Thanksgiving Preview: Week 12 Fantasy Player Breakdowns

Can Eli keep it going?

If you haven’t had the chance, be sure to check out this week’s Start/Sit column, as well as our player rankings. For quick match-up analysis, read on for Week 12′s player breakdowns:

Week 12 NFL Picks

Can they keep up with the Saints?

Week 12 figures to be another interesting and exciting week in the 2009 NFL season, but considering our solid 12-4 record with last week’s picks, it appears we have a solid grasp on what to expect from this year’s teams.

Forgive us for not calling upset specials like Kansas City over Pittsburgh and Oakland over Cincinnati.

For all your upsets and predicted scores, read on:

NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Colts Remain on Top

Manning has been the man.

The Colts’ recent slew of victories over Houston, New England, and Baltimore is enough to keep them just ahead of the Saints for the top spot.

Also, a pair of major AFC North upsets has the rankings shuffling around a bit heading into Week 12.

Brett Favre For NFL MVP

He's got the numbers.

If we remove all biases and opinions, I feel that we have finally come to the point in the 2009 NFL season, at least for now, that Brett Favre is without a doubt the front-runner for the MVP award.

You can hate him. You can love him. You can respect him, and you can be sick to death of hearing his name.

But one things is for certain; you can’t ignore the season he and his team are having.

NFL Injury Notes: The Buzz Around the Web

Cowher to Bills?

Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini had the nerve to question whether or not several of the Detroit Lions’ players injuries were “fake” on Sunday, prompting Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz to call those claims “out of bounds”.

That’s just one of the stories floating around the NFL after Sunday’s action was over.

Here’s a look at big story-lines and injury notes with links around the web:

Packers Lose Aaron Kampman and Al Harris For Season

Kampman is done for 2009.

Green Bay escaped with a close 30-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11, but not without some serious casualties on defense.

The Packers improving defense lost both OLB Aaron Kampman and CB Al Harris to ACL tears on Sunday, and both players are expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Both of these potentially catstrophic injuries will test the Packers new 3-4 defense, and could decimate a defense that shined in a win over the Dallas Cowboys last week.

Cedric Benson Won’t Rule Himself Out For Sunday

He's a game-time decision.

Cincinnati Bengals starting running back Cedric Benson has gone against several reports, declaring that he has not been ruled out for this week’s game due to a hip injury he sustained in Week 10.

Benson can tell us anything he wants, but considering the Bengals should be just fine with a RBBC against a horrible Oakland Raiders run defense, it’d be foolish for Cincinnati to rush their stud back to action before he’s 100 percent.

Friday Fantasy Football Injury Round-up

Turner has no timetable for a return.

If you were a Ronnie Brown owner scrapping at the waiver wire heap before Thursday’s action, or biting your finger nails over DeAngelo Williams’ status, you can take a deep breath and relax for the next two days.

You have just under 48 hours to figure out your line-up, and with a large amount of injuries to some key players, there can never be enough information on their status, or the player’s that could potentially replace them.

This article takes all the information from around the web and condenses it into short headlines, letting you in on player’s statuses, and giving you an option or two if they are unable to go on Sunday.

Buffalo Bills Considering Mike Shanahan

Shanahan to return in 2010?

After firing head coach Dick Jauron earlier this week and naming Ryan Fitzpatrick the new starting quarterback, as well as naming Perry Fewell the interim coach, the Buffalo Bills are now reportedly pursuing former Denver Broncos head coach, Mike Shanahan.

At least they’ve got the right idea.

When you fail to crack .500 football for the fourth straight year under the same coach, it’s inevitable to want to change the tires of the system, and like most NFL team overhauls, that change usually starts with the coaching.

Ronnie Brown Officially Out For Season: Fantasy Impact

Williams is once again a RB1.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and many other sources have reported that Miami star running back Ronnie Brown’s 2009 season is officially over.

NFL Soup was among the first to report the possibility of Brown’s season coming to an end, based off of ProFootballTalk.com’s original speculation, and now the terrible news for Miami fans has come true.

Further reporting from Miami beat writer Jeff Darlington via Twitter said that Brown had a Lisfranc fracture. Despite negative connotations that go with Lisfranc injuries, immediate diagnosis apparently does not suggest that this is a career-threatening injury, not does it suggest Brown won’t be able to make a full recovery for the 2010 NFL season.