Pressure mounts for team owners amid playoff fever
Take a deep breath. Inhale with me ... two, three ... exhale with me.
The fantasy football playoffs officially have commenced, and some seasons are ending just as some are truly beginning. Seven of my nine head-to-head format teams advanced to the playoffs (I'm also in a points-only league), and I've never been more nervous.
I've suffered only one crushing defeat, by .13 points, and already I want to take a long walk off a short pier. Seriously, this isn't good. I'm scared what I might do if Tony Romo all of a sudden chokes.
Oh no, I jinxed us. I mean him.
What's happening to me? Somebody stop me.
On to the locks of the week.
MONEYMAKERS
Top-tier players who should perform to their value:
• Tom Brady, New England quarterback vs. New York Jets: Consider this my mea culpa. After I inexplicably pegged Brady as a bank-breaker against the Steelers last week, I feel I owe him an apology. I feel bad for the J-E-T-S, though, as Brady will continue to show me up this week. Shockingly, Yahoo! projects Brady for a pedestrian 320 yards and 2.9 touchdowns. Against Mangini, I'm thinking more like 710 yards and 121 touchdowns. OK, that might be overboard -- more like only 450 yards and five scores. Only.
• Ryan Grant, Green Bay running back vs. St. Louis: Last week, I bumped Grant up to wingman status. Now, he takes another leap, up to the moneymaker slot. The kid is gooooood. In his last five games, we're talking 558 yards and five touchdowns.
• Jason Witten, Dallas tight end vs. Philadelphia: Terrell Owens again will attract plenty of attention from the Eagles' secondary, and few in the league are tougher than Witten at going up the middle.
WINGMEN
Midround picks who should feast on favorable matchups:
• Jamal Lewis, Cleveland running back vs. Buffalo: Nearly half of Lewis' performances have been fantasy gold mines, including Week 14's 137-yard, two-touchdown offering. He'll give the Bills fits this week.
• Chris Cooley, Washington tight end vs. New York Giants: My boy Cooley has been aces the past four weeks, averaging more than 90 yards per game and scoring twice. Overshadowed by spectacular positional performances earlier this season, Cooley once again is ranked among the top tight ends.
• Donte Stallworth, New England wide receiver vs. New York Jets: The Jets stink, Bill Belichick wants to run up the score, and Randy Moss hasn't always been the top target against bad pass defenses. Stallworth gets in the mix with a big one today.
BANK-BREAKERS
Top-tier guys who won't perform up to their value:
• Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh quarterback vs. Jacksonville: After tossing five touchdowns against Baltimore (on just 16 throws, mind you), Roethlisberger has just six scores over the last five weeks, against five picks. More worrisome, his yards-per-attempt average has dropped to 5.8 in consecutive games against Cincinnati and New England in Weeks 13 and 14. Expect the Jags to bottle him up again.
• Edgerrin James, Arizona running back vs. New Orleans: I officially have leapt off the Edge bandwagon, if there even is one anymore. The gold-toothed Cardinal has lost his, well, edge -- only two 100-yard games this season and just 3.8 yards per carry.
• Torry Holt, St. Louis wide receiver vs. Green Bay: Thirty-one years old and balding, Holt has been the Energizer Bunny, tallying more than 1,000 yards on 80 catches. He crossed the 1,000-yard threshold for the eighth straight year; still, I don't expect a big game against the Packers.
QUICK PICK SIX
The best bets for the week, based on value:
Witten, Stallworth, Grant, RB Aaron Stecker (vs. Arizona), QB Kurt Warner (vs. New Orleans), QB Jeff Garcia (vs. Atlanta).
Jon Gold is a Review-Journal sportswriter with 10 fantasy football teams. His column is published Friday. He can be reached at jgold@reviewjournal.com.
