Fantasy Football News 1/11/07

[Hache Man]

Divisional Round Preview

Herm Edwards had a revealing response to the Chiefs playoff loss last week. With players from Tony Gonzalez to Larry Johnson to Trent Green quietly sniping about the team's predictable offense, Edwards had this to say about the team's collapse. www.therx.infowww.therx.wswww.fantasysportspicks.com

"I'm puzzled just like you. We haven't changed any plays. We haven't changed this offense all year."

Puzzling. While Larry Johnson owners should be cringing, every coach with a flexible game plan like Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini should be smiling. Herm didn't take Kansas City's 23-8 thrashing as a lesson in the dangers of oversimplication. In fact, Edwards wants to make the team's offensive attack to be less complicated.

"You have to be realistic and ask yourself if we're really capable of (successfully running their current system). I want to make sure of one thing: Whatever type of system we run, young players have to be able to play … I don't want to be in a situation where young guys who have some talent can't play because the system is too complex."

Say goodbye to what was left of Dick Vermeil's offense. Say hello to the slow-paced mediocrity of Herm's New York Jets offenses. Larry Johnson might be the most talented running back in the NFL, but he's going to be playing against a stacked deck next season.

Now on to the players still suiting up for the best weekend of football all season, the Divisional playoffs …

Note: Tiffany Simons and I have started blogging over at NBCSports.com. We're just getting going, but I'm excited about the possibilities and will be working on it extensively all off-season. We'll have the blog up at Rotoworld as well shortly, so stop by.

Divisional Round Quarterbacks

1. Peyton Manning
2. Drew Brees
3. Tom Brady
4. Philip Rivers
5. Matt Hasselbeck
6. Jeff Garcia
7. Steve McNair
8. Rex Grossman

QB Notes: If the Ravens defense has a weakness, it's in the secondary. Samari Rolle and free safety Dawan Landy gave up their share of big plays in the first half of the season. Look for Peyton Manning to pick on whoever Rolle is covering. It will probably be Reggie Wayne. The Ravens have thrown the blitzing book at Manning the last two times they played and he has responded well. … The Colts have an underrated pass defense. Steve McNair is not going vertical on them. So Baltimore will have to put together long drives with short passes to score. That could wear down the Colts defense, but it also gives Dwight Freeney more time to make a big play happen.

With Lito Sheppard out, Drew Brees will try to attack the Eagles' depth by throwing to Devery Henderson and Terrance Copper. The Eagles love to blitz, but Brees picked them apart with short passes the first time they played. He's also shown better arm strength since he last played the Eagles as he's recovered from surgery. … Jeff Garcia will need to play better this week for the Eagles to win. He wasn't terribly accurate against the Giants. The Saints pass defense is stronger than New York's.

Look for the Patriots to try to spread the Chargers out, picking on Drayton Florence and their secondary depth. They used three-step drops almost exclusively against the Jets to prevent Tom Brady feeling the effects of New York's blitzes. The Chargers figure to blitz just as much. That could mean more Jabar Gaffney magic. … The Chargers present a lot of matchup problems for the Patriots through the air for the Patriots. If Marty is confident in Philip Rivers, he may find out that no one on New England can handle Antonio Gates or Vincent Jackson one-on-one. Rivers was out of sorts in Week 16 against Seattle, but played a fantastic Week 17 game against Arizona. If he plays well, the Chargers will be very tough to beat.

Lovie Smith says he's confident in Rex Grossman. He could show it by attacking Seattle's secondary more than Tony Romo was allowed to last week. Something tells me the Bears will play everything close to the vest. It's hard to say how Chicago will play in general because they really haven't had a meaningful game in a month and haven't played a winning team since November. … The Bears gave up a lot of long yards-after-catch scores down the stretch over the middle of the field. Both Mannings (Ricky and Danieal) gave up big plays for Chicago against the Bucs. You can bet Mike Holmgren went to school on that game and will try to get Bobby Engram and Jerramy Stevens open deep.

Divisional Round Running Backs

1. LaDainian Tomlinson
2. Brian Westbrook
3. Reggie Bush
4. Jamal Lewis
5. Thomas Jones
6. Deuce McAllister
7. Shaun Alexander
8. Laurence Maroney
9. Joseph Addai
10. Corey Dillon
11. Cedric Benson
12. Correll Buckhalter
13. Kevin Faulk
14. Dominic Rhodes
15. Michael Turner
16. Mike Anderson

RB Notes: This is no secret, but the only way the Patriots can stop LaDainian Tomlinson is to keep him between the tackles. Some teams like the Titans and Cardinals had some success with this. Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, and Mike Vrabel are playing well and can 'set the edge' with the best of them. … Laurence Maroney had 16 snaps in the second half against the Jets last week. Kevin Faulk and Corey Dillon had five each. The Patriots are showing a lot of faith in Maroney, especially on their zone blocking plays. He's more patient than early in the year. He's also their most explosive offensive player and is tough to take off the field. Dillon is great on power runs, but not much else. This could be Dillon's last game as a Patriot.

I don't think the Ravens will shy away from the running game just because the Colts had success last week. Baltimore has shown no willingness to use Mike Anderson in a big role, so Jamal Lewis should continue to get 20+ carries. … Like the Patriots, Indy is most comfortable with their rookie running back at this time of year. Joseph Addai has surely heard Baltimore's trash talk this week and it will be interesting to see how he responds. He's already had a "breakout" game or two, but he has the opportunity to make a statement Saturday that he's going to be elite.

The Bears will continue to start Thomas Jones. One thing I noticed watching tape on Cedric Benson is how he often runs like a smaller running back. Sometimes that works against him, but he also has great balance and surprising moves getting to the outside. Chicago should have success on the ground Sunday. … Shaun Alexander had less than 50 yards on 20 carries before Tony Romo fumbled that field goal snap. John Madden was right: It seems like Alexander runs with toughness when he wants to, but not every play.

The Saints have problems with bruising runners, so don't be surprised if Correll Buckhalter makes some noise this week. The Eagles could also use Brian Westbrook more between the tackles than normal. I think the Eagles would be wise to play ball-control offense to keep Drew Brees off the field. … It will be interesting to see how Sean Payton uses Reggie Bush vs. Deuce McAllister in the playoffs. It could provide to be a window into how next season will go. I suspect Bush will get more work than ever. He was a different (much better) player the last five weeks of the season.

Divisional Round Wide Receivers

1. Reggie Wayne
2. Marvin Harrison
3. Marques Colston
4. Vincent Jackson
5. Reggie Brown
6. Donte' Stallworth
7. Eric Parker
8. Mark Clayton
9. Bernard Berrian
10. Bobby Engram
11. Muhsin Muhammad
12. Deion Branch
13. Devery Henderson
14. Darrell Jackson
15. Terrance Copper
16. Reche Caldwell
17. Derrick Mason
18. Jabar Gaffney
19. Joe Horn
20. Keenan McCardell
21. Hank Baskett
22. Rashied Davis
23. Chad Jackson
24. Demetrius Williams
25. Troy Brown

WR Notes: Like I mentioned above, look for Peyton Manning to pick on whoever Samari Rolle is covering. … The Colts have an underrated pass defense. Baltimore doesn't really like to go deep, but they need to get the ball to Mark Clayton underneath and let him run after the catch.

Joe Horn is questionable, but hasn't practiced fully in weeks. If he sits, look for Terrance Copper to start and Devery Henderson to get a lot of snaps. The Saints will try to expose William James, who will probably be covering Henderson in the slot. … Darrell Jackson is also expected to play, but couldn't complete last week's game. I don't expect him to make it 50 snaps with his turf toe. The Bears gave up a lot of long plays over the middle of the field down the stretch after losing Mike Brown. They will try to feature Bobby Engram. … Bernard Berrian couldn't break an arm tackle to save his life, but he has the best hands on Chicago and should be able to shake free deep. Hopefully Rex Grossman can find him.

The Chargers would be well served to attack the Patriots deep with Vincent Jackson and Eric Parker. Ellis Hobbs has been struggling overall, and Asante Samuel can't physically stay with Jackson on jump balls. Not many cornerbacks can. … Jabar Gaffney should start again for the Patriots over Troy Brown, who has lost a few steps. New England would love to attack San Diego's defense vertically, but Tom Brady may not have the time in the pocket to find him.

Divisional Round Tight Ends

1. Antonio Gates
2. Dallas Clark
3. Jerramy Stevens
4. Ben Watson
5. Todd Heap
6. L.J. Smith
7. Desmond Clark
8. Ben Utecht
9. Daniel Graham
10. David Thomas
11. Daniel Wilcox

TE Notes: The Patriots haven't allowed a touchdown to a tight end all season, but Antonio Gates is just the player to end that streak. … The Chargers gave up more fantasy points than any team in football. You can bet Ben Watson will be a big part of the game plan. … Jerramy Stevens may be the most consistent receiver for Matt Hasselbeck now.

Divisional Round Kickers

1. Nate Kaeding
2. Adam Vinatieri
3. Jon Carney
4. David Akers
5. Stephen Gostkowski
6. Robbie Gould
7. Matt Stover
8. Josh Brown

Divisional Round Team Defense

1. Bears
2. Ravens
3. Colts
4. Chargers
5. Seahawks
6. Patriots
7. Saints
8. Eagles

[Hache Man]

Joe Horn - WR - Saints

Joe Horn (groin) appears unlikely to play Saturday.

Horn has barely practiced all week. He's one of the few Saints remaining from the 2000 squad that won New Orleans' only playoff game in franchise history. Officially, he'll be a game-time decision. Safety Omar Stoutmire (questionable, knee) missed Thursday's practice, but did practice earlier this week. Jan. 11 - 4:50 p.m. ET

Source: PhiladelphiaEagles.com