Fantasy Football News 12/24/06

[Hache Man]

Last Minute Decisions
Each week, Last Minute Decisions is your final stopping point before setting your lineups Sunday morning. I'll tell you Game-Time Decisions to watch and analyze some key situations that could make or break your Championship week. Make sure to check the site early Sunday and early Saturday evening for the latest news around the NFL, including each team's inactives.

Important Week 16 Game-Time Decisions

Arms
Carson Palmer – the rotator-cuff talk can be squashed for now, he will start
Michael Vick – will start, questionable whether his groin will let him finish
Jake Delhomme – Chris Weinke to start again, snap 18-start losing streak?
Aaron Brooks – didn't work Thursday or Friday but still listed as probable

Wides
Peerless Price – practiced Thursday and Friday, he'll start versus Tennessee
Joe Jurevicius – will start, has consistently been Derek Anderson's top WR
Eric Parker – not expected to play, Vincent Jackson likely to start at Seattle
Ricky Proehl – hasn't yet made an impact, could step up come playoff time
Laveranues Coles – will start, says he doesn't know who Vonnie Holliday is
Mark Clayton, Derrick Mason – upgraded to probable, will start at Pittsburgh
Drew Bennett – Vince Young's shoulder tiring, so his receivers aren't usable

Backs
Thomas Jones – worthy flex at Detroit but Cedric Benson may finish the game
Ronnie Brown – won't start on Monday night, worth avoiding if at all possible
Carnell Williams – Michael Pittman to start, Mike Alstott to carry on goal line
Joseph Addai – Tony Dungy thinks he'll play, check AM inactives to be sure
Warrick Dunn – will start, explosive rook Jerious Norwood needs more action
Brandon Jacobs – all signs point to him being active, stealing goal-line carries
Cedric Houston – not expected to play, Jets runners worth avoiding @ Miami
Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk – both look likely to play but far from certain
Travis Henry – fully expected to start in an excellent matchup at chilly Buffalo

Ends
Eric Johnson – can't see him playing much, cutting into Vernon Davis's reps
Kellen Winslow – will start, Bucs are second-to-worst defense vs. tight ends
Ben Watson – wouldn't count on him, David Thomas is now catching passes
Todd Heap – missed practice portions all week but still slated to start @ PIT
Owen Daniels – rookie's production has slacked, didn't work much all week
Bo Scaife – it does not appear that he'll play and not worth starting anyways

Already Ruled Out for Week 16

Arms
Charlie Frye – has broken wrist according to some, won't play again in '06

Wides
Antonio Bryant – barring a Super Bowl berth, he's suspended through 2007
Darrell Jackson – turf toe allows third receiver D.J. Hackett to make his mark
Kelley Washington – a deep sleeper to be starting somewhere next season
Randy Moss – where will he be in 2007? Pittsburgh? Green Bay? Miami?
Alvis Whitted, Jerry Porter – Johnnie Morant, Ronald Curry to start tonight
Marty Booker – Wes Welker will see more looks Monday against the Jets
Joe Horn – Devery Henderson becoming boom-or-bust week-to-week option

Backs
Fred Taylor – Maurice Jones-Drew set up for a productive day vs. Patriots
Jason Wright – Reuben Droughns should get 20+ touches against Tampa Bay
Michael Bennett – Bennett can't even stay healthy in a clear-cut backup role
Kevin Jones, Brian Calhoun – Lions could consider Adrian Peterson in April
Musa Smith – is unlikely to be any more than a third-down back next season
Clinton Portis – Joe Gibbs planning on a running-back-by-committee for '07

Ends
Dallas Clark – Ben Utecht (seven catches since Week 13) will start at Houston

Championship Week Injury Situations

Ronnie Brown (hand)

After the Dolphins took Wednesday off, Brown returned to practice without limits Thursday for the first time since Thanksgiving week and has worked fully ever since. He's wearing a protective pad on his broken left hand that allows him to catch passes but Brown won't start against the Jets on Monday night. While New York's defense has been highly inconsistent against the run, allowing Ahman Green and Willis McGahee to run for over 100 yards apiece before bottling up an injured Chester Taylor (11-38) in Week 15, Brown would be best utilized at a flex spot, if that. It's possible Morris will get goal-line carries so as to lessen the burden on Brown and prevent against re-injury where bodies are flying around and his hand could get stepped on. The Dolphins also may not ask much from Brown in the passing game with Morris and Travis Minor plenty capable in that area. 12-15 carries and 80 yards would be a reasonable estimate from Brown, but a score might have to come on a long run.

Carson Palmer (shoulder)

This week's stir regarding a possible rotator-cuff injury was caused by an anonymous reader tipping ProFootballTalk.com off that Carson Palmer may have hurt his shoulder during Monday night's loss to Indianapolis. For those watching, right before halftime Palmer was sacked and ESPN's Tom Jackson reported that Palmer headed to the locker room clutching his arm. In the second half, it appeared for a moment that Palmer would come out at one point (Anthony Wright was apparently warming up) but there was a delay in the game and Palmer wound up never missing a snap. He took Wednesday's practice off to go for tests, which came back negative. While we may hear some more on this story come the offseason, Palmer will start Sunday at Denver, no questions asked.

Laurence Maroney (?)

Back? Torn rib cartilage? Doghouse? Depends on who you ask. No one seems to know for sure why Laurence Maroney hasn't played since Week 13, but it appears he's set to return to face the Jaguars, as his bags were packed presumably to make the team flight to Jacksonville on Friday. Maroney isn't a fantasy option in Week 16, but the last two weeks may very well have affected how New England views its running back situation for next season. Prior to Maroney's injury/benching, it appeared Corey Dillon was a good bet to be cut. But with Maroney either showing he can't stay healthy or in the good graces of the coaching staff, Dillon will probably stick around another year. We may have to wait until 2008 to see Maroney in a full-fledged starting role.

Joseph Addai (ankle)

While Scott Morrow and I were watching the Colts-Bengals' post-game show from our respective spots in the great Midwest, we both heard the same thing come out of Chris Mortensen's mouth:

Tony Dungy just informed me that Joseph Addai suffered a high ankle sprain.

We haven't heard much from Mort since; he hasn't even updated his blog since November 25th. Where are you Mort? He's normally not a false rumor mongerer. What we can count on is Mortensen updating his statement Sunday morning when he breaks his weekly pre-game news. As far as Addai's status, he was able to practice in individual drills Thursday and Dungy announced Friday that he expects his rookie tailback to play at Houston. A Saturday morning column in the Indianapolis Star about Dominic Rhodes, however, hinted that Addai might be limited in the game. That would make sense, considering the Colts will roll over the Texans and shouldn't need to risk their best running back re-injuring himself. Whether he has a high ankle sprain still is uncertain – the signs say he doesn't – but Addai's status will be a game-time call and we'll be intently watching for Mortensen's Sunday morning update.

Maurice Jones-Drew (healthy)

Fred Taylor is out. LaBrandon Toefield will back up Maurice Jones-Drew. With that out of the way, let's look at this matchup. Each week, the Boston Herald's Point After blog provides an intense look at what happened on a personal-matchup basis after each Patriots game. Here's last week's edition. Basically, outside of an impressive early-game sack of David Carr, Mike Wright (who took Vince Wilfork's spot on the nose and will again this week) had trouble. The blog looks at one drive in particular where Wright was taken out of a play by a combination block, pushed seven yards downfield a few snaps later, and pancaked twice more. Wright wasn't frequently exposed other than on the one possession, but keep in mind that this was against the Texans, who currently have three offensive line starters on injured reserve. Jacksonville's vicious run-blocking line could have the Wilfork-less Pats on their heels for an entire game.

Do Not Underestimate

The Shotgun Factor In Baltimore

There hasn't been much talk on the Steve McNair front recently because he wasn't on the injury report, but the possibility remains that Baltimore will use the shotgun formation frequently at Pittsburgh. McNair sustained a cut on his hand last Sunday that forced him from the game for the final three quarters. Kyle Boller was moving Baltimore's offense, but the real reason McNair didn't reenter is because when he took snaps from center, the cut was re-aggravated. There have been no reports that McNair's hand is fully healed, and there's a possibility the Ravens will avoid taking any chances with a playoff berth already in hand. The shotgun is bad news for Jamal Lewis. Lewis' first step isn't explosive enough to compensate if he's given the ball five yards in the backfield and it seems Mike Anderson might work better in that setup. Take Jonathan Ogden out of the equation and Joey Porter could present major problems for replacement Adam Terry, who is considered a good athlete and sound mechanically but doesn't bring nearly the physical game that Ogden does. Porter could get in Terry's head. I expect the Steelers to bring a lot of pressure, making the shotgun even more of a necessity. Lewis could have trouble gaining positive yards at all against Pittsburgh.

Vernand Morency's Future in Green Bay

For those out of the fantasy playoffs, let's take a look ahead. Before Monday night's pass-heavy win, Vernand Morency was averaging 4.9 yards-per-carry. He scored twice, from 21 and 14 yards out, in Week 15 and has shown tremendous explosion as well as the vision necessary to excel in Green Bay's zone-blocking scheme. Morency needs to improve as a short-yardage runner, but he has the skills to make that progression. With Ahman Green set for free agency, the Packers could draft a running back in the mid-first or second round and either let him compete with Morency to start or give Morency veteran precedence and all-down duties depending on how ready the rookie is deemed. If the pick is Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson or Cal's Marshawn Lynch, he might be too good to keep off the field, but a Tony Hunt (Penn State) or Michael Bush (Louisville) could take a while to adjust to the pros. Pending Ahman's status, the opportunity will be there for Morency to start behind Green Bay's promising offensive line in 2007.

[Hache Man]

Week 16 Inactives

We'll update all the big names in our Sunday inactives column updated between 11:30-12:30. Refresh often. For complete inactive information for free, down to the 53rd player, you can also check Rotoworld's player news page.



Steve McNair can't take a snap without feeling pain because of a cut on his hand. But he will start.

Fred Taylor is out for Jacksonville. Maurice Jones-Drew will start.

Carnell Williams is out for the Bucs. Michael Pittman will start and Mike Alstott will pick up goal line carries.

Joe Horn is inactive. Devery Henderson and Terrance Copper will pick up snaps at wideout against the Giants.



Ben Watson and Daniel Graham are out for the Patriots. Daniel Graham will start at tight end. Mike Wright will start at NT, but the Patriots may play a 4-3 defense.

Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, and Rodney Harrison are all active for New England. Maroney's role may be limited to 10-15 touches. It's a tough matchup against Jacksonville, but you could do worse if you need help at a flex position.

Joseph Addai is active for the Colts. Dominic Rhodes should split carries at the least because Addai isn't 100%.

Chris Weinke will start for the Panthers because Jake Delhomme is out. Ken Lucas is in. Also out for Carolina: RBs Nick Goings and Steven Jackson, WRs Drew Carter and Taye Biddle, T Dave Kadela, LBs Brandon Jamison and cornerback Dion Byrum. Al Wallace will start at RE.

Owen Daniels and Samkon Gado is out for the Texans. Jeb Putzier will get more snaps for Houston. Chris Taylor is active and may play ahead of Wali Lundy.

Corey Bradford, WR Eddie Drummond, CB Fernando Bryant are out for Detroit.

Charles Tillman and John Tait are out for Chicago. Thomas Jones and Rex Grossman are starting, but may not play much in the second half.

Travis Henry is starting for the Titans. Bo Scaife is out at tight end. Lendale White will backup Henry. Chris Brown is inactive.

Braylon Edwards will not start for the Browns because of a coaches decision. Don't be surprised if he plays after sitting out the first series or first quarter, so he's not without value. Leigh Bodden is also out for the Browns.

Michael Jennings and Luke Petitgout are out for New York. Michael Strahan is active again.

Maurice Stovall is starting for the Bucs at receiver over Ike Hilliard.
Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, and Mark Clayton are active and starting for the Ravens. Jonathan Ogden is out for Baltimore.

[Hache Man]

	Braylon Edwards not in starting lineup
	Braylon Edwards - WR - CLE - Dec. 24 - 12:00 p.m. ET
	Braylon Edwards won't start Sunday on a coaches' decision. He is active for the game. Don't rely on Edwards as any more than a third receiver. Leigh Bodden will be replaced by Ralph Brown at left corner. Chaun Thompson will sub for ILB Andra Davis. DE Alvin McKinley, RB Chris Barclay, OLs Fred Matua and Rob Smith, and S Ben Emanuel are down. Cleveland has just one of its starting defensive linemen active. Derek Anderson will start in place of Charlie Frye (third QB).Dec. 24 - 12:00 p.m. ET Source: clevelandbrowns.com

[Hache Man]

Todd Heap - TE - Ravens

Todd Heap is active and will start for Baltimore, as expected.

WRs Clarence Moore and Devard Darling are down. LT Jonathan Ogden will be replaced by second-year man Adam Terry. DT Atiyyah Ellison, FB Nick Luchey, rookie RB P.J. Daniels, rookie CB David Pittman, and rookie S Jamaine Winborne are Baltimore's other inactives. Dec. 24 - 12:17 p.m. ET

Source: baltimoreravens.com

[Hache Man]

Laurence Maroney - RB - Patriots

Laurence Maroney is active for the Patriots Sunday.

So is Kevin Faulk, so Maroney's role may be limited to 10-15 touches. It's a tough matchup against Jacksonville, but you could do worse if you need help at a flex position. This hurts Corey Dillon's value Sunday. Dec. 24 - 11:41 a.m. ET

Source: Boston Globe