Who Sharks Are Starting - Week 14 Dec 6, 2008 | More

It's Thursday, and the Sharks left standing have spoken with their lineups in the interactive Who Sharks Are Starting, updating every hour of every day to help you decide who to start. Here's a preview of the Thursday morning rankings, a few words on how to best use these rankings in the playoffs, and some of my takes on the big movers in shark lineups this week.

Remember that Who Sharks Are Starting ranks players based on actual Shark lineups, and now that many teams have been voted off the island, and out of the playoffs, you're probably going to find some players that are inflated and deflated.

For example, it's no coincidence that Matt Forte is the #1 RB this week. If you drafted Matt Forte, you got an RB1 for about a 4th to 6th round pick. When you get that kind of value in a typical redraft, you really have to screw up to miss the playoffs. When you're looking at the rankings, be sure to keep an eye out for this sort of thing, and click on the names to see the player vs. player comparisons and staff projections for the complete picture.

Quarterbacks Matt Schaub visits the cheese state and the WSAS top twelve, while sharks are looking for some more Matt Cassel to open up on the road visiting the wet birds.

Shaun Hill is up 10 notches at home against Brett Favre and his merry men in green tights -- no, as Mel Brooks said, they're just "merry."

And Philip Rivers drops from #8 to #18 after a poor showing against Atlanta, and it's hard to be optimistic about that bunch of receivers.

Runningbacks Waiver hawks are digging deep, taking their chances on New England's Sammy Morris and the perennial PPR fantasy spoiler, Kevin Faulk.

Sharks are looking at the soft matchup against Detroit with garbage time for Chester Taylor, who has shot up into RB2 range, and is a topic unto itself.

Sharks are wary of Jamal Lewis @ TEN and Marion Barber @ PIT, and seem to be seeking better matchups from their benchwarmers.

And with or without the "Williams Wall," Sharks don't want anything to do with Kevin Smith this week against Minnesota.

Wide Receivers Sharks think the old Marques Colston is coming back, and has worked his way up into WR2 contention. If the Saints want to beat the Falcons, they're going to have to get Colston involved, so he probably is at least a solid play.

Both Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez take some backlacsh after no one did nuttin in Cleveland. The Colts are back at home this week against Cincy, so if I actually had these guys on a roster (which I don't), I'd think twice before dismissing them this week.

And despite Cassel's gains in the rankings, Sharks don't seem to be expecting much from Randy Moss after a quiet follow-up to his monster week 12. His poor ranking could just be that few Moss owners actually made the playoffs after not getting much bang for their buck in the draft.

Linebackers A.J. Hawk soars into the top 10 against Houston, riding his post-injury bounceback.

Sharks seem to be looking for Eric Barton to play tag with Frank Gore out West.

And despite the Patriots being ranked 6th in rushing attempts and 3rd in fantasy points to LBs in the Shark Showcase League format, Lofa Tatupu falls hard in the rankings following a week of mostly assists against Dallas. The Seattle D-Line isn't stopping anyone, so I'd consider him as a 2nd or 3rd LB option.

Whiskey Tango Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No! -- It's Gus Frerotte, knocking on the door of QB1 status this week against Detroit. Huh?

I've got nothing against Gus Frerotte. In fact, while bemoaning the 49ers horrid season here in the forums, I've often said "All they need is a serviceable guy like Gus Frerotte to be pretty good." Though as I said about Kerry Collins last week -- I called this Murphy's Law last week, but forget that, I'm claiming it as my own -- Any team that can exploit a rushing advantage will. Minnesota has a huge rushing advantage over Detroit, and will be free to leave the to work the beer taps at the concession stands by half-time.

That's it for me, so good luck in your playoffs this week, and check out Who Sharks Are Starting for full rankings at these positions, detailed IDPs, and even punters, ranked every hour of every day based on actual shark lineups, waiting for you now.