- When fantasy owners drafted Tom Brady in the second round, I don’t think they were looking for 115 yards, one TD and one pick in Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills.

- Matt Cassel (331 yards, 2 TD) rewarded those owners that were brave enough to start him after a fairly miserable stretch of games. With Chris Chambers and Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs have something going in the passing game.

- I’m actually surprised that Matt Ryan mustered 152 yards and a TD in his first game back against a very stout Jets pass defense.

- Jay Cutler (94 yards, 3 INT) had a miserable day against the Ravens. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco (234 yards, 4 TD) shredded the Bears’ defense.

- Ben Roethlisberger (503 yards, 3 TD) had a MONSTER day against what was a pretty stingy Packer defense coming in. Aaron Rodgers (383 yards, 3 TD, rush TD) did everything to win the game but rush Roethlisberger on his game winning drive.

- Laurence Maroney (23 carries, 81 yards, TD) has defied the odds, holding onto the Patriots’ RB1 job even with the return of Sammy Morris.

- Jerome Harrison (34 carries, 286 yards, 3 TD) looks like he might be worth having in a keeper league. He destroyed the Chiefs’ defense.

- Jamaal Charles (25 carries, 154 yards, TD) now has a TD in six straight games.

- Arian Foster (2 carries, 7 yards) lost a fumble on his first and only catch and didn’t see much work the rest of the day. Ryan Moats (13 carries, 46 yards) carried the load.

- Steven Jackson (24 touches, 123 yards) missed practice all week with the flu and was a game time decision, but he grinded out a nice fantasy line.

- The Dolphins managed to keep Chris Johnson out of the endzone, but he still racked up 159 yards on 29 carries and two catches.

- The perception that Chris Wells (17 carries, 110 yards, TD) has taken over as the Cards’ RB1 is correct, but Tim Hightower ran for a TD and caught six passes, so he’s still somewhat valuable in PPR leagues.

- Maurice Morris (22 touches, 161 yards, TD) made the most of his opportunity to start with Kevin Smith out. Arizona actually has a pretty good rush defense, so Morris’s performance is that much more impressive.

- Knowshon Moreno (22 touches, 81 yards) was a big disappointment given his tremendous matchup with the Raiders’ pathetic rush defense.

- Michael Bush (18 carries, 133 yards, TD) destroyed the Broncos’ run defense.

- Leonard Weaver (17 carries, 52 yards) got the most carries against the 49ers, but LeSean McCoy was the one who scored.

- Josh Morgan (7-61-1) really seems to be benefiting from the arrival of Michael Crabtree. He has 22 catches over the last four weeks and has scored twice in that span.

- Terrell Owens (2-20) screwed over whomever was brave enough to start him this week. He has been decent of late, but was a non-factor against the Pats.

- I think an alien took over the body of Chris Chambers (5-114-1).

- Andre Johnson (9-196) is pretty good.

- Calvin Johnson (3-35) is a stud, but he’s not trustworthy when he has a dud (Duante Culpepper, Drew Stanton) throwing to him.

- Brandon Marshall’s line (7-73-1) is somewhat surprising considering he was going up against Nnamdi Asomugha all day.

- Vincent Jackson (5-108-2) didn’t have a great matchup, but he turned in a great fantasy line for those owners who stuck with him this week.

Check back in a bit for the RB and QB positions.

- With an early TD, Antonio Gates (4-33-1) looked like he was going to get off to a big day, but finished with rather pedestrian numbers.

- I’m excited that I benched Todd Heap (5-56-2) in favor of Bo Scaife (5-40) in a league where I lost Owen Daniels midseason. That’s just great.

- In a week where starting TEs were pretty quiet, Kellen Winslow (6-93) and John Carlson (7-86-1) had big fantasy lines in that TB/SEA game.

- Jermichael Finley (9-74-1) is a stud in the making. He has 31 catches for 302 yards and three TD in the five games since he came back from injury. That’s 15.8 fantasy points per game in a PPR format.

- Heath Miller (7-118) had a huge day against the Packers, but how many fantasy owners were starting him after just seven catches (and zero TD) in the last three games?

Check back in a bit for the WR, RB and QB positions.

Every week, I highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.

Kurt Warner really struggled against the 49ers on Monday night, but this week he faces the Lions, which should cure whatever ails him…Donovan McNabb has a good matchup with a San Francisco pass defense that has struggled quite a bit this season. The 49ers looked pretty good at home against the Cards, but they have to make the cross country flight to Philly this week…Jason Campbell is hot — seven TD over his last three games — and the Giants defense has given up 1.8 pass TD per game this season…If Vince Young is a go, he should be able to post good fantasy numbers against a young Miami secondary…Mark Sanchez should be back this week and will likely have a very nice game against the Falcons’ 30th-ranked pass defense…Desperate? Brady Quinn is actually showing some signs of decency (7 TD and zero INT in his last four games) and has a great matchup this week against the Chiefs. Keep in mind that he threw the 7 TD in two games and had pitiful performances against the Steelers and Bengals.

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The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week, you pick up a defensethat is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. To see how this approach performed last season, click here.

Last week, I recommended three DTBWW picks. Let’s see how they fared…

#1 Titans: 7 PA (6) + 1 SK + 5 INT + 1 RET TD = 18 fantasy points
#2 Bucs: 26 PA (0) + 1 SK + 1 FR = 2 fp
#3 Chiefs: 16 PA (2) + 2 SK + 1 INT + 2 FR = 7 fp

The Titans obviously posted a great performance, scoring the second-most points of any defense in Week 14. The Bucs were equally unimpressive, especially considering that they were facing Kellen Clemens at home. The Chiefs performed pretty well against Buffalo, as expected.

For the season, my #1 pick is averaging 9.6 fantasy points per game, my #2 pick is averaging 10.1 ppg and my #3 pick is averaging 6.7 ppg. On the whole, DTBWW is averaging 8.8 ppg, which equates to DT4 numbers. Not bad.

Let’s take a look at this week’s picks. Keep in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Note: If the Colts happen to be available, I think I’d take them over my #2 or #3 picks this week.

Pick #1: Arizona Cardinals (@ DET)
The Cards were embarrassed in San Francisco on Monday night, so I think they’ll have a bounce-back game against the hapless Lions. Detroit is a little less hapless with Matt Stafford under center, but the Cards defense should be able to post a nice fantasy line.

Pick #2: Seattle Seahawks (vs. TB)
The Seahawks defense isn’t great, but they have performed well at home against bad competition and the Bucs certainly qualify. Tampa looked terrible against the Jets last week, so the Seahawks DT should have a good week.

Pick #3: Houston Texans (@ STL)
Houston’s defense isn’t explosive, but it’s solid, and with Steven Jackson nursing a bad back, the Rams don’t have a lot of options on offense.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Be sure to check out Week 14’s Fantasy Fallout and our Waiver Wire Watch for Week 15. Still have questions? Fire away, but be sure to tell me about your league’s roster requirements and whether or not you’re in a PPR league.

It’s playoff time in the world of fantasy football, so let’s take a look at a few players that could potentially help owners in need over the next couple of weeks. Remember, to be eligible, a player has to be available in at least 50% of ESPN’s fantasy leagues. I’ll list the player’s percentage-owned in parenthesis.

* Alex Smith (36.8) has been very solid of late and in Week 15, he has a pretty good matchup against an Eagles defense that has struggled to stop the pass in recent weeks. Eli Manning threw for 391 yards and three TDs in Week 14.

* Vince Young (27.9) left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, so keep an eye on his status this week. If he’s able to go, he has a nice matchup with a pretty suspect Miami secondary.

* Jason Campbell (23.6) doesn’t have the greatest matchup (NYG), but it isn’t bad and he has been as hot as a pistol over the last few weeks, averaging 273 yards and 2.3 TDs during that span.

* Brady Quinn (3.4) was quiet against the Steelers, but a Week 15 matchup with the Chiefs is pretty favorable and he has shown signs of growth over the past month.

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