Each week when compiling this report, I take into consideration not only the individual players mentioned, but also the state of their teams and their opponents, team schedules, historical player performance, inclement weather (when applicable), and of course, injuries. This is a dynamic, stat-driven article that aims to assist you in making the right roster decisions for your fantasy squad. Your feedback is important to me, so please keep the emails coming. Got a specific roster question relative to your team? Fire away.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Thanks for all the emails this season and cheers to those of you who are playing in a Championship Game!

Quarterbacks

Start 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Outperform Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype

Philip Rivers @ TEN
Rivers is looking for his career-best 12th straight game with a TD pass; he has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 13 of 14 games this season. The young QB is an amazing 17-0 in December games in his career, which isn’t critical in fantasy, but shows what kind of a quality QB Rivers is. He has 8 TD and 3 INT in his last 4 games, averaging 317.5 passing YPG in that span. The Titans pass defense has improved since their Week 7 bye, yet they still rank 31st out of 32 teams, allowing 265.1 YPG and 28 aerial TDs. Rivers gift to his fantasy owners won’t be under their tree, but he will likely leave it for them on the green grass of LP field.

Aaron Rodgers vs. SEA
Aaron Rodgers needs only 38 passing yards to become the first QB in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in each of his first 2 years as a starter. He has thrown 2 or more TDs in 10 of 14 games this season, including 4 of the last 5. Rodgers has been as steady as steady as they come, with Week 14 being his one bad fantasy game this season. Rodgers should be in line for a big game this week. The Seattle Seahawks rank 29th in the NFL against the pass; they have allowed an average of 249.4 YPG and have been burned 26 times through the air.

Schaub has thrown for more than 350 yards five times this season.

Matt Schaub @ MIA
Schaub has thrown for more than 350 yards 5 times, tops in the NFL, including 365+ yards in his last 2 games. He has completed 70% or better of his passes in 4 consecutive games and 6 of his last 7. He has 25 TD passes despite losing TE Owen Daniels early in the season. The Dolphins have not been particularly bad against the pass (233.8 YPG, 23rd), but they have given up 15 passing plays of 40+ yards, which bodes very well for Schaub and his favorite target, WR Andre Johnson. Matt has been good to you all year, he’s given you every reason to believe in him on Sunday.

Bench 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Under Perform Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype

Peyton Manning vs. NYJ
Of course Peyton Manning can put up great numbers against the Jets, but will he? Fantasy owners of Colts studs face annually face this dilemma at this point in the season. I was burned in a Championship game when Joseph Addai got pulled after the first quarter of a contest in 2007. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know when, or if, the Colts will rest their starters. You also have to consider that Manning’s numbers in one half could be just as good, if not better, than a full game of whoever your backup is. However, if you have a quality alternative, certainly give him some consideration. The Jets by far have the best pass defense in the NFL. They have allowed just 8 aerial TDs and an average of 159.8 passing YPG. They are not prone to giving up the big play and CB Darrelle Revis is making a name for himself as a shutdown corner. The Jets will not lie down for the Colts and their pursuit of history.

Eli Manning vs. CAR
Manning has thrown a career-best 26 TDs through 14 games and he is 179 yards shy of setting a new personal best for yards passing. He has 6 TDs and 0 INTs in his last 2 games and has been playing at a high level for several weeks now. I don’t think he’ll hurt you this week but it’s not fair to expect big yardage totals against the Panthers. They have been stingy against the pass this season, holding opponents to an average of 192.6 YPG, intercepting 19 passes while allowing just 13 aerial TDs. In the last 2 weeks, Carolina held QBs Brett Favre and Tom Brady under 200 passing yards and it would not be surprising if Eli finished with 1 TD and about 200 yards through the air.

Donovan McNabb vs. DEN
Donovan McNabb threw 2 INTs last week against the 49ers. It was just the 10th time in his last 76 starts (and 2nd this season) that he has thrown multiple INTs in one game. Like Eli and Peyton above, McNabb has it in him to have a big game this week. His matchup, though, dictates that he could have some trouble. The Broncos have the NFLs #2 ranked pass defense, allowing opponents an average of just 177.5 YPG. They have allowed 15 aerial scores and have intercepted 14 passes. The 241 passing yards they allowed to QB Tony Romo in Week 4 are the most by any team against Denver this season.

Running Backs