Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, January 18th – 3:00 PM Eastern
Both teams were able to win a pair of road games to make it to this point. Not too long ago, both squads were struggling but they’ve turned it around. That said, the Eagles should be able to win this game and advance to the Super Bowl. The Cardinals will be at home but the Eagles have the better defensive unit and the better defense.

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, January 18th – 6:30 PM Eastern
Arguably the two most physical teams in the NFL will play against each other in Week 3 of the fantasy football players. While this game should definitely be low scoring, the Steelers have the edge due to having the better offense. The Ravens have a rookie quarterback at the helm and that will likely come back to haunt them at some point in these playoffs.

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RB Willie Parker, Pittsburgh Steelers
Willie Parker proved that playoff experience is important. The former Super Bowl hero had a fantastic week against the Chargers. Parker was by far the best RB this week as he totaled 146 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
With Anquan Boldin sidelined due to injury, Larry Fitzgerald once again came up huge. Against a tough Carolina Panthers defense, Fitzgerald had eight catches for 166 and a touchdown grab. If Boldin is out next week, Fitzgerald will undoubtedly be the wide receiver to have on your fantasy squad.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Rivers looked to Antonio Gates early and often and Gates performed well. He had five catches for 59 yards and looked as healthy as he has all season. After two strong playoff performances, Gates will remain one of the most sought after tight ends next year in 2009 fantasy football drafts.

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RB Darren Sproles, San Diego Chargers
Filling in for an injured LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles had a monster game. For any fantasy owners who rolled the dice and went with Sproles, you were well rewarded. He had 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Overall, he had more than 300 all-purpose yards on the day.

WR Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts
Although the Colts lost, it wasn’t Reggie Wayne’s fault. Wayne finished the game against the Chargers with 129 yards receiving and a touchdown. His touchdown put the Colts in good position to eek out a win but the Chargers surprised many by advancing in overtime.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Antonio Gates went through some struggles in the regular season but he was very good against the Colts. He had a big catch in overtime in which he fought for the first down by carrying a couple Colts players with him. All in all, Gates looks strong and should be a good start in playoff fantasy football going forward.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Don’t miss these interviews:

• New York Giants – WR Amani Toomer
• Green Bay Packers – RB – Ryan Grant
• New England Patriots – QB – Tom Brady

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By Guest Blogger, Ron Bishow

The playoffs may not have any direct fantasy implications, but it can be a very telling time when looking for players who might be worth drafting next season.

When you get into crunch time coaches only go to the guys they really have faith in, and quarterbacks only throw to players they have total faith in. It is one thing to go with a guy during the regular season, but when jobs are on the line you don’t fool around.

These are the players that you have to keep a tab on next season for your fantasy draft along with the regular names. Players that could mean the difference between winning and losing, and here is just a sample of a few that have distinguished themselves so far this postseason.

Ryan Grant
Grant has been putting up huge numbers the second half of the season (he has the second most rushing yards behind LT) but his playoff game against the Seahawks have clinched him as a first round pick next season. Those 201 yards and three touchdowns have proven he can be a starting back in the league, and what makes him perfect for the Packers is his big play ability. Green Bay will always be pass first as long as Brett Favre is playing, but Grants ability to take any run to the house means that he can put up good numbers no matter how few carries he gets.

Marion Barber
Barber is an All-Pro and a touchdown machine (huge for me all season) and he finally got a start in the Cowboys playoff game against the Giants. Even though they lost he had over 100 yards and a TD in the first half and I think Dallas has finally seen that he can be a full game player. Julius Jones may find himself in another city next season, which would mean Barber would immediately become one of the top ten running backs in the league. He cannot be tackled on the first hit.

Greg Jennings
I have always been a big Jennings fan, I have drafted him each of the past two seasons, and he has always been productive. People have always been afraid to draft him to high do to the presence of Donald Driver, but it seems it will turn into more of a Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne situation. He had 12 touchdowns this season and two against the Seahawks, in other words he is turning into Favre’s favorite scoring target.

Eli Manning
The other Manning has been able to put up some solid fantasy games every few weeks sprinkled in with some terrible games. After two straight solid efforts in the playoffs where he has not thrown a pick he seems that he might have figured it out. He will never be a guy you would start every week, but he may be someone you draft as a backup and not be totally scared to play anymore.

Laurence Maroney
There was no more disappointing first round draft pick this year then Maroney, I should know he was my first round pick and by week five I wasn’t even playing him anymore. It wasn’t all his fault, the Patriots pretty much pass every down, but all of a sudden he is starting to show why he was so popular last season. 122 yards in the playoff game against Jacksonville, which followed two touchdowns in the season finale against the Giants and 156 yards the week before. If they give him the ball he will gain yards. But how many people will bite on him twice?

Stay tuned for the championship rounds to see if these guys keep in up (except poor Barber) or if some other strange name comes out of nowhere, after all this is the NFL.

Ron Bishow has been reporting on the sports world for the past seven years for AOL, Tribune interactive and CO-ED Magazine among others. He is such a fantasy sports fanatic he plays fantasy NASCAR. He is currently a contributing writer and video producer at newyork.metromix.com.

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Tom Brady Man Crush Video (very amusing)

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
Tomlinson has some bad blood from last year’s elimination at the hands of the Patriots. He wasn’t happy with how Patriots players acted after beating the Chargers in the playoffs. That should give him a little extra juice heading into this matchup. Although Tomlinson was hurt last week, reports indicate that he should be fine this week.

WR Randy Moss, New England Patriots
While Brady has a lot of options to throw the ball to, his best and biggest option remains Moss. When in doubt, Brady looks to Moss to come up with a big play. Moss has responded all year and there’s no reason to think he won’t respond this weekend. If the Chargers try to make Moss beat them, Moss if fully capable of destroying the Chargers’ secondary.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
If Gates is healthy enough to play, he might be the Chargers best chance of winning this week. If Gates can get open early and often, he provides a huge mismatch for the Chargers to exploit. Near the endzone, Gates becomes a great target for the Chargers. However, keep an eye on how healthy he is this week during practice.

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RB Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers
Grant had two early fumbles last week but bounced back and had a huge performance. With over 200 yards on the ground, Grant answered any pending questions regarding whether he’s tough enough to strive in the playoffs. Against the Giants, expect the Packers to try to establish a run game so the Giants aren’t able to send as many blitzes as they sent against the Dallas Cowboys.

WR Amani Toomer, New York Giants
Toomer had three touchdowns during 16 regular season games. In two playoff games, he already has three touchdowns. With Plaxico Burress slowed with an ankle injury, Toomer has become Eli Manning’s main option. While Favre has a handful of options, Toomer is a hot receiver who Manning will no doubt look at for big production this week.

TE Kevin Boss, New York Giants
While Boss hasn’t been very active so far in the playoffs, he remains a vital part of the Giants’ offense. Especially when the team is in the red zone, Boss might become the team’s best receiving threat. The Packers are good at stuffing the run and their corners are very good. That means Boss will need to produce in those situations for the Giants to have a chance.

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But are you sure that we should all count out Brett Favre? Maybe the old man can pull out a Super Bowl win.

Here is the schedule for next weekend:

AFC Championship
San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots
Sunday, January 20, 2008 – 3:00pm ET (CBS)

NFC Championship
New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers
Sunday, January 20, 2008 – 6:30pm ET (FOX)

For all the latest NFL information, check out Every Morning Quarterback and Squib Kick, where David Kindervater and James Edwards provide news, opinions and analysis.

I still can’t believe the “Other Manning” is the one that’s left!

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By Guest Blogger, Ron Bishow

I know you really shouldn’t judge a player after just two seasons in the NFL but I am just not that impressed with Vince Young.

In 15 games this season Young passed for 2,546 yards with just nine touchdowns and a mind-boggling 17 interceptions. And for all his running prowess he only had three rushing TDs. Those are really bad numbers, not just for fantasy, but in real life as well. I just don’t see the player pundits were screaming was going to be the player that the Houston Texans would lament not taking first overall in the draft.

Yes, I know they made the playoffs and that everyone keeps defending him by saying he just knows how to win games. I think it is the defense that knows how to win games, and he just comes along for the ride. Just look at his Titans solid effort against the highly favored Chargers in the first round of the playoffs. They lost 17-6 and he threw for 138 yards and a pick, not exactly inspiring numbers.

Think about it, everyone keeps ragging on Eli Manning’s performance throughout his career, compared to Young he is Joe Montana. Manning passed for 3,336 yards this season and 23 TDs against 20 picks. Not great, but hardly anemic, and he has led the Giants to the playoffs for three straight seasons. He also threw two touchdowns in a playoff win last week against the Bucs.

When you look at Young you have to look at Michael Vick. In the beginning of Vicks career he was winning games purely on athleticism and people loved him for it. He beat Green Bay in Lambeau and people cheered. Then after a few years people started to question his passing accuracy and his smarts and soon he was considered an underachiever.

Both Vick and Young have big arms but didn’t always seem to know where they were going with the ball. Both thought run first, and with Young hobbled this year and forced to stay in the pocket you see where he weaknesses truly lie with passing the ball. Yes, I know neither player had great receivers on their squad, but neither did Tom Brady before this year.

Young was 19th in fantasy points at the QB position this year with 159, just behind Jason Campbell and just ahead of Marc Bulger and Sage Rosenfels who both barely played half a season. Some people drafted Vince this year but next year you can bet people won’t be looking at him till the 12 round at the earliest. Not exactly what you would expect from a top three pick in the draft. Expect Young to be ranked in the lower third of starting quarterbacks come 2008 fantasy draft time.

I don’t want to rain on the Titans parade, and I am not saying that Vince Young won’t become a stud, but I just see more Mike Vick then say Donovan McNabb. And remember where Michael Vick was getting drafted in fantasy last season.

Ron Bishow has been reporting on the sports world for the past seven years for AOL, Tribune interactive and CO-ED Magazine among others. He is such a fantasy sports fanatic he plays fantasy NASCAR. He is currently a contributing writer and video producer at newyork.metromix.com.

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