Fantasy Football: Your Final Push for the Playoffs

If you are anything like me, your fantasy football anxiety has peaked. Showing up late for meetings at work, working the waiver wire like a stripper for an extra $2 tip, and staying glued to all the injury/suspension updates, you are going to need all the help you can get to make the playoffs.

If you are .500 and need to finish strong down the stretch, here are some key guys to fetch off the waiver wire or make some key trades for.

Work a deal for:

• Randy Moss - He hasn't gone through the motions with the loss of Brady. Besides dropping a sure TD last week, Moss has been quite the trooper. Check out these matchups for the rest of the fantasy season: Indianapolis, Buffalo, NY Jets, Miami, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Oakland, and Arizona. How does he not score/post 100 yards in more than two of those?
• Any Cardinal WR (Breaston, Boldin, Fitzgerald) - They have only two remaining matchups in which Kurt Warner can find himself eating the turf: Giants and Eagles. Even with those games, he will find one of these studs for at least two TDs. Other matchups include St. Louis twice, San Francisco, Seattle, Minnesota, and New England. With the move to Hightower in the backfield, expect more shotgun sets, thus more aerial assaults. And with that thought...
• Tim Hightower - He may sneak up Mewelde Moore style and fill in to this spread system just as well as (or better than) current starter Edgerrin James.
• Chris Chambers/Vincent Jackson - Do you see a theme here? Teams are really distributing the looks and the days of the No. 1 WR are down to about five or six teams. With LT looking like LT again, it should be easier to get one-on-one coverage for these guys. Chambers has had some nagging injuries, but should be good to go after the bye. Meanwhile Jackson (and Floyd) has stepped up. Remaining games: Kansas City twice, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Oakland, and Tampa Bay (Fantasy Championship week).
• Ronnie Brown - The Wildcat offense has turned into the catch phrase of the year so far. Teams are catching on (and adding it to their arsenal) much like the way the spread has taken over college football. Meanwhile, Ronnie Brown has played himself back into shape. With a potential playoff run in Miami's future, look at who Brown will be running over: Denver, Seattle, Oakland, New England, St. Louis, Buffalo, San Francisco, and Kansas City. I smell Comeback Player of the Year.

For Deeper Leagues

• Leon Washington - With four out of five games against questionable defenses, look for Leon out of the backfield on screens and a few draws to rack up points against St. Louis, New England, Denver, and Buffalo. He might even catch Tennessee off guard in their quest for undefeated territory.
• Ricky Williams - He is this year's Marion Barber Lite. He is quietly having a decent season and Brown is bound to have a bad half or two where Ricky can spell him and steal a few goal line TDs.
• Lance Moore - Marques Colston is not himself yet. Meanwhile, Lance Moore has flourished and it seems Brees still likes him on the radar. With Bush still out, Deuce possibly suspended, and this atrocious defense letting every JV team score on them, the Saints are going to have to air it out to win. Matchups: Atlanta twice, Kansas City, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Detroit.
• Matt Jones - Whether or not he gets suspended for three games, he is clearly the only WR in Jacksonville that Garrard trusts around the end zone. Upcoming games are against Cincinnati, Detroit, Tennessee, Minnesota, Houston, Chicago, Green Bay, and Indianapolis. If the suspension happens anytime soon, you can throw out the Tennessee game, which could be his worst performance anyway. Green Bay could cause you problems in the second week of playoffs in the worst case scenario.
• Chad Pennington - If you are having inconsistent play at QB (anyone not named Brees or Warner in most cases), Chad is really starting to click in this offense. If Ginn can continue to emerge as a deep threat, look at these matchups where an efficient Chad doesn't overwhelm you, but he sure can be a steady force: Denver, Seattle, Oakland, New England, St. Louis, Buffalo, San Francisco, and Kansas City.

Honorable Mentions

Matt Ryan (Rookie of the Year), Reggie Williams (caught first TF), Cadillac Williams (off the PUP), Donnie Avery (lightning in a bottle), and DeAngelo Williams.