Fantasy Football Playoff Cheat Sheet

Here's your Pianow Playoff cheat sheet for 2011. Accept no imitations. (Okay, the fantasy playoffs aren't that big of a deal. If you can find a good imitation, go with it.)

Team potential is as important as the players themselves in this sort of exercise. A mediocre Patriot is likely to help you a lot more in a playoff draft than any Seahawk will. With that in mind, here's how I roughly rank the teams with respect to game potential:

1. Patriots
2. Saints
3. Falcons
4. Steelers
5. Eagles
6. Colts
7. Ravens
8. Packers
9. Bears
10. Chiefs
11. Jets
12. Seahawks

Another thought to consider as you assemble your playoff rosters – it's generally a good idea to get multiple players on the same teams. You want to bankroll a scenario as much as you're grabbing points where you can get them.

Consider a standard scoring system, no PPR.

Quarterbacks
1. Tom Brady
2. Drew Brees
3. Michael Vick
4. Ben Roethlisberger
5. Peyton Manning
6. Matt Ryan
7. Aaron Rodgers
8. Jay Cutler
9. Joe Flacco
10. Matt Cassel
11. Mark Sanchez
12. Charlie Whitehurst
13. Matt Hasselbeck

Vick's the trickiest player to call in this exercise. His long-game potential is off the charts and even if the Eagles play just once, he might get you a pretty score. But the Packers probably have a 40-45 percent chance to win this game, don't you think? … After watching Kansas City lay an egg in the season finale, I want no part of Cassel and the Chiefs passing game. … I don't think it matters who the Seahawks play at quarterback this weekend, they're going to struggle to score points. I have a gut feeling both Whitehurst and Hasselbeck will see action.

Running Backs
1. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
2. Michael Turner
3. Rashard Mendenhall
4. LeSean McCoy
5. Ray Rice
6. Matt Forte
7. Danny Woodhead
8. Jamaal Charles
9. Joseph Addai
10. Pierre Thomas
11. Reggie Bush
12. Shonn Greene
13. Brandon Jackson
14. John Kuhn
15. Thomas Jones
16. Willis McGahee
17. LaDainian Tomlinson
18. Jason Snelling
19. Donald Brown
20. Dominic Rhodes
21. Marshawn Lynch
22. Julius Jones
23. Chester Taylor
24. Jerome Harrison
25. James Starks
26. Justin Forsett
27. Isaac Redman
28. Mewelde Moore
29. Joe McKnight
30. Dmitri Nance
31. Ovie Mughelli

Chris Ivory went on injured reserve Tuesday, so keep him out of your plans. Maybe that makes you more bullish on Thomas, maybe not. … It seems comical to have Charles this low, but again, it speaks to the game potential. If you like the Chiefs to hold serve against Baltimore, your sheet looks a lot different. … I wouldn't fault you if you preferred Kuhn (likely goal-line man) to Jackson in Green Bay. … I think it would be foolish for the Jets to feature Tomlinson over Greene this week, not that Brian Schottenheimer has asked for my opinion.

Wide Receivers
1. Roddy White
2. Mike Wallace
3. Deion Branch
4. Wes Welker
5. DeSean Jackson
6. Reggie Wayne
7. Greg Jennings
8. Pierre Garcon
9. Lance Moore
10. Jeremy Maclin
11. Marques Colston
12. Robert Meachem
13. Hines Ward
14. Derrick Mason
15. Dwayne Bowe
16. Johnny Knox
17. Blair White
18. Anquan Boldin
19. Santonio Holmes
20. Michael Jenkins
21. Braylon Edwards
22. Devery Henderson
23. Devin Hester
24. James Jones
25. Donald Driver
26. Earl Bennett
27. Emmanuel Sanders
28. Mike Williams
29. Jason Avant
30. Brandon Tate
31. Jordy Nelson
32. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
33. Jerricho Cotchery
34. Ruvell Martin
35. Antwaan Randle El
36. Ben Obomanu
37. Adrian Arrington
38. Dexter McCluster
39. Brad Smith

Mason and even Todd Heap are doing more with Joe Flacco these days than Boldin is. … Williams can hold his own against the New Orleans secondary, but will the spotty Seattle quarterbacks get him the ball? … Sanders of Pittsburgh is one of my favorite sleepers; he's come on nicely in the second half. … The New Orleans offense is a mess to project. I think we all see them beating Seattle and scoring well for at least two weeks, but how healthy is Colston after his knee scope? Every skill player here is a boom-bust candidate, capable of a big afternoon, or a bagel.

Tight Ends
1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Tony Gonzalez
3. Aaron Hernandez
4. Jacob Tamme
5. Jimmy Graham
6. Heath Miller
7. Brent Celek
8. Todd Heap
9. Greg Olsen
10. Jeremy Shockey
11. Dustin Keller
12. Tony Moeaki
13. Andrew Quarless
14. Matt Spaeth
15. John Carlson
16. Alge Crumpler
17. Donald Lee
18. Justin Peelle
19. Ed Dickson

We have to assume that Hernandez will be healthy when the Pats play next week. And we all know Brady loves throwing to his targets between the numbers. … I wouldn't draft Shockey on a bet right now. … Celek's rapport with Vick got a little better in the second half of the year.

Kickers
1. Shayne Graham
2. Garrett Hartley
3. Matt Bryant
4. David Akers
5. Shaun Suisham
6. Adam Vinatieri
7. Mason Crosby
8. Robbie Gould
9. Billy Cundiff
10. Ryan Succop
11. Nick Folk
12. Olindo Mare

Defenses
1. Patriots
2. Saints
3. Steelers
4. Falcons
5. Eagles
6. Packers
7. Colts
8. Ravens
9. Bears
10. Jets
11. Chiefs
12. Seahawks

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Image courtesy Associated Press

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