Week 14 QB Rankings

So normally I don't rank QBs before the Thursday games, but this week was an even easier deicision as that game showed us some of the worst QBs in the game. Luckily, Sunday will be a lot different. With playoffs on the line, I find it very hard to trust Romo after he was a letdown again. Keep that in mind.

1. Peyton Manning
2. Matthew Stafford
3. Drew Brees
4. Tom Brady
5. Nick Foles
6. Cam Newton
7. Josh McCown
8. Ryan Fitzpatrick
9. Russell Wilson
10. Philip Rivers
11. Tony Romo
12. Andrew Luck
13. Robert Griffin III
14. Joe Flacco
15. E.J. Manuel
16. Eli Manning
17. Matt Ryan
18. Colin Kaepernick
19. Alex Smith
20. Mike Glennon
21. Ryan Tannehill
22. Carson Palmer
23. Ben Roethlisberger
24. Andy Dalton
25. Jason Campbell
26. Matt Cassel
27. Matt McGloin
28. Kellen Clemens
29. Geno Smith
30. Matt Flynn/Scott Tolzien

#3 Drew Brees/#5 Nick Foles - (#5/#3 on Fantasy Pros Consensus Rankings)
Foles has played at an amazing level this year without a doubt. This week he has another great matchup against the generous secondary of the Lions. However this is Drew Brees we are talking about, and Drew Brees at home! Brees has an excellent 19:3 TD:INT ratio at home. This includes tough matchups vs the Cards and 49ers where he threw for over 300 yards in both. The Panthers should be no problem.

#8 Ryan Fitzpatrick - (#15 on Fantasy Pros)
This is another one of those rankings that is aggressive and could pay off or could end poorly, so keep that in mind. But he has had some decent games. We've seen QBs like Alex Smith or even Tony Romo step up and play their best against Denver. Fitzpatrick can do that as well.

#11 Tony Romo - (#8 on Fantasy Pros)
Romo is so frustrating. He has a great matchup last week and really let me down. This week the matchup is much less enticing. He could very easily do well, but I'm not confident.

Deeper Thoughts: As you can see, very little faith in Andrew Luck. Its another bad matchup and he has really been average since Wayne got hurt. Joe Flacco is probably your best bet in the unowned tier of QBs after Fitzpatrick. Its a good matchup and one where I could see him getting a few deep balls off. Colin Kaepernick has played well lately, but I want absolutely no part of him against the Seahawks. No. Way.

Week 14 WR Rankings

1. Calvin Johnson
2. Andre Johnson
3. A.J. Green
4. Brandon Marshall
5. Dez Bryant
6. Josh Gordon
7. DeSean Jackson
8. Torrey Smith
9. Vincent Jackson
10. Alshon Jeffery
11. Antonio Brown
12. Demaryius Thomas
13. Jordy Nelson
14. Mike Wallace
15. Wes Welker
16. Victor Cruz
17. Pierre Garcon
18. Larry Fitzgerald
19. Keenan Allen
20. Kendall Wright
21. Eric Decker
22. Cecil Shorts
23. T.Y. Hilton
24. Harry Douglas
25. Michael Floyd
26. Dwayne Bowe
27. DeAndre Hopkins
28. Riley Cooper
29. Rueben Randle
30. Rod Streater
31. Roddy White
32. Danny Amendola
33. Julian Edelman
34. Nate Burleson
35. Nate Washington
36. Steve Smith
37. Golden Tate
38. Brian Hartline
39. Michael Crabtree
40. Hakeem Nicks
41. Anquan Boldin
42. Brandon LaFell
43. Marques Colston
44. Dexter McCluster
45. Emmanuel Sanders
46. Kris Durham
47. Doug Baldwin
48. Ace Sanders
49. Ted Ginn Jr.
50. Jacoby Jones
51. Stevie Johnson
52. James Jones
53. Andre Holmes
54. Miles Austin
55. Chris Givens
56. Robert Woods
57. Marvin Jones
58. LaVon Brazill
59. Greg Jennings
60. Marquise Goodwin
61. Kenny Stills
62. Terrance Williams
63. Tavon Austin
64. Jerricho Cotchery
65. Jarrett Boykin
66. Jerome Simpson
67. Santana Moss
68. Justin Hunter
69. Cordarrelle Patterson
70. Lance Moore
71. Tiquan Underwood
72. Eddie Royal*
73. Brian Quick
74. Marlon Brown
75. Santonio Holmes
76. Mohamed Sanu
77. Donnie Avery
78. Mario Manningham
79. Rishard Matthews
80. Greg Little
81. Jarius Wright
82. David Nelson
83. Andre Roberts
84. Stedman Bailey
85. T.J. Graham
86. Jason Avant
87. Kenbrell Thompkins
88. Darrius Heyward-Bey
89. Mike Brown
90. Darius Johnson

#2 Andre Johnson - (#7 on Fantasy Pros Consensus Rankings)

Not afraid of the Thursday game. And I'm not sure if you noticed but the Jags just got destroyed by a #1 WR. That could very easily happen again here. Its possible the Texans continue to suck, but I think they can play well here and they should.

#8 Torrey Smith - (#11 on Fantasy Pros)

The knock on Torrey in the middle weeks was that he wasn't getting TDs. He now has 3 in his last 4 and has a great matchup. Strangely his yards have come down a bit as he started to score, but this is a matchup where he could and should put up big yards and get a score as well.

#10 Alshon Jeffery - (#5 on Fantasy Pros)

Obviously a very solid matchup for Jeffery and he has become a great WR no doubt. But I will continue to be adamant about the fact that he is second to Marshall, and that means that most weeks only one of these guys is going to be great. In a bad matchup, Marshall should flourish, which will cost Jeffery a bit, but he is still very good as well.

#13 Jordy Nelson - (#18 on Fantasy Pros)

Its hard to say whether the hate on Jordy has gone too far. Without Aaron Rodgers, its always a risk to start him. Against the Falcons though? I have to believe someone ends up doing well here, and the odds favor the best receiver, and that is Jordy.

#14 Mike Wallace - (#26 on Fantasy Pros)

I know, I must be crazy right? This could go down as one of my worst rankings. But I do believe in guys playing extra well against their former teams. Even discarding that, I think its a great matchup for Wallace. The Steelers are old and have a tendency to get burned by speedy guys. We saw that with Torrey and Josh Gordon. While Wallace isn't on their level of talent, he has a similar skillset, and all it takes is one big play. You can bet he will get a number of those deep ball targets too.

Deeper Thoughts...If you have Eric Decker you have to start him. But he could score 5 points as easily as he could get 20. Prepare for potential frustration. I really like Cecil Shorts in a PPR this week, and as a flex in standard. Also a good matchup for DeAndre Hopkins as a flex. We all know Riley Cooper is boom or bust and its a good matchup, but he is far from a guarantee. Play with caution. I'm not sold on Roddy White. Even in a solid matchup, I think Matt Ryan will do much worse here. I like Michael Crabtree quite a bit in weeks 15 & 16, but this week he faces Seattle, thats an obvious no. In face I have no faith in any part of the 49ers this week, that includes the up and down Anquan Boldin as well. In the flier category you have Andre Holmes. There was a good chance he was picked up after last week. I'm not much of a believer, but if you need to take a risk he is a good option. LaVon Brazill is another one. He got 8 targers last week. Its possible.

Week 14 55 & 5 RB Rankings

1. Jamaal Charles
2. Matt Forte
3. Adrian Peterson
4. Knowshon Moreno
5. Eddie Lacy
6. DeMarco Murray
7. Reggie Bush
8. LeSean McCoy
9. Marshawn Lynch
10. Le'Veon Bell*
11. Alfred Morris
12. Andre Brown
13. Maurice Jones-Drew
14. Fred Jackson
15. Ben Tate
16. Frank Gore
17. Bobby Rainey
18. Shane Vereen
19. C.J. Spiller
20. Chris Johnson
21. Zac Stacy
22. Giovani Bernard
23. Steven Jackson
24. Ryan Mathews
25. Chris Ivory*
26. Rashad Jennings*
27. Danny Woodhead
28. Ray Rice
29. Donald Brown
30. Pierre Thomas
31. Stevan Ridley*
32. Andre Ellington
33. Joique Bell
34. Mike Tolbert
35. Lamar Miller
36. Rashard Mendenhall
37. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
38. Darren Sproles
39. Chris Ogbonnaya
40. Montee Ball
41. Willis McGahee
42. Dennis Johnson
43. Jonathan Stewart*
44. Bilal Powell
45. Darren McFadden
46. Roy Helu
47. Jacquizz Rodgers
48. James Starks
49. Robert Turbin
50. Michael Bush
51. Bernard Pierce
52. Trent Richardson
53. Antone Smith
54. LeGarrette Blount
55. Jordan Todman

#7 Reggie Bush - (#10 on Fantasy Pros Consensus Rankings)
I've been one of the people promoting Reggie's Home/Away splits all year and specifically how he doesn't get enough work on the road. So I'm still a bit concerned about that here against an Eagles defense that has been kind of decent lately. But I still really like this matchup for the Lions and I think he will do well enough that he is pretty much a must start.

#11 Alfred Morris - (#14 on Fantasy Pros)
Morris has definitely been somewhat disappointing over the past few games. He has had a few tough matchups. The Chiefs are actually vulnerable against the Run, and I do believe Morris will take advantage of that.

#12 Andre Brown - (#8 on Fantasy Pros)
I was low on him last week and he ended up with a solid game solely because of two TDs. He has a somewhat tough matchup this week and he'll need touchdowns again to do well and with this offense I have a hard time seeing him continuing to get as many goal line opportunities as he does.

#14 Fred Jackson - (#24 on Fantasy Pros)
Fred Jackson didn't have a great YPC last week, but I was still impressed with his play. Now he gets a much tougher matchup so its hard to predict how he will do, but he is still their goal line guy and there is no doubt about that. If he gets the opportunities, it will be a good day.

#15 Ben Tate - (#12 on Fantasy Pros)
Tate's situation is one where you probably have to start him, but I wouldn't feel good about it. He just came off a 3 TD performance, but right before that he faced the Jags and got completely owned by them. Now on a Thursday in Jacksonville? Its hard for me to feel super optimistic, but its hard for me to be super cautious after last week as well. So this is where I put him. He is clearly the #1 and the guy they want to be #1, otherwise Dennis Johnson would have been after getting more carries and looking better against JAX the first time.

Deeper thoughts...Bobby Rainey has obviously quieted down quite a lot, but after seeing Steven Jackson rumble against this Bills defense a lot, I like Rainey quite a bit this week. C.J. Spiller broke out last week, but this week is not a great matchup. But for Spiller its always just a matter of whether he gets a big run or not. Thats also how it works for Chris Johnson, to a lesser extent. I see this as a game that the Titans will throw a lot in. CJ2K gets involved in the passing game but it will still lower his opportunities quite a bit. Its a shame Rashad Jennings got hurt because he was running away with the RB1 job in Oakland. Now its probable that McFadden will get a decent amount of touches in a 60/40 share or something similar. I really like this matchup for Andre Ellington. I think it could easily be a game where he has one or two big runs and never stops, but you don't want to bank on it with the way he is used.