Austin at Orlando: Wranglers fullback/linebacker Dane Krager now has four consecutive double-digit fantasy point games and has scored touchdowns in three straight contests. He’s a good pick here as Austin goes for home-field advantage in the first round ... Red flag alert: The Predators’ own Web site said that Orlando “may rest” quarterback Joe Hamilton. It doesn’t mean he won’t start, but he might not finish the game, so be cautious and look for a quarterback from a team that still has something to play for other than maintaining the health of its players.
New York at Dallas: And we continue the theme of Week 16: Beware of teams playing meaningless games ... like the Desperados, who fell hard last week in their loss at Philadelphia. But also take note of the fact that Clint Dolezel is six touchdowns away from the league’s all-time record. That would equal a pretty good fantasy day, and something tells me Dallas will leave him in just long enough to have a shot at the record.
Arizona at Colorado: Rattlers WR/DB Randy Gatewood hasn’t had less than 30 fantasy points in over a month, and has averaged 46.2 points in the last five games. Be wary, though ... he’s an extensively experienced veteran and the Ratts have nothing to gain with a win; their first-round home date is already set ... The Crush, meanwhile, still needs a win to repeat as the top seed in the American Conference, and can ill afford to leave open the possibility of San Jose claming the top spot, since they’ve never won at the HP Pavilion. Sounds like a call to Damian Harrell, who continues to work on all-time season. Give John Dutton a play, too, since he’ll be the triggerman who tries to get Harrell to some historic milestones.
Kansas City at Utah: If you have Siaha Burley, play him; he has 74 fantasy points in the last two weeks thanks to back-to-back 138-yard, three-touchdown outbursts ... The Brigade benched Chris Sanders for Raymond Philyaw last week. Look to other teams for offensive players this week, and we’ll revisit the Brigade’s offense in 2007.
Chicago at Grand Rapids: Anthony Hines’ best game of a midseason slump came against the Rush, when had 25 fantasy points. He’s averaged 34.0 points in the past three weeks and has scored seven times in that span ... The player to watch in this game, though, is Chicago’s Bobby Sippio, whose 217-yard, six touchdown day last week lit up the scoreboard and the faces of fantasy owners who kept him on their teams.
Philadelphia at Georgia: Soul defensive specialist Eddie Moten has gotten on a roll when his team has needed it most, and is a good fantasy pick this week, having increased his point total for six straight weeks, culminating in a 25-point effort last week to help his team sweep the Desperados ... The Force was getting good production from the FB/LB slot with Robert Thomas; Kevin Aldridge hasn’t quite made up for Thomas’ injury absence the last two weeks with only 11 fantasy points. Best to stay away from this position for the Force ... Georgia WR/LB Derek Lee is hard to figure out. Either he’s above 30 points or he’s in the teens or worse. He hasn’t had a game anywhere in between since Week 4, when he scored 20 fantasy points. Ugh. These feast-or-famine players are tough to project. All I can say is that he’s had four days this year in which his fantasy point total was in the teens before last week’s 13-point effort, and he’s averaged 38 fantasy points in the games that followed. There. I just talked myself into playing him.
Tampa Bay at Nashville: Continuing my stream of consciousness, all bets are off for the Storm this week. How will the team respond as it plays with no chance at the postseason for the first time in its history? If I knew the answers to such questions for certain, I wouldn’t be writing about football for a living. Nevertheless, I like Lawrence Samuels in a situation like this; he’s a prideful player who had a good 30-point game last week in the team’s loss at Columbus ... Nashville’s Dan Alexander is a good pick at fullback/linebacker, with rushing touchdowns in three consecutive games. He’s also second among fullback/linebackers in fantasy points per game with 12.
Las Vegas at Los Angeles: Los Angeles’ Kevin Ingram hat 32 fantasy points in the Avengers’ last game against the Gladiators, but has been in a slump lately, with just 43 fantasy points in the last two games (21.5 average), about one-third below his season pace of 31.6 fantasy points per game. Ingram is still the Avengers’ top point producer, and I think he’ll go out with a bang this week and get back to the 30-50-point efforts he routinely turned in earlier this season ... Right now, the best fullback/linebacker in the league from a fantasy perspective is Marlion Jackson. If he’s not on your team now, remember him for next year. His ability to get points as a pass-catcher sets him apart at his position.
Columbus at San Jose: John Kaleo has been a solid signal-caller for the Destroyers as they’ve worked towards what they hope will be their first playoff bid since moving to central Ohio. His fantasy numbers haven’t necessarily reflected this, though; in fact, the only Destroyer near the league lead at his position among fantasy players is kicker Mark Lewis ... Of the two players listed at wide receiver/linebacker for the SaberCats, Ben Nelson is the one to ride this week instead of James Roe; he’s been more consistent in recent weeks and has gone over 30 fantasy points in seven of the SaberCats’ last nine games.
