While the 1,000-point club welcomed its inaugural members, we have a new cellar dweller.
I topped 1,000 points for the season despite a subpar week that allowed Josh Klein of the Riot Report – who also is now in quadruple digits – to significantly close the gap at the top. At the opposite end of things, none other than Bill Voth slipped into last place overall after a third consecutive week placing last or next-to-last. Fellow Panthers.com writer Max Henson had been down in the muck with Bill but posted the second-strongest week behind Klein to rise to seventh overall.
And yes, Bill's demise means Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer is out of last place. Since declaring her intention to tank (for what, no one knows), she's finished in the top half of the standings for three consecutive weeks.
Everyone – even Bill – picked a quarterback that scored in the twenties, and half the panel (including Bill; how was his score so low?) had a running back in the twenties. But it was a tough week for wide receivers and that's what allowed Klein to win the week: He had Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper, the second-leading scorer for Week 12 regardless of position. Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey led all scorers. But…he wasn't selected by anyone.
 Bryan Strickland |
 Max Henson |
 Bill Voth |
 Jordan Gross |
 Jim Szoke |
|
| Total Pts (rank) | 1,010.86 (1st) | 892.22 (7th) | 863.64 (10th) | 935.44 (5th) | 898.42 (6th) |
| Last week | 71.02 (8th) | 99.34 (2nd) | 68.74 (10th) | 93.64 (3rd) | 74.74 (6th) |
| QB | C. Newton | C. Newton | C. Wentz | R. Wilson | R. Wilson |
| RB | K. Hunt | L. McCoy | C. McCaffrey | C. McCaffrey | L. Miller |
| RB | A. Jones | C. Carson | A. Jones | M. Breida | A. Ekeler |
| WR | B. Cooks | T. Lockett | D. Hopkins | T. Lockett | C. Samuel |
| WR | K. Golladay | K. Golladay | E. Sanders | K. Golladay | C. Davis |
| TE | Gronkowski | D. Njoku | T. Burton | K. Rudolph | C. Brate |
 Jourdan Rodrigue |
 Mike Solarte |
 Kelsey Riggs |
 Josh Klein |
 John Halpin |
|
| Total Pts (rank) | 869.08 (9th) | 890.96 (8th) | 948.96 (4th) | 1,004.82 (2nd) | 977.88 (3rd) |
| Last week | 88.54 (5th) | 74.22 (7th) | 92.84 (4th) | 104.34 (1st) | 70.02 (9th) |
| QB | M. Mariota | J. Goff | C. Newton | M. Mariota | R. Wilson |
| RB | D. Lewis | L. Miller | J. Mixon | C. McCaffrey | C. McCaffrey |
| RB | R. Freeman | G. Edwards | A. Jones | J. Adams | K. Hunt |
| WR | DJ Moore | DJ Moore | J. Jones | K. Golladay | B. Cooks |
| WR | A. Humphries | T. Lockett | B. Cooks | C. Davis | K. Golladay |
| TE | G. Kittle | E. Ebron | G. Kittle | E. Ebron | E. Ebron |
Speaking of McCaffrey, four of the 10 panelists are rolling with him Sunday against the Buccaneers, but I'm going to unleash a different Panther. This here contest allows you to select Panthers up to three times, so with two Cam Newton choices remaining, I'm taking him. Newton is fourth in quarterback points in the NFL.com scoring system but third in his division behind Drew Brees and Matt Ryan. I haven't yet picked either of them.
At running back and wide receiver I only have a few studs remaining, and I'll use one of them this week in the person of Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt against the Raiders. While Hunt ranks fifth among running backs in scoring (McCaffrey is seventh), Packers running back Aaron Jones has been a top-five back over the last month. I do have none other than Rob Gronkowski left at tight end, so I should run him out there while he's healthy.
At wide receiver, Brandin Cooks of the Rams and Kenny Golladay of the Lions have had good seasons. They've been made even better by attrition at the position for their respective teams, and this week they face each other in a game that could produce a lot of points.
