Andre Johnson

MANY OF US are grizzled fantasy veterans; hardened cynics who feel that if Steven Jackson isn't going to break 100 yards, he might as well break his ankle. We don't get too excited when Denver's Eddie Royal gets 146 yards in Week 1 or too down when Minnesota's Adrian Peterson has only 32 in Week 5. As such, hearing the perspective of a fantasy rookie is almost like watching a child at Christmas and the unbridled joy as the day unfolds. Mike Mondrosch, a 39-year-old resident of Fox Chase, took the fantasy plunge this season.

The Houston Texans turned to their kids, then to their stars, to win the first playoff appearance in franchise history, a 31-10 rout of the bungling Cincinnati Bengals. Rookie J.J. Watt's leaping interception return for a touchdown late in the first half propelled the Texans in Saturday's AFC wild-card game. Third-string quarterback T.J. Yates, another rookie pressed into action, threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, and Arian Foster followed with his second touchdown of the game, a 42-yard run in the fourth quarter, to finish off the Bengals (9-8)

SCOUTING REPORT Danny Amendola, St. Louis: The thought is he could become the Wes Welker new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had in New England. Thing is, Amendola already is. He had 85 catches last year, but for only 689 yards. Miles Austin, Dallas: Numbers slipped across the board last year after Tony Romo (collarbone) got hurt. But Romo has had a good camp and Austin's value is up. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City: He will have to find consistency to take that next step up the wide receiver food chain.

Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals: Ran an offseason camp in his hometown near Minneapolis that attracted a number of current players, plus retired guys Jerry Rice and Cris Carter. Fitzgerald takes being football's best wide receiver seriously. Andre Johnson, Texans: Love the chemistry he's developed with Matt Schaub. In fact, because Houston has a more reliable quarterback, bump Andre Johnson ahead of Calvin Johnson. Randy Moss, Patriots: If you start your team with a high pick at running back, getting Moss late in the second round isn't so bad; early third round is even better.

BACK IN AUGUST, when we sitting around in shorts and sipping cold beers, the two biggest sporting concerns were whether the Phillies were going to make a playoff push and, for fantasy owners, who should be the first running back drafted after Arian Foster, LeSean McCoy or Darren McFadden? Turns out neither the Phils, McCoy nor McFadden deserved our optimism. Oh well. It's fantasy awards time again and we'd like to hear from you. Fill out the ballot on this page or online and either mail, email or fax in your picks.

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans are quite content to run against the grain in the pass-happy NFL. Baltimore relies heavily on running back Ray Rice and a stingy defensive unit led by Pro Bowl linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. Houston depends on the rushing prowess of Arian Foster and the NFL's second-ranked defense. Neither team intends to alter that approach in Sunday's playoff game, so the one that stays true to form the longest likely will advance to the AFC championship game.

CINCINNATI - A rookie quarterback led the biggest drive in Houston Texans history, one that took them to the end zone and their first playoff berth. T.J. Yates threw a 6-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left on Sunday for a 20-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that put the 10-year Texans in the playoffs for the first time. With their seventh straight win, the Texans (10-3) moved to the threshold of the playoffs. They hugged on the field then headed to the locker room, waiting for the final seconds of Tennessee's game to play out. When time ran out on the Titans, preserving New Orleans' 22-17 victory, the Texans - who entered the league in 2002 - celebrated the AFC South title.

Where else would the kind of offensive display that occurred Sunday in Houston happen but in the Lone Star State? The 9-1 Texans had their hands full with the plucky 1-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the sole reason was the firepower both teams brought to bear. Consider: Houston's Matt Schaub passed for 527 yards to tie former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon for the second-most passing yards in an NFL game. Norm Van Brocklin holds the record with 554 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1951.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Matt Schaub may not get as much notoriety as Arian Foster, Andre Johnson or J.J. Watt, but the 31-year-old quarterback is just as responsible for the Houston Texans' 5-0 start as any of the team's other stars. You see, Schaub doesn't get it done with the flash of Foster, the speed of Johnson or the strength of Watt. He just gets it done. "[Matt's] knowledge of the offense is as good as Kub's [coach Gary Kubiak's] knowledge of the offense," Texans tight end Owen Daniels said following Houston's 23-17 victory over the New York Jets on Monday night.

BACK IN AUGUST, when we sitting around in shorts and sipping cold beers, the two biggest sporting concerns were whether the Phillies were going to make a playoff push and, for fantasy owners, who should be the first running back drafted after Arian Foster, LeSean McCoy or Darren McFadden? Turns out neither the Phils, McCoy nor McFadden deserved our optimism. Oh well. It's fantasy awards time again and we'd like to hear from you. Fill out the ballot on this page or online and either mail, email or fax in your picks.

Where else would the kind of offensive display that occurred Sunday in Houston happen but in the Lone Star State? The 9-1 Texans had their hands full with the plucky 1-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the sole reason was the firepower both teams brought to bear. Consider: Houston's Matt Schaub passed for 527 yards to tie former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon for the second-most passing yards in an NFL game. Norm Van Brocklin holds the record with 554 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1951.

HOUSTON - Andre Johnson had the game of his life to save the Houston Texans on Sunday. Johnson finished off a career day by turning a screen pass from Matt Schaub into a 48-yard sprint for the winning touchdown in overtime as the Texans rallied to beat Jacksonville, 43-37. "All the good teams find a way to win, no matter if it's ugly, pretty or whatever," Johnson said. "In the win column, it either says 'W' or 'L.' They don't ask how you got it done. " Schaub threw a career-high five TD passes, completed a franchise-record 43 passes and finished with 527 yards in the air, second most in NFL history.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Matt Schaub may not get as much notoriety as Arian Foster, Andre Johnson or J.J. Watt, but the 31-year-old quarterback is just as responsible for the Houston Texans' 5-0 start as any of the team's other stars. You see, Schaub doesn't get it done with the flash of Foster, the speed of Johnson or the strength of Watt. He just gets it done. "[Matt's] knowledge of the offense is as good as Kub's [coach Gary Kubiak's] knowledge of the offense," Texans tight end Owen Daniels said following Houston's 23-17 victory over the New York Jets on Monday night.

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans are quite content to run against the grain in the pass-happy NFL. Baltimore relies heavily on running back Ray Rice and a stingy defensive unit led by Pro Bowl linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. Houston depends on the rushing prowess of Arian Foster and the NFL's second-ranked defense. Neither team intends to alter that approach in Sunday's playoff game, so the one that stays true to form the longest likely will advance to the AFC championship game.

The Houston Texans turned to their kids, then to their stars, to win the first playoff appearance in franchise history, a 31-10 rout of the bungling Cincinnati Bengals. Rookie J.J. Watt's leaping interception return for a touchdown late in the first half propelled the Texans in Saturday's AFC wild-card game. Third-string quarterback T.J. Yates, another rookie pressed into action, threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, and Arian Foster followed with his second touchdown of the game, a 42-yard run in the fourth quarter, to finish off the Bengals (9-8)

Before we close the books on another exciting/frustrating/awesome/unpredictable (circle one) fantasy season, we must take a quick stroll back through 2011 to examine the players we rooted for and against and - with as much objectivity as we can muster - give credit where credit is due. As always, our annual accolades (and condemnations) have but a few important criteria: 1. Consistency on a weekly basis is next to godliness. 2. Production during the fantasy playoffs - for our purposes, NFL Weeks 14 through 16 - is given extra weight.

CINCINNATI - A rookie quarterback led the biggest drive in Houston Texans history, one that took them to the end zone and their first playoff berth. T.J. Yates threw a 6-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left on Sunday for a 20-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that put the 10-year Texans in the playoffs for the first time. With their seventh straight win, the Texans (10-3) moved to the threshold of the playoffs. They hugged on the field then headed to the locker room, waiting for the final seconds of Tennessee's game to play out. When time ran out on the Titans, preserving New Orleans' 22-17 victory, the Texans - who entered the league in 2002 - celebrated the AFC South title.

HOUSTON - Andre Johnson turned upfield, fell awkwardly forward and clutched the back of his right leg. In past seasons, an injury to their All-Pro receiver would've doomed the Texans. That was before they had Arian Foster. Foster rushed for 155 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown after Johnson left with a hamstring injury, leading the Texans to a 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. "I go into every contest thinking that I'm the go-to guy," Foster said.

In a perfect fantasy world, my starting lineup this season would feature Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Andre Johnson, Roddy White, Greg Jennings, and Antonio Gates. That would be the same perfect world in which my teenagers admit I'm always right, Mila Kunis stalks me, and snow would start falling in Dallas today. Alas, since our fellow owners are unlikely to cede the entire first round to us, we'll simply have to work smarter to assemble the most dominant team in our league.