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It's been said in his space on numerous occasions that the tight end position holds plenty of depth this season. The argument was to not panic if you missed out on any of the big names during the draft, because you'd find an equally serviceable option in the end. And if anything Week 1 simply enhanced the notion, with at least 11 of the top 20 projected tight ends going over 60 yards and 11 total TDs mixed in. That's pretty solid if you ask me.

And so, this week we're gonna take the leap for Todd Heap. He was mentioned last week by R.J White as a sleeper for Week 1. Well, nobody should be sleeping this time, as he gets to face the Chargers who were simply awful against tight ends last season. And you may also recall that Zach Miller just throttled them on MNF. That said, Heap appears healthy and has a growing rapport with Joe Flacco. As for the rest of the rankings let's take a look.

1. Dallas Clark, IND at MIA
2. Tony Gonzalez, ATL vs. CAR
3. Chris Cooley, WAS vs. STL
4. John Carlson, SEA at SF
5. Jason Witten, DAL vs. NYG

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I'm just gonna be real right now: Your fantasy league should be over. It's one of those things about which we've all pretty much made an unwritten pact. When people like Peyton Manning will likely not be playing because their teams want them to rest, you shouldn't have a fantasy relevant game. That's why we don't play in the preseason.

All that being said, there are leagues out there with a championship game this week. Since we are committed to helping you win your league title no matter what, we'll still be helping you out. In lieu of positional rankings -- due to a limited audience -- we'll sift through each position and give some pointers. We'll also examine guys who need to play well, as well as those who won't factor at all.

Feel free to leave specific lineup questions in the comments section, and we'll answer. We'll also be having a shortened -- yet quite effective -- Tailgate Sunday morning.

Again, we want you to win ... even if that means supporting you when your league is mishandled.

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 gave up on John Carlson after Week 12. He was fresh off back-to-back clunkers and besides I had the emerging Dustin Keller waiting in the wings. Fast forward to today and now Keller has hit the skids, while Carlson has gone off for 19 catches, 250 yards and a TD over the past three weeks.

Yes, playing the tight end field in fantasy football is all about catching the hot hand. And Carlson along with Dallas Clark and Tony Gonzalez qualify as hot hands and surefire bets this weekend. If you're looking to gamble a lit bit this weekend (not always highly advised for the playoffs), give Jeremy Shockey another chance...it's the Lions. Also, look to Jerramy Stevens against the Chargers who frequently get torched by tight ends.

The usual suspects Antonio Gates and Jason Witten draw a couple of tough matchups, but you have to trust your studs. Gates got a little more involved last weekend and Witten put up decent numbers, considering the swirling controversy. You drafted these guys high for a reason and it happens to be this weekend.

And now for the rest of the ranks...

1. Tony Gonzalez, MIA
2. John Carlson, NYJ
3. Dallas Clark, @ JAC
4. Jason Witten, BAL
5. Antonio Gates, @ TB

Like we always do just after Monday Night Football, it's time to recap the week that was in fantasy football. Hey, it's go time folks. That's right, it's playoff time. There's very little time to prepare as the games start coming at you four days a week. You've gotta be on your toes -- there's no more gambling, no more getting cute. You roll the dice with what you've got and hope for the best.

Another week of fantasy football is in the books. And chances are you fit into one of few camps right now -- you're either really depressed and your season is over, or you're ecstatic and live to fight another day. Either way, it's the beginning of the end on a great season of fantasy football. The long journey was well worth the ride, win or lose.

However, let's not close the book just yet. Oh no, this coming weekend marks the championship/money round for many folks. And as you ignore Christmas shopping, work and family to quietly prepare for this all-important week ... be sure to follow the trends of Week 15.

At one point early in the second half, the St. Louis Rams had out-gained the Seattle Seahawks by nearly double. They did not, however, close out the game on offense or defense. When the dust settled, the Rams only amassed nine more yards than the Seahawks, and they ran 10 more plays. They also won the time of possession battle by nearly eight minutes. And they still came up short.

Just in case anyone thinks Jim Haslett is really going to retain this job because of winning his first two games, today was yet another reminder on how the Rams need to dismantle this team. Richie Incognito was penalized with regularity, the offense fumbled twice -- one was taken back for a touchdown -- and solid offensive efforts from Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson were wasted.

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

The separation between Tony Gonzalez and his counterparts this year can't be measured simply be the disparate statistical gap. In the preseason buzz, when everyone was content that Jason Witten had finally overtaken Antonio Gates as the "must have" tight end, many forgot about Gonzo. Yup, we all heard were the whispers about the "Big 2," and oh my how we all forgot this was still the "Big 3."

Gonzo has delivered reliable lines every single week to serve as a reminder. At this point in the season, it's nearly impossible to pry him from the head and shoulders above all No. 1 ranking. And we should expect him to punish Denver this weekend and reward all those who just knew there was gas left in the tank. The tight end position continues its whirlwind of flux, but now more than ever you have gotta award two key rookies as they close in on the upper echelon. Yes, Dustin Keller and John Carlson continue to pay dividends and are knocking on the fantasy stardom door. Can't you hear them knocking?

It's been said in this space for the past few weeks, but outside of Gonzo there is no hotter commodity at tight end right now than Keller and that's why he makes the leap into the top five this week. He continues to be prime target for Brett Favre as he and his receivers struggle to get on the same page.

As for Antonio Gates, you've gotta think history is on his side with the Raiders, but for Jason Witten it's hard to feel so comfortable when one has to face the Steelers. The list for solid TE matchups actually goes fairly deep this week. Even if you were to roll out Jeremy Shockey against Atlanta, that wouldn't be all that bad. That means... you shouldn't have to dig all that deep to find your security blanket for this all important fantasy weekend.

And now on with the ranks...

1. Tony Gonzalez, @ DEN
2. Dallas Clark, CIN
3. Antonio Gates, OAK
4. Dustin Keller, @ SF
5. Jason Witten, @ PIT

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

Just two weeks ago, this position was absolutely depleted; the shallowest of fantasy positions. All of a sudden, Week 10 brought us some incredible success for such a specialized position ... and now looking at this week's matchups, it's really tough to go wrong here.

The top seven are obviously solid plays, especially Tony Gonzalez, who would be a weekly must-start at this point if he played WR.

Look past that group, though. Would you be having any reservations playing Donald Lee against the Bears? Todd Heap, Vernon Davis, and Zach Miller would be decent options, but they are ranked in the 17-20 range.

Dustin Keller and Kevin Boss are beginning to break out in New York.

Visanthe Shiancoe, Greg Olsen, and Bo Scaife have become extremely trusted options for their quarterbacks.

Finally, John Carlson (pictured), the rookie from Notre Dame, will enjoy having Matt Hasselbeck under center again, and I look for him to receive the most targets and catches in Seattle this weekend.

1. Tony Gonzalez, vs. NO
2. Dallas Clark, vs. HOU
3. Kellen Winslow, at BUF
4. Antonio Gates, at PIT
5. Jason Witten, at WAS

Value Machine checks the current value of non-obvious names -- no Tony Romo or Brian Westbrook here -- for owners looking to scope out the trade market.

For the record, the most egregious thing about Ed Hochuli's snafu is being overlooked by everyone. I officiate high school -- I understand I'm far less qualified to complain than an NFL official, but this does make me more qualified than someone sitting at their computer claiming the "refs cheated" -- and the worst part about the call was the fact that the ball went backwards. Even if Hochuli thought, in real time, Jay Cutler's arm went forward, the ball still went backwards. A backwards pass is a loose ball. How the referee can't see that from even with the QB is beyond me. People keep talking about the whistle, but it's not acceptable to blow it there. I still respect him as an official, because human error is part of the game. Human error like this, though, shouldn't happen in such a high level game.

Even without the extra points, that he never should have accrued, Cutler had another big game. With two young, studly receiving speedsters and a reliable tight end, this isn't likely to change anytime soon. This time, the Broncos actually played a legitimate defense. You don't want to expect around 30 points a week, but it's very reasonable to start expecting 20. Jay Cutler is your top for week two.

It seems that every week is the same for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They lose on Saturday, and then somebody transfers on Sunday. It's as if there's some sort of Notre Dame Survivor going on where somebody gets voted off the island every week.

First it was Demetrius Jones taking off after being benched in the season opener against Georgia Tech, then it was seldom used Konrad Ruelen who decided to look for greener pastures. Last week lineman Matt Carufel lost his starting job to Eric Olsen so he decided he wanted out. He'll be signing with either Iowa or Minnesota any day now.

So all these transfers have to have Charlie Weis worried right? I mean, at this rate the Irish are going to have to play 10-man football before the season's over.

"Usually the guys that transfer got beaten out. That's why they leave," Weis said. "It would be one thing if John Carlson was transferring tomorrow. I'm going to start worrying, OK? But I really can't worry too much about guys that leave that aren't starting. I've got to worry about the guys that are playing."

I know that sounds a little cold, and some people will probably get rubbed the wrong way, but Charlie's probably right here. The man has enough to worry about with the current state of his program, it would be a waste of his time to worry about players who are no longer there.

At the same time though, I hope Charlie is trying to figure out why all these players are leaving. It can't just be the fact that they lost their starting jobs, or that they aren't getting any playing time. It has to have something to do with their relationships with Weis (e.g. They hate him). Hopefully all these transfers might help Weis realize these aren't NFL players he's dealing with. They're just kids, and I get the feeling Weis forgets that at times.