This week's ultimate fantasy sleeper

How's this for a ballsy pick in daily fantasy football: Seahawks backup RB Robert Turbin gets the start!

Why not? In my weekly "Value Picks" article for DFSEdge.com, I undertake the following exercise: Build a roster each week that includes the most expensive QB, RB, WR and TE ... and then try to fill in the rest of my roster with underpriced guys so I'm still under the salary cap.

Of course, that means my lineup includes Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, Jimmy Graham and either Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning every single week. I can live with that.

Depending on the daily site being used, there are different combinations of rosters. I prefer sites like FantasyAces.com, since they have spots for two quarterbacks. So after you splurge on the highest-priced guy, you can still find a nice value pick to select.

Anyway, after doing pretty well last week by picking Dolphins RB Lamar Miller (who had 10 carries for 3 yards the previous week), I decided to really push the envelope in Week 3 -- taking a chance that Seattle will give backup RB Robert Turbin a good chunk of action this week against the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars.

Here's the line of thinking: Marshawn Lynch was a true beast last week, carrying the ball 28 times against the physical 49ers defense in a divisional grudge match on national TV. Next week, the Seahawks travel to Houston for a marquee matchup -- Super Bowl preview? -- against the Texans.

So a home game against the worst team in the NFL is a perfect opportunity to give Lynch a breather and let Turbin -- who had six carries for 30 yards himself last week -- have a chance to shine.

Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Sure, it's a little risky, but I love the potential here.

For all my value picks this week, check out my DFSEdge.com article.

NFL Divisional Playoff Predictions

Here are my can’t-miss predictions for the NFL’s divisional playoffs this weekend:

RAVENS AT BRONCOS:

* The Ravens’ big celebration was last week -- didn’t you see it? Ray Lewis and company had a big party in Baltimore after knocking off a team that finished 2-14 last season and had the most rookie starters of any team in the NFL. Can you say, “Letdown?” Sure, there’s enough veteran leadership on the Ravens to avoid a letdown. Mentally. Physically is another story. Don’t expect Lewis and Ed Reed to make a difference here.

* You know how Denver has gone to great lengths the second half of the season to prove to the world that Knowshon Moreno gives the Broncos a viable running attack? The Ravens will be ready for it… which is why the Broncos’ first offensive play Saturday will be a play-action – the Ravens will bite – and Peyton Manning will throw an 80-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas.

Final Score: Broncos 27, Ravens 13

PACKERS AT 49ERS:

* Green Bay hasn’t really had a super-dominant roll this season. Now is a pretty good time to get on it. Aaron Rodgers will have this team in the Super Bowl. Mark it down.

* The Packers defense will surprise everyone and upstage the 49ers defense. (Oh, wait… that’s just crazy wishful thinking on my part because I started the Packers defense last week in the NFL.com Fantasy Playoff Challenge and I’ll get double points from them this week.)

Final Score: Packers 38, 49ers 21

SEAHAWKS AT FALCONS:

* Okay, the Seahawks didn’t falter last week when they made the dreaded coast-to-coast road trip. Of course, they did get off to a slow start. And it was against the Redskins, a team that was grossly overrated regardless of RGIII’s health status. Now they have a second straight long road trip against an underrated team that has a pretty solid home-field advantage.

* Tony Gonzalez is on a mission, and he will have a monster game.

Final Score: Falcons 24, Seahawks 17

TEXANS AT PATRIOTS:

* I believe in Arian Foster. I don’t believe the Patriots’ run defense will stop him this time.

* The Patriots have been perhaps the ultimate example of “team” over the last 12 years, but look at this game on paper: The Texans have the best running back in this game, the best receiver, the best impact defensive player. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady count for an awful lot, but the Texans won’t be pushovers here.

Final score: Texans 23, Patriots 21

Packers fans unafraid to put Rodgers on Madden cover

Ah, the joys of fan interaction…

In today’s fun-filled media landscape, you can’t go wrong with a top 10 list or a top 50 list or a top 100 list. Or maybe a bracket tournament, perhaps spread out over a few weeks to keep the readers coming back for more. And it clearly doesn’t matter who the so-called “experts” are creating these lists. Then again, who needs experts? Let the fans decide!

EA Sports didn’t get the ball rolling, but it did up the ante last year by letting fans vote for who should be on the cover of Madden ’12. And logic immediately went out the window when the fans voted for Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis, who promptly proved the Madden Curse was not a myth.

This year’s voting for the Madden ’13 cover is down to fourfinalists, and it is a surprisingly representative quartet: Cam Newton, Patrick Willis, Aaron Rodgers and Calvin Johnson. 

What’s interesting is that Willis, easily the biggest longshot on this list given that he’s a soft-spoken defensive player, knocked off New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz in last week’s voting to advance to the quarterfinals. Is that a ringing endorsement of the 49ers’ Pro Bowl linebacker, or just a matter of more 49ers fans taking part in the vote?

Neither.

Clearly, this was a case of smart Giants fans protecting their young star from the curse.

The fact that Willis has made it this far might even be the result of fantasy football players wanting to keep any and all offensive stars away from the Madden cover. Willis takes on Newton this week in the semifinals – does anyone really want to see the Panthers’ iconic and entertaining QB suffer? Adding a potential Madden Curse to a potential sophomore slump could be devastating.

Rodgers faces Megatron in the other semifinal matchup – a classic battle between the reigning NFL MVP, Rodgers, whose rabid Packers fan base should be enough to put him over the top, and Johnson, who probably makes the nmost sense to be on the Madden cover.

After all, we’re talking about a guy nicknamed for a cartoon robot. Who better to be the face of a video game? It’s a match made in CG heaven!

Still, he will have a hard time holding off Packers Nation. And the fantasy vote will not be enough to help Willis defeat the popular Newton. I’m predicting it will be Newton vs. Rodgers in the finals, with A-Rod taking home the belt (get it?) and donning the Madden ’13 cover.

Then again, what good are predictions in any kind of fan vote? When NFL.com launched its bracket tournament last month to determine the best team of all time, could anyone have dreamed of a final pitting the 1976 Oakland Raiders against the 2000 Baltimore Ravens? Not even close, but that’s what we got.

Ridiculous? In retrospect, that Raiders team – which narrowly defeated the Ravens in the voting – was pretty damn good. It featured a plethora of Hall of Famers and guys who are still being strongly considered for Canton. But logic wasn’t part of the equation. Raider Nation came out in force and made it happen.

The biggest learning experience here is that the Ravens fan base is far more passionate than we ever imagined. Not only did they get the 2000 Ravens to the finals, but they helped current Ravens RB Ray Rice put up a good showing in the EA Sports vote. Rice actually knocked off the ever-popular Drew Brees in Round 2 of the Madden ’13 vote, and he gave Rodgers all he could handle one round later.

Who knew?

Too bad the Ravens aren’t represented in this new fan voting platform. The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s site is running a bracket tourney in which fans will vote for the best old-time jerseys. Today’s matchup pits the1936 Giants jersey against the 1971 49ers jersey. The Giants jersey is hideous. But guess what? As a Giants fan, I happily cast my vote for it.

Ignorant fan…