In Week 1, despite succumbing to injury after just one quarter, he pulled in all four of his targets for 109 yards and a touchdown. His fantasy owners could find solace in the fact he made the most of those fifteen minutes of football, but they had little time to celebrate their potential stud receiver.

Ultimately, the toe rendered him useless as a fantasy option for the following ten weeks. He was stuck on the sidelines for Weeks 2 and 3 before attempting to play in Weeks 4 and 5, in which he was only able to muster 4 catches for 44 yards. He then returned to the sidelines, where he was a spectator for another four games. After the Redskins’ bye week, he was able to shake off some rust in limited playing time versus the Eagles in Week 11. By that time he was already traded, dropped and cursed by countless of his fantasy owners.

The fantasy owners that were able to maintain faith and those who were savvy enough to snag him off the waiver wire were rewarded. Garcon’s long awaited welcome back party finally took place in Week 12; he totaled 86 yards and a touchdown on 4 receptions, while also adding a 7-yard run. Over the final five weeks, he went on to average 9.2 targets, 5.8 receptions, and 77.8 yards, which if extrapolated over a full season would translate to 93 receptions and 1,245 yards. Those numbers would have ranked 8th and 12th respectively among wide receivers.

That may be a small sample size, but by looking at his career statistics you’ll notice his career trajectory has been pointed upward ever since he broke into the NFL:

His targets, receptions and yards all increased in each of his first four seasons. The biggest testament to his skill may have been posting career high totals in 2011 while working with a quarterback carousel consisting of Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. His production in the playoffs also alludes to his penchant for stepping up in big games.

In his four playoff games he has averaged 9.0 targets, 6.0 receptions, and 82.6 yards while reaching the end zone three times. Those averages are eerily consistent with his averages over the final five weeks in 2012, which provides further reason for Garcon being able to meet those numbers.

Surgery on his toe is still being considered, which leads me to believe he continued to fight through the injury even after returning to the starting lineup. A healthy Garcon could very easily post numbers close to those extrapolations over the course of a full 2013 season, which would plant him squarely in WR1 territory.

And not only will Garcon be a valuable asset for your fantasy team, the following table illustrates just how beneficial he is to the Redskins’ overall success:

His presence seemingly helped out across the board, but the most staggering statistic is the difference in the win-loss column. I’m sure Mike Shanahan has taken note of that and will do his best to keep him healthy and involved.

If you’re worried about Robert Griffin III’s health, you can breathe a deep sigh of relief. After connecting with Garcon on a critical touchdown near the end of regulation versus the Ravens, Kirk Cousin’s targeted Garcon a season high, 12 times, during his start versus the Browns. So keep Pierre Garcon’s name in mind when your drafts roll around because no matter who is under center, expect him to play a pivotal role.

Kyle Wachtel writes for ForensicFantasy.com and can be followed on Twitter at @KyleWachtel

Actually, I’d like to take a few words to rant about that mistake, which is one of my pet peeves about the NFL. Specifically, any coach that uses a timeout to try and “ice” a kicker should have the football…or maybe the goalposts…shoved sideways up his butt.

Let’s face it; this play just does NOT WORK anymore. Maybe when it was new, it got a few good results. But now that kickers have gotten used to it, it’s pretty worthless.

In fact, the kickers are now turning it to their advantage. Because coaches wait till the last possible millisecond to call the timeout, the kicker goes ahead and boots the ball anyway. If he shanks it, so what? It actually gives him a chance to correct the problem.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the Falcons-Seahawks game last weekend. After mounting a marvelous 4^th quarter rally to go from 6 points down to 1 point up, the Seahawks give up a couple of passes that put the Falcons in position to try a 49-yarder for the win with 13 seconds left.

The Falcons line up for the kick and just as the kicker boots it, Seattle coach Pete Carroll calls timeout.  Falcons kicker Matt Bryant boots it wide right, they lineup again, and he drills it right down the center. The Falcons pull out a 2 point win, and Carroll costs his team a chance at the conference championship.

Sure, there were lots of things earlier that could have changed the game. But when it came down to it, a low percentage play that never should have been called costs them. NFL coaches, CUT IT OUT!

OK, enough said. On to this week’s games.

49ERS AT FALCONS: Well, this is a matchup of the two teams I was wrong on last week. For the 49ers game, I thought it would come down to quarterback play and I was right. I just put my chips on the wrong QB.

What 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick did last week was to show us football at the highest level. The Packers literally got run right over by him, as he amassed 181 yds on16 rushes with 2 TDs. But he still managed to have some time to pass, going 17 of 31 for 263 yds and 2 more TDs.

Kaepernick was not the only 49 running wild on the Pack; RB Frank Gore added 23 carries for 119 yds and a TD. The 49ers controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for more than 38 minutes and also won the turnover battle 2-1. Basically, they kicked the Packers’ butts.

The Falcons, meanwhile, did as much as possible to give their game away before Carroll gave them a gift. RB Michael Turner was going well, having 14 carries for 98 yds, but once they got a lead, they inexplicably stopped running him.

I’m sure it looked like the game was secure with a 27-7 lead at the end of the 3^rd quarter. But the Seahawks showed once again that nothing is safe against them.

In the span of 12 and a half minutes, the Seahawks got into the red zone 3 times, and got TDs all 3. QB Russell Wilson ran for 1 TD, passed for another, and RB Marshawn Lynch added another. The longest of these 3 plays was the TD pass: a 3-yarder to TE Zack Miller.

Prediction: OK, Kaepernick has convinced me that he’s got the stuff to lead the Niners to the Super Bowl. Based on what I’ve seen in the playoffs so far, I don’t trust the Falcons at all.

49ers 34, Falcons 20

RAVENS AT PATRIOTS: OK, now on to the two games I called right last weekend. The Patriots’ game was a pretty easy pick for me, but I’d be willing to bet that I’m one of a few who picked the Ravens to go into Denver and upset the Broncos.

I know it’s a trite cliché, but I’ll use it anyway: the Ravens seem to be a team of destiny this year. They just seem to go out and do whatever it takes to win. Much as I hate the Ravens personally, last week’s game was one of the most thrilling games I’ve ever seen.

The Ravens only led once in regulation, 14-7 in the 1^st quarter, after Broncos QB Peyton Manning threw a pick 6. But Manning brought them back to a 21-14 lead midway into the 2^nd quarter.

After that, it was back and forth. The Ravens answered to tie it at 21; the Broncos scored next, and there were 3 more TDs after that…two by the Ravens…to end regulation in a 35-all tie. The last of these was a beautiful 70-yd bomb by Ravens QB Joe Flacco to WR Jacoby Jones, who got behind the Broncos defense and made his only catch of the game count.

It seemed that neither team would break during the first overtime, but finally with 51 seconds left in OT, Manning was picked off again. It took just 4 Ray Rice runs for the Ravens to get in position to kick the winning FG a little over a minute into the second OT.

The Texans also led just once in the game against the Patriots when they drove down the field on their first possession, but had to settle for a FG.

After that, it was pretty much all Brady and the Patriots. Even though they lost RB Danny Woodhead and Rob Gronkowski to injuries, Brady just kept rolling along. He threw 2 TD passes to backup RB Shane Vereen, and another to WR Brandon Lloyd. Vereen had another TD on the ground; RB Stephen Ridley added another, and they tacked on two FGs for insurance.

Prediction: Once again, common sense and logic favors the Patriots. They’re at home, they have Brady and all his weapons, and they beat the Ravens in last year’s title game.

But not so fast. The Ravens beat the Patriots earlier this year 31-30, when Flacco rallied them and they kicked a FG with no time left on the clock. They nearly beat the Patriots in last year’s title game, a dropped pass and a shanked short FG cost them late.

When they’ve met recently, Flacco has outplayed Brady and is showing that he is becoming one of the best playoff QBs in the league. I also think that destiny factors in here again. So once again, I’ll go out on the limb, and predict an all-Harbaugh Super Bowl.

Ravens 27, Patriots 24

One note before I start: unlike the NFL, I use ppg to determine the best defense, not ypg. The reason for this is that the game is won by the team that scores the most points, not the one that amasses the most yards.

A lot of yards can be given up between the 20s, and a team that holds the opposing team to FGs instead of TDs has a far better chance of winning. Maybe someday the league will wake up and change the defensive ranking to fewest ppg allowed.

RAVENS AT BRONCOS:  For a lot of the so-called experts, it seems they believe this week’s AFC games are just a stepping stone to a Patriots-Broncos title game. But I’m not so sure of that; I don’t think those who believe that are giving to Ravens much credit.

The two teams met in week 15, with the Broncos coming away with a 34-17 win. The Ravens did a good job of holding Peyton Manning to 204 yds and 1 TD. But they gave up 118 yds rushing and a TD to Knowshon Moreno, and another rushing TD to Jacob Hester. Ravens QB Joe Flacco also gave up a pick 6 in that game.

Offensively, the Ravens didn’t make much use of Ray Rice in that first game. He only had 12 carries for 38 yds. Down 17-0 at halftime, the Ravens made the mistake of pretty much giving up on the run and letting Flacco try to do it all.

One big difference between this game and last is that Ravens LB Ray Lewis was out with an injury. But he’s back now, and had a stellar game last week, which gives the Broncos another problem to contend with.

The Ravens smashed the Colts 24-9 last week, while the Broncos were on a bye. The Ravens went back to their old game plan of lots of rushing, and their defense looked stronger than it has in weeks.

Prediction:  This kind of reminds me of the playoffs back when the Steelers beat Seattle in the Super Bowl. Big Ben had promised Jerome Bettis a Super Bowl win if he returned for one more season, then went out and delivered. With Lewis retiring after this year, the emotion may be an X-factor that decides a relatively even game. I’m going with the upset.

Ravens 27, Broncos 24

PACKERS AT 49ERS: Another rematch from earlier in the season, when the 49ers won 30-22 in game 1. But there’s one major difference between then and now: Alex Smith was the Niners’ QB then, as opposed to Colin Kaepernick now.

Smith actually had a pretty good game in that first outing, going 20 for 26 with 2 TDs and no picks. RB Frank Gore added 112 yds and a TD on the ground.  Rodgers was his usual self, going 30 for 44 with 2 TDS. But he was also the Pack’s leading rusher, with a mere 27 yds.

The 49ers have the 2^nd best defense in the league right now, allowing just 17.3 ppg.  But they have looked vulnerable in recent weeks, jumping out to a 31-3 lead over the Patriots in week 15, then seeing Tom Brady lead the Pats back to a tie before finally prevailing 41-34.

The following week, in a divisional game against the Seahawks, they were down 21-0 less than a minute into the 3^rd quarter, and lost 42-13. The only TD they scored in that game was a garbage time pass with less than 2 minutes left. The Seahawks played a complete game in that one: QB Russell Wilson only threw for 171 yds, but had 4 TD passes, RB Marshawn Lynch rushed for 111 yds and a TD, and they added another on a blocked FG that was returned for a score.

Perhaps the most telling point of that game was that the longest of Wilson’s 4 TD passes was for 9 yds…the 49ers couldn’t do anything to stop them when the Seahawks got in close.

The results for Kaepernick have been mixed. He had more passing yardage than Smith on the same number of attempts. but threw for less TDs. However, one thing he has in his favor is that he adds a running dimension that smith doesn’t have, rushing for 415 yds and 5 TDs.

The Packers benefitted last week from having Vikings’ starting QB Christian Ponder unable to play, leaving the chores to backup QB Joe Webb, who hadn’t thrown a pass all season. They also finally managed to hold RB Adrian Peterson to 99 yds and no TDs.

Another big difference in last week’s playoff game was that Although Rodgers threw for 274 yds; he had only 1 TD pass. They only scored 10 TDs on the ground during the regular season, but had 2 last week.

Prediction:  I’m going with the visiting Pack in this one. The difference between Kaepernick and Rodgers is huge, and I don’t trust the 49ers D right now.

Packers 30, 49ers 13

SEAHAWKS AT FALCONS: The NFL’s surprise team keeps rolling on. After spotting the Redskins a 14-0 first quarter lead, they completely shut the Redskins down the rest of the way, roaring back to win 24-14.

They did it the way they have won a lot of games this year: a good rushing attack, enough passing from Russell Wilson to win, and with a ferocious defense. Redskins’ QB Robert Griffin III, the 2nd overall pick in the draft, was held to a 10 for 19 performance with just 84 passing yards, and was knocked out of the game in the 4^th quarter. Rookie RB Alfred Morris, the 2^nd leading rusher in the league, was held to just 80 yds.

Despite the fact that they finished with a 13-3record and a first round bye, the Falcons have a lot of problems going into this game. QB Matt Ryan has been in the playoffs 3 times, but has yet to win a game. Despite their gaudy record, they won only 4 games during the regular season against teams that eventually finished .500 or better.

They are also hurting in the ground game. They were 29^th in the league in rushing, and the Seahawks have the 10^th ranked rush defense. Meanwhile, Seattle was 3^rd in the league rushing, and the Falcons ranked 20^th in stopping the run.

That pretty much puts the Falcons’ game in the hands of Ryan and his receivers. More bad news for the Falcons; the Seahawks ranked 6^th against the pass, allowed fewer TD s (15) than they had picks, and had 36 sacks for the season. Atlanta also has two of the best shutdown corners in the league, and they should give the Falcons firs.

Prediction: Once again, I’ll go with the visitors. Their offense is way more balanced, and their defense is far superior.

Seahawks 27, Falcons 16

TEXANS AT PATRIOTS: This is the game I feel the best about this weekend. The Texans started out 11-1, then lost 3 of the last 4 to finish 12-4 and drop from overall 1^st seed to 3^rd.  Included in that streak was a 42-14 beat-down by the Patriots in week 14 in which they were behind 28-0 and 42-7, scoring their last TD with 2 minutes left.

Patriots’ QB Tom Brady threw for 4 TDs in that game, and the Patriots totally shut down the Texans’ ground game:  Patriots RB Stephen Ridley had more rushing yards than the Texans’ Arian Forster.

The Texans did manage to win the weekend’s ugliest playoff game last Saturday, 19-13 over the Bengals. The only bright spot in that game was Foster rushing for 140 yds and a TD. QB Matt Schaub had a very empty 262 yds passing, with no TDs and a pick. The only thing that saved them was that the Bengals’ offense was worse.

Prediction:  If it goes anything like the last game, it could be pretty well over by halftime. The Texans are reeling right now, and have to face Brady at home.

Patriots 34, Texans 13

Bengals (10-6) at Texans (12-4):  A few weeks ago, this would have been a no-brainer. The Texans were riding high,and looked to be the #1 seed in the AFC with a killer defense. But there have been some chinks in the armor recently, as they have lost 3 out of the last 4, while the Bengals have been on fire.

Over the last 7 weeks, the Texans have had 3 games where they have allowed more than 30 ppg, and two of those have come against mediocre teams: 37 to the Jaguars and 31 to the Lions.  Another thing that could make this tough for them is that the Bengals lead the league in sacks with 51, and Texans’  QB Matt Schaub has been dropped 27 times. Although Dalton has been sacked far more times than Schaub (48), he has only lost 13 more yds dues to sacks (229 to 216).

For the Texans to win, they will have to feed the Bengals a healthy dose of Arian Foster, and the offensive line has to give Schaub time to throw. The Bengals need to put pressure on Schaub,  and force him into mistakes in the passing game. The Texans will also have to control WR AJ Green, the player on these teams most likely to make a big play.

Call it a gut instinct, but I’m going with the upset here. The Texans have looked extremely vulnerable recently, and the Bengals are riding high.

Prediction: Bengals 27, Texans 23

Vikings (10-6) at Packers (11-5). These two teams met just last week, with the Vikings pulling out a 37-34 last minute win at home to get into the playoffs. When they met in Week 11 in Green Bay, The Pack won 23-14.

This game comes down to who has the better day: Vikings RB Adrian Peterson or Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Peterson rushed for 409 yds in the previous games, but scored only once in each game. Rodgers passed for 365 yds and 4 TDs in week 17 against the Vikings , and finally has all his receivers healthy.

As those two players go, so goes the offense. The Vikings have no passing game to speak of, and the same is true of the Packers’ ground game. The key to this game, aside from the aforementioned players, will be for the Vikings to get heavy pressure on Rodgers and use their ground game to keep him off the field.

I’ll go with the favored Packers in this one. It’s January , the Vikings will not be as good outdoors and the Pack is 7-1 at home this year.

Prediction: Packers37, Vikings 20

Colts (11-5) at Ravens (10-6): The Sunday games look to be much better than those on Saturday, starting with this one. The Colts are the big story in the NFL this year, with rookie #1 pick Andrew Luck leading them to an 11-5 record after they went 2-14 last year.

The big story for the Colts on the field was the impressive debut of Luck, who threw for 4,374 yds, breaking the rookie passing record set by Cam Newton last year. He also pulled out several late wins, and looked far more mature than his age.

This is not to say he didn’t have some issues this season.  He threw for 23 TDs, but also was picked off 18 times and sacked 41. With no real run game to speak of, Luck threw the ball 627 times, fifth-most in the NFL. You know what the Colts are going to do most of the time; you just have to be able to stop them.

The Ravens are a far more balanced team. RB Ray Rice quietly had another good year, rushing for 1,143 yds and 9 TDs and catching 61 balls for 478 yds and another TD. QB Joe Flacco didn’t put up the kind of numbers Luck did, but did throw for 22 TDs while only throwing 10 picks.

There are also the off-the-field issues that will bring a lot of emotion to this game. Colts’ coach Chuck Pagano has been battling cancer most of the season, and only returned to field duties last week. Ravens LB Ray Lewis missed several games at the end of the season with an injury, and will just now get back on the field for the playoffs. Lewis announced this past week that this will be his last season, which will provide another highly emotional element.

It’s a tough game to call, but I’ll go with Ravens at home in a close one.

Prediction: Ravens 27, Colts 20

Seahawks (11-5) at Redskins (10-6). For my money, this should be the best game of the weekend. Rookie QBs Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson face off against each other, and it also features the #2 and #3 RBs in the league in Redskins’ surprising rookie Alfred Morris and Seattle’s vet Marshawn Lynch.

Griffin has the most impressive stats of the two, with 3,200 passing yds and 20 TDs vs only 5 picks. He also ran for 815 yds and 7 TDs. But Wilson was no slouch either; he threw for 3,118 yds and tied Peyton Manning’s rookie TD passing record with 26 while being picked off 10 times. He also ran for 489 yds and 4 TDs.

There will be two major things to watch in this game. The first is Griffin, who suffered a leg injury late in the year. He has played since then, but is not at full strength, and his mobility is somewhat limited, which makes it easier to key on him.

But the biggest factor here is neither of the QBs, but the Seahawks killer defense, which leads the league in fewest ppg allowed with 15.3. They’ve been smoking hot recently, allowing more than 20 points in just one game since week 9.

Of all the teams in the playoffs, the Seahawks are the one I’d least like to face right now. In addition to the defense being so strong, they had a 3 week span where they put 150 points on the board…including 42 against the highly rated 49ers defense.

Prediction: Seahawks 31, Redskins 17

In 140 characters or less you can learn something about a player you would have never thought to analyze.  Trends, stats, analysis and simple suggestions pour out weekly after the NFL action is completed and below are some of the highlights to consider when hitting the waiver wire or seeking trades to win your fantasy championships this season.

Danario Alexander, Chargers – Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) highlighted Alexander’s week 14 performance stating, “Alexander excelled in a tough matchup. 7-88-2 on 11 targets. He’s a WR1 as long as he’s healthy. 30-494-5 last 5 games.”  Averaging 15 fantasy points per week over the last 5 in standard leagues, Alexander has proven himself a valuable fantasy asset and weekly start.

Jeremy Maclin, Eagles – Despite his 9 catches, 104 yards and a TD in week 14, Maclin would not be in my starting lineups for the fantasy playoffs.  A short week and the Bengals will most surely drop Maclin down to an unreliable fantasy start.  As C.D. Carter (@CDCarter13) wrote, “More than anything, Jeremy Maclin’s Week 14 resurgence shows that every WR deserves consideration against that awful Bucs secondary.”  I would be looking Lance Moore’s way this week.

Joique Bell, Lions – Brad Evans (@YahooNoise) offered a little week 15 roster advice to consider tweeting, “Great to see Linehan get Joique Bell more touches. RB averaging re-donk 6.9 yards per touch on season. Flexy sexy option at ARI in WK15.”

Ryan Mathews, Chargers – Mathews has been one of the most disappointing fantasy players this season.  The extents of his failures were underscored best by Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) sarcastically stating, “Ryan Mathews 25 touches, 6.5 fantasy football points.  All he needed was the touches!”  Josh went on to explain, “Jackie Battle (62) & Ronnie Brown (82) combined for 144 touches & 105 fantasy football points.  Mathews has 95 (fantasy football) points on 216 touches.  Now this is just amazing.  Both Ronnie Brown (4.7/7.8) & Jackie Battle (4.1/7.5) have higher YPC & YPR than Ryan Mathews (3.8/6.8) in 2012.”  I present Josh’s thoughts and stats more as something to remember before next season’s drafts.  Mathews was thought of as a top 5 overall pick before his preseason injury and might actually get hyped again after Norv has departed, but Ryan is one player I will likely be avoiding.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers – The struggles of the elite QBs has been mentioned before in this weekly article, and Jim Day (@Fantasytaz) emphasized this trend even more when he tweeted, “There were 12 QBs who scored 20+ fantasy points in Wk 14 & didn’t include Brees, RG3, Peyton, Rodgers, Dalton, Freeman & Luck.”  Jim went on to focus particularly on Rodgers stating, “Over the last month Aaron Rodgers is the 15th best scoring QB & didn’t top 20 fantasy points. #FantasyPlayoffKiller.”  If you made it to the playoffs with Rodgers congratulations, the rest of your team must have been really good.

Brandon Marshall, Bears – Marshall sits atop the fantasy WRs through fourteen weeks.  Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) highlighted an amazing stat that should possibly gain Marshall some real-life MVP attention of his own, “Only 8 WRs have 1,075+ yards this season.  Brandon Marshall has 1,086 more receiving yards than the next closest Bears player.”  When you get it done despite being the only threat you deserve some recognition.

Kenny Britt, Titans – Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) tweeted, “Titans made a point of getting Kenny Britt involved. Season high 8 receptions & 143 yards on 9 targets. Jets, Packers, Jaguars next.”  With the recent news regarding Cook being out the remainder of the season, Britt could see even more targets come his way.  Britt is a fantasy playoff flex worth considering.

Cam Newton, Panthers – Newton was struggling earlier this season and most likely getting benched in fantasy leagues.  Evan Silva (@evansilva) shows why for fantasy you just need to be hot at the right time stating, “Cam Newton is on a fantasy football team-carrying tear. Last 6 games: 15 TDs, 2 turnovers. 308.2-yard avg. NFL’s hottest QB west of Foxboro.”  Hopefully you either still own Cam or are not playing against him.

Aaron Hernandez, Patriots – Hernandez is another player who is coming on strong just in time for the fantasy playoffs after a mid-season injury.  Rumford Johnny (@RumfordJohnny) presented this takeaway from Monday night, “Hernandez was expected to be the main target, and he didn’t disappoint- 8/58/2TDs.”   Despite playing the 2^nd toughest defense against the tight ends in the 49ers this week, Hernandez should be starting for you if you own him.

Jets RBs – Watching the Jets play is not advised, but flexing their running backs might still be a viable option as Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) notes, “Your wild-card contending Jets have a pair of top-20 fantasy RBs over the past 5 weeks, Powell (15) + Greene (18).”

The below players are simply names and thoughts looking forward to 2013 fantasy drafts.

Josh Gordon, Browns – From Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh), “Season high 12 tgts & 8 recs for Josh Gordon. Volume + big play. Big-time sleeper in 2013. Fringe WR1 upside.”

Jacquizz Rodgers, Falcons – From Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL), “Rodgers played more snaps than Michael Turner for the fourth week in a row – could Turner be offseason cap casualty? (Due $5.5 mill)”  Rodgers may never be a workhorse RB, but a starter in the Falcons offense could net solid fantasy points on a weekly basis.

Pierre Garcon, Redskins – From Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen), “Pierre Garcon’s been targeted 26 times in his last 3 games. It’s unbelievable how different WSH’s offense is w/ him on the field.”  Garcon may be a guy who slips in drafts because he did not play most of the season.  Don’t let him slip too far as he has top 10 fantasy WR potential.

Vernon Davis, 49ers – From Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh), “Vernon Davis with 3 catches for 19 yards, no TDs on 6 targets… over his last 3 games. 13-169-4 his first 3 games of season.”  With Kaepernick as the QB Davis has not been involved.

All of the above information and tweets came across the News page of my website, Fantasy Football Aggregator. Twitter can be overwhelming for most, but the FFGator News feeds take out much of the noise and provides the ability to search on specific players as well. News from top sources and fantasy football analysts are aggregated in one place, so if you enjoyed the above breakdowns, check out the site for even more. If you are on Twitter I also suggest following all of the above for great fantasy football analysis and commentary.

Follow Luke Wetta on Twitter @FFGator

In 140 characters or less you can learn something about a player you would have never thought to analyze.  Trends, stats, analysis and simple suggestions pour out weekly after the NFL action is completed and below are some of the highlights to consider when hitting the waiver wire or seeking trades to win your fantasy championships this season.

Calvin Johnson, Lions – Remember after week 9 when Megatron had only 1 touchdown and was outside of the top 10 at WR?  Even with a bad knee he was on pace for 1,700 yards and was mentioned by myself and countless other fantasy experts to make a move for him.  Four weeks later and Calvin is in the record books as Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) noted, “Calvin is the 1st player with 140+ receiving yards in 4 consecutive games in a season.”  Hope you own him or do not have to play him over the next couple weeks because Calvin is still looking to make history.

Dez Bryant, Cowboys – A similar story to Calvin, Bryant was not helping anyone with only one game with a TD, in which he actually scored two, through nine weeks.  Four weeks later and Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) highlights, “Dez Bryant now on pace for 95/1,304/11 stat line. Behind only Megatron, Green, Marshall, Demaryius in fantasy points.”  It finally appears that Dez is focused , healthy and living up to expectations he has been carrying since being drafted.

Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals – To say Fitzgerald has struggled is a drastic understatement.  Calving and Dez have scored more fantasy points with a single catch than Fitz has managed in total over the last three weeks combined.  Austin Lee (@AustinNFL) provided the following tweet that should scare every owner into leaving Fitz on the bench the remainder of the season.  “Larry Fitzgerald’s 1 catch for 23 yards Sunday was the 1st time he’s led Arizona in receiving yards in a game since Kevin Kolb’s injury in week 6.”  If you happen to be in the playoffs with Larry on your squad well done, just leave him on the bench.

Shonn Greene, Jets – Amazingly Greene remains within the top 20 of standard scoring fantasy RBs this season thanks to one massive effort against the Colts.  Week 13 was solid effort and as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) points out, Greene could be a consistent option for you down the stretch.  “Shonn Greene over 100 yards on 24 carries and could have had a TD (took a knee). Upcoming schedule is green: JAX, TEN, SD, BUF.”

Jamaal Charles, Chiefs – Charles has proven to be a reliable fantasy asset recently as C.D. Carter (@CDCarter13) tweeted, “Jamaal Charles with 105 YPG over past four. Gets Cleveland, Oakland, Indy in the fantasy playoffs. You might remember why you loved him.”  In addition to the yards, Charles has averaged 22 carries a week the last month so the coaching staff seems to have finally realized to keep the ball in his hands.

Arian Foster, Texans – “Arian Foster with a season low 14 carries, but his 15th TD pacified fantasy football owners. Forsett 14, Tate 3 carries” per Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh). Foster’s high touch count early in the season appears to have the Texans looking to take more and more of the weight off his back.  Throw in the fact that the Texans might be looking ahead more to the actual playoffs and fantasy owners are left having to start him, but likely not able to count on monster performances when it matters most.

James Jones, Packers – Jones was highlighted in this article last week after his zero target day.  In week 13 Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) noted, “James Jones played 83 of 84 snaps.  Next closest WR was Randall Cobb’s 62.”  Jones still only saw 2 targets despite his extensive time on the field Sunday and if it weren’t for Jordy’s recent injury I would not be recommending him in the fantasy playoffs.  Monitor Nelson’s progress this week and if he does not go, Jones becomes a Flex worthy play again.

Denarius Moore, Raiders – Between weeks 6 through 10, Moore was a reliable fantasy start averaging double digit points per game.  It has been slow going recently though and Evan Silva (@evansilva) points out why you might not want him in your playoff lineups.  “Denarius Moore has 4 catches & 60 yards in his last 12 quarters. Was benched for performance Sunday. Hard to trust vs Champ on Thurs night.”

Large WRs – Frank DuPont (@FantasyDouche) highlighted an interesting note in regards to the top fantasy wide receivers this season, “In standard scoring, the top 10 WRs are made up mostly of guys who go 210+. PPR scoring has a few smaller guys sprinkled in (like Welker).”  This could be something to think about when drafting WRs in the future, and for a more in-depth recap and analysis on large WRs dominating fantasy, check out Frank’s site.

Bryce Brown, Eagles – Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) offered a quick stat comparison between McCoy and Brown stating, “LeSean McCoy’s most rushing yards in back-to-back games is 311. Bryce Brown has 347 in his first 2 NFL starts.”  Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) followed up with McCoy’s current status tweeting, “LeSean McCoy (concussion) progressing, but only in Phase 3. If/when he gets back, Bryce Brown will still have a role.”  If you grabbed Brown it sounds like you will have at least one more week of him as the starter, but even if McCoy returns he has earned playing time.

Brandon Myers, Raiders – Myers has become one of fantasy’s top tight ends and week 13 was incredible as Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) observed, “Brandon Myers with an incredible 14 catch day on 15 targets. 5 or more catches last 5 games.”  Next up for Myers are the Broncos and their 31^st fantasy rank against the TE position.  Myers is a must start moving forward.

Pierre Garcon, Redskins – Garcon appears to still be returning from his injury as Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) tweeted, “Only 31 snaps for Pierre Garcon yesterday (behind Hank, Morgan), but he led WRs with 18 of possible 23 pass routes. 15 S Moss snaps.”  While he might not be on the field the most, when he is RG3 is looking for him.  Garcon is a weekly start moving forward.

All of the above information and tweets came across the News page of my website, Fantasy Football Aggregator. Twitter can be overwhelming for most, but the FFGator News feeds take out much of the noise and provides the ability to search on specific players as well. News from top sources and fantasy football analysts are aggregated in one place, so if you enjoyed the above breakdowns, check out the site for even more. If you are on Twitter I also suggest following all of the above for great fantasy football analysis and commentary.

Follow Luke Wetta on Twitter @FFGator

I know a lot of you out there are hurting due to the loss of Rob Gronkowski, especially as you gear up for the fantasy playoffs, but it is done and you must move on. There are no real options out there to replace a player like Gronkowski unless you can find other pieces to put together to make a monster trade and get Jimmy Graham, Jason Witten or Tony Gonzalez.

If you are not fortunate enough to make a trade and you have to look to the waiver wire this week, there are a few decent options. I have seen in some leagues that Vernon Davis was available after some owner got tired of waiting for him to come on. I know of at least one league where the owner dropped him just last week. Talk about poor timing, lol.

Other options might be Jermichael Finley, Marcedes Lewis and even Dallas Clark. Be careful of Garrett Graham and Ben Watson as I think they fade back into obscurity after last week.

Let’s get on to the Week 12 Tight End rankings.

Week 12 Rankings: QB  RB  WR  TE

All this time the answer for Justin Blackmon was Chad Henne starting, how did we all miss that? They definitely caught the Houston defense by surprise. It will be interesting to see if this duo can continue to surprise defenses going forward.  As I am writing this, news has come down the pipeline that both Laurent Robinson and Blaine Gabbert have been put on season-ending IR. Michael Spurlock could be a surprise as the number 3 in Jacksonville, but don’t go crazy trying to pick him up just yet.

With Donny Avery once again hurt with a concussion, TY Hilton should become a bigger piece of the puzzle for Andrew Luck and should be a solid WR3 with upside until Avery returns.

Let’s get on to the Week 12 Wide Receiver rankings.

Week 12 Rankings: QB  RB  WR  TE

Other running back news to keep your eye on this week.

Darren McFadden may be ready to get back in the saddle in Week 12 according to San Francisco Chronicle Beat Writer Vic Tafur, but you have to wonder if they need to rush him back. Marcel Reece has been doing a very good job in his place and could easily start again to give McFadden another week to get closer to 100%.  Reece has accounted for 392 total yards and a touchdown in the last three weeks. Over that time period he is 5th in average points per game for RBs and 3rd in total points.

Another back to be concerned with is Felix Jones, suffering with two banged up knees, and questionable to be active on Thursday. My gut says he plays, especially after he was able to come back into the game after he suffered the injury last week, something he is just known to do. Maybe he has finally realized that the only way to get playing time is tot play through these injuries. He has been a decent play, as he has had double-digit scores in five of the last six games.

It will also be interesting to see how the Denver backfield works itself out now that they lost Willis McGahee. Of course this happened one week after I traded for him for a stretch run in one league, how freaking typical. Ronnie Hillman has been seeing a bit of an uptick in touches of late anyway, but many feel he is not ready to be an every down back just yet. In the mix will be Lance Ball and Knowshon Moreno. Stick with Hillman for fantasy purposes if you need to start one this week.

Also Arizona may be getting Beanie Wells back this week, so if you have been using La’Rod Stephens-Howlings as a flex play, you may not be able to do that this week. Watch the workout reports closely to see if Wells does come back.

Let’s get on to the Week 12 Running Back rankings.

Week 12 Rankings: QB  RB  WR  TE

** – Denotes players questionable to play this week.

What is most amazing is that it is now two weeks after the fact and we are still littered with tons of downed trees, fortunately the utility companies and local townships have done an amazing job getting it cleaned off the streets and I thank them tremendously. Unfortunately there are still many people that won’t be able to enjoy Thanksgiving at home this year, so if you can lend a hand please do.

Ok enough of that let’s get to some football.

We have what looks like 2 of 3 very good games on Turkey Day. Both the Houston at Detroit and Washington at Dallas games should be hard-fought battles. As for the Jets vs. the Patriots game, most find it hard to believe that gang green can beat the Patriots, even at home. The Pats have won four of the five in this matchup, but the overall series is very close at 53-52-1 in favor of the Pats.

There are some very tough decisions in front of fantasy owners this week. Colin Kaepernick looked great against a very tough Chicago defense. In fact he is the only QB they have faced all year that didn’t give them a turnover. It had looked all week that Alex Smith would be cleared to play and it wasn’t until the last minute that Kaepernick was named the starter.Most likely this was known by the San Francisco front office long before that but they wanted to keep the Chicago defense thinking it would be Smith that started, so they would prepare for him.

This week HC Jim Harbaugh is sating that he will continue to ride the hot hand, but unless Alex Smith isn’t cleared to play again, this is just another smoke screen because Alex Smith has definitely earned the chance to continue to lead this team. Be very watchful of this situation, but if you are planning to start Kaepernick this week against a poor New Orleans defense, be careful as it wouldn’t surprise me that Alex Smith is cleared and will start.

Other situations to monitor is whether or not Mike Vick is cleared and ready to go after a failed Nick Foles experiment in Week 11. Chicago is also hoping that jay Cutler is ready to go after Jason Campbell failed his audition.

Chad Henne had to be a bigger surprise than Kaepernick, since we did know before hand, albeit just shortly before, but we did know. Henne came in when Blaine Gabbert was benched and all Henne did was force a very good Houston team into overtime. He only completed 16 of 33 pass attempts, but he did throw for 354 yards and four touchdowns, without turning the ball over. He will get another start this week against a Tennessee defense that is currently ranked 24th against opposing QBs.

Of course there are two battles fantasy owners shouldn’t be concerned about, at least not at the QB position: Kansas City and Arizona. Not sure who will start for each, but not really sure it matters to anyone except the other skill position players that might be affected by really poor QB play.

Let’s get on to the Week 12 Quarterback rankings.

Week 12 Rankings: QB  RB  WR  TE