Week 15 Rankings

It was nice having a first round bye in my fantasy playoffs, but it's back to business this week for the Pig Newtons.  Come to think of it, that name hasn't been appropriate for my team ever since Week 9 when I traded Cam away and got Peyton Manning.  The other players I traded in that deal were Zac Stacy and Montee Ball, and I'll be facing all of them this week against the guy I traded them to.  The deal has worked out for both of us so far, but this will be the true test.  It'll be tough if I lose to the very guys I traded away, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.  Hopefully I play all of the right guys because I have some major dilemmas with guys on my bench.  But enough about me, let's do the rankings!

QBs 1.Peyton Manning 2.Drew Brees 3.Cam Newton 4.Nick Foles  5.Matthew Stafford 6.Tony Romo  7.Josh McCown 8.Russell Wilson 9.Philip Rivers 10.Andrew Luck 11.Alex Smith 12.Ben Roethlisberger 13.Tom Brady 14.Matt Ryan 15.Colin Kaepernick 16.Joe Flacco 17.Ryan Tannehill 18.Andy Dalton 19.Jason Campbell 20.Matt Flynn Stafford and the Lions struggled in the elements. I watched Fantasy Football Now on Sunday morning before the games, and the key takeaway was this: start your studs.  Some people (myself included) were a little concerned about guys like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, who were either going against tough defenses or playing in cold weather (or both in the case of Manning).  Well, nothing mattered for those two on Sunday, as both were top-5 fantasy QBs.  Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford and Nick Foles played in a snowstorm, which definitely had an affect on their high ranking.  If you started your stud there, you were very disappointed with Stafford, but Foles still had a solid day. I think the "start your studs" philosophy only gets your so far though.  After your top-10 QBs or top-20 WRs/RBs, you have to really consider the matchups.  And with defenses, I think you really have to look more closely at matchups...but more on that later. Andrew Luck was the #1 fantasy QB until Josh McCown went off on the Cowboys Monday night.  It'll be interesting to see if Cutler is finally ready to get back behind center or if Chicago just lets him get healthy another week.  They seem to be doing just fine with McCown, so I'm ranking him as though he'll continue to be the starter.  This week, the Bears travel to Cleveland to face a little better defense than the Cowboys.  But in Week 16, they play in Philly (nice matchup, as long as there's not another blizzard).  Bottom line: if you own McCown, you might want to own Culter too.  Or if you're still scrambling for a viable fantasy QB for the playoffs, Ryan Tannehill has been solid all year but I'm guessing is still available in your league.  While he hasn't put up huge numbers, his last two games have been his top-2 fantasy outputs of the season.  His schedule for the next two weeks includes the Patriots at home and the Bills on the road.  You could do worse. As for my QB picks, I seem to be on a bit of a rollercoaster lately.  One week I'm spot on and the next I'm way off.  I was way off in Week 14.  I was high on Ryan Fitzpatrick (ESPN #18, ME #12), who was facing a Denver defense who had surrendered over 20 fantasy points/game to opposing QBs since Week 10.  That streak ending with Fitzpatrick, who wasn't even able to do much in garbage time against the Broncos.  In fact, he's not even in my top-20 this week (and neither is Carson Palmer, who will be on the other side of the ball as the two face off against each other's tough pass defenses).  The guy I was down on was Ben Roethlisberger (ESPN #13, ME #17) because I was counting on the Dolphins to keep him in check (who had allowed the 3rd-fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs this season).  Big Ben torched them in the close loss, and he ended up in the top-10 QBs.   Is it Kirk Cousins time for the rest of the season...? We'll see who I'm high and low on this week when ESPN's rankings come out later today, but hopefully I'll be back on the right side of the coin this week.  Oh, and if you're wondering about Aaron Rodgers or RGIII?  Yeah, me too.  For now, I'm not ranking either.  The Packers are still in the playoff picture, but I have a feeling they won't be rushing their franchise QB back in there.  As for RGIII, the word out of Washington is that Shanahan might go with Cousins this week in Atlanta.  There's more to that story, but I'll just leave it at that.  Even if Griffin gets the start, I'd be worried about Cousins coming into the game in the second half and ruining my fantasy playoffs. RBs 1.Jamaal Charles 2.LeSean McCoy 3.Matt Forte 4.Marshawn Lynch 5.DeMarco Murray 6.Knowshon Moreno 7.Eddie Lacy 8.Zac Stacy 9.Maurice Jones-Drew  10.Alfred Morris 11.Shane Vereen 12.Andre Brown 13.Steven Jackson  14.Rashad Jennings 15.Ryan Mathews 16.Ben Tate 17.Giovani Bernard 18.Frank Gore 19.Le'Veon Bell 20.Toby Gerhart 21.Bobby Rainey 22.Montee Ball 23.Fred Jackson 24.Pierre Thomas 25.CJ Spiller  26.Daniel Thomas 27.Joique Bell 28.Ray Rice 29.Andre Ellington 30.Danny Woodhead 31.Chris Johnson 32.Chris Ivory  33.Donald Brown  34.Chris Ogbonnaya 35.Benjarvis Green-Ellis 36.Rashard Mendenhall  37.Stevan Ridley 38.DeAngelo Williams 39.Darren Sproles 40.Mike Tolbert I need you, Reggie! LeSean McCoy blew up on the Lions and was the top fantasy RB in Week 14.  Of course it was a week that I didn't need him to do that since I had the bye.  Oh well.  Hopefully he can do it again on what would appear to be a weaker defense in Minnesota.  The other top RB on my squad, Shane Vereen, was also in the top-5 last week.  Man, I hope these guys left something in the tank for Week 15 because I'll need them, especially if Reggie Bush stays sidelined with that calf injury!  Speaking of Reggie, I'm not ranking him for now, but I'm hoping we'll find out more soon on whether or not he'll play on Monday night against Baltimore.  For now, your guess is as good as mine.  If he's hit with a "questionable" tag going into MNF, I'll probably be making other plans and going with someone else in a Sunday game. Some other top RBs had solid weeks, including Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, and Knowshon Moreno (all in the top-10).  The guy I was high on last week was DeMarco Murray (ESPN #9, ME #2), who had over 150 total yards but who also finished just outside of the top-10.  He couldn't find the end zone like those other guys, which kept him from being the elite option I thought he'd be.  But he did finish ahead of other top options like Eddie Lacy and Marshawn Lynch...not to mention Adrian Peterson, who left his game early with an injury.  Peterson owners will want to scoop up Gerhart if possible, as it sounds like AP will be questionable Sunday against the Eagles.  It's hard to bet against him, but with the Vikings not playing for anything, it might not be totally up to him on whether he plays or not. As for the RB I was down on, Zac Stacy (ESPN #15, ME #23) actually finished outside of the top-30.  Arizona continues to give up the fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs this season, as they held Stacy to 25 rushing yards and a TD.  I was thinking he'd get around 75 total yards and no TD, but close enough.  Hopefully he doesn't bounce back this week (because I'm playing against him), but I think he'll do much better than 8 fantasy points.  In fact, he's back inside my top-12 with a much better matchup at home against New Orleans.  As for the RB going up against Arizona this week?  That would be Chris Johnson, who I've moved way down in my rankings...just ahead of Chris Ivory, who is facing a tough Panther D on the road. WRs 1.Calvin Johnson 2.Josh Gordon 3.Alshon Jeffery 4.Demaryius Thomas  5.Andre Johnson   6.AJ Green 7.Dez Bryant 8.Eric Decker 9.Antonio Brown 10.DeSean Jackson 11.Keenan Allen 12.Torrey Smith 13.Larry Fitzgerald 14.Brandon Marshall  15.Vincent Jackson 16.Roddy White  17.Riley Cooper 18.Pierre Garcon 19.Julian Edelman  20.Jordy Nelson 21.Marques Colston  22.Cecil Shorts 23.Dwayne Bowe  24.Anquan Boldin 25.Harry Douglas 26.Victor Cruz  27.Michael Floyd 28.Mike Wallace 29.Steve Smith  30.Brian Hartline 31.TY Hilton  32.Golden Tate 33.Rod Streater 34.Michael Crabtree 35.Cordarrelle Patterson   36.Stevie Johnson 37.Kendall Wright 38.Da'Rick Rogers   39.James Jones 40.Emmanuel Sanders Even though Week 14 was the highest-scoring week in NFL history, a few of the top WRs didn't get in on the action.  Megatron missed out on the big day, and Torrey Smith didn't do much against the hapless Viking secondary.  I'll look for Torrey to bounce back in Detroit on Monday Night Football, and I'm keeping him as a WR1 again this week.  The #1 fantasy WR in Week 14 was Josh Gordon, who continues to tear it up.  Surprisingly, tied with him for the most fantasy points was Marques Colston, who easily had his biggest game of the year.  Good luck guessing when he'll put up 1 point or 20 points this year though. Speaking of guessing, let's look at my calls last week.  I was high on Doug Baldwin (ESPN #55, ME #31), whose decent performance as of late ended in San Francisco.  He was held to only 3 catches for 26 yards, and he made me look like a big dummy.  Also making me look silly was Steve Smith (ESPN #31, ME #38).  The guy hadn't scored or had more than 7 fantasy points since Week 7, but I called him out.  So naturally, he hauled in 6 catches for 49 yards and a score against New Orleans on Sunday night.  This fantasy ranking thing truly can feel like a guessing game at times, but I'm trying not to move Smith or Colston up too  much in my rankings.  Both have been too inconsistent to warrant a big knee-jerk reaction, especially as we're now right in the middle of the fantasy playoffs.  As for Baldwin, he's falling back off my radar for now. Really, Steve Smith?  Really...?!? I was worried about the Denver WRs last week, but they all produced pretty well.  Wes Welker suffered his second concussion in recent weeks, so I'm guessing he may be sidelined for tomorrow night's game.  This has me moving Demaryius and Decker both back into my top-12, and I hope they both have HUGE games. TEs 1.Jimmy Graham 2.Julius Thomas 3.Vernon Davis 4.Jordan Cameron 5.Tony Gonzalez 6.Jason Witten  7.Greg Olsen 8.Delanie Walker 9.Charles Clay 10.Coby Fleener 11.Dennis Pitta  12.Garrett Graham Last week, I talked a lot about tight ends.  But the surprise of the week for me was that Antonio Gates, while nowhere near a top-10 TE like ESPN continues to rank him, did outperform Ladarius Green (who was held without a catch).  The tight end situation in San Diego is an enigma for me right now, and I'm not ranking either for tomorrow night's game in Denver.  Last week I was down on Martellus Bennett (ESPN #9, ME not ranked), who has been downright mediocre since the first few weeks of the season.  He finished with 4 fantasy points, as I predicted.  However, I was high on Heath Miller (ESPN #18, ME #10), who only received 4 targets.  He converted those targets into 3 catches for 56 yards, and while it wasn't a huge game, he did outperform guys like Greg Olsen and Coby Fleener. It's going to be tough to bench Pitta after last week.. Speaking of Fleener, I'll need him to produce for my squad this week.  He has a nice matchup against Houston, but it's so tempting to start Dennis Pitta after his performance against the Vikings in his return from injury.  I have them at 10 and 11 this week, but I think I'll probably go with Fleener and the better matchup (we'll see though).  The big tight end news in Week 14 was that Rob Gronkowski shredded his knee and is lost for the season.  Add him to the list of other injured tight ends, which still includes Jordan Reed and Delanie Walker.  I won't be ranking Reed until I hear something definitive about his return, but I'm feeling good about Walker coming back this week.  The Titans released one-week-fill-in Visanthe Shiancoe, which tells me that Delanie should be on track to play against the Cardinals (who are still giving up the most fantasy points to the TE position this year). DEF 1.Panthers   2.Seahawks 3.Chiefs 4.49ers 5.Saints 6.Cardinals 7.Bengals 8.Jags  9.Eagles 10.Bills   11.Patriots 12.Steelers   My top-ranked defense last week was Arizona, and they finished 2nd behind Tampa Bay.  What was surprising to me with the ESPN rankings is just how cautious and safe they felt.  I was down on the Seahawks (ESPN #1, ME #7), and I mainly talked about them because they were the consensus  #1 defense from ESPN in Week 14.  They finished 14th, right behind the defense I was high on: the Green Bay Packers (ESPN #22, ME #11).  Maybe I just play the matchups on defense more than the ESPN guys do, but again, those rankings were just a little too safe for me. This week, I'm going to try not to be too hypocritical, but a lot of the top defenses have much better matchups than they did in Week 14.  You'll notice Carolina up at the top spot, as they host the Jets, who have given up the most fantasy points to opposing defenses this year.  I also have Seattle right behind them, as they travel to face the other New York team (the Giants are giving up the 3rd-most fantasy points to opposing fantasy defenses this season).  Then you'll see KC, San Fran, and New Orleans (all top defenses).  Hey, they have great matchups too!  You won't see the Rams or Bucs too high on the list though.  They're both top-10 fantasy defenses on the season, but their matchups are less-than-ideal.  I'm still holding out on Cincy though, as they'll probably be in my starting lineup on Sunday night.  I'm hoping they play inspired after giving up a lot of points to Indy, albeit in a victory.  Not to mention they're playing a huge division game in Pittsburgh.  It should be interesting... Good luck to everyone in Week 15 (except for you of course, Mac...sorry buddy).  Check back Friday for my injury/ranking update and a recap of tomorrow night's game, which hopefully includes 10 TDs off the laser-rocket arm of Peyton Manning. Cheers, Bart

Week 14 Rankings: Friday Update

#meatgasm

Last night I may have found my new favorite restaurant: Texas de Brazil.  My birthday was on Monday, so naturally I've been dragging that out into a birthday week.  I'd been wanting to go to Texas de Brazil for a while now, but I didn't want to do it too close to Thanksgiving dinner either.  So we went last night, and I ate at least one serving of every type of meat they offered...or at least I thought.  Once I was stuffed with as much cooked animal I could handle, one of the guys came around with beef ribs.  Dang it!  So, I didn't try the ribs.  I should have listened to the waiter who said it was a marathon and not a sprint.  But I'll know for next time.  Oh, there will surely be a next time.

So, originally I wasn't too interested in watching the Texans/Jags game, but I actually did watch a little bit of it when my wife and I got home from dinner.  I was in somewhat of a meat coma, and the couch was calling my name.  I'll give you a little bit of a recap as usual, talk about the few injury updates around the league, and then of course...the rankings.

QBs: I didn't rank Case Keenum or Chad Henne in my top-20 (neither did the ESPN experts).  Keenum actually got pulled again in favor of Schaub, about midway through the 3rd quarter.  The way Gary Kubiak is using these quarterbacks, I don't think either is a safe start in the fantasy playoffs.  Then again, Kubiak got fired today, so maybe Wade Phillips will handle the situation differently.  Meanwhile, Chad Henne actually threw 2 TDs and put up some decent fantasy points, though he barely had over 100 yards passing.  Henne has a nice matchup next week against Buffalo, but I think he's way too erratic to consider as your fantasy QB either.  You probably won't see any of these guys in my rankings over the next 2 weeks.

RBs: I had MJD ranked up at #15, and he had his best rushing game of the season before exiting in the 4th quarter with a hamstring injury.  He continues to put up double-digit fantasy points on a consistent basis, but his owners will need to keep an eye out for his MRI results to see if they'll have him for the fantasy playoffs.  If not, Jordan Todman could be a decent Flex play in the coming weeks against Buffalo, Tennessee, and Indy.  For Houston, I ranked Ben Tate 12th and actually had Dennis Johnson down at 39th.  Tate had a very mediocre game, as the Texans abandoned the run in the second half.  Johnson continues to be a non-factor as long as Tate is healthy.

WRs: Andre Johnson owners were happy last night, as he put up another top-10 fantasy performance with 13 catches for 154 yards (I had him ranked 8th).  The only Jacksonville WR worth ranking on a weekly basis is Cecil Shorts (who I ranked 28th).  He only had 2 receptions last night, but he did find the endzone.  What's frustrating with him is that he nearly had a huge fantasy night.  He was targeted 6 times, drew a couple of penalties, and Henne missed him on what was a wide open touchdown opportunity.  He's currently lurking on my bench, but he'll be an enticing play against the Bills in Week 15...

TEs: I didn't rank any tight ends from these two teams in my top-12, and neither did the experts.  But Garrett Graham and Marcedes Lewis both found the endzone and finished with double-digit fantasy points.  

DEF: ESPN had the Texans 12th in their rankings, but it was Jacksonville who actually had a decent fantasy night.  I know it's easy for me to say this in hindsight, but I did consider the Jags in my top-12 (and not Houston).  Jacksonville was horrible in the first half of the season (before their Week 9 bye), but they've quietly been a top-10 fantasy defense over the last 4 weeks.  Meanwhile, Houston has been in the bottom-10.  I won't be considering the Texans at all in the last few games of the fantasy season, but I might rank the Jags next week when they host the Bills.  In fact, it sounds like I'll be ranking a lot of Jags next week against the Bills.

OK.  Let's talk about a few injuries...

1. Aaron Rodgers & Jay Cutler:  Cutler has already been ruled out for Monday Night Football, so you can plan on starting McCown if you were worried about that for Week 14.  As for Week 15 and beyond, I have a feeling it'll be Culter, but time will tell.  As for Rodgers, I'm growing concerned that if he doesn't play this week, the Packers will shut him down for the rest of the season.  A lot depends on how healthy he is obviously, but I think a lot will also depend on whether or not Green Bay has a shot at the playoffs after this week.  I'm keeping a close eye on this, but I might be sitting Jordy Neslon in Weeks 15 & 16 if he still doesn't have Rodgers throwing it his way.

2. Le'Veon Bell & Rashad Jennings:  Both suffered concussions on Thanksgiving day, but both were cleared this week and have been practicing.  Both are expected to play this week, and you're starting Bell against the Dolphins.  But as far as Jennings, you'll notice from my rankings that I don't think he's a very good play this week against the Jets.  You might want to consider other options there, if available.

If Ellington is out again, Taylor could get some touches.

3. Julius Thomas, Jordan Reed, & Delanie Walker: Both Thomas and Reed missed their Week 12 & 13 games, and their status for Week 14 is still up in the air.  John Fox returned to practice for the Broncos on Wednesday, but Julius Thomas was still limited.  Jordan Reed says he's in the "same place as last week", and as of this writing, Delanie Walker still hasn't been cleared to play.  I'd have a Plan B if I was planning to play any of these guys this week.

4. Andre Ellington: He didn't play last week due to a knee injury, and he didn't practice on Wednesday.  He did practice on a limited basis yesterday, but he makes for a risky start even if he's active against the Rams.  If he's inactive, I think Stepfan Taylor makes for a decent Flex play if you're in a really deep league, as St. Louis has given up the 5th most fantasy points to RBs this year...and Taylor did have 60 yards on just 5 touches last week in Philly.  I'm ranking Ellington as if he'll play on a limited basis, but Taylor would be a few spots lower if he's the #2 RB on Sunday.

5. Percy Harvin:  Apparently Harvin had a "little procedure" done on his hip earlier this week, and he hasn't been practicing.  I wouldn't count on him as a fantasy option this week, and he may not even be able to help you in the fantasy playoffs.  We'll see.

That's it for the injury roundup.  Let's do the rankings!

QBs 1.Matthew Stafford 2.Tom Brady 3.Nick Foles 4.Peyton Manning 5.Drew Brees 6.Cam Newton 7.Josh McCown 8.Russell Wilson 9.Tony Romo 10.Alex Smith 11.Carson Palmer 12.Ryan Fitzpatrick 13.RGIII 14.Joe Flacco 15.Philip Rivers 16.Andy Dalton 17.Ben Roethlisberger 18.Colin Kaepernick 19.EJ Manuel 20.Ryan Tannehill I'm high on: Ryan Fitzpatrick (ESPN #18, ME #12)  I'm high on Carson Palmer again this week (ESPN #19, ME #11), but he was my guy in Week 13.  I also mentioned on Wednesday that I would talk up Nick Foles in this space, so I have to give him some love (ESPN #6, ME #3).  I mean, the guy is the #1 fantasy QB over the last 5 weeks, he has 19 TDs and ZERO picks on the season, and he has a nice home matchup against the Lions.  What else is there to like?  Well, another guy who has been a top-10 fantasy QB over the last 4 weeks is Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Really?  Really.  He has 6 passing TDs in those 4 games, and he also has over 100 yards rushing and 2 TDs on the ground (8 TDs in 4 games ain't bad).  This week, he travels to Mile High to face a Bronco defense that has given up the 6th-most fantasy points to QBs this season (including over 20 fantasy points/game to opposing QBs since Week 10!).  I think this will be a high scoring game, and whether it's garbage time or not, I think Fitzpatrick will rack up the fantasy points in Denver. I'm down on: Ben Roethlisberger (ESPN #13, ME #17)  Big Ben won't be happy to see Miami's secondary this week. I said on Wednesday that I wouldn't talk about Matt Ryan or Andrew Luck in this space today, but sure enough, ESPN ranked them way higher than I did (which isn't inside my top-20 at all).  And I said I wouldn't write about Philip Rivers again, so I need someone else to talk about here.  I guess Big Ben will have to do.  Not many QBs have been hotter than Roethlisberger as of late, which makes this a tough call.  In fact, the ESPN experts are all over the place with their ranking of him this week (13, 7, 12, and 21!).  But I have him a little lower than their average because I'm betting on the Dolphins to keep him in check.  Miami is allowing the 3rd-fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs this season, and they've only allowed 4 passing TDs in their last 8 games (and only 12 total on the season, 3rd-best behind the Titans and Panthers).  Teams like to run it against Miami, and as long as Le'Veon Bell is healthy, I think the Steelers will do just that. RBs 1.Jamaal Charles 2.DeMarco Murray 3.Eddie Lacy 4.Matt Forte 5.Adrian Peterson 6.Knowshon Moreno 7.Marshawn Lynch 8.LeSean McCoy 9.Andre Brown 10.Reggie Bush 11.Le'Veon Bell 12.Chris Johnson 13.Alfred Morris 14.Shane Vereen 15.CJ Spiller 16.Steven Jackson  17.Giovani Bernard 18.Fred Jackson 19.Ray Rice 20.Frank Gore 21.Zac Stacy 22.Bobby Rainey 23.Rashard Mendenhall  24.Lamar Miller 25.Ryan Mathews 26.Chris Ivory 27.Donald Brown  28.Darren Sproles 29.Montee Ball 30.Rashad Jennings 31.Danny Woodhead 32.Pierre Thomas  33.Benjarvis Green-Ellis 34.Andre Ellington 35.Joique Bell 36.LeGarrette Blount 37.Willis McGahee 38.Darren McFadden 39.Mike Tolbert 40.Bilal Powell Murray should see big holes for the second week in a row. I'm high on: DeMarco Murray (ESPN #9, ME #2)  Not only is Murray coming off a huge 3-TD Thanksgiving Day game, but for an encore he gets to face a Bears defense that is giving up the 2nd-most fantasy points to RBs this season.  And if you look at the total rushing yards against Chicago in their last two games, it's insane (Vikings: 246...Rams: 258!).  With Lance Dunbar lost to a season-ending injury, Dallas doesn't really have that change-of-pace RB behind Murray.  I think he gets a huge workload this week against a poor run defense.  I don't see any reason he can't have back-to-back weeks as the top fantasy RB. I'm down on: Zac Stacy (ESPN #15, ME #23)  I hate to say anything negative about Stacy, but this week I have to do it.  I picked him up off the waiver wire the week before he got the starting gig for the Rams, and I plugged him in my lineup all the way up until the time I traded him (after his huge Week 9 game against the Titans).  I felt like I was "selling high" on Stacy, but he proceeded to have solid fantasy days in his next 2 games.  But that was against Indy and Chicago.  This week he travels to Arizona, who is giving up the fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs this season.  I think it's possible he'll still get around 75 total yards, but it's a gamble to think he'll find the endzone against a defense that has only surrendered 4 rushing TDs all year. WRs 1.Calvin Johnson 2.AJ Green 3.Josh Gordon 4.Alshon Jeffery  5.Dez Bryant 6.Brandon Marshall  7.DeSean Jackson 8.Larry Fitzgerald 9.Vincent Jackson 10.Torrey Smith 11.Demaryius Thomas  12.Antonio Brown 13.Riley Cooper 14.Keenan Allen 15.Pierre Garcon 16.Michael Floyd 17.Victor Cruz  18.Wes Welker 19.Jordy Nelson 20.Julian Edelman  21.Eric Decker 22.Roddy White 23.Kendall Wright 24.Mike Wallace 25.TY Hilton  26.Harry Douglas 27.Dwayne Bowe  28.James Jones 29.Doug Baldwin 30.Marques Colston  31.Jacoby Jones 32.Nate Burleson 33.Golden Tate 34.Stevie Johnson 35.Anquan Boldin 36.Brian Hartline 37.Steve Smith   38.Jarrett Boykin 39.Rod Streater 40.Emmanuel Sanders I'm high on: Doug Baldwin (ESPN #55, ME #31)  I was surprised to see Baldwin SO low on ESPN's rankings this week.  Granted, this is probably the first time I've ranked him all season, but you know how I feel about the guy with the hot hand (see Keenan Allen, Riley Cooper, and Michael Floyd).  Yes, San Francisco on the road is a tough matchup, but I also don't think they'll completely shut down Russell Wilson and company (which I believe will be without Percy Harvin).  Doug Baldwin has at least 60 receiving yards in each of his last 4 games, and he's scored in 3 of those games as well.  Considering all of that, I think it's pretty crazy to rank him outside of the top-50 WRs for Week 14. I'm down on: Steve Smith (ESPN #31, ME #38)  Fantasy football can be a game of "what have you done for me lately", but in Steve Smith's case, what has he done for you all year?!?  I'm as guilty as the next guy for ranking him anywhere near the top-20 on any given Sunday this season, but he's been falling quite a bit lately.  Not only has he not reached the 70-yard receiving mark in any game this year, but he hasn't found the endzone since Week 7.  I'm starting to consider several other options ahead of Smith these days. TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Jimmy Graham 3.Julius Thomas 4.Vernon Davis 5.Jared Cook 6.Jason Witten  7.Tony Gonzalez 8.Greg Olsen 9.Coby Fleener 10.Heath Miller 11.Jordan Cameron 12.Ladarius Green  I talked about Jared Cook on Wednesday (ESPN #10, ME #5), and it's no surprise to me that they ranked him below guys like Greg Olsen and Tony Gonzalez.  Way to go out on a limb, ESPN.  But what I am  surprised about is how they continue to rank Antonio Gates in their top-10 (ESPN #8, ME not ranked...not even close).  Gates has had one TD in his last 8 games, and Ladarius Green has been outperforming him lately.  I realize the Giants are giving up the 8th most fantasy points to tight ends this year, but I think Green is the San Diego TE who warrants a top-12 ranking (not Gates).  But let me talk about two more TEs... I'm high on: Heath Miller (ESPN #18, ME #10).  To be a top-10 fantasy TE most weeks, you don't even need to get to 10 points.  Miller hasn't scored a TD since Week 7, so I'm not exactly counting on that.  But I am counting on 8 targets or so, which could potentially get him close to 100 yards receiving. I'm down on: Martellus Bennett (ESPN #9, ME not ranked)  Yeah, he's facing his old team.  Yeah, Dallas gives up a lot of fantasy points to tight ends.  But since Week 6, Bennett is averaging less than 3 catches/game, and he's only scored double-digit fantasy points once since Week 2.  You could say some of the same things about Jared Cook (who I like a lot this week), but Cook is facing Arizona, who has given up the MOST fantasy points to TEs this season.  I think Bennett, the man who once called himself a black unicorn, will probably be held to 3 or 4 fantasy points (which is about what he's been averaging in his last 5 games). DEF 1.Cardinals 2.Ravens 3.Chiefs 4.Patriots 5.Rams 6.Bengals 7.Seahawks   8.Raiders 9.Steelers 10.Broncos 11.Packers 12.Panthers  I'm high on: Packers (ESPN #22, ME #11)  Temperatures in the teens?  Nah.  Who needs sleeves...? I could also talk about the Steelers here (ESPN #16, ME #9), but I'll go with the team that has the bigger discrepancy.  Picking a defense going up against Atlanta burned me last week, but I'd like to think it would've been a different story if that game was actually outdoors and in Buffalo.  Matty Ice won't have the warm confines of the Georgia Dome this week either as he travels to Lambeau, where the game time temperature is expected to be around 17 degrees (that's Farenheit to any of my non-American readers).  Green Bay has looked better on defense since getting Clay Matthews back, and the Falcons have been giving up a ton of sacks this year.  I think the sacks could turn into turnovers (and maybe even points) in the frigid conditions. I'm down on: Seahawks (ESPN #1, ME #7)  I almost talked about Peyton Manning in my QB section because he was the ESPN consensus #1 fantasy QB this week.  Really?  Going up against that Titan defense?  I don't think so.  As I was looking at their defensive rankings, I noticed ESPN also ranked Seattle as the consensus top defense for Week 14 among the 4 experts.  They also ranked the Bengals at #2 and the Niners at #3.  These are the safest picks I've seen all year from these guys!  I don't want to rant too much about ESPN because I really enjoy the work those guys do, but let's shake it up a little bit guys.  It's Week 14!  These are the playoffs we're talking about here!!!  Now, I'll eat my words if Seattle actually is the #1 fantasy defense this week, but I don't see it happening with a tough road matchup against a good team who will be looking to avenge that embarrassing Week 2 loss in Seattle. I'll see you in Week 15! Cheers, Bart