The college football bowl season is under way and now is the perfect time to check out the match ups of some of the top games. Check out Bullz-Eye.com for previews of the Alamo, Chick-Fil-A, Capital One, Cotton, Gator, Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowl. Oh yeah, and not to mention that little national title bout between Florida and Ohio State.

Each preview highlights key stats, match ups, x-factors and fun facts for every team, as well as a prediction and what each team has to do to earn a victory.

Want to see how the Gators stack up against the Buckeyes in the BCS National Championship Game? Then click here to head to Bullz-Eye.com.

Just when everyone figures that the Donovan McNabb-led Eagles should be left for dead, 36 year old Jeff Garcia leads Philly to four straight victories and a postseason berth. Three out of the four wins came on the road for the Eagles with Garcia throwing four touchdown passes to just two interceptions.

At 9-6, Philadelphia now has the opportunity to clinch the NFC East with a win over the reeling Falcons. Atlanta has dropped six of its last eight, but amazingly still have a shot at one of the Wild Card spots in the NFC. Michael Vick always brings another dimension to the gridiron, so Philly better not be fitting itself for NFC East Champion caps yet.

Click here to check out Bullz-Eye.com’s NFL Game of the Week.

Most leagues have already wrapped up their Super Bowl, but there are a few leagues out there that are still going. If you have any roster questions, feel free to ask.

Week 16 has come and gone, and a few fantasy owners got a special present under the tree this Christmas. Bulger and S-Jax went nuts, while Marvin reiterated his grasp on the Colts #1 WR position. On the downside, owners with Vick or Hass as their QB had to fight an uphill battle, and there was a long list of stud WRs that seemed intent to play the Grinch. But enough with the tease, let’s get to Week 16’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Marc Bulger (388 yards, 4 TD)
Bulger had a pretty quiet second half of the season but broke out in a big way against the Redskins. Unfortunately for Torry Holt owners, Isaac Bruce had the biggest day of all the Rams receivers, catching nine passes for 148 yards and a score.

Honorable Mention: Vince Young (183 pass yards, 2 pass TD, 61 rush yards, 1 rush TD), Jon Kitna (283 yards, 3 TD), Peyton Manning (205 yards, 3 TD), Steve McNair (256 pass yards, 3 TD, 2 INT)

Steven Jackson (39 touches, 252 yards, 2 TD)
Jackson’s monster game was far and away the best for any running back. He has developed into a terrific receiver and the Rams love to feed him the ball. He’ll be a top 3 pick in most leagues next summer.

Honorable Mention: Maurice Jones-Drew (25 touches, 172 yards, 2 TD), Ladell Betts (31 touches, 164 yards, 2 TD), Ron Dayne (33 touches, 156 yards, 2 TD), Shaun Alexander (33 touches, 142 yards, 2 TD), Reggie Bush (22 touches, 149 yards, 1 TD), Frank Gore (17 touches, 86 yards, 2 TD), Rudi Johnson (32 touches, 140 yards, 1 TD), Larry Johnson (31 touches, 135 yards, 1 TD)

Marvin Harrison (8 rec, 112 yards, 2 TD)
Not so fast, Reggie Wayne, Marvin is still the Colts’ best WR. Harrison had a terrific fantasy playoff, catching 16 passes for 198 yards and five touchdowns.

Honorable Mention: Isaac Bruce (9 rec, 148 yards, 1 TD), Mark Clayton (7 rec, 108 yards, 1 TD), Mike Furrey (10 rec 107 yards, 1 TD), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (9 rec, 94 yards, 1 TD), Larry Fitzgerald (4 rec, 93 yards, 1 TD)

Chris Cooley (7 rec, 77 yards, 1 TD)
Cooley finished the season pretty strong, catching 25 passes for 362 yards and three scores over the last six games. His game stood out in a week with few good TE performances.

Honorable Mention: Randy McMichael (5 rec, 46 yards, 1 TD), Vernon Davis (4 rec, 91 yards), L.J. Smith (2 rec, 77 yards), Tony Gonzalez (5 rec, 67 yards)

FLATLINERS

Michael Vick (109 pass yards, 2 INT, 32 rush yards)
Vick’s brutal game hurt more than a few fantasy owners this week. He was hot and cold all year, and has been bothered by a hamstring injury recently.

Dishonorable Mention: Matt Hasselbeck (189 yards, 2 INT), Derek Anderson (123 yards, 4 INT)

Willie Parker (13 touches, 29 yards)
Parker owners had the bad fortune of having their player face a very tough Baltimore rush defense this week, and he wasn’t even able to meet those diminished expectations.

Dishonorable Mention: Tatum Bell (12 touches, 50 yards), Chester Taylor (18 touches, 67 yards), Ahman Green (22 touches, 69 yards), Thomas Jones (14 touches, 72 yards), Warrick Dunn (10 touches, 38 yards)

Steve Smith (0 rec)
Chris, this is Steve Smith. Steve, this is Chris Weinke. I’ll give you two a minute to get acquainted.

Dishonorable Mention: Chad Johnson (3 rec, 32 yards), Braylon Edwards (2 rec, 7 yards), Reggie Wayne (3 rec, 27 yards), Laveranues Coles (2 rec, 9 yards), Chris Chambers (1 rec, 16 yards), Santana Moss (3 rec, 29 yards), Joey Galloway (2 rec, 34 yards), Andre Johnson (4 rec, 48 yards), Torry Holt (4 rec, 54 yards)

Jeremy Shockey (2 rec, -3 yards)
A few big name tight ends had poor outings this weekend, which just goes to show you how erratic the position is. Looking forward to next season, there should be a number of productive tight ends, so I wouldn’t recommend drafting one in the first four rounds.

Dishonorable Mention: Kellen Winslow (2 rec, 27 yards), Desmond Clark (3 rec, 36 yards), Alge Crumpler (3 rec, 39 yards)

Now that we’ve had a couple of days to digest the idea of Allen Iverson in a Nuggets uniform, let’s take a look at the trade.

Joe Smith was also traded to make the salaries work, but this is basically an Allen Iverson-for-Andre Miller swap. Here are the players’ average stats for the last three seasons:

Iverson: 30.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 7.4 apg (23.7 epg, $18.3 M)
Miller: 14.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 7.1 apg (17.5 epg, $8.6 M)

epg = ((Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - ((Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made) + Turnovers))/(Total Games Played)

The Nuggets also sent two 2007 first round draft picks to the Sixers in the trade, which included their own pick and Dallas’ pick. Neither pick projects to be in the top 20.

From a pure value standpoint, this is a better deal for the Nuggets than for the Sixers. Philadelphia wanted to get a good young guard in a deal for Iverson, but the Cliippers were not willing to part with Shaun Livingston. They ended up with Miller, who is 30, and considering that AI is 31, the Sixers did not get much younger with this deal. When we look back on this trade in a few years, it’s going to come down to what the Sixers are able to do with those two first round picks. If they find a couple of gems or if they’re able to package the picks to land a stud in the draft or via free agency, then the trade evens out. As is, they traded away a future Hall of Fame player who is still in his prime for a middle of the road starter and a couple of draft picks.

Conversely, the Nuggets will get a big boost from Iverson’s presence, especially in the short term. With Carmelo Anthony missing 15 games due to suspension, Iverson should be able to help the team stay competitive in the Northwest. Once ‘Melo returns, the Nuggets will likely go with a starting lineup of Iverson, J.R. Smith, Anthony, Eduardo Najera (or Reggie Evans) and Marcus Camby. This is a perfect lineup for AI to play with. He likes to dominate the ball and create, and as his assist numbers indicate, he’s a very capable passer. He’ll be able to score or set up Anthony and Smith for jumpshots. Camby is a player who doesn’t have very many plays called for him; he gets his points on the break, putbacks or kickback jumpshots. Meanwhile, Evans and Najera will try to track down the team’s misses.

Defensively, the Nuggets will continue to have problems, but it’s hard to see how the addition of Iverson can possibly hurt the team. Sure, he doesn’t like to practice, but George Karl has experience in dealing with stubborn players; just ask Gary Payton or Sam Cassell. I wasn’t a big fan of AI until I witnessed his gritty play in the 2004 Olympics. The guy laid it all out on the line for his country, which was impressive considering the casual attitude of some of the other players on Team USA. It’s common for a player who is considered a malcontent to keep things together for a few years after a change of scenery, and I think the fresh mountain air will be good for Iverson.

Do the Nuggets become a title contender? I don’t think so. Their lack of defense and Karl’s inability to finish teams off in the playoffs will come back to haunt them. But they should be able to give the Jazz a serious run in the Northwest and have a good shot to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

Each week in the Pregame, I’ll provide a few players to start and a few to bench. These recommendations are based on that player’s strength of schedule (SOS) for that particular week or that player’s specific situation.

I’m a strong advocate of always starting your studs, so I won’t be telling you about LaDainian Tomlinson’s tough matchup or how Peyton Manning and company will light it up against a bad defense. Anyone can make those calls. I’ll be discussing marginal fantasy starters – guys that can start for you, but only under certain circumstances.

START

MATT LEINART, TIM RATTAY, JEFF GARCIA and JAY CUTLER are marginal quarterbacks with nice matchups this week…RON DAYNE, TRAVIS HENRY, EDGERRIN JAMES and MARION BARBER face poor rush defenses this week and should find plenty of running room…ANTONIO BRYANT, JOEY GALLOWAY, MARK CLAYTON and BRAYLON EDWARDS all have favorable matchups this week and are worth a start, assuming you’re not benching a stud…Don’t bench a top defense, but if you’re looking for a spot DT starter, KANSAS CITY, TAMPA BAY, CLEVELAND, INDIANAPOLIS, GREEN BAY and SAN FRANCISCO all have good matchups this week, in that order.

BENCH

Stay away from DAVID CARR, TRENT GREEN, CHAD PENNINGTON and JON KITNA this week if at all possible. Given their tough matchups, the odds are against them having a good day…AHMAN GREEN, COREY DILLON and CEDRIC HOUSTON face stout rush defenses this week and should be benched if you have a better option available…EDDIE KENNISON and DREW BENNETT shouldn’t be started this week.

This is it - championship week in most fantasy leagues. If you have any roster questions or just want a sanity check, we’re here to help.

QUARTERBACKS

Here is a list of players that may be available on your league’s waiver wire, in order of relative value:

Vince Young, Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia, Rex Grossman, Matt Leinart, Jason Campbell, J.P. Losman, Philip Rivers, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, Tavaris Jackson, Tim Rattay, Derek Anderson, David Garrard

Rex Grossman, Matt Leinart, Tavaris Jackson and Alex Smith all have pretty good matchups if your desperate for a decent starter. If Vince Young, Tony Romo or Jeff Garcia is available, grab one of them first.

RUNNING BACKS

Ron Dayne, Cedric Houston, Mike Bell, Travis Henry, Sammy Morris, Vernand Morency

Ronnie Brown was cleared to practice today, so it might mean the end of the Sammy Morris run in Miami. Keep an eye on Brown’s status before using Morris in Week 16…Ron Dayne continued his impressive run with another nice game on Sunday. He’s got a great matchup with Indy next week, so he can be used in an emergency.

WIDE RECEIVERS

D.J. Hackett, Joe Jurevicius, Santonio Holmes, Ronald Curry, Reche Caldwell, Chris Henry, Antwaan Randle El, Devery Henderson, Arnaz Battle, Terrance Copper

With Darrell Jackson out with injury, D.J. Hackett had a huge first half last Thursday, and should continue to get a lot of work down the stretch…Joe Jurevicius doesn’t have a great matchup this week, but Derek Anderson has been targeting him regularly, so he can bee used in a pinch.

TIGHT ENDS

Desmond Clark, Vernon Davis, Jeremy Stevens, Tony Scheffler, Bo Scaife

Desmond Clark shouldn’t be on your league’s waiver wire, but if he is, he’s a good option at TE in Week 16 given his recent performance and his favorable matchup against the Lions…Vernon Davis continues to be a big part of the 49er offense and is a good option if your searching for a fill in at TE.

It’s playoff time, which means more than a few hearts were pounding as Week 15 unfolded. It was an unusually slow day for most fantasy players and a lot of big names put up crappy numbers. LT and Westy kept things rolling while Tatum, Chester and Roy let their owners down. But enough with the tease, let’s get to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Rex Grossman (339 yards, 2 TD)
Those owners that rolled the dice with the inconsistent Grossman reaped the benefits as he sliced and diced the Bucs defense to one of his best games of the year.

Honorable Mention: J.P. Losman (200 yards, 3 TD), Tim Rattay (268 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Jay Cutler (261 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Kyle Boller (238 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Derrick Anderson (223 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT), Ben Roethlisberger (140 yards, 1 pass TD, 1 rush TD), Chad Pennington (339 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT)

LaDainian Tomlinson (26 touches, 204 yards, 2 TD)
Tomlinson single handedly lifted the Chargers over the feisty Chiefs. If you’ve got LT, the chances are pretty good that you’re on the way to your league’s title game.

Honorable Mention: Brian Westbrook (24 touches, 137 yards, 2 TD), Steven Jackson (31 touches, 127 yards, 2 TD), Maurice Jones-Drew (28 touches, 145 yards, 1 TD), Willie Parker (23 touches, 132 yards, 1 TD), Kevin Faulk (6 touches, 68 yards, 2 TD), Mike Bell (16 touches, 61 yards, 2 TD), Vernand Morency (7 touches, 54 yards, 2 TD), Tiki Barber (24 touches, 104 yards, 1 TD), Ladell Betts (25 touches, 162 yards)

Laveranues Coles (12 rec, 144 yards, 1 TD)
On a day when the wideouts around the league were pretty quiet, Coles huge day really stood out. The Minnesota pass defense is pretty bad, but Coles made a mockery of the Vikings’ secondary.

Honorable Mention: Joey Galloway (3 rec, 107 yards, 1 TD), Javon Walker (5 rec, 84 yards, 1 TD), Reggie Brown (4 rec, 77 yards, 1 TD), Plaxico Burress (6 rec, 120 yards)

Desmond Clark (7 rec, 125 yards, 2 TD)
The tight ends were also pretty quiet and it’s quite possible that Clark wasn’t started this week. But those that did have Clark in their lineup enjoyed his huge day at the Bucs’ expense

Honorable Mention: Jeremy Shockey (8 rec, 70 yards)

FLATLINERS

Steve McNair (0 yards)
My condolences go out to anyone who started McNair this week. He’s always a threat to be knocked out of a critical game, and that’s exactly what happened this week.

Dishonorable Mention: Philip Rivers (97 yards, 2 INT), David Carr (127 yards, 4 INT), Jon Kitna (135 yards, 2 INT), Aaron Brooks (98 yards, 1 INT), Brett Favre (174 yards, 3 INT), Matt Leinart (214 yards, 2 INT), Marc Bulger (137 yards), Trent Green (185, 1 INT), Drew Brees (207 yards, 1 INT), Vince Young (85 pass yards, 4 rush yards), Joey Harrington (20 yards, 2 INT)

Tatum Bell (20 touches, 41 yards)
Bell followed up a couple of huge games with a clunker this week and found Skeletor’s dog house after fumbling away the football. Mike Bell took over and finished with two scores. Remember this when you’re considering drafting a Denver running back next August.

Dishonorable Mention: Chester Taylor (11 touches, 38 yards), Reggie Bush (12 touches, 33 yards), Travis Henry (13 touches, 39 yards), Reuben Droughns (9 touches, 31 yards), DeShaun Foster (10 touches, 47 yards), Willis McGahee (28 touches, 79 yards, 2 Fumbles), Larry Johnson (22 touches, 93 yards)

Roy Williams (1 rec, 11 yards)
Williams blew a great matchup against a suspect Packers secondary and let down more than a few fantasy teams this week. He headed into the playoffs as one of the best third round picks of the draft, but this Week 15 performance tainted a pretty solid season.

Dishonorable Mention: Mike Furrey (3 rec, 20 yards), Chris Chambers (0 rec), Greg Jennings (1 rec, 5 yards), Devery Henderson (2 rec, 20 yards), Andre Johnson (5 rec, 28 yards)

Antonio Gates (1 rec, 7 yards)
Earth to Antonio. Come in, Antonio. It’s the playoffs. Do you copy? Earth to Antonio. Come in, Antonio. Do you copy? I repeat: do…you…copy?

College hoops picks back up this weekend with a great matchup between #2 Pittsburgh and #7 Wisconsin. The Badgers should give the Panthers all they can handle in Madison. Also, you’ve got the opportunity to see Greg Oden play when his Buckeyes face the Cincinnati Bearcats on CBS. In the NFL, there are several great matchups with the Jets/Vikings, the Eagles/Giants and the Chiefs/Chargers all having big playoff implications. In the BE Game of the Week the Bengals visit the Colts. In the NBA, tonight’s Rockets/Lakers game on ESPN is the best matchup of the weekend.

(All times ET.)

College Basketball
Sat, 12 PM: (2) Pittsburgh @ (7) Wisconsin – ESPN
Sat, 3:45 PM: (4) Ohio St. @ Cincinnati – CBS
Sat, 5 PM: (16) Gonzaga @ Georgia – ESPN2

NFL
Sat, 8 PM: Dallas @ Atlanta – NFL Network
Sun, 1 PM: NY Jets @ Minnesota – CBS
Sun, 4:15 PM: Philadelphia @ NY Giants – FOX
Sun, 8:15 PM: Kansas City @ San Diego – NBC
Mon, 8:30 PM: Cincinnati @ Indianapolis - ESPN

NBA
Fri, 8 PM: Philadelphia @ Dallas – ESPN
Fri, 10:30 PM: Houston @ LA Lakers – ESPN
Sat, 7 PM: Cleveland @ Orlando – NBA TV
Sun, 9:30 PM: Washington @ LA Lakers – NBA TV

Anybody who predicted 49ers 24, Seahawks 14 in Seattle Thursday night gets my kudos. Now the NFC is even more jumbled then every before.

So, who gets in?

Obviously the Bears and Saints are golden. I also think the Cowboys and Seahawks will win their respected divisions within the next two weeks. That leaves the Giants, Eagles, Falcons and Vikings all vying for the Wild Card. I almost want to say New York is a sure bet and I’ve got a feeling that Philly and Atlanta will self-destruct. That leaves the real “wild card” Vikings earning the final playoff seed. Sound fair-fetched? Minnesota could easily win out with home games against the Jets and Rams with a road contest at Green Bay.

Check out the NFL Game of the Week on Bullz-Eye.com. This week’s match up pits the Bengals traveling to Indianapolis to take on the Colts Monday night. Check out the in-depth analysis as well as a prediction.

Can Cincinnati keep its four game winning streak alive? Or will Indy snap out of its recent funk? Click here to read more.

Each week in the Pregame, I’ll provide a few players to start and a few to bench. These recommendations are based on that player’s strength of schedule (SOS) for that particular week or that player’s specific situation.

I’m a strong advocate of always starting your studs, so I won’t be telling you about LaDainian Tomlinson’s tough matchup or how Peyton Manning and company will light it up against a bad defense. Anyone can make those calls. I’ll be discussing marginal fantasy starters – guys that can start for you, but only under certain circumstances.

START

Rex Grossman, David Garrard, Jason Campbell and Jay Cutler are all borderline fantasy starters that have favorable matchups this week. Steve McNair and Jeff Garcia also fall into this category. If you’re desperate for a starter, you can do worse than these guys…Sammy Morris, Edgerrin James, Maurice Jones-Drew and Ahman Green have enticing matchups this week. You probably don’t want to bench a stud for any of them, but if you’re having problems at RB, they should be able to help this week…Bernard Berrian broke out of his funk last week and has a great matchup this week against Tampa Bay. Jerricho Cotchery, Laveranues Coles and Terry Glenn should also have nice days.

BENCH

Stay away from Bruce Gradkowski, David Carr, Chris Weinke/Jake Delhomme, and Alex Smith this week. Each guy faces a defense that has been pretty tough against QBs in recent weeks…Don’t expect anything out of Reuben Droughns (vs. BAL) or Cedric Houston (vs. JAX) this week. Travis Henry, Willis McGahee and Ron Dayne should also be avoided if possible…Don’t be surprised if Isaac Bruce and Joey Galloway have below average days as they face the Raiders and Bears, respectively.

INJURY UPDATE (THURSDAY GAME)

It looks like Bobby Engram is going to play on Thursday, which will help soften the blow of losing Darrell Jackson for a very important game against the 49ers…Nate Burleson will start in Jackson’s place, but D.J. Hackett will also see extra snaps and has been playing well of late.

An interesting article came out Tuesday in the Miami Herald that stated that the Dolphins bought audiotape to help learn Tom Brady’s cadences.

Now the widespread question is if Miami cheated. The league says no, but I think it’s an unfair advantage to use anything that other teams aren’t using to help them win games. A team still has to run, block and tackle, but the tape obviously helped considering the Dolphins held the Patriots scoreless and sacked Brady four times.

In last night’s marquee matchup, the Lakers beat the Rockets, 102-94, behind 23/8/7 from Kobe Bryant. The team got some bad news when Lamar Odom left the game in the first quarter with a sprained MCL. It looks like he’s going to be out until the end of January. From a fantasy perspective, look for Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic to play a larger role for the Lakers.

The Bucks nipped the Sonics, 94-93, and are enjoying the return of Charlie Villanueva, who scored 15 points and grabbed six boards. Andrew Bogut had one of his best games of the season, posting 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the win.

It appears that Pau Gasol will return to action on Saturday against the Heat. His foot is ahead of schedule, but he’s going to have to play himself into game shape, so don’t expect monster numbers from the start.

The league is buzzing with Allen Iverson trade talk and there are rumors flying about almost every team. Here is a sampling:

1. The Clippers would send some combination of Corey Maggette, Shaun Livingston, Sam Cassell and Zeljko Rebraca for AI. If Livingston and Maggette were included in an offer, I don’t know how the Sixers wouldn’t jump on it.

2. The Celtics would trade Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Delonte West and Theo Ratliff to Philadelphia. West and Jefferson are two good young prospects, but the Sixers would rather not trade Iverson to a division rival.

3. The Nuggets are offering a package that would include J.R. Smith, Nene and Eduardo Najera. Only the Sixers are interested in Camby, not Nene, and the Nuggets don’t want to give him up.

4. The Kings would send Mike Bibby and Kenny Thomas to the Sixers.

5. Golden State is eager to get rid of one of their bad contracts (Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy and Adonal Foyle) but would have to give up Baron Davis, Jason Richardson or Monta Ellis in the process.

6. AI reportedly nixed a trade that would send him to Charlotte, only Iverson doesn’t have a trade clause in his contract. Go figure.

7. Wolves’ GM Kevin McHale has confirmed that he is in talks with the Sixers, but in my estimation, that makes it less likely that a deal will get done. If Minnesota does land Iverson, the deal will most likely include Randy Foye. Kevin Garnett loves the idea of playing with AI.

8. Contrary to internet reports, the Mavs are not interested in trading for AI.

9. Surprisingly, Isiah Thomas says the Knicks are not interested in Iverson. The more likely scenario is that the Sixers aren’t interested in anything the Knicks have to offer.

As you might have gathered, there’s a lot of speculation and very little substantial fact. With the internet, rumors travel like wildfire and they’ll keep circulating until The Answer finds a new home.

Anyone that says the rush towards the playoffs isn’t exciting is either one of two things: A Lions fan or a soccer lover. The league is so watered-down that every team (except the Lions of course) still has a shot. And I love every damn bit of it.

Watch closely because the following top and bottom five may change next week.

Freaking parity, it keeps me up at night:

1. San Diego Chargers (11-2)
Third Quarter Ranking: #1
I read an interesting stat the other day. LaDainian Tomlinson needs just eight more touchdown passes to surpass the number of touchdown’s thrown by Ryan Leaf as a Charger. Ha, Ryan Leaf. What a joke.

2. Baltimore Ravens (10-3)
Third Quarter Ranking: #3
The Ravens could have probably lost in Kansas City last week and everybody would have given them the benefit of the doubt. Hey, it’s Arrowhead – nobody wins there. But Baltimore didn’t do that and won rather convincingly over a sinking Chiefs club. The Ravens aren’t going to roll over anybody come playoff time, but they’re dangerous enough to make a Super Bowl run.

3. Chicago Bears (11-2)
Third Quarter Ranking: #5
That’s right, I’m sipping on the Bears Kool-Aid again. A game in which Rex Grossman throws for more than 34 yards will do that to a man. I really believe that if Chicago handed the ball off on every single one of its remaining offensive possessions from that the Bears would still win out. Devin Hester is a freak of nature.

4. New Orleans Saints (9-4)
Third Quarter Ranking: #8
Who doesn’t love the Saints right now? You have to love them, they’re completely fun to watch and Sean Payton is coaching is ass off. That onsides kick Payton ordered when New Orleans was already up 28-17 on the Cowboys Sunday night was priceless. If you turned up your volume real loud, you could make out Payton saying: “Suck it Parcells.”

5. Indianapolis Colts (10-3)
Third Quarter Ranking: #2
Hmm. Do I put the team that got shutout by Miami in this spot or the team that just allowed the Jaguars to rush for 375 yards on them? I’ll go with the Colts, but I’ll let Cincinnati prove it to me next Monday night that they deserve this spot more than Indy.

28. Cleveland Browns (4-9)
Third Quarter Power Ranking: 26
The Browns flat out gave up in Pittsburgh last Thursday night. Willie Parker must have felt like he was running threw the cheerleader section instead of the Cleveland defense.

29. Houston Texans (4-9)
Third Quarter Power Ranking: #28
One week they’re reminded of how they passed on Reggie Bush and then the next it’s Vince Young. But hey, all’s not bad in Houston. At least they still have David Carr and Ron Dayne to build around.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-10)
Third Quarter Power Ranking: #28
The Succs have now been held out of the end zone for their last 11 quarters. Seeing Derrick Brooks’ solemn look on the sidelines at the close of the loss to the Falcons was sad. He’s a warrior who will fight to the bitter end though. No matter who Tampa throws out as its quarterback.

31. Oakland Raiders (2-11)
Third Quarter Power Ranking: #32
The Raiders defense has a lot of spunk. Too bad the Raiders offense has a lot of horrid excuses for football players.

32. Detroit Lions (2-11)
Third Quarter Power Ranking: #31
Even though both teams lost last week, I had to move the Lions past the Raiders. Any team that rushes for negative yardage has my attention for the worst in all of football.

Week 15 is here, which means most fantasy leagues are entering the semifinals of their playoffs. Still alive? Feel free to post any of your roster questions here.

Here’s an idea for all future Bears opponents. If rookie Devin Hester is healthy and lining up to receive a punt or kickoff, don’t kick the ball anywhere near him. Don’t even look in the relative direction that he’s standing. Just a warning, because he’s likely to do what he did Monday night in Chicago’s 42-27 win over the Rams.

With the Rams up 6-0 late in the first quarter, Hester took the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Then midway through the fourth quarter after another St. Louis score, Hester repeated the magic, this time returning a kickoff 96 yards for a score to essentially put the game on ice. He now has the NFL record for return touchdowns in a single season with six. The kid is amazing.

This is why people get on Rex Grossman so much and dare Lovie Smith to see what Brian Griese has left in the tank. The Bears have one of the best defenses in the league and the most dangerous kick returner in the NFL. Grossman played well last night in going 13 of 23 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. The better stat is the goose egg he had in the turnover department. Perfect. You don’t have to win the game Rex – just don’t lose it.

QUARTERBACKS

Here is a list of players that may be available on your league’s waiver wire, in order of relative value:

Vince Young, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Jeff Garcia, Steve McNair, Trent Green, David Garrard, Joey Harrington, Jason Campbell, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Matt Leinart, David Carr, Aaron Brooks, Alex Smith, J.P. Losman, Brad Johnson, Bruce Gradkowski

For those fantasy owners in dire straits at the QB position, two players with nice matchups in Week 15 are Jeff Garcia and Jason Campbell, who play the Giants and Saints respectively…Vince Young is blossoming into a fantasy star right before our eyes, but he has a rather tough matchup with the Jaguars this week. Still, if you don’t have another great option, you could do a lot worse than Young…David Garrard didn’t post very good numbers against the Colts, but that had more to do with the Colts’ rush defense (or lack thereof) than it did with their pass defense. This week, he has an attractive matchup with the Titans.

RUNNING BACKS

Sammy Morris, Ron Dayne, Cedric Houston, Artrose Pinner, Travis Henry, Mike Bell, DeAngelo Williams, Chris Brown, Aveion Cason, Arlen Harris, Wali Lundy, Justin Fargas, Cedric Benson, Brandon Jacobs, Jason Wright, Leon Washington

Artose Pinner simply ran harder than Ciatrick Fason, finishing with 29 carries for 125 yards and 3 TDs. His value going into Week 15 depends entirely on the health of Chester Taylor. The Vikings have terrific matchups the rest of the way as they face the Jets and Packers, so whoever starts will have value…Keep an eye on Travis Henry’s status heading into Week 15. He has an ankle sprain and is currently listed as day-to-day. Chris Brown was his backup this week and he rushed for 44 yards on four carries…Ron Dayne appears to be the man again in Houston. HC Gary Kubiak seems to change his mind on a weekly basis, so we should start calling him Baby Skeletor…Kevin Jones is going to miss the rest of the season with a foot injury, which leaves Arlen Harris and Aveion Cason to fight over his carries. It’s not clear how the team plans to use each back.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Reche Caldwell, Chris Henry, Mike Furrey, Joe Jurevicius, Santonio Holmes, Antwaan Randle El, Ronald Curry, Marcus Robinson, Devery Henderson, Wes Welker, Arnaz Battle, Terrance Copper, Ernest Wilford, Eric Parker, Patrick Crayton, Doug Gabriel

Joe Jurevicius caught 7 passes for 111 yards, which was his second strong game. This week he faces the Ravens, which isn’t that bad of a matchup for a WR…Ronald Curry caught 8 passes for 99 yards and a score against the Bengals and seems to be getting Randy Moss’ targets. It’s tough to count on any Raiders this deep into the season, but if you’re in a pinch, Curry could be OK.

TIGHT ENDS

Vernon Davis, Bo Scaife, Tony Scheffler, Jerramy Stevens, Randal Williams, Bryan Fletcher, David Martin, Owen Daniels, Alex Smith, Eric Johnson

Vernon Davis caught three passes for 74 yards and a score against the Packers and has a pretty decent schedule down the stretch…Tony Scheffler caught three passes for 66 yards and 2 TDs against the Chargers. Don’t expect this kind of production every week, but he could be a decent spot starter, especially in Week 16 against the Bengals.