Fantasy Football: Championship Round Start 'Em, Sit 'Em, Picks and Bustss
By Ken Zalis
Some Notes:
• Ravens versus Broncos was an instant classic.
• Colin Kaepernick ran all over Green Bay.
• New England beat Houston pretty easily, but ...
• Rob Gronkowski broke his arm again and is out for the playoffs.
• Seattle couldn't hold on after a wild comeback. Is the coach to blame?
The Top 10 Fantasy Player Rankings By Position
• Top 10 Fantasy Quarterbacks: Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo
• Top 10 Fantasy Running Backs: Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Doug Martin, Marshawn Lynch, Ray Rice, Trent Richardson, Alfred Morris, C.J. Spiller, Frank Gore, Stevan Ridley
• Top 10 Fantasy Wide Receivers: Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant, A.J. Green, Demaryius Thomas, Vincent Jackson, Eric Decker, Andre Johnson, Julio Jones, Roddy White
• Top 10 Fantasy Tight Ends: Rob Gronkowski, Tony Gonzalez, Jimmy Graham, Aaron Hernandez, Heath Miller, Owen Daniels, Greg Olsen, Jason Witten, Dennis Pitta, Brandon Myers
• Top 10 Defenses/Special Teams: Bears, Broncos, Patriots, Chargers, Titans, Bengals, Rams, Vikings, Ravens, Seahawks
Two things the NFL season again proves: You can always wait to draft a defense, and you can usually wait to draft a quarterback.
Finds: Jarius Wright and Earl Bennett for 2013?
Flukes: Terrelle Pryor and Tyrod Taylor
Trade Bait(s): Trade deadlines have passed.
Star(s) Of The Last Week: Colin Kaepernick and Joe Flacco
Dud(s) Of The Last Week: No one
Hot Pickup(s) Of The Week: Not until the 2013 season
Last Week: Montell Owens, Donnie Avery
Two Weeks Ago: Knowshon Moreno, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Michael Bush, Bruce Brown, Robert Housler, Jason Avant
Team(s) Of The Week: Baltimore Ravens -- they got monkey No. 2 off their back and beat a Peyton Manning-led team.
Uh Oh Of The Week: Houston, we have a problem … a quarterback problem?
Fantasy Football Start 'Ems For Championship Round
Check back weekly. We won't say start Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson, because that is too obvious, and we won't tell you to sit someone, but here are some people we really like. You can make the sit calls or e-mail us for our view. Track how accurate we are. We have been as good as everyone else, so check us out. Please read this week's column on starts.
Quarterback Must Starts: Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan
Others To Consider This Week: Joe Flacco
Running Back Must Starts: Arian Foster, LeSean McCoy, Ray Rice, Marshawn Lynch, Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, Fred Jackson/C.J. Spiller, Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson
Others To Consider This Week: Frank Gore
Wide Receiver/Tight End Must Starts: Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Andre Johnson, Greg Jennings (when healthy), Roddy White, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks (when healthy), Steve Smith, Brandon Marshall, Jordy Nelson, Percy Harvin, Wes Welker, Jimmy Graham, Aaron Hernandez (when healthy), Antonio Gates, Vernon Davis, Marques Colston
Others To Consider This Week: Anquan Boldin
Top Starts For Individual Defensive Players
Defensive Line: Jason Pierre-Paul, Jared Allen, Trent Cole, Justin Tuck, Julius Peppers, Calais Campbell, Charles Johnson, Jason Babin, Cliff Avril, Jabaal Sheard, Chris Long, Elvis Dumervil, Justin Smith, J.J. Watt
Linebacker: Patrick Willis, James Laurinaitis, Derrick Johnson (when healthy), NaVorro Bowman, D'Qwell Jackson, London Fletcher, Sean Weatherspoon, Colin McCarthy, Paul Posluszny, Stephen Tulloch, Curtis Lofton
Defensive Back: Tyvon Branch, Eric Berry, Kyle Wilson, Roman Harper, Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Charles Tillman, Antoine Bethea, Patrick Chung, Eric Weddle, Bernard Pollard, Mark Barron, Charles Woodson, Quintin Mikell, Devin McCourty, Earl Thomas, Patrick Peterson (if you get return points)
Sleepers Of The Week
Quarterback: Joe Flacco
Running Back: Frank Gore
Wide Receiver/Tight End: Tandon Doss
Kicker And/Or Defense: Baltimore Ravens
Busts Of The Week
Quarterback: Matt Ryan
Running Back: Michael Turner
Wide Receiver/Tight End: Tony Gonzalez
Kicker And/Or Defense: Atlanta Falcons
Picks With Points
Let's see how 2012 goes.
Historical record is 754-715-46 (51.3 percent). We are a coin flip.
2009 Record: 127-86-1 (a good year -- 59.5 percent)
2010 Record: 131-117-12 (52.8 percent)
2011 Record: 107-110-7
2012 Record: 134-129-2 (finally .500)
Last Week: 1-3
NFL Lines For Championship Round
Picks are in bold.
| Time |
Favorite |
Line |
Underdog |
Total |
| 3 p.m. Jan. 20 |
San Francisco |
-4.5 |
Atlanta |
49 |
| 6:30 p.m. Jan. 20 |
At New England |
-9 |
Baltimore |
51.5 |
Posted Jan. 15, 2013