QB Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
Does Brett Favre not realize he’s supposed to be way over the hill? Apparently not. In Week 12, Favre was 32-48 for 392 yards and three touchdown passes.

RB Justin Forsett, Seattle Seahawks
With Julius Jones missing his second straight game, Justin Forsett took advantage. On 22 carries, the small running back had 130 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

WR Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys
It’s impossible to say Miles Austin is a fluke at this point. On Thanksgiving, Austin had seven catches for 145 yards and one touchdown against the Raiders.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Padres
Proving he’s still very much elite, Antonio Gates had seven catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Going forward, Gates would be difficult to bet against.

Miles Austin is a legit fantasy football stud (Image: Zuma Press)

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QB Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
While most football fans are tired of Brett Favre retirement stories, don’t forget about how good he was at times last year. After four weeks, Favre had 12 touchdowns and only four interception. Late in the year his numbers suffered, however that could have been due to injury. Don’t underestimate his fantasy potential in 2009.

RB Edgerrin James, Seattle Seahawks
When you are the backup for Julius Jones, you come to the game ready to play. That’s where Edgerrin James finds himself at the moment. He’s Jones’ backup but it won’t take much for James to end up with the job. If he does, he’s still young enough to produce.

WR Isaac Bruce, San Francisco 49ers
Sure, the 36-year-old Isaac Bruce has seen better days but he could be a solid contributor this year. Last season, Bruce had five straight games with five catches in the second half of the campaign. Considering that all those games featured Shaun Hill at quarterback and Hill is the starting quarterback this season, that’s a good omen.

TE Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints
There’s no question that Jeremy Shockey struggled last season in his first year with the Saints. That said, injuries were a big part of his struggles. He’s still on the good side of 30 and will be playing in a pass happy offensive attack. Remember that this ist he same guy who had at least 60 catches and at least 6 touchdowns for three straight years while with the New York Giants.

Will Jeremy Shockey Bounce Back in 2009? (Image: Zuma Press)

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As for his 2009 fantasy football outlook, it’s safe to expect the unexpected with Favre — as has been the case for much of the last half decade. Some games he’ll look great, some games he’ll force the issue too much and rack up the turnovers.

With the Vikings, Favre’s fantasy ceiling is a bit lower than in other stops simply due to how the Vikings are built. Running back Adrian Peterson will remain the main focus on the offensive side of the ball. Add in the team’s very good defense and Minnesota likely won’t need Favre to carry much of the load. They’ll basically need him to keep the defense honest and limit his mistakes.

All in all, expected Favre to be your fantasy football quarterback starter in 2009 is probably asking too much. But as a backup, he should be an above average asset.

Brett Favre signed with the Minnesota Vikings (Image: Newscom)

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Is Brett Favre considering putting on a Minnesota Vikings' helmet? (Image: Newscom)

Even though Favre’s retirement game is getting slightly annoying, if he joins the Vikings and starts for the team at quarterback, he will definitely have a 2009 fantasy football impact.

Even though Favre is 39 years old and far past his prime, he showed glimpses of great play last year with the New York Jets. Compared to the quarterbacks that are currently in Minnesota (Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels), Favre would be an upgrade.

Last year with the Jets, Favre finished the season with 3,472 yards and 22 touchdowns to go with 22 interceptions. However, if you look closer at the numbers, Favre played much better near the beginning of the season. His play suffered down the stretch run, partly due to an arm injury.

Besides, the Vikings were the team Favre originally wanted to go to after leaving Green Bay. He’d have to be re-energized and focused on making the Packers regret their decision.

As far fantasy football value, Favre on the Vikings would make a solid backup quarterback option with a relatively high ceiling. Additionally, if Favre joins Minnesota, the stocks for all the receiving options will immediately rise.

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In his career, mostly spent with the Green Bay Packers, Favre passed for more than 65,000 yards and 464 touchdowns. He’ll be remembered for his courage, durability and his big play ability.

In the fantasy football world, Favre will be remembered as a quarterback who always gave your fantasy team a chance. On any given week, Favre was capable of exploding — even against great defenses. Near the end of his career, Favre had a resurgence and was once again a very sought after fantasy option.

In the 2009 NFL season, the Jets will have a lot of options at quarterback to replace Favre. If they are going to go with a player already under contract, Kellen Clemens would be the front runner. Before acquiring Favre last season, most league experts expected Clemens to get the nod at quarterback.

Outside of Clemens, the Jets could look going young with either Brett Ratliff or Erik Ainge. Ratliff is a 23-year-old QB out of Utah, while Ainge is a 22-year-old QB out of Tennessee. The Jets could also look to the 2009 NFL Draft and pick one of the top quarterback prospects.

A couple of final options are free agency or trade. The Jets traded for Favre last season so they might make another trade to find his replacement.

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RB Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quietly, Earnest Graham has been very good since becoming a starter. This season, he is averaging over five and half yards per rush. He also has three touchdowns and is a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. He doesn’t have great breakaway speed but he’s a solid football player who can produce for your fantasy football team.

WR Laveranues Coles, New York Jets
This season, Laveranues Coles has been thrust into the spotlight due to being one of Brett Favre’s main targets. The truth is, however, that Coles has been a very solid fantasy football wide receiver for a long while now. He makes up average size and average speed by having very good hands and running great routes.

TE Owen Daniels, Houston Texans
Many fantasy football owners overlook Owen Daniels because he hasn’t racked up many touchdowns over the last two seasons. What those owners are missing is that he has a very healthy amount of catches and receiving yards. And while it’d be great for him to have more touchdowns, those should come soon enough.

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RB Michael Pittman, Denver Broncos
While it’s never a happy feeling starting a running back against the New England Patriots, Pittman should have some success. He’s coming off of a very good week in Week 6 and the Patriots have shown some holes so far in 2008. Pittman is a sleeper to have a huge week this weekend.

WR Isaac Bruce, San Francisco 49ers
The matchup against the New York Giants looks daunting but the Cleveland Browns had success last week through the air against NY. If the 49ers can have similar success, Bruce will be in for a big game. He has emerged as the team’s go-to receiver and he looks to be in very good shape.

TE Donald Lee, Green Bay Packers
It appears as if Aaron Rodgers is slowly but surely adding tight end Donald Lee into the team’s passing attack. Lee, who thrived last season when Brett Favre was quarterback, has a better than average matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Consider Lee a fantasy football sleeper in Week 7.

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RB Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins
The last time the 2008 fantasy football world saw Ronnie Brown, he was scoring five touchdowns against the New England Patriots defense. With his value likely never to be higher, now is a good time to try to trade him.

Can Ronnie Brown keep it up or was Week 3 a flash in the pan.

WR Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers is banged up and Greg Jennings is coming off of a great game. If Rodgers goes down, Jennings’ stock will plummet. A sell high might very well be in order.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs
As long as Damon Huard is the quarterback for the Chiefs, Tony Gonzalez will have value. But that quarterback job in Kansas City is so tumultuous that it could change at any given moment.

D Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs have been very good so far in this fantasy football season. However, their schedule has been friendly and it is about to get a lot harder. Sell high if you have a buyer in your fantasy league.

Photo: Newscom

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QB Brett Favre, New York Jets
In Week 4 of the fantasy football season, Brett Favre had one of the best games of his life. The soon to be 39-year-old quarterback had six touchdown passes to go along with 289 yards.

RB Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs
Once upon a time Larry Johnson was a fantasy phenom. Those days might be coming back again if Johnson’s Week 4 production of 198 yards and two touchdowns is any indication.

WR Laveranues Coles, New York Jets
Favre’s favorite target on his historic day was Laveranues Coles. Coles finished the game with three touchdown receptions and 105 yards. All three of his TD’s were in the first half.

TE Zach Miller, Oakland Raiders
We named Zach Miller a Week 4 waiver wire starter and Miller didn’t disappoint. He finished the game against the San Diego Chargers with 95 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Photo: Newscom

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QB Matt Cassel, New England Patriots
Not too long ago, fantasy football owners were rushing to get their hands on Matt Cassel after Tom Brady went down injured. Now his fantasy stock has plummeted. But give the guy time and remember, he still has Randy Moss on his side.

RB Ryan Torain, Denver Broncos
Currently, the Broncos are using a three-headed monster at running back with Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Michael Pittman. That could all change when Ryan Torain comes back if he’s able to impress the coaches again.

WR Chris Henry, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals offense looks dead in the water. Chad Ocho Cinco doesn’t play like he’s related to Chad Johnson. That said, once Chris Henry comes back for Cincinnati following his suspension, he could become a very important part of that offense.

TE Dustin Keller, New York Jets
Brett Favre typically loves to pass to his tight ends, especially close to the end zone. While Dustin Keller has started off too amazingly, the rookie tight end for the Jets is starting to show signs of life. Keep an eye on him.

K Matt Prater, Denver Broncos
Jason Elam was the kicker for the Broncos forever. However, Matt Prater has stepped in and already has Broncos fans forgetting all about Elam. Prater has a strong long and should get plenty of opportunities in Denver’s high powered offense.

D New York Jets
The Jets defense hasn’t been too impressive yet this season but with all their free agent signings, this is a team that was bound to get off to a relatively slow start. Once they begin to mesh together, expect the Jets to become much better — especially defensively.

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