Fantasy Football Week 15: Before You Start

Week 16 of the 2012 NFL regular season is about to kickoff and with that comes one of the most important weeks in the world of fantasy football: semi-final playoff time! This is the week where managers stress out about who to start and who they’re going up against. Win this week and you make it the finals of your fantasy football league. Lose and you’re done for the season. That puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders of fantasy football players everywhere and they wouldn’t want it any other way.

December 9, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) runs onto the field prior to the Redskins

The biggest news to hit the fantasy football community this week is the late breaking Saturday night report that RG3 won’t be starting today and this morning the report was made official with RG3 being deemed inactive. The good thing about having that information early is that it gives you a chance to alter your line-up without having to wait until the last minute. The bad news is that RG3 is the highest scoring QB in most fantasy football leagues and if you made it to the semi-finals of your league riding RG3 all year long this injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. If you play in a one-QB league and don’t have a back-up on your bench you should be able to pick up a QB like Colin Kaepernick or Russell Wilson. If you’re in a 2-QB league the pickings might be slim and you could only be left with someone like Brady Quinn.

For all you RG3 owners out there I’m sorry for your loss but if you can squeak out a win this week hopefully the week off will do RG3 good and he’ll be back and ready to go in Week 16 for your league’s championship match. Good luck to everybody and below you’ll find some relevant fantasy football news that will help you set your final line-up…

-RG3 is inactive and in his place rookie 4th rounder Kirk Cousins will start. In two relief appearances this season Cousins is 7 for 11 for 137 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. The Redskins play the Browns this week so Cousins isn’t a recommended start and the value of the  team’s other big name fantasy assets, Pierre Garcon and Alfred Morris, could also have their values diminished.

Players already ruled out before today: Bears WR Earl Bennett, Dolphins WR Davone Bess, Saints RB Chris Ivory, Bills RB Fred Jackson, Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Packers WR Jordy Nelson, Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart.

-Falcons WR Roddy White is active and starting.

-Rams WR Danny Amendola is active and starting. This bumps Chris Givens’ value down a bit.

-Giants WR Hakeem Nicks is active and ready to go.

-Vikings RB Adrian Peterson is active.

-Jaguars WR Cecil Shorts is active and will start.

-Browns RB Trent Richardson is active.