Tony Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons during the offseason. Recently, he has started to practice with the team during Atlanta’s minicamp. Considering that Gonzalez was arguably the best fantasy football tight end last season, this trade made a big impact in the fantasy world.

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons - Fantasy Football 2009 (Image: Newscom)

Will Gonzalez be better off with the Falcons? Considering that he had 96 catches for 1,058 yards and ten touchdowns, it’s difficult to imagine him doing much more. But with the Falcons, Gonzalez very well might be able to top those numbers.

The best thing going for Gonzalez is Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan. Coming off of a fantastic rookie season, Ryan should continue to blossom in his second season. With running back Michael Turner helping to move the chains, Gonzalez could often find himself in position to pick up a touchdown.

On the other side of the coin, three things may hold Gonzalez back during 2009 fantasy football. First of all, he’s 33 years old and he could start slowing down. If he loses too much speed, he’ll be much easier to scheme against.

The second and third things that could hold down Gonzalez’s numbers are Roddy White and Michael Jenkins. With the Kansas City Chiefs, Gonzalez didn’t have a wide receiving duo that demanded targets. In Atlanta, he has White who is coming off of an 88-catch campaign and 50 additional catches by Jenkins. With all the weapons on offense, each part may suffer a little bit statistically.

All that said, Gonzalez remains a very good fantasy football prospect at the tight end position in 2009. If he’s the first tight end off the board in your 2009 fantasy draft, don’t be surprised.

If you are going to be playing playoff fantasy football, you obviously should be well aware of the NFL playoff picture. Here’s the NFL playoff schedule for the first week of the playoffs so you can start to figure out which fantasy players you want to get on your team in playoff fantasy football.

Saturday, January 3rd - 4:30 PM Eastern
Atlanta Falcons at the Arizona Cardinals

Saturday, January 3rd - 8:00 PM Eastern
Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers

Sunday, January 4th - 1:00 PM Eastern
Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins

Sunday, January 4th - 4:30 PM Eastern
Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings

Bye Week: Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers

Photo credit: Newscom

1. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
It’d be difficult to get much hotter than DeAngelo Williams is right now. He has 11 touchdowns in his last six games. In five of those six games, he rushed for more than 100 yards. In the other one, he had four touchdowns.

2. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
Although Briant Westbrook went through a slump, he’s come up huge the last two weeks. He has six total touchdowns during the span — three rushing and three receiving. He also has more than 330 total yards in the last two weeks.

3. Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints
In the last four weeks, Pierre Thomas has six touchdowns. Even with Reggie Bush back in the lineup, Thomas is getting a lot of action. Although he doesn’t get as many touches as featured backs, the fact that he’s in a high-powered offense makes up for it.

4. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
Michael Turner has eight touchdowns in the last five weeks. In the one game he didn’t score a touchdown over that span, he had 120 rushing yards. On the season, Turner already has 12 touchdowns and 1269 rushing yards.

5. Thomas Jones, New York Jets
In the last nine weeks, Thomas Jones has 13 touchdowns to his name. He has at least one touchdown in eight of those nine games. In the one game he didn’t have a touchdown, he had a season-high 159 yards rushing.

Photo credit: Newscom

QB Kyle Orton, Chicago Bears
Although Kyle Orton has only one touchdown pass since his return from injury, he’s once again healthy and has a good matchup this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikings capable of shutting down the run, expect Orton to pass early and pass often.

RB Justin Fargas, Oakland Raiders
Last week, Justin Fargas got over 100 yards against the Denver Broncos. This week, Fargas will go up against the Kansas City Chiefs, the owners of the worst rush defense in the NFL. There’s a great chance that Fargas will surprise and have one of his best games of the season.

WR Michael Jenkins, Atlanta Falcons
Michael Jenkins has a very good matchup this week against the San Diego Chargers. While Roddy White will get all the attention, Jenkins will be opened up to possibly make some big plays. Although he doesn’t have a touchdown in his last three games, he has 15 catches and is still a big part of the offense.

TE Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints
While he’s struggled virtually all season with injuries, he’s as healthy right now as he’s been all season. In his last two games, Shockey has 11 catches. Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers present a tough matchup, quarterback Drew Brees is playing very well and will likely target Shockey a whole lot in Week 13 of the 2008 fantasy football season.

Photo credit: Newscom

QB Matt Cassel, New England Patriots
Don’t look now but Matt Cassel is doing a very good Tom Brady imitation. He once again produced a very fine week of fantasy football stats in Week 12. He finished the game against the Miami Dolphins with 415 yards passing and three touchdowns. All three of his touchdowns were to Randy Moss.

RB Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
In many fantasy football drafts this year, Michael Turner was a third rounder. Those fantasy owners who drafted him have to be very happy, especially in Week 12. He finished the week with 117 yards and four touchdowns. Turner has official established himself as one of the best running backs in the fantasy football world.

WR Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys
Since Tony Romo broke his pinkie, Terrell Owens had been pretty quiet. But in Week 12, he exploded onto the scene. Against the San Francisco 49ers, Owens finished with seven catches for 213 yards and a touchdown. If you are an Owens owner, this was the game you have been waiting for.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs
Tony Gonzalez is having another fantastic season. He continued that in Week 12 of the fantasy football season by catching 10 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. From now until the end of the year, it’d be impossible to bench Gonzalez. He’s just too good and although the Chiefs are struggling defensively, their offense looks surprisingly sharp.

In fantasy football leagues that score 1 point per 15 yards and 6 points per touchdown, here’s a look at the top five running backs for the 2008 season:

5. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
Although the Niners have had a difficult year, Frank Gore has had a bit of a bounce back season. Last year, he was a fantasy football disappointment but he’s been well worth his preseason draft positions in 2008. Down the stretch, Gore should be a very good option — especially if Shaun Hill can continue having success at quarterback.

4. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
Coming into the 2008 fantasy football season, it was difficult to figure where to put Michael Turner on the running back rankings. But after signing with the Falcons in the offseason, he’s made Atlanta look smart by being a very good running back. Against teams with weak run defenses, he’s especially deadly.

3. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
Clinton Portis was actually at the top of this list until recently when he got banged up. If he can get healthy, he’s going to get a lot of carries to end the season. If not, his fantasy owners may have to look elsewhere. However, filling his huge shoes will be close to impossible.

2. Thomas Jones, New York Jets
The true surprise of the 2008 running back rankings has to be Thomas Jones. He didn’t look too good last year in 2007 and many fantasy experts were wondering whether he could lose his starting job. Not only has Jones remained the starter, he’s been arguably the most explosive fantasy back in the NFL this season.

1. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
The Super Bowl champion Giants have the best fantasy running back at the moment. Jacobs is almost impossible to bring down in one-on-one situations and he has a nose for the endzone. As long as the Giants keep giving him the rock and as long as he stays healthy, he could very well be the best fantasy running back in 2008.

Photo: Newscom

QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons are going against an Oakland Raiders defense that simply isn’t that good. Last week, fellow rookie quarterback Joe Flacco had a good fantasy day against this same defense. Expect Ryan to have an even better game in Week 9. Right now, he’s a definite fantasy football sleeper for the week.

RB Michael Pittman, Denver Broncos
Michael Pittman is banged up and is currently listed as questionable for the Week 9 game. But he was able to practice late in the week and should start the game and have a heavy workload. Against the Miami Dolphins, Pittman should be able to produce a nice fantasy football line.

WR Joey Galloway, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Chance are Joey Galloway is going to have a breakout game at some point this season. This week against the Kansas City Chiefs is a good bet to be that week. Galloway is as healthy as he’s been since his injury and should be able to get a long touchdown in this week’s game.

TE Donald Lee, Green Bay Packers
The Packers are facing a very tough defense this week when they take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 9. However, if the Packers are going to have any success against the Titans, it will likely be with Lee finding room in the middle of their secondary. That is the one weak spot in the Tennessee defense, as illustrated last week when tight end Dallas Clark had a pair of touchdowns.

Santana Moss leaves the competition behind once again.

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Playing in London, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was phenomenal. Brees finished the game against the San Diego Chargers with 339 yards and three passing touchdowns. He also completed 30 of his 41 pass attempts. Brees has quickly become arguably the best fantasy football quarterback in 2008.

RB Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
After missing a few weeks due to injury, Brian Westbrook was back in action and looking 100%. In a dominant performance against the Atlanta Falcons, Westbrook had 167 yards rushing, 42 yards receiving and two total touchdowns. Any injury questions should be muted after this performance.

WR Santana Moss, Washington Redskins
Coming into the 2008 fantasy football campaign, Santana Moss was a fantasy question mark. This year, he has exceeded virtually all expectations. In Week 8, Moss was again dominant as he had nine catches for 140 yards and one touchdown. He now has five touchdowns in his seven games.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Antonio Gates has once again claimed his spot at the top of the tight end mountain. It’s no surprise that he was the top performer in fantasy football for all tight ends. He finished Week 8 of the 2008 season with a touchdown to go along with 96 receiving yards.

Photo: Newscom

QB Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Although the Cowboys had a tough loss against the Arizona Cardinals, quarterback Tony Romo had a good day fantasy football wise. He had 321 yards and three touchdowns, including a late 70-yard connection with running back Marion Barber III.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars
Early in the game, Fred Taylor got shaken up and ended up missing most of the contest. Maurice Jones-Drew stepped in and filled in admirably, as he finished with 148 yards and two touchdowns. When given a healthy amount of touches, Jones-Drew is as deadly as any fantasy running back in the NFL.

WR Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
Andre Johnson is separating himself as one of the best wide receivers in the fantasy world. After a breakout game in Week 5, he backed that up with another great showing in Week 6. Johnson finished the game with 178 yards and a touchdown.

TE Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars
Even though Marcedes Lewis has had a very quiet season to date, many scouts continue to think he is a vastly talented tight end. He showed some of his potential in Week 6 with his 64 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars.

K Jason Elam, Atlanta Falcons
When Jason Elam left the Denver Broncos for the Falcons, many fantasy football owners thought he’d be in for a tough 2008 campaign. However, Elam has been very good so far this year. In Week 6, he had five field goals including the game winner against the Chicago Bears.

QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Despite an injury that almost forced him to miss the game, Aaron Rodgers produced a very good fantasy week in Week 5. He finished with three touchdowns and 313 yards. All wasn’t good for the Packers however as they lost the game against the Atlanta Falcons.

RB Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
Brandon Jacobs exploded in Week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks. He finished the game with 15 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Although some fantasy football owners were down on him entering the season, he has played very well thus far.

WR Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons
Big things were expected out of Roddy White this season but he has struggled at times with rookie quarterback Matt Ryan at the helm. But in Week 5, White still proved he’s a dangerous fantasy weapon as he had eight catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.

TE Chris Cooley, Washington Redskins
Chris Cooley can sometimes get lost in the Redskins’ offense but he was very visible in the Week 5 game. He was dominant on his way to eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.