I swear, there’s only one week after this where you’ll hear my fantasy football nonsense. I really want to talk about this because I don’t get any chances to talk about it in real life.

I’m down 11 points with Desean Jackson and Vernon Davis to play in an epic playoff showdown. If I win it, I go to the championship. (Yeah, it’s kind of weird that playoffs started in Week 14, and Week 15 is the last game.) As much as I’d love for my playoff hopes to ride on Vernon Davis (go 49ers!), I’d rather sleep easier knowing the Djax had a big day. If I had started Miles Austin, I’d already be ahead. Ah well.

I started Ryan Grant over DeAngelo Williams. I did this because I didn’t wake up early enough to change it, and earlier in the week I was unsure if he would play or not. If I had waken up earlier, I might’ve rolled with it anyway because I thought Carolina would get into a big hole and have to abandon the run. Or, I might’ve started DeAngelo over Djax, which would not have been a terrible play. It’d leave me in a small hole, waiting for VD to dig me out on MNF. Ryan Grant had a huge game, which I really needed. Both my running backs had awesome games, but this was countered by huge games from Brandon Marshall (who set an NFL record for receptions in a game, had 200 yards, and scored two TDs) and Thomas Jones. Looks like Thomas Jones was not the bust I thought he’d be.

I agonized over which defense to play this week. I had my pick between the Packers, Titans, and Ravens. Baltimore had Detroit, who was starting Culpepper at QB and ESPN had them ranked #1. The Packers were hot and got Chicago, with Jay Cutler throwing picks galore lately. Finally, the Titans had the Rams, who are not only rebuilding but also injury-plagued, starting their backup QB and not-so-great WRs. I decided to go with the Titans and was heavily rewarded. Any of them, would’ve been a good play. I was lucky that I picked the highest scoring defense of the bunch, and I can’t really attribute my pick to some particular prowess on my part. If I hadn’t started the Titans, I’d be in a bigger hole, but it’d still be surmountable considering the play-makers I have left. I’m glad I picked up the Titans a couple weeks ago. I’ve been using this strategy of picking up defenses two weeks before I need them; it’s worked out fairly well.

Go Banana Grabbers! I still believe!