FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: DEN 31, KC 13 (Line:: DEN by 10.5)

Players to Watch: Ronnie Hillman, Lance Ball

Here is the first of two free wins for the 7-3 Broncos. The 1-9 Chiefs are on a seven game losing streak and have not scored more than one touchdown in any of the last six games. The Chiefs will certainly win another game. It just may not be this year.

Denver won 17-10 in Kansas City last year.

Pregame Notes: Make no mistake - the Broncos know how to score points. They've been above 30 points for the last five games and while the jury is still out on if they van beat a top defense, we may not know that until the playoffs other than the week 15 game in Baltimore. No doubt the Broncos will be favored in all other games - likely by a big margin - and roll up some major points along the way.

Peyton Manning is playing as well as he ever has. He is on pace to crest 4700 passing yards and 38 touchdowns. He's thrown for three scores in six of the last seven games and averaging 298 yards per game. That's probably more than even Tim Tebow would have done had he remained.

The big question this week is who will be the running back? Willis McGahee tore his MCL and fractured his leg and will miss 6-8 weeks which probably means he might be of use if the Broncos reach the Superbowl. His loss is a big hole to fill and they will employ a committee to get the job done. Ronnie Hillman will be the primary and the receiving back while Lance Ball will handle any heavy lifting in the short yardage and between the tackles. Once McGahee left last week, Hillman ran 12 times for 43 yards and caught two passes. Hillman clearly is the better runner but at 5-9 and 190 lbs. he's not an every down answer.

In other news, Knowshon Moreno has been promoted and now takes care of filling the Coke machine out by the elevators. Actually there are some reports that he be involved as well which only makes a bad situation worse.

Joel Dreessen was on a nice run earlier in the season but now has declined to just 30 yards or so per game and scored just once in the last six weeks.

With three passing scores to distribute every week, the wideouts are all fantasy relevant here. Eric Decker remains light on yardage in most weeks but already scored eight times this year and in six of the last seven games. Demaryius Thomas only scored five times but he's turned in five games with more than 100 yards and is on a pace for almost 1500 receiving yards. Even Brandon Stokley has five touchdowns though he almost never gains more than 50 yards in any game.

This week you just have to hope they keep the work ethic and continue the 30 point games since they know they can beat the Chiefs. Even the Chiefs know the Broncos can beat them. I like a defensive score in this game.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Peyton Manning, DEN	KC	0	0	0	0	0	290	2	0
The Chiefs' pass defense has actually been quite good, and in their earlier meeting with Denver Peyton managed "only" 285 yards and two TDs. View that as a baseline, with KC playing out the string and the Broncos looking to lock down a high seed. Manning has multiple touchdowns in every home game this season, three in each of the last five. Oh, and it's one more opportunity to state his MVP case, or at least Comeback Player of the Year candidacy.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Knowshon Moreno, DEN	KC	100	1	5	30	0	0	0	0
When these teams met earlier in the year Moreno topped 100 combo yards, and he's in line for another solid showing. However, for all their foibles (and their losses) the Chiefs have only given up nine RB TDs on the year so settle for yardage while Peyton handles the scoring.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Wes Welker, DEN	KC	0	0	8	100	1	0	0	0
Welker always like playing his old team and racked up 12-103 and one score in Miami already. He is a must start this week and a lock for a decent game that could be big.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Demaryius Thomas, DEN	KC	0	0	5	80	1	0	0	0
Thomas scored in the earlier meeting with KC, has 82 yards or better in four of his last five games, and should be on the business end of a few exclamation points to the end of Peyton Manning's MVP candidacy.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Eric Decker, DEN	KC	0	0	6	70	1	0	0	0
While Decker is tracking as a WR2 or maybe WR1B to Demaryius Thomas, he's scored thrice in the past two games and is still a fantasy factor--especially with the Broncos needing to win for playoff seeding purposes and Peyton Manning needing to bolster his MVP case.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Brandon Stokley, DEN	KC	0	0	4	40	0	0	0	0
Stokley's 62 yards in the Week 12 meeting with KC is his high-yardage mark over the past three months, but he hasn't scored in more than a month and even with Peyton Manning making a push for MVP is an iffy play at best.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Joel Dreessen, DEN	KC	0	0	3	30	0	0	0	0
Dreessen has scored more recently, but Jacob Tamme found the end zone the last time Denver faced the Chiefs. So both--or neither--are good fantasy plays this week.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Jacob Tamme, DEN	KC	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Tamme tends to be the more productive member of Denver's TEBC, and he did score in the earlier meeting with the Chiefs. However, he was out-targeted by Joel Dreessen last week and has been outscored by Dreessen over the past month so there's no clear horse to back in this race.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Matt Prater, DEN	KC	1	1	3	3
Denver has 26 points or more in nine of their last 10 games--30 or more in eight of those, so there will be opportunities for Prater to swing the leg. Add in the rarified air for distance and Denver's desire to win and Prater is as solid a fantasy kicking option as you'll find this week.

Pregame Notes: The year could have gone better. Were it not for the three point win in New Orleans in week three, the Chiefs would probably be looking at an 0-fer season. Romeo Crennel's stint as a head coach seems to suggest that he is a defensive minded coach because the offense has varied between being bad to being just mannequins with red shirts on. The problem in fantasy terms is that not only has the Chiefs stripped themselves of all fantasy value other than Jamaal Charles, but they are encouraging other teams to just mail in their win and not rack up all the points and yards that are there for the taking.

The Chiefs have not named a starting quarterback largely because they have no one to choose from. Brady Quinn likely gets the start despite never scoring at all this year while Matt Cassel has worn out his welcome. The fact that Charles is able to accomplish anything as a runner is a miracle since no one respects the pass. The Chiefs only have six passing scores on the year and just one in the last seven weeks.

Charles still outs out the effort and even comes off the Bengals game where he gained 118 total yards. The question is how badly the defense wants to shut him down. His production has been wildly varying with as good as 288 total yards and as bad as ten total yards. He has the upside to turn in a decent game every week despite what is happening around him. Plus there is always the hope for trash time yardage.

Just to make matters worse, Dwayne Bowe injured his neck in the Bengals game and is not certain to play this week. He does not have a concussion but the Chiefs declined to be very specific what he has. He has not scored since week four anyway and rarely topped 60 yards in recent games. He is the only wideout of note for the team and when Brady plays, even that is no longer true. The only development in the passing game this year has been Tony Moeaki suddenly producing 50 + yards in the last three games.

The only real play here is Charles and even that is for moderate yardage.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Jamaal Charles, KC	@DEN	60	0	3	20	0	0	0	0
The Chiefs' lone offensive weapon needs 44 yards to reach the 1,500-yard mark. He hit triple digits against a tough Broncos' run D in the earlier meeting, and you assume he'll get the carries necessary to hit his milestone. Then again, we've gone broke trying to understand what Romeo Crennel is thinking so there are no guarantees.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Dexter McCluster, KC	@DEN	0	0	5	30	0	0	0	0
McCluster is putting up numbers that make him the Chiefs' WR1. That's more an indictment of KC's passing game than an endorsement of McCluster's productivity.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Jonathan Baldwin, KC	@DEN	0	0	5	60	0	0	0	0
Baldwin has the only Chiefs WR TD in the past two months. Sorry, that's just not enough to warrant a fantasy start.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Donnie Avery, KC	@DEN	0	0	4	60	0	0	0	0
Avery has been an inconsistent wingman to Reggie Wayne, and the last time Indy faced the Texans it was TY Hilton who had the more productive game. With playoff positioning at stake expect Andrew Luck to lean heavily on Wayne once again, and the Texans have a soft spot for TEs as well. That leaves Avery and Hilton splitting scraps, making either one a tough fantasy start.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Devon Wylie, KC	@DEN	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
Bonus points if you were able to identify Wylie as the "other" Chiefs' WR. Sorry, those bonus points do not translate to fantasy points.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Anthony Fasano, KC	@DEN	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Fasano only had one catch in the last meeting with the Pats. No fantasy value here.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Ryan Succop, KC	@DEN	2	1	1	1
The Chiefs have more games with single-digit points (five) than games with 20-plus (four). That means limited scoring opportunities for Succop.

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