Week 14: November showers bring December flowers

November showers bring December flowers: That doesn’t quite have the ring to it that we are used to, eh?

A degree in journalism does not a poet make.

Anyway, it is playoff time and just like every other season, there are some late bloomers and some wilted flowers out on the front lawn.

Let’s first go with the good guys. The guys who five weeks ago might have been on the waiver wire, but now might be earning you a trophy.

• Brett Favre, Wrangler University — Favre could put on helmet and start for 12 teams this weekend and they would all have a better chance at winning than they do right now. Either he is being blackballed or he really, really doesn’t want to play anymore.
• Donald Brown, Indianapolis — Touchdowns in back-to -back weeks. More than 14 carries in four straight games. Dan Orlovsky at least looked like he knew what a football was, compared to Curtis Painter. With the RB carnage of the past month, you could do worse than Brown.
• Roy Helu, Washington — For once, Mike Shanahan told the truth. Helu is the main man in the Redskins backfield and he has three good matchups coming up (New England, Giants, Minnesota). 46 carries over the last two games plus 7 receptions. Yummy.
•  Roddy White, Atlanta — White wasn’t on the waiver wire, but you might have given thought to the idea. He’s been targeted 127 times, but nearly half of those have gone incomplete (59). White had just three touchdowns over the first 10 weeks, but now has scored in both games 11 and 12. Matt Ryan keeps on chucking the ball up to him and Carolina, Jacksonville and New Orleans are on the horizon.
• Michael Crabtree, San Francisco: Through week 5, Crabtree had 14 receptions for 132 yards. Boot city. Since then, Crabtree has come alive and last week’s long touchdown showed the spark we’ve been waiting for: 17 catches for 270 over the last three.
• Mike Williams, Tampa Bay — The Tampa quarterback situation is an abomination, but Williams is the only game in town. He has 18 catches on 31 targets over the last three games. Two scores and Jacksonville, Dallas and Carolina on the horizon.
• Anthony Fasano, Miami — Fasano has outscored the likes of Brandon Pettigrew, Aaron Hernandez, Owen Daniels and Dustin Keller over the last five games. Neither of the next two opponents, Eagles nor Bills, defend the tight end very well.

Now, those who are wilting away.

• Matt Hasselbeck —Tennessee: Two touchdowns in four games, while throwing for no more than 219 yards in any of them. Chris Johnson may be back, but now the Titans have to deal with a dead fish at QB.
• Frank Gore, San Francisco: The Niners keep winning, but it’s not because of Gore. He is clearly wearing down, as evidenced by his 3.3 YPC over the last three games, two of which were against St. Louis and Arizona, two teams that are not known for stopping anybody. Gore hasn’t scored since week 8 and now that they have clinched, the Niners might give him a decent chunk of rest.
• James Starks, Green Bay: He wasn’t s superstar in the first place, but now Starks isn’t even getting the bulk of the carries. With 62 rushing yards in his last three games and zero catches over his last two; See ya!
• Early Doucet, Arizona: For a brief moment, Doucet was a viable WR3 in your league. No longer.
• Vincent Brown, San Diego: See Doucet, Early.
• Jason Hill, Jacksonville: In week 5, Hill caught five passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Since, he has 13 receptions for 157 yards. He should not be on your team.
• Owen Daniels, Houston: If you are in a PPR league, you might be OK with Owen. Otherwise, you are ready to string him up. One game over 35 yards in his last five. No touchdowns since the first weekend in October. Be free!

Put ’em in

(Dedicated to Marshawn Lynch who loves his candy)

QB: Rex Grossman vs NE: The Redskins are going to be down, probably in a big way. The Patriots have become the kings of garbage points. Vince Young has 400 yards and a touchdown. Dan Orlovsky has 353 yards and two scores. Don’t even bother watching the first three quarters. Just wait until the fourth and watch the points roll in. (Airheads)

RB1: Reggie Bush vs PHI: Two teams headed in opposite directions. The Dolphins want to win, the Eagles don’t know how to. Bush carried a season high 22 times last week and is showing no signs of wearing down. (Gummy Worms)

RB2: Mark Ingram at TEN: Ingram looks better now than he did before his week 7 injury. Titans have been giving up big yardage on the ground in recent weeks. If CJ Spiller can run on you, than anybody can. (Bottlecaps)

WR1: Nate Burleson vs MIN: The Vikings secondary might be worse than anybody’s, mainly due to injury. With the looks that opposing defenses are giving Megatron, Burleson just needs to take advantage of all his one on one matchups. (Hot Tamales)

WR2: Darius Heyward-Bey at GB: The Packers don’t care about defending wide receivers. Why bother when you’ve got Aaron Rodgers to bail you out every week? 18 targets over the last two weeks. Hopefully Moore and Ford will remain out, giving Darius room to roam. (Pop Rocks)

WR3: Golden Tate vs STL: Nobody packs in a season like the St. Louis Rams. With Sidney Rice out, Tate has become the clear No. 1. He was on the field for 51 snaps last week. Compare that to Doug Baldwin with 12 and Ben Obamanu with 8. (Good and Plenty)

TE: Dustin Keller vs KC: Keller has been hit or miss most of the season but this week should be a positive. The Chiefs give up the fifth most points to opposing tight ends and nobody has given up more tight end TD’s. Keller only caught three balls last week, but was still targeted six times. (Pixy Stix)

D/ST: Seattle vs STL: Tom Brandstater on the road. Case closed. (Spree)

Take ’em out

QB: Andy Dalton vs HOU: Hopefully the Red Rifle Express isn’t bottoming out. But he has more turnovers in the last three weeks than TD’s. The Texans allow the second fewest QB points in the league. (Red Hots)

RB1: Beanie Wells vs SF: The streak is alive! Still no rushing TD’s allowed by the 49ers. Wells rushed for just 33 yards earlier this season in San Francisco. The Niners will make Kevin Kolb beat them. Just ask Cowboy fans how that feels. (Circus Peanuts)

RB2: Peyton Hillis at PIT: Hillis has been completely irrelevant in terms of fantasy this season. He has scored in just one game (way back in week two) and has yet to have a 100 yard day. The Pittsburgh defense looked like its old self last weekend, which is bad news for all us Steeler haters. (Necco Wafers)

WR1: Santonio Holmes vs KC: The Chiefs have been playing some good defense. Take out the New England game and they have given up just 33 total points in their last three games. They have allowed just two TD’s to wide receivers in their last six games. (Goobers)

WR2: Antonio Brown vs CLE: I told you to play Brown last week and he got you a TD. Now, I’m telling you to sit him against the team giving up the fewest WR points in the league. Do as you’re told. (Junior Mints)

WR3: Andre Johnson at CIN: He will not play this week. Sorry to break the news to you. (Nerds)

TE: Fred Davis vs the whizzinator: Davis has been suspended for the final four games of the season for failing multiple drug tests. Didn’t he ever see “The Program?” (Dum Dums)

D/ST: Titans vs NO: The Titans have been one of the best plays at the position all year long, but look closer. They have allowed 229 points on the year, but have not faced many elite offenses. In their two games against above average offenses (Pittsburgh and Houston), Tennessee gave up 79 combined points. What category do the Saints fall under? (Abba Zabba)

This week’s fantasy football show will air on Friday at 7 p.m. on Z88.9 on your FM dial. Or listen on-line at www.z889.org. Have any fantasy football questions? E-mail us at fantasyfootballonz889@hotmail.com. We’ll answer them live on the air.