1) Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
Manning is on a role and should slice up the Chargers.

2) Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Rivers should be good for a couple touchdowns.

3) Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
Warner has been cold but thrives on big stage.

4) Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
Should throw plenty of passes this weekend.

5) Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Rookie keeps on surprising.

6) Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
Not a great start but could do well.

7) Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins
Going against a tough defense.

8) Tarvaris Jackson, Minnesota Vikings
Not very good.

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RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
It’s hard to call DeAngelo Williams anything other than a fantasy football phenom. Against a tough New York Giants defense, Williams had four rushing touchdowns and more than 100 yards. On the season, Williams has more than 1300 yards and 18 touchdowns.

WR Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints
Although he’s had a disappointing season on the whole, Marques Colston came up big in Week 16 of the fantasy football season. He finished the game against the Detroit Lions with two touchdowns, 99 receiving yards and nine catches. The nine receptions were a season-high and he doubled his touchdown total on the season with those two TDs.

TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesota Vikings
If you started Vishanthe Shiacoe, you are one happy fantasy football owner. The Vikings’ tight end had two touchdowns, 136 receiving yards and seven receptions. With this huge game, Shiancoe has officially elevated himself to stud status on the tight end market.

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RB Steve Slaton, Houston Texans
While Steve Slaton is a great story and has been a fantastic fantasy football pick this season, his stock likely won’t get any higher. Now would be a good time to sell considering that he’s a rookie who could hit a rookie wall at some point. Not only that, Ahman Green may start to split carries with him at some point.

WR DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles
Like Slaton, DeSean Jackson is a rookie — which means he hasn’t proven himself. For savvy fantasy football owners, that’s a reg flag. Add to that the fact that Kevin Curtis is coming back and Donovan McNabb has looked poor the last few weeks and now is a good time to shop Jackson.

TE Chris Cooley, Washington Redskins
After a huge Week 5 performance, selling high on Chris Cooley makes a lot of sense. A good chunk of his stats came off of trick plays, which can’t be counted on going forward. If you can sell Cooley at an inflated value, don’t hesitate.

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While a torn ACL is always serious, Rivers has made a speedy recover. He was active in the Chargers’ minicamp and he’s going to be ready to play for the Chargers in training camp. He probably won’t practice twice a day like everyone else but there’s no reason to believe he won’t be ready for the regular season opener.

That said, Rivers was an inconsistent last season as a fantasy football quarter. If you relied on Rivers as your fantasy team’s starting quarterback, you likely weren’t pleased with the way he played. Considering his inconsistent play last year and his torn ACL, he should enter the 2008 fantasy football season as a backup quarterback.

If Rivers suffers a setback, Billy Volek is waiting in the wings and has proven to be as good backup QB.

Photo: Newscom

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David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars
All season long, David Garrard proved himself as a heady quarterback who doesn’t make mistakes. Late in the season, he proved that he could produce through the air when needed. Heading into 2008, Garrard looks like he should be a solid fantasy quarterback option.

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
After a rocky season, Philip Rivers showed great courage in the playoffs by playing with a severe injury and likely gained the respect of his teammates. With an improving receiving corps, Rivers could breakout in 2008 for a big year.

Vince Young, Tennessee Titans
Vince Young’s disaster of a season in 2007 will likely scare off most fantasy owners. However, with a new offensive coordinator coming in and wide receivers who are maturing quickly, Young should be much improved in 2008.

Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age and lack of offensive weapons will likely cause Jeff Garcia’s stock to plummet. But as long as he remains the starter, Garcia should have a quality season. He’s smart and he’s consistent. In a backup role in fantasy football, he’d be a perfect fit.

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RB LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
Tomlinson missed time last week but should be fine this week. Even with an unsettled quarterback situation, Tomlinson is a safe start. Norv Turner likes to run the ball and he’ll stick with the run even if he’s down. Make sure Tomlinson gets the start. If he’s a late minute scratch, Michael Turner becomes a fantasy football viable player.

WR Plaxico Burress, New York Giants
Burress has a tender ankle that won’t be helped by the freezing temperatures in Green Bay. Unless you are desperate, look elsewhere. It’s being reported that this could be the coldest game since the Ice Bowl, so you don’t want a guy on your fantasy team who is trying to play on one leg on the frozen tundra.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Gates remains doubtful for the Chargers, however he is expected to play. If he’s in the starting lineup, he’s probably the best tight end option this weekend – even if he’s at only 50% of his regular self. The Chargers will need to pass to win and Gates is their best receiver.

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RB Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants
Bradshaw doesn’ t even start for the Giants but he’ s been impressive when carrying the ball. He actually leads the Giants in rushing yards in the playoffs and has just four less carries than Brandon Jacobs. The Green Bay Packers are a very good defensive team which could mean more Bradshaw because Bradshaw has big play ability that Jacob lacks.

WR Donte Stallworth, New England Patriots
Although it wasn’ t noticed by many people, Stallworth actually led the Patriots in receiving yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stallworth had a rollercoaster ride of a regular season statistically but he seems to be a valued weapon in the playoffs. There’ s a pretty good chance he’ ll breakout for a long touchdown against the aggressive Chargers defense.

TE Donald Lee, Green Bay Packers
Quietly, Lee has become one of Favre’ s favorite targets. When Favre is in trouble, he’ ll oftentimes look Lee’ s way. This becomes especially true around the endzone. Lee is a good athlete who greatly improved his route running this season to become a player who is on the doorstep of becoming an elite tight end.

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Let’s take a look at the four guys who are left playing this weekend:

Tom Brady, New England

Brett Favre, Green Bay

Eli Manning, New York (Giants)

Philip Rivers, San Diego(Questionable this weekend)

And here’s the four that got knocked out of the NFL playoffs last week:

David Garrard, Jacksonville

Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis

Tony Romo, Dallas

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RB LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
Tomlinson left the Colts game with a knee bruise in the first half. Michael Turner and Darren Sproles finished the game and both produced rather well. While obviously Tomlinson is the best running back on the team, don’t be surprised to see split carries next week if Tomlinson isn’t 100%. As shocking as this is to say, you might want to avoid Tomlinson in fantasy football this coming week.

WR Plaxico Burress, New York Giants
Burress was held to five yards against the Dallas Cowboys. Battling an ankle injury all season, Burress just doesn’t have the explosion that he had earlier in the season. Since this is a chronic injury, chances are he’ll continue to struggle next week against the Green Bay Packers. It’d be best do avoid Burress this week unless you want to take a chance on a high-risk, high-reward investment.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Gates shocked a lot of experts when he suited up for the Chargers against the Colts. While he wasn’t very effective (two catches, 28 yards), Gates showed great toughness by just being out on the field. If he feels better this coming week, he’s someone you could conceivably start – even against the Patriots. Gates is too good of a player to avoid for injuries or a bad matchup.

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QB Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Rivers has had a rocky season but the Chargers will need him to perform well against the Titans. When healthy, the Titans can defend the run rather well. If Tennessee stuffs the run, it’ll be up to Rivers to move the ball. He has good options on offense and should be able to produce. He might get intercepted a time or two in this game but he should be up decent enough stats.

RB Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
Jacobs quietly had over 1,000 yards this year despite missing a lot of time to injuries. Surprisingly enough, he struggled in the touchdown department – which was his specialty coming into this year. Against the Buccaneers, expect Jacobs to get all the carries he can handle. He’s relatively healthy and ready to prove himself as a lead back in the NFL.

WR Justin Gage, Tennessee Titans
With Roydell Williams and Bo Scaife out with injuries, Gage becomes the clear number one target for the Titans on Sunday. He had as many catches as anyone on the team and the other two biggest pass catchers are out. In Week 17, Gage had seven catches for 104 yards. While he had only two touchdowns on the year, Gage is one of the few healthy targets in Tennessee.

TE Alex Smith, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Smith is a player who struggled with injuries all season but now he’s healthy for the playoffs and should be a huge red zone target in Tampa Bay. In Week 16, Smith had six catches for 79 yards, so he’s capable of putting up some rather nice stats. He’s been hit-or-miss all season but in the playoffs, the Bucs are sure to at least look at one of the team’s most reliable weapons.

More Football News:

• BCS Frenzy
• Every Morning Quarterback
• Squib Kick
• Ultra Sports Bet

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