1 pm Games
San Francisco @ St. Louis
He should have a field day against the lowly Rams. Look for him to continue his productive season and help you bring home the hardware.
SF: Gore +4
Steven Jackson has been missing practice again this week. This is not good news considering he was inactive for last Sunday’s game. SJax has a herniated disk and the Rams have nothing to play for. If he’s active on Sunday play him unless you have better options. Neither Darby nor Gado is worth playing if Jackson’s inactive unless you’re in an uber deep league.
STL: Jackson -2
New England @ Houston
This game pits two of the most hated coaches in fantasy football against one another. Bill Belichick pulled Maroney after he fumbled and I think some other coach did that a few times this year as well. One would assume that Sammy Morris will carry the load against the Texans defense but it’s hard to tell since they could possibly rest starters. I definitely wouldn’t start Maroney and you’d have to trick me into playing Morris.
NE: Morris -1, Maroney -3
Arian Foster got a lot of work last Sunday and had a really productive outing. He’s worth a flex play but keep in mind there’s inherit risk involved when it comes to predicting what Gary Kubiak will do.
HOU: Foster -1
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay
Don’t expect Michael Turner to play. Jason Snelling becomes a decent option. He split the work with Jerious Norwood last Sunday against the Bills horrible rush defense. His line was 15 carries for 68 yards which is respectable but given the competition should’ve been better. You have to love the matchup here but I’d be willing to start another running back with a solitary grasp on the touches. Don’t even consider starting Jerious Norwood.
ATL: Snelling +3
Ward left Sunday’s game and he might miss this week’s. Cadillac has been the main man in Tampa all season anyway but if Ward turns out to be inactive he becomes a more enthusiastic start.
TB: Williams +2
New Orleans @ Carolina
Pierre Thomas won’t play on Sunday against Carolina and Drew Brees is now the third string QB which means he won’t play either. I would stay far away from Bush or Bell and maybe play Hamilton if you’re feeling sneaky and are ready for anything.
NO: Bush -5, Bell -5, Hamilton 0
Friday made it three straight practices that DeAngelo Williams had missed. I will be very surprised if he plays this week. If you own Jonathan Stewart that’s great news for you; he is a very, very solid RB #2, possibly a #1 for a lot of owners.
CAR: Stewart +2
Pittsburgh @ Miami
Rashard Mendenhall’s just your basic stud running back without any competition. Put him in your lineup and enjoy.
PIT: Mendenhall +1
Ricky Williams is questionable but should play with a limited role. Lex Hilliard will see an increase in touches. So Ricky Williams isn’t guaranteed to get enough touches for us to be happy, but he’ll get just enough for Lex Hilliard to be useless. Add to that they’re facing the top ranked Pittsburgh defense and that should be enough.
MIA: Williams -3, Hilliard +2
Jacksonville @ Cleveland
Play Maurice Jones-Drew. I can’t make it any more complicated than that.
JAC: Jones-Drew +3
It’s Razzball’s favorite family darling (well, other than Jamaal Charles). You’ve come this far, haven’t you? May as well roll with this stud. The Jaguars passing defense is atrocious so even if Harrison isn’t very successful on the ground he should be a threat in the passing game.
CLE: Harrison +2
New York Giants @ Minnesota
Brandon Jacobs was placed on IR which makes Ahmad Bradshaw the featured back for the final game of the season. Unfortunately he’s going up against a fairly tough defense. I can see putting him in your lineup, but just keep in mind that there’s not a ton of upside on the yardage.
Giants: Bradshaw -1
The Vikings could still be the #2 seed in the NFC if they win on Sunday. That’s good news for Peterson owners because you know they’ll use him until and unless they build up a huge lead late in the game.
Vikings: Peterson 0
Indianapolis @ Buffalo
The Colts whole team is pretty useless. Joseph Addai will play very little, if at all. One would assume that Donald Brown will get more work than usual but I would stay away from this situation entirely.
Colts: Addai -5
Fred Jackson should be in for a great day. The Colts will likely rest many of their starters on the D line. I would confidently play him as a #2 RB in your lineup. Marshawn Lynch has to stay on the bench.
Bills: Jackson +2
Chicago @ Detroit
Matt Forte may not be that mediocre in this game. In fact he should be downright studly. The Lions defense is completely useless. The Bears offense has been extremely inconsistent (yet explosive, at times). You have to think they’ll put up big digits in this matchup.
Bears: Forte +4
Maurice Morris has reaped rewards for anyone cagey enough to stash him earlier in the year. There are a lot of really nice starts for RB’s in the NFL this week. The big advantage Morris has is that he will get most all the touches in Detroit. On top of that the Bears defense is nothing special.
Lions: Morris +1
4 pm Games
Washington @ San Diego
Quinton Ganther’s touches haven’t gotten cut into since he’s taken over as the feature back. Last Sunday he disappointed after two great games in a row for fantasy owners. The Chargers defense isn’t particularly stout against the run so I don’t see them shutting him down. Ganther should be a solid flex play in most leagues.
Redskins: Ganther +1
LaDanian Tomlinson is a must sit this week. The Chargers don’t really have anything to play for so he might start but don’t expect him to stay in for the whole game. Darren Sproles might see a lot more work but they could diminish his role and rest him as well. It would be wise to avoid this situation entirely in fantasy for week 17.
Chargers: Tomlinson (don’t play him), Sproles -2
Tennessee @ Seattle
The Titans have openly admitted that they’re all about helping Chris Johnson reach his milestones in rushing and all purpose yardage. This will be an interesting side note to pay attention to on Sunday. Expect him to end his season with a monster outing.
Titans: Johnson +4
Here is another situation that I would avoid completely in Fantasy this week. Jones didn’t look like he would go, but he practiced fully and will go and make Forsett useless. Hopefully something happens in the offseason and he gets the chance to be the #1 option in Seattle as he clearly deserves to be.
Seahawks: Jones -3, Forsett -2
Baltimore @ Oakland
The Ravens are fighting for a spot in the playoffs so expect them to come out firing in this contest. The Raiders defense is nothing special so this should be another week for Ray rice to go off. Willis McGahee has no value at this point.
Ravens: Rice +3
Justin Fargas is doubtful for Sunday’s game. That’s good news for McFadden and Bush owners. Well, maybe they’re not that relevant after all. I can definitely see sneaking McFadden in there in deep PPR leagues and the same for Bush in non-PPR but I wouldn’t be that excited about it.
Raiders: McFadden +1, Bush +1
Philadelphia @ Dallas
Brian Westbrook returned and played well in limited work last Sunday. Considering the magnitude of this game I expect him to have a similar, if not increased, role in the offense. LeSean McCoy will certainly still get 15+ touches but he’s no longer an enthusiastic start for you. I wouldn’t play Westbrook and I would play McCoy if I didn’t have players with more assured roles in their offenses.
Eagles: McCoy -3, Westbrook -2
Speaking of situations I’d rather avoid…. Marion Barber is very tempting because when the Cowboys get around the goal line (which they often do) Barber gets most all the rushing opportunities. Unfortunately Roy Williams complaining has gotten him a lot of looks there also, cutting in to Barber’s TD production. I can see playing Barber this week but I wouldn’t do it unless I had to. Jones and Choice don’t deserve to be in your lineup.
Cowboys: Barber -1
Kansas City @ Denver
After Jamaal Charles gets done saving children from a burning building and curing cancer you should be able to lock him in for 150 total yards and a touchdown with upside. Start him!!!!!
Chiefs: Charles +2
Knowshon Moreno might finally be a stud for fantasy owners (it’s about time). Regardless of his struggles as of late I enthusiastically endorse him for week 17 against the lowly Chiefs defense. Yes, I know they have Mike Vrabel but it’s the 2010 version. You can call me all sorts of bad names if I’m wrong.
Broncos: Moreno +4, Buckhalter +2
Green Bay @ Arizona
Ryan Grant should see a reduced role this week. Brandon Jackson has a good chance for a lot of work, but a lot depends on if the Cardinals are going all out. I’d be wary.
Packers: Grant -4, Jackson 0
This game comes down to what happens in the Vikings/Giants game. If you know the Giants are going to win before the Cardinals game starts then throw Beanie in there, but make sure you have another RB going at 4 pm that you can substitute in.
Cardinals: Wells -1, Hightower -3
8 pm Game
Cincinnati @ NY Jets
It doesn’t look good for the Bengals to go all out this game. I wouldn’t start any, especially against a good defense with something to play for.
Bengals: Benson -3, Johnson -3
Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene get the best matchup in the world for week 17 but thankfully the Bengals will probably be resting their starters. Jones is going to see Greene take a chunk out of his carries from here on out, but you still have to start him.
Jets: Jones +1, Green 0
