Divisional by subtraction for fantasy players

Jan 7, 2009 - 8:30 PM By Craig Rondinone PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

One playoff round is in the books, and I sure hope fantasy owners did not listen to me and draft Peyton Manning in their playoff leagues.

Silly me thinking the Indianapolis Colts could defeat an injury-ravaged, poorly coached, defensively challenged, Tomlinson-less 8-8 San Diego squad. For fantasy owners in playoff leagues that do not re-draft after every round, at least you got a 300-yard game from Manning before he departed the postseason. Let's hope your tight ends and kickers make up for his absence the rest of the way.

So who should run for 100 yards and throw for 300 yards this weekend? And who should get shut down or shut out? Here are my projections for the pivotal players in the divisional playoff round:

Kurt Warner, Cardinals: The most interesting thing to watch during the Arizona-Carolina game will be the matchup between the Cardinals' passing game and the Panthers' pass defense. Warner and his Cards crew definitely have the best passing attack left in the playoffs, but Carolina has two above-average cover corners (Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble) and was not flagged for pass interference during the first 14 games of the season, a remarkable achievement. But Warner threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns in the teams' regular-season meeting. Look for Warner to throw early and often, but not as well as he did the first time these teams met. Projection - 285 passing yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions.

Edgerrin James, Cardinals: Edge has just one speed these days - parade. He moves about as fast as the floats in the Tournament of Roses procession. But James has wrestled his starting tailback job back from underachieving Tim Hightower and has rushed for 173 yards over his last two games. The production stops here, though. James will have trouble finding room to run and getting away from tacklers when he does. Projection - 40 rushing yards and 15 receiving yards.

Anquan Boldin, Cardinals: Only Boldin can come back miraculously in two weeks from a broken face, but possibly miss a game due to a strained hamstring suffered on the touchdown he scored against Atlanta. I have a feeling he is going to attempt to play but call it quits in the first quarter or during pregame warmups. Do not expect much. Projection - 15 yards in limited time.

Steve Smith, Panthers: The Arizona secondary is about as solid as baby food. The Cardinals are ranked 22nd against the pass and allowed Atlanta's Roddy White to catch 11 balls against them last week. Smith should have no difficulty finding open spots, especially if Arizona stacks up against the run with eight men in the box, which is likely. Safeties Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle will be more concerned with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart than Smith. Expect big things from this little man. Prediction - 130 receiving yards, two touchdowns.

DeAngelo Williams, Panthers: No running back was better during the second half of the season. Williams galloped for 15 touchdowns and six 100-yard games over Carolina's final eight contests. You could have slight reservations because this is the first time Williams has been the main man in a playoff game, and also because Arizona held Atlanta's Michael Turner to 42 yards, but I think Williams will hit pay dirt once and break at least one 30-yarder. Prediction - 115 rushing yards, one score.

Jake Delhomme, Panthers: Carolina's quarterback has a 13-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio at home this year and is tossing against a below-average secondary. A couple play-action passes could net him humongous chunks of yardage. Prediction - 220 passing yards, two touchdowns.

Brandon Jacobs, Giants: Not playing the last two weeks should help Jacobs' cranky knee be 100 percent of close to it. Jacobs barreled over Philadelphia's undersized, blitz-happy defense for 178 yards and two touchdowns in two regular-season games and could have gone for more if he did not leave the second game early. The return run to the Super Bowl starts now. Prediction - 105 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Eli Manning, Giants: Manning did not have a 200-yard game during the last month of the season, lowlighted by a dreadful 13-for-27, 123-yard fiasco against the Eagles. Philadelphia's cornerbacks match up well against Manning's Plaxico-less receiving corps, and he is going to be under tons of pressure from the pass rush. Manning's results will be much better in the NFC championship game. Prediction - 185 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception.

Derrick Ward, Giants: New York's other 1,000-yard rusher will probably get 15-18 touches, but could get more if Jacobs has more injury woes. Philly held him in check during the regular season, though. Prediction - 60 total yards.

Donovan McNabb, Eagles: Nobody knows the Giants better than McNabb, and vice-versa. Not sure who has the advantage because of the familiarity. McNabb passed for 385 yards and four touchdowns in his two outings against the G-Men this season, so he has had more success against them than most quarterbacks. I think he will be good, but not great. Prediction - 243 passing yards, 20 rushing yards, one TD, one INT.

Brian Westbrook, Eagles: When Westbrook is healthy, he is one of the premier backs in fantasy football. When he is banged up, he is just another runner. Westbrook's last huge rushing effort was a month ago against the Giants, when he raced like a greyhound for 131 yards and added another 71 yards on receptions. Expect plenty of draws and screens as Philadelphia tries to ride their franchise player to an upset win. Prediction - 150 total yards and one touchdown trip.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: Big Ben has been spotty all season, so getting concussed two weeks ago is not going to help him. But he is throwing against the 31st-best pass defense in the NFL and a unit that allowed Peyton Manning to have a 300-yard game last weekend. If the weather is halfway decent and his head is clear, Roethlisberger should do well. Prediction - 245 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Willie Parker, Steelers: Somebody get Bam Morris on the phone. I do not have a lot of faith in Parker. I know he had one of his four 100-yard games against San Diego earlier in the season, but his plethora of injuries has made him run like a slower version of himself. Prediction - 72 rushing yards.

Hines Ward, Steelers: Ward always brings his "A" game in playoff games. He should get open constantly against a San Diego defensive backfield that gives receivers too much cushion. Prediction - 95 receiving yards, one touchdown and plenty of smiles.

Philip Rivers, Chargers: Pittsburgh has the top-ranked pass defense in the NFL, and Rivers found that out the hard way when he threw for only 164 yards and was picked twice against the Steelers in the regular season. If San Diego cannot muster up a running game without the injured LaDainian Tomlinson, a one-dimensional offense will get Rivers killed. Prediction - 199 passing yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.

Vincent Jackson, Chargers: Getting charged with a DUI is not my idea of playoff preparation. Jackson's mind might be elsewhere when he plays Pittsburgh this weekend, although Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald had his own legal problems to deal with last week and still had a very good game against Atlanta. Prediction - 55 receiving yards and two non-alcoholic beverages.

Joe Flacco, Ravens: The rookie quarterback was shakier than a guy locked in a meat freezer in his first playoff game, completing only 9-of-23 passes against a mediocre Miami secondary. Tennessee should make his life miserable. Prediction - 165 passing yards, two interceptions.

Le'Ron McClain, Ravens: Baltimore will be run-heavy, as the game plan should be to keep Flacco out of third-and-long situations. McClain and Willis McGahee should split the rushing attempts. Prediction - 53 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Kerry Collins, Titans: Collins probably still has nightmares about how Ray Lewis and his merry men embarrassed him during the Super Bowl a few years back when Collins was quarterbacking the Giants. I do not think he will do much, but he will do enough for Tennessee to win. Prediction - 155 passing yards, one touchdown and some revenge.

Chris Johnson, Titans: Johnson had his second-worst rushing day of the season against Baltimore in Week Five when the Ravens bottled him up (18 carries for 44 yards). If starting center Kevin Mawae is unable to play, Johnson should have even fewer holes to dash through. Prediction - 58 rushing yards, zero touchdowns.

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