Division Playoffs

By Charles Budd & Steve Maluk, Fantasy Football Cafe Regulars

This is a computerized ranking system created by Charles Budd and Steve Maluk (known in the forums as Buckychudd and Wesley Walker). Factors considered include 2003 performance of players and opposing defenses as well as the Vegas over/under and point spreads (to predict scoring). Players on byes are obviously not included, nor are players listed as “out” or “doubtful.”

Point projections are based on the following scoring system: 1 point for 25 yards passing or 10 yards rushing/receiving; 6 points per TD; -1 per sack or fumble; -2 per interception thrown.

QB RB WR TE

QB:

Defense wins championships, right? Expect some defensive battles this week, with the exception being Indy at Kansas City. Vegas has set the over/under for that game at 51; that bodes well for Peyton Manning and Trent Green. Tom Brady keeps proving he belongs playing football in January - as does Brett Favre, but we all knew that already.

QB Opp Pass Yds Int Sack Rush Yds Fum TDs Pts
Peyton Manning IND KC 279.6 0.93 1.19 2.0 0.38 1.56 17.79
Trent Green KC IND 221.1 0.67 1.14 5.4 0.31 1.44 15.50
Tom Brady NE TEN 254.4 0.94 2.23 2.7 0.81 1.43 14.22
Brett Favre* GB PHI 212.0 1.01 1.32 1.0 0.31 1.33 14.14
*Probable (thumb)
Marc Bulger STL CAR 240.0 1.40 2.89 4.6 0.53 1.62 13.51
Steve McNair* TEN NE 231.4 0.86 1.63 7.5 0.86 1.09 13.13
*Questionable (ankle/calf)
Donovan McNabb PHI GB 213.1 0.86 2.68 20.0 0.56 1.21 12.39
Jake Delhomme CAR STL 192.7 1.43 1.85 2.8 0.94 1.16 9.88

RB:

Priest Holmes is simply the best fantasy player this season, and that’s not about to change this week. Ahman Green, Edgerrin James, Stephen Davis, and Marshall Faulk all look poised for solid games as well.

RB Opp Rush Yds Rec Yds Fum TDs Pts
Priest Holmes KC IND 93.2 38.2 0.06 1.86 24.23
Ahman Green GB PHI 129.3 23.4 0.44 1.01 20.89
Edgerrin James IND KC 120.4 23.7 0.38 0.90 19.41
Stephen Davis CAR STL 108.3 11.2 0.21 0.48 14.62
Marshall Faulk STL CAR 67.9 24.8 0.00 0.41 11.74
Kevin Faulk NE TEN 29.2 32.8 0.27 0.48 8.80
Duce Staley PHI GB 26.1 25.1 0.13 0.41 7.44
Correll Buckhalter PHI GB 32.6 9.3 0.20 0.55 7.31
Eddie George* TEN NE 49.0 10.4 0.06 0.21 7.15
*Questionable (shoulder/ankle)
Antowain Smith NE TEN 33.9 7.9 0.08 0.20 5.33
DeShaun Foster CAR STL 32.2 14.5 0.21 0.14 5.32
Ricky Williams IND KC 14.8 12.8 0.15 0.23 4.00
Tony Fisher GB PHI 14.6 14.0 0.00 0.16 3.81
Najeh Davenport GB PHI 30.8 2.6 0.27 0.11 3.72
Lamar Gordon STL CAR 27.2 5.5 0.10 0.09 3.70

WR:

You shouldn’t need us to tell you to start Holt, Harrison, or Mason. Javon Walker and Justin McCareins, on the other hand, have quietly been racking up yards and scores - start either this week and wait for their big-game quarterbacks to get them the ball.

WR Opp Rec Yds Fum TDs Pts
Torry Holt STL CAR 99.6 0.06 0.71 14.15
Marvin Harrison IND KC 89.6 0.13 0.63 12.63
Derrick Mason TEN NE 83.0 0.00 0.39 10.64
Steve Smith CAR STL 68.2 0.13 0.42 9.21
Isaac Bruce STL CAR 61.5 0.00 0.31 8.03
Reggie Wayne IND KC 55.3 0.00 0.42 8.03
Javon Walker* GB PHI 45.6 0.06 0.47 7.33
*Probable (shoulder)
Justin McCareins TEN NE 51.8 0.00 0.34 7.22
David Givens NE TEN 43.9 0.00 0.47 7.22
Deion Branch NE TEN 59.9 0.00 0.20 7.22
Brandon Stokley* IND KC 37.2 0.00 0.48 6.57
*Probable (ankle)
Troy Brown NE TEN 44.0 0.00 0.34 6.45
Muhsin Muhammad CAR STL 54.9 0.20 0.19 6.44
Eddie Kennison KC IND 47.3 0.06 0.28 6.35
Drew Bennett TEN NE 42.8 0.00 0.26 5.84
Johnnie Morton KC IND 41.0 0.00 0.22 5.45
Donald Driver GB PHI 42.2 0.00 0.11 4.89
Robert Ferguson GB PHI 35.3 0.00 0.22 4.87
Dedric Ward NE TEN 29.7 0.00 0.26 4.50
Todd Pinkston PHI GB 37.8 0.06 0.13 4.49
Troy Walters IND KC 32.1 0.00 0.19 4.35
James Thrash PHI GB 36.7 0.00 0.06 4.06
Freddie Mitchell PHI GB 32.8 0.00 0.13 4.05
Dane Looker STL CAR 29.1 0.06 0.18 3.91
Ricky Proehl CAR STL 23.9 0.00 0.24 3.83
Tyrone Calico TEN NE 21.6 0.00 0.22 3.50
Dante Hall KC IND 23.4 0.06 0.06 2.62
David Patten NE TEN 26.1 0.00 0.00 2.61
Bethel Johnson NE TEN 15.6 0.00 0.14 2.38

TE:

There remains but one elite tight end, and that man is Tony Gonzalez. Marcus Pollard could find the endzone too, as could Daniel Graham for the Pats. But in terms of a tight end’s likelihood of scoring a TD, nobody even comes close to Gonzo this week.

TE Opp Rec Yds Fum TDs Pts
Tony Gonzalez KC IND 50.8 0.00 0.56 8.45
Marcus Pollard IND KC 40.8 0.07 0.20 5.23
Daniel Graham NE TEN 32.7 0.00 0.29 5.02
Erron Kinney TEN NE 24.3 0.06 0.15 3.24
Bubba Franks GB PHI 15.3 0.00 0.21 2.79
Christian Fauria NE TEN 19.9 0.00 0.13 2.76
Frank Wycheck TEN NE 16.8 0.00 0.16 2.62
LJ Smith PHI GB 22.5 0.07 0.07 2.60
Chad Lewis PHI GB 19.3 0.00 0.06 2.31
Brandon Manumaleuna STL CAR 14.0 0.00 0.12 2.11
Wesley Walls GB PHI 16.2 0.00 0.06 1.97
Kris Mangum CAR STL 12.2 0.00 0.00 1.22
Jason Dunn KC IND 1.9 0.00 0.17 1.21
David Martin GB PHI 5.0 0.00 0.10 1.13