FanHouse Vernondavis

Welcome back, Mr. Clark. It's been a while, but by no means did you ever fall off the radar. It's been a sweet and dandy type season for Dallas Clark. And during a week devoted to feasting, that's exactly what he's gonna do against the Texans. All Clark did was rope in 14 catches for 119 yards the last time he faced the Texans. Of course, the game plan will change, but the results won't ... start Clark with a confident smirk.

The rest of the usual suspects are back as the top options again this week. Vernon Davis responded from his bad week a few weeks back with a monster day at Green Bay. I'm banking that Kellen Winslow follows suit this week and responds like only a soldier can after his stinker last weekend. He draws a Falcons defense that just allowed Kevin Boss to shred them last week. What's not to like? As for the rest of the ranks...

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With the beginning of the NFL Network's glorious Thursday night football beginning this week, fantasy football FanHouse is bringing you a preview for each and every Thursday night game from here on out. You've already seen the rankings, but things can change before Sunday. One thing that can't change? Your lineup choices for the guys playing Thursday evening. That's why we're here.

The Bears enter the game having lost three of their last four (the one win was at home over the hapless Browns). Their defense has plummeted from a respectable unit to one pretty easily shredded, whether via ground or air. The Niners come in having lost four straight and five of their last six. They are ranked fourth in the NFL in run defense and 24th against the pass.

Forty-Niners tight end Vernon Davis has been known to say what's on his mind, and more than once it's gotten him into trouble. But I don't think anybody would disagree with his recent sentiments concerning the team's first-round pick Michael Crabtree, who remains unsigned because, shockingly, he wants more money.

Specifically, the 10th-overall selection is looking for a Darrius Heyward-Bey payday (DHB was taken seventh by the Raiders). Davis is unimpressed.

"He needs to get his butt here and help this team out," Davis told ESPN's Colleen Dominguez. "He has a chance to be a big-time player. He should take what he can get and get here."

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the ...
Perennial sleepers. It seems like almost every season, people are discussing the fact that the 49ers are ready to break out and surprise people and win the NFC West. And then, almost every season, they suck. They might not be great this year either. Mike Singletary brings a more disciplined approach than even Mike Nolan, but you can't possibly expect Shaun Hill or Alex Smith to lead a team to the playoffs. Or can you? Well, actually, for fantasy purposes, who cares? There's going to be a lot of running and a lot of surprises on defense in San Fran this year, and that's going to be where you pick up the value.

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On Second Thought is Matt Snyder's look back at the initial FanHouse staff rankings, which were compiled nearly a month ago. As we all know, fantasy players' value changes frequently, even when no games are being played.

After the big three positions in fantasy football, tight end is next in importance. Since you only play one tight end, though, we'll also fill this entry out by discussing some fantasy defenses as well.

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I'm guessing Mike Singletary doesn't have much of a poker face. Of course, he probably doesn't need one, either. He just wills himself good cards, or, worst case, he intimidates his opponents into folding, even with high-percentage hands.

Singletary is an NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champ, and now he's the 49ers head coach. He took over for Mike Nolan last October, and one game into his tenure (a 34-13 loss to the mighty Seahawks), Singletary ordered Vernon Davis to the showers early in the fourth quarter for pouting.

Thanks to a 39-yard Joe Nedney field goal as time expired, the 49ers closed out their season with a 27-24 win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, San Francisco ends the season with a 7-9 mark, which was capped off with a 5-4 run under interim head coach Mike Singletary.

After some speculation earlier in the week that Singletary would be remaining with the team in 2009, the 49ers confirmed it following Sunday's win, and signed Singletary to a four-year, $10 million contract, as reported by Matt Maiocco of the Press Democrat.

49ers president Jed York on the signing: "This is the last time our season ends in December."

You know, as long as the 49ers play in the NFC West, he might be right. I mean, just look at that division this season, and ask yourself if it's likely to get any better next season. Is it entirely out of the question for this team to enter 2009 as a legitimate contender for the division title? I mean, they only finished two games out this season despite the 2-5 hole Mike Nolan and J.T. O'Sullivan helped them dig over the first seven weeks.

Dolphins linebacker and NFL sack leader Joey Porter is known as much for his gum-flapping as he is for his on-field skills. So it should come as no surprise that he had some words for 49ers tight end Vernon Davis during the first quarter of today's matchup.

But first, some background. Last week, Davis, in discussing the Dolphins defense, had this to say about Mr. Peezy:

"I'm pretty sure I've gone up against a lot of other linebackers/defensive ends who are better than him ... And I've pretty much won every battle."

San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary, after hearing Davis' comments, said "I'm going to have to talk to Vernon this week and make sure that he doesn't get in a jaw-jacking competition ... Just play the game. Just play the game and let's go. But Vernon's a competitor, too, so it could be very interesting."

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Given Porter's fondness for tight ends, and more importantly, his insistence on having thoughts on everything, this seems predictable. Via FOX Sports sideline reporter Chris Myers, who passes along these nuggets from the philosophers Joey and Vernon:

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.

Not much shakeup at the top, except for one surprise. Yes, it's time to bump Antonio Gates down just a peg. Let's face it, anytime your star tight end puts up a goose egg as he did against Oakland in a critical game, something must give.

The great Tony Gonzalez continues to ride out the hot streak, and he just loves playing the Chargers. Look for Jason Witten and Tony Romo to get back on the same page this weekend after they both took blame for the collapse in Pittsburgh last week.

Climbing up the tight end ladder this week is an old familiar face in Jeremy Shockey. Let me explain. Since he took the scolding from Drew Brees on the sideline against Atlanta, here are his averages in the past four games; five receptions per game and 53 yards per game. Yup, he hasn't scored a TD yet this season, but it could be coming Thursday night against Chicago.

Welcome back to earth Dustin Keller. You can thank your QB for the slippage this week. And now let's tap into the rest of the rankings.

1. Tony Gonzalez, SD
2. Jason Witten, NYG
3. Chris Cooley, @ CIN
4. Dallas Clark, DET
5. Tony Scheffler, @ CAR

After a 2-5 start, the 49ers fired Mike Nolan and the team has gone 3-3 in the six weeks since. The biggest win of the year came last Sunday against the Jets, and in addition to bringing a little joy to a hapless Bay Area football scene, it also greatly improved the chances that Mike Singletary will be more than an interim head coach.

Of course, maybe Nolan would still have the job if he had the cajones to tell offensive coordinator Mike Martz, "I know you're an 'offensive mastermind' and whatnot, but I'm pretty sure that J.T. O'Sullivan isn't very good. Call it a hunch. I'll take my chances with Shaun Hill."

But what's done is done.

There is a happy ending of sorts for Nolan, however: