Week 15: Crucial Semifinal Battles - 15 comments

If you’re still playing for something more than pride in your fantasy league, chances are you’ve reached the semifinals. Congrats! You’ve probably outlasted at least two-thirds of your league en route to this point, which means there are a lot of jealous owners bitterly cursing you for being in the Final Four. While I’d wager that you in no way need help in setting your lineup at this point, we’re not going to abandon you at this point. Take a look at our suggestions below, and feel free to post specific queries in the comments section.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Drew Brees	NO	at MIN	100
2	Tom Brady	NE	at DEN	94
3	Aaron Rodgers	GB	at KC	92
4	Tony Romo	DAL	at TB	85
5	Matthew Stafford	DET	at OAK	79
6	Cam Newton	CAR	at HOU	78
7	Matt Ryan	ATL	vs. JAC	77
8	Tim Tebow	DEN	vs. NE	76
9	Eli Manning	NYG	vs. WAS	75
10	Michael Vick	PHI	vs. NYJ	67
11	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	at PHI	64
12	Philip Rivers	SD	vs. BAL	60
13	Jake Locker	TEN	at IND	58
14	Carson Palmer	OAK	vs. DET	55
15	Rex Grossman	WAS	at NYG	55
16	T.J. Yates	HOU	vs. CAR	54
17	Christian Ponder	MIN	vs. NO	54
18	Joe Flacco	BAL	at SD	46
19	Josh Freeman	TB	vs. DAL	46
20	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	vs. MIA	46
21	Andy Dalton	CIN	at STL	45
22	Matt Moore	MIA	at BUF	45
23	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	at CHI	43
24	Alex Smith	SF	vs. PIT	42
25	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	at SF	41
26	Kyle Orton	KC	vs. GB	35
27	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	at IND	34
28	Dan Orlovsky	IND	vs. TEN	31
29	Seneca Wallace	CLE	at ARI	28
30	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	at ATL	28
31	Ricky Stanzi	KC	vs. GB	27
32	Caleb Hanie	CHI	vs. SEA	25
33	Charlie Batch	PIT	at SF	25
34	Colt McCoy	CLE	at ARI	24
35	Kevin Kolb	ARI	vs. CLE	21

Start: Tim Tebow. He’s starting to learn how to beat teams the conventional way (with his arm), and the Patriots haven’t really done much against the pass this season.

Sit: Ben Roethlisberger. It’s too much of a risk for you to take a zero on Monday night. If your other options are truly pitiful, I can see picking up Batch and starting one on Monday night. I’m probably grabbing Locker or Yates on my Big Ben team (my other backup is the dinged up Matt Moore).

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Arian Foster	HOU	vs. CAR	100
2	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	at ATL	91
3	Ray Rice	BAL	at SD	90
4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	vs. NYJ	90
5	Chris Johnson	TEN	at IND	84
6	Adrian Peterson	MIN	vs. NO	83
7	Reggie Bush	MIA	at BUF	82
8	Michael Bush	OAK	vs. DET	81
9	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	at CHI	79
10	Shonn Greene	NYJ	at PHI	79
11	Roy Helu	WAS	at NYG	79
12	Felix Jones	DAL	at TB	72
13	Beanie Wells	ARI	vs. CLE	68
14	Cedric Benson	CIN	at STL	68
15	Ryan Mathews	SD	vs. BAL	67
16	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	vs. WAS	67
17	Darren Sproles	NO	at MIN	61
18	Kevin Smith	DET	at OAK	61
19	Michael Turner	ATL	vs. JAC	59
20	Marion Barber	CHI	vs. SEA	58
21	Steven Jackson	STL	vs. CIN	57
22	Ryan Grant	GB	at KC	57
23	Willis McGahee	DEN	vs. NE	56
24	Ben Tate	HOU	vs. CAR	56
25	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	vs. WAS	55
26	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	at SF	53
27	Frank Gore	SF	vs. PIT	52
28	LeGarrette Blount	TB	vs. DAL	52
29	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	at PHI	51
30	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. MIA	50
31	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	at HOU	50
32	Donald Brown	IND	vs. TEN	47
33	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	at HOU	46
34	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	at DEN	45
35	Pierre Thomas	NO	at MIN	45
36	James Starks	GB	at KC	45
37	Maurice Morris	DET	at OAK	45
38	Dexter McCluster	KC	vs. GB	40
39	Mike Tolbert	SD	vs. BAL	39
40	Peyton Hillis	CLE	at ARI	38
41	Daniel Thomas	MIA	at BUF	38
42	Chris Ivory	NO	at MIN	37
43	John Kuhn	GB	at KC	37
44	Evan Royster	WAS	at NYG	35
45	Khalil Bell	CHI	vs. SEA	34
46	Kendall Hunter	SF	vs. PIT	32
47	Montario Hardesty	CLE	at ARI	30
48	Mark Ingram	NO	at MIN	29
49	Lance Ball	DEN	vs. NE	28
50	Jackie Battle	KC	vs. GB	28

Start: Roy Helu. He’s been excellent since ascending to the starting role, and as long as Mike Shenanihan doesn’t suddenly become enamored with Evan Royster (and don’t count that out), Helu should post another big number.

Sit: Frank Gore. He’s been playing at less than 100 percent, severely limiting his fantasy upside over the past month-plus. He draws a tough matchup with Pittsburgh this week, so look elsewhere.

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	at OAK	92
2	Roddy White	ATL	vs. JAC	90
3	Percy Harvin	MIN	vs. NO	90
4	Jordy Nelson	GB	at KC	88
5	Wes Welker	NE	at DEN	88
6	Marques Colston	NO	at MIN	87
7	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. CLE	86
8	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	vs. WAS	85
9	Victor Cruz	NYG	vs. WAS	81
10	A.J. Green	CIN	at STL	77
11	Dez Bryant	DAL	at TB	75
12	Mike Wallace	PIT	at SF	73
13	Miles Austin	DAL	at TB	71
14	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. JAC	70
15	Antonio Brown	PIT	at SF	69
16	Steve Johnson	BUF	vs. MIA	67
17	Vincent Jackson	SD	vs. BAL	64
18	Laurent Robinson	DAL	at TB	63
19	Damian Williams	TEN	at IND	63
20	Steve Smith	CAR	at HOU	61
21	Santana Moss	WAS	at NYG	61
22	Brandon Lloyd	STL	vs. CIN	60
23	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	vs. NE	60
24	Brandon Marshall	MIA	at BUF	59
25	Lance Moore	NO	at MIN	59
26	Nate Washington	TEN	at IND	59
27	Dwayne Bowe	KC	vs. GB	58
28	Michael Crabtree	SF	vs. PIT	57
29	Pierre Garcon	IND	vs. TEN	57
30	Mike Williams	TB	vs. DAL	57
31	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	at PHI	56
32	Nate Burleson	DET	at OAK	56
33	Torrey Smith	BAL	at SD	54
34	Greg Little	CLE	at ARI	54
35	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	at NYG	53
36	Malcom Floyd	SD	vs. BAL	52
37	James Jones	GB	at KC	52
38	Doug Baldwin	SEA	at CHI	51
39	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	vs. NYJ	50
40	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	vs. DET	50
41	Steve Breaston	KC	vs. GB	50
42	Reggie Wayne	IND	vs. TEN	49
43	Donald Driver	GB	at KC	48
44	Titus Young	DET	at OAK	48
45	Eric Decker	DEN	vs. NE	48
46	Anquan Boldin	BAL	at SD	46
47	Jerome Simpson	CIN	at STL	45
48	Mario Manningham	NYG	vs. WAS	43
49	Johnny Knox	CHI	vs. SEA	43
50	DeSean Jackson	PHI	vs. NYJ	42
51	Andre Roberts	ARI	vs. CLE	42
52	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	at PHI	40
53	Golden Tate	SEA	at CHI	39
54	Brad Smith	BUF	vs. MIA	39
55	Robert Meachem	NO	at MIN	39
56	Early Doucet	ARI	vs. CLE	38
57	Kevin Walter	HOU	vs. CAR	38
58	Devin Aromashodu	MIN	vs. NO	38
59	Deion Branch	NE	at DEN	36
60	David Nelson	BUF	vs. MIA	35
61	Jacoby Jones	HOU	vs. CAR	34
62	Denarius Moore	OAK	vs. DET	34
63	Danario Alexander	STL	vs. CIN	32
64	Devin Hester	CHI	vs. SEA	31
65	Andre Johnson	HOU	vs. CAR	30
66	Kyle Williams	SF	vs. PIT	29
67	Harry Douglas	ATL	vs. JAC	29
68	Roy Williams	CHI	vs. SEA	27
69	Legedu Naanee	CAR	at HOU	25
70	Austin Collie	IND	vs. TEN	25

Start: Demaryius Thomas. The popular waiver wire pickup has been developing a connection with the maturing Tebow, and he gets a great matchup to exploit. Double digit fantasy points seems certain.

Sit: Anquan Boldin. He hasn’t been asked to do much as the Ravens have stuck to the run in recent weeks, and his week-to-week production is far from guaranteed as a result.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	at DEN	100
2	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	vs. JAC	93
3	Jimmy Graham	NO	at MIN	91
4	Antonio Gates	SD	vs. BAL	89
5	Jermichael Finley	GB	at KC	72
6	Jason Witten	DAL	at TB	59
7	Kellen Winslow	TB	vs. DAL	58
8	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	at OAK	55
9	Jake Ballard	NYG	vs. WAS	55
10	Brent Celek	PHI	vs. NYJ	53
11	Dustin Keller	NYJ	at PHI	51
12	Anthony Fasano	MIA	at BUF	51
13	Owen Daniels	HOU	vs. CAR	48
14	Dallas Clark	IND	vs. TEN	47
15	Aaron Hernandez	NE	at DEN	46
16	Vernon Davis	SF	vs. PIT	45
17	Ed Dickson	BAL	at SD	44
18	Greg Olsen	CAR	at HOU	43
19	Kevin Boss	OAK	vs. DET	43
20	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	at STL	41
21	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	at ATL	41
22	Todd Heap	ARI	vs. CLE	40
23	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	vs. NO	39
24	Jacob Tamme	IND	vs. TEN	35
25	Logan Paulsen	WAS	at NYG	34
26	Joel Dreessen	HOU	vs. CAR	32
27	Evan Moore	CLE	at ARI	31
28	Tony Scheffler	DET	at OAK	31
29	Jared Cook	TEN	at IND	29
30	Dennis Pitta	BAL	at SD	28

Start: Anthony Fasano. He’s started to emerge as a low-end TE1 over the last couple weeks, and he has a good matchup in place against the Bills. If you’re desperate, grab Fasano.

Sit: Greg Olsen. He was a TE1 early in the season, but Olsen’s been fairly quiet in the second half. With the playoffs on the line, I just don’t trust him, especially against a good defense.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	David Akers	SF	vs. PIT	59
2	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	vs. DET	53
3	Dan Bailey	DAL	at TB	52
4	John Kasay	NO	at MIN	51
5	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	at DEN	50
6	Mason Crosby	GB	at KC	49
7	Steven Hauschka	SEA	at CHI	49
8	Rob Bironas	TEN	at IND	49
9	Matt Prater	DEN	vs. NE	47
10	Neil Rackers	HOU	vs. CAR	45
11	Graham Gano	WAS	at NYG	45
12	Robbie Gould	CHI	vs. SEA	44
13	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	vs. WAS	42
14	Mike Nugent	CIN	at STL	41
15	Connor Barth	TB	vs. DAL	41
16	Dan Carpenter	MIA	at BUF	40
17	Nick Novak	SD	vs. BAL	40
18	Phil Dawson	CLE	at ARI	38
19	Matt Bryant	ATL	vs. JAC	38
20	Billy Cundiff	BAL	at SD	36
21	Olindo Mare	CAR	at HOU	36
22	Josh Brown	STL	vs. CIN	35
23	Jason Hanson	DET	at OAK	33
24	Alex Henery	PHI	vs. NYJ	33
25	Ryan Succop	KC	vs. GB	30
26	Nick Folk	NYJ	at PHI	30
27	Shaun Suisham	PIT	at SF	30
28	Jay Feely	ARI	vs. CLE	28
29	Dave Rayner	BUF	vs. MIA	28
30	Josh Scobee	JAC	at ATL	28
31	Ryan Longwell	MIN	vs. NO	28
32	Adam Vinatieri	IND	vs. TEN	27

Start: Matt Prater. He showed last week he has length at home, and Denver figures to put a lot of points on the scoreboard against the Patriots.

Sit: Alex Henery. The rookie kicker has suffered as much as anyone because of the under-performing Eagles offense. Leave him on the wire.

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	at SD	76
2	Chicago Bears	CHI	vs. SEA	72
3	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	at STL	70
4	Green Bay Packers	GB	at KC	69
5	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	at CHI	67
6	Detroit Lions	DET	at OAK	66
7	New York Giants	NYG	vs. WAS	61
8	Tennessee Titans	TEN	at IND	60
9	New Orleans Saints	NO	at MIN	59
10	San Francisco 49ers	SF	vs. PIT	59
11	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	vs. NYJ	58
12	New York Jets	NYJ	at PHI	58
13	Cleveland Browns	CLE	at ARI	56
14	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	at TB	55
15	Houston Texans	HOU	vs. CAR	55
16	Buffalo Bills	BUF	vs. MIA	50
17	Oakland Raiders	OAK	vs. DET	48
18	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	vs. CLE	47
19	New England Patriots	NE	at DEN	47
20	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	at SF	42
21	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	at ATL	40
22	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	vs. DAL	37
23	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	vs. JAC	35
24	San Diego Chargers	SD	vs. BAL	35
25	Miami Dolphins	MIA	at BUF	34
26	Denver Broncos	DEN	vs. NE	34
27	Washington Redskins	WAS	at NYG	33
28	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	vs. GB	30
29	St. Louis Rams	STL	vs. CIN	28
30	Carolina Panthers	CAR	at HOU	24
31	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	vs. NO	23
32	Indianapolis Colts	IND	vs. TEN	19

Start: Seattle Seahawks. Coming off a good matchup against a bad Rams offense, the Seahawks now get to take their shots at Caleb Hanie and Marion Barber.

Sit: Denver Broncos. They’ve played very well since Tebow entered the lineup, but the Broncos D has the tough task of slowing down Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski this week. Pass.

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

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15 Responses to “Week 15: Crucial Semifinal Battles”

mattk89 says:

December 15, 2011 at 9:15 am

Stafford is ranked higher then Tebow but you say start Tebow, what should I do?
Reply
daullaz says:

December 15, 2011 at 9:26 am

Start Stafford. We wouldn’t list the top guy at each position as the writeup for “Start”, since that would get pretty boring. The rankings indicate Tebow is a QB1 this week, but Stafford is obviously considered a better play. They grade out pretty close, so it’s probably like 60/40 that Stafford has the better game.
Reply
Ted Spencer says:

December 15, 2011 at 10:24 am

Hi RJ … got Arizona and Tennessee DST’S … see that you like Tenn better … can you give me your take please? I like the ‘zona defense at home … the Browns ineptitude – especailly on the road … and Patrick Peterson running back kicks! What are you seeing that makes Tenn a better play? (you always see stuff I don’t!) thanks!
Reply
Ted Spencer says:

December 15, 2011 at 10:27 am

Also … got Nelson, Nicks and Fitz in a 1 pt ppr … need two – who do you like? Does it depend on risk … Nelson would be the “swing for the fences” … or with Jennings out do you see Nelson getting more than his customary 4-6 targets?
Reply
Phantasman says:

December 15, 2011 at 12:42 pm

So, I’ve got crazy projected points this week, but historically when that happens – my team underperforms. I’m going up against the guy with the best recrord in the league. Here are the positions I would appreciate advice on (I’ve put asterics by the players that I’m leaning towards):

WR’s (Need 2):

Laurent Robinson *
Miles Austin *
Dwayne Bowe
Pierre Garcon
Darrius Heyward-Bey
Johnny Knox

Flex (Need 1)

Michael Bush *
Cedric Benson
Toby Gerhart

Team Defense:

I dropped Seattle for NY Giants. However, Houston is available on the waiver wire (and, they have a great matchup next week..but that’s not the driver for the pickup..the matchup against Carolina is)
Reply
Phantasman says:

December 15, 2011 at 12:45 pm

Clarification: I do have Dwayne Bowe as my W/T Flex guy.
Reply
Inkjunie4u says:

December 15, 2011 at 12:45 pm

Im totally conflicted this week. Last week being my bye week my team did awesome, and thats throwing me off. Who do i play i have MJD, Michael Turner, and Reggie Bush. Turner needs a big game, but Bush is fighting for his first 1K season with a new coach this week.
Then my weakest slot i have Eric Decker, Donald Driver, and an option to pick up Demaryius Thomas. Decker is due, Thomas has been getting the passes latley though. Then you have Driver which gets good points when the packers kill the other team and im expecting them to do so this week agains KC, not to mention Jennings is out until the playoffs.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
fredizzle99 says:

December 15, 2011 at 3:10 pm

QB – Cam Newton vs. tough HOU D? Or Grossman vs. Easy NYG?
RB – MJD against tough ATL D? Or Blount vs. Dallas?
WR – Santana Moss vs. NYG? Or Demarius Thomas vs. NE?
TE – Keller, Lewis, or Dreessen?
Flex- MJD, Blount, Thomas, or Moss?
DST – GB, SEA, or AZ?
Reply
Inkjunie4u says:

December 15, 2011 at 4:01 pm

CAM, MJD, Thomas, Keller, Blount, SEA.
Reply
FootlongCheezesteak says:

December 15, 2011 at 6:31 pm

Any suggestions??

RB – Ryan Matthews or Ryan Grant (need 1)
WR – Desean Jackson, Mike Williams (TB), Santana Moss, Mike Wallace, Boldin (need 2)
W/R – one of the above
Reply
Plunger says:

December 16, 2011 at 1:48 pm

Who would you start in flex position, Mendenhall, Manningham, or Nate Washington? Semifinalist and hopefully Super Bowl bound.
Reply
rdj3385 says:

December 17, 2011 at 4:22 am

Garcon, Gafney or Jacobs in the flex? The list says Garcon, and I am inclined to go with it, but damn I need the money! I feel like Jacobs will need to find the endzone to put up anything decent, but its still just as hard to go with Garcon with his huge ups and downs. I only throw Gafney in there in case someone has some great insight tending towards a big game for him. HELP!
Reply
TitsMcGahee says:

December 17, 2011 at 2:18 pm

Packers defense @ Kansas City, or Ravens Defense @ San Diego ??
Orton is coming off the couch, and San Diego is surging. I am leaning Packers, what do you guys think?
Reply
uofiowaguy says:

December 18, 2011 at 12:38 pm

I have Roy Helu and Adrian Peterson who should I start?
Reply
uofiowaguy says:

December 18, 2011 at 12:57 pm

Anyone out there please help
Reply