FanHouse Johncarney

Fantasy FanHouse's "Bust a Move" segment provides quick-hitting insight on the most popular adds and drops across Fleaflicker fantasy leagues between Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Knowing who is on the move during this 24-hour period often provides a valuable edge with regard to outperforming or underperforming players, injuries and depth chart shifts. So do as the man says, "Don't just stand there..."

The Adds

Rashard Mendenhall (RB, Steelers, 3,178 adds) - Enough already about the Steelers moving away from their longtime pound-the-rock mantra and relying on the pass. Mendenhall finally showed up and put the backfield debates as to who should tote the ball to bed. Willie Parker's inability to get the ground game moving (3.1 yards per carry) coupled with an inability to overcome injuries finally got the best of him as Mendenhall should see the bulk of the touches going forward with Parker playing second fiddle. It's hard to argue with 165 and two touchdowns -- so why try?

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

The New York Giants were an afterthought in 2007, but made their way to a Super Bowl title. In 2008, the Giants found a way to earn home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs, only to last one game. Their playoff loss to Philadelphia was certainly disappointing, but the fact that they earned the top seed after the drama they went through was impressive in itself. Now, it's time for the Giants to re-tool, reload, and get back to the Super Bowl.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

We've decided to extend Studs and Duds into the playoffs. Here's the Divisional Weekend at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Stay on top of all the postseason action with FanHouse's NFL playoff coverage.

The Philadelphia Eagles aren't supposed to be here.

They needed what was practically an act of God in Week 17 just to get to the postseason. Then they went on the road, and while they were favored, it was still Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid in a road playoff game.

The two got the job done. Reid called enough runs to keep the Vikings defense honest, McNabb made some plays, and they found a way to get Brian Westbrook involved when the game was on the line.

Beyond that, they did what this Philadelphia team should do, and they rode Jim Johnson's defense to a victory.

Now, beating the defending world champions in their house should prove more difficult than beating the Vikings at the Metrodome was. The New York Giants didn't just get handed the top seed in the NFC. They got off to a hot start, weathered a late-season slump, and managed to come from behind to beat Carolina for home-field advantage. They earned this right.

Just don't let that stop you from thinking the visitors have a shot Sunday.

Before you move any further, make sure to check out Part 1, if you haven't done so. I explain things in the intro. For our purposes on this post, however, there's no need to twiddle the thumbs. Let's dive in:

Wide Receiver

How about that Sunday night game for the Denver receivers? Last time around, they completely schooled the Chargers secondary. Now Eddie Royal has tons more experience under his belt, and Brandon Marshall is still just as talented. Both of them are in line for an obscene stat-line in what should be a shootout.

Only illegal formations by his teammates can stop Megatron. Yes, start Calvin Johnson in all formats. He's just too good to sit.

I'd avoid Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez, because of the fact that Jim Sorgi should be under center for the majority of the afternoon for the Colts. It's just too much of a gamble to try and predict where the touches go for Indy.

I'm a Bears fan, and I have absolutely no idea how they can do anything to remotely stop Andre Johnson. He's likely to go berserk. Again.

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.

Joe Nedney is only 11th in kicker points, which means he's useful as a low-end kicker in most leagues.

The thing about Nedney, though, is that he doesn't miss often. He's 26-of-29 on field goals this season, and hasn't missed an extra point. The reason he's not higher in scoring is because he hasn't had as many opportunities as the higher scorers (he's 12th in FG attempts).

Nedney's getting to play the hapless Rams indoors in St. Louis this weekend. The Rams are near the bottom in scoring defense and have allowed 29 field goals, which places them 27th in the league.

In fact, I'm making him number one. No guts, no glory.

More notes after the rankings.

1. Joe Nedney, at StL
2. Stephen Gostkowski, vs. ARI
3. Rob Bironas, vs. PIT
4. John Carney, vs. CAR
5. Jason Elam, at MIN

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

It's playoff time! FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled in order to provide answers to 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 Detroit Lions are so sad at this point it's almost not even funny. Still, in fantasy football you can't let emotions get in the way -- plus, I did say it was "almost" not funny. Either way, the Lions allow almost 10 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers.

Enter Adam Vinatieri, whose Colts get the pleasure of facing the Lions at home this weekend. The only fear is that the Lions give up only touchdowns and no field goals, but the defense showed enough fire against the Vikings for me to believe they can hold the Colts to a field goal twice. That's all Vinatieri needs to reach double-digits.

More notes after the rankings.

1. Adam Vinatieri, vs. DET
2. Rob Bironas, at HOU
3. John Carney, at DAL
4. Stephen Gostkowski, at OAK
5. Nate Kaeding, at KC

The playoffs are either upon us or one week away in the majority of fantasy football leagues. With this in mind, Fantasy FanHouse is examining what you can expect from the fantasy relevant players on each team.

Dallas Cowboys

The opposing defenses: at PIT (1st against pass, 1st against run), vs. NYG (10th against pass, 5th against run), vs. BAL (2nd against pass, 3rd against run)
The skinny: Ouch. This is quite the tall order for a team with lots of fantasy weapons -- when healthy. The 'Boys have revved up that offense in the past two weeks, but it was against lesser defenses. Statistically, the Giants are the worst defense the Cowboys will face this fantasy playoff season. That just sounds bad, doesn't it? You still probably have to stick with the studs, but after that it's a huge fall-off.
The must-starts: None
The likely starts: Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, Nick Folk
The spot-start: Marion Barber (only because he's injured -- if he's totally healthy he's a must-start)
The no-starts: Roy Williams, Tashard Choice, Martellus Bennett, Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton
The D/ST: The status partially hinges upon the health of DeMarcus Ware, but this group can get to the quarterback with the best of 'em, and they have big play ability in the secondary. They are a low-end starter at this point.

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.

It's no secret that opposing teams score points on the Lions. The Titans are coming into Ford Field with a massive chip on their shoulder, following a loss at home. They won't find many problems, and that includes their kicker, Rob Bironas. He'll feel quite comfortable inside.

Nick Folk is coming off a 19-fantasy-point day, and the Cowboys get another hapless defense. Hopefully the Cowboys' offense doesn't score only touchdowns.

I also love both night-game kickers, as the Cardinals and Eagles should be able to move the ball. There's a good chance of many kicking points in that game.

All told, four of this week's top six kickers are participating on Thanksgiving.

More notes after the rankings.

1. Rob Bironas, at DET
2. Nick Folk, vs. SEA
3. Rian Lindell, vs. SF
4. Jason Elam, at SD
5. Neil Rackers, at PHI