For most leagues, this is win or no soup for you week since in many cases, this is final week of the fantasy football regular season.
So we're going to focus on some of the key pickups you want to make this week to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
The most obvious one is Brian Westbrook. Monday night Frank Gore broke his hip and will be out the remainder of the year as the 49ers put him on injured reserve Tuesday. So in non-keeper leagues, feel free to jettison him from your roster. In his stead, you want to pick up Westbrook. You may remember Westbrook's fantasy goodness from his days as an Eagle. Given that he'd only had five carries all season before Monday night, there's a good chance Westbrook is going to remind you of those days the rest of the season.
Westbrook had 23 carries for 136 yards and a score. Fresh legs had something to do with that. So did a porous Arizona defense.
Not to be lost in the conversation is Anthony Dixon, who carried the ball 14 times for 54 yards and had one catch for minus five yards.
Westbrook is the guy you want going forward, but Dixon is worth stowing away on your bench if you have the space.
Another stud running back was injured over the weekend: Adrian Peterson.
The Vikings backfield horse has a sprained ankle; one that was bad enough that trainers would not let him back in the game. Enter Toby Gerhart, who hasn't been heard from since appearing at Best Buy Theater last fall for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Since finishing runner-up for the vaunted trophy, the Stanford product has been warming the bench for the Vikings. Now Gerhart also was hurt in the game with a shoulder stinger, but finished the day with 76 yards rushing and his first NFL touchdown.
Peterson has not practiced yet this week, and stashing Gerhart on your bench could pay dividends if Peterson is not able to go.
Another injury to pay attention to that of Shaun Hill. When he has played, Hill has been a solid fantasy QB. But his replacement is Drew Stanton, who is more along of the lines of Colt McCoy when it comes to fantasy value: not much. Hill has a broken index finger of his throwing hand and Stanton has been getting the reps with the first team. Hill may not play again this year, but Stafford could be back before the season is out. While Stafford has been sweet when he has played, he hasn't proven to be a bastion of health so I really don't like Stanton or trust Stafford going forward.
In other injured quarterback news, Ben Roethlisberger has been wearing a walking boot this week but is expected to play this weekend against Baltimore.
At wide receiver, find a spot on your roster for Ben Obomanu, who quietly has 10 catches for 246 yards and two touchdowns in the last two weeks. Seattle has been without Mike Williams and could be for a little while yet, so he's worth a flier.
In the realm of kickers, if you picked up Aaron Pettrey of the Bengals, head to the waiver wire since he was cut by Cincinnati. Another situation to keep an eye on is New York, where the Jets were auditioning Kris Brown for the struggling Nick Folk.
Start 'em
My top three quarterbacks this week are Michael Vick (vs. Houston), Matt Cassel (vs. Denver) and Peyton Manning (vs. Dallas). If you'd like to roll the dice with someone, I like Mark Sanchez against the Patriots, who are giving up the fourth most points per week to fantasy quarterbacks. A deep sleeper is Kerry Collins, who is looking like the starter for Tennessee this week against Jacksonville. If the starter is Rusty Smith, I don't like the matchup. Smith was horrendous last week with three interceptions.
My top three running backs this week are Steven Jackson (vs. Arizona), Jamaal Charles (vs. Denver) and Mike Tolbert (vs. Oakland). A nice sleeper is Matt Forte, who hasn't been the running back he's been in previous years due to Mike Martz's system, but he has warmed up in recent weeks and plays a Lions team that yielded 201 total yards to him and two scores. My deep sleeper is Felix Jones who plays the Colts this week. In the three weeks since Jason Garrett has taken the reigns as the head coach, Jones has averaged 111 total yards a game and has scored twice, which is two more times than he had in the weeks before that.
My top three wide receivers are Reggie Wayne (vs. Cowboys), Jeremy Maclin (vs. Houston) and Mario Manningham (vs. Washington). Mike Williams of Tampa Bay has a good chance of paying dividends this weekend as the Falcons should be leading, the Bucs should be throwing and Williams should be scoring since the Falcons are yielding the fifth most points to fantasy wide receivers. Taking a chance on Carolina's Steve Smith (remember when he was relevant) against Seattle could pay off as the Seahawks give up the second most points to wide receivers in fantasy football.
Sit 'em
Quarterbacks I'd steer clear of if I have better options are Carson Palmer (vs. Saints), Drew Stanton (vs. Bears) and Jason Campbell (vs. Chargers).
Running backs that might have a better home on the bench if you can afford it are BenJarvus Green-Ellis (vs. Jets), Ray Rice (vs. Steelers) and Brian Westbrook (vs. Packers).
The wide receivers I don't like are Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens (vs. Saints) and Michael Crabtree (vs. Packers).
Aaron Korte is the fantasy sports writer for The Advertiser-Tribune
