Hopefully, you can relax this afternoon and watch football. There are many great matchups that will be worth watching and if you have a deeper interest because of a player or players you need to do well, than that's even better. The one good thing about the kicker and defense positions on your fantasy team is that they don't get rested or benched by their coaches. Of course, their performance can be affected for the good or bad by the decisions their coaches make but for the most part we know what we're going to get.

Find the rankings for all 32 kickers and defenses below.

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Now you're only one win away from taking your league's trophy and/or cash prize. Can Adrian Peterson have a bigger impact in this week's game? Will Vincent Jackson be affected by his groin injury when the Chargers face the Lions? Is Ben Roethlisberger going to sit out this week's game versus the Rams? Let us know your thoughts on these topics or ask us a question about your lineup in the comments below. Watch for another All Fantasy Football Questions Answered Thread later in the week to answer more of your questions.

It's the championship for many fantasy football leagues and unlike most years, it looks like it's safe to start whichever quarterback got you to the final game of your fantasy season. Some teams may eventually rest their starter if they get far enough ahead but if that's the case, I'm sure they would probably already have put up a bunch of points for your fantasy team.

Quarterback sleepers: Matt Ryan (Falcons) - Atlanta is playing for a playoff spot and even possibly the divison but they do need to beat New Orleans to have a hope. Ryan had an excellent game in Week 15 and I think he'll have an equally good game this week.

More sleepers follow the jump plus rankings of all 32 quarterbacks.

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Defenses to start: Green Bay Packers - The Packers defense has played pretty good all season but I think we'll see a real dominating performance in this matchup. Kansas City has fired their head coach and could be starting their fourth different quarterback this season. Their return game with Randall Cobb will probably return a kick for a touchdown also.

All 32 defenses are ranked following the jump.

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Kickers to start: John Kasay (New Orleans) - What's there to say? He's kicking for an excellent offense and they're facing a team that has issues with their secondary. Kasay will be getting used a lot.

Graham Gano (Washington) - He's scored 22 points over the last two games and Washington played quite well against the Giants in Week 1. I think he gets a few chances in this game.


All 32 kickers are ranked following the jump.

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Tight End sleepers: Owen Daniels (Texans) - With Andre Johnson probably out again, look for Daniels to have another big game. Daniels had 100 yards against the Bengals in Week 14.

Jake Ballard (Giants) - Ballard has been a pretty consistent performer this year. I really like his matchup with the Redskins this week.

Marcedes Lewis (Jaguars) - When the Jaguars aren't pounding the ball with Jones-Drew, they'll look to Lewis in the passing game. Especially with Mike Thomas out for Week 15.

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Demaryius Thomas looks like a sure thing this week, as the Broncos play the Patriots. He has caught 14 balls for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns in his last four games. Thomas looks like one of those players that comes out of nowhere to help you win your fantasy league. Facing the poor New England secondary sweetens the deal and sets up a perfect matchup. It seems as though Tebow is giving him a good amount of targets.

Titans wideout Damian Williams has also been producing with back-to-back 62 yard games. I don't think he'll get much more than that in this matchup with the Colts. I feel Nate Washington will have the stronger game. Williams will probably have a much better game in Week 16, when the Titans play the Jaguars.


Receiver rankings follow the jump.

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Hopefully you made it through to your league's semi-finals this week. Will Matt Hasselbeck start against Indianapolis or will it be Jake Locker's first start? Is Mark Ingram going to miss his second straight game? Do you think Jimmy Graham will light up the Minnesota Vikings this week? Let us know your thoughts on these topics or ask us a question about your lineup in the comments below. Watch for another All Fantasy Football Questions Answered Thread on Saturday to answer more of your questions.

Carson Palmer has not had quite the effect that Oakland expected when they went all in and traded a first round pick and a conditional second round pick. He has passed for 1730 yards, 9 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in seven games. The Raiders record has reflected the rough transition, as they have gone 3-3 in Palmer's six starts. Of course, the injuries to their offensive skill positions has not helped. Oakland has been without Darren McFadden in all of Palmer's starts. Receivers Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore have missed seven out of a possible twelve starts with their new quarterback. So, the blame does not rest entirely with him but as fantasy owners I think we expected bigger things. Hopefully, if you have him in a keeper or dynasty league, things will be better next season.

Another quarterback that big things were expected from was Sam Bradford. He threw for 3512 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in his rookie season, while also playing every snap at quarterback for St. Louis. In the offseason, St. Louis did not really draft or sign any big gamebreaking threats for the passing game. However, they did bring in Josh McDaniels to be their offensive coordinator. It was thought that he would take the passing game to the next level. That has not happened and again injuries are partly to blame. Danny Amendola, Greg Salas, Michael Hoomanawanui, Mark Clayton and Mikail Baker have all been put on IR. While the Rams did pick up Brandon Lloyd to help their young quarterback, Bradford himself has missed three games with injuries. In the ten starts that he has made, Bradford has not passed for more than 1 touchdown in any of them and has gone over 300 yards twice. The one positive and it's actually quite surprising is that he has thrown only six interceptions. If St. Louis can improve his supporting cast and he can stay healthy, I can see him passing for over 3700 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2012.

Enough with the depressing though, how about the season that Andy Dalton has had. Currently in standard scoring he ranks as the 13th highest scoring quarterback in fantasy football. Dalton is ahead of Joe Flacco, Josh Freeman and Matt Hasselbeck. And because of their injuries, he's ahead of Michael Vick, Matt Schaub and Jay Cutler. Dalton currently has passed for 2833 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Added to that, he has had 7 multiple touchdown games and two 300 yard games. Remember, this is a rookie quarterback who had a shortened offseason, plays in a division with Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and has a young group of receivers. Looking at the next two games, Dalton has plus matchups as he faces St. Louis and Arizona. I wish I had drafted him in some of my leagues and look forward to his continued development in his next few years.

All 32 quarterbacks are ranked following the jump.

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Defense to start: San Francisco 49ers - The Niner defense is absolutely dominating their NFC West rivals. They are allowing only 8 points/game this season in their first three games against Seattle, St. Louis and Arizona. They held Arizona to only 229 yards on Nov. 20 but the Cardinals were playing without Kevin Kolb. I don't think he will make much difference in the rematch.

Defenses to avoid: Oakland Raiders - Oakland is taking on Green Bay at Lambeau. This season the Pack have been averaging 35 points/game, to put that in perspective, New England averaged 36.8 in their 2007 undefeated regular season. Oakland has been giving up the 6th most points. Leave Oakland on the bench.

Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis is giving up the most points in the league, 29.8. This week they face a Baltimore team that is really establishing the run, which is another area that the Colts have struggled with. They also are at the bottom of the league in interceptions with 5.

All 32 defenses are ranked following the jump.

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Kickers to start: David Akers (San Francisco) - Akers continues to have a very good season. Last week against St. Louis he scored 14 points. He faces Arizona for the second time this season. In the first game he scored 11 points with the potential for 20 because he missed three field goals.

Billy Cundiff (Baltimore) - He hasn't been having the best season but Billy Cundiff should have a great week as the Ravens are facing Indianapolis. I think he'll score at least 9 points on Sunday.

All 32 kickers ranked following the jump.

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The fantasy football playoffs are finally here. Is Dallas Clark worth the start this week, coming back from injury and facing Baltimore? Will Willis McGahee play against Chicago on Sunday? Do we need to worry about the availability of Mark Ingram? Give us your thoughts on these topics or ask us a question about your lineup in the comments below. Watch for another All Fantasy Football Questions Answered thread on Saturday to answer more of your questions.

Will Mark Sanchez ever be anything more than a fantasy backup? Since going over 300 yards against New England in Week 10 (and who hasn't this year), he has averaged 199 passing yards. The one thing that redeemed him in those games is that he threw 4 touchdowns against Buffalo. For the season, Sanchez has averaged 223.2 passing yards/game and 1.6 passing touchdowns/game. Presently he sits at 11th in standard scoring leagues with 169 points, between Ben Roethlisberger and Ryan Fitzpatrick. We know that the New York Jets like to run the football but they have not been able to establish a consistent running game. That makes me wonder why Sanchez has not taken on a bigger role and the passing game has not improved. Last year with the strong running game, he averaged 205.7 passing yards/game and 1.1 passing TD/game. So, his numbers have barely increased. His matchup this week is against KC, which is a plus for the fantasy playoffs but following that he gets Philadelphia and the Giants.

All 32 quarterbacks are ranked following the jump.

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Defenses to start: San Francisco 49ers - This defense has played phenomenal this season but playing in the NFC West also helps. This week they face St. Louis and they should once again have a strong game, since the Rams have struggled mightily.

Chicago Bears - Chicago really needs their defense to carry them with their quarterback troubles. Playing Kansas City, who have their own quarterback troubles, will definitely help. I predict that Chicago holds them to 7 points, gets 3 sacks, a return touchdown and forces 3 turnovers.

All 32 defenses ranked following the jump.

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Kickers to start: John Kasay (New Orleans) - Kasay has kicked for 106 points this season. 40 of those have been extra points because of the high powered New Orleans offense. I don't think Detroit will be able to slow them down and predict that Kasay kicks for 13 points (3 FG and 4 XP).

Dan Bailey (Dallas) - Bailey has been very accurate in his rookie season, only missing one field goal. This has resulted in him kicking for 108 points this season. Dallas faces Arizona and I predict that Bailey will also score 13 points (3 FG and 4 XP).

Ryan Longwell (Minnesota) - Along with the Minnesota offense, Longwell has struggled this season. I think he'll get a few extra chances for field goals this week resulting in 10 points (3 FG and 1 XP).

All 32 kickers ranked following the jump.

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Will Ryan Mathews have a second consecutive strong game, as he plays on Monday night against Jacksonville? Is the Denver defense going to dominate Minnesota? Which quarterback, Tyler Palko or Kyle Orton, will start for Kansas City against Chicago? Give us your thoughts on these topics or ask us a question about your lineup in the comments below. A new thread will be posted on Saturday to continue to answer your fantasy football questions.

Michael Vick is out for another game and will not play on Thursday night against Seattle. That means that Vince Young will get his third straight start. I realize that there is really no reason to rush Vick back with the way that Philadelphia's season has gone but could it be that they are auditioning Young for the role as starter. He has a record of 1-1 in the two games he started and threw for 400 yards against New England. It seems like everyone throws for a lot of yards against them though. His TD:INT ratio is disappointing, 3 TD: 5 INT. It will be interesting to see how this develops if he wins this week. Young is a low QB1, high QB2 option this week.

Indianapolis has made a change at their starting quarterback. They have replaced Curtis Painter with journeyman Dan Orlovsky. Painter has not been getting the job done at all and Indianapolis probably wants to look like they're trying to win a game. Orlovsky gets to face New England and their no name secondary. He will have the opportunity to put up some good numbers but unless your fantasy team is in the same boat as Indy, he's not worth a pick up.

The Houston quarterback situation has gone from good to bad to ugly. In his first start, Matt Leinart suffers a season ending fractured collarbone. Enter the rookie out of North Carolna, TJ Yates, he finished the game 8 of 15 for 70 yards. Yates is a well-built quarterback with good quickness and athletic ability. His weaknesses is his inconsistency, sometimes he lacks accuracy and seems to have a delay between seeing the open receiver and starting to throw the ball. Right now, Houston has given him the keys to the offense, which will probably be very run oriented. On Tuesday, Houston signed Jake Delhomme for insurance. They won't turn to Delhomme unless Yates completely stinks. It will be interesting to watch as Yates takes on Atlanta, which is a team on a whole different level from Jacksonville.

All 32 starting quarterbacks ranked following the jump.

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Defenses to start: Pittsburgh Steelers - We were all able to see what New England was able to accomplish against Kansas City on Monday night. Pittsburgh must be ecstatic to face them this week. Pittsburgh is coming off a bye and Dick LeBeau will have prepared an excellent game plan to dominate the Chiefs. With Kansas City starting Tyler Palko again and facing a short week, it will get ugly.

Houston Texans - What an improvement that Wade Phillips has made to this defense. The Texans are holding teams to 16.6 points a game, while Jacksonville is only scoring 12.5 points a game. I think Houston holds Jacksonville under 10 points, while getting 3 sacks, 4 turnovers and a return touchdown.

All 32 defenses ranked following the jump.

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Kickers to start: Mason Crosby (Green Bay) and Jason Hanson (Detroit) - This game will be a shoot out and Crosby/Hanson will reap the benefits.

David Akers (San Francisco) - This game may be a defensive battle but San Francisco will probably give Akers some field goal chances. I think he'll score 12-15 points.

All 32 kickers are ranked following the jump. 

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How much will Tyler Palko struggle against the Pittsburgh defense? Is Kyle Orton going to be able to improve the Kansas City offense? Will Ryan Mathews play against Denver this week? Let us know what your thoughts are on those topics or ask something about your lineup in the comments below. We'll start a new thread on Saturday to answer all your new fantasy questions.

Some very interesting news out of Denver yesterday, as Kyle Orton was placed on waivers. Orton started the first 5 games for Denver and threw for 979 yards, 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Since he was replaced with Tim Tebow, Denver has gone on to win 4 of 5. With the rash of injuries to the quarterback position, Orton should be picked up by somebody. Rumors are floating around that Chicago and Kansas City have put in claims for him. Washington and Miami are also said to be interested. If he goes to Chicago, he'll back up Caleb Hanie. If Hanie were to play poorly, Orton would no doubt get the call and he is familiar with many of the offensive skill position players they have. If he went to Kansas City or Washington, he would give those teams a better option at quarterback but wouldn't have the upside that he would with Chicago.

***UPDATE*** Kansas City claimed Orton off waivers today. He has said that if KC picked him up that he would not report but that remains to be seen. Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and Jon Baldwin should go back up in value when Orton becomes the starter.

A quarterback that has warmed up recently is Matt Moore for Miami. He has thrown for 3 touchdowns in 2 out of his last 3 games. Moore has been managing the game and not really leading the team. Over those three games, he has averaged 24 passing attempts. While over his 7 starts, Moore is averaging 188.4 yards a game. If you are really desperate for a quarterback or play in a 2 quarterback league, Moore is a good choice. Otherwise, you can do much better.

Michael Vick was not able to play in Week 11 and Vince Young was able to lead Philadelphia to victory and end a two game losing streak. Philadelphia does not need to rush Vick back, especially with the way that Young performed on Sunday night. It would not be a bad matchup for Vick or Young to face New England but either way Philadelphia needs to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. So far, there is a feeling that Vick might play but not much will be known until Thursday or Friday at the earliest.

Ranking of all 32 teams quarterbacks following the jump.

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The final bye week is upon us and we'll all be thankful that this is the last one. Give us your questions and thoughts below. Some other things we can discuss: Is Tarvaris Jackson worth picking up to replace Matt Schaub or Matt Cassel? Will Ryan Mathews produce a meaningful game for his owners against Chicago on Sunday? And is Darren McFadden going to produce big numbers down the stretch or share carries with Michael Bush, once he returns? Let us know what you're thinking in the comments.

Defenses to start: San Francisco 49ers - This defense has been dominating. They are holding opponents to 15.3 points a game. This week they play at home with John Skelton still at quarterback for Arizona. I think they'll hold Arizona to 10 points and score a return touchdown.

Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jacksonville defense has not been that bad. They have only been allowing 18.4 points a game and last week only allowed 3 points. They face Cleveland, so their chances are good to have a great game.

All 28 defense for Week 11 are ranked following the jump.

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