QB Eli Manning, New York Giants
Although the Giants lost, it wasn’t due to Eli Manning. Peyton’s little brother finished with 391 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

RB Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans
There’s no doubt that Chris Johnson is the best player in fantasy football this season. He proved it again by scoring three more touchdowns in Week 14 while racking up the yardage.

WR Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos
Not only was Brandon Marshall’s performance the best of the week, it was one of the best performances of all-time. He set an all-time record by catching 21 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

TE Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts
Even though Dallas Clark only had five catches for 43 yards, three of those five catches were for touchdowns. That made his fantasy owners very, very happy this week.

Chris Johnson is just disgusting (Image: Zuma Press)

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The fact that it was a non-contact injury could be bad news. Sometimes when tendons or ligaments pop, it happens when no one else is around.

The good news for Manning, the New York Giants and the fantasy football world is the fact that Manning was able to walk around after the game. However, be sure to keep a close eye on his health this week.

Backing up Manning on the Giants is David Carr. If you have Manning, you may consider picking up Carr off of the waiver wire. That said, Carr has failed so often in fantasy football that you’d probably be better off looking elsewhere — or praying that Manning is indeed okay.

Eli Manning - New York Giants (Image: Zuma Press)

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Fantasy football owners around the world didn’t like hearing the news that Plaxico Burress has been suspended for a game for skipping a team meeting. Burress has developed into a fantasy football hoss and a touchdown machine. Now his owners will have to make do without him — all because he missed a team meeting.

With Burress out of action, the Giants will have to look elsewhere for production at wide receiver. The good news in that New York is packed with a ton of solid wideout options. Amani Toomer, Sinorice Moss, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon all are available for the Giants to help replace Burress during the game he’s suspended.

Toomer is the obvious choice for the player who will see a rise in targets. However, Smith is a good bet to catch a solid amount of passes with Burress out. In fact, Smith caught seven passes in Week 3 with Burress out.

If you want to take a flier on a sleeper, go with Domenik Hixon. In the preseason, Hixon was dominant at times and he could be the best equipped to replace Burress’ ability to beat defenses vertically.

Eli Manning will miss Burress but luckily for him he’ll have plenty of other options to pick from when he drops back to pass.

Photo: Newscom

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Plaxico Burress, New York Giants
Many worried about Plaxico Burress and his leg injuries heading into the 2008 season. However, in the first game of the season, Burress proved he’s feeling good. He finished the game with 10 catches for 133 yards.

Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
Getting a bit over two-thirds of the carries for the Giants, Brandon Jacobs looked really good. He was powerful and showed very good burst. If he stays healthy, he could have a big year. Jacobs finished the game with 21 carries for 116 yards.

Eli Manning, New York Giants
Although he started off on fire, Eli Manning really cooled down as the game went along. Although he was passing the ball well to Burress, the rest of his passes looked a bit off. Manning didn’t have a passing touchdown but he was able to score a rushing touchdown.

Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
Although he didn’t have a hugely productive game, Portis was very involved for the Redskins. If you have Portis on your team, you know that he will get a lot of touches each and every game. Portis finished the game with 84 rushing yards.

Antwaan Randle El, Washington Redskins
Antwaan Randle El didn’t have much fantasy football love heading into the season but his performance in the first game may turn a few heads. Playing in a new offense, Randle El had seven catches for 73 yards. If he keeps it up, he could become a fantasy option soon.

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Derek Anderson – While he did very well last season, Derek Anderson has an relatively inexperience receiving corps and a high profile backup.

Carson Palmer – Even though he is very talented, Carson Palmer is on a team that is heading downward and has a sometimes loony lead WR.

Marc Bulger – With Issac Bruce gone and Torry Holt aging, Marc Bulger is no longer the fantasy stud he used to be a few years ago.

Eli Manning – Don’t let a Super Bowl victory blind you to the fact that Eli Manning has been a very average fantasy quarterback.

Aaron Rodgers – While Aaron Rodgers does have good weapons offensively, inexperienced quarterbacks spell fantasy football disappointment.

Jon Kitna – With Mike Martz out of town, Jon Kitna’s numbers will take a big tumble during the 2008 fantasy football season.

Matt Leinart – Not only will Kurt Warner likely see playing time once again, Matt Leinart appears to be more of a partier than a football player.

Here is a video of Matt Leinart partying during the offseason:

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For the Giants, they had to make this trade because the team’s relationship with Shockey appeared to be broken. After the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl last season without Shockey, rumors spread that Shockey was unhappy and that New York would look to trade him. In return for Shockey, the Giants are getting a second rounder and a fifth rounder in the 2009 draft.

For the Saints, this could pay huge dividends. While Eric Johnson did a decent job last year as the starting tight end, Shockey is a big improvement. When healthy and playing hard, Shockey is one of the best tight ends in the league. He will help the Saints get back to their high scoring ways. Specifically, Drew Brees could really benefit from having a new red zone target.

In terms of fantasy football, the expect Shockey to but up his career averages with his new team. No one should really be negatively affected in the Saints offense, as Shockey is more of a complementary player.

Jeremy Shockey will now limp to the New Orleans Saints.

Photo: Newscom

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At first, many expected Shockey to be traded. The Giants showed they could win without him and Shockey’s outlandish personality seemed like a bad fit. However, in recent weeks, it appears more and more likely that Shockey will remain with the Giants.

According to reports, Shockey’s rehab is going well. He’s working out in Florida and chances are that he’ll be ready to go by the start of the 2008 NFL regular season.

With the Shockey trade rumors all but dead, the only question mark is whether he can get fully healthy. If he can, Shockey will once again be considered a top ten fantasy tight end prospect. If Eli Manning can keep improving, Shockey could become a top five prospect.

If Shockey can’t recover from his injury or the Giants end up trading him, Kevin Boss would become the new starter. Boss was the rookie tight end who helped lead the Giants to the Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots. Boss doesn’t have nearly the fantasy appeal and would likely be a backup tight end prospect in fantasy football.

Photo: Newscom

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It wouldn’t be a shock to see the Giants make a trade. Shockey is a good player but he has an overbearing personality on the field. Some experts around the Giants have suggested that Shockey’s injury allowed Eli Manning to grow into more of a leadership role with the Giants. Bringing Shockey back into the fold would mess with their proven Super Bowl championship level chemistry.

Additionally, Kevin Boss (Shockey’s backup at tight end) played well for the Giants in the playoffs last season. He’s not as good of a receiver but he has good hands and he’s a good blocker. His team-first personality was also praised throughout their postseason run.

If Shockey is traded, the team that seems to be most interested is the New Orleans Saints. This comes as a bit of a surprise because the Saints have two solid tight ends under contract in Eric Johnson and Billy Miller. Johnson and Miller combined to come up with big plays for New Orleans last year. Although, it’s undeniable that Shockey would be an upgrade for the Saints. The Saints would likely offer draft picks to the Giants in their trade offers.

Another team that makes sense is the Detroit Lions. The Lions are desperate for a star tight end and Shockey would be a good match for their passing offense.

Check out this Jeremy Shockey tribute video:

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Don’t expect too much. Sure, he was great in the playoffs, but his regular season stats have actually been getting worse over the years. He had 23 touchdowns and 3,336 yards to go with 20 interceptions during the regular season. In fantasy football, that’s not very good production.

While he should put up better numbers in 2008, don’t expect him to turn into Peyton Manning overnight. If he goes for 26 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, that’ll be a big improvement out of what we’ve seen out of him during his three seasons as a full-time starter.

His wide receiving core will be back and he has some young options that should get better next season. The team on a whole will be more confident and that should help Eli. However, his real life fantasy football success just doesn’t carry over well to the fantasy world. In 2008 fantasy football drafts, Eli Manning will likely be picked higher than his true worth. Let someone else make that mistake.

• Eli on the Today Show
• Giants Parade Celebration
• Giants Football Blog

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RB Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants
Ahmad Bradshaw came off the bench and again provided a spark for the Giants. On nine carries, Bradshaw led the Giants with 45 yards rushing. With starter Brandon Jacobs being held to only three yards per carry, Bradshaw’s production was vital for the Giants. He won’t get much recognition but Bradshaw was one of the many heroes for New York.

WR David Tyree, New York Giants
Who? That’s the question you would have likely asked before the start of the Super Bowl. But David Tyree came up with one of the greatest catches in NFL history when the Giants needed it most in the fourth quarter. After Manning scrambled to buy time, Tyree jumped and made a one-handed catch that will be replayed millions of times between now and however long the NFL is in existence.

Simply amazing pass from Eli Manning to David Tyree …

TE Kevin Boss, New York Giants
I’ve praised him a lot since he took over for Jeremy Shockey and Kevin Boss didn’t disappoint. Although he only had one catch, the catch was a 45 yard completion that helped the Giants move the ball down the field when they desperately needed to do so. Boss also provided solid blocking all night. Throughout the playoffs, Boss showed enough that the Giants may opt to trade or even release Shockey.

New York Giants Defense
Amazing, amazing performance by the defense. The Giants flustered Tom Brady all night long and the pounding was enough to wear out Brady and end his magical season. After playing horribly in the first two weeks of the season, the Giants picked it up and became dominant throughout the rest of the year. Against the Patriots, the Giants defense shined bright.

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