All year, we’ve been taking a look ahead by two or three weeks, looking for possible waiver-wire pick-ups that might develop into potential starters down the line. If you had taken every piece of advice, you’re roster might feature Bobby Engram, Patrick Crayton, Nick Folk, Mason Crosby, Priest Holmes or the Titans defense.
Then again, you’d also have Visanthe Shiancoe, the Bengals D and Chad Pennington. Nobody wins all the time.
Anyway, there’s a max of four weeks before most fantasy playoffs begin. And unless something crazy happens, chances are the waiver wire’s supply of future stars is pretty much dried up. You’re winning or losing with what you got. Good luck.
We’ve been scouting ahead by position and player. It’s time to take it to the next phase and look at it by team and opponent.
The best team situations and opposition for the money weeks (14-16):
(Actually, one more note before we go on: Go Wildcats! As an Arizona alum, nothing gave me greater pleasure than watching the Cats destroy Oregon’s title aspirations. Swoosh this, suckers.)
(Sorry. Had to publish that somewhere.)
From best to worst:
1. New England: Pittsburgh, N.Y. Jets, Miami: Let’s face it. 80 percent of the people who will win fantasy leagues this year will have cinched their victory when they drafted Tom Brady. I like the Laurence Maroney match-ups here. His two most valuable weeks of the year might be Weeks 15 and 16, especially without Sammy Morris there to steal the action.
2. Green Bay: Oakland, @St. Louis, @Chicago: They could put up 30 in each game, with Brett Favre and Ryan Grant must starts throughout.
3. San Diego: @Tennessee, Detroit, Denver (Monday night): Tough Week 14, but the home game against the Broncos on Monday night should be a fantasy boon, especially for the Chargers defense and special teams.
4. Cincinnati: St. Louis, @San Francisco, Cleveland: The Bengals are in desperate playoff chase mode, where every game is a must win (think the Colorado Rockies in baseball). Hell, we could even see a Rudi Johnson revival.
5. Jacksonville: Carolina, @Pittsburgh, Oakland: The Steelers road game should be a cold-weather slug fest, but the Raiders in Week 16 is going to be magic for Maurice Jones-Drew owners.
6. Cleveland: @N.Y. Jets, Buffalo, @Cincinnati: The only reason they aren’t ranked higher is because the Bengals game is on the road, and the Browns rushing attack has been somewhat less than stellar the past few weeks. Still, Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards should both put up great stats all three weeks.
7. Indianapolis: @Baltimore (Sunday night), @Oakland, Houston: I’m expecting Marvin Harrison back by now, though with the caveat he probably won’t be the same as he was before the knee injury. If Kenton Keith is somehow available, I’d jump on him.
8. Seattle: Arizona, @Carolina, Baltimore: The Ravens are going to be a beat-down team by Week 16, just playing out the string, while the Seahawks are going to be in a fight for the playoffs with Arizona.
9. Dallas: @Detroit, Philadelphia, @Carolina (Saturday night): For some reason, that Panthers game bothers me.
10. Buffalo: Miami, @Cleveland, N.Y. Giants: Assuming Marshawn Lynch comes back from a sprained ankle, he should get some good rushing numbers in what should be three poor-weather games.
11. Arizona: @Seattle, @New Orleans, Atlanta: The Cardinals WRs should have plenty of room to roam.
12. Tennessee: San Diego, @Kansas City, N.Y. Jets: The defense against the Jets in Week 16 is the appealing match-up here.
13. San Francisco: Minnesota, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay: Only team with all three weeks at home. Too bad they don’t really have any players you’d want on your fantasy team.
14. Houston: Tampa Bay, Denver (Thursday night), @Indianapolis: We only got two weeks of Matt Schaub-to-Andre Johnson. Things could get interesting if they pick up where they left off.
15. Tampa Bay: @Houston, Atlanta, @San Francisco (Sunday night): Week 16 at San Francisco in a night game looks like trouble.
16. New Orleans: @Atlanta (Monday night), Arizona, Philadelphia: Should be higher, but I’m holding a grudge after the loss to the Rams.
17. Detroit: Dallas, @San Diego, Kansas City: They might not score 20 in any of these games.
18. Minnesota: @San Francisco, Chicago (Monday night), Washington: Don’t be surprised to see the Vikes shut down Adrian Peterson. Why risk it at this point?
19. Carolina: @Jacksonville, Seattle, Dallas (Saturday night): The Seattle road defense is the only reason they’re not five slots lower.
20. Philadelphia: N.Y. Giants, @Dallas, @New Orleans: They may put up some points against the Saints, but Weeks 14 and 15 are bad times ahead.
21. Kansas City: @Denver, Tennessee, @Detroit: Could improve based on Larry Johnson’s condition.
22. Denver: Kansas City, @Houston, @San Diego: Unless Jay Cutler somehow turns it around, I don’t see the Broncos making a serious run. The Travis Henry-Selvin Young platoon makes the guesswork that much harder.
23. Pittsburgh: @New England, Jacksonville, @St. Louis (Thursday night): Week 16 should be fine, but Weeks 14 and 15 will be problems.
24. NY Giants: @Philadelphia, Washington (Sunday night), @Buffalo: Eli Manning at Buffalo in December doesn’t sound like a recipe for success.
25. Atlanta: New Orleans (Monday night), @Tampa Bay, @Arizona: Nothing to like.
26. Baltimore: Indianapolis (Sunday night), @Miami, @Seattle: Brian Billick’s last stand.
27. Washington: Chicago (Thursday night), @N.Y. Giants (Sunday night), @Minnesota: Joe Gibbs’ last stand.
28. St. Louis: @Cincinnati, Green Bay, Pittsburgh (Thursday night): Just too much talent on the other side of the field.
29. Miami: @Buffalo, Baltimore, @New England: If Ricky Williams has a shot at a big game this year, it’s Week 15 against a Ravens team that will have packed it in.
30. NY Jets: Cleveland, @New England, @Tennessee: Week 15 at New England is going to be ugly. It might even be fatal.
31. Chicago: @Washington, @Minnesota, Green Bay: Rex Grossman’s last stand.
32. Oakland: @Green Bay, Indianapolis, @Jacksonville: The dawn of the JaMarcus Russell Era.