For Adam Helbling’s picks, click here. Tito? He’s running out of time…. Stay tuned.

Onto the game.

…… Sigh.  Has there been a quality Thursday night match up yet this season? The short weeks are really starting to burn some teams out. The Miami/Carolina game was pretty good from a fantasy perspective; Ricky Williams had one of his best career games and Steve Smith decided to show up. But the rest have either been awful one-sided contests (see all three Thanksgiving games) or snoozers (See Bears/49ers or Jets/Bills). Last week’s Pittsburgh/Cleveland match up was disappointing on all counts, both from a fantasy point of view to a WTF is going on with the Steelers point of view.

Which brings us to what supposedly could be a higher scoring affair between the Colts and Jaguars. One problem – Indy has nothing to play for with the exception of staying in game shape for the next three games. That alone is why Peyton Manning, Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark are a good bet to play 3+ quarters. Reggie Wayne? I’m not as confident about him. He’s nursing a foot injury and may take a back seat to my super-duper sleeper – Pierre Garcon.

The question is, do I have big enough cojones to put Garcon in my top five. The Jaguars have allowed 16 passing touchdowns to WRs this season, rank 26th overall against the pass and typically allow Wayne to run wild on them. With Wayne’s snap count to possibly be limited, Garcon stands to reap the benefits.

Back to that debate in a minute.  First thing’s first.  Dallas Clark will be placed third amongst my Tight Ends this week. Really, he should be No. 2 this week, but I’m reserving that spot for Redskins TE Fred Davis, who is a solid bet to score this week. Clark had three TDs last Sunday and another two weeks ago, but I’m not sold on him finishing the game, so I’m holding back just a bit.

As for the rest of the possible studs – Addai and Maurice Jones Drew, I’m going to pass. Jones-Drew hasn’t been top-5 worthy in a month, and Addai falls into the same trap as the other starters. He’s also limited by his yardage totals this season. So unless he scores twice, he won’t qualify. He will not score twice.

Defense? Nope.  Kickers? Scobee has possibilities, but outside of Jay Feely a few weeks ago, the scoring just isn’t there on a short week. I’ll pass there as well. Actually, if anything, Matt Stover may be a sneaky play. If some of the Colts starters take some time off tonight, Stover could see more field goal attempts. But I’m not confident in either kicker enough to rank them high. Pass.

By the way, all this talk of how well the Jaguars play at home?  Check the schedule. Wins against Tennessee (early in the season), St. Louis, Kansas City, Buffalo and Houston don’t impress me. Losses against the Cardinals and the Dolphins are more telling. The Jaguars will lose by 10-13 points tonight – and that’s assuming the Colts lay down in the fourth quarter.

Back to the above dilemma. I’m going to plug in QB Peyton Manning at the #5 spot. I really don’t like this pick, but I’m hoping he tosses three scores before he’s pulled – if he’s pulled – which I expect at about the eight or nine minute mark in the fourth quarter. Only way he finishes this game is if the Jaguars are within a touchdown. As mentioned earlier, TE Dallas Clark will sit in the No. 3 seat. I’m not feeling confident enough in Reggie Wayne’s health (despite his strong history against Jacksonville) or guru enough to make a splash with Garcon.

And that, my friends, is about as long-winded of an Expert Entry breakdown as I can write on a meaningless Thursday night game. Best of luck this week!

Colts 27, Jaguars 17 (thanks to a late TD by the Jags against the Colts’ reserves).

In before tl/dr.

Email Conn

Quarterback
1. Drew Brees, New Orleans – Could have an epic performance (again) against the flailing Falcons.
2. Kurt Warner, Arizona
3. Matt Schaub, Houston
4. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia – Despite the big win for the G-Men last week, the secondary is in shambles.
5. Philip Rivers, San Diego – Brady busted finger; Manning against a tough Broncos pass defense…. Rivers wins the shootout in Dallas.

Running Back
1. Chris Johnson, Tennessee – With Vince Young on the wrong side of questionable, his value actually may dip, but adding 5-10 more touches to his workload should help keep him in the top five. No matter – Can’t avoid this match up.
2. Thomas Jones, N.Y. Jets – Kellen Clemens under center doesn’t help, but against Tampa it won’t hurt either.
3. Ray Rice, Baltimore
4. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
5. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City – Nobody circles running backs without tackling them like the Buffalo Bills.

Wide Receiver
1. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
2. Andre Johnson, Houston
3. Anquan Boldin, Arizona
4. DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia – Considered Colston, but Brees spreads the love too much. Jackson is McNabb’s only deep threat as evidenced by his six TDs all 35 yards or over… including a 54 yarder in their first meeting.
5. Wes Welker, New England – Moss draws Chris Gamble, allowing Welker to take advantage of the remaining Carolina scrubs. If Brady’s status changes for the worse between now and tomorrow morning, Colston will replace Welker.

Tight End
1. Antonio Gates, San Diego
2. Vernon Davis, San Francisco
3. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta
4. Brent Celek, Philadelphia – Giants allowing 125 yards per game to TEs over the last month…. per game!
5. Jason Witten, Dallas

Kicker
1. Garrett Hartley, New Orleans
2. David Akers, Philadelphia
3. Rob Bironas, Tennessee – If V.Young is out, Bironas may fall in favor of Kaeding or Carpenter.
4. Billy Cundiff, Baltimore
5. Neil Rackers, Arizona

Defense
1. Baltimore
2. Green Bay
3. Tennessee
4. N.Y. Jets – Technically Pittsburgh was my #4 (lousy injured Polamalu)  dropping the Jets down one and the Saints out of the Top five.
5. New Orleans

Which one of these quarterbacks will have the most fantasy points?

Jason Campbell
Jay Cutler
Kyle Boeller
Ryan Fitzpatrick

Against the Chiefs, Fitz and T.O. will get back on track

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Knowshon Moreno
Brandon Jacobs
Jamaal Charles
Ryan Grant

No offense, Tito’s man crush.

Which one of these wide receivers will have the most fantasy points?

Lee Evans
Antonio Bryant
Santana Moss
Josh Morgan

Morgan has 12 receptions (on 16 targets), 99 yards and a TD the last two weeks. Opportunity knocks again against the Cardinals.

Which one of these defenses/special teams will have the most fantasy points?

Arizona
Washington
Tampa Bay
Cincinnati

Had the Redskins ready to roll this week, until the news of Haynesworth and Hall came through. Cardinals, who were impressive against the Vikings, move up accordingly.

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Matt Forte
Kevin Smith
Julius Jones
Cadillac Williams

It’s not that I like Jones, it’s that the others have dreadful match-ups. Even in a possible 60-40 split with Forsett against the Texans, I might drop Jones a bit in my rankings, but still keep him higher than the other three.

Questions? Comments? In awe? Email Conn.

My Week 11 expert entry.

RB

1 Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville

2 Chris Johnson, Tennessee

3 Steven Jackson, St. Louis

4 Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh

5 Ricky Williams,  Miami

QB

1 Drew Brees, New Orleans

2 Peyton Manning, Indianapolis

3 Kurt Warner, Arizona

4 Matt Schaub, Houston

5 Tom Brady, New England

WR

1 Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis

2 Andre Johnson, Houston

3 Marques Colston, New Orleans

4 Wes Welker, New England

5 Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona

TE

1 Dallas Clark, Indianapolis

2 Greg Olsen, Chicago

3 Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta

4 Brent Celek, Philadelphia

5 Kellen Winslow, Tampa Bay

K

1 David Akers, Philadelphia

2 John Carney, New Orleans

3 Neil Rackers, Arizona

4 Lawrence Tynes, N.Y. Giants

5 Rob Bironas, Tennessee

DEF/ST

1 Cincinnati

2 Green Bay

3 Pittsburgh

4 Philadelphia

5 San Diego

Which one of these quarterbacks will have the most fantasy points?

Eli Manning
Matt Ryan
Tony Romo
Alex Smith

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Justin Forsett
Steve Slaton
Tim Hightower
Beanie Wells

Which one of these wide receivers will have the most fantasy points?

Donnie Avery
Chris Chambers
Devery Henderson
Jeremy Maclin

Which one of these defenses/special teams will have the most fantasy points?

Indianapolis
San Diego
Detroit
Jacksonville

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Marion Barber
Ladell Betts
Reggie Bush
Marshawn Lynch

The dance continued last Sunday.

(photo by faniq.com)

Ochocinco attempted to hand a referee a $1 bill during a replay review. The official ignored the gesture so the prank didn’t go through. But in a post game interview Ocho admitted to trying to jokingly bribe the official, but also said that’s all it was, a joke, going so far as to look into the camera and apologize to Commissioner Roger Goodell, “I might get fined. Mr. Goodell, I’m sorry. I’m just having fun.”

Ray Anderson, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, sent a letter to Ochocinco stating that the “The very appearance of impropriety is not acceptable. Your conduct was unprofessional and unbecoming an NFL player.”

Anderson then said in a statement:

“Ochocinco was disciplined for violating a rule that “prohibits use of abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures toward game officials. He was also in violation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 (f) of the Playing Rules which prohibits possession or use of extraneous objects that are not part of the uniform during the game on the field or sideline.”

Fair enough, but this begs the question…. Why wasn’t Sanchez fined for his hot dog?

Email Conn

QB

Brees, NO

P.Manning, IND

Garrard, JAX – Threw for 323 and 2 in first meeting with Titans, who have given zero reasons why that will be any different this time around.

Romo, DAL – Maybe drinking the Cowboys kool-aid, but Dallas doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

Aaron Rodgers – If the Packers can cut down on giving up a couple of sacks, Rodgers can match his performance from their first meeting (384 and 2).
RB

MJD, Jax

St.Jackson – Best non-scoring RB in the league. Today, he finds end-zone glory… twice.

Steve Slaton – Juicy.

Matt Forte – Really tired of this guy’s slump, but the Browns already helped Ryan Grant turn it around. Now it’s Forte’s turn.

Kevin Smith – Lions banged up at QB and WR, Smith should get 30 touches today and they can get away with that against the Rams.

– Having a hard time leaving Chris Johnson off this list – He’s Top 5 worthy, no question –

WR

Colston, NO

Fitzgerald, AZ – This is one of those, he’s that good and has to be ranked. A case could be made for others.

Wayne, IND

Jennings, GB – Winfield out again for the Vikings, Jennings returns to No. 1 status this week.

D.Jackson, PHI – He is the Eagles’ best weapon and should compensate for Westbrook’s absence.

– Also considered: Roddy White, Sidney Rice and Miles Austin.

TE

Clark, IND

Gates, SD

Daniels, HOU – May be leaned on more heavily with a less than healthy A.Johnson gasping for air.

Gonzo, ATL – Against the Saints, they’ll be throwing quite a bit.

Celek, PHI – See D.Jackson.

PK

Carney, NO

Kaeding, SD

Prater, DEN

Folk, DAL

Feely, NYJ

DEF

Chargers

Cardinals

Colts

Cowboys

Bears

Multiple Choice:

Which one of these quarterbacks will have the most fantasy points?

Ryan Fitzpatrick Chad Henne Alex Smith Derek Anderson

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Beanie Wells Shonn Greene Knowshon Moreno Julius Jones

Which one of these wide receivers will have the most fantasy points?

Michael Crabtree Lance Moore Terrell Owens Derrick Mason

Which one of these defenses/special teams will have the most fantasy points?

Buffalo Carolina St. Louis Tennessee

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Frank Gore Ricky Williams Justin Fargas Reggie Bush

Guru.

The saga continues to the point where Jets QB Mark Sanchez donated 500 hot dogs and 500 hamburgers to a the  Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown, N.J. Great. I’m a fan of charity. But it comes off the heels of guilt for eating a $4 hot dog during last week’s game. A hot dog that is so frowned upon that he tried to hide it under his legs while on the bench. A hot dog so controversial that he had to apologize for eating it in the post game press conference.

Sanchez was the subject of criticism — and he later issued an apology — when he was caught on camera Sunday eating a hot dog on the sideline during the Jets’ 38-0 victory against the Raiders.

“Caught on camera”? Who is he, Bill Belichick?

The guy was sick earlier in the day and did not eat. He was feeling better and was hungry. Where’s the mystery? Where’s the foul? Most people eat at work when they get hungry. Maybe not in a meeting, sure. Maybe not in an NFL game, okay. But when you’re sick and need calories? You eat a hot dog… or a snickers bar, if you’re former NFL punter Mitch Berger, who after every punt would take a bite of the bar… which he kept in his shoe… Why wait?

aconn@411fantasy.com

One for the money, two for the show (photo by espn.com)

Quarterback

Tom Brady, New England

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis

Matt Ryan, Atlanta – This is my wild card this week. Schaub and Big Ben are two of the hottest QBs in the league right now, but the Ryan-to-White combo is heating up and the Cowboys don’t give up many rushing TDs.

Drew Brees, New Orleans

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay – Should be among the top listed, but I have a feeling Grant may steal one of his TDs, leaving him just shy of Top 5 worthiness. Still, a juicy match up that cannot be ignored.

Running Back

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina

Matt Forte, Chicago – I think the Bengals just lost another defensive lineman.

Thomas Jones, N.Y. Jets – I’m betting Rex Ryan doesn’t pass it 46 times against the Raiders this week.

Ryan Grant, Green Bay – This is the line in the sand for Grant. **** or get of the pot, Ryan.

Jonathan Stewart, Carolina – Maybe I’m a bit high off of the Jets performance against the Bills last week, but Williams and Stewart are the league’s best 1-2 combo and the Panthers’ only reliable weapons. 100 yards and a touchdown is expected. Anything more = Gurulicious.

Wide Receiver

Andre Johnson, Houston

Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis

Roddy White, Atlanta – Again rolling with the Falcons. Hoping the hot streak continues.

Randy Moss, New England

Wes Welker, New England

Tight End

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta – See also Ryan and White.

Jason Witten, Dallas

Antonio Gates, San Diego

Dallas Clark, Indianapolis

Greg Olsen, Chicago – Thought of H.Miller and Daniels, but Olsen is catching fire much like Miller did a few weeks ago.

Kicker

Stephen Gostkowski, New England

Jason Elam, Atlanta

Nate Kaeding, San Diego

Mason Crosby, Green Bay

Jeff Reed, Pittsburgh

Defense

Philadelphia

Green Bay

New England

Indianapolis

N.Y. Giants – Prediction?  Pain.

Which one of these quarterbacks will have the most fantasy points?

Matt Cassel
Marc Bulger
Shaun Hill
Chad Henne

Chargers defense just too soft. Hill has a shot, but Texans can build a lead and force Hill out of his game.

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Matt Forte
Rashard Mendenhall
Joseph Addai
Steve Slaton

Originally thought this was an even group, but the status of Cincy’s D-line gives Forte a clear edge. Addai may be in his sweats by the fourth quarter.

Which one of these wide receivers will have the most fantasy points?

Hakeem Nicks
Austin Collie
Andre Caldwell
Lance Moore

Collie gets the start and has Peyton Manning, which is enough to push him past the others.

Which one of these defenses/special teams will have the most fantasy points?

Chicago
Carolina
San Diego
Buffalo

Was leaning Bears, but can’t ignore the fact that Buffalo is rolling out QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Leon Washington
Larry Johnson
Justin Fargas
Jonathan Stewart

Almost went L.J., but my Stewart premonition is too strong. Truth be told, I like all four backs to have above average games. Stewart is the only one with the potential to be great.

Email Shaka-Conn

Okay, gang. Here are my Week 6 entries for our Experts Contest. And please, try not to copy, or worse…. drool.

RB

MJD
Moreno – Chargers run-dee = sieve. Start with confidence.
Grant
Benson
St.Jackson – With a few touchdowns this season Jackson would rank well inside the Top 10 running backs. Alas, he has zero and he’s barely in the Top 15. As often as he gets the ball, Jackson is due against a mediocre-at-best Jaguars run defense.

QB

Rodgers – Brady could explode, but Rodgers gets the nod as No. 1 based on consistency.
Brady
Roethlisberger
Brees
McNabb – Should have included Kolb in my rankings this week. Raiders = fantasy glory.

WR

R.Moss
Jennings
Fitz
Welker - That’s how good this matchup is against the Titans. Here’s hoping the Pats get out of their funk.
A.Johnson

TE

Gates
Celek
Miller - Slowly becoming Big Ben’s second favorite receiver behind Ward.
Heap – Vikings among the worst teams defending tight ends.
Finley – A dark horse with a tasty matchup against the Lions.

PK

Kaeding
Crosby
Akers
Prater
Gotskowski

DEF/ST

Eagles
Steelers
Jets
Patriots
Vikings

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Steven Jackson
Marshawn Lynch
Ray Rice
Larry Johnson

This one was the easiest of em’ all. Besides, it would go down a little suspicious if I didn’t have my fifth overall RB picked among this group. Mark it down, however, L.J. scores. And yes, I’ll keep saying this every week until he does just so I can say I was right.

Which one of these quarterbacks will have the most fantasy points?

Kyle Boller
Jason Campbell
Trent Edwards
Kerry Collins

Anyone tell Tito that Boeller isn’t starting this week?  Another slam dunk.

Which one of these wide receivers will have the most fantasy points?

Terrell Owens
Devin Hester
Steve Breaston
Devery Henderson

Tempted to go Hester here on a rebound, but Breaston as a No. 3 is better than most team’s No. 2. while Hester as a No. 1 isn’t as valuable as some team’s No. 2.

Which one of these defenses/special teams will have the most fantasy points?

Detroit
Buffalo
Cleveland
Houston

Browns? No. Lions? Improved, but not against the Pack. The Bills can hold their own sometimes, but unlike Cleveland, the Jets can capitalize in the red zone. That leaves the Texans as the best of the worst.

Which one of these running backs will have the most fantasy points?

Tim Hightower
LeSean McCoy
Mewelde Moore
Jonathan Stewart

I’m liking McCoy more and more, but I think the Panthers will come out of their shell this week and Stewart hits pay-dirt for the second straight week.

Maiden Voyage v4.0 – Offensive Coordinators; Sell! Sell! Sell!

Episode 2 – Volatile Players