Fantasy Football: A Festivus Miracle!

Happy Festivus, everyone! 

It is now time for the airing of grievances against those that wronged us this week, as well as for us to be prepared to air them in preparation for Week 17. Who wronged you? Leave a comment and let us know! 

Let me start with those that wronged us in Week 16. I've got a lot of problems with you people...

• Donovan McNabb: McNabb pulled another disappearing act, failing to throw a touchdown pass against the Redskins, and leaving many owners wondering what happened. He was able to bring many teams to the playoffs, but this one certainly hurt.
• Anquan Boldin: I understand why they didn't want to play him in the weather on Sunday, but that left a few people in a tough position when it came to filling in for one of the top receivers in football. That was just plain wrong.
• Kurt Warner: While we're ripping the Cardinals, how about the 45 passing yards from Warner? Tell me that didn't hurt a few owners.
• Mike Bell: I'm with Matt Berry on this one. He took what should have been an outstanding game for Pierre Thomas and made it into simply a decent one. Even when Mike Shanahan doesn't screw fantasy owners, he screws fantasy owners.
• Marshawn Lynch: His shoulder injury had owners doing a dance all week, and he did end up scoring against Denver. That said, there is no doubt that Fred Jackson took away enough touches to hurt many teams.
• Seattle's weather: You beat the Jets by throwing on them, right? So, one pickup that was worth gambling on was Deion Branch. Then, it decided to snow in Seattle. Guess what? You don't really throw in the snow. We all learned that.
• Ronnie Brown: In a game that saw Miami rack up well over 100 yards on the ground, you would have assumed Brown accounted for a fair amount of those right? You'd be wrong. Brown is almost a decoy in the offense at this point, and that's not good for fantasy owners.
• Andre Johnson: We kinda called this one, as Nnamdi Asomugha covered him all day long and Johnson had his worst day of the season. Just a rough game all around. It's tough to air grievances against the guy, but when it comes to the playoffs we have to lump everyone in the same boat.
• Brett Favre: You might have started him against Seattle, but I bet that's the last time you have to ever make that decision. Favre has had a quarterback rating under 50.0 for the last month. The weather, certainly, didn't help.
• Roddy White: He was one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, thanks to Matt Ryan. We can also thank Ryan for making White nearly irrelevant in the last few weeks. His performance Sunday wasn't even worthy to rank him in the top 500 of all players. Rough times.

Other candidates for grievances: Santana Moss, Lee Evans, Joe Flacco, Warrick Dunn, DeShaun Foster, Frank Gore, Willie Parker, and Lance Moore.

And now, the players who could wrong us in Week 17 (for those of you with Championship games).

• All the Colts: Tony Dungy has a tendency to remove players and treat this game like it's the pre-season. Indy is locked into the number five seed and can't move up or down. Might want to avoid these guys.
• All the Titans: Tennessee has nothing left to play for, so don't expect Jeff Fisher to try and get guys hurt. I think there might even be a Vince Young sighting in this one. That would throw everything off.
• Most Steelers: Again, you need to be careful of teams that have already locked up playoff spots. The Steelers are sitting pretty at number two, and shouldn't have any pressure coming from behind.
• All the Cardinals: The same scenario. Boldin sat out last week, and he might be out again here. Arizona needs some momentum, but they also need all these guys healthy. Regardless, they'll be the No. 4 seed in the NFC.
• All the Giants: First round bye, home-field throughout, they don't have much to play for. That could be good news for those of you that plan on using any Vikings.

Now, we come to the Feats of Strength. What teams or players could represent strong plays for owners in Week 17? Here we go.

• The AFC East: Every team should have something to play for, except potentially the Jets. Matt Cassel and company should be strong additions to any lineup. I believe the Bills will play this straight up, since their coach may or may not have secured a job for next season. I'd use Chad Pennington, Ted Ginn, and most other Dolphins (specifically tight ends) against the Jets. You need to throw to beat them. If the Pats win in the early game, I'd reserve more of my Jets. They have no motivation to help New England win the AFC East.

• The NFC North: The Bears and Vikings are fighting for one playoff spot between the two. The Bears are more desperate, and will certainly pull out all the stops. Using Devin Hester, Greg Olsen, Kyle Orton, and Matt Forte should still be fine in their matchup. As far as the Vikings, they have a Giants team that will be looking not to get hurt. Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian, and Visanthe Shinacoe should be fine. If you're in a QB issue, Tarvaris Jackson and Orton could fill in nicely.
• Chargers and Broncos: Only one team from this division heads to the playoffs, and they're playing each other. Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and Antonio Gates are must-starts. Denver will certainly look to get a lot out of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Eddie Royal for certain.
• Cowboys and Eagles: Again, we have two teams playing each other. Both need to win in order to make the playoffs, otherwise they will need some major help. I'd use all your regular Cowboys, and I'm adding Tashard Choice to this list again as well. I still like most of the Eagles, and think that Donovan McNabb can throw on that secondary.
• Drew Brees and the Saints Receivers: Brees is just over 400 yards shy of passing Dan Marino's single season record for yards. Look for a team with nothing else to play for to rear back and throw the football all afternoon.
• Carolina and Atlanta: Teams that are looking to lock up the number two seed in the conference and a bye always have something to play for.
• Tampa Bay: They need a win in order to get in the playoffs, and then need help. They'll be using everyone as normal.
• Baltimore: They need to win in order to secure a wild card birth as well. It's simple for them, win and they make the playoffs against the AFC East winner. They'll be using everyone against the Jaguars, and that could be trouble if you planned on using anyone from Jacksonville on offense.
• San Francisco: Mike Singletary is looking to secure his job for next year, so don't think that this final game doesn't mean something to him. The 49ers will play hard, and do everything they can to pull out a win for the coach.

We'll check in a couple more times this week with updates. The 'Table has nothing better to do around the holidays! Here's hoping all your Festivus wishes come true!