Week 16: Championship Conundrums - 4 comments

Welcome to Week 16, and your fantasy football championship. We’re dealing with an odd schedule this week — one game Thursday, Sunday and Monday, with the rest on Saturday — so we’re posting our rankings even earlier than usual. Be sure to monitor injury reports on your players leading up to game-time, as you don’t want to be holding a zero on the most crucial week of the season. I’m starting Matt Moore over Ben Roethlisberger in one of my title games without question, for example (and yes, Moore’s Patriot matchup helps a great deal).

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Drew Brees	NO	vs. ATL	99
2	Tom Brady	NE	vs. MIA	95
3	Cam Newton	CAR	vs. TB	93
4	Aaron Rodgers	GB	vs. CHI	92
5	Matt Ryan	ATL	at NO	86
6	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. SD	82
7	Philip Rivers	SD	at DET	80
8	Tim Tebow	DEN	at BUF	77
9	Tony Romo	DAL	vs. PHI	76
10	Michael Vick	PHI	at DAL	74
11	Eli Manning	NYG	at NYJ	71
12	Rex Grossman	WAS	vs. MIN	64
13	Matt Moore	MIA	at NE	64
14	Carson Palmer	OAK	at KC	60
15	T.J. Yates	HOU	at IND	56
16	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	vs. NYG	55
17	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	vs. DEN	54
18	Kyle Orton	KC	vs. OAK	54
19	Josh Freeman	TB	at CAR	46
20	Alex Smith	SF	at SEA	44
21	Christian Ponder	MIN	at WAS	42
22	Joe Flacco	BAL	vs. CLE	41
23	Andy Dalton	CIN	vs. ARI	40
24	Charlie Batch	PIT	vs. STL	39
25	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	vs. SF	37
26	Kellen Clemens	STL	at PIT	35
27	John Skelton	ARI	at CIN	33
28	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	vs. JAC	33
29	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	at TEN	25
30	Dan Orlovsky	IND	vs. HOU	22
31	Josh McCown	CHI	at GB	22
32	Seneca Wallace	CLE	at BAL	17

Start: Rex Grossman. The Vikings pass defense has been completely horrendous, and a banged up Roy Helu could lead the Redskins to pass more this week. Grossman will likely be auditioning for a starting job in the NFL with this start, so he should be giving 100 percent in a week where some players may be looking toward the offseason. If you don’t have one of the big names, he’s your best bet.

Sit: Joe Flacco. He’s very hit or miss, and the Ravens should coast to a victory over the Browns with their great running back, leaving Flacco to attempt a small number of passes. He should struggle to top 200 yards as the Ravens stop throwing in the second half. You can do much better with some of the scraps hanging around on the wire.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	at TEN	98
2	Ray Rice	BAL	vs. CLE	97
3	Arian Foster	HOU	at IND	97
4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at DAL	90
5	Reggie Bush	MIA	at NE	80
6	Michael Bush	OAK	at KC	79
7	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	vs. SF	77
8	Chris Johnson	TEN	vs. JAC	77
9	Adrian Peterson	MIN	at WAS	77
10	Shonn Greene	NYJ	vs. NYG	74
11	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	vs. STL	74
12	Ryan Mathews	SD	at DET	72
13	Roy Helu	WAS	vs. MIN	70
14	Darren Sproles	NO	vs. ATL	67
15	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	vs. TB	67
16	Willis McGahee	DEN	at BUF	67
17	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. DEN	65
18	Felix Jones	DAL	vs. PHI	65
19	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	at NYJ	63
20	Frank Gore	SF	at SEA	63
21	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	vs. TB	63
22	Cedric Benson	CIN	vs. ARI	60
23	LeGarrette Blount	TB	at CAR	60
24	Steven Jackson	STL	at PIT	59
25	Beanie Wells	ARI	at CIN	58
26	Michael Turner	ATL	at NO	58
27	Pierre Thomas	NO	vs. ATL	55
28	Kevin Smith	DET	vs. SD	53
29	Ben Tate	HOU	at IND	53
30	Khalil Bell	CHI	at GB	52
31	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	vs. NYG	50
32	Donald Brown	IND	vs. HOU	49
33	Ryan Grant	GB	vs. CHI	49
34	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	at NYJ	43
35	Lance Ball	DEN	at BUF	43
36	Peyton Hillis	CLE	at BAL	42
37	Mike Tolbert	SD	at DET	40
38	Danny Woodhead	NE	vs. MIA	38
39	Jackie Battle	KC	vs. OAK	38
40	Isaac Redman	PIT	vs. STL	38
41	Sammy Morris	DAL	vs. PHI	37
42	Toby Gerhart	MIN	at WAS	37
43	Marion Barber	CHI	at GB	36
44	Chris Ivory	NO	vs. ATL	35
45	Kendall Hunter	SF	at SEA	35
46	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	vs. MIA	34
47	Thomas Jones	KC	vs. OAK	34
48	James Starks	GB	vs. CHI	33
49	Maurice Morris	DET	vs. SD	33
50	Dexter McCluster	KC	vs. OAK	30

Start: C.J. Spiller. He threw up a monster number on Sunday despite a difficult matchup (his performance combined with the Seahawks defense dealt me a loss in one semi-final), and a strong finish could leave Spiller as the feature back in 2012 and beyond (remember Fred Jackson’s age). Bank on another big total from Spiller in the championship.

Sit: Marion Barber. Barber proved he’s finished, failing to lead the Bears offense with Jay Cutler and Matt Forte out. Once backup Khalil Bell took the reins of the rushing attack, the Bears performed much better on Sunday. Expect Bell to see the majority of the work, making him a decent flex play and relegating Barber to the fantasy bench.

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Roddy White	ATL	at NO	90
2	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. SD	88
3	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	at CIN	86
4	Wes Welker	NE	vs. MIA	86
5	Marques Colston	NO	vs. ATL	83
6	A.J. Green	CIN	vs. ARI	79
7	Percy Harvin	MIN	at WAS	78
8	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	at NYJ	77
9	Victor Cruz	NYG	at NYJ	77
10	Mike Wallace	PIT	vs. STL	76
11	Brandon Marshall	MIA	at NE	76
12	Jordy Nelson	GB	vs. CHI	75
13	Steve Smith	CAR	vs. TB	75
14	Vincent Jackson	SD	at DET	74
15	Dwayne Bowe	KC	vs. OAK	74
16	Miles Austin	DAL	vs. PHI	72
17	Antonio Brown	PIT	vs. STL	72
18	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	vs. MIN	72
19	Julio Jones	ATL	at NO	70
20	Nate Washington	TEN	vs. JAC	68
21	Dez Bryant	DAL	vs. PHI	68
22	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	at BUF	68
23	Santana Moss	WAS	vs. MIN	64
24	Malcom Floyd	SD	at DET	62
25	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	vs. NYG	61
26	Laurent Robinson	DAL	vs. PHI	60
27	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	at KC	59
28	Steve Johnson	BUF	vs. DEN	59
29	Lance Moore	NO	vs. ATL	59
30	Michael Crabtree	SF	at SEA	58
31	Greg Little	CLE	at BAL	57
32	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	at DAL	57
33	Nate Burleson	DET	vs. SD	56
34	Mike Williams	TB	at CAR	56
35	Andre Roberts	ARI	at CIN	54
36	Torrey Smith	BAL	vs. CLE	53
37	Reggie Wayne	IND	vs. HOU	53
38	Davone Bess	MIA	at NE	52
39	Steve Breaston	KC	vs. OAK	50
40	Brandon Lloyd	STL	at PIT	49
41	DeSean Jackson	PHI	at DAL	49
42	Doug Baldwin	SEA	vs. SF	49
43	Titus Young	DET	vs. SD	48
44	Damian Williams	TEN	vs. JAC	48
45	Donald Driver	GB	vs. CHI	47
46	Kevin Walter	HOU	at IND	47
47	Deion Branch	NE	vs. MIA	46
48	Pierre Garcon	IND	vs. HOU	45
49	Golden Tate	SEA	vs. SF	45
50	Roy Williams	CHI	at GB	45
51	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	vs. NYG	45
52	Brian Hartline	MIA	at NE	44
53	Jerome Simpson	CIN	vs. ARI	43
54	Jacoby Jones	HOU	at IND	43
55	Anquan Boldin	BAL	vs. CLE	41
56	Mario Manningham	NYG	at NYJ	41
57	James Jones	GB	vs. CHI	39
58	Ben Obomanu	SEA	vs. SF	37
59	Earl Bennett	CHI	at GB	37
60	Lavelle Hawkins	TEN	vs. JAC	36
61	Eric Decker	DEN	at BUF	36
62	Brad Smith	BUF	vs. DEN	35
63	Legedu Naanee	CAR	vs. TB	35
64	Kyle Williams	SF	at SEA	34
65	Early Doucet	ARI	at CIN	34
66	Harry Douglas	ATL	at NO	34
67	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	at BAL	33
68	Dane Sanzenbacher	CHI	at GB	33
69	Chad Ochocinco	NE	vs. MIA	30
70	Arrelious Benn	TB	at CAR	28
71	Eddie Royal	DEN	at BUF	28
72	Denarius Moore	OAK	at KC	27
73	Devin Aromashodu	MIN	at WAS	26
74	Danario Alexander	STL	at PIT	25
75	Mike Thomas	JAC	at TEN	20

Start: Jabar Gaffney. He’s been consistently solid with Grossman under center, which makes sense since the have a history dating all the way back to the University of Florida. Gaffney has at least five catches and 72 yards in four of his last five games (he was shut out against the Jets), with two TDs along the way. Against a terrible Minnesota secondary, he should exceed that baseline. Mark him down for 7-100-1, great WR2 numbers.

Sit: Eric Decker. Decker has been the No. 1 receiver in Denver for much of the season, so why would we call him a “sit” in a game against a bad Bills defense? Demaryius Thomas, that’s why. Thomas has emerged as Tim Tebow’s top target as the young QB has developed this season; over the past three games, Thomas has 18 catches for 338 yards and three TDs, while Decker has just six catches for 80 yards and no TDs. You can’t rely on him at this point.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	vs. MIA	83
2	Antonio Gates	SD	at DET	82
3	Jimmy Graham	NO	vs. ATL	81
4	Brent Celek	PHI	at DAL	73
5	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	at NO	72
6	Aaron Hernandez	NE	vs. MIA	71
7	Jermichael Finley	GB	vs. CHI	70
8	Vernon Davis	SF	at SEA	63
9	Dustin Keller	NYJ	vs. NYG	58
10	Jason Witten	DAL	vs. PHI	55
11	Kellen Winslow	TB	at CAR	51
12	Owen Daniels	HOU	at IND	51
13	Todd Heap	ARI	at CIN	50
14	Kevin Boss	OAK	at KC	49
15	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. SD	48
16	Jared Cook	TEN	vs. JAC	48
17	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	at TEN	45
18	Anthony Fasano	MIA	at NE	44
19	Leonard Pope	KC	vs. OAK	44
20	Evan Moore	CLE	at BAL	42
21	Jeremy Shockey	CAR	vs. TB	42
22	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	at WAS	42
23	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	vs. ARI	41
24	Ed Dickson	BAL	vs. CLE	40
25	Dennis Pitta	BAL	vs. CLE	40
26	Kellen Davis	CHI	at GB	40
27	Joel Dreessen	HOU	at IND	39
28	Logan Paulsen	WAS	vs. MIN	39
29	Jacob Tamme	IND	vs. HOU	38
30	Greg Olsen	CAR	vs. TB	38
31	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	at WAS	34
32	Tony Scheffler	DET	vs. SD	24

Start: Aaron Hernandez. The Patriots have an unfair advantage at the tight end position, showing last week that even if you blanket Rob Gronkowski, Hernandez can carve you up. If Miami decides to make sure that Gronk is rendered ineffective, Hernandez would have another big line.

Sit: Greg Olsen. He’s been passed by Jeremy Shockey in terms of fantasy upside in a given week, and it wouldn’t shock me to see the Panthers score all their TDs on the ground in Week 16. There are about 30 better options than Olsen at this point.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	David Akers	SF	at SEA	61
2	John Kasay	NO	vs. ATL	59
3	Dan Bailey	DAL	vs. PHI	57
4	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	at KC	55
5	Graham Gano	WAS	vs. MIN	52
6	Rob Bironas	TEN	vs. JAC	51
7	Neil Rackers	HOU	at IND	50
8	Nick Novak	SD	at DET	50
9	Mason Crosby	GB	vs. CHI	49
10	Robbie Gould	CHI	at GB	48
11	Matt Prater	DEN	at BUF	48
12	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	vs. MIA	48
13	Steven Hauschka	SEA	vs. SF	48
14	Matt Bryant	ATL	at NO	47
15	Alex Henery	PHI	at DAL	41
16	Connor Barth	TB	at CAR	41
17	Mike Nugent	CIN	vs. ARI	40
18	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	at NYJ	39
19	Dan Carpenter	MIA	at NE	38
20	Olindo Mare	CAR	vs. TB	37
21	Shayne Graham	BAL	vs. CLE	36
22	Jason Hanson	DET	vs. SD	35
23	Ryan Succop	KC	vs. OAK	34
24	Phil Dawson	CLE	at BAL	34
25	Shaun Suisham	PIT	vs. STL	33
26	Josh Brown	STL	at PIT	33
27	Josh Scobee	JAC	at TEN	32
28	Adam Vinatieri	IND	vs. HOU	31
29	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. NYG	31
30	Jay Feely	ARI	at CIN	28
31	Ryan Longwell	MIN	at WAS	28
32	Dave Rayner	BUF	vs. DEN	27

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Green Bay Packers	GB	vs. CHI	75
2	San Francisco 49ers	SF	at SEA	73
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	vs. STL	70
4	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	vs. ARI	68
5	New York Giants	NYG	at NYJ	60
6	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	vs. CLE	60
7	Houston Texans	HOU	at IND	59
8	New England Patriots	NE	vs. MIA	57
9	Detroit Lions	DET	vs. SD	55
10	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	vs. OAK	55
11	Washington Redskins	WAS	vs. MIN	54
12	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	vs. PHI	54
13	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	at WAS	51
14	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	vs. SF	50
15	Tennessee Titans	TEN	vs. JAC	49
16	Denver Broncos	DEN	at BUF	49
17	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	at DAL	48
18	New York Jets	NYJ	vs. NYG	48
19	Carolina Panthers	CAR	vs. TB	44
20	San Diego Chargers	SD	at DET	44
21	Chicago Bears	CHI	at GB	44
22	Buffalo Bills	BUF	vs. DEN	43
23	St. Louis Rams	STL	at PIT	40
24	Cleveland Browns	CLE	at BAL	38
25	Oakland Raiders	OAK	at KC	38
26	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	at CAR	37
27	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	at TEN	34
28	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	at CIN	33
29	New Orleans Saints	NO	vs. ATL	31
30	Miami Dolphins	MIA	at NE	29
31	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	at NO	26
32	Indianapolis Colts	IND	vs. HOU	21

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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4 Responses to “Week 16: Championship Conundrums”

joejlitz says:

December 24, 2011 at 7:18 am

nice work, RJ
Reply
mgoats26 says:

December 25, 2011 at 1:21 am

Thank you guys. You won me another championship. Greart calls on bengals, gano and gaffney. Picked all 2 up this week and rocked. Wouldn’t have bothered with gaffney or gano without you…THANKS AGAIN! LugERS lunch awaits! FREE Lugers Lunch!
Reply
mgoats26 says:

December 25, 2011 at 1:21 am

i meant all 3.
Reply
SirGrotius says:

September 2, 2012 at 6:53 am

Where’s the new one! It’s the start of the season in three days. How am I going to set my lineup? How am I going to set my life?
Reply