Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to inform you that I am a fantasy football champion.

I played in six leagues this year, two of which are keeper leagues I have played in for eight and three years, respectively, and the others of which are more “random” leagues that I play in with family members. In my eight-year league, with many of best college friends, I finished third.

And in my three-year league, with another group of my college friends, I took home the title with a 137.5-126 victory. Despite having turmoil at the QB position all year (Matt Ryan was the guy I drafted to be my starter), my RB trio of Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Ryan Grant anchored what was a very consistent lineup. Throw in breakout seasons by DeSean Jackson, Vernon Davis, and Steve Smith (Giants), and my team was very good from week to week.

So now the question for all of our consistent readers is: how did you do? Whether your playoffs ended in Week 16 or you are here for help with your Week 17 rosters, please regale us in the comment section with your playoff war stories. We want to hear them.

Also, I want to offer a hearty congratulations to David, from the excellent sports blog Sparty & Friends, who won the first annual Midwest Sports Fans Fantasy Football Challenge.

My team, The Ridiculous Rosenthals, finished the regular season with the #1 seed at 10-3. I crapped the bed in the playoffs, however, scoring a measly 74.5 points to lose to MSF’s own Ryan Russell.

Russell then proceeded to crap the bed even worse in the championship game, scoring only 64 points and not even giving Sparty a challenge.

So congratulations David. A nice fat check will be on its way to you, as well as bragging rights until next season. (Also, you should visit his blog when you’re done here by following this link: Sparty and Friends.)

With all of that now out of the way, let’s take a quick look back at how my Week 16 start em and sit em picks fared.

• Start em hits: D/ST Green Bay Packers
• Start em misses: QB Alex Smith, SF (solid, but only 1 TD!); RB Cedric Benson, CIN (solid day, but no TDs!); WR Josh Morgan, SF; TE Jermichael Finley, GB (80 receiving yards, but no TD!);
• Sit em hits: RB Matt Forte, CHI;
• Sit em misses: QB Donovan McNabb, PHI; WR Roddy White, ATL (this was a huge miss); TE Visanthe Shiancoe, MIN; D/ST Pittsburgh Steelers

As you can see, Week 16 was not a banner week for me. I also thought that the Colts would play their starters longer if the game was competitive, and that the only way they’d come out is if Indy jumped out big early (thus racking up some solid fantasy stats). Clearly I missed that as well.

But those of you who are consistent readers know that Week 16 was not indicative of my typical success rate, and – as usual – my best and most accurate work was done in the comment section making specific recommendations on lineup questions. (Take out the questions involving Colts and Roddy White and I think I led everyone in a solid direction…but please take me to task if that’s not the case.)

As we look ahead to Fantasy Football Week 17 – a week that I hope most people are not still playing because I don’t believe in Week 17 playoffs – I will switch up the format just a bit. Instead of going into a lot of depth about one player at each position, as I usually do, this week’s post will be more of a quick-hit post highlighting the guys I like and don’t like. Additionally, I will list the guys at each position whose teams have nothing to play for in Week 17, because you’ll want to know who they are.

Fantasy Football Week 17

Start Em, Sit Em Lineup Advice and Projections

First off, let’s get this out of the way. Here are the teams with essentially nothing to play for in Week 17:

• Indianapolis, obviously.
• San Diego
• Cincinnati
• New England
• New Orleans
• Green Bay

And here a few quick notes you need to know about these teams:

• Cincinnati and New England could flip-flop the #3 and #4 seeds, but neither can get a first round bye.
• New England has a history of playing guys through the end of the regular season even without much to play for – remember Week 17 in 2007? With their offense finally clicking and a potential playoff foe (Houston) on the Week 17 schedule, I’d still play Brady and Moss.
• New Orleans has home field advantage locked up already, but coming off of two straight losses head coach Sean Payton has already said that they will treat Week 17 like it is a “must win” game.
• Green Bay is locked into the wild card round because Minnesota won the NFC North. All of the other NFC playoff teams (Minnesota, Philly, Dallas, and Arizona) could get a first round bye depending on how Week 17 unfolds.

Week 17 Start Em, Sit Em Quarterbacks

Start em:

• Among the typical “top-tier” guys that I like this week: Matt Schaub (vs NE), Brett Favre (vs NYG), Kurt Warner (vs GB)
• Vince Young is a terrific start candidate with the mailing-it-in Seahawks on the schedule.
• You have to like Ben Roethlisberger against Miami’s suspect pass D.
• Jay Cutler looked strong last night and faces Detroit’s porous D in Week 17. It is a good opportunity for him to end the season on a high note and he probably will.
• Matt Moore has thrown six TD passes against Minnesota and the Giants the last two weeks. Steve Smith is out with a broken arm, which hurts Moore, but New Orleans’ defense has not been as strong as of late.

Sit em:

• I would not want any part of Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning, or Aaron Rodgers in Week 17. I have not heard anything definitive on Rodgers yet, but I cannot image him playing a full game against Arizona. That is one to track throughout the week to see what Mike McCarthy is saying.
• I told you to sit Donovan McNabb last week so you may want to tell me to shove it when I say what I’m about to say: McNabb and Romo scare me this week. They are playing eachother and neither had a particularly explosive fantasy game when the two teams met up earlier this season (1 TD for each). Division games tend to be knock-down, drag-out battles. I see the potential for that here.
• David Garrard is not that enticing to me even with Cleveland on the schedule. Yes, Jacksonville is still playing for an outside shot at the playoffs, but Garrard has been good on the road this year.

Week 17 Start Em, Sit Em Running Backs

Start em:

• I love Thomas Jones this week. With Cincy essentially having nothing to play for and the Jets desperate for a win, Jones should have a big day.
• Fred Jackson gets to face what we can only assume will be a halfhearted effort from Indy. I like him a lot this week.
• Knowshon Moreno faces a KC run defense that is giving up big yards to everyone.
• With DeAngelo Williams possibly out again, Jonathan Stewart has to be in your lineup. He is a dominant back who should run roughshod over New Orleans’ struggling D. Even if DAW plays, he won’t be 100%. Keep Stewart in there.
• Yes, you keep playing Jerome Harrison. Don’t be an idiot like so many Cleveland coaches have been and sit him down. He’s dominated for two straight weeks. This is for real. He’s a good back. We’ve all known it…expect his coaches.

Sit em:

• Joseph Addai, LaDainian Tomlinson, Ryan Grant, and Cedric Benson are all guys that I would like to sit if I could. I can’t imagine their teams will leave them out there long Sunday.
• Laurence Maroney fumbled again around the goalline. He’s been such a productive TD scorer this year, but the Pats are back to scoring through the air and Belichick won’t waste time with Maroney as the playoffs loom.
• Brian Westbrook is not a guy I’d want starting. He struggled in his first week back and only got 11 touches, plus he faces one of the hottest defenses in the NFL right now in the Cowboys.
• Brandon Jacobs has likely wrecked a lot of fantasy teams this season. He is now injured and should not sniff your lineup.

Week 17 Start Em, Sit Em Wide Receivers

Start em:

• I am going to make amends right here, right now for telling you to sit Roddy White last week. Start him this week. Atlanta plays a Tampa Bay defense that is improving but that can still be had. With Matt Ryan back, White again becomes a weekly must start.
• I continue to like Santonio Holmes – a lot – and especially with Miami on the schedule this week.
• Yes, Derrick Mason dropped a wide open touchdown in Week 16. He also has 72 catches on the season, another 1,000 yard year, and has 7 TDs. In a must win game, even with Nnamdi Asoumuga on the other side, I like the consistent Mason this week.
• Who the hell is Devin Aromashodu? (Ironically, he was a 2006t draft pick of the WR-starved Miami Dolphins.) No one really knew before last night but he emerged in a big with 7 catches and 2 TDs. Chicago plays Detroit this week. I see another strong week for Aromashodu coming.
• Yes, I would still start Randy Moss and Wes Welker, unless you hear that the Patriots are planning to sit them. Even one half from these two guys is worth it with how NE’s offense is clicking again.

Sit em:

• I am not a fan of Vincent Jackson, Reggie Wayne, Chad Ochocino, Donald Driver, and Greg Jennings this weekend. Perhaps take a wait-and-see approach with Driver and Jennings, but I just think Green Bay will play it close to the vest even if they do play the starters.
• Once again, Mike Sims-Walker proves that you cannot trust him, especially on the road. He may well have a big game against the Browns on Sunday, but I’d rather go in a different direction.
• Nate Burleson is out for the season with an injury, and he’s a Seahawk, so he’s obviously a sit.
• Braylon Edwards and Roy Williams both have first round pedigrees and have shown flashes of fantasy relevance this season. I will just ask you one question: do you trust either of these guys with your title on the line? Neither do I. Sit them.

Week 17 Start Em, Sit Em Tight Ends

Start em:

• Kellen Winslow is not catching TDs, be he’s consistently catching 4-6 passes for 60-80 yards. If you’re in a PPR league, Winslow is a solid option this week.
• Zach Miller seemed to have a nice rapport with Charlie Frye last week for Oakland. I like him as a solid play this weekend as well.
• I like both Jason Witten and Brent Celek this week. I don’t think this will be an explosive game between Philly and Dallas, but I do think the tight ends can have good days.
• Where in the hell did two TDs come from for Todd Heap last week? That makes six on the season. With Baltimore in desperate need of a W, I can see Flacco continuing to trust his veteran tight end in the red zone.

Sit em:

• Once again, the obvious sits: Dallas Clark and Antonio Gates. Jermichael Finley I actually might not be so quick to sit. He’s still a young player who missed some time earlier this season. And all he needs is one TD to be productive. Go in another direction if you have a solid option. Otherwise, it’s probably okay to play Finley.
• You may be excited about Greg Olsen’s Week 16 TD and the Detroit matchup. I’m not. Olsen had one catch against Detroit earlier this year (granted, it went for a one-yard TD) and has caught a whopping four passes in the last eight games, Monday night included. I don’t trust him.

Week 17 Start Em, Sit Em Defense / Special Teams

Start em:

• Baltimore is a terrific start this week. Charlie Frye spend last Sunday trying to throw as many INTs as he could. With the Ravens playing for everything, they probably won’t make it a very pleasant day for Frye and the Raiders.
• The Bills have to be a start this week. With Curtis Painter likely to play the majority of the game against Buffalo’s play-making secondary, there are some fantasy points to be had.
• I love the Jets D this week. Cincinnati has struggled offensively all year, and I doubt the starters play the whole way.
• Tennessee plays Seattle. If you watched any of last week’s Seattle-Green Bay game, then you know why I’m recommending Tennessee here.

Sit em:

• You cannot justify playing the Colts, Chargers, Bengals, Packers, or even the Patriots D. The first three are sits because I can see starters not playing. The last two are sits because of matchup, regardless of if the starters play.
• I would not want to start Carolina’s D against New Orleans. I think the Saints will put up some points.
• You may see Cleveland on the schedule and think the Jags’ D is a good start. I say no. The Browns are actually scoring points now and the Jags are not a good defense any longer.

So there we go, your Week 17 start em, sit em. Hopefully the new format didn’t throw you off too much, but I think we were able to cover a lot more pertinent information in a shorter time period doing it this way.

Plus, it gets us to the most important place more quickly: the comment section. Ask your questions and I’ll be answering all week.

And for those of you who’ve been with us all year, remember to let us know how your championships went. I’m hoping to hear about a lot of titles won in Week 16 (as opposed to, you now, “F— you Jerod for telling me to sit Donovan McNabb!”)

For those still playing, best of luck in Week 17!

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* – Devin Aromashodu photo credit: AP Photo / Jack Dempsey via ESPN.com

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