Last Stand: Fantasy Football Week 16

If you even give a damn about this post, chances are you've made it to the finals of your fantasy football league.

In most cases, this means that you're probably getting at least your money back, or better. If not, my apologies. In what is my most competitive and important league, I netted the most total points and won my division, so now getting to the finals means I've already tripled my entry fee, and then some.

I've recommended many of the players that I drafted this year, and this was a very good year in terms of my predictions, somewhat unlike some of my calls in fantasy baseball the past year. More often than not, that indicates widespread success; I also made the playoffs in every other league I participated in. Hopefully if you've followed some of my tips, you're in a similar situation.

To those who weren't so fortunate, it stings. In two money leagues last year, I finished third in points in both, and didn't reach the playoffs in either. Sometimes a great team sputters out in the first week of the playoffs, and that's all the difference between the best and the bittersweet. Who would've thought my lineup of Schaub, Johnson, Rice, V. Jackson, Welker, Colston and Fred Davis would falter? Well, this is why fantasy football is a little more luck than baseball. We're playing even fewer games than the full NFL schedule to determine the playoffs, and sometimes NFL teams fall subject to the same fate.

You're welcome to post any last minute questions here, and hopefully Ian can also answer them. I'll try to get to any that I see, but I won't promise I'll be able to get on. I'll be traveling to Cincinnati to watch my Chiefs battle for victory (read: a better draft pick) against the Bengals, in what should be a very emotional game in their first trip back since the death of Chris Henry.

For a fantasy preview on that game, I like Jamaal Charles as a mid-high No. 2 back against a formidable Bengals run defense, and really no other Chiefs players. CB Leon Hall has been under the radar for Cincy, and should blanket Dwayne Bowe very well. Maybe Chris Chambers picks up the majority of the slack on the opposite side. On the Bengals, well, start 'em all. Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson and Chad OchoCinco are all solid plays, and I expect a touchdown from one of Andre Caldwell or Laveranues Coles. I'm wondering if the Bengals will give Larry Johnson a chance for retribution against the Chiefs, but perhaps that also plays a roll in firing up Kansas City if he gets in there. Unless I haven't said it before, I really don't like the guy, and I won't be shedding tears if he breaks a leg. Oops.

Good luck this week, and Happy Holidays to everyone.

TROR