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The fantasy playoffs rolled into Championship Week as the Steelers smoked the Panthers in another Thursday Night dud.
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Having players go in the Thursday night games gives you a little bit of an advantage. If your players do well, you can perhaps be a little more cautious with your team. If your players failed to put up good numbers, perhaps you will want to take a bigger risk, hoping to make up some ground. You also get a feel for your matchup depending on how your opponents players did. Let’s take a look at how fantasy owners will be feeling about their players.
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Quarterbacks:  Big Ben (320 yards, passing TD, 2 rushing yards, rushing TD) had a great game. If he’s your fantasy quarterback, you’re in excellent shape. If you’re going up against him, you have your work cut out. If you used Jimmy Clausen (72 yards, INT), you were likely playing in the toilet bowl.
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Running Backs: There were three possible running back choices in this one. Rashard Mendenahll (83 total yards, TD) delivered. Big Ben’s one yard touchdown would have been nice on Mendenhall stat sheet, but you can’t complain with the start he got you. James Stewart (80 total yards) was not a recommended play by most, but he had a solid showing for those forced to use him. Mike Goodson (26 total yards) is officially off the fantasy radar. Isaac Redman (45 total yards) was likely only used in 16+ team leagues.
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Wide Receivers:  Mike Wallace (104 yards, TD) had a real nice performance. 16+ points from your receiver is a great start. Hines Ward (38 yards) and Steve Smith (17 yards) were busts. David Gettis (5 yards) was a non-factor. Emmanuel Sanders (54 yards) was decent enough, but wasn’t likely in many lineups.
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Tight Ends: Heath Miller (73 yards) had a very strong performance. Odds are those who used him got much more than they anticipated. Still, it wasn’t enough to alter any remaining fantasy decision.
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Kickers:  Shaun Suisham kicked two field goals (26, 29) and had three PATs in a modest performance. John Kasay managed one short (27) field goal.
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Defenses:  Pittsburgh dominated. Plain and simple.  They only allowed three points, forced two turnovers (fumble, INT), and racked up four sacks. They be one of the highest scoring defenses this week so if you started them, you’re in good shape.
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Also check out:

• Week 16 Get ‘em or Don’t Sweat ‘em Waiver Wire Advice
• Week 16 Fantasy QB Rankings
• Week 16 Fantasy RB Rankings
• Week 16 Fantasy WR Rankings
• Week 16 Fantasy TE Rankings
• Week 16 Fantasy K Rankings
• Week 16 Fantasy DEF Rankings
• Week 16 Fantasy IDP Rankings
• Week 16 Start/Sit Advice
• Week 16 Fantasy Sleepers

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I love the original Steve Smith. He’s undersized, but is as fiery as he is talented. He has been one of the best receivers in the game since help establish the third-year receiver rule back in 2003. I think he may be a little overrated though.
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He’s had a couple of monster seasons where he went over 1400 yards, but has just five 1000 seasons in his  ten year career. He has reached double-digit TDs just once. He’s had just one 90 catch season.
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It’s not all his fault though. He hasn’t exactly been blessed with quality QB play the past few years. He has managed to be productive in spite of inept QB play. He also hasn’t had many seasons in which he had a legitimate WR on the other side to take the pressure off. Plus, Carolina has been a run-first team for the majority of his tenure.
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Those circumstances may explain his career numbers, but they don’t help your fantasy team. While David Gettis and Brandon LaFell looked good last week, I wouldn’t go so far as to declare them legitimate threats that will take attention away from Steve Smith.
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While Matt Moore torched the Niners for 308 yards and a pair of scores, I wouldn’t hang my hat on him just yet. It was his first good game this year, and only third good game of his career.
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The Rams (Carolina’s Week 8 opponent) aren’t a good defense, but they are much better this year. They rank 18th with 221.9 passing yards allowed and tied for 8th (with six other teams) with 8 passing TDs allowed.
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Is Smith’s ankle 100% healed? Probably not. It’s good enough though. With the questions at quarterback, and their offense in general, it makes it tough to count on Smith this week. I’ve seen him ranked in the top 15-20 making him a WR2 for the week. Personally, I have him at 30 (click to see WR rankings), making him a WR3.
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Would I start him this week? Sure. However, he is not a must start. Until he and the rest of the Carolina offense show they can move the chains and score some points, I will be hesitant to trust Smith.
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Also check out:

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There are plenty of WRs that came into the season with high expectations. While the following WRs have not been productive, it’s not because they aren’t on their quarterbacks radar. When you’re being ignored in the passing game, you have a problem. When you are getting your looks, there is hope. Here are some players to be patient with if you own them, or try to trade for them if you don’t.
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Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals:  Fitz is third in league in the league with 35 targets. Sure, he’s only caught 12 passes, but you have to at least be encouraged by the effort Arizona is making to get him the ball. This may be lowest his stock is all year. Be aggressive if you want to get him. Make them overwhelm you if you own him.
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Terrell Owens, Cincinnati Bengals:  T.O. probably isn’t happy with his 14 catches on the year, but he can’t have a gripe the 33 targets he’s received, which is just one short of Ocho’s. He has yet to score a TD this year, but is a good bet to score #145 this weekend against Cleveland.
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Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions:  Megatron has caught half of his 28 targets this year. He has just 151 yards and has just 1 TD, though most would argue he should have two. Losing Matthew Stafford didn’t help matters, but he should be returning soon. He hasn’t topped 56 yards in a game this year. Get him while he’s low.

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Hakeem Nicks had a solid rookie season for the Giants last year. He caught 47 passes for 790 yards (16.8 ypc) and 6 TDs. He had 411 yards after the catch, which is an impressive number given his relatively few receptions. He is big at 6’0″, 215 lbs with good speed, making him difficult to bring down. He should turn in another solid season, but are people drinking a little too much of the Giants’ Kool-Aid?

Steve Smith broke his arm over the weekend playing a flag football game at his football camp. It’s unfortunate that he sustained the injury while giving back to the community. He could miss a good chunk of training camp, but isn’t expected to miss any regular season action. I would bump him down a slot or two, but I think he remains a quality WR2 in fantasy circles.

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