If McNair doesn't play this week, substitute Billy Volek here. The Chiefs have by far the worst pass defense in the league right now. They are ranked 31st in passing yards allowed, 32nd in yards per pass attempt allowed, and 28th in passing TDs allowed. In the last three weeks, they've given up an average of 345 passing yards and 2 passing TDs per game (zero interceptions).

Brooks may be an NFL enigma, but he's still a good fantasy QB. He's topped 250 passing yards three of the last four weeks, and plays a Cowboys secondary that couldn't contain Jerry Rice, much less Joe Horn. Opposing QBs have a 25/6 TD/INT ratio against America's team, which makes Sunday look very promising for AB.

Converse to how well the Saints' run game is faring these days, the Saints' inability to get going early has been a boon to Aaron Brooks. Facing a Dallas pass defense that is susceptible to the big play, I expect Aaron Brooks will be pretty big in this game once the Cowboys take a decent lead. Oh, by the way, the Dallas defense allows the sixth most FF points per game to opposing QBs. While it's a bit of a cheat grabbing the #13 QB to finish above the baseline of #12, let's also say Brooks finishes as a top-5 QB this week - the Dallas pass D did wonders for Matt Hasselbeck on Monday night, and he was in a slump - Brooks has been in a good groove as he is now well practiced at trying to lead comeback attempts by flinging the ball.

Brees cooled off a bit last week against the Broncos, and he faces an even tougher matchup this weekend against the Buccaneers. The Bucs are giving up a league-low 160 passing yards per game this season, and only 5.78 yards per pass attempt. Their run defense, on the other hand, has been about average; so look for the Chargers to keep the ball on the ground this week in the hands of a healthy LaDainian Tomlinson.

Was Miami exposed by Drew Bledsoe last week, or was it just an off week for the Fins D? Either way, I don't expect Miami to last long at Mile High on Sunday, which means not many pass attempts for Plummer. He certainly could get two TDs, but I'd set a reasonable over/under on his passing yards at 150.

After the Buccaneers dismantled Mike Vick last week, I will bet in their favor again this week - unless that is Peyton Manning on the other side of the field, the Bucs D is capable of smothering any QB. They are third best in the league against opposing fantasy QBs, sacrificing an average of only 13.8 FF points per game - and they have been significantly better than that the last few weeks. I would call them the best pass defense in the NFL right now, and I believe Brees is in for another very poor fantasy day. Not good news for teams that have banked on Brees and are now entering their first week of the FF playoffs. A good second choice here for me was Jake Plummer, but I'm sure several of my chums in this column will be choosing him.

Johnson looked like the real deal last week rushing for 118 yards against the Raiders (with 56 yards receiving to boot). Johnson and Blaylock should split carries this week against the Titans' poor run defense that is allowing 4.68 yards per carry and has surrendered 13 rushing TDs on the season. With Johnson more likely to get the goal line carries, he is the better play.

The Titans are in the bottom quarter of the league in yards per rush allowed, and Kansas City is one of the best rushing teams in football. While Johnson and Derrick Blaylock should share duties, Johnson earned playing time by totaling 174 yards in a win last week.

Getting the start again after his last performance of 140+ rush yards and a TD, combined with facing a New York Giants' defense that is simply collapsing - especially in run defense - and this is almost too easy of a gimme. If you grabbed Taylor way back when to replace Jamal Lewis in your lineup during the suspension, I hope you have inserted him in your starting lineup to replace Jamal while he's been injured.

I'm picking Johnson here for the second week in a row as he faces yet another of the league's tougher run defenses in the New England Patriots. The Patriots defense is a solid unit overall, but to the extent they have an exploitable weakness right now it is in the secondary. With Carson Palmer playing well recently, the Bengals should do the majority of their damage through the air, and Rudi Johnson will have another subpar fantasy week.

The Patriots are tough against the run, and the Bengals have clearly become Carson Palmer's team. The Patriots will score a lot of points, and this will either turn into a blowout or a shoot-out. Either way, I don't think Johnson has a big game against the league's hottest team.

It pains me greatly to place this name here. I have him in several of my money leagues, and I have always had a fond place for Deuce in my heart - he's one of my favorite fantasy players. That said, the team has given up. They fall behind very early in games (they have the worst point differential in the first quarter of games this year) and they are clearly playing out the string with a lame duck coach. That is recipe for fantasy RB disaster. Plus they are going into big D to face a team that IS playing for something. The Cowboys are motivated to make the playoffs - and the Cowboys have DRASTICALLY improved their run D the last few weeks. Ugh, I hate to say it, but I have a big avoid tag on Deuce this game, and for the rest of the year.

Fitzgerald has been rather inconsistent this year, but could be due for a nice week against the Forty-Niners, who are giving up over 300 yards of offense per game. Look for Fitzgerald to make at least one big play this week as Anquan Boldin draws the defense's attention away from him.

McCareins played well against Pittsburgh last year, and I think he's in for another good game this week. Expect Curtis Martin to have difficulty running against the Steel Curtain, which means the Jets will have to throw the ball downfield. McCareins leads the team with thirty-eight receptions, and should pull in five to seven this Sunday.

He's playing against Kansas City, Monday Night Football, he just had a 140+ receiving, 3 TD day. I don’t think I need to make any more commentary than that for why I think he'll be above the WR30 this week. Incidentally, I don’t care if it is McNair or Volek back there - Drew has been a fairly steady performer most of the year, and it is surprising to me that he is ranked below the WR30 - I see 4 or 5 WRs in the top-30 that, IMO, Drew Bennett should be ranked above.

Rod Smith has been on a decent fantasy streak, scoring a touchdown in four of his last six games. This week, however, he faces a Miami Dolphin defense that has kept most WRs in check this year, from a fantasy perspective. The Dolphins have a much stronger pass defense than run defense, so expect the Broncos to keep the ball on the ground to shorten the game after getting an early lead.

The Bucs are fighting for their playoff lives, and SD is coming off an emotional victory over division rival Denver. While SD might not suffer a letdown and lose to the Bucs, they will have difficulty throwing the ball. McCardell had just two catches last week, and the Bucs D knows exactly how to contain them. Expect Gruden to give his defense extra motivation to contain McCardell this weekend, following his highly publicized holdout this summer.

I'm taking my big risk this week calling for Holt to fall on his face. He would have to have a REALLY poor day to plunge all the way below WR30. However, my reasoning is more than just that Bulger is out - the Rams face a very tough Carolina team in Carolina - a team still amazingly alive for the playoffs. And the Panthers sacrifice only 16.9 FF points per game to opposing fantasy receivers - that is good for fourth best in the league (behind surprising Cincinnati). I am not confident Holt will fall all the way below WR30, but I am using this spot to preach caution and for you to expect him to have a poorer output than you are used to.

The Lions have struggled in the red zone recently, but may have more success against a Packer pass defense that was demoralized by the Eagles last week. I would expect Alexander to get about four catches for 40 yards this week with a chance to get into the endzone.

The last time Clark faced the Texans, he hauled in 102 yards and a score. Expect Indianapolis to score another 40+ this week, which means Clark has as good a chance as any mediocre fantasy tight end to produce.

I was way off in this category last week in picking Bubba Franks. The Packers were BLOWN out, in comeback mode all game, yet Bubba didn't make a statline. Too bad, too, because I had a nice streak of picking the week's hot TE. Franks somehow jumped up the rankings this week into the top-12 or else I would have picked him again. Confusing, too, because he had a big week two weeks ago and did NOT climb, yet he was held without a catch against Philly and took a big jump. This week, looking elsewhere, I will ride Boo Williams. It seems that in Brooks' comeback efforts, he looks to the TE as much as the WRs, so let's bet on Boo grabbing a TD this week to place him in the top-12 for TEs.

McMichael is frustrated with the way his role in the offense has decreased over the second half of the season, but things won't get any easier for him this week as he faces a stingy Baltimore Raven defense. The Ravens have allowed only 10 passing touchdowns so far this season -- the lowest in the league -- and should limit McMichael's effectiveness in the red zone.

I placed him here last week, and he might stay the remainder of the season. Until Eli Manning resembles an NFL QB (and don't expect that this week against Baltimore or the following against Pittsburgh), Shockey rides the bench.

Well, I finally got one right last week in this category. This week, I'll go with McMichael to finish below the #12 TE. Even though he has been vocal this week about wanting to be included in the game plan, facing the best team in the league against TEs, and with Feely at the helm, he will, at best, see targets, but not catches. Denver gives up only 2.6 FF points per game to TEs - and they have faced Gates twice and Gonzalez once. If they can contain those guys, they can handle McMichael. It will not be a challenge for Denver's speedy and exceptional coverage LBs - especially since safety help will be available while the team plays 8 in the box.