I will never understand Eagles fans, but they now have a new Quarterback to needlessly hate.  I think Kevin Kolb will do fine and having him sit much longer would be a bit of a waste but I still find it hard to wrap my head around getting rid of a player like Donovan McNabb inside your division. The trade also devalued DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin in the fantasy rankings.  I have seen a lot of people call Maclin a sleeper for this year, but I believe there is too much risk with Kolb under center.  He is worth grabbing in the late rounds, but someone that is in a more stable offense is a better way to go.  The success of this team will be largely dependent on their defensive efforts and their ability to keep the pressure off of Kevin Kolb.

Top Fantasy Players

DeSean Jackson – Last season DJax tied an NFL record for 50+ yard touchdown plays in a single season.  He would be in the top 5 of all Wide Receivers if McNabb was still under center.  He could very well finish in the top 5 at his position, but there is a risk in the uncertainty of Kolb.

LeSean McCoy – The Eagles will use the running game to relieve pressure from Kolb, especially in the beginning of the season. Andy Reid does run a pass first offense when able to however he may not have that luxury this year.

Kevin Kolb – While he is the one big question mark that makes this season an uncertainty, with that risk comes some serious potential for a big reward.  There are a lot of weapons at his disposal and he looked great in his two starts last year.  Kolb may be the best backup QB option available.

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Traditionally the NFC East is one of parity and fierce competition.  Oddly enough the way I see this going is exactly the way it went last year, the Cowboys win the division title but the Eagles manage a wild card spot.  Also one of the two most interesting stories of the year unfold from this division, the first being McNabb’s return to his old home and the second being the success of the Eagles with Kevin Kolb at QB.

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

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Cowboys at Saints – This is a match-up between a team struggling for a playoff birth and another team striving for a perfect season.  There is a lot of emotion involved in a game like this.  If the Cowboys lose to the perfect Saints their playoff hopes are all but gone, and many people with-in the organization will need to update resumes.  I actually think that this Cowboys offense is playing well and that despite everything that is stacked up against them, the Boys will find a way to win this one.  They are a desperate team that has struggled as of late, however good games from Romo and the receiving core could give the Saints their only loss of the year if they can force a couple turnovers on defense.  Upgrade Miles Austin, Tony Romo, Marques Colston and Reggie Bush as this should be a game of big plays.

Dolphins at Titans – This is a battle for the inside track to the wild-card seed in the playoffs.  The Titans need to win out, and the Dolphins still have the division within their grasp, though they need some help from the Patriots to over take them.  Both teams are fighting for their lives and this always leads to some exciting football.  Williams owners should curb your expectations for him… he is still as a RB2 or a great flex option but he wont be having a huge yardage game this week.  Davone Bess is the best fantasy option at receiver from the Dolphins but you’re digging deep if your going there anyways because there are no big play threats in that receiving core which was built for Pennington and can’t take advantage of Henne’s deep ball ability.  Kenny Britt should be fine as a flex or WR3 play in 12 team leagues (or more) assuming VY is active, and of course Chris Johnson is the best back in fantasy this season and there is no reason that should change this week.

49ers at Eagles – DeSean Jackson is set to go off this week against a 9ers secondary vulnerable to the big play.  They beat up on the Cardinals because they got so much pressure, they wont have as much luck against this offensive line.  Gore is a great play at RB as last week there was an excellent balance in the San Francisco offense which is the environment that Gore thrives in.  Maclin is going to be inactive for this week so Jason Avant is a great play at WR this week, and Michael Crabtree is also a great play.  As this offense matures so does Crabtree, excellent flex option this week in what could be a shoot out.

Bengals at Chargers – Two AFC studs meet this weekend in a potential playoff preview.  The Chargers don’t lose in December, and the Bengals have only been beaten twice this year (I know they have three losses, I just don’t count that fluke play against Denver as being “beaten”) and are coming off a loss and want the momentum back for going into the playoffs.  The Chargers are pretty decent at stopping the run but Benson gets so many carries that he overcomes bad match-ups and he remains a good start this week.  Temper expectations on players in this one, as there are good defenses on the field and big plays wont come easy.  Vincent Jackson should stay on track as an elite receiver.

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Minnesota Vikings vs Cincinnati Bengals – This match-up premiers two of the toughest run defenses in the league.  The Vikings have a ridiculously large and powerful defensive line that is adept and both run stopping and pass rushing.  The Bengals are more of a group of unknowns than Jared Allen and the Williams’ in the middle for the Vikes, but they rank 2nd in the league vs the run and 4th in the league in overall defense.  We may not have expected them to be this good, but they are well coached and playing as a cohesive unit, something most defenses no longer due (Baltimore!).  Two premiere RBs face two premiere run defenses so how do us analysts rank these guys?  Well its sure tough but there is a reason you drafted Peterson first overall and that was to play him!  Peterson is still a top10 back despite the match-up problems and has to be started.  Benson is also a top 10 back this season but he falls a little farther past 15 but above 20.  You are likely still playing him, however if you were lucky enough to draft Ray Rice and Ricky Williams you could very well have better options.  As far as passing goes, Favre looks to be falling out of my top 10 at QB this week and not because of his age.  I think the Vikings match-up really well here and I think that AP will get the best of this Bengal D that hasn’t faced too many elite backs so far this season.  If the Vikings do not game plan to beat these guys in the running game and succeed I fear for how deep into the playoffs they can really go.  The Vikes secondary can be thrown on, so I also think that if the Bengals are going to win it has to be in a shootout through the air.  This wont be easy as Palmer hasn’t been playing like his old self this season (though quite good), he is merely managing the game they hope to win by running the ball over 30 times with Benson.

San Diego Chargers vs Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys seemed to have solved their offensive woes as they ad a good outing last week in a tough divisional loss to the Giants.  The Cowboys have a tough schedule and the playoffs are a must if people like Wade Phillips and Tony Romo if they hope to be employed next year.  Unluckily for them they are facing a red hot Chargers team that needs to maintain their winning ways now that Denver is out of its losing streak.  I do not think that either defense is so good that there are any offensive players devalued by their match-up.  On the contrary this should be a decently high scoring affair and the likes of Rivers, Austin, and Jackson see a slight increase in their stock this week.

Denver Broncos vs Indianapolis Colts - This is the best chance there is left in the regular season for the Colts to add a notch to the loss column; Orton has come back from his injury pretty well, Marshall is making plays for him in the passing game, and Moreno and Buckhalter are both good backs that are making the most of their chances.  The Broncos are a complete football team that is well coached, but the Colts have Manning and that has been the only coach to make much of a difference.  The players I like in the game are the usual players for each team, Manning, Wayne, Moreno and Marshall.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants – I love when two teams from this division play, they are always fun to watch so if you get the chance I recommend it.  Brian Westbrook is potentially going to be playing in this game, and this devalues LeSean McCoy, and couple that with his limited use last week, and his future gets murky.  He is still a great flex play this week or a RB2 if you are hurting from injuries at the moment.  DeSean Jackson looks to be returning as well this week, and should do just fine in the same role you were using him before.  Manningham has been a huge flop as of late so you aren’t using him, but Smith has been seeing a bump in productivity as he has seen at least 7 points in each of the last four weeks.  Smith is coming fresh off a 110 yard performance last week and should be a solid WR2 spot this week as we should see a fair share of scoring.

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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.

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