Maybe my timing was a little off...

Kirk,

A Top 36 Keepers list for two weeks? Uh, the last week of the fantasy regular season probably isn’t the best time to figure out if it should be DeAngelo Williams or Greg Jennings. Maybe that would work best, I don’t know, ANYTIME IN THE OFFSEASON?

Josh

Nashua

To be fair, I do have my supporters…

Worst timing ever? I don’t care about keepers during the season. Looking forward to the 2014 keeper list in two weeks. What were you thinking?

Dave

Andover

Got the message. And I know this is a big week for fantasy owners (either the last week of the regular season for the first week of the playoffs). Here are my five favorite plays this week (and a few I don’t like).

DAVONE BESS (WR, Dolphins)

I touted Ted Ginn as a strong play last week during my weekly radio spot with Bradford and Mutnansky, (not my finest call, though I made up for it by calling out Nancy Walker as an underrated TV commercial sex symbol) but after watching five minutes of the Dolphins-49ers game it was clear that Bess would be stealing a great majority of Greg Camarillo’s catches. He finished with six grabs for 84 yards. He should at least match that this weekend vs. the Bills. That’s 14 points in a PPR league, which is a nice number for a No. 3 WR or flex option. He’s owned in just 13 percent of Yahoo! leagues, so here’s a good play for a Plaxico owner.

MATT RYAN (QB, Falcons)

I think Ryan is about as close to an every-week start as you’re going to get from a rookie QB. He’s been great at home and has proven that he can produce on the road (at Green Bay in Week 5, at San Diego last week). Look for 220 yards and a pair of TDs vs. the Saints Sunday (New Orleans is 24th vs. the pass), at a minimum.

I own Tony Romo and Ryan in a league and it’s an easy choice this week. Sure, Romo’s had two nice weeks in a row, but at Pittsburgh? 175 yards and three picks seem about right.

(Full disclosure: I just spent the past 20 minutes trying to figure out why no one has made the connection that Matt Ryan has the same exact same name as the title character in Steven Spielberg’s WWII epic. I figured out the reason: the character’s name is James Francis Ryan. I think it was Matt Damon who was confusing me.

I watched “Saving Private Ryan” for the first time in three years or so the other night. Guess what? The first 20 minutes are fantastic, but there is still a huge flaw at the end: How can Ryan be the old guy? How can we go from him to the battle at the beginning? HE WASN’T THERE.  All the stuff in the middle? Wade dying? Caparzo? HE WASN’T THERE. Was it that important to keep the “earn this” line? Makes no sense. It should’ve been the Ed Burns character. I can’t believe that didn’t bother me the first time I saw it (I think I just got blown away in the theatre—it remains one of the two theatre-going experiences that exceeded massive expectations for me. The other is “Heat”, which actually gets better and more layered with repeated viewings. (Well, so did “Summer School,” but I was 10.) Oh, and is it really a big shock that Tom Hanks is a schoolteacher? C’mon, maybe Tom Sizemore would have been a surprise.)

TYLER THIGPEN (QB, Chiefs)

Another great matchup. The last time the Chiefs and Broncos (27th vs. the pass) faced off, it was Damon Huard with a 100.3 QB rating in a blowout win. This time it’s Thigpen under center. How about Thigpen? Since taking over as the starter in Week 8 he’s thrown 11 TDs against four INTs with an average of 225 yards passing. I think he’s a top 10 QB this week (as I do with Ryan). I’d play Thigpen over Romo (or Ben Roethlisberger) this week.

MATT CASSEL (QB, Patriots)

Another perfect example of why matchups are the single most important factor in fantasy football. Cassel was an awful start vs. the Steelers D, but I’m sure he was in a ton of lineups coming off those two monster weeks. I’m just as confident that impatient owners will have him on the bench this week. That’s a mistake, with the Seahawks ranked 31st against the pass. Look for 250 yards and two TDs from Cassel. I’d play every viable Patriot this week. Moss, Welker (he’s practiced and isn’t on the injury report) and Faulk (who again is going to give you five or six catches and 100 yards of offense). Remember, Week 16 (finals in most leagues) is another strong matchup for Cassel owners as the Patriots host the Cardinals (27th in points allowed).

One quick Seahawks note: I don’t think Matt Hasselbeck is the worst option if you need a QB this week. We’ve seen the Pats struggle vs. the pass and it’s not unreasonable to expect a 15-20 point fantasy effort from Hasselbeck (who looked okay vs. Dallas on Thanksgiving—287 yards) Sunday. Strange that a top five QB at the start of the season is not even a factor on the fantasy map. That kind of season. What kind of odds would I have received three years ago that in 2008 Matt Leinart wouldn’t have as many good games in his NFL career as Matt Cassel did in a two-week span?

LANCE MOORE (WR, Saints)

Just want to make sure that you leave him in the lineup. I know he caught just two passes last week, but one was for a TD (his fifth straight with a score). The Falcons rank 22nd vs. the pass, and this game has a “35-31” feel to it.  Moore is good for 90 yards and a score. I still think he’s a top 10 WR for the rest of the season.

Kirk Minihane, WEEI.com Contributor, is the resident Fantasy Football expert for WEEI.com.