Week 15: Heroes, Bums, and Sleepers

Heroes:

1) Anyone involved in the Giants and Falcons passing games
It's a playoff preview, the Giants need to win, the Falcons have everything to prove, both teams love to throw, the secondaries have been grilled by upper-tier QBs (look away from Drew Brees' recent meltdowns), there are at least three viable passcatchers on each team, I could go on and on.

2) Jamaal Charles (RB - KC)
Three straight 100-yard games and he faces the team that allowed Doug Martin to score 51 FPs. Even if Charles doesn't score, expect to see him crack double-digit FPs with ease. The only possible concern is that Oakland has had ten day's rest and preparation--which stops being much of a concern when you come back to the word "Oakland."

3) Michael Crabtree (WR - SF)
Bill Belichick schemes to torture young QBs and eliminate standout WRs, but Crabtree has had a whopping nineteen catches in the past two weeks alone. He's gold in PPR leagues, and he should get at least one TD as the Niners play catchup this week.

Bums:

1) Robert Griffin III (QB - WAS)
I love Bob Griffin, but not enough to recommend him on a week when he'll be limited in his mobility. Sure, he's tied for the highest QB Rating this year, but if it's fantasy upside you're looking for, you'll be wagering on his legs. And don't think he's healthy enough to post his usual big numbers against Cleveland's underrated defense.

2) Nick Foles (QB - PHI)
I've been saying it all season long: don't start offensive players on Thursday nights unless you absolutely have to. And chances are, if you have Foles, he's your backup. Don't get cute and expect a repeat 25+ point performance against Cincy's suddenly solid pass defense.

3) Aaron Hernandez (TE - NE)
Word around these parts is that some Gronk fellow is returning to the lineup this week. If Gronk plays, you can forget about Hernandez's fantasy value. And even if Hernandez is the only TE in town, I'd rather have Wes Welker against San Fran, who has struggle to handle slot WRs (like the Welker-clone, Danny Amendola)

Sleepers:

1) Eric Decker (WR - DEN)
I'm putting him in the sleeper section because he's gone silent in recent weeks, failing to hit double-digit FPs in a standard league in 5 straight games. According to Football Outsiders, the Ravens are ranked dead last against opposing #2 wideouts, so logic points to double-digit Decker this weekend. Manning and Decker also got back on the same page last week, so it's finally time to trust a Bronco receiver other than Demaryius Thomas again.

2) Chad Henne (QB - JAC)
Yeah, I'm a homer, but you have to love the fact that Henne will be returning to his old stomping ground in Miami this week. He'll want to prove 1) that the Dolphins made a mistake in releasing him and 2) that the Jaguars mustn't do the same this offseason. Bonus points to Henne if Cecil Shorts plays.

3) Bilal Powell (RB - NYJ)
Double-digit FPs in three of his past four, and the Jets face an atrocious Titans run defense that allowed Vick Ballard to garner 104 total yards last week.