Fantasy Football: My Lineup For The Playoffs In Week 16

 Michael Vick- With a poor first half against the Giants last week, Vick basically took over the second half with two key drives and then DeSean sealed the deal with shocking punt return for a TD as time expired. Over the past seven weeks, Vick has averaged about 30 fantasy points, which is a ridiculously high amount for a QB. I expect Vick to keep up this production against the Vikings, who were trounced by the Bears last week 40-14. It will be the Sunday night game and if there is anyone who I can count on this week to get me some points, it's Vick.

Roddy White- A top notch receiver who will be playing against a New Orleans who has a pretty solid defense. His current status for the Monday night is Questionable, but hopefully this improves to Probable by Monday. Although White has not had a huge game since Week 10, he has consistently gotten points every week. I am hoping for a shootout between Matt Ryan and Drew Brees and maybe White could have a big game.

Reggie Wayne- The number one receiver on the Colts had only 34 yards receiving on 5 catches last week against the Jaguars. However, I am expecting Wayne to have a bounce back game tomorrow in Oakland. With Collie out due to another concussion, (incurred last week against Jacksonville) Wayne will start alongside Pierre Garcon. This will mean more catches for Wayne, as Peyton's top three targets will likely be Tamme, Garcon and Wayne.

DeSean Jackson- Jackson's punt return for a TD will be difficult to forget, especially for all of you Giants fans. As a fantasy owner I just hope that this week against the Vikings, Jackson has more than 52 yards and a fumble. I decided to play him over Danny Woodhead this week since he does get punt return duties and he can always have one or two big plays during a game. I see him as a must-start due to his big-play threat potential.

Brian Westbrook- Although he is no Frank Gore and he will be sharing carries with Anthony Dixon, Westbrook still has some life (and fantasy value) inside him. To my benefit, Westbrook will be running against the Rams tomorrow, who have a pretty average defense (17th in rushing and 18th in receiving). Based on his performance in the last couple of games I'm estimating that Westbrook gets about 60 yards rushing and a TD.

Ryan Torain- I really like Torain and his tough running style. Upon coming back form his injury, Torain tore through Tampa Bay's defense in Week 14 with 172 rushing yards on 24 carries. Last week he had 102 all-purpose yards (11 carries for 53 yards and 48 receiving yards on 5 catches) and a TD against Dallas. Tomorrow the Redskins face the Jaguars who have given up an average of 115.9 rushing yards and 1.0 rushing TD per game. I like this matchup a lot.

Tony Gonzalez- Gonzalez has not gotten many yards this year, averaging 42.2 yards per game up until this point. However, if the game turns into a shootout between Ryan and Brees Tony could be the beneficiary of a touchdown. Even on the goal line, if Turner does not run it in, Gonzalez could always get the occasional TD. I don't like this matchup too much, but according to Rotowire.com "The upside is [Gonzalez] faces the Saints in Week 16, a team he torched for eight catches for 110 yards and one touchdown in Week 3." -Rotowire.com. So we will see what happens.

LeGarrette Blount- Blount has taken over the starting job from Cadillac Williams and he has proven that he can play very well on the NFL level. The Buccaneers face the Seahawks who are currently the 21st worst rush defense in the league. Blount put up 110 yards and a TD against the Lions last week, so I estimate that he gets 80 yards rushing and a TD against Seattle tomorrow.

Benjarvus Green-Ellis- I spoke about Green-Ellis in one of my earlier posts where I have his current RB rank and the poor projected rank given to him before the start of the season. Who said the Patriots can't run the ball? "He now leads the Patriots with 190 attempts for 824 yards (4.3 avg.) with 12 rushing scores, and a decent shot at his first career 1,000-yard season." - Yahoo Sports. Not only this, but  Green-Ellis and the Patriots also have a dream match-up against the Buffalo Bills who rank dead last in the run. For these reasons alone, I believe Benjarvus will have at least 100 yards rushing and one if not two TD's tomorrow against the Bills.              

                

Garret Hartley- Not much to say about Hartley except that he has been solid, getting at least 7 fantasy points for me for the past 4 weeks. The main reason I have him as my kicker is because he is on the New Orleans Saints and I can always be sure that Brees will lead the team to score. Whether they be PATs or Field Goals, I know Hartley will always come out with a good amount of combined points.

Baltimore DST- For my last choice I have Baltimore defense playing against the Cleveland Browns. Despite Hillis running all over the Ravens D in week 3, Ray Lewis has given me hope that that Hillis performance will not be repeated in tomorrow's game."Ray Lewis vows that Peyton Hillis will get shut down" -Yahoo Sports. In addition to this, the Raven's have something to play for: "The Ravens can clinch a playoff berth without assistance from other teams with a victory." -Yahoo Sports. Baltimore's defense has been solid the past few weeks and with that being said, I am putting my faith in Lewis and the Ravens D this week. 




Final Words Before Kickoff: Anything can happen in fantasy football, so no matter how much you analyze teams, match-ups and players, the fact of the matter is that there is always a bit of luck involved. You may have the best team on paper, but one week your entire team may just be average and your opponent may put up a monster week. Once the games start all you can do is sit there, watch and hope for the best. Finally, if you are in the playoffs this week, I just want to say good luck and don't play anyone on the IR!