Welcome to Championship Sunday! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got lots of stuff from the Planned Obsolescence Emporium! I know I did. Hopefully today you can get a few gifts from the Fantasy Gods. It’s nice to finally have a finals week without Peyton Manning and Tom Brady contemplating taking a seat to rest up and/or shoot a commercial. As I’ve tried to put together a FanDuel team for today I’ve had a lot of trouble. There are very few slam dunks this weekend and the one slam dunk fantasy game in Philly is going to have gobs of snow and wind. That wouldn’t keep me from starting the Eagles receivers and Vick, but the slam dunk is turning into a layup. So I’m not as confident in my teams this week, but I’ll forge ahead. We still need some teams to fill out our leagues. It really is a blast and if you are out of your draft and trade leagues it helps make those not so interesting games a little more interesting, so give it a shot here — League 1, League 2, and the 20 Team League.)
We do get a Festivus miracle in the doubtful status of MJD which gives Rashad Jennings a great matchup. Of course MJD owners aren’t jumping for joy. Hopefully you were able to grab RashJen. He should have fresh legs, had 7 receptions last week and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry (of course a 74 yard TD run does help, but take out that run and he’s still at 5.3). With Sims-Walker hurting we should see a lot of Jennings and his upside is very high. He will lead a lot of teams into the fantasy ditch or fantasy greatness this weekend (I’m putting my money on greatness).
Rob Gronkowski: Aaron Hernandez didn’t make the trip to Buffalo so he’ll need to hitch a ride to have any chance of playing, which he won’t and doesn’t. This makes Gronkowski a much better play, and I could see moving him close to the top based on upside. Someone like Cooley or Gonzo are safer, but Gronk could have a monster game with AHer absent.
Adrian Peterson: He practiced late in the week and “should” go, but we know what happened last week. I would be a little worried if I didn’t have Gerhart to back him up. I still think he is a top 15 back, but I would err on the side of safety.
Andre Johnson: He traveled with the team and will see how he feels in warmups. I have a feeling that he will play and it’s hard to sit him if he does.
Antonio Gates: He is out again which make Randy McMichael a decent option this week.
Malcolm Floyd: He s listed as doubtful and if he happens to play I wouldn’t even think about playing him. With both Floyd and Gates most likely out this gives Vincent Jackson a chance at another big game.
Chad Ochocinco: If he plays it will be on a limited basis. Andre Caldwell and Jordan Shipley should see more targets, but should only be considered in deep leagues.
Aaron Rodgers: He’s practiced all week and looks good to go. He gets a tough Giants defense, but he’s the #2 fantasy QB for a reason. Start him unless you have another elite option. His return helps Greg Jennings and makes him a must start, but he’s the only other Packer I would want to march out there on championship Sunday.
Joseph Addai: He practiced all week and should play. I wouldn’t feel comfortable starting him in any league, but it does hurt Donald Brown. I’d look elsewhere if at all possible than the cluster F that is the Colts backfield.
Knowshon Moreno: He will be a late-game-game-time decision so have another late game RB ready in case he doesn’t go. He does carry some risk of being reinjured during the game.
Mike Sims-Walker: He won’t get the start due to his ankle injury and could possibly be deactivated. He’ll probably come off the bench and score three touchdowns, but you just can’t rely on him.
Linky Linky —
Here are the most updated positional rankings from that site Razzball.
If you haven’t joined our free contest you are just plain insane.
Midwest Sports Fans always does a nice Viewer’s Guide for each week of the NFL.
You can’t go wrong with Evan Silva’s Matchup article.
The NY Times Fifth Down Blog always has a nice matchups article; this week is no exception.
The Fantasy Football Librarian gives us the Consensus Start/Sits for this week.
Our friend Ryan Burns of Football Sickness takes us around this week’s games.
Jim Day of Fantasy Football Whiz is sitting and starting with the best of them.
Bryan Fontaine of the new site Dynasty Blitz takes a look at Ryan Mathews and his dynasty prospects.
Mac’s Football Blog is always right on top of injury news. Check it out.
