Week 14: Fine or Pine?

The fantasy playoffs start in most leagues this week, so Adam Filadelfo (@Frostt24) is back to help you decide who to start.  Good luck this week, Brainiacs!

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This is the week that fantasy owners have been waiting for. Week 14 is the start of the fantasy football playoffs. If you happen to be one of the lucky owners still needing to set your lineup, congratulations. Thirteen weeks of blood, sweat and tears have paid off. If you're fortunate enough to still be playing fantasy football at this point, you may need some help on which players to "fine" or "pine". Lucky for you, you're reading this.

Quarterback

Fine- Tom Brady- Brady finished week 13 with 371 yards passing and two touchdowns as well as an early interception. Brady has posted double digit fantasy points in his last four games and is finally starting to look like an elite fantasy quarterback again after posting single digit fantasy points in his two games prior. The Patriots face the Browns this week and Cleveland ranks 22nd versus the opposing quarterback giving up 17 points per game. Brady looks like a nice matchup heading into the first week of the fantasy playoffs.

Pine- Andrew Luck- Hopefully, fantasy owners have a better alternative at quarterback than Andrew Luck. The Colts offense has been streaky at best and Andrew Luck hasn't been the same quarterback since Reggie Wayne went down. While Luck has posted double digit fantasy points in five of his last six games, those fantasy points aren't exactly what owners were expecting when they drafted him thirteen weeks ago. Luck has been too much of a question mark to rely on during the fantasy playoffs.

Running Back

Fine- DeMarco Murray- After posting double digit fantasy points in his last four games, DeMarco Murray is a must start this week versus the Chicago defense. The Bears D is giving up almost 23 fantasy points per game to the running back and Murray can also add receptions to his game to help his cause.

Pine- Rashad Jennings- While the Jets passing defense isn't too great, their run defense is one of the best. They allow the least amount of fantasy points to opposing backs at 12.3 points per game. While Jennings has been a fantasy asset these last few weeks, the matchup just isn't in his favor this week.

Wide Receiver

Fine- A.J Green- While Green is an obvious choice, he hasn't been the model of consistency this season. That has more to do with his quarterback than him and the Colts/Bengals game could produce points both in fantasy and NFL. Neither team has a strong run game so both may decide to air the ball out. Add to that, Indianapolis is giving up almost 26 points per game to receivers and it appears A.J Green is in store for a strong fantasy game.

Pine- Marques Colston- For starters, Colston has been an extremely streaky receiver for fantasy owners this season posting single digit fantasy points in his last two games and double digit fantasy points in only four games all season. As if that isn't bad enough, Carolina has allowed only 3 touchdowns to receivers all season.

Tight End

Fine- Ladarius Green- Green has a good matchup versus the Giants and he's also a red zone target for Philip Rivers. He's playing almost as many snaps as Antonio Gates and has scored double digit fantasy points in each of his last two games. Over the last three weeks, Green has had 16 targets tossed his way as the Chargers have been using more two tight end sets.

Pine- Jordan Reed- If Jordan Reed plays this week, he shouldn't be counted on in his matchup versus Kansas City. The Chiefs are giving up the least amount of points to opposing tight ends at just under five points per game and the Washington offense looks to be in shambles. Don't forget that Reed has missed the last two weeks with a concussion so he could be eased back into action.

Defense

Fine- Kansas City- Even though the Chiefs defense has been lit up the last three weeks, they get a favorable matchup this week versus the Redskins. Washington comes into week 14 beat up literally and figuratively making Kansas City a top five fantasy defense this week.

Pine- Detroit- Coming off of a Thanksgiving beat down of the Packers where the Lions only gave up ten points in total, they face an Eagles team that has had no issues at quarterback and can seemingly score at will. Detroit has given up 21 scores through the air and 18 points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Fantasy owners shouldn't put too much stock into Detroit's week 13 performance.