Some years ago, I competed in a stand-up comedy contest at a bar in Manhattan, Kan. A bunch of us entered, and each week a handful got knocked out. There was a small panel of judges, just like a reality show.
Fantasy football advice, Divisional round: FanDuel quarterbacks
As our field dwindles, we have to get pickier, which means we can’t really ignore any of the pitfalls.Click here to get a 100% deposit bonus on FanDuel
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Each week, they offered feedback. At first, the feedback was simple -- things like “Hey, you didn’t cry on stage,” or “Way to face the audience” -- but by the late stages of the competition, they were getting picky. I made it to the semifinals, where the feedback got so specific as to say things like “Try to pause for another second or two before delivering the punchline.”
I was the same aspiring comedian. They were the same judges. But when the field got smaller, the differences got narrower, the nits got pickier.
It's the same way in this week's FanDuel quarterback selections. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson -- they're all great, of course. But by this point in the season, I'm looking deeper, being more particular about flaws.
As a reminder, in the playoffs I’m ranking everyone at each position by taking their FanDuel salaries into consideration. A slightly better performance out of a way more expensive player isn’t as helpful as it should be. The salaries matter, often times even more than the performances do.
First, the quarterbacks. Justifications come later:
Quarterbacks
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Salary |
| 1 | Tony Romo | DAL | @GB | $8,600 |
| 2 | Andrew Luck | IND | @DEN | $9,600 |
| 3 | Joe Flacco | BAL | @NE | $7,800 |
| 4 | Tom Brady | NE | BAL | $9,100 |
| 5 | Russell Wilson | SEA | CAR | $8,200 |
| 6 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | DAL | $9,700 |
| 7 | Peyton Manning | DEN | IND | $9,100 |
| 8 | Cam Newton | CAR | @SEA | $7,700 |
- Romo missed Week 9 with injury. Since then, his fantasy production in standard scoring has gone 21-25-3-20-20-26-17-19. That three-pointer came on a short week when he famously couldn't get his normal painkillers because of the short timeframe. So every time Romo has been able to get treatment, he's put up good numbers. I expect that to continue, and he's cheaper than four of the other seven starters.
- The "Flacco is a playoff god" party line is a tough one to shake, but it's still Joe Flacco, right? Barely a top-20 regular season quarterback? Even saying that, I ranked him pretty well, because the chance I'm wrong is worth the bargain of grabbing him; only Newton is cheaper among starting quarterbacks, and only by $100.
- I feel like Brady's game Saturday is either going to win you your week or guarantee you a loss. And it will depend entirely on his offensive line. We saw it with the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger last week; when he had time to throw, picking apart that Baltimore secondary was easy. It's just that Baltimore's D-line didn't give him that time often. If the Pats O-line can hold the Ravens off a bit, Brady could have a day.
- I'll admit it. I'm terrified of Rodgers and Manning. Manning's late-season numbers worry me, and Rodgers' injury is ... unnerving. If I were ranking the quarterbacks just on performance, they'd be higher, but spending that much on those guys, with those black marks, is a non-starter for me.
- Wouldn't even touch Newton on the road at the Seahawks.
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