The Chargers have the #2 AFC spot locked up & an automatic bye so look for limited action from Philip Rivers, LaDanian Tomlinson, Vincent Jackson & Antonio Gates. Be very careful with the New England Patriots & Cincinnati Bengals studs. Belichick & Brady both say they’re going to play to win but a Boston Herald report says they’ll possibly sit Welker & Moss. It might be tough to win without those two running routes. Just proceed with caution with those two teams. OK… on to the guys that will be definitely playing this week!

START ‘EM

QB
1.) Donovan McNabb @ Cowboys – The Eagles will do what they do best… throw early & often. Both teams need this victory & the Eagles control their own destiny in pursuit of the NFC”s #2 seed. Watch McNabb Shine.
2.) Matt Schaub – He’s going to air it out at home vs. New England. The Pats pass rush is getting a little better but still suspect. Given time in the pocket, I expect Schaub to find Fantasy Football’s #1 WR Andre Johnson quite often.
3.) Brett Favre vs. Giants – Favre likes being the HERO and this is a crucial game for the Vikings. If he can keep his head on straight and not get carried away with himself (that means not forcing the ball into tight coverage) then he should walk away the victor. That means a steady dose of Adrian Peterson and picking his spots to heave the ball up there.

RB
The no-brainers this week are Chris Johnson (going for a few records), Ray Rice, MJD & Adrian Peterson. There’s going to be some huge numbers put up from a few of these guys.
1.) Frank Gore @ Rams – He just laid 152 total yards on Detroit in Week 16. What makes you think he can’t top that against a Rams’ defense that ranks #27 against the run and has allowed an NFC-most 21 rushing TDs?
2.) Mike Tolbert vs. Redskins – I watched this guy play at Coastal Carolina & he was a human wrecking ball. With Tomlinson & Sproles likely to sit in this meaningless game watch Tolbert get 15-20 carries. He was fed the ball 10 times in a row last week to end their game. Sneaky sleeper that could notch you 12-16 fantasy points.
3.) Fred Jackson vs. Colts – This is the kiss of death putting him on this list. I need him to perform for me this week because our league is still playing. He’s maintained his stranglehold on Buffalo’s featured RB job. He had 15 touches last week to Marshawn Lynch’s four. With the Colts packing it in to concentrate on the playoffs I’d expect the Bills to play hard to steal this victory.

WR
1.) DeSean Jackson @ Cowboys – he will be the recipient of many of McNabb’s passes as he has turned himself into one of the NFL’s premier receivers. Expect him to have a huge game against the Cowboys’ #21 ranked pass defense.
2.) Roddy White vs. Buccaneers – White had eight catches for 139 yards against Buffalo last week. He opened the game with a 42-yard touchdown catch on the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage. Matt Ryan & company are shooting for back to back winning seasons and a good way to get that victory is to target his main receiver early & often.
3.) Vernon Davis @ Rams – He’s matured and has finally started doing what fantasy owners had expected for years – scoring touchdowns (12.) Watch him get at least one more & quite possibly 2 or 3 against a horrible Rams defense.

SIT ‘EM

QB
1.) Carson Palmer @ Jets – If the Bengals starters are limited then I wouldn’t expect Palmer to play for more than a half. Even if he does play more Ochocinco will be matched up against Darrell Revis – one of the leagues top cornerbacks.
2.) Eli Manning @ Vikings – With the Giants playoff hopes crushed they really have nothing to play for other than pride…and if they had any of that they wouldn’t have gotten destroyed last week. The Vikings have the bye to play for & they will fight & claw to wrap up this victory.
3.) Vince Young @ Seahawks – With RB Chris Johnson chasing history I would expect the Titans to put all their eggs in his basket. Now that they have no shot at the playoffs their only goal is to get him the records. That will severely limit what Vince will do.

RB
1.) Ahmad Bradshaw @ Vikings – He’s going to start for the Giants now that Brandon Jacobs is out for the year. He should see about 15-20 touches but he’s dealing with lower leg issues & has even mentioned that he thinks something might be broken. Add this to the fact that he’s facing a stout Vikings defense that can’t afford to lose.
2.) Cedric Benson @ Jets – He is slated to start but he might get limited touches as the Bengals don’t need the win. They will be seeded #3 or #4 and they probably don’t think it’s worth getting their studs banged up for this one.
3.) Marshawn Lynch vs. Colts – His four touches last week are proof that the Bills are moving in a different direction with Fred Jackson as their main cog.

WR
1.) Devin Aromashodu @ Lions – He was the waiver-wire pickup of the week because he was Jay Cutler’s main target last week with Devin Hester banged up. Well now Hester is back in the fold (coming back to full practice on Thursday) so Aromashodu will now be coming off the bench.
2.) Hines Ward @ Dolphins – He’s in danger of sitting out the Steelers’ regular season finale because of two separate hamstring injuries. Those injuries have taken away his ability to make hard cuts. I fully expect him to play because that’s the kind of competitor he is, but don’t count on much.
3.) Brandon Marshall vs. Chiefs – He has a great matchup versus the Chiefs but he’s apparently found himself in coach Josh McDaniel’s doghouse again. It figures that in the Broncos’ most critical game of the season “prima dona” Marshall has to show his ass & hurt his whole team in the process.

START ‘EMS I NAILED

START ‘EMS I SCREWED
1.) Robert Meachem – 5 receptions for a measly 43 yards. 9 points. Not
what his owners were hoping for in the FF playoffs.
2.) Dwayne Bowe – 4 receptions for 56 yards. 9 points. He’s obviously
is still shaking the rust off from the 4 game suspension after dropping
a sure TD.

SIT ‘EMS I NAILED
1.) Jay Cutler – Are you kidding me? 99 passing yards, 0 TDs & 3 INTs
for a whopping -1 points!!! Tim Barnes could do better than that & he
hasn’t exercised since he stopped playing softball back in 2003!
2.) Matt Forte – 69 rushing yards & 2 receptions for 0 yds. 6 points. I
could just pencil him in this spot every week.
3.) Brandon Jacobs - 52 yards rushing & 1 reception for 2 yds. 6
points. Not quite the beast that he thinks he is.
4.) Calvin Johnson – 3 receptions for 35 yds. 6 points. I think he’d
look good in a Patriots uniform instead of Sam Aiken!
5.) Roddy White – 4 receptions for 33 yards. 7 points

SIT ‘EMS I SCREWED
1.) Big Ben – 503 yards passing & 3TDs with a 121.9 QB rating for an
incredible 38 points. Talk about missing the boat on this one!!!
2.) Steven Jackson – 82 yards rushing and 4 receptions for another 41
yards. 17 points. Not bad for a guy who was a game-time decision!
3.) Vince Young – 236 yards passing and 3TDs with 1 INT. It was
actually HIS game instead of Chris Johnson’s for once. 27 points and a
nice 103.3 passer rating.

Oh & did I mention that I won my fantasy game against Big ED because of
Anquan Boldin getting a receiving touchdown reversed to a rushing
touchdown? Thanks Ed!!!

Merry Christmas everybody!!

START ‘EM

QBs
1.) Philip Rivers vs. Bengals – Rivers has guided the Chargers to 8
victories in a row and they’re once again one of the favorites to make
a Superbowl run. Rivers has passed for 22 TDs vs. 7 INTs with a 104 QB rating. He quietly goes about his business while Manning, Brady & Brees get all the press. This match up has implications with possibly the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs on the line. Add this to the fact that the
Bengals have had a rough week with the death of Chris Henry & may not be focused like the should be.
2.) Kurt Warner @ Lions – Here’s his bounce-back game after last week’s debacle.
3.) Matt Schaub @ Rams – The Texans are shooting for their best record in franchise history and won’t let the 1-12 Rams get in their way. All he has to do is throw it to Andre Johnson 10 times & he’ll post
excellent numbers.

RBs
1.) Laurence Maroney @ Bills – Larry Mo has become New England’s
workhorse RB and had quietly hit paydirt 8 times this year. He’s facing
the worst run defense in the AFC in a game that looks like both teams
will grind it out because of the weather.
2.) Fred Jackson vs. Patriots – Jackson has done well in the past vs.
the Patriots and had a pretty good game against them to start the
season. Plus New England has two of their best run stuffers (Ty Warren
& Vince Wilfork) banged up & not at full strength.
3.) Ray Rice vs. Bears – Rice has given new life to the Ravens offense
this year & if Fantasy Drafts were held again right now he’d probably
come off the board in the top half of the 1st round. Chicago is ranked
25th against the run. Say no more.

WRs
1.) Robert Meachem vs. Cowboys – He’s been a favorite target of Drew
Brees this year & I don’t think he’ll be held out of the end zone 2
weeks in a row. The Saints have their undefeated campaign on the line
so I expect a high scoring affair.
2.) Anquan Boldin @ Lions – With his counterpart (Larry Fitzgerald)
hurting, watch Boldin see plenty of love from Kurt Warner this week
against a hapless Lions team.
3.) Dwayne Bowe vs. Browns – Back from a 4-game suspension, KC’s best
WR in refreshed and ready to give you at least 15 fantasy points.

SIT ‘EM

QBs
1.) Jay Cutler @ Ravens – I know, I have him on this list again…I
can’t help it. Baltimore will put pressure on Cutler all day & force
him into more bad decisions.
2.) Ben Roethlisberger vs. Packers – The Steelers have a banged up
O-Line as shown by Cleveland’s 8 sacks last week. Now they’re missing
their starting Left Guard to injury. Add that to the fact that they’re
going up against a Packers defense that’s #1 in the NFC.
3.) Vince Young vs. Dolphins – Young is banged up and was questionable
all week so he’s clearly not 100%. He’ll be playing against a hungry
Miami defense who can’t afford a loss.

RBs
1.) Steven Jackson vs. Texans – I know this is a juicy match up for one
of the best Running Backs in the league. I see where some publications
have him ranked as their #2 RB. I just think that the herniated disk in
his back isn’t doing him any favors…plus the fact that the Houston
defensive game plan will be to limit Jackson (the Rams’ only real
threat.)
2.) Matt Forte @ Ravens – I know… he makes the list again also. The
Baltimore Defense will bring pressure on Cutler & close down the
running lanes for Forte.
3.) Brandon Jacobs @ Redskins – I read an article this week stating the
fact that most defenses don’t fear Jacobs… as physically intimidating
as he seems to be. He’s just not as good as he claims & he’ll be facing
a division rival and tough defense in the Redskins.

WRs
1.) Calvin Johnson vs. Cardinals – His knee is acting up again & seems
to be getting worse. And when he does get open his QBs can’t seem to
get him the ball. Limit your expectations.
2.) Larry Fitzgerald @ Lions – OK – I put him on this list a couple
weeks ago & he toasted me. Well I’m doing it again even though one
publication has him listed as the #1 WR this week. He’s been banged up
& has been questionable all week…but he’s such a fierce competitor
that he’ll play. The Cardinals job will be to protect Fitzgerald from
himself & keep him healthy for the playoffs. I expect Boldin to benefit
greatly from this.
3.) Roddy White at Jets – He has a shaky QB, he’s banged up, and he’s
going up against probably the best shutdown cornerback in the league in
Darryl Revis. So there.