NFL Fantasy Versus Week 14: Coin Flip

Fantasy playoffs" target="_blank">Fantasy playoffs are starting up in leagues all over the globe, and even if they aren't, you still have a game or two with serious repercussions attached to them.

You can either hit up the waiver wire , cross your fingers that your injured stars are healthy and reading to go, or go to your last resort: pick the right guy on your roster to stick into your starting line-up.

We've been doing it all season, showing you solid match-ups between two quality players, and giving you the best option to use each week.

The only difference this week is this article has a "Lesser of Two Evils" theme. Struggling to pick between two guys that have weak match-ups or haven't been playing up to par? Allow us to shed some light on who might emerge from Week 14 with some solid production, even if it's against all odds :


Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Buffalo Bills (@ KC) VS. Brady Quinn, QB, Cleveland Browns (vs. PIT)

We lied a little bit. Fitzpatrick has what could turn out to be an absolute cakewalk match-up with a slow and vulnerable Chiefs secondary, while Brady Quinn is facing a very aggressive (and scary) Pittsburgh pass rush.

However, Fitz looked awful last week against the Jets , while Quinn looked very sharp for the second time in his past three games.

We're actually quietly promoting both passers, and here's why.

Fitzpatrick won't have any issues with KC, because they don't get much pressure, aren't exactly beasts against the run, and their track record for getting burned, well, isn't very good.

Quinn, while facing a scary name this week, could actually pick up where Oakland quarterback Bruce Gradkowski left off. The Steelers corners are very good, but if Quinn has any kind of time, he'll be able to move the ball and score on a Troy Polamalu-less defense.

Verdict: Again, if you're desperate, we like either option this week. But when all else fails, go with the no-name guy going up against the worse defense. Oh, yeah, and he has much better weapons. That no-name guy, being Fitzpatrick.


Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit Lions (@ BAL) VS. Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears (vs. GB)

There's a good chance you haven't heard Smith and Forte's names being promoted too much in the past few weeks. Aside from a nice match-up last week against the Rams for Forte, but backs have been relatively quiet, and have endured turnovers from their franchise quarterbacks.

It won't get any easier this week. Both the Ravens and Packers stop the run very well, and almost are guaranteed to hold both backs below 100 yards rushing. This means your only real chance at fantasy success this week is picking the guy that will either sneak his way to a touchdown, gain some yards on screen passes, or if you're lucky, both.

Both backs have been doing some solid damage on screens over the past few weeks, but it's an easy call as to who has the edge in the red-zone.

Verdict: Smith is a touchdown hawk if his offense can get him close enough, and considering we like Stafford's chances a bit better to move the ball against a weak Baltimore secondary, rather than Cutler slithering his way through a tough Packers pass defense, we're going with the Lions back.


Hakeem Nicks, WR, New York Giants (vs. PHI) VS. Mario Manningham, WR, New York Giants

It seems the only receiver (or fantasy option) coming out of the New York blue these days is Steve Smith, with everyone else, even including Brandon Jacobs, coming in distant second.

Sure, there have been spurts of greatness from both Nicks and Manningham, but their inconsistency and constant rotation in the offense has left fantasy owners, well, jumbled.

With a tough match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles secondary this week, the question is, what will their role be, and who do you trust?

Manningham has one catch for 10 yards last week, quite the disappointing effort, especially after hauling in five or more grabs in his previous three straight.

Nicks, on the other hand, caught only one more pass, but tallied 27 more yards and scored a touchdown.

Verdict: Both players are hard to tag, but if you have to run with one of them in a match-up we'd rather just avoid, we're going wit Manningham. He struggled a bit last week, but until his weak effort against the Cowboys, he had consistently been getting attention from Eli Manning. Expect that to pick back up .