Fantasy Football Week 16: All I Want For Christmas Is A Championship

By Tim Bearden in News on Dec 24, 2011 4:45PM

It's been a tough season, but congratulations on making it to the championship round. You've studied and read and watched every game in anticipation for this week. Now it's time to prove your worth.

It's fitting this championship week falls at Christmas time. But those with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger don't feel the cheer as he has been ruled out. Charlie Batch will start in his stead. Sorry Matt Forte owners, but you didn't get your Christmas wish either. The Bears running back is also out again this week with his sprained knee. Kahlil Bell was visited by Santa and gets the start over the also injured Marion Barber.

With that said, let's see who's going to get you the league crown this week.

Starts:

1. Tim Tebow (QB) - The Broncos quarterback is continuing to put up good fantasy numbers. The loss to New England is irrelevant as no one expected Denver to win anyway. Tebow still threw for 194 yards and rushed for 93 more and two touchdowns. A struggling Buffalo Bills team shouldn't be much of a challenge.

2. Charlie Batch (QB) - The Rams may be 8th in the league in defense in yards per game, but they're still giving up 206 yards on average to quarterbacks and only have 11 interceptions on the year. Batch may not have played in a while, but this is a good match-up for his first start of the season.

3. Donald Driver (WR) - Greg Jennings has been ruled out again this week, which opens up the door for Driver to get more looks from Aaron Rodgers. Sure, Rodgers does spread it around, but with the Bears in a bullet spiral in the wrong direction, he's got a good chance this week to produce.

4. A.J. Green (WR) - He's produced pretty well all year and the Bengals are playing the Cardinals, who are currently 23rd in the league for passing defenses. He's listed as probable and, if he plays, he should be a solid starter this week.

5. Brandon Marshall (WR) -New England still struggles through the air. Marshall should get some good production this week.

6. Roy Helu (RB) - It's hard to suggest a Mike Shanahan managed running back, but Helu has been a good producer for the Redskins. He's listed as questionable, but expected to play and against Minnesota. He has potential to do very well.

7. Jerome Simpson (WR) - This is a sleeper pick. He's been pretty quiet all season in the shadow of Green, but Andy Dalton will need to spread the ball around more against Arizona. He could see more targets than usual.

8. Felix Jones (RB) - With the Eagles handing the Cowboys the worst defeat of their season, it's understandable that Jones would get more production. Tony Romo only threw for 206 yards in their last meeting with one interception. Jones should get a lot of carries as their air attack seems to be stiffled against the Eagles.

9. Philip Rivers (QB) - It's been difficult to recommend starting Rivers this season, but Detroit is starting to fall apart in the secondary. He could have a big production day with Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson active.

10. Greg Olsen (TE) - it's not the best match-up this week, but it's certainly not the worst. Olsen has been one of Newton's regular targets all season. There's no reason to believe he won't be today.

Sits:

1. Josh McCown (QB) - The Bears can't settle on a quarterback after the season-ending injury to Jay Cutler. McCown is getting the start over interception nightmare Caleb Hanie, but he hasn't started since 2007 and was coaching high school football before his return. Not only is he probably not in full playing shape, but he also is playing QB for the struggling Bears. Not a likely candidate to do well.

2. Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB) - With the Bills continuing to struggle, this should be an easy sit. The Broncos are hot and bucking to go to playoffs. Neither the match-up nor the circumstances are in Fitzpatrick's favor.

3. Mike Thomas (WR) - He may be poised to return, but a concussion injury can linger and hinder his performance. Don't expect much production from him this week.

4. Dez Bryant (WR) - He didn't do very much against this Eagles defense during their last match-up and there's no reason to think this week will be any different.

5. Marshawn Lynch (RB) - I don't care if he is one of the better backs in the league right now. The 49ers defense hasn't allowed a rushing TD all season, an NFL record. They also haven't allowed a rusher to reach 100-yards in their last 36 games, also an NFL record. Don't let yourself get hanged by Lynch today.

6. Darren Sproles (RB) - Atlanta is one of the top five rushing defenses in the league in yards per game. Not allowing an average of more than 96-yards per game rushing, that doesn't speak volumes for Sproles' numbers this week, especially if he splits any time with Pierre Thomas.

7. Earl Bennett (WR) - With Knox out with a season-ending back injury and Hester listed as questionable, it would be reasonable to think Bennett could see some work. Even if he does, it's McCown behind center. Too unpredictable to trust.

8. Ryan Grant (RB) - The Bears did let Lynch get the best of 'em last week. But in a heated rivalry with playoffs not mathematically out of the question, there's no reason to believe the defense can't bounce back and limit run production. It also doesn't hurt the Packers are on a one game losing streak.

9. Brandon Lloyd (WR) - Against the Steelers D? Fuh-get about it. Lloyd may be a good receiver, but he's on a bad team with a back-up quarterback. This is not a favorable match-up by any stretch of the imagination.

10. Bears (D/ST) - I know I just sung praises to their running defense, but their secondary hasn't been much to brag about overall and Rodgers is an elite quarterback. They may stop the run, but they may lose a lot of points through the air. It's best to change defenses this week.

That's it, that's your start/sit list for Championship Week 1. Come back next week to see who can help you finish your opponent off.

For everyone else, there's always next season:

Also, follow me on Twitter (@tdbearden) for last minute news and advice this Saturday from 10 a.m. to kickoff. Hashtags: #CFF and #FantasyFootball.