Fantasy Football Advice

If dynasty teams subsisted on illegal drugs:

Uppers

Joe Flacco: His stock has risen substantially with the acquisition of Anquan Boldin and the reupping of Derrick “old man” Mason.  Donte Stallworth could prove to be helpful as well, but I’m reserving judgment for now.  Also having one of the top pass catching running backs in Ray Rice also doesn’t hurt.  Flacco had a hip injury last season that slowed him down after a hot start.  The question for dynasty owners is, will the Ravens change their strategy from run first and play hard defense to pass first and play little to no defense?  The way the money is now being funneled it’s hard not to see them throwing more next season.  Cam Cameron knows how to throw the ball, or at least how to tell others to thrown the ball.  It’s hard to imagine the unibrowed one throwing for 4k yards and 25+ TD’s, but it’s looking more and more like a possibility.

Larry Johnson: He was signed by the Redskins which unfortunately means he could become their starter unless they grab somebody, anybody! Clinton Portis will probably go into the season as the starter if he can stay healthy through training camp, which is a monumental if.  Portis of course had the concussion problem last season, but maybe more importantly, he had about 37 injured body parts.  We could see a fairly split backfield to start the season to keep Portis upright, but eventually LJ will probably have to take over.  All this is to say he is a possible starter, which is meaningful in fantasy, but he still ain’t good.

Jamaal Charles: Yes, I pushed him down a few spots in my redraft rankings, but I’m leaving him where he is in the dynasty rankings.  You can see my thoughts on Tom Jones coming to town, but the reason I have him taking uppers is his perceived value has fallen more than his actual value.  It might be a good time to try to trade one of your aging backs for him.  Steven Jackson maybe?

Downers

Derrick Mason: With his age he wasn’t a high dynasty pick, but he is so steady that it was worth the possible 2 more years of 80 receptions and 1,000 yards, but now with Anquan Boldin on board his stock is falling quickly.  He might be had at some value late, but with his age and role shrinking, his upside is going down side.

Wes Welker: It was revealed that Welker also has a torn rotator cuff.  It should heal by the time his knee is healed, but yet another body part that could have a set back.  He should drop a couple slots in the dynasty rankings and even further in the redraft rankings.  Which means Edelman could get a little booster shot.

Chad Henne: His future is still bright, but I was expecting the Dolphins to get Boldin or Bryant and both have signed with teams not named after a water dwelling mammal.  They will once again be run first and second and then bring in Pat White to run the wildcat unless we see a move that doesn’t look to be in the works right now.

The best wide receivers usually stay that way, thankfully, but us fantasy footballers have to roster quite a few wide receivers which means we have to grab value late.  I have our first 45 receivers up here today.  We’ll be adding even more, but this post was getting to be too tome-like.  And I teach the ADD riddled youth of America and know not to go on too long.

Tier 1

1. Andre Johnson 29 — The best receiver with the best situation.

2. Larry Fitzgerald 27 — He will make Leinart better.  He makes me better and I live on my couch.

3. Calvin Johnson 25 — Too young and talented not to rank high.  I think Stafford will pan out.

Tier 2

4. Vincent Jackson 27 — As long as he can keep from getting DUI’s, Rivers to Jackson will become annoying.

5. Reggie Wayne 31 — He’s rock steady.

6. Miles Austin 26 — I liked what I saw out of Austin last season and Romo continues to improve.

7. Brandon Marshall 26 — Not sure where he’ll end up, but he’s still young and very good and possibly a butt-head.

8. Roddy White 28 — He’s the main man in Atlanta.  Not much competition for catches.

Tier 3

9. Randy Moss 32 — He’s old, but has a few good years left.

10. DeSean Jackson 23 — He’s very young and very fast, but Maclin should steal from him.

11. Greg Jennings 27 — He’ll be living in Mr. Rodgers’ hood for years to come.

12. Marques Colston 27 — Great skills, but Brees spreads the ball around a little too much, bastard.

13. Santonio Holmes 26 — As long as Big Ben isn’t incarcerated he’ll be steady.

Tier 4

14. Michael Crabtree 23 –  He looked good even after couch sitting for part of the season.

15. Sidney Rice 24 — If his QB sitch was more stable he’d be higher.

16. Hakeem Nicks 22 – He looks poised to break out and continue to do so.

Tier 5

17. Steve Smith (CAR) 31 – How do I trust him? Dunno, but I know Moore does.

18. Wes Welker 29 – Too good too drop far because of his injury.

19. Steve Smith (NYG) 25 –This other Steve will go higher in ppr leagues.

20. Dwayne Bowe 26 – He has his troubles, but he is too good not to grab in the top 20.

21. Anquan Boldin 29 – Hard to put him this low, but he’s aging and been beat up.

Tier 6

22. Mike Sims-Walker 25 – He has the skill to thrill.

23. Percy Harvin 22 – His potential will be hard to live up to, but he has the potential to, uh, you know.

24. Chad Ochocinco 32 – Getting oldish, but he should continue to do what he do.

25. Pierre Garcon 24 – Looks like he Pipped Gonzalez.

26. Jeremy Maclin 22 – Young and on a pass first offense.

Tier 7

27. Robert Meachem 26 – Saints’ receivers are scary, but he showed his worth last season.

28. Kenny Britt 22 – He’s currently behind Gage and Washington, but not for long.

29. Eddie Royal 24 – McDaniels pulled a McDaniels on him, but he should turn it around.

30. Steve Breaston 27 – The #2 in Zona won’t be as productive as recent years, but he’s still good.

31. Devin Aromashodu 26 – His status next season isn’t a given, but I believe he’ll be the #1.

Tier 8

32. Braylon Edwards 27 – He is who he is.

33. Jerricho Cotchery 28 – More reliable than Edwards, but not as much upside (or the coinciding down side).

34. Hines Ward 34 – I love old, steady players in redrafts, but tough to foresee how long they’ll be around in dy-nastys.

35. Donald Driver 35 – Look up a centimeter.

Tier 9

36. Johnny Knox 23 – He will be the deep threat for Cutler and with Martz he should get his shots.

37. Mike Wallace 24 – He will be hit and miss with Ward in the picture, but his hits are usually TD’s.

38. Jacoby Jones 26 – Bringing Kevin Walter back hurts, but I think he’ll beat him out or up.

39. Malcolm Floyd 29 – He’s the #2 WR in a pass heavy offense.

Tier 10

40. Julian Edelman 24 – Tough to gauge his worth, but you know he’ll be good for the first half of next season.

41. Terrell Owens 36 – Depends on where he ends up, but he’s TOld.

42. Austin Collie 24 – If he’s in the slot and Peyton is throwing to him, well, you get it.

43. T.J. Houshmandzadeh 33 – Not even sure he should be this high, but Carroll’s offense will be pass happy.

44. Antonio Bryant 29 – I like him even if he is a freak.

45. Nate Burleson 29 – He should be happy to be across from Megatron.  Just hope he stays healthy.

The Super Bowl is near and as usual I’m ready for it way before it starts.  I’ve tried my best to stay away from the hype, but it will be hard come the weekend.  I really want to hear more about how Hank Baskett thinks his wife is hotter than Reggie Bush’s girlfriend.  And how many times Dwight Freeney was asked about his ankle at one setting (96 if you were wondering).  And I’m really glad that TMZ is there so I can know exactly what time players leave clubs.  So I’m hoping to catch up on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and maybe buy a fish tank instead of hearing more about Reggie Wayne’s neglected snake (no this isn’t going to be a Greg Oden post).

Here are some tasty morsels from around the league:

Brett Favre: After the Favre lost in the NFC championship game he made sure someone took a picture of his grotesque ankle so he could frame it, and I guess, place it over his mantle.  I am of two minds when it comes to these photos.  Yes, it’s amazing that he could play effectively with that deformed ankle, but at the same time, why do we need photos of it?  To prove how tough you are?  To show that if you hadn’t been hurting the outcome might have been different?  To elevate the Favrestique to God-like proportions?  Get over yourself Brett, you are great, but until you cut a finger off so you can play, keep your injury-porn to yourself.

Jay Cutler: It’s hard not to like Jay Cutler next season with Mike Martz coming in as offensive coordinator.  Cutler had a horrific year on many levels, but still ended up as the 12th best fantasy quarterback, ahead of the likes of future Hall of Famer Kurt Warner.  I don’t have faith in Cutler as a leader and I’m not betting on him to be the Bears’ savior, but Martz’s track record for making quarterbacks fantasy studs is too good.  He took a 34 year old Jon Kitna of the Detroit Lions and made him a 4,000 yard quarterback which gave Roy Williams over 1300 yards receiving and defensive back Mike Furrey over a thousand yards!  This bodes well for Hester, Aromashodu, Knox, and even Forte who will be catching a lot of passes, but it doesn’t bode well for young Mr. Greg Olsen.  Martz must have been diddled by a tight end in his formative years, because his offense is where TE’s go to die.

Dwight Freeney: He probably won’t practice all week and then he’ll test his ankle on Sunday to see if he can go.  I reckon we’ll see him play on third downs for as long as he can and then come out as his ankle slowly expands to Favre proportions.

Jerome Harrison: The Browns GM doesn’t think Harrison has the size to be the main back in Cleveland, but didn’t have any trouble with him being overused in the last few games because he was the Browns only decent player.  Maybe they should worry about getting a quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, and an upgrade at every position on the team before worrying about Harrison.  They could go out looking for a larger back or give James Davis more work to offset the toll on Harrison.  But I still think it’s Harrison’s job to lose and as long as he stays healthy he should get the bulk of the carries.

Jeremy Shockey: He practiced yesterday and looks like he will play and most probably injure himself again while celebrating a 10 yard gain on 3rd and 15.

Michael Vick: He says he is a top 10 quarterback and the Eagles say they want to keep him for next season.  Both lies.  Vick should believe he’s that good, but no way do the Eagles plan on keeping him as a high paid third string QB.  The Rams are looking like the front runner in the Mike Vick sweepst . . . uh, baby shower bingo.  Vick would have to be an upgrade over the craptastic law firm of Bulger, Boller and Null.  Even if he retains his erratic QB’ing skills his legs and ability to air it out will help free up Steven Jackson.

Brandon Marshall: Josh McDaniels tipped his hand when he sat Marshall down for the last game of the season.  Everybody and their dog knows that Marshall is out of there.  Couple that with his history of ass-like attitude, or assitude, they will have to give away a player who just had 101 receptions and 10 touchdowns.

Wes Welker: He just had surgery on his knee because the swelling had to go down before plunging the scalpel in. All realistic timetables for his full recovery have him coming back mid-season even though he seems to think he’ll jump off the operating table and do cartwheels all the way home.  Trying to project next season’s playing time for Julian Edelman and Wes Welker will be tough.  If the team and Edelman are doing well, they will probably make sure Welker is 110% before letting him play, which would probably involve a time machine of sorts.

Matt Leinart: It doesn’t look like the Cardinals will look for another QB to compete for the starting job this off season.  Ken Whisenhunt has given Leinart the thumbs up and they will live and die with him.  Leinart flashed some ability in preseason and there is no way they will give him the same responsibilities as Warner.  With Wells showing signs of running back goodness and Boldin possibly being traded, we will see a much more balanced offense out of Arizona.  Whiz took a young quarterback in Roethlisberger far and could do the same with Leinart, but don’t expect huge numbers from him just because he plays for the Cardinals.

Clinton Portis: He still hasn’t been cleared to think too hard due to his last concussion.  Even if the Redskins keep him they will have to find some insurance because there is no way he plays a whole season.  Willis McGahee is probably looking pretty good to them about now.

The regular season is officially over!  Week 17 is always a bit yawnstipating at best, but we did have some interesting individual performances to follow and playoff implications to suss out. So we now know who’s in and who’s out and who bribed the Colts and Bengals and who choked against the Cowboys, and so on and so forth.

As we go through the playoffs we’ll take a look at the season we just finished while we also analyze the playoff matchups.  That’s what we like to call, multitaskalyzing.

Don’t forget to join us in our two playoff leagues: you can join our Sporting News playoff league, password Schmohawk and/or our playoff challenge at NFL.com

Chris Johnson: They ran him as much as we thought they would, but he just couldn’t get the big chunks of yardage he needed to push ED’s record (Erectile Dickerson).  He did become the 6th running back to reach 2,000 yards and the all-time leader in yards from scrimmage. It was an amazing season and I look forward to drafting him if I get the #1 pick next year.

Jamaal Charles: 259 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns are a Chiefs record which erases Leisure Suit Larry’s old record. If only Todd Haley would have erased Larry Johnson from the starting lineup in the beginning of the season!  I’ve run out of superlatives to heap onto Mr. Charles.  It’s a shame that he has now made it impossible to get him for any kind of value in your drafts next year, but it’s looking like he could be a value about anywhere you can get him.

Jerome Harrison: Eric Mangini hopefully will get fired for the way he has handled Harrison.  Harrison and James Davis were obviously better backs than the aged Jamal Lewis, but of course he kept starting him and even deactivated Harrison and then to top it all off he runs him into the ground to end the season.  I know it sounds like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth here, but it is overkill to break a three game record for carries with Harrison just to save Mandingus’ job.  He may be overvalued next season, but I like him and his offensive line.

Tom Brady: Belichick never fails to amaze.  If you want to play your starters in a fairly meaningless game, I’m all for that, but why pull Brady in the 2nd quarter and then bring him back in and then pull him again when you are down one touchdown with a couple minutes on the clock?  The guy is so many steps ahead of everyone else that Welker’s injury was premeditated.

Wes Welker: Yeah, he’s done, along with his unbelievable season.  He tore his ACL and PCL which means he is SOL. Welker might not be ready for next season.  You’ll need to find another Dubya Dubya to fill his spot.

Julian Edleman: Well, he’s not a Dubya Dubya, but he’ll at least try to fill his spot. He had a good start by catching 10 passes for 103 yards. He might not be as fast, but he’s got a lot of scrap.  And scrap can’t be measured.  Unless it’s scrap metal, then they do it all the time.

Willis McGahee: 16 carries, 167 yards, and 3 touchdowns and it wasn’t Ray Rice? Ok, is the joke over?

Vernon Davis: He tied Antonio Gates touchdown record with 13 and ends the season just behind Dallas Clark or ahead of him depending on your scoring format.  After Mike Martz relegated him to blocking it sure didn’t look like this would ever happen, but he always had the talent.  Now he has the stats.  Stats plus talent equals stalent.

Jay Cutler: Cutler goes off in back to back games to finish the season.  We knew he always had the talent. Now he has the, oh nevermind, the guy can throw the ball, but his head ain’t screwed on too good. He needs another wide receiver. I vote for Malcolm Floyd, but I’m sure we’ll hear a lot about Marshall, Boldin and TO.

Fred Jackson: Fast Freddie also had over 200 yards rushing and a TD in a huge game against the Colts scrubs.  His future depends a lot on what the new coach does with Marshawn Lynch, but Jackson has proven that he can be the main back and if all signs are pointing to him remaining the guy he will go high in drafts next season.

Jabar Gaffney: Early on it looked like Josh McDaniels wanted to erase Brandon Marshall’s single game receptions record from the face of the earth, but Gaffney only ended up with 14 receptions and 213 yards, loser.

Devin Aromashodu: He finished the season with style and if he can win a job there is no reason to think he can’t be a productive player with Cutler throwing to him.  He’s no lock, but he has a chance as long as they realize Bennett and Hester aren’t much, which they aren’t.

Sidney Rice: Rice finished his breakout season with yet another big game. 112 yards and 2 touchdowns bring his account to 1,312 yards and 8 touchdowns from your waiver wire.

Malcolm Floyd: In a non-game Floyd finished with 9 catches and 140 yards.  There is no doubt that Floyd could put up good to great numbers if he becomes the #1 or #2 guy somewhere.  He’s a free agent this off season and should have quite a few teams vying for his services.

Thomas Jones: Over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns; the guy just won’t stop.  He finished as the 5th best fantasy back and I will take my lumps for liking Leon Washington more than him.  Can he keep this up next year?  I can’t say for sure, but I will be much more cautious in my evaluation, no matter how old/slow he gets.

NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND SCHEDULE

There are tons of playoff slots still up in the air so we should have a fun week 17 as fans and fake footballers.  Good luck this week!

1 pm Games

San Francisco @ St. Louis

Alex Smith is just too erratic to trust to lead your team to the promised land, even if you were only promised an empty lot under the train.  The matchup is good, but I’d feel better about using Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree.

SF: Smith 0, Crabtree +1, Davis +2

Keith Null should get the start once again and once again throw for under 200 yards and a couple picks. The Rams are best served losing this game to keep their draft status and they probably will.  There is no reason to even think about starting anybody from the passing game.  So play the passing game, and pass.

STL: Null -2, WR’s -2

New England @ Houston

The Pats have a shot at the #3 seed so it seems like they should be motivated at least a little, but Vegas has them underdogs by 8 points and I always lean toward players in must win situations.  Are Brady, Moss and Welker for a half better than a lot of players? Yes, and that’s a decision you’ll have to make.  But remember the Colts (not the Titans).

NE: Brady -1, Moss -1, Welker 0

Matt Schaub and company have a glimmer of hope of making the playoffs so they will be going all out.  Schaub is high on my awesome list this week and of course Andre Johnson is high on my totally awesome list. They are must starts, but you knew that.  I’ll shut up now.

HOU: Schaub +2, Johnson +2

Atlanta @ Tampa Bay

Matt Ryan had a big game against a good Bisons’ pass defense last week and seems to be healthier even though he will be limited in practice. Tampa has a decent pass defense and a bad rush defense, but so did Buffalo and they still threw, so I’m looking for another decent game from Ryan. Gonzo is hurting and may not play so look for Roddy White to get a lot of work.

ATL: Ryan +1, White +2

Josh Freeman is still too inconsistent to use, even against a bad pass defense.  Antonio Bryant and Kellen Winslow are the only possibilities in the Bucs’ passing game and Winslow has been much more consistent. The Falcons are really hurting in the secondary and I think Bryant can have a decent game. He had 5 receptions last week, but just couldn’t get loose.  There’s a good chance he gets more yardage this week.

TB: Freeman -1, Bryant +1, Winslow +2

New Orleans @ Carolina

The Saints have clinched and even thought they are blowing some smoke about playing I doubt they last the whole game. I would worry about starting any of them, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson should see more work, but knowing how much work they’ll get is a crap shoot that I’m not willing to play.

NO: Brees -1, Colston, -1, Meachem -2, Moore 0, Henderson -1

Matt Moore has played very well as of late, and if Steve Smith hadn’t broken his arm I’d probably be ready to start him, but he did, and I’m not.  Muhsin Muhammad will see more work as the #1 receiver and is worth a WR #3.

CAR: Moore 0, Muhammad +1

Pittsburgh @ Miami

Big Ben should have his way with the Miami corners (no, they aren’t Vegas hotel workers, close though). Santonio Holmes is the clear number one and Hines Ward is still having hamstring issues.  I’d stay away if possible.  Mike Wallace is making the most out of limited targets, but with Hines Ward hobbled he could get even more targets and become a safer play.

PIT: Roethlisberger +2, Holmes +2, Wallace +1, Ward 0, Miller 0

Chad Henne has thrown for over 300 yards the last 2 weeks while throwing 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.  Not great, but if you get a bonus for 300 yards it’s probably pretty good.  There is a good chance Henne will have to throw a lot since Pittsburgh’s rush defense is tough and their pass defense isn’t.  With those two 300 yard games you would think a wide receiver would have had a great game, but in both games no Dolphins’ receiver topped 10 fantasy points.  And that was Ginn and Hartline! You can’t tell who it will be and even if you do, the rewards aren’t that great.

MIA: Henne +1, Bess 0, Camarillo 0, Ginn 0, Hartline 0

Jacksonville @ Cleveland

David Garrard has had a bit of a regression this year. His fumblitis has gotten acute and he can’t even keep his best receiver in targets and fantasy points. Cleveland isn’t very good, but you can’t start Garrard.  Mike Sims-Walker became an every week starter for a stretch there, but that stretch is gone. With the amount of receivers with questionable playing time out there MSW is probably startable this week.

JAC: Garrard 0, Sims-Walker +1

Derek Anderson isn’t a NFL quarterback, well, he is, he’s playing in a NFL game on Sunday, but he won’t be for long.  He does get a horrible Jags secondary and I could almost see him having some crazy lights out game, but not enough to recommend starting him to my worst enemy, which I don’t think I’ve had since grade school. The Jags are much better on run defense, but the Browns have gone run heavy in their 3 game winning streak (it’s true), so they might be matching up with the wrong dudes this week.

CLE: Anderson -1, Massaquoi 0, Stuckey , Moore 0

New York Giants @ Minnesota

If they haven’t completely folded, the Giants could do some damage against the Vikings pass defense.  Jay Cutler and company threw all over them and their best cornerback, Antoine Winfield, got burned for the game winning touch down and looked slow in doing so.  I could see gambling on Eli this week if you are down a QB due to them resting on their ass-laurels. And with no Jacobs and the more reception friendly Bradshaw in there, I expect a lot of ball chucking.

NYG: Manning +1, Smith +2, Nicks +1, Manningham +1, Boss +1

The Vikings need this game for a chance at a bye so will be going all out.  Favre plays better in the home dome and showed that he’s not done for the season with a good game in Chicago. The Giants pass defense continues to be horrid so there is no reason to downgrade any receivers.

MIN: Favre +1, Rice +2, Harvin +1, Berrian 0, Shiancoe 0

Indianapolis @ Buffalo

Curtis Painter = start Buffalo’s defense.

IND: -2’s all around!

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been practicing and could get the start which sadly is an upgrade over Brian Brohm. With the Colts scrubs scrubbing away I could see throwing TO in there for one last hurrah.

BUF: Fitzpatrick 0, Owens +1

Chicago @ Detroit

So where has this Jay Cutler been?  Waiting until there was absolutely no pressure left? I don’t know, but if you could count on that Cutler playing he sure has a nice matchup in the dome, but his wide receivers are dropping like a ball in Adrian Peterson’s hands. Devin Hester is still limited and Johnny Knox is done for the season.  This might not set up Cutler for a big game, but it does set up Devin Aromashodu and Greg Olsen for a lot of work.  How productive they will be is another question, but opportunity + matchup = football fantasia.

CHI: Cutler 0, Aromashodu +1, Olsen +1

Detroit continues their horribleness which starts at the quarterback position. Drew Stanton and Daunte Culpepper are dueling toward mediocrity and both are winning.  Calvin Johnson had a decent game last week and seems to be healed enough to be startable even with the horrid QB battle.

DET: Stanpepper -2, Johnson +1

4 pm Games

Washington @ San Diego

The Native Americans will be playing the Chargers’ B team, but sadly the Skins A team plays like a C team.  Has anyone seen B.A. Baracus? While the Patriots and Bengals who might sit starters are extreme underdogs in Vegas the Chargers scrubs are actually favored. That is saying something.  Santana Moss has been getting a lot of targets, but continues to be a dink and dunker, who I would only use in ppr. Fred Davis has a nice matchup here and should get back to his end zone ways.

WAS: Campbell 0, Moss 0, Fred Davis +1

Billy Volek is a possibility if you own Rivers and are hurting at QB.  He is capable and has some decent 2nd string WR’s to use.  I wouldn’t bet the farm or even the farm cat on him though.  Legedu Naanee and Kassim Osgood could see a lot of work.

SD: Volek 0, Naanee +1, Osgood 0

Tennessee @ Seattle

Seattle’s secondary is fantasticly poor.  This is set up to be a good game for Vince Young and it easily could be, but we are going to see a lot of running by the 2,000 yard man (no relation to Mel Brooks).  I think VY will have a good game, but it will be difficult to predict what receivers might benefit.  Kenny Britt has been backsliding as of late and it is hard to play him in your championship game.  I’m staying away from the Titans’ receivers.

TEN: Young +1, Britt 0, Washington 0, Gage 0

So Matt Hasselbeck has turned into a major waste of space on anyone’s fantasy roster. His schedule looked great, but he just couldn’t turn things around this year. The Seahawks are texting it in and I can’t recommend any of them.

SEA: Hasselbeck -2, Housh -1, Carlson -1

Baltimore @ Oakland

Baltimore is in a must win game and they are facing a team whose weakness (rush D) fits perfectly into their strength (rushing).  But we are here to look at Flacco and company. Oakland doesn’t have a great secondary and can be beat so you have to get Mason in there. Flacco might not see a ton of work, but he is a fairly safe bet to not destroy you in a firey blaze of fantasy ineptitude. Todd Heap has turned it on the last couple weeks, but it is hard for me to jump on the bandwagon, but since he is getting those red zone targets I’ll take a short ride.

BAL: Flacco +1, Mason +1, Heap 0ish

Charlie Frye and Zach Miller got all pass happy last week and Miller is the only possible fantasy start in the passing game (as usual). Frye seems to like Miller, probably because he catches the ball, so I see no reason not to start him.

OAK: Frye -2, Miller +1

Philadelphia @ Dallas

The Cowboys pass defense is decent, but the onslaught of passes that McNabb throws at the defense is impossible to withstand. The Eagles have too many weapons in Jackson, Maclin and Celek.  This game should be a shootout and both teams have playoff seeding implications which will make them play all out.

PHI: McNabb +2, Jackson +2, Maclin +1, Celek +2

Tony Romo didn’t have a huge fantasy game last week, but he also didn’t kill your team.  He has turned a corner and will put up good numbers on an Eagles secondary that, in the last 5 weeks, has been giving up an average of 22 fantasy points to QB’s.  Look for Jason Witten and Miles Austin to get most of those yards.  Roy Williams is awful, but he could grab a TD if it gets coated with super glue on the way to him.

DAL: Romo +2, Austin +2, Williams 0, Witten +2

Kansas City @ Denver

The Denver secondary doesn’t allow any single receiver to beat them and the Chiefs don’t have enough weapons to really hurt them through the air.  Dwayne Bowe is getting a ton of short targets, but has yet to get any real yardage.  In ppr leagues Bowe is a good start, but otherwise he’s risky.

KC: Cassel -2, Bowe 0

Brandon Marshall tweaked his hamstring in practice, but reports say he will play.  Keep an eye on this, because he is pretty much the whole passing offense.  The Chiefs pass defense has improved, but they haven’t been playing very good passing offenses.  If Marshall is healthy he is a top 5 start this week and makes Orton a borderline start.

DEN: Orton 0, Marshall +2, Gaffney 0, Sheffler -1

Green Bay @ Arizona

I don’t think Green Bay will play their starters much so I would stay away from the whole mess. I would recommend the Packers back ups, but Arizona could be playing to win this game.

GB: no thanks

Kurt Warner and company could use a rest so if Minnesota beats the Giants in the early game I don’t see them playing more than a quarter. But if the Giants win, the Cardinals would have a shot at the #2 seed and a whole other week off.  And if the Cardinals are playing to win, while the Packers are packing it in, they could move the ball easily.

ARI: (if Giants win) Warner +2, Fitzgerald +2, Boldin +2 (If Minny wins) Leinart 0, Breaston +1, Doucet +1

8 pm Game

Cincinnati @ NY Jets

If the Patriots beat the Texans then Cincinnati will most likely rest their players.  If the Patriots lose to the Texans the Bengals will most likely rest their players. Don’t risk it and thankfully it’s a craptastic matchup anyway.

CIN: No thanks

Mark Sanchez isn’t trusted by the coaches so I don’t really trust the passing game.  They will run the ball a lot.

NYJ: Sanchez -1, Cotchery -1, Edwards -1