Matt Ryan (206 yards, 2 INT) struggled some against a good Bucs pass defense, but he had a TD pass taken away when Jason Rader fumbled the ball at the goal line…Shaun Hill (233 pass yards) threw the ball 46 times, but failed to throw a TD for the first time since he took over the job midseason…It looked like Phillip Rivers (346 yards, 2 TD, INT) was going to have a bad day, but he bounced back with two late TDs to get the win and finish with a great stat line…Considering the opponent, Ben Roethlisberger (246 yards, TD) posted great stats. It’s not often that a QB moves the ball this well on the Ravens…Matt Cassel (218 yards, 4 TD, INT) has been excellent for much of the year and he took advantage of a Radiers secondary still reeling from last week’s blowout at the hands of the Chargers.

RUNNING BACKS

Warrick Dunn (19 touches, 90 yards) is splitting carries with Cadillac Williams (15 touches, 59 yards), but Dunn caught seven passes so he’s still starter worthy in PPR leagues…Cedric Benson (24 touches, 161 yards) was surprisingly productive against a pretty good Redskins rush defense. I wouldn’t be shocked if Benson is the starting RB for Cincy heading into the 2009-10 season…Clinton Portis (26 touches, 83 yards) go a lot of work but wasn’t all that productive. The Redskins elected to give the ball to Mike Sellers at the goal line instead of giving the ball to Portis…Surprisingly, the Texans contained Chris Johnson (15 touches, 67 yards) while also limiting the Titans pass offense…Ryan Grant (24 touches, 88 yards) didn’t have as good of a game as I expected, but it was nice to see him involved in the passing game (3-32)…Maurice Jones-Drew (16 touches, 70 yards, 2 TD) scored twice, but he was somewhat limited yardage-wise against a sketchy Packer rush defense…Steven Jackson (28 touches, 127 yards, TD) looks like he’s back to his old self…The Bills continue to use Fred Jackson (7-31-1) in the redzone and it cost Marshawn Lynch (24 touches, 140 yards) an even bigger stat line…If you’ve been watching our fantasy Q&A thread, you’d know that I was a big fan of Dominic Rhodes (24 touches, 116 yards, 2 TD) this week and he didn’t make a liar out of me…The worry with Kevin Smith (26 touches, 119 yards, TD) was that the Lions would fall behind and abandon the run, but Detroit stayed close and Smith had a big day…LeRon McClain (23 carries, 87 yards) once again carried the load, but Willis McGahee (8 touches, 33 yards) did play. Since the Ravens face Dallas next week, McClain wouldn’t be a terrible start…Willie Parker got twice as many touches as Mewelde Moore, but he’s still just a so-so start in Week 16 against a pretty solid Titans defense…DeAngelo Williams (12 carries, 88 yards, TD) continued his torrid run, but Jonathan Stewart (16 carries, 52 yards, TD) got most of the work when the Panthers built the lead…Marion Barber (10 touches, 26 yards) was active, but Tashard Choice (13 touches, 143 yards, TD) was the much better play. Keep an eye on this situation this week. The Cowboys might be wise to let Barber heal up for the playoffs, assuming they can gain a berth. Choice has proven that he can carry the load.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Antonio Bryant (8-108-1) owners probably don’t need to worry about Brian Griese filling in for Jeff Garcia. Bryant was every bit the playmaker this week…Chris Henry (4-54-1) is starting to eat into the targets for Chad Johnson (3-33) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (3-19)…Andre Johnson (11-207-1) picked a great time to have an apeshit game…Isaac Bruce (7-71) continues to defy the space/time continuum…Deion Branch (5-76) caught a long pass late in the game and has now put together three pretty good games in PPR leagues…Jerricho Cotchery (4-34-1) and Laveranues Coles (5-82) bounced back with nice games after playing horribly last week against the 49ers…Marvin Harrison (2-22) has been very good all year at home, but he picked a bad week to disappear…Hines Ward (8-107) bounced back from a horrible Week 14 performance to post big numbers against a great defense…

TIGHT ENDS

It looked early on like Jason Witten was going to be the top tight end this season, but he got injured and Tony Gonzalez (6-62-1) just kept trucking along…Antonio Gates (7-78) busted out of a bad run with a solid game, but he did most of his damage when the Chargers fell behind…Dallas Clark (12-142-1) came up HUGE when fantasy owners needed him most. He singlehandedly knocked a couple of my teams out of the playoffs. (Bastard.)

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Brian Griese (269 yards, TD, INT) stepped in for Jeff Garcia and played pretty well…With Matt Jones gone for the rest of the season, David Garrard turned to Dennis Northcutt (5-127-1) who responded with a great game…DeShaun Foster (23 touches, 101 yards) filled in nicely for Frank Gore, even though he failed to score…Dan Orlovsky (233 yards, TD) looked pretty good and was quite productive against a good Colts pass defense…Tarvaris Jackson (163 yards, 4 TD) was tremendous, but before you run out and snag him off the waiver wire, he posted these numbers against the Cardinals’ poor pass defense. He has the Falcons next week and its doubtful that the receivers will be quite as open as they were on Sunday…Who knows what’s going on in Denver. P.J. Pope (10 touches, 75 yards, TD) was the most productive, but Tatum Bell (9 touches, 50 yards) started and Selvin Young (6 carries, 19 yards) also saw some work. Stay away from this next week.

QUARTERBACKS

Kyle Orton (219 yards, 2 TD, INT) had a pretty nice game against the Jags, and he is a solid start next week against the Saints, assuming the weather is decent…It was a very disappointing performance from Eli Manning (123 yards, TD) though he did throw for a late TD to avoid a totally miserable day…In my book, Matt Ryan (315 yards, TD, INT, rush TD) is the clear cut rookie of the year (assuming the Falcons don’t collapse during the stretch run). He didn’t get the win, but he continued to make plays…Shaun Hill (285 yards, 2 TD, INT) had an excellent day for fantasy owners brave enough to start him against a sketchy Jets pass defense. He has thrown nine TD over the last five games and has Miami and St. Louis over the next two weeks, so he’s a viable starter for owners in need…Brett Favre (137 yards, INT) was surprisingly ineffective against a mediocre 49ers pass defense, but he did run for a TD…Kurt Warner (279 yards, TD, INT) got off to a great start, but didn’t have to throw much in the second half since the Cardinals were so far ahead.

RUNNING BACKS

Joseph Addai (12 touches, 40 yards) left the game with some sort of a shoulder injury, so this is something to keep an eye on this week at practice. Addai’s injury-plagued season has been a disappointment…Jamal Lewis (9 touches, 10 yards) was absolutely brutal against a Titans defense that is only mediocre (fantasy-wise) against opposing running backs. I don’t feel good about the Cleveland offense with Ken Dorsey at the helm…Pierre Thomas (17 touches, 109 yards, 2 TD) saved my proverbial butt in one fantasy playoff this week. He is the clear cut change-of-pace back to Reggie Bush (13 touches, 106 yards, TD)…Steve Slaton (29 touches, 160 yards) had a huge yardage day but failed to find the endzone. The Packers simply can’t stop the run, so over the next three weeks, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Forte and Kevin Smith have great matchups…Marshawn Lynch broke a string of three good games with a miserable 14-touch, 35-yard, zero-TD performance, likely knocking any fantasy owners out of the playoffs in the process…Frank Gore (17 touches 65 yards, TD) left the game with an ankle injury and DeShawn Foster (17 touches, 43 yards) took his place. Miami is a tough matchup next week, but in Week 16 the 49ers have the Rams, so Foster may be worth a pickup for owners in need…It’s tough to trust Larry Johnson right now. He only gained 36 yards on 11 carries against a suspect Denver rush defense…Clinton Portis (14 touches, 46 yards) missed much of the second half for undisclosed reasons, which obviously isn’t a good sign. Ladell Betts (9 touches, 60 yards) got most of the work with Portis out, but was ineffective as a runner (6 carries, 3 yards)…Willis McGahee and Ray Rice both left the Sunday night game with injuries, so that leaves LeRon McClain (20 carries, 61 yards, TD) as the potentially only healthy back in the Ravens three-back rotation. A matchup next week with Pittsburgh isn’t ideal…Brandon Jacobs (10 carries, 52 yards) re-aggravated his knee injury. He’s likely to have an MRI early this week.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Marvin Harrison (3-78-1) had another good game at home. On the year, he has posted 31-404-5 in six home games (for an average of 16.9 fantasy points). On the road, he has tallied 20-179-0 in seven home games (for an average of 5.4 fantasy points). He’s a great start next week at home against the Lions…The Giants were ready for DeSean Jackson who didn’t catch a pass and had two rush attempts for -9 yards…Braylon Edwards (3-38) was quiet with Ken Dorsey at QB. I’d stay away from the entire Cleveland offense for the remainder of the season…Jerricho Cotchery (1-10) and Laveranues Coles (1-5) were both awful today…Wes Welker (12-134) outplayed Randy Moss (3-56), who continues to be very spotty this season…

TIGHT ENDS

Visanthe Shiancoe (5-65-1) was the Vikings’ best receiver on Sunday and continues to develop into a viable starting fantasy TE…After a rough first half of the season, Jeremy Shockey (5-64) has 20 catches for 212 yards over the last four games, making him a solid start in PPR leagues. Surprisingly, he hasn’t caught a TD all year…Dustin Keller (2-14) picked a bad, bad time to break his string of four great fantasy games…John Carlson (8-69-1) has posted 14-174-1 over the last two weeks and is a solid start with two great matchups in the next two weeks…Tony Scheffler (5-61) had a nice PPR day for the second straight week…

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Now for a few players that might still be on your league’s waiver wire…

Gus Frerotte (70 yards, 2 INT) was knocked out of the game with a back injury and Tarvaris Jackson (105 yards, TD) played pretty well in his place. I wouldn’t trust him to start next week against Arizona…If Joseph Addai can’t go next week, Dominic Rhodes would be an excellent start against Detroit…L.J. Smith (6-44) has caught nine passes in the last two weeks and is working his way back to fantasy respectability…Davone Bess (9-74) had another strong day in PPR leagues. Over the last three weeks he has posted 20 catches for 245 yards and is a better WR option than Ted Ginn right now…Deion Branch (4-88-2) is definitely worth a pickup. The strong performance followed up his 5-56 last week. Seattle has the Rams and the Jets over the next two weeks, so Branch is a sneaky good start during the stretch run. The same goes for Seneca Wallace (212 yards, 3 TD, 47 rush yards), who played great in place of the injured Matt Hasselbeck. Maurice Morris (16 touches, 58 yards) got most of the work in the Seattle backfield…Peyton Hillis (9 touches, 69 yards, TD) left the game with a hamstring injury, so Tatum Bell (13 touches, 66 yards) suddenly gets a boost in value…Tashard Choice (28 touches, 166 yards) saved a lot of sharp Marion Barber owners this week. The Cowboys are really against the wall now, so it will be interesting to see how they handle MBIII next week.

QUARTERBACKS

Joe Flacco (280 yards, 2 TD) had another nice day. He has 11 TD in his last seven games…Peyton Manning (125 yards, 2 INT) and the rest of the Colts offense had a miserable day, but Indy still got the win…Matt Ryan (207 yards, 2 TD) threw for a TD for the first time in three games…Phillip Rivers (149 yards) surprisingly struggled against the Falcons, who were 24th against the pass heading into the game…He got off to a sketchy start, but Ben Roethlisberger (179 yards, 2 TD, INT) bounced back with a solid game…Clearly, Matt Cassel (169 yards, 2 INT) isn’t playing well enough to overcome a matchup with the best defense in the league…

RUNNING BACKS

LeRon McClain (25 carries, 86 yards) out-touched Ray Rice (15 touches, 55 yards). Willis McGahee didn’t play…DeAngelo Williams (24 touches, 86 yards, 4 TD) continues his late season push. Over the last five games, he has averaged 118 total yards and 1.8 TD per game…Steven Jackson (22 touches, 110 yards) returned and looked pretty good…With Reggie Bush (8 touches, 32 yards) back, it was Pierre Thomas (12 touches, 54 yards, TD) not Deuce McAllister (4 touches, 16 yards) that was the Saints’ change of pace back. Thomas is much more explosive and is the better fantasy play down the stretch…Peyton Hillis (22 carries, 129 yards, TD) continues to produce as the Denver RB1…Thomas Jones (18 touches, 159 yards, 2 TD) is rolling and is virtually a must-start in most leagues…Sammy Morris (11 touches, 57 yards, TD) was the one who scored, but Kevin Faulk (13 touches, 121 yards) had more touches and yards…

WIDE RECEIVERS

After five straight games without a TD, Isaac Bruce (5-67-1) is suddenly a legitimate threat at WR again. He has posted 13-192-2 over the last two weeks…With Plaxico Burress in trouble with the po-po, Amani Toomer (5-85-1) and Domenik Hixon (5-71) picked up the slack. It looks like those two will be Eli Manning’s top targets with Burress out…Chris Chambers (1-2) and Vincent Jackson (0-0) struggled mightily against Atlanta and can’t be trusted heading down the stretch…Denver has struggled against the pass this season, so it is surprising that Jerricho Cotchery (4-40) and Laveranues Coles (2-2) struggled so mightily on Sunday…Eddie Royal was supposed to be highly questionable against the Jets, but still posted better numbers (5-84-1) than did Brandon Marshall (5-55)…Wes Welker (4-30) got rocked in the second half and didn’t return to the game. Keep an eye on his status this week…Top wide receivers like Dwayne Bowe (2-27) continue to struggle against the Raiders secondary. This is a matchup to avoid down the stretch…After three straight subpar games, Bernard Berrian (4-122-1) got back on track with a very nice line, which included the rare 99-yard TD reception early on…Devin Hester (3-67-1) continues to progress as a fantasy receiver. He has caught at least three passes in four of the last five games and has gained at least 42 yards in each of those games.

TIGHT ENDS

Kellen Winslow (3-15) was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury…Jeremy Shockey (4-52) has reestablished himself as a legitimate fantasy TE. He has 15 catches in the last three games…In the Jets/Broncos game, the two tight ends – Tony Scheffler (7-90) and Dustin Keller (7-77) – both had nice games…Heath Miller has posted 8-104-1 in the last two games and is once again a viable starting fantasy tight end…Zach Miller (5-79) has caught at least three passes in the last four games…

FREE AGENTS

Now for a few guys that are probably sitting on your league’s waiver wire…

Mark Clayton (5-164-1, pass TD) is making a late-season push towards fantasy respectability. He posted 2-76-1 last week against the Eagles…Todd Heap (4-39-1) had a nice game against the Bengals. He has posted 14-139-3 over the last four weeks….Brandon Jackson (12 touches, 86 yards) was more impressive than Ryan Grant (12 carries, 39 yards), who sat out most of the second half. Jackson has more wiggle, while Grant showed better speed last year. But with Grant struggling to break runs this season, Jackson seems to be the better back at this point….After 5-87 last week, Davone Bess posted 6-84 this week and has taken over the role of Greg Camarillo in Miami’s offense.