Las Vegas at Arizona: Watch out for Las Vegas’ Marlion Jackson; he is the highest-scoring fantasy fullback/linebacker with an average of 13.3f fantasy points a week. He has 58 fantasy points in the last three games (an average of 19.3 an outing) and is emerging as a legitimate AFL force ... Randy Gatewood has rebounded from an 18-point day with 73 in the last two weeks. Play him.
Dallas at Philadelphia: For fantasy purposes, be wary of the Desperados the next two weeks. With the top seed in the National Conference already clinched, who knows how long they’ll use Clint Dolezel and other key players? Go ahead and play them this week, since the chance to go 8-0 on the road represents a point of pride, but if you’ve got a team filled with Desperados, you might not want to utilize all of them. But if the Desperados do sit some starters, the primary beneficiary thanks to an increase in field-goal attempts could be kicker Carlos Martinez ... Soul defensive specialist Eddie Moten has quietly become among the best at his position; with eight double-digit point days in the last nine weeks, he’s also very consistent and worthy of a start in your lineup.
Tampa Bay at Columbus: Destroyers placekicker Mark Lewis is pushing Los Angeles’ Remy Hamilton for the title of highest-scoring fantasy kicker, but the Columbus standout hasn’t put up consistent numbers the last five weeks, scoring 12, 4, 15, 8 and 17 points. Not a healthy pattern heading into this game, although for what it’s worth, Lewis’ total in “off” weeks has increased in that time ...
Georgia at New York: Dragons wide receiver/defensive back Mike Horacek had his first non-100-yard receiving game in seven weeks last weekend against the Philadelphia Soul. It didn’t matter; he still scored over 30 fantasy points and continues to be a must-start player. The same can’t be said for his teammate, defensive specialist Dahnel Singfield, who has just 20 fantasy points in the last three weeks combined since returning from injured reserved. He’d averaged 19 a game in the five weeks before getting hurt ... Force wide receiver/linebacker Derek Lee is worth playing again; 81 points in the last two games means that he’s back on track.
Utah at Chicago: Andy Kelly has averaged 35.0 fantasy points a game since joining the Blaze three weeks ago. That makes him a must-start and would have him at the league lead among quarterbacks. It’s also more than double his average of 17.4 points during his weeks with the Kansas City Brigade ...Even though Chicago’s Bobby Sippio had only 12 fantasy points last week, he’s a good play this time around. By signing him through 2007, the Rush ensured that he will be a part of their attack for the foreseeable future. Look for him to get back to around 30-35 fantasy points, which is where he was for his first two weeks in a Rush uniform.
Orlando at Kansas City: What we said earlier about Columbus kicker Mark Lewis applies to Orlando defensive specialist Khalil Carter. Since Week 10, he’s averaged 15.3 points a game in even-numbered weeks and 7.0 in odd ones. It’s Week 15, by the way ... Meanwhile, Preds fullback/linebacker Marlon Moye-Moore is just plain cold. Four fantasy points in the last two games – with no offensive statistics – pales in comparison with some of the strong fantasy days he was having earlier in the year.
Nashville at Los Angeles: A pair of double-digit point games for Kats fullback Dan Alexander make him a worthy play again; he also has touchdowns in each of these games and is a reliable goal-line option for the otherwise fading Kats ... Speaking of fullback/linebackers, Los Angeles’ Lonnie Ford has four touchdowns in the last three games
Colorado at San Jose: Think the Crush will win? Then play John Dutton. The Crush’s quarterback of four years has averaged 20.8 points per game in the team’s four losses this year and 34.5 in the team’s wins. Home versus road hasn’t made a difference; the Crush is 5-2 in both places. For what it’s worth, though, the Crush is unbeaten (2-0) and has won five straight games dating back to last year against teams with winning records like the SaberCats, who carry an 8-6 record into the contest ... Both Ben Nelson and James Roe were off their pace last week, but look for both to get back to their torrid streaks of recent weeks this weekend, as the Crush has a tendency to find itself in shootouts, giving up 52.6 points per game.
Grand Rapids at Austin: The Wranglers have given up some big numbers in the last month or so, and that could be perfect timing for Rampage WR/LB Anthony Hines, who bounced back from several subpar weeks last weekend with a 43-point fantasy effort. The Rampage’s place in the playoff strata means that Hines will have a little extra for which to fight. All the same goes for wide receiver Timon Marshall, who has 32 points a game in the Rampage’s last two contests.
