Week 13 Key Matchups and their Fantasy Relevance

Titans @ Colts – I am so excited to sit down and watch this game Sunday,  it is hard to think that we can even be talking about this match up when one team is 11-0 and the other started 0-5, but how can we not?! We are about to have sooooo many questions answered about Vince Young and his red hot Titans.  I cannot expect the Titans to win it, but what if they do!? We would not be able to argue that they weren’t SUPER BOWL contenders let alone playoff bound.  The Colts have not displayed the Dominance that the Saints have but they are winning every game on the fortitude and genius of Manning.  But what about the Fantasy Relevance of the players?  Wayne and Manning are auto starts, and Addai has been so productive you probably don’t have a better option for your RB2 spot so no worries there.  Garcon is a flex play or a WR3 if your league starts that many, and he should get more credit for how well he does in that offense.  On the other side of the ball Young is not really a good fantasy option here unless it’s a 2 QB league or you’re counting on someone who ends up inactive, but I think Kenny Britt is the most relevant Titan this week.  He is an interesting flex play here as if the Titans win Britt will find the end zone.  No question CJ is the home run hitter, but you cannot stay in a ball game with Peyton Manning unless you get big plays from your passing game.

Eagles @ Falcons – Both teams are suffering some key injuries that really rob us of an even better match-up, however both teams are also fighting to make the Playoffs and the Falcons realistically can’t lose with back-up QB Redman taking the snaps and a week after rushing Michael Turner back too fast and causing him to re-injure his ankle.  The Eagles are missing starting RB Westbrook and start WR Jackson both with concussions.  White had decent production with Redman last weekend so I do not downgrade him too much, just some for the match-up.  The win here for the Eagles will give them the inside track to the Wild Card round and keep them in the hunt for the division.  I am very unsure about the Falcons RB situation this week, Snelling got minimal work and Norwood looked pretty good, so I am expecting a time share between the two making it a coin flip for who is the better start.  Eagles WRs Avant and Maclin both see big upside as they are facing a very soft Falcons secondary that ranks among the worst in the NFL.  Both WRs were active in the passing game even with Jackson in the lineup so McNabb will have little issues getting used to them.  McCoy has done very well as a fill in for Westbrook and remains a solid RB2 start till Westbrook comes back and takes some snaps away from him.

Cowboys @ Giants – Alright readers it’s December so we all know what that means!  Snow falling on Sundays, Fantasy Football playoffs are here, Egg Nog, and absurd amounts of terrible QB play in Dallas.  Romo is facing a division rival in the month of December so I don’t much like the Cowboy’s chances here, but for the sake of Fantasy Football I remind you all once again to have a very short memory!  All we care about is the last three weeks really, and while that’s not that good for Romo I think it levels out your expectations and gives him a chance to meet them.  Miles Austin is slated to have a big game and I agree, the only other player with upside around that city right now is Felix Jones as they are finally using him as the home run hitter he ought to have been all season.  Bottom line is that we get to watch the Cowboys make the playoffs this month or we get to watch the melt down and find a new head coach and starting QB in the off season, great entertainment either way.  As for the Giants, Eli wasn’t anyone’s starting QB at this point in the season anyways but with his foot injury we need to downgrade the wide outs a little bit.  Jacobs has been a huge disappointment so far and productivity from him would help this team down the stretch tremendously.  Unfortunately Jacobs has shown none of the talent he did last season and I have no reason to expect anything to improve.

Vikings @ Cardinals – Hard not to get excited about two playoff bound teams meeting at the end of the season, it’s a preview of coming attractions!  Warner has come back to limited participation in practice Wednesday but is still splitting the snaps with Leinart in case he cannot go.  Options in Warner’s place if he doesn’t go are Alex Smith and Vince Young.  Tough match-up for the Duo of Cardinals RBs this week, you should find a better option.  Peterson had an off game and had pretty bad production until the Vikes were putting the game on ice late with the running game.  Favre remains a trusted start this week as I do not think the Cards can with stand the balanced attack the Viking offense has this season.  I think Minnesota is stronger in all three phases of the game and should win impressively.