It's playoff time! In what should be championship week, FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled in order to provide answers to your possible lineup dilemmas. If you need further assistance, please feel free to shoot us an email question.I often write about the topsy-turvy fantasy football world. It's a love/hate relationship. You love it when it works out for you, and hate it when it doesn't.
This week's twist of fate? A New England quarterback is going to lead teams to their fantasy championship, and it's Matt Cassel. There have been ups and downs, but Cassel has shown himself plenty able to exploit poor defenses and turn that into monstrous fantasy points. The Arizona Cardinals are a terrible defense on the road, and they just allowed four touchdown passes to Tarvaris Jackson at home.
That post-Week 1 waiver priority move is going to pay big dividends if you are still playing this week and own Cassel.
More notes after the rankings.
1. Drew Brees, at DET
2. Peyton Manning, at JAX
3. Matt Cassel, vs. ARI
4. Jay Cutler, vs. BUF
5. Donovan McNabb, at WAS
6. Matt Schaub, at OAK
7. Philip Rivers, at TB
8. Kurt Warner, at NE
9. Tony Romo, vs. BAL
10. Tyler Thigpen, vs. MIA
11. Matt Ryan, at MIN
12. Aaron Rodgers, at CHI
13. Shaun Hill, at StL
14. Kyle Orton, vs. GB
15. Eli Manning, vs. CAR
16. Chad Pennington, at KC
17. Ben Roethlisberger, at TEN
18. Jeff Garcia/Brian Griese, vs. SD
19. Brett Favre, at SEA
20. Dan Orlovsky, vs. NO
21. Jake Delhomme, at NYG
22. Tarvaris Jackson, vs. ATL
23. Seneca Wallace, vs. NYJ
24. Marc Bulger, vs. SF
25. David Garrard, vs. IND
26. Ryan Fitzpatrick, at CLE
27. Trent Edwards, at DEN
28. Joe Flacco, at DAL
29. Jason Campbell, vs. PHI
30. JaMarcus Russell, vs. HOU
31. Kerry Collins, vs. PIT
32. Ken Dorsey, vs. CIN
Bust alert 1: Kurt Warner. He'll probably heave the ball 50 times and rack up some yardage, but the Cardinals haven't been playing well recently and they've been terrible out East all season.
Bust alert 2: Aaron Rodgers and the Packers tore the Bears to shreds last time around. The Bears pass defense has also been bad all season, so on paper this looks like a tasty matchup. I'm guessing on many other sites you'll see him ranked in the top five. The weather isn't going to be passing weather at all, though, and I suspect the Bears have made some adjustments since last time, especially since they'll have had 11 days since their last game. He's still a starter in most formats, as he has been all season, but I wouldn't just superficially assume he's an elite start.
- It's time to start falling in love with Matt Schaub, so you can carry it over to next season. The Texans have a prolific passing attack, and Schaub gets the pleasure of throwing to the best receiver in football. Even if Andre Johnson is blanketed by Nnamdi Asomugha, he'll be able to shake free for a few catches and the other receivers can thrive.
- As I've been saying for weeks, don't get caught up in the name recognition game with Brett Favre. They face a terrible pass defense in Seattle, but the Seahawks don't stop the run either. The Jets win ballgames by running the football and playing defense. This week won't be any different.
- Hail Mary sleeper? Dan Orlovsky, of course. He had a solid day on the road against a good Colts pass defense. Now he gets a bad pass defense -- New Orleans -- at home. He's throwing to a dude they call "MegaTron." Do the math, but also remember what "Hail Mary" means. Don't go getting all kinds of crazy and start him over an elite option. He is, after all, still Dan Orlovsky.
