Year in and year out the Colts make the playoffs and following what should have been a perfect season I expect no different.  I can’t quite make heads or tails out of the number two receiver position quite yet, however whether it is Anthony Gonzalez or Pierre Garcon they will have a significant impact this season.  The biggest area of concern for this team is I guess on defense, but they have great speed and are in the top half of the league as it is.  We can only wait to see if they what they do if they get a second chance for a perfect season this time around.

Top Fantasy Players

Peyton Manning – If there was anybody on the planet that I would want to QB my NFL franchise it would be this guy.  Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers do a bit better statistically, but as you know Manning is no slouch.

Joseph Addai – I was a big supporter of Donald Brown going into last year… I thought Addai was finished and that the young guy was going to get the majority of the carries by the end of the season.  Boy was I wrong, Addai will be a great RB2 option next year and hopefully retains the consistency he had last year.

Reggie Wayne – With a healthy Anthony Gonzalez to compliment Garcon and Collie it will be tough to pay too much attention to Wayne, so he should continue to be a dominant force at WR.  I rank him in the top3, which may be a bit high… but Moss has to start losing a step sooner or later and Fitzgerald has a risky QB situation. There is less risk with Wayne.

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Round One
Pick 1 (1) – Chris Johnson: CJ has an absurd mix of power and speed that makes him a threat to score every time he touches the ball.  A guy his size and speed should have trouble between the tackles, but as he proved last season he does not.

Pick 2 (2) – Adrian Peterson: The emergence of Chris Johnson is not why I rank Peterson at number two.  Peterson is in my opinion the most complete running back in the league, but has had some issues with fumbles and is seeing fewer touchdowns with Favre pulling the trigger.

Pick 3 (3) – Maurice Jones-Drew: MJD has a similar skill set to Johnson, but has a bit of trouble running up the middle.  He is a very capable goal line back due to his elusiveness, but does not have the supporting cast to have a breakout year.

Pick 4 (4) – Frank Gore: The Niners had an excellent draft, they appear to be lining up behind Alex Smith and opted to bolster their offensive line in a big way with Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati.  Iupati is one of the most athletic guards I have seen come out of college in a while and will do an excellent job pulling to seal the corner for Gore this year.  The Niners also appear to have rededicated themselves to a physical smash mouth style that matches their coach Mike Singletary.

Pick 5 (5) – Ray Rice: This guy came out of nowhere, and I do not expect him to be the next Matt Forte at all.  Until draft day Rice was my number four back.  After adding a deep threat and much needed talent at the WR position with Anquan Boldin, the Ravens ensured that they will still see consistent production from Rice.  It will be exceedingly difficult to stack eight in the box to stop this guy.

Pick 6 (6) – Michael Turner: Turner has dropped a fair few spots from last season, but it has little to do with him.  The emergence of the 49ers and Ravens on the offensive side of the ball are the primary reasons why Turner is not fourth on this list.  The injury at the end of last year certainly does not help, but I’m not going to downgrade him for it until he proves it was not an isolated incident.

Pick 7 (7) – Ronnie Brown: The Dolphins have a more balanced attack now with Marshall at wide receiver, but Henne is still unproven and the one-two punch of Brown Williams is still going to be the driving force of this offense.  Brown could see better productivity with a passing game to balance the defense.

Pick 8 (8) – Drew Brees: Yes, the Saints lost some talent on both sides of the ball, but regardless of the situation the only player that was always are the center of their success was Brees.  He repeatedly rallied the Saints whether it be the fourth quarter of a game, or after losing to the lowly Buccaneers, and then needing to make a playoff run.

Pick 9 (9) – Andre Johnson: The Texans have their issues, and it is impossible to know what Coach Kubiak is thinking when he puts Arian Foster or Ryan Moats on the field instead of Steve Slaton.  With that said they are a playoff caliber team with a very efficient passing game.  Johnson is the most consistent receiver in fantasy football.

Pick 10 (10) – DeAngelo Williams: With the question at quarter back and the best tandem of running backs in the league to lean on you can expect the Panthers to do just that.  Use the talent at the Running Back position to develop either Matt Moore or Jimmy Clausen into their Quarterback of the future.

Pick 11 (11) – Steven Jackson: He may be on the decline, but during a 1-15 season Jackson played through injury and was there for every game giving all the effort he had.  He can still be my  first round pick without a doubt.

Pick 12 (12) – Rashard Mendenhall: It is worth noting that the option of taking Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning was available, but you cannot snub the RB position like that with the last pick. Mendenhall is likely to see an increased workload during Big Ben’s suspension, and he will remain the feature back the rest of the season.

Round 2
Pick 13 (12) – Reggie Wayne: This is the only wide receiver on the best passing offense in the AFC that we know their spot on the depth chart.  Whether Gonzalez or Garcon gets the number two job is still unknown and very possibly subject to change.  Wayne has been with Manning for a long time and has developed into an elite receiver.

Pick 14 (11) – Aaron Rodgers: If you’re scratching your head, then you need to look at the stats from the last two seasons.  Rodgers is likely going to be the highest scoring fantasy QB this season, but Brees is likely to have more passing yards.

Pick 15 (10) – Peyton Manning: Comes down to Moss or Manning here, and with Brady and the Patriots on the decline, Manning is the safe pick and the right one here.

Pick 16 (9) – Ryan Grant: Not taking a running back in the first round means you have to take the best one available to you in the second.

Pick 17 (8) – Cedric Benson: Carson Palmer finally has the best receiving core of his career, and he can’t use it because his career is over.  Benson will see 30 carries a game this year just like last year, as long as he is healthy.

Pick 18 (7) – Randy Moss: Despite his teams fall from the elite, they are still a Playoff quality team with great coaching, and more than enough experience to make a deep playoff run.

Pick 19 (6) – Pierre Thomas: Bush will never be an every down back, and Bell is not there to vulture red zone touches.

Pick 20 (5) – Miles Austin: Austin’s productivity was among the best last season, and considering he did not even start until week 5.  I would hardly be surprised if Austin ended up the top fantasy WR by the end of the season.

Pick 21 (4) – Shonn Greene: The Jets showed that they trust and believe in this young guy the way they used him in the playoffs.  Since Rex Ryan has yet to make a decision that didn’t work out for him, I am going to trust him.

Pick 22 (3) – Tom Brady: Brady has not fallen off.  It took a little to recover from his season long injury, but he’s back.  The difference is the team around him is not as good as it has been.

Pick 23 (2) – Larry Fitzgerald: Larry is still the most talented wide receiver in the league, and it only takes one play for a receiver to have a good day for you.  Fitz will remain a red zone matchup nightmare.

Pick 24 (1) – Joseph Addai: Towards the end of his career, but not there yet.  He will not have quite the year he did last year but he should be close.

Round 3
Pick 25 (1) – Vincent Jackson
Pick 26 (2) – Phillip Rivers
Pick 27 (3) – Roddy White
Pick 28 (4) – Matt Schaub
Pick 29 (5) – Beanie Wells
Pick 30 (6) – Tony Romo
Pick 31 (7) – Jamaal Charles
Pick 32 (8) – Ryan Matthews
Pick 33 (9) – Clinton Portis
Pick 34 (10) – LeSean McCoy
Pick 35 (11) – Ricky Williams
Pick 36 (12) – Joe Flacco

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1. Kurt Warner
2. Matt Schaub
3. Drew Brees
4. Peyton Manning
5. Aaron Rodgers
6. Donovan McNabb
7. Phillip Rivers
8. Brett Favre
9. Tony Romo
10. Joe Flacco
11. Tom Brady
12. Ben Roethlisberger
13. Alex Smith
14. Carson Palmer
15. Eli Manning
16. David Garrard
17. Vince Young
18. Kyle Orton
19. Matt Hasselbeck
20. Brady Quinn
21. Jason Campbell
22. Mark Sanchez
23. Chad Henne
24. Jay Cutler
25. Matt Cassel
26. Matthew Stafford
27. Ryan Fitzpatrick
28. Josh Freeman
29. Bruce Gradkowski
30. Chris Redman
31. Matt Moore
32. Keith Null

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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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