why it happened, and that normally means minus points to a fantasy owner. 3. Shaun Alexander, Seahawks: Alexander has had the type of season that will make you choke on your turducken. It really is hard to blame him for getting injured since football is such a violent sport, but did he have to pick this season to crack his foot? Alexander had not missed a game since getting drafted back in 2000. Then fantasy owners had to sit through the week-to-week One Tree Hill-like soap opera where Alexander said he would be back but wouldn't while coaches and doctors scratched their heads at why his foot would not heal. To have one of the top three players in fantasy drafts have 224 rushing yards and two TDs at this point of the campaign is criminal. 2. Lamont Jordan, Raiders: I do not want to excuse Jordan totally for the horrendous, heartbreaking season he has dragged his fantasy owners through, but I do not think Gale Sayers, Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith combined could have dealt with everything Jordan has to endure in 2006. He was the featured running back in the worst offense in football (I am counting all college, high school and CFL teams when I say this), although Oakland thought it was a good idea to abandon the run by the end of the first quarter in most games. Jordan had no offensive line to block for him, no passing game to keep defenses off him and no offensive system to create plays for him. This is how crazy Oakland is - Jordan had 70 receptions in 2005. In nine games in 2006, he caught 10 balls - on a team that trailed virtually every minute of every game! Jordan finished up early with 508 combined yards, a pair of scores and a torn MCL in his knee. C-ya in '07! 1. Randy Moss, Raiders: I think I would rather own Michael Richards in a stand-up comedian fantasy league than have Moss in a fantasy football league these days. The man trails the likes of Wes Welker, Greg Jennings, Mike Furrey and Bernard Berrian in terms of wide receiver fantasy value. Moss takes plays off, drops balls because he is unhappy and never makes plays downfield anymore. He has had two very good games - out of 10. Sounds like a batting average a light-hitting shortstop should be proud of, but NOT RANDY MOSS! And for the topper on the tree, Moss has one catch for eight yards over his last two games. Hey, he is giving his fantasy owners nothing when they need it most. Randy Moss has now gone from being the guy you want on your fantasy team to being the guy you hope your opponent has. Others turkeys receiving votes - Daunte Culpepper, Chris Chambers, Cadillac Williams, Brad Johnson, Nate Burleson, Willis McGahee, Jake Plummer and the Washington Redskins defense.