FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEKLY FEATURES

SF (2-13) vs NE (12-3)

Game Prediction: SF 10, NE 19

This is a great way for the 49ers to end the worst season in franchise history. On the road against the reigning world champs that already have a chip on their shoulder from getting beaten by the Dolphins.

Update: Brandon Lloyd has missed practice this week due to a sprained foot and remains questionable to play. I am removing him from the projections though he has not been ruled out yet.

As for the entire Patriot crew, there's no telling how long any of the starters will play but I am including Cedric Cobbs since he is expected to get some playing time with Dillon needing to be protected and both Kevin Faulk and Patrick Pass questionable to play this week. Dillon could hit an incentive if he can gain 81 yards to finish with 1600 rushing yards on the season and trigger a final $375,000 clause in his contract but don't count on him being in the game long enough to reach that unless he breaks a long run.

Pre-Game Notes - SF

If I were a 49er player, I would check to make sure my plane ticket included a round-trip fare. The best chance most players have of staying on next year is that the 49ers have so many holes they cannot possibly fill them all in one offseason.

Running Backs: Kevan Barlow managed to sneak in a touchdown late in the loss to the Bills last week but the team already trailed 41-0 and the Bills may have been packing up equipment boxes instead of watching the field. It was his first score in the last seven weeks and does not really count. His first season as the unquestioned started (mostly anyway) and he only managed one 100 yard game in week two. Barlow may or may not be part of the problem, but he is definitely not the solution. And, well, maybe he leans more towards "problem" in the eyes of the coaches but they may all be gone soon enough anyway.

Wide Receivers: While Brandon Lloyd had scored in weeks 14 and 15, he was held to only 25 yards and no scores last week and will end with six scores on the season. Cedrick Wilson leads the group with only 634 yards and there's a realistic chance that none will exceed 50 catches this year.

Tight Ends: Eric Johnson may be the most productive tight end ever for the 49ers, but most of that came in two games when he had 23 catches and 275 yards. He's barely totaled that many yards in the ten games since and has not scored since week five.

Match Against the Defense: Maybe the Patriots will be caught sleeping and not trying since they have locked up the #2 seed and have nothing to win. Maybe the 49ers will magically come together and produce a great offense and defense that rivals any the franchise has ever seen. And maybe the NFL will cancel the playoffs and just show reruns of Gong Show during January. But probably not to all three.

Pre-Game Notes - NE

Nothing like a loss to the Dolphins to fire up the Pats. At 13-2, New England now has the #2 seed and likely a destined meeting in Pittsburgh as the most probable roadblock for a return to the Big Show. Will the Pats rest players? HC Bill Belichick cleared that matter up when he said "I'm not going to comment on that or make any decisions on that right now. We're going to get ready to play the game, and whatever decisions we make will come later on. I haven't made them now, if there are any to make. " He later refused to confirm that it was himself who said that to the media or that he was even in the state at that time.

Running Backs: Corey Dillon will likely start but may be yanked at any point in the game if in fact he plays at all. This could end up to be the Rabih Abdullah and Patrick Pass show. And even they would be enough to win.

Wide Receivers: As with Brady, these are all risks this week but against a very soft secondary. It's more common for wideouts to hang around in games even when the starter gets sat. Maybe just a few less crossing routes.

Tight Ends: Daniel Graham is important enough as both a blocker and receiver that he'll also be primed for an early exit.

Match Against the Defense: It is a terrible defense but there's no way of knowing who will be playing. I am speculating with the projections but consider this entire crew a major risk even with the rabbit fur soft matchup.