These rankings were updated late Friday night. Good luck this week

The first rule about Week 17 is you don't play Week 17. But unless you just clicked on this column to get another view of my glamour shot above, you have probably already broken that rule. So let's try to make sense of this mess.

The good news for fantasy leaguers in 2008 is that all the close playoff races will help prevent teams from sitting players. I have gone over the topic on the Fantasy Fix and in my blog, so I don't want to repeat myself too much here. Here's the short short version.

Giants: It's uncertain how they will handle it. My guess is they will play it halfway. Sit injured guys (Brandon Jacobs), and play most of their starters for most of the game. Iffy plays though.

Colts: As always, steer clear of your Colts in Week 17 with nothing on the line. Maybe they play a series, maybe a quarter, maybe a half. It's too risky.

Steelers: It's uncertain what they will do, but I'm guessing they will sit their players after they get a lead. I wouldn't use my Steelers at all. Gary Russell could be the next Willie Parker: breaking out in Week 17 while playing with reserves.

Ravens: They could potentially rest players if the Patriots lose at 1PM to the Bills. That's unlikely.

Cardinals: They need to bounce back. Play your Cardinals with confidence against Seattle.

Titans: Vince Young will play at some point. It's uncertain how long starters will remain in, but I'd stay away from Chris Johnson. We'll update our player news all week for all the playing time developments.

***

I'm posting the rankings on Tuesday as an early present to my family, so I'm not working on them during Christmas. They will be updated one final time Friday evening.

From everyone at Rotoworld, I just want to say happy holidays and thank you for coming to the rankings and website all season long. It's been a wacky fantasy season capped by an exhilarating Week 16. We continue to grow exponentially and your support means everything to our little corner of the internet. Always feel free to let me know how we can improve, what we get right, and what we get wrong.

Our daily coverage will continue 24/7 throughout the playoffs and off-season. I think it sets us apart. While other websites change their focus to other sports, our football crew stays committed to pigskin all year round. It's the season for diehards, and I know there are many of you out there. I will have fantasy playoff rankings next week and the Top-50 keepers for 2009 soon thereafter. I'll also help cover the playoffs and head to Tampa for the Super Bowl for NBCSports.com, if you are into that sort of thing.

Now is the time to re-introduce yourself to family members. Tell them I said hi. Good luck to everyone who doesn't follow the first rule of Week 17 and have a great holiday week.

Week 17 Quarterbacks

Rank	Player Name	Opponent	Notes
1	Jay Cutler	at SD	-
2	Philip Rivers	vs. DEN	-
3	Drew Brees	vs. CAR	-
4	Aaron Rodgers	vs. DET	-
5	Matt Cassel	at BUF	-
6	Kurt Warner	vs. SEA	-
7	Matt Schaub	vs. CHI	-
8	Tyler Thigpen	at CIN	-
9	Tony Romo	at PHI	Probable(flu)
10	Donovan McNabb	vs. DAL	-
11	Matt Ryan	vs. STL	-
12	Jake Delhomme	at NO	-
13	Chad Pennington	at NYJ	-
14	Brett Favre	vs. MIA	-
15	Shaun Hill	vs. WAS	-
16	Jeff Garcia	vs. OAK	Probable(calf)
17	Tarvaris Jackson	vs. NYG	-
18	Seneca Wallace	at ARZ	-
19	Kyle Orton	at HOU	-
20	Joe Flacco	vs. JAC	-
21	Trent Edwards	vs. NE	-
22	Vince Young	at IND	-
23	Jason Campbell	at SF	-
24	Eli Manning	at MIN	-
25	Byron Leftwich	vs. CLE	-
26	David Garrard	at BAL	-
27	Marc Bulger	at ATL	-
28	Peyton Manning	vs. TEN	-
29	Ben Roethlisberger	vs. CLE	Probable(-)
30	Dan Orlovsky	at GB	-
31	Ryan Fitzpatrick	vs. KC	-
32	JaMarcus Russell	at TB	-
33	David Carr	at MIN	-
34	Jim Sorgi	vs. TEN	-
35	Bruce Gradkowski	at PIT	-
36	Matt Leinart	vs. SEA	-
37	Kerry Collins	at IND	-

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