Fantasy Therapy: Playoffs and keepers

I'm in a keeper league where we only retain one guy. Frank Gore was my keeper last year and he has to go back into the draft pool. I don't have to select a guy until August, but my best options for next season are Chad Johnson, Braylon Edwards or Matt Hasselbeck. However, Ronnie Brown is available for me to pickup. Without damaging my current playoff run, should I drop Heath Miller (I already have Chris Cooley) or one of my worthless running backs (Kenny Watson, Fred Jackson) and add Brown to keep next year. What do you think his value will be? -- Tom Correia

MH: I think you already have your answer: no. The guy you most likely will keep is Edwards. Johnson is a close second. It doesn't hurt to add Brown in lieu of either Watson or Jackson, but Brown will becoming off a serious knee injury next season and might even have a new backfield mate in Darren McFadden. Also, you can likely swipe Brown in possibly Round 3 or 4; whereas there is a chance Edwards' value is elevated to a Round 2 pick.

I'm in a Fantasy Football "pickle" this week. I have three outstanding backs: Brian Westbrook (at Dallas), Willis McGahee (vs. Miami) and uber-hot Ryan Grant (at St. Louis). I'm not sure which two guys I should play this week. My gut is telling me to sit Westbrook, but my head is telling me that he's just too talented to ride the pine. I could also sit McGahee because he's coming off of a brutal week, but he's playing the lowly Dolphins. Help please! --Casey Durnin, Vancouver

MH: Don't be scared of the Dallas run defense. Sure, they have the fourth best unit against the run in the NFL (90.7 ypg), but they let Kevin Jones rush for 92 yards and two touchdowns in Week 14. The Eagles will continue to feed Westbrook the ball no matter the opponent and he will continue to get his yards. Start him. As far as McGahee and Grant, I would start McGahee. He is facing the worst run defense in the NFL. This is the same defense that allowed Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson to total 222 yards on the ground Week 14. Don't look too much into McGahee's Week 14 stats. The Ravens were down against Indianapolis from the get go and had to throw the ball. McGahee should get back on track against the hapless Dolphins.

I have one more game until my league's championship. My receiving core is Terrell Owens, Reggie Wayne and Dwayne Bowe. My question for you is would you start Anthony Gonzalez (at Oakland) or Jabar Gaffney (vs. N.Y. Jets) over Bowe (vs. Tennessee) Week 15? -- Ryan Smith

MH: Gonzalez had his breakout performance against the Ravens in Week 14. He caught six passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. However, Baltimore's secondary was a little beat up and without top corner Chris McAlister. The Raiders' secondary is in perfect health and will showcase a top-five pass defense against the Colts. Gonzalez will likely remain in the starting lineup as Marvin Harrison (knee) is still a longshot to play. Gaffney, who is at best the fourth wide receiver in New England, is posting stats better than any non-starting wide receiver in the NFL. He does have a touchdown in three straight weeks, but 56 of his 122 yards last week came on one play. If he doesn't get the big play, his numbers suffer. But we could very well see a ton of big plays Sunday as the Patriots look to pound the Jets into submission. Lastly, Bowe's numbers have fallen off in the second half of the season as the Chiefs play QB carousel. He is no longer a reliable Fantasy WR and playing the eighth best pass defense in the NFL in Week 15 doesn't help his cause. I can't believe I am going to say this, but Gaffney is the flavor of the month and probably your best bet.

With news that Selvin Young might get the majority of the reps against the Texans, is he a better start this week than Clinton Portis against the Giants? -- Keith Pieck

MH: Young appears to be the favored back in Denver. He is seeing most of the carries in between the 20s as Travis Henry, who is not at 100 percent because of a bum knee, is seeing a lot of goal line or short-yardage reps. Portis has been relatively injury-free in 2007, but his production is starting to drop. He has just two touchdowns in his last seven games and doesn't have a 100-yard rushing performance in his last four contests. He has tallied more than 50 yards just once in that span as well. Portis takes on the seventh ranked run defense in Week 15 and Young faces a unit ranked 23rd against the run. Young has the fresher set of legs and would be a good start in place of Portis.

Fantasy Quick Hitters

Mike Stogin wants to know: Roddy White (at Tampa Bay) or Kevin Curtis (at Dallas)? Many Fantasy owners are curious to know what will happen to White's production now that Bobby Petrino has exited stage left. My only answer is that very little should change. The interim Falcons coaching staff realizes White is their best option at wide receiver and will continue to feed him the ball. He has a touchdown in each of his last three games with Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich, Chris Redman, Oscar the Grouch, Tom Brady's infant child, etc., throwing him passes. Curtis continues to give us erratic performances and had only five catches for 51 yards in his earlier meeting with Dallas. My pick: White

Greg Gallo wants to know: Larry Fitzgerald (at New Orleans) or Braylon Edwards (vs. Buffalo)? Fitzgerald returned to the gridiron in Week 14 after missing a game with a groin injury. He caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. His score came late in the fourth quarter with the game well out of reach against Seattle. He didn't have running mate Anquan Boldin (toe) and there is no guarantee he will be back this week. Despite the numbers, Fitzgerald struggled because there was no real threat to pull the Seahawks defenders away. Still, Fitzgerald has six touchdowns in his last four games. Edwards' breakout season continues as he now has 13 touchdowns and one in three straight games. The Bills and Saints both have pathetic pass defenses, so this one is a real toss up. My pick: Fitzgerald, especially if Boldin is healthy.

Shaun Hilton wants to know: Donald Lee (at St. Louis) or Jeremy Shockey (vs. Washington)? Shockey is having a pretty bad season and it can easily be summed up by his first two December games -- three catches for 29 yards and zero touchdowns. But it is not entirely his fault. He doesn't exactly have an All-Pro quarterback slinging him passes. Lee, on the other hand, does have an All-Pro caliber QB and the fifth-year tight end out of Mississippi State is experiencing a career season (569 yards, five TDs). Shockey did have one of his better games this season against the Redskins Week 3 (five catches for 79 yards), but Lee is the more reliable target. My pick: Lee

John Talarico wants to know: Chester Taylor (vs. Chicago) or LenDale White (at Kansas City)? Taylor has just 22 carries in the last two games as he is once again sharing the rushing responsibilities with rookie sensation Adrian Peterson. Taylor had less carries than a banged up Peterson Week 14 against the 49ers, but still managed 101 yards on eight carries. Granted, 84 yards came on one run, but he still has at least one touchdown in four straight games and the Vikings are committed to putting the ball in his hands. White returned from Fantasy oblivion in Week 14 against the Chargers to rush for 113 yards and a touchdown. He had been sharing carries with Chris Brown in the previous four games and it is really anyone's guess on a weekly basis how the Titans intend to use their running backs. My pick: White, unless Peterson is in street clothes and that leaves Taylor with the bulk of carries.

Juan Casanova Jr. wants to know: Ben Roethlisberger (vs. Jacksonville) or Carson Palmer (at San Francisco)? The Bengals have had a very frustrating season, and as a result, Palmer's numbers have suffered. The fact he has zero touchdowns and two interceptions in his last two games is proof enough he is driving Fantasy owners crazy. He does have 21 touchdowns passes, but also 17 interceptions. Roethlisberger has had a very pleasing Fantasy season and his numbers (26 TDs, 11 INTs) look more like what we would expect from Palmer. The Jaguars pass defense is not as strong has it has been in past years, but they have only allowed 15 passing touchdowns and the 49ers have allowed 20. My pick: Palmer finally gets on track Week 15.

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning

Quarterbacks regain the Fantasy spotlight. If I told you that 13 of the top 20 Fantasy scorers heading into Week 15 were quarterbacks, would you believe me? There has been such a priority put on drafting Fantasy running backs, but the stats in 2007 show that drafting a reliable quarterback is as important as making sure your running back stable is complete. Add to the fact that running backs are among the most tackled players in the NFL, we are seeing a lot of tandems emerge, further dropping some players' Fantasy value. Still, in our latest mock draft looking ahead to next season, 18 of the first 24 picks were running backs. Fantasy prescription: As some Fantasy owners already begin to ponder 2008 draft strategies, I offer the advice that you shouldn't overlook quarterbacks or elite wide receivers in the early rounds. The numbers don't lie.

Does Darius Walker have the luck of the Irish? I felt bad for Walker went he came out of Notre Dame after his junior season thanks to some bad advice and then went undrafted. I started my journalism career as a college football recruiting writer and followed Walker while he was an outstanding Georgia prep. Aside from breaking all kinds of Georgia rushing records, he also happened to be one of the most articulate individuals I have ever encountered. To see him make such an ill-advised decision to leave school early was shocking, but redemption might finally be on the horizon. Walker is expected to carry the load Week 15 against the Broncos with Ron Dayne nursing a sprained ankle. Walker carried 16 times for 46 yards in his pro debut in Week 14 against the Bucs. Not too bad going against a top-15 run defense. The Broncos are ranked 29th against the run, but have allowed just 10 rushing touchdowns. Fantasy prescription: You made the Fantasy playoffs without Walker's help, but if you are in need of a "Hail Mary" Fantasy RB or 'flex' option Week 15, then Walker is a viable option.

____________________________

Do you have a question for Michael? You can e-mail him your Fantasy Football questions to DMFantasyFootball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Fantasy Therapy in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.