Update:  Vikings RB Adrian Peterson was unimpressive, if not ineffective, in Sunday's playoff victory over the Cowboys.  He rushed 26 times for 63 yards for a paltry 2.4 yards per attempts.  He also caught one pass for 19 yards but did not get into the end zone.  The good thing for Peterson is that nobody seemed to care or notice because his QB Brett Favre dismantled the Cowboys defense with 4 TD passes.  

Fantasy Impact:  So what is going on with AP?  Going into 2009, owners would have never expected the biggest beast in fantasy to be overshadowed by a 40-year-old quarterback on the same team.  Don't panic.  Take a deep breathe and relax.  AP will be back in full force very soon.  For now the Vikings are going to ride the hot arm of Favre for as long as he can take them.  Do not expect AP to have "2009 LT-esque" rushing totals against the Saints in the NFC Championship game.

Update: According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Cowboys’ head coach will remain with the Cowboys for 2010 and possibly beyond. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones told ESPNews that he’s working on an extension to the contract for Phillips to remain with the team for 2011 as well. “We’ve got to work out the details of what we want to do besides the option, but I want him back,” Jones said on ESPNEWS, according to ESPN.com.

Fantasy Impact: Phillips led the Cowboys to two NFC East titles in his three seasons and has a 33-15 record. He directed the Cowboys to their first playoff win since 1996 with the 34-14 wild-card win over Philadelphia but the season ended Sunday at Minnesota, 34-3.

Update:  The Baltimore Ravens cannot be disappointed in the progression of their QB Joe Flacco in 2009.  His regular season numbers improved significantly from his rookie year in every category (TDs, Passing Yds, Completions, Comp. %, QB Rating) but interceptions (12 both seasons).  The concern is how he has struggled in the postseason.  In five games, Flacco has 1 TDs and 6 INT.  He has completed 47.5% of his passes and has averaged just 11.4 competions and 132 yards per game.

Fantasy Impact:  Don't get me wrong, it's good for Flacco and the Ravens that he already has five playoff games under his belt after just two years of work in the NFL.  But his numbers certainly are not impressive.  The Ravens need to get him more receiving threats because the potential is there.  With RB Ray Rice coming on strong in his 2nd year, the Ravens have a major weapon to take pressure off their young quarterback.  Flacco is not worth drafting until the late rounds in 2010.  Consider him a backup option at best for now.

UPDATE: Ben Zubak of CourierPostOnline.com reports that the Philadelphia Eagles have signed CFL Rookie of the Year RB Martell Mallett. With Eagles RB Brian Westbrook apparently thinking retirement, the Eagles wanted to sign some depth. In the CFL’s season, Mallett ran for over 1,600 yards and caught 43 passes. He played college football at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (wherever that is), and he is currently listed as 4th on the depth chart. We may have found a diamond in the rough, but more likely we’ve found someone to cut come Camp time.

FANTASY IMPACT: Whether Westbrook retires or not, the Eagles seem ready for life without him. The Eagles do a good job of letting players go when they approach the end of their careers (Brian Dawkins, and now possibly Donovan McNabb). If Westbrook’s health improves he should be ready to play in 2010. Though his speed and quickness might have declined a bit, Westbrook still has a great knowledge of the west coast offense and has been one of the NFL’s best receiving running backs over the last eight years.

Update:  Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez did not have an impressive stat sheet Sunday vs. the Chargers.  He completed 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards with a TD and an interception.  It was enough for the Jets to win their 2nd straight playoff game on the road and advance to the AFC Championship against the Colts.  If he puts up similar numbers next week in Indianapolis, it is doubtful that the Jets will have the same result.

Fantasy Impact:  Sanchez looked shaky in the first half against the Chargers, but was effective on short routes in the 2nd half especially when he moved out of the pocket.  Throwing on the run seems to be a pattern for his success.  The Jets defense and run game have carried them to this point, but do not be surprised to see Sanchez throw more than 23 times next Sunday in a game that should require the Jets to score 24+ points to stay with the Colts.  Keep him reserved in playoff formats unless you are desperate.  He is rarely worth starting in standard formats at this point in his career.

Update: According to the Star Tribune, Minnesota Vikings' CB Antoine Winfield was named to the NFC Pro Bowl roster Tuesday. Winfield was an alternate when the final Pro Bowl selection was announced near the end of the season. Winfield will be replacing injured Cardinals' CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who suffered a leg injury during Saturday's playoff game against the Saints. This will be Winfield's second consecutive Pro Bowl.

Fantasy Impact: Winfield missed six games this season because of an injury to his right foot. But despite missing time, Winfield still tied for the team lead with nine passes broken up and also had 58 tackles. Winfield becomes the first Vikings cornerback to earn consecutive Pro Bowl berths since Carl Lee in 1989-90.

UPDATE: Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer reports the Carolina Panthers will pay QB Jake Delhomme if he comes back. They will pay him if he doesn't. Given that, Fowler bets Delhomme will start out as the No.2 quarterback in training camp. Panthers QB Matt Moore went 4-1 as a starter. Delhomme was 4-7. That one stat defines why Moore should get the pole position in camp. But quarterbacks get hurt a lot. Things change. And Fowler thinks Delhomme has at least one more big moment left in him before his Panthers career is done.

FANTASY IMPACT: Matt Moore played the best football of his three-year NFL career this season. Besides a 4-1 record in five starts, Moore posted a 98.5 passer rating and threw for 150.4 yards per game. It should be time for the Panthers to hand over the reigns to Moore. Ball security has been an issue for Delhomme who seems to throw interceptions in bunches. Moore only threw two interceptions in his five starts, while Delhomme threw one or more in all but three starts this season.

Update: The Star Tribune reports that Minnesota Vikings’ DE Ray Edwards suffered asprained right knee during Sunday’s 34-3 victory over Dallas. Childress said Monday that a few players were at Winter Park receiving treatment, but gave no indication if Edwards will be able to play Sunday in the NFC Championship game. “We’ll just see how they turn out on Wednesday,” Childress said. “We were able to get some other people in the game at the end, and Ray’s a tough guy. If he can possibly go, he’s going to go.” Vikings players will return to practice Wednesday to begin preparations for the Saints. The Vikings will issue their first injury report of the week late Wednesday afternoon.

Fantasy Impact: Edwards had five tackles, one forced fumble and six quarterback hurries to go with his three sacks Sunday.

Update:  ESPN's Mike Sando reports that Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said Tuesday that he wants the Cardinals to become more sound in their coverage schemes.  "When we've gone against the premier passing teams in the league like Green Bay, like New Orleans, even if you think back to Indianapolis, we didn’t do a good enough job," Whisenhunt told KTAR 620 in Phoenix.  "And I think it’s not so much about matchups as it is how we're playing our coverages and tightening those things up.  So that’s an area we’ve really got to focus on improving and we’re certainly going to do that.  Because if we can clean that up, I feel very good about where we are."

Fantasy Impact:  Injuries to CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and S Antrel Rolle early in Saturday's loss to the Saints certainly did not help matters.  But Whisenhunt was quick to point out coverage mistakes as opposed to just blaming injuries for the problems in the Cardinals secondary.  Hopefully, the off-season will help the Cardinals defense get healthier and they will learn from the mistakes that cost them a chance to move on in the playoffs.  They are a risky DST unit in 2010.

Update: According to the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Ravens RB Willis McGahee is unclear about what his future has in store for him after the 20-3 loss against the Colts on Saturday. Three years after being acquired by the Ravens to be the offensive centerpiece, McGahee's role this season was clearly defined as Ray Rice’s backup. Even though Rice ranked second in the NFL in total yards from the line of scrimmage, McGahee led the Ravens in touchdowns with 15. "I don’t know," McGahee said. "I don’t know if it’s here or somewhere else. Wherever it is, it’s going to go up."

Update:  ESPN's Tim Graham reports that, contrary to the diplomatic comments made on his radio show, Marty Schottenheimer wanted to be the Buffalo Bills head coach.  Bills owner Ralph Wilson, however, wasn't interested, sources close to Schottenheimer said Tuesday after the Bills introduced Chan Gailey as their man.  Wilson could not consider Schottenheimer a candidate because he wasn't comfortable with him, the sources said.

Fantasy Impact:  Coulda-shoulda-woulda.  Schottenheimer would have been a solid short-term replacement for the Bills to get back to being a tough, hard-nosed team based on defense and running the football — keys to winning in the colder conditions of the Northeast.  Instead they get Gailey, who was fired as defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs in August, a controversial move just two weeks before the start of the 2009 season.  He compiled a 44-33 record in college at Georgia Tech 2001-2007 and coached the Cowboys to two straight playoff appearances in the late 1990s.  Gailey said that he intends to serve as the team's offensive coordinator.

UPDATE: According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Atlanta Falcons did not renew longtime assistant coach Emmitt Thomas' contract. "Everyone here in the Falcons organization has the utmost respect for Emmitt, and we deeply appreciate his contributions to our team over the years," Falcons head coach Mike Smith said Tuesday night. "We wish Emmitt the best in his future endeavors." Thomas, who served as the assistant head coach/secondary for the past two seasons under Smith, had served as an assistant under the team's past four head coaches.

FANTASY IMPACT: The Falcons’ pass defense has struggled this year. They finished twenty-eighth in the NFL, allowing 241.9 passing yards per game. However, parting ways with Thomas will not fix the Falcons' problems on defense. They finished twenty-first in total defense this season and have not finished in the NFL’s top 20 for five years.

Update: Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reports that Tennesee Titans WR Kenny Britt was arrested in his home state of New Jersey last Friday night for outstanding traffic violations. Britt was apprehended for a traffic violation just after 11 p.m. Police then discovered that he had three outstanding traffic warrants, two from Elizabeth and one from Jacobstown, totaling $865. "He was treated like anyone else — he got arrested,'' Glen Ridge Lt. Fred Ignezzo said. "If you have these fines you need to take care of them and pay the fines levied on you so you don't have to deal with this.''

Fantasy Impact: The NFL is not expected to discipline Britt under its personal-conduct policy. Britt, who was the Titans' first-round pick last year, signed a five-year, $12 million contract in July. The deal included $6 million in guarantees.

Update: Daniel Brown of the Mercury News reports that the San Francisco 49ners have hired Kurt Schottenheimer as their special teams coordinator. Schottenheimer, a veteran of 22 seasons as an NFL assistant, takes over for Al Everest, whose contract was not renewed. Over the course of his NFL career, Schottenheimer has served as a secondary coach, defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and linebackers coach. He has not served as a special teams coach since 1994, when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs. Schottenheimer said he is eager to return to the role. "I couldn't be more excited about anything," Schottenheimer said.

Update: David Scott of the Charlotte Observer reports that Carolina Panthers' receivers coach Richard Williamson retired Monday. Williamson, 68, has been with the team since their induction in 1995. "We've had a lot of good people, good players and good workers," said Williamson