Pfnt 2016 12 29

Where are the Bears’ biggest needs on defense next season?

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THURSDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2016

BEARS 2016 SEASON FINALE

Heir Jordan?

Considering Adrian Peterson’s age and injuries, Jordan Howard could dethrone him as the premier back in the division PLUS:

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PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

1 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 2 DALLAS COWBOYS 3 PITTSBURGH STEELERS 4 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 5 ATLANTA FALCONS 6 GREEN BAY PACKERS 7 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 8 NEW YORK GIANTS 9 OAKLAND RAIDERS 10 MIAMI DOLPHINS 11 BALTIMORE RAVENS 12 HOUSTON TEXANS 13 DETROIT LIONS 14 DENVER BRONCOS 15 WASHINGTON 16 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 17 ARIZONA CARDINALS 18 TENNESSEE TITANS 19 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 20 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 21 MINNESOTA VIKINGS 22 BUFFALO BILLS 23 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 24 CAROLINA PANTHERS 25 CINCINNATI BENGALS 26 SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 27 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 28 CHICAGO BEARS 29 NEW YORK JETS 30 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 31 LOS ANGELES RAMS 32 CLEVELAND BROWNS Clearly the best right now

And the kids and Dez will carry them

Will be scary if Coates, Green, Tuitt get healthy Tyreek Hill is an absolute game-changer Offense is super; can defense be?

Here comes A-Rod

They’re the weakest of the best

And the G-men are the best of the rest

#5 with Carr, maybe not even this high with McGloin Is Adam Gase the coach of the year?

Tough, well coached, need more playmakers And now Jadeveon shall lead them

Washington only winning team they’ve beat Let the Paxton Lynch era begin

Power Rankings Welcome to our ProFootballWeekly.com NFL Week 17 Power Rankings

Five gifts from Bears enough to hang in race If only they could play defense

Big effort in Seattle; where has it been all year?

Mariota injury a shame but were still a year away So what’s up with the “Muscle Hamster,” Dirk?

Please get Luck and defense some help up front No idea what’s going on here at this point

They’re still fighting but couldn’t save Rex

If only they could play ‘em all at home: 5-2 in Philly Is Newton getting enough of the blame for this?

The Chiefs moved up a spot after a convincing win over Denver, while Derek Carr’s injury sent the Raiders down the rankings. The Dolphins, now a wild-card team, crack the top 10, while the Lions and Washington hope to get into the playoffs and higher in our rankings next week.

AP PHOTO

Just an off year, or beginning of downward trend?

Ouch, that one could cost Mike McCoy his job So how many points is that for Doug Marrone?

You mean Matt Barkley isn’t the second coming?

How do you like them now?

Kap’s shown enough for future somewhere

Tom Brady and the Patriots remain on top of our rankings after crushing the Jets on Saturday

Pro Football Weekly is produced by Shaw Media, the Daily Herald Media Group and the Chicago Sun-Times in partnership with other Illinois daily newspapers.

Even with Goff, these guys really hard to watch If they win another one, we can talk about 31st

W

ith the 2016 season coming to an end this Sunday in Minnesota, the Chicago Bears will have a number of questions to sort through and answer before continuing the process of rebuilding the football team.

But there are three that stand out above the rest and that must be decided on before any of the other work can continue.

Should John Fox keep his job as head coach? What are they going to do about the quarterback position?

Where should their focus be with what now looks to be the third overall pick in the draft as well as picks 35 and 67?

I believe Fox should be back for at least one more year, which is interesting coming from me because I was not a fan of his hiring when they chose him to replace Marc Trestman.

His 9-22 record since taking over suggests that I may have been right two years ago, but that was then and now is now.

While Fox oversaw just a one-game improvement last year from 5-11 to

communications with 6-10, he did a great the media and thereby job of cleaning up the his fans, but that’s a Trestman/Phil Emery mess and changdifferent subject for a ing the culture for his different time.

The players seem to players. like him, seem to trust He has taken a step him and clearly continback this year with ue to play for him. That poor clock and game may be the most immanagement and a portant thing this team Dowell Loggains offense that doesn’t reneeds, as one more offsemble what he told us season of free agency was his offense when and drafting could supply most of the missing Adam Gase departed.

HUB ARKUSH But even with that, harkush@ProFootballWeekly.com pieces still needed to be @Hub_Arkush a playoff contender. the rebuild was still If Fox is ready to acfocused on the foundation, not the finishing touches, and knowledge the mess he’s made of his expectations of anything more than offense scheme-wise and either radically change the play-calling philoseight or nine wins this season were ophy or replace Loggains, or perhaps unrealistic. both, he should be given one more While injuries are never an excuse, year to get to at least nine wins. with some number significantly less The Bears should re-sign Matt Barthan 19 players on injured reserve, kley and Connor Shaw to compete more than five healthy starts from for the No. 2 spot, draft the best quarJay Cutler and a lot better play-calling, I’m not ready to say eight or nine terback available on Day Two of the wins weren’t a possibility. draft, and either retain Jay Cutler for Fox takes a lot of heat for his poor one more season or trade for or sign

a veteran free agent to replace him.

If the Bears can get a fifth-round pick or better for Cutler, I’d move him, but otherwise they should keep him as the bridge to the next starter who they will hopefully find in the draft.

Contrary to what so many want to believe, Cutler is not the problem, he just doesn’t appear to be the future.

The problem is there are no surefire franchise quarterbacks in this draft worth a top-10 pick, none available in free agency and the only one you might trade for – Jimmy Garoppolo – may not be available. If he is, he might be too expensive.

The Bears’ focus in the draft needs to be on a game-changing player. At least two among Jonathan Allen, Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers and Marlon Humphrey will be available assuming all join the senior Allen in coming out, and each would fill a real need for the Bears.

There will be outstanding tight end prospects available at 35 and a very good chance the best QB in this draft will still be there too. From there on out, the Bears should be drafting the best player available with each pick

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PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

Three big questions for Bears to answer in 2017

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

Bears rushing offense vs Vikings run defense Both defenses in this matchup have experienced precipitous declines since the last meeting on Oct. 31. The Vikings’ run defense is now 17th in the NFL allowing 4.2 yards per carry. On Halloween, Minnesota was seventh, giving up only 3.7 yards per pop. That night may have been the beginning of the downward spiral, when Jordan Howard rushed for 153 yards on 26 carries against the Vikings, including a 69-yarder, his best game as a pro. The Bears’ strength is Howard and the run game. He has averaged 6.1 yards per carry

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Anthony Barr, Linval Joseph), but they haven’t been consistent. The Bears have to hammer it with Howard to win, and running behind Cody Whitehair and Josh Sitton works.

EDGE u BEARS

over his past three games, but only 16 carries in those three contests, all losses. Minnesota did hold the Packers to 40 yards on 15 carries, but that didn’t matter considering what Aaron Rodgers did to its defense. The Vikings have the players in the front seven to stop the run (Eric Kendricks,

Bears passing offense vs Vikings pass defense Matt Barkley’s five interceptions ended the hype – for those who still had it – and Saturday’s loss to Washington served as a reminder that the passing game may put up a lot of yards,

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JAGUARS AT COLTS

Marrone likely earned interview for head vacancy with Bortles, offense awakening to spoil Titans’ season. Colts will officially miss playoffs in consecutive years for first time since pre-Peyton Manning era.

BEARS AT VIKINGS

Chicago in jeopardy of first winless season on road, 3-13 campaign in franchise history. Vikings’ eighth loss in 10 games overshadowed by defensive mutiny.

BILLS AT JETS

If this is Rex’s final game in Buffalo, Jay Ajayi helped write his Bills obituary. Jets’ season wouldn’t have been complete without the Marshall-Richardson public airing of laundry.

COWBOYS AT EAGLES

Dallas says the starters will play; hold your breath, Cowboys fans. What a difference Lane Johnson makes for the Eagles.

Jerrell Freeman but that doesn’t mean it’s been successful. Barkley has a 70.3 rating this season while completing only 58.9 percent of his passes. The Vikings, however, are coming off back-to-back ugly performances against the pass, though Barkley is not Andrew Luck or Aaron Rodgers. Minnesota had nine interceptions in its first six games but has zero in the past five games. The Vikings’ secondary had some “miscommunication” issues (or mutiny, depending on what you believe) in their coverage vs. the Packers last week, but we expect no conversations Sunday, as Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes (10 passes defensed, four interceptions) will likely spend the day covering Alshon Jeffery. The Bears have done a good job protecting Barkley and rank eighth in the league in sacks allowed per pass attempt, but the Vikings have the horses up front (Danielle Hunter, Brian Robison, Everson Griffen) and rank fourth in sacks, though they got to Jay Cutler only once on Halloween. The Bears’ best positive in the passing game has been Cameron Meredith, but that’s not enough to topple the Vikings’ secondary.

EDGE u VIKINGS

Vikings rushing offense vs Bears run defense Sure, the Vikings have the league’s worst rushing offense, but the Bears’ run defense has not been good of late. Over the past six weeks, the Bears have allowed 156.7 rushing yards per game at a staggering rate of 5.3 yards per carry. This is a group that allowed only 3.7 yards per tote five weeks ago, which ranked seventh. Now, the Bears are 21st in that category. Jerrell Freeman’s return should help, but not having Eddie Goldman definitely hurts. The Vikings have been horrible in the run game without Adrian Peterson this season. Neither Matt Asiata nor Jerick McKinnon rush for even 3.5 yards per carry, and the team is averaging only 72.1 yards per game on the ground. In Week 8, Asiata had 42 yards rushing on 14 carries. Once thought to be an area where the Bears could gain a big advantage, now this is a weakness vs. weakness situation. Freeman should be better in his second game back from

AP PHOTOS

Sam Bradford

suspension, though, and the Bears won’t want a repeat of the past two weeks. The Vikings have gone over 100 rushing yards one time this season, in Week 4.

EDGE u BEARS

Vikings passing offense vs Bears pass defense What an odd passing “attack” the Vikings have this season. Sam Bradford’s numbers are good – 71.3 percent accuracy, only four interceptions and a 98.3 rating. However, it’s an offense that is 26th in points and 30th in the red zone without many playmakers. Bradford has been sacked at least four times in five games this year playing behind an underwhelming offensive line, and of course he’s not getting help from the run game. Stefon Diggs has been inconsistent, averaging only 38.6 receiving yards over his past five games. Firstround pick Laquon Treadwell has been a nonfactor this season. The Vikings should have success with tight end Kyle Rudolph against a Bears team that has not made nearly enough plays from the safety position. Saturday’s performance vs. Kirk Cousins was ugly for Chicago’s secondary, especially Tracy Porter, who had an uncharacteristically poor outing. The pass rush will have to make up for the secondary, like it did on Halloween when it sacked Bradford five times. A defense that doesn’t take it away against a QB who doesn’t turn it over isn’t a great recipe for the Bears.

EDGE u VIKINGS

Sunday’s overall edge The Vikings do have a weapon in the return game in Cordarrelle Patterson, something the Bears don’t possess. Minnesota, throughout all its issues over the past two months, still has the fourth-best defense and is plus-7 in turnovers.

The Bears are 29th in time of possession and 28th in points, but seventh in red-zone defense. The giveaway/takeaway ratio, however, is the big difference between two teams going backward with nothing to play for on New Years Day.

EDGE u VIKINGS

BROWNS AT STEELERS

The Browns aren’t going 0-16 ... and they may not go 1-15 if Pittsburgh rests its studs with AFC North title and the No. 3 seed already secure.

PANTHERS AT BUCCANEERS

Fitting playoff-elimination loss for Carolina, Cam – following up best game with worst. Bucs fell short of playoffs, and Doug Martin being a healthy scratch stunning, but nice debut for Koetter.

TEXANS AT TITANS

As fun as Tom Savage vs. Matt Cassel would’ve been to decide AFC South, it won’t be necessary after Texans’ Christmas Eve win. Let’s hope Marcus Mariota picks up where he left off before broken fibula.

PATRIOTS AT DOLPHINS

Still eyeing potential No. 1 seed, Pats won’t take foot off gas in South Beach, where Tom Brady has struggled of late. ’Phins postseason swimming for first time since 2008, can still secure fifth seed with win, Chiefs loss.

SAINTS AT FALCONS

New Orleans proved last week it’s a formidable spoiler and will try and prevent prolific Falcons offense, MVP candidate Ryan from grabbing No. 2 seed.

RAIDERS AT BRONCOS

Matt McGloin’s first start since 2013 comes against dangerous Broncos ‘D’ with top seed still attainable. Broncos aren’t returning to postseason, so why return to Siemian instead of Lynch?

CARDINALS AT RAMS

Too little, too late for Cards, but at least Carson Palmer proving he may have something left to offer. How much Rams roster has to offer next head coach is in eye of beholder.

CHIEFS AT CHARGERS

The Chiefs, AFC West champs with a win, were dangerous before unleashing “Bloated Tebow” to humiliate Broncos. Mike McCoy seems hard-pressed to overcome Bolts’ death march ending in five straight losses, including one to winless Browns.

SEAHAWKS AT 49ERS

Seattle limping into playoffs without Thomas and Lockett, but still outside shot at No. 2 seed. Niners snapped 13-game losing streak by stunning lowly Rams late, but does it save Chip Kelly?

GIANTS AT WASHINGTON

Back in the playoffs, Giants better hope postseason version of Eli Manning returns as well. Washington extended its season with win in Chicago but that London tie still looms large.

PACKERS AT LIONS

For the fourth year in a row, it comes down to this: a Week 17 NFC North title game involving the Packers. Lions couldn’t seal it in 2014 at Lambeau, will home-field advantage help flip script?

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

RAVENS AT BENGALS

Should NFL’s second- and sixth-longest tenured coaches be feeling heat with both playing a meaningless Week 17 division rivalry game when seasons began with Super Bowl ambitions?

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

(-5½) Hub

Kevin

Arthur

Bob

Adam

Pro Football Weekly

Pro Football Weekly

Pro Football Weekly

Daily Herald

Chicago Sun-Times

ARKUSH

FISHBAIN

ARKUSH

LEGERE

JAHNS

BEARS 16 VIKINGS 19

BEARS 13 VIKINGS 16

BEARS 15 VIKINGS 24

BEARS 20 VIKINGS 23

BEARS 23 VIKINGS 17

The Vikings might be one of the NFL’s biggest disappointments, but they’re still a lot more talented than the Bears.

Expecting an ugly game.

A loss means the Bears and I would have the same amount of road wins this season: zero.

Chicago won’t be the more dysfunctional team on the field, which is nice, but it will still be the less talented one.

Trying hard only gets you so far. The Bears’ roster was thin to begin with, and it’s been decimated.

Why not? Maybe the Vikings will freelance their way into more coverage problems.

Something is off in Minnesota.

SEASON RECORD: 10-5 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 8-7

SEASON RECORD: 10-5 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 5-10

SEASON RECORD: 11-4 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 9-5-1

SEASON RECORD: 9-6 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 6-9

SEASON RECORD: 8-7 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 5-8-2

Jon

Kristin

Eric

Dan

Kyle

The Herald-News

Kendall County Record

Daily Chronicle

Pro Football Weekly

Kankakee Daily Journal

STYF

SHARP

OLSON

McCALEB

NABORS

BEARS 21 VIKINGS 24

BEARS 20 VIKINGS 30

BEARS 13 VIKINGS 17

BEARS 17 VIKINGS 18

BEARS 10 VIKINGS 21

Bears close miserable 2016 season with another close loss.

This season has just been one long New Year’s Day hangover, and I’m now out of Advil.

Nurse your hangover with two headache-inducing NFL teams.

One of many New Year’s Day snoozers. Thankfully, I’ll still be recovering from the College Football Playoff semis.

Xavier Rhodes will be a happy man after watching Matt Barkley’s meltdown against Washington.

SEASON RECORD: 12-3 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 10-5

SEASON RECORD: 9-6 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 6-9

SEASON RECORD: 7-8 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 7-8

SEASON RECORD: 10-5 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 7-8

SEASON RECORD: 11-4 SEASON VS. SPREAD: 7-8

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PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

Barkley-mania shows absurdity of Bears’ season

B

ears quarterback Matt Barkley went from boom to bust in less than a week. That’s what happens when you nearly complete a comeback against the rival Packers and then throw five interceptions against Washington.

For some folks, the five interceptions were an opportunity to finally write off Barkley. Others still want to give him more time. But the fact that everyone is obsessing over Barkley epitomizes how absurd this season truly is.

That’s not Barkley’s fault. He deserves the attention he’s getting, good and bad. He deserves another contract from someone. At the very least, Barkley has proven to be more than what everyone thought he was.

But Barkley’s emergence, good and bad, is part of the larger problem.

Injuries have derailed this season.

That’s this year’s major story line.

It’s not just the sheer amount of injuries, but who is suffering them. Barkley only is playing because Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer and even Connor Shaw can’t. The Bears have 19 players on injured reserve. It’s a who’s who list that includes Cutler, Hoyer,

right guard Kyle Long talking about Barkley and tight end Zach Millwhen we shouldn’t be. er, among others. According to Spotrac.com, The Bears need to the Bears lead the NFL force seven turnovers with $32.7 million in Sunday against the Visalary cap space on IR. kings to not finish with We’re of the opinion a new franchise low that making definimark for them. Yeah, tive statements about that’s not happening.

Barkley is premature.

There’s a good chance His time spent with that they will have none the Eagles, who draftand finish with 10. It’s ed him in the fourth ADAM JAHNS a statistic that’s a diround of the 2014 draft, ajahns@ww.com rect result of the Bears’ @ajahns was meaningless. He rebuilding efforts and didn’t fit Chip Kelly’s roster turnover. In 2012, nuanced offense. If anythe final year of the Lovie Smith era, thing, those years were a setback for the Bears’ defense produced 44 takehis NFL development. aways. Cornerbacks Charles TillBarkley was signed to the Bears’ man (three interceptions, 10 forced practice squad on Sept. 5 and didn’t fumbles) and Tim Jennings (nine start working with starters until the interceptions) and linebacker Lance week of Thanksgiving.

Briggs (two interceptions, two forced In five starts, Barkley has thrown fumbles) produced the most. Tillman to backups and has been protected and Briggs combined to score five deby backups while trying to make up fensive touchdowns. for huge deficits against the Titans, But all three players are out of the Packers and Washington. It also league now. Former Bears general didn’t help Barkley that receiver manager Phil Emery drafted cornerAlshon Jeffery was suspended for back Kyle Fuller and linebacker Jon three of his starts.

Bostic as potential replacements for But look, here we go again. We’re

•••

Tillman and Briggs. How’d that turn out?

The Bears’ lack of playmakers, especially in the secondary, is obvious.

Finding or developing them, if you can, is a must heading into next season.

“It can change fast,” coach John Fox said. “Obviously, the more playmakers you have, the more consistent you can do it. That’s something that we have to figure out and figure out quickly.”

•••

This week’s draft thought: the Browns will bungle the first overall pick, right? They’ll overdraft a quarterback or they’ll pick the wrong defender. And the Bears, who currently have the third overall pick, will benefit. Right? They are the Browns. A few weeks ago, there was an ESPN report that said the Browns had an “astronomical grade” on Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett.

It seemed a bit too early for misdirection and draft fodder.

But the best guess here is that it really means that the Browns don’t like Garrett that much, but want to raise their price for the first pick should anyone want to take him.

Once-improved Bears defense is taking steps backward

J

ust two weeks ago, defenders of the 3-10 Bears could point to the defense for signs of improvement.

They could point to a defense that was No. 7 in total yards allowed, and even an almost-respectable 19th in rushing yards allowed.

But 3-10 became 3-12, and even the numbers that pointed to progress have plummeted, leaving little to be optimistic about looking forward to 2017. In total yards allowed, the Bears’ defense has dropped to 12th in just two weeks after allowing 929 yards to Green Bay and Washington.

In rushing yards, the Bears have dropped to 27th after being gashed for 226 and then 208 yards in backto-back stampedes that also included seven touchdowns on the ground.

It’s worth noting that the week before Washington gashed the Bears for 208 yards rushing, they managed just 29 against the Carolina Panthers.

And it’s interesting to note where those seven rushing touchdowns came from. Two were by a quarterback (Kirk Cousins), and two were

by a wide receiver who aways are the fewest in was converted to runthe NFL. Combined with their ning back mid-season 26 giveaways (17 inter(Green Bay’s Ty Montgomery). There was one ceptions, nine fumbles) from a fourth-string the Bears’ minus-16 running back (a 61-yard turnover-takeaway difscamper by Washingferential is the second worst in the NFL, ahead ton’s Mack Brown), one of only the Jets. by a backup (WashingThis Bears defense is ton’s Chris Thompson) historically bad when and one by a player it comes to forcing only recently picked up turnovers. Last year’s off the street-free-agent BOB LeGERE team established the scrap heap (a 42-yard rlegere@dailyherald.com @BobLeGere franchise low for takejaunt by the Packers’ Christine Michael). aways with just 17, but The one constant this that’s seven more than season has been the Bears’ almost this year’s squad has with just one ludicrous inability to take the ball game remaining. The Bears also had away. a franchise-low eight interceptions The Bears, as a team, have forced last year, which is one more than 10 fumbles this year. Former Bears they have this year. cornerback Charles Tillman forced Coach John Fox and his staff have that many in 2012 by himself. frequently talked of making progress No NFL team has recovered fewer after taking over a 5-11 team they infumbles than the Bears’ three, and herited from former GM Phil Emery only the Jacksonville Jaguars have and coach Marc Trestman after the fewer interceptions than the Bears’ 2014 season. seven. The Bears’ total of 10 takeLast year, under Fox and Ryan

Pace, the Bears improved by one game, to 6-10, but now they have backpedaled to 3-12.

It would seem impossible to put enough spin on that to make it look like progress, but that hasn’t stopped Fox from trying.

“Sometimes,” Fox said, “when you come into a situation, you take some steps back before you take some steps forward. In my opinion, we are in a way better position to be in striking distance moving forward.”

A couple weeks ago, Fox could have used the defense to make his point. But even that isn’t a legitimate argument anymore.

“A lot of it is who you’re playing,” Fox said Saturday after his team allowed a season-high 41 points. “How you execute and the matchups, you have to be reflective of that. You’re going to run into those type of games.

That’s why they call it a team game.

You have to have all three phases operating on all cylinders.”

In other words, the Bears cannot defeat a good team. Their only victory in the past seven games came against the 2-13 San Francisco 49ers.

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PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY |

PFW names all-fantasy players, busts

By J.C.

TALON

M

Fantasy writer | ProFootballWeekly.com

ost leagues ended their fantasy seasons in Week 16. For the true die-hard leagues that play on through the fantasy wasteland of Week 17, we offer some fantasy notes for the final week.

For those of you celebrating a championship, or looking ahead to next year, we’ve included a fantasy awards segment.

On to Week 17…

MATCHUPS TO CONSIDER

Just because a team has secured a playoff spot doesn’t mean that team will be resting their fantasy studs in Week 17. Several teams are in the playoffs, but still will be motivated to win. The Patriots can lock up the No. 1 seed with a victory. Although they can do no worse than the No. 2 seed, having the AFC Championship at home is a worthwhile goal. The Falcons, Raiders, Chiefs and Seahawks are trying to secure a bye, and should be playing full throttle this week.

Their game in Tennessee means nothing to them, so you have to think the Texans will again rest Lamar Miller and let Alfred Blue take the bulk of the carries. Should you jump on the Adam Thielen bandwagon? His 12-catch, 212-yard performance against the Packers is obviously an outlier. Thielen had no catches against the Colts in Week 15. However, he caught 24 balls combined in the four weeks previous to Week 15.

Let’s call him a reasonable WR2 this week.

In order to secure a bye, Oakland will very much want to beat the Broncos this week. Although Latavius Murray was third – on his team – in rushing yards last week against the Colts, a bounce back game is a possibility. Denver has a great pass defense, but is vulnerable to the run.

Murray had two TDs last time these teams faced each other.

The Bills fired coach Rex Ryan. Who could have possibly seen that coming? In spite of that (and perhaps because of that) we like LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins against a Jets team that has completely quit. The Bills D/ST isn’t a bad play either.

And speaking of defense, the Steelers look to be a good play against the Browns. True, Pittsburgh has nothing to play for, but the Steelers can only rest so many starters. They’ll be playing loose. If you’re looking for Steelers this week, consider DeAngelo Williams and Eli Rogers. QB Landry Jones might limit Rogers, but Williams could have a very good game.

The Saints and Falcons, respectively, have produced the most yards this year in the NFL. Atlanta wants to earn a bye and New Orleans will want to finish up with a win. That will make Matt Ryan and Drew Brees two of the three top QB options this week. The Falcons’ defense is 23rd and the Saints are ranked 25th. Devonta

Freeman, Tevin Coleman, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and Brandin Cooks are all must starts.

The top QB spot goes to Aaron Rodgers. The Lions seem to be limping toward the finish line. Ex-

Fantasy Awards MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

David Johnson BIGGEST SURPRISE

Dak Prescott BIGGEST BUST

(TIE)

Cam Newton, Todd Gurley MOST PROMISING ROOKIE

Ezekiel Elliott

Dream Team QUARTERBACK

Aaron Rodgers RUNNING BACKS

David Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott WIDE RECEIVERS

Jordy Nelson, Antonio Brown TIGHT END

Travis Kelce FLEX

Le’Veon Bell PLACEKICKER

Matt Bryant D/ST

Kansas City Chiefs

All-Bust Team (not injury related) QUARTERBACK

Cam Newton RUNNING BACKS

Todd Gurley, Lamar Miller WIDE RECEIVERS

DeAndre Hopkins, Allen Robinson TIGHT END

Gary Barnidge PLACEKICKER

Chandler Catanzaro D/ST

New York Jets

All-Injury Team QUARTERBACK

Tony Romo RUNNING BACKS

Adrian Peterson, Eddie Lacy WIDE RECEIVERS

Keenan Allen, Eric Decker TIGHT END

Rob Gronkowski FLEX

Jamaal Charles

pect big days from Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Ty Montgomery. Mason Crosby is also a good play.

Washington needs a win and some help to make the playoffs. The Giants have nothing to play for, but will be obligated to put up a fight.

We still like Kirk Cousins, Rob Kelley and DeSean Jackson. Washington is 25th against the run.

Paul Perkins of the Giants is worth a look.

Just when we told you to dump Allen Robinson, he goes for 147 yards against the Titans. Maybe he’s worth a shot at Indy. The Vikings’ defense is a shell of its early season self. Don’t be surprised if Alshon Jeffery goes for 100 yards and a score.

MATCHUPS TO BEWARE

The obvious concern this week is teams that have secured a playoff start resting their best players to ensure they are healthy for the playoffs. The Texans, Giants, Cowboys, and Steelers are locked into their current playoff spot, thus have nothing to gain from a victory this week.

This is a confusing mess for fantasy owners.

Even if a coach says he’ll play his starters, you have no idea if that’s true. And, if they do start, there’s a good chance they’ll be on a pitch count.

The Dolphins are locked into the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, but the difference between the two seeds is negligible. You’ll want to do your research this week before plugging in a player from the Texans, Giants, Steelers, Cowboys or Dolphins.

Martellus Bennett sat nearly the entire second half as New England cruised to a victory over the hapless Jets. He’s banged up and might be used sparingly in Week 17. Todd Gurley could manage just 2.9 yards per carry last week versus a historically bad 49ers run defense. Total bust. Ryan Mathews has a herniated disc in his neck and is out. If Jeremy Hill can only average 1.1 yards per carry at Houston, he should be benched against the Ravens and their No. 2 run defense. No Bengals are worth starting this week.

Justin Forsett has not been the answer for the Broncos’ pathetic run game. Hunter Henry played only 19 snaps in the Chargers loss in Cleveland.

He might be great next year, but has no value in Week 17. Doug Martin was a healthy scratch against the Saints. Tampa lost the game, so perhaps he plays this week, but we have zero interest in him.

Brandon Marshall is engaged in a war of words with other players in the Jets locker room. This comes as no surprise to anyone in Chicago, Denver or Miami. Marshall’s act may finally be coming to an end. He has six catches in his last five games and his last 100-yard performance was in Week 5.

Rishard Matthews had a nice thing going with Marcus Mariota. With Matt Cassel behind center, Matthews is not worth considering. The Colts are playing musical chairs at tight end.

Jack Doyle, Dwayne Allen and Erik Swoope are as likely to go without a target as they are to score a TD. The Miami passing game is not worth considering. Jarvis Landry has six catches in the two games Matt Moore has started. Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker have five apiece.

By ARTHUR

D

ARKUSH

aarkush@profootballweekly.com

aily fantasy players, here’s how you’re going to afford that lavish Aaron Rodgers-Jordy Nelson Week 17 NFC North title game stack: a minimum salary backfield.

Not convinced? What if I said you could add to a roster anchored by Rodgers and Nelson, Julio Jones and Travis Kelce. That would give you fantasy’s top-scoring passer, receiver and tight end over the past four weeks, plus Julio down by the schoolyard, along with your minimum salary backfield.

Are you still with me? John Sahly, your DFS tour guide all season long, wrote in this space in the fourth week of the preseason about astute DFS players playing from a position of strength, while others simply go through the motions and select Bell, Ben and Beckham – essentially forfeiting roster spots with players who won’t play.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game? How about know the players, love a game you can leverage and profit?

So while “minimum salary backfield” sounds about as appealing as, say, paying full price for a preseason ticket, much less preseason players who won’t play, it’s actually being one step ahead of the guys setting prices at FanDuel and DraftKings.

The Cowboys said their Ezekiel Elliott usage would be status quo Monday night despite their

Aaron Rodgers

Jordy Nelson

top seed already being secured. In reality, the status quo part was Elliott remaining a beast, but his workload included a season-low 12 carries (he had at least 20 in 13 of his first 14 games). Meantime, Darren McFadden, who you’ll find on the FanDuel price list only by scrolling down until your sure you’ve missed him but actually just haven’t gone far enough, can be found for $4,500. He managed a pedestrian 49 yards on 14 carries, but even McFadden’s floor should be higher in Week 17 in Philadelphia, where you’ll see more of him than Elliott and probably more of Tony Romo than Dak Prescott.

The same situation is poised to unfold in Cleveland, where the Steelers are already locked into the No. 3 seed with Ben Roethlisberger hinting rest would be appreciated. Like McFadden, a valuable veteran who’s been in mothballs most of this season due to the starter’s dominance, in addition

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to an unfortunate “dropped cell phone” mishap, DeAngelo Williams ($4,500) has a prime opportunity to spell Le’Veon Bell and shake some rust off.

Unlike the Cowboys, who get a respectable Eagles stop-unit, the Steelers visit a still-defenseless Browns team (yay, 1-14!). And after giving Bell all but eight carries handled by a back over the past eight games combined, Pittsburgh knows its lead back has taken a heavy toll and Williams is fresh.

Those are two prime examples of opportunity knocking. But what about the 600-pound elephant in the room, also known as Week 17 motivation (more like 1,200 pounds in the Jets’ and Vikings’ locker rooms these days) with only three or four NFC clubs realistically still vying for two remaining playoff spots?

Feel free to fire up your Packers and Washington studs – that’s a big reason why we started with Rodgers and Nelson – and if you’re trusting Detroit and Tampa, that’s your prerogative.

But why not consider a few stalwarts chasing records with Father Time chasing them? Antonio Gates ($6,200) needs two touchdowns to pass Tony Gonzalez for the NFL tight end scoring record.

Frank Gore ($6,200) needs 36 yards to become the oldest 1K rusher in 32 years. (And the Colts need any positives they can find, including, look, our old man became our first overall back in nine years to get 1,000, so our offensive line must’ve improved!) They’re both affordable FanDuel options in manageable home matchups.

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

DFS: Here’s how you can afford ARod and Jordy in Week 17

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

By

W

ARTHUR ARKUSH

hen the Packers visit the Lions in prime-time Sunday to conclude the NFL regular season, it’ll mark the fourth consecutive year the NFC North is decided on the final day of the regular season.

Unlike the past two years, when the Packers fell in Minnesota and Detroit went down in Green Bay but both notched wild-card berths, the loser might miss the playoffs altogether.

The Lions, in search of their first-ever NFC North crown and first division title in 23 years, missed an opportunity to clinch the NFC’s final spot thanks to a disastrous second half Monday night in Dallas. Now, on short rest, they’ll attempt to salvage their storybook season at home against the conference’s hottest club and quarterback and, frankly, their big brother in the division.

Detroit’s well-documented “cardiac cats” season included 12 of the first 13 games ending in one-score margins, with Matthew Stafford and Co. authoring an NFL-record eight fourth-quarter comebacks. Suddenly, Jim Caldwell’s resilient crew has been outscored by a combined 59-27 against the Giants and Cowboys, with consecutive losses for the first time since Weeks 3-4.

Stafford’s injured middle finger hasn’t been as much of an issue as his seemingly waning patience – five of his 11 giveaways have come in the past three games. The turnovers haven’t been as cost-

ly as Detroit’s exposed cornerback depth without Darius Slay and a young offensive line increasingly springing leaks.

Five weeks ago, with their longest losing streak (four games) since 2008 and job security rumors swirling, Aaron Rodgers vowed, “We’re going to run the table.” Green Bay has five consecutive wins and 154 points faster than one of Rodgers’ patented missile strikes. The secondary has had its issues, letting Matt Barkley and the Bears come within three yards of a massive fourth-quarter comeback, and surrendering 208 receiving yards and two touchdowns to Minnesota’s Adam Thielen. It hasn’t mattered, as Rodgers and Jordy Nelson are in the midst of one of those runs we’ll be talking about years from now. And they’re doing it with outstanding complements from all directions in Ty Montgomery, Davante Adams and a superb offensive line.

Meantime, perhaps the Packers’ best overall defender, Clay Matthews, and arguably their most impactful for the majority of this season, Nick Perry, looked as healthy as they have in a month while helping Green Bay put away the Vikings. They bolster a defense that has 14 takeaways against just one turnover during the Packers’ ascent.

Momentum, if you believe in it, is on the Packers’ side, as is pedigree and history for a team looking to secure its 12th division title since the

Lions’ most recent, in 1993.

Why should the Lions even bother showing up, then? Their season started with a new general manager, Bob Quinn, retaining Caldwell but being forced to replace Calvin Johnson with a hodgepodge of pass catchers including Marvin Jones and Anquan Boldin. They’ve endured prolonged absences from their top three defenders, including Ezekiel Ansah, DeAndre Levy and Slay. Many predicted they’d fall into the division basement, not rise to the top.

Stafford absolutely deserves MVP consideration for the way he’s carried his squad, and he is used to being overlooked.

He needs his teammates to look out for him.

Jones, who had a career day with 205 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Green Bay’s 31-24 Week 2 victory, has to take pressure off Boldin, Golden Tate and Eric Ebron. The offensive line has to do a better job handling Dom Capers’ pressure than it did Steve Spagnuolo’s and Rod Marinelli’s.

Jim Bob Cooter must stick with Zach Zenner and a run game that has finally found a pulse.

A Lions win likely necessitates a shootout. But the defense needs Ansah, Levy and Glover Quin to play like stars. Without Slay, Johnson Bademosi desperately needs the help to slow Nelson that never arrived versus Dez Bryant.

Remember: both of these teams were written off at one point this season. Likely just one of them gets to rewrite the ending.

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O

ne nice thing about the New York Jets is it’s not at all hard to figure out who is in charge.

While so many NFL teams these days have general managers, senior vice presidents of football operations and team presidents, there is no such ambiguity with the Jets.

Team owner Woody Johnson is the Chairman and CEO, Mike Maccagnan is the GM and all the football people report directly to him, including embattled coach Todd Bowles.

There are four senior VPs with the Jets, but their functions are communications, corporate partnership, marketing and fan engagement, and consumer and premium sales and service.

In other words, the Jets do have a lot of suits, but none has a voice or gets a vote when it comes to the product on the field.

That is all up to Maccagnan, and that is why, according to our sources, Bowles is likely to survive as head coach in spite of the disastrous 2016 season.

The Jets have played like a team that has quit the past few weeks. If they have, that is clearly the responsibility of their head coach, and when a head coach loses his locker room, he is almost always gone.

But we’re hearing that Maccagnan believes there are extenuating circumstances here, and that owner Johnson is listening.

Following an embarrassing 4-12 2014 campaign, Johnson launched general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan, who had clearly lost that locker room. He then brought in Maccagnan, who had spent the four years prior as director of college scouting for the Texans, to be his football czar.

Maccagnan hired Bowles, and then traded for Brandon Marshall and signed Ryan Fitzpatrick and Darrelle Revis, but other than those three key moves, he and Bowles went 10-6 with a similar roster to the group Ryan could only win four games with.

That bought the new GM and head coach a lot of creditability with Johnson, and we’re hearing the owner is loathe to publicly indict himself now by cleaning house again just two seasons later.

Maccagnan is said to understand that Bowles didn’t suddenly become a bad coach overnight, and if he throws his coach under the bus, he sets himself up for a fall if the next guy he brings in doesn’t author an immediate turnaround, which isn’t likely to happen with the Jets’ current mess at quarterback.

New York probably wouldn’t be 10-6 again if Ryan Fitzpatrick had just played better, but there is little doubt around the league that Maccagnan unwittingly tied Bowles’ hands behind his back with the choices he gave him at the most important position.

As for the problems on the field and in the lock-

CAN McCOY HANG ON IN SAN DIEGO?

Jets GM Mike Maccagnan hired head coach Todd Bowles and believes Bowles is not to blame for the team’s disappointing season

The Way We Hear It, Chargers owner Dean Spanos would love to find a reason to keep Mike McCoy as his head coach, but events have been conspiring against Mike McCoy that happening all season long. Last Saturday’s loss to the previous winless Cleveland Browns might have been the last straw.

According to sources close to the team, McCoy will get the axe come Black Monday next week or very shortly thereafter.

Some will point to San Diego’s injured reserve list and cry foul, as the Chargers haven’t just had an injury epidemic this season, it has struck almost all of their best players.

Keenan Allen, Danny Woodhead, Jeremiah Attaochu, Manti Te’o, Jason Verrett and Brandon Flowers have all landed on injured reserve, and Melvin Gordon and Joey Bosa have missed significant time.

But the Chargers’ troubles appear to run deeper than that.

McCoy has been in trouble since early in the season when his club got off to a 1-4 start. He was believed to be in danger of getting axed in season after a Week 4, 35-34 loss to the Saints in which San Diego led 34-21 with five minutes to play but lost after the Saints scored touchdowns following fumbles by Gordon and Travis Benjamin.

The following Sunday, the Chargers suffered their fourth loss, 34-31 to Oakland, after rookie holder Drew Kaser fielded a good snap but couldn’t get the ball down for a potential game-tying 36-yard field goal attempt.

But McCoy appeared to be saving his job when the Chargers scored upsets of the Broncos and the Falcons (in Atlanta) the next two weeks, lost a rematch with Denver but then beat Tennessee and Houston, sandwiched around a loss to Miami.

At 5-6, McCoy seemed to have a real shot at keeping his job.

But after dropping their past four, including Saturday’s loss at Cleveland, and with a move to Los Angeles now looking like a near certainty, we’re hearing that Spanos believes he has no choice but to go for a fresh start with his coaching staff.

KELLY WANTS OUT OF SOUTH BEND

Brandon Marshall and Sheldon Richardson had a well-documented feud this season

AP PHOTOS

er room, beyond Fitzpatrick’s awful performance – which shouldn’t be on Bowles – Revis appears to have lost whatever he had left over the past offseason. He fell right off the backside of the hill, and it’s hard to hang that on Bowles, either.

Most of the bad acting in the locker room appears to be coming from Sheldon Richardson and Brandon Marshall, two outstanding football players but well-documented troublemakers.

According to our sources, Marshall and Richardson are a lot more likely to be gone than Bowles following the season.

But if he does get another chance, Bowles will spend 2017 on a very short leash.

No, Notre Dame doesn’t have a professional football team, even if some of its alumni believe they have the equivalent.

But while social media churns and the Notre Dame alums debate over whether or not Brian Kelly should keep his job as the school’s head football coach, we’re hearing Kelly is turning over every rock to find himself a job in the NFL. According to our sources, Kelly’s representatives are on speed dial with every team in the league trying to find one that might have interest in Kelly as their next head coach. But not only are there no takers, there apparently is no one even interested in listening.

Many feel Kelly has never been a good fit in South Bend, and his 4-8 2016 campaign and a recent decision by the NCAA voiding all of his team’s 2012 (12-0, lost BCS championship game to Alabama) and 2013 (8-4) victories has him doing everything he can to try and get out of town ahead of the posse, we’re told.

Sadly for Kelly and possibly for Notre Dame, too, no one in the NFL seems to want him.

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

Jets a lot more likely to get rid of Marshall, Richardson than Bowles

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

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Where are the Bears’ biggest needs on defense in 2017?

NATE KEVINATKINS FISHBAIN guaranteed money dries up after this season. They can walk away from him this offseason with little penalty. I don’t think you can ever have too many pass rushers, Kevin, so I wouldn’t be shocked if they took one in the draft.

Would they draft one high?

Not when they need a quarterback, cornerback, safety (or two) and maybe a tight end or tackle. And do they need a receiver?

Fishbain: McPhee isn’t the only pass rusher who may not return next season. Will Lamarr Houston be back?

This regime (assuming it returns) obviously puts a big emphasis on the outside linebacker position – follow the

PATRICK FINLEY FINLEY PATRICK

money. But when analyzing the Bears’ issues and lack of depth, outside linebacker is not a high priority. Quarterback is obvious, but how about defensive back? Will this team invest a high pick in a safety for once? That position has been a revolving door this season of players who haven’t produced at a high level. Corner tends to be a more important position, though, along with receiver and tackle, but I can’t see how they can continue to ignore the safety spot.

Finley: I’ve always thought that good safeties were greater than their statistics, too – a thumper can force turnovers and help set a phys-

ical tone, while the threat of a ball-hawk prevents the offense from trying throws that they ordinarily would pursue. Both the edge rusher and safety questions come back to this, Kevin: no one has fewer takeaways than the Bears’ 10, and only the Jets can claim a worse differential than the Bears’ -16.

Can that get fixed overnight just by adding new, more dynamic players?

Fishbain: The Bears definitely think that the pass rush should be how this team creates turnovers, considering the investment in the position, but they haven’t seen nearly enough of that. It’s not easy to find that playmaking,

ball-hawking defensive back – the last DB the Bears drafted early, Kyle Fuller, hasn’t worked out since his first two NFL games. Last offseason, Pace upgraded the inside linebacker position more than any team upgraded any position all offseason. Maybe he does that in the secondary this time around?

Finley: Well, they drafted three defensive backs last year – cornerbacks Deiondre Hall and DeAndre Houston-Carson and safety Deon Bush – and only Bush has received steady playing time. But to answer your question: I think if the Bears see a chance to throw money at their defensive back problem, they will – if for no other reason but to keep their option of drafting a first-round quarterback in play. This critical offseason is about more than just Jay Cutler, Kevin. It’s about plugging the myriad holes the Bears have to try to progress in Year 3 of the rebuild. If that doesn’t go well, there may not be a Year 4.

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PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

I

n this week’s edition of ‘Take 2’, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times and Kevin Fishbain of Pro Football Weekly debate the biggest needs for the Bears’ defense heading into 2017.

Fishbain: A second concussion in six weeks may mean another missed game for Leonard Floyd, who told us last week he was disappointed he didn’t play in all 16 games this season. At times, Patrick, we saw the flashes and why Ryan Pace traded up for the athletic freak of a pass rusher, and a full offseason should only make Floyd stronger and better in 2017. With Willie Young and Pernell McPhee, the Bears have been pretty good getting after the passer, but you can never have enough edge rushers. Did you see enough from the trio of outside linebackers to move pass rusher down your 2017 priority list?

Finley: Are we sure Pernell McPhee is back next year? The Bears love his attitude and intangibles, but his

PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY | ProFootballWeekly.com | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016

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