The NFL season is juuuust about halfway over. And that means one of two things if you’re a fantasy football player: You’re either still in the FF playoff hunt—or you’re not.

It also means that you can just about tell which guys on your team were draft day busts. If you’ve got one of these guys on your team (Note: I’ve got more than one, so don’t feel bad!), you’re probably already thinking about next year. At least, I know I am…Thanks for the gray hairs, fellas!

1. Randy Moss

I was just about to write this entry and thought, “Wait a second. Should I list what team each of these guys plays for?” Then I realized, “I’ll figure it out when I get to the second entry.” That’s because Moss—a Pro Bowl wide receiver last season (I have to italicize that just to make sure you get the point)—got cut by the Minnesota Vikings last night, just a day after going on a tirade about the Vikings coaches during a post-game press conference. That’s right: One of the best WRs in the NFL plays for…Nobody! He doesn’t have a team. But even before the Vikings fiasco went down, Moss hardly lived up to his billing this season. Put simply: If this guy has been your No. 1 wide receiver, you’re in all kinds of trouble right now.

2. Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler

If Cutler throws one more interception…

Seriously, though, can this guy kick that chick from The Hills to the curb and get back to focusing on football, please?

3. Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown

Remember when RB was one of the more promising RBs in the league? Remember when he perfected the wildcat offense, running and throwing for touchdowns? Remember when he could be a consistent starting running back? You must have a good memory. Those types of games have been few and far between this season. And any season in the last three years really. I’ll never draft this guy again…

4. Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker

Forget that he just went for 150 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. That was nice, but if you spent the first seven weeks of the season waiting for that to happen and dropped him this week, you probably don’t feel all that bad about yourself. The reason? Sims-Walker hasn’t been a No. 1 fantasy receiver this year. Or a No. 2. Or a No. 3. He’s been the guy you draft to backup Green Bay Packers WR Donald Driver (another guy who’s dangerously close to bust status thanks to a nagging injury) despite the fact that you probably picked him up in the top half of your draft.

5. The Dallas Cowboys defense

Yikes. Maybe Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (that’s him above, if you don’t watch football—or Entourage) said it best after America’s Team (while we’re at it, do they really deserve that title anymore?) lost another game (thanks to Mike Sims-Walker first and only breakout game of the year!) to fall to 1-6 on the season: “Embarrassing.” Yeah, that about sums it up.

6. Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis

Will Portis ever make it through a season healthy again? Let’s just hope you stocked up on running backs before you took him in the draft. And that one of those running backs wasn’t named Ryan Grant (the Green Bay Packers RB who got knocked out for the season in Week 1).

7. Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Aromashodu

See Jay Cutler’s entry above. The Bears have stunk. Surprisingly, though, that hasn’t been because of Aromashodu. Because he has barely cracked the Bears’ starting lineup. Yes, even though all the prognosticators predicted he would be one of the top WRs in the entire NFL, he apparently hasn’t even been one of the top three or four receivers on his own team. But, rest easy: If it’s taken you this long to figure that out, you were probably screwed from the beginning.

8. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre

*Cringe* It’s hard to believe how bad Favre has been considering how good he was last season. You can blame it on the injuries he’s faced as well as the injuries other guys have struggled to overcome. But there’s no denying that Favre hasn’t looked particularly good at any point this season. If you’re waiting for him to have a breakout game, we hope you bring a good book to read in front of the TV every Sunday.

9. Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek

Cudos to you and to the guys that took Indianapolis Colts TE Dallas Clark and Green Bay TE Jermichael Finley as well. Overall, it hasn’t been a particularly good season for tight ends. I feel your pain. But Celek has to be the most disappointing thus far.

10. Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice

Okay, maybe there is hope if you’ve got one of the guys on this list. It’s not that Rice has been bad. He’s had several productive games. But if you wasted a top 5 overall pick on him (LIKE ME!) and you’re losing games (ARGH!), there’s a good chance it’s because of him. Well, that and the fact that the guy you’re playing has Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Lloyd and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick on his team—three guys that probably weren’t selected in your draft at all. So, um, why do we spend so much time trying to draft the perfect team again? Um…yeah.

See you—well, some of you—in the playoffs.

Bookmark to: