Much to my chagrin (I’m a Washington Redskins fan-guilty as charged), the Giants (13-7)  snared their fourth Super Bowl title at the expense of the somewhat overrated New England Patriots (15-4).

And I also didn’t do to shabby with my fantasy player predictions by position.

• Eli Manning and Tom Brady pretty much cancelled each other out from a fantasy perspective, but Peyton’s little brother (now, in age only) won the battle (MVP) and the war (game).
• As expected, neither team ran the ball particularly well but Ahmad Bradshaw had a respectable 72 yards on 17 carries, and scored the game’s only rushing touchdown.
• I knew the Giants wideouts would be the difference in this game. And Hakeem Nicks (109 yards) and Mario Mannignham (73 yards) proved me right. The best Pats receiver wasn’t even one. They were paced by tight end Aaron Hernandez’s modest 67 yards.
• At tight end, Rob Gronkowski’s injury was a killer (and may have decided the game’s outcome). Even still, he and Hernandez nearly doubled the output of the Giants’ starting tight ends.

Congratulations to the New York “football” Giants on their Super Bowl victory this past Sunday, and I look forward to hearing from you throughout the upcoming 2012 fantasy football season.

Mission accomplished, I hope.

Now with that random musing out of the way, let’s get down to business.

Check out my fantasy leader predictions for the big game this Sunday, by position:

1. Quarterback. Take your pick. Eli Manning and Tom Brady have already both won Super Bowl MVPs, but only Brady has put up stellar fantasy numbers in the big game. This year will be different, as I expect the stat book of Eli to make even Denzel Washington envious.
2. Running Back. This position battle may clearly determine who wins the game. Benjarvis Green-Ellis has been a useful fantasy play on occasion in 2012, but so has Ahmad Bradshaw, when he’s been healthy. And since the latter is healthy and the Patriots defense is worse than the Giants, ride with Bradshaw in this matchup.
3. Wide Receiver. Here is where I believe the Big Blue have their biggest advantage over the Patriots in this game. Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz or Mario Manningham-take your pick. Wes Welker may have been the NFL’s leading receiver but Hakeem Nicks will be the fantasy grand puba here.
4. Tight End. Herein lies where the Patriots best fantasy plays are as well as their best chances for winning this game. If Rob Gronkowski were healthy, combined with the dynamic Aaron Hernandez in tow, my prediction of a Giants victory would be in serious doubt. “RG” sounds like he won’t be at full speed, so I’ll go with Hernandez here, with all due respect to the Giants’ sloth-footed tight end Jake Ballard.

I predict that the New York (Football) Giants will edge the New England Patriots by a score of 34-31 this Sunday.

That’s no dark, twisted fantasy unless you are a Patriots fan of course.

And I’m talking both in fantasy and in reality.

In terms of Super Bowl jewelry, Manning (1) and Brady (3) combine for four Super Bowl rings while Smith (0) and Flacco (0) both tote bagels.

And according to ESPN’s final 2011 fantasy football rankings, here is how they stack up: Brady (#3); Manning (#6); Smith (#14) and Flacco (#15). It’s funny, Smith and Flacco ranked higher than I would have thought, but the storyline this weekend centers around whether Brady and Peyton’s younger brother will meet in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII.

At least I think that’s the major storyline, unless you prefer to see a rematch of this season’s Harbaugh Bowl.

Got it? Good.

For 2012, it boils down to two potential franchise players for Ether: Houston Texan running back Arian Foster (238 fantasy points; 18.1 weekly average) or “do everything” Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice (285 points; 17.8 weekly average)?

This is like a bachelor having to choose between going on a date with Beyoncé or Kim Kardashian. Neither choice would be questioned.

That pop culture-influenced analogy aside, I am leaning towards Foster.

His playoff performance (24 carries, 153 yards, 2 TD) against the solid Cincinnati Bengal defense this past Saturday in the AFC Wild Card game did nothing to sway my leaning.

Like Rice, Foster is a dual-threat running back, with the ability to dominate the game on the ground or through the air via receiving yards. Unlike Rice, a nice portion of his touches get usurped by his highly-capable running mate, Ben Tate.

However, I believe that Arian Foster will get the nod when it’s time for me to make my franchise player designation. He plays in a better offense, has less mileage on his tires (659 career carries to Rice’s 959), and is a “cheap” $4 based on my league’s salary structure-providing me with substantial salary cap space.

And you just gotta love the haircut.

But if you believe that success can also be achieved by coming in second or third place, then what I said was untrue.

Taking a “Lombardian” view, which I tend to lean towards in fantasy football, I ultimately did not achieve my goal (championship) this season.

But if I take a more balanced view, which I tend to lean towards in real life, my season was fairly successful.

Ether finished the season as the league’s second-highest scoring team, was one of four playoff entrants in my highly-competitive, 12-team league, and won the consolation game this past week (16).

I hope you all had a happy holiday and a successful fantasy football season. And I wish you a happy new year in real life as well as in fantasy in 2012!

In some ways, I wish I had simply been blown out because I wouldn’t be still second-guessing my week 15 lineup decisions today.

Sure, I was handicapped by the fact that I had just lost wide receiving stud Greg Jennings to a regular season-ending knee injury just a week ago. But that’s no excuse, injuries are a part of the game.

But I am kicking myself about the decision to start Kellen Winslow (vs. Dallas) over the Eagles’ Brent Celek, who set a franchise tight end receiving record with his 156 yards (and a touchdown) against the enigmatic Jets.

Even with that, I entered the Sunday night matchup between the Ravens and the Chargers with Ray Rice and Vincent Jackson still left to play, trailing by only two fantasy points. My opponent had Ryan Mathews left.

You’d think I would’ve won with that setup? Wrong, I got nipped by the aforementioned score.

But that’s fantasy football. There are no excuses nor any crying. I’ll leave the crying to the Dallas Cowboys (see post image).

Just in case you were wondering, I am a Washington Redskins fan (insert smile).

A few posts ago I told you who would comprise my starting lineup should I make the playoffs. Now that I have made the playoffs, I’m here to tell you that my starting lineup is pretty much the same, except for the removal of Green Bay’s best receiver Greg Jennings due to injury.

For better or for worse, I have inserted Pierre Garcon (vs. Tennessee) into his starting spot alongside the mercurial Vincent Jackson (vs. Baltimore). I also swapped tight end Brent Celek for Kellen Winslow (vs. Dallas), for this week at least.

My biggest dilemma is at the flex position. Should I start Ben Tate who’s at home against the porous Carolina Panther run defense or Mario Manningham against the Washington Redskins’ solid, yet unspectacular pass defense?

The case for the Texans’ Tate is that he’s facing the 9th worst run defense in the NFL and he’s likely to dominate the garbage time carries should the Texans garner a big league heading into the fourth quarter. The case against Tate is that his production, and most recently, his lack of production is a function of teammate Arian Foster’s domination of the total carries.

The case for Mario Manningham is that he’s scored a touchdown in four of his last five starts and will likely see single coverage most of the game because his teammates Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks will draw the bulk of the defense’s attention. The case against Manningham is mainly that those same aforementioned teammates can stifle his production based on their own prowess.

Decision, decisions, decisions…but it could be worse. I could be “home” for the playoffs.

Wish me luck ladies and gentlemen.

Please take a look at my predictions (in italics) and who I have selected as my MVP’s based on their 2011 performance, year-to-date (in bold).

At quarterback, I predicted that Aaron Rodgers would be fantasy’s best, and the self-proclaimed “people’s champ” has indeed proven his worth. Yes, Aaron Rodgers is the best player in fantasy football…period.

My top running back prediction of Adrian Peterson has not been proven right. Don’t get me wrong, “AP” is still arguably pro football’s best running back as well as one of fantasy football’s top three backs, but 2011 honors must go to LeSean McCoy. The latter has been that good.

My wide receiver selection of Andre Johnson has been marred by injury. Nonetheless, it’s not an excuse. Injuries are a part of the game. Enter Calvin Johnson as 2011′s top fantasy football wideout.

And lastly, I, like countless others assumed that Antonio Gates would be fantasy football’s uber-tight end in 2011. Boy, was I ever wrong.

Not only has Jimmy Graham emerged as the best tight end this year by far, but he’s putting up numbers that top-tier wide receivers would envy. We may not see this kind of season from a tight end for years to come.

Why is Cam Newton Smiling?

And for purposes here, they will not be included in any weekly ranking list that I produce for the remainder of the fantasy football season.

They’re just too damn good, and it’s not fair to other quarterbacks who are toting pigskins on planet Earth.

And without further adieu, the top three quarterbacks for week 13 are:

1. Eli Manning vs. the Green Bay Packers. I’ll admit, I have always been slightly biased against Peyton’s little brother. Since he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers and forced a trade (with an assist from his dad Archie) to the New York (football) Giants, I always felt he was more name and hype than franchise quarterback.

Sure, he’s won a Super Bowl as well as the game’s MVP trophy a few years ago, but this season has produced his best individual work.

Devoid of a running game, Eli has almost single-handedly kept the Giants in contention (for now at least). Sporting the sixth-best passer rating in the league and facing the league’s worst pass defense, look for Eli to carve up the Packers secondary a week after Thanksgiving, albeit in a losing effort.

2. Cam Newton @ the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sir Isaac Newton stated that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Cam Newton will have that type of impact on the shoddy Buccaneers pass defense.

Sticking with the math and science theme, here’s an equation to consider: 19 (the number of passing touchdowns yielded by Tampa Bay) + 12 (Cam’s passing touchdown total) = 31 (my projection of Cam Newton’s fantasy football output this Sunday).

And last but not least, feel free to start 3. Matthew Stafford without hesitation at the New Orleans Saints. I do not expect Stafford’s Lions to win the game, but just like Eli Manning did this past Monday night, the Saints have shown a penchant for winning big, which leads to their opponents passing big in an effort to catch up. You can add Stafford to that list.

And up until this point in the season, my positive feelings about Ether have been somewhat validated, since my team’s core is relatively intact (see drafted players in bold below).

With three games left in my league’s regular season and no bye weeks left in the NFL’s regular season, this is the starting lineup that I plan to roll with each week through the playoffs-assuming I make them.

Matt Ryan QB ATL vs. MINN

Arian Foster RB HOU at JAC

Ray Rice RB BAL vs. SF

Greg Jennings WR GB at DET

Vincent Jackson WR SD vs. DEN

Mario Manningham WR NYG (‘flex’) at NO

Brent Celek TE PHI vs. NE

Sebastian Janikowski PK OAK vs CHI

Cowboys DST vs. MIA

My fantasy football saga continues this “Thanksgiving Thursday” when Greg Jennings visits Ford Field in the afternoon, and Ray Rice looks to be an unwelcoming host to the NFC West-leading 49ers in the evening.

All the while, I’ll be stuffing (pun intended) my face.