Fun & Fantasy : The Rocky Mountain News

Consistency key for pitchers

All major league pitchers — with the exception of Tim Wakefield — are hard throwers. All have the ability on a given night to show flashes of excellence, and consistency is everything.

In many ways, Week 17 is a crapshoot. Normally reliable starters sit out much or all of their games, and backups often rule the day. So, for better or worse, here are my picks to roll, or get rolled, among players on the Week 17 bubble in standard fantasy leagues:

Fantasy football matchup meter

Complete fantasy football rankings based on this week's matchups for all the major positions (based on a combined yardage/scoring system of 4 points for a passing touchdown, 6 points for a rushing/receiving touchdown, 1 point for every 25 passing yards, 1 point for every 10 rushing/receiving yards):

Week 17 Matchup Meter

Below are complete fantasy football rankings based on this week's matchups for all the major positions (QB, RB, WR, TE, K, team defense). They are based on a combined yardage/scoring system (4 points for a passing touchdown, 6 points for a rushing/receiving touchdown, one point for every 25 passing yards, one point for every 10 rushing/receiving yards).

Peterson likely to bear the load

There's only one week left to forecast. We'll focus exclusively on Week 17 before filing our final Stock Watch next week on who we expect will be the sleeper and busts of 2008.

Injuries mar championship weekend

Most fantasy leagues schedule their title matches in Week 16 so championships can be contested with a full complement of reliable playmakers. After all, nothing is more anticlimactic than playing for all the marbles with a ragtag assortment of backups and starters sleepwalking through one last, meaningless regular-season game.

Can this year's leaders repeat?

Let's look at NFL leaders heading into the final game of Week 16 and attempt to forecast whether a repeat can be expected in 2008.

Turnovers prove Eli is ordinary

Somehow the Giants were able to win at Buffalo despite four turnovers from Eli Manning, but that's not going to hold up in the playoffs.

Week 16 Matchup Meter

Stock watch

Week 15 was hopelessly destroyed by a nor'easter that wiped out many heretofore fantasy heros. The stakes are even higher in Week 16. Weather is something we can't forecast midweek. But we do know now that some stars may be playing half-heartedly, if at all, given that 80 percent of playoff spots and seed are locked up.

Today's game: Run first

Despite 40 years of data that shows that passing the ball more efficiently than your opponent leads directly to victory, NFL head coaches today seem as eager to run as their iconic hero, Vince Lombardi.

Stealing points on kicker, defense

Talk about a messy batch of fantasy football results - that's what we got in Week 15. Nasty winter conditions took their toll in several stadiums, and plenty of normally reliable players pitched their worst efforts of the season (Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Derek Anderson and Antonio Gates among them).

Fantasy Bad Breaks Week 15

Peyton Manning, QB, Colts – His 5-yard TD scramble was overturned on a replay challenge.

Fantasy superstars drop, flop when it counts

When Brian Westbrook intentionally sat down at the Cowboys' one-yard line after a 24-yard burst, opting to run out the clock rather than stake the Eagles to an 11-point lead with just over two minutes to go, a fault line opened in the fantasy universe. Countless owners fell into the fissure, hands stretching desperately for the brass ring that only seconds earlier seemed within their reach.

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