Quarterbacks

Must Start: The Top 10

1. Peyton Manning @ HOU - When 425 yards and three touchdowns is considered an "off" day, you know he's in the midst of a record-breaking season. Peyton now sits five shy of the magic mark and could very easily reach it this weekend against a Texans squad that has surrendered a league-worst 29 TD passes. It's the perfect fantasy storm (record-setting QB v. awful D), just in time for the playoffs.

2. Daunte Culpepper vs. SEA - He was badly outplayed by (gulp!) Chad Hutchinson last week and needs a big bounce-back game to get himself and the Vikes back on track. Enter the horrifyingly bad Seahawks D coming off a deflating loss and a short week. Expect Daunte to put up huge numbers in a game that promises to feature plenty of O and very little D.

3. Donovan McNabb @ WAS - Wait. I think he just threw another TD pass. Nope, false alarm. Stupid flashbacks. Don's first HALF against the Pack (303 yards and five scores) was likely enough to lead you to victory last week. He probably won't be as successful this Sunday against a tough Washington D but at this point, can you afford to bet against him? He's ALREADY set a career high for touchdown tosses.

4. Trent Green @ TEN - The Chefs have been nothing short of dreadful this year but imagine where they'd be without Green running the show. Despite questionable receivers and a decimated backfield, he keeps trucking along to the tune of 282.7 yards a contest and a stellar 95.6 rating. This Monday, he draws an equally disappointing Titans group forced to start two rooks in the secondary. Oh, goody!

5. Michael Vick vs. OAK - Despite a godawful performance in Tampa, Vick and the Dirty Birds seem to be the only legit team standing in the way of Philly and a trip to Jacksonville. That says a lot about the state of the NFC right now. If he didn't kill your playoff hopes last week, give him another look against a Raiders squad giving up lots of yardage and even more points (27.3 per game).

6. Jake Delhomme vs. STL - Predictably, Delhomme had his way with the Saints last week and now has his team in position for a playoff berth. Despite just one touchdown, he completed over 75% of his passes for almost three bills. He should surpass those numbers this weekend against a St. Louis team whose defensive numbers are deceiving at best (they've played Miami, Arizona, and San Fran twice).

7. Brett Favre vs. DET - Hard as it is to believe, you'd have been better off starting his backup, Craig Nall, against the Eagles last week. Of course, if you did that, you should probably be writing this column, as well. Don't expect a repeat performance on the now-frozen tundra this Sunday. He's too good not to bounce back against a suspect Detroit team he spanked in Week 6.

8. Matt Hasselbeck @ MIN - As promised, Favre's former understudy came up big on Monday night (414 yards, three scores, and no picks). Unfortunately, it was all for naught as his 'Hawks stole yet another defeat from the jaws of victory. Though still perched precariously at the top of the NFC West trash heap, a loss to Minny likely dashes their division title (not to mention playoff) hopes. Expect the pressure to bring out the best in Hasselbeck, if not his teammates.

9. Jake Plummer vs. MIA - Ugh. After teasing us with some brilliant mid-season performances, The Snake has reverted to form of late by missing open receivers and turning the ball over a bunch (four picks against SD). I wouldn't wanna rely on him heading into the playoffs but he's usually better at home and is facing a Miami secondary that made Drew Bledsoe look like Dan Marino last Sunday. If you can stomach the risk, give him a go.

10. Aaron Brooks @ DAL - Speaking of risk, Brooks wrote the book on it…and then penned a sequel on inconsistency and unfulfilled potential. Despite better-than-average receivers, a stud RB, and a porous D (the perfect fantasy equation, it would seem), he's thrown only 16 TD passes in 12 games. So why the recommendation? He faces a very un-Parcells-like Dallas D giving up almost 250 yards and over two touchdown passes per game.

Grab A Helmet:

Vinny Testaverde vs. NO - Thanks to the emergence of Julius Jones, the 'Boys are starting to look at least somewhat Parcells-ian on the offensive side of the ball. Nobody benefits more from the resurgent running game than Jones' owners and, surprisingly enough, Vinny. He's always been better as a supplementary weapon and, facing a terrible Saints D, should post solid numbers this Sunday in Big D.

Drew Bledsoe vs. CLE - Bledsoe may have thought he was still playing for the Tuna last week as he went circa-1996 on the usually stingy Dolphins (277 yards and four scores). I wouldn't count on him doing that the rest of the way but the matchup with Cleveland is awfully enticing. Go ahead and start him if you managed to make the playoffs with him at the helm. Of course, I'll need to know if you actually did that.

Billy Volek vs. KC - Shootout alert! Volek fills in for the injured McNair again in a game that promises to look a lot like last Monday night's game (read: points aplenty). He wasn't half-bad against Indy (269 yards and three TDs) and should find the KC secondary just as accommodating.

Carson Palmer @ NE - The matchup appears unfavorable but anybody who completes 29 of 36 passes for almost 400 yards and three scores against Baltimore (!) (and wins (!!) deserves the benefit of the doubt. At the very least, he'll be forced to chuck it more than 40 times this weekend. Though several of those passes could end up in the wrong hands, I'm betting several more (two or three) could end up in the right ones (Chad Johnson's). Give him a go if you can't do better.

Tom Brady vs. CIN - On second thought, if you're the risk-averse type, you should probably just stick with Mr. Two-time Super Bowl MVP. His numbers were down last week thanks to a whole lotta running (50 attempts) and a lopsided score. The game should be better this week (no, seriously) and I gotta think he's gonna take a few shots against a susceptible and young Bengals secondary.

Byron Leftwich vs. CHI - Amazingly, he hasn't thrown for more than two TDs in a single game this year. In fact, he's only pulled that trick twice. Nevertheless, he seems poised to have a pretty big game against a Bears team that simply doesn't have the talent to compete with most teams. Not to mention, SOMEbody's gotta put the ball in the end zone for the Jags since it clearly isn't gonna be Fred Taylor…ever.

Grab A Clipboard:

Chad Hutchinson @ JAX - Leftwich's adversary this Sunday is coming off one of those head-scratcher performances that leaves you asking yourself: where the hell did THAT come from? I don't know where the 213 yards and three TDs came from but I know where they're going: bye-bye. You'd have better luck catching lightning in a bottle than getting a duplicate performance from Mr. Hutchinson.

Patrick Ramsey vs. PHI - See above. Then check out who he's playing. There's no WAY you made the playoffs starting Ramsey on a regular basis and now is not the time to start doing that.

Kyle Boller vs. NYG - You know how I feel about projections but at this point in the season (just four games to go), they're probably pretty accurate. His projected TD total? Nine. NINE!!! Nein.

Eli Manning @ BAL - Lucky for Boller, he won't be the worst QB on the field this Sunday. That dubious honor will belong to Peyton's kid bro, whose numbers in three-plus games leave MUCH to be desired (485 yards, one TD, five picks, and a 41.3% completion rate). Better days lie ahead but don't expect miracles this season and especially not against the Ravens in Baltimore.

Luke McCown @ BUF - The other kid bro, McCown, actually looked pretty good last week against the Pats (277 yards and two scores). Nonetheless, it's awfully dicey relying on rookies this late in the campaign, especially when they're starting just their SECOND pro game…in Buffalo…against the Bills' stellar D. You get the picture. Find someone else.

Running Backs