Fantasy football: Hail the Chief, Matt Cassel!
Take a guess on which quarterback has thrown for 22 touchdowns and four interceptions this season. Peyton Manning? Nope. Philip Rivers? Wrong. Aaron Rodgers? Not quite. How about the Chiefs' Matt Cassel? Even with his surge the last few weeks, he might be sitting on a lot of waiver wires.
The Chiefs' philosophy is to run the ball with Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones and be conservative in the passing game. In the first seven games, Cassel didn't attempt 30 passes. But Cassel is making great decisions, not forcing anything, and has a great connection with Dwayne Bowe. Cassel has attempted at least 32 passes in three of the last four games with 12 TDs and one INT in the last four games.
Cassel faces the Broncos this week and was embarrassed by them, 49-29, in Week 10. The Broncos have allowed 23 passing TDs and the defense has fallen apart. With many upper-echelon quarterbacks facing tough matchups this week, Cassel is a QB 1 and leads this week's good plays.
Jay Cutler (Bears, QB): Since the Bears' bye in Week 8, the Bears haven't been throwing as much. Cutler is a matchup play and the Lions' pass defense has been awful. The Bears will take a few shots deep and this is a week to roll with Cutler.
Sam Bradford (Rams, QB): Bradford is playing extremely well and is an accurate thrower that makes his receivers better. Bradford has attempted at least 35 passes eight times and the Cardinals defense is a mess right now.
Jonathan Stewart (Panthers, RB): Nice to see the Panthers finally discover their running game. Stewart rushed for 98 yards on 12 carries last week and while he will split carries with Mike Goodson, both make good plays against a Seahawks defense that is struggling.
Mike Tolbert (Chargers, RB): Tolbert didn't practice the last two days because of a hand injury, while Ryan Mathews practiced for the second consecutive day. Tolbert is expected to play and even if Mathews gets some touches, Tolbert has been too good to sit and he will get the goal-line carries against a Raiders defense that isn't good against the run.
Steven Jackson (Rams, RB): Jackson has struggled lately and has just three TDs. The remedy? The Cardinals defense, which ranks 31st and is allowing 4.5 yards per carry. Welcome back to the end zone.
Johnny Knox (Bears, WR): Knox is averaging 18.5 yards per catch and is the receiver Cutler looks for deep. He will exploit a shaky Lions secondary.
Ben Obomanu (Seahawks, WR): Obomanu was a hot waiver wire add this week following a 159-yard game with a score last week. He has 14 catches the last three games and the Seahawks will be throwing often because of an inept running game.
Steve Johnson (Bills, WR): Don't let the drops fool you. He gets a lot of targets.
Mike Williams (Buccaneers, WR): Coming off his worst game of the season, he will bounce back against the Falcons, ranked 27th against the pass.
Sleepers: Tashard Choice (Cowboys), Mike Hart (Colts), Derrick Mason (Ravens), Danario Alexander (Rams), Seyi Ajirotutu (Chargers)
Snow expected Tuesday ... Ruling in teacher sex abuse trial ... Holiday pet safety ... Cheer at the airport
