Playoffs through Week 17?

A buddy of mine said he needed some fantasy football advice and I assumed it was for his dynasty league next year, but he was actually wondering who to start this week. Hopefully my friend and the nine other people in that league are the last fantasy football owners on earth in leagues extending to the last week of the regular season.

It's not about being traditional and it's not about "getting every week out of the regular season." It's about common sense, folks. Open up a newspaper and read how the Steelers are considering benching Ben Roethlisberger for the final game of the season and how the Chargers will be "conservative" with L.T. against the Raiders because of injury.

Please, please, please let's work together to make these silly leagues extinct.

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays to everyone, but more importantly congrats to everyone who won their league championship game this past weekend. If it was a money league I think you owe me some money since this blog helped, just kidding.

Seriously though, the regular season is winding down so if I forget to tell you later, it's been a great season and I appreciate the comments and especially the emails. Take care and be safe.

BFFC champs

For those of you wondering...Norwich brothers Chris and Joe Truman easily beat Norwich's Don Benjamin to capture the BFFC title. The Truman brothers take the title from Ned Higgins, who I'm sure you remember beat me by .09 points in the championship game last season.

Thanks again Bubba Franks, even a year later you still impact my blood pressure.

Sunday sleepers

Here are a few of my sleepers for the rest of the weekend...

Ike Hilliard
Devery Henderson
Arnaz Battle
Laurence Maroney
Kenton Keith

Enjoy the games!

Hill > Volek?

With 49ers qb Shaun Hill putting up nice fantasy numbers against easy defenses, some are wondering if Hill is going to do what Volek did a couple years ago and reward owners who took a chance on him late in the season.

As someone who follows the 49ers closely, I honestly can't explain where the offense went wrong this season. The WRs are above average, Gore is a top notch back and Vernon Davis is a machine in the middle. Usually when talented offenses don't put up numbers, the coaching staff is to blame but I'm starting to think Alex Smith is just an average QB and Dilfer is washed up. In other words, maybe if Shaun Hill was the 49ers starter Week 1, this season could have turned out a lot different for 49er fans.

Will Hill pull a Volek? Probably not, but he does increase the value for guys like Vernon Davis, Darrell Jackson and Frank Gore in the final two weeks.

FYI

I am alive and well, but no thanks to the folks at Continental Airlines. It's been a while so I wanted to check in and let you all know you can look forward to my regular coverage starting later in the week...

A flight I was on was canceled twice and delayed once because of ice on the breaks literally had the plane "stuck." Even though the issue was "resolved," how can that not be in the back of your mind during the landing?

Anyways, less complaining and more of the best fantasy football coverage starting tomorrow...

No. 1 next year

I got one email, and I'm sure there will be more, about my statement that Adrian Peterson will likely be the first overall pick in most fantasy drafts next season. This individual, who didn't disclose the fact that he was a Pats fan, but made it quite obvious, suggested Tom Brady or Randy Moss will be the first overall pick in most drafts.

I'm standing by Peterson. Anyone who averages more than six yards per carry in their rookie season and in an otherwise below average offense, has to be picked No. 1. Period. I don't know who the Vikings will add in the offseason and through the draft, but if they can move Sidney Rice over to the No. 2 spot and put a top WR opposite him, Peterson will have even more room to run. That's a scary, scary thought.

Calm before the storm

If you own players on the Patriots, Jets, Giants or Redskins it’s time to start worrying.
With serious winter weather headed this way, offensive players on these teams will be also be facing Mother Nature this weekend. You’ve been warned, if you need to add replacements do so ASAP before someone else in a similar situation steals the best player available.
Remember, winter weather is bad news to anyone besides defenses, but especially kickers. If you own Stephen Gostkowski or Lawrence Tynes you need to start looking at games in warmer weather such as Cincinnati-San Francisco, St. Louis-Green Bay or Baltimore-Miami. I like Matt Stover this weekend a lot.

Random thoughts

Below you will find some random thoughts on my mind heading into Week 15

*Aaron Stecker looked decent Monday night, but so would you against the Falcons. Stecker rarely breaks tackles, but often sprints untouched through a hole before crumbling underneath a tackler. Whatever works, right?

*Bobby Petrino is a coward and a quitter. Enough said.

*There’s definitely some chemistry between Chris Redman and Roddy White.

*So I qualified for one of 5,000 seats in the playoffs of NBC’s 100,000 challenge. Now I sit in 923rd place with three weeks to go. I’m only 83 points back, which isn’t a lot considering you start two Qbs and a “bonus player” (doubled points) every week. Root for me.

*I can’t sleep at night because I keep imagining who the Pats might select with their, more likely than not, top-5 pick in April. If you haven’t heard already, New England get San Fran’s No. 1 pick and that would be No. 2 overall if the season ended today. Look out AFC.

Defense

Here is some early advice for, what is for most people, the first round of your league’s playoffs. In the NFL we know defense wins championships, and the same can sometimes be said for fantasy football as well.

This week there are a couple of defenses who have the opportunity to put up 20-plus points depending on your league’s scoring chances. Think about the Bengals (you heard right) against the 49ers with some guy named Shaun Hill behind center and the Bears offense should struggle with Kyle Orton and Adrian Peterson in the backfield so the Vikings might be a good bet.

What to watch

This is an interesting weekend in the NFL to say the least. Below are some things to look for as you're rooting for your fantasy team to squeeze into the playoffs.

*Will the Pats remain undefeated? How will they respond to two close games?

*With Reggie Bush out, how many times will Drew Brees throw the ball?

*What record will Adrian Peterson break vs. the 49ers?

*What can the Rams do with some guy named BRock Berlin? Who is Brock Berlin? Why do all of my points end up being in the form of a question?

*Can the Giants win an important game in December?

If you think you know the answers to these questions prior to their respective kickoffs, drop a comment...

Shhh...don't wake them

I want to provide you all with some of my favorite sleeper kickers for this weekend. IT's crunch time and few extra points could be the difference between the playoffs and a miserable finish to the season for some folks. This is way before the game so I haven't heard if there will be rain, wind or snow at any games so check that out before you take my advice...

Jeff Wilkins (I don't see the Bengals being able to stop Steven Jackson so Wilkins will get plenty of chances)

Jason Elam (all three Denver RBs are back and Javon Walker is only getting healthier)

Kris Brown (I think the Texans are going to surprise a lot of people this week)

Kyle Boller

I never thought I'd say this, but picking up Kyle Boller in your fantasy league is actually a pretty good idea. Week 15 Boller and the Ravens meet the Dolphins and there's potential for two or three touchdowns that week. He won't light the world on fire, but he could be a good replacement should your starter go down or you have someone else that week with a tough match-up.

Boller signed a 1-year contract so the motivation is there for him to make an impact with a few weeks to go in the season.

Crushed

In case you've wondered where I've been lately...I'm still recovering from the Pats-Ravens game which cost me wins in multiple leagues and crushed my chances in NBC's 100,000 challenge. I was sitting in 27th place out of 5,000 qualifiers after Thursday's nights game too.

Ben Watson's two dropped touchdowns weren't very kind to me.