By John Nemo
Enquirer contributor

Last week the best squad of fantasy talent I'd assembled in some time - Peyton Manning, Michael Vick, Edgerrin James, Fred Taylor, Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Mike Vanderjagt - led my squad into our league's playoffs.

Yes, I was heavy on Colts, but hey, these were the Colts! They score 30 points a game and put up gaudy statistics every week. And sure enough, thanks to The Edge, Marvin and Vanderjagt, I was cruising right along, and when I saw Fragile Freddy continue to defy logic and rack up another monster game for Jacksonville, I knew I was advancing to the league semifinals. It was over. After all, I was now ahead 85-32, and all my opponent had left was Clinton Portis and Marc Bulger. I had Bruce waiting in the wings to offset Bulger, so all I had to do was absorb what would surely be another big game by Portis against the Chiefs, whom he always lights up. But I wasn't worried. What, was he going to score 53 points and catch me?

Then it happened. After 218 rushing yards, 36 receiving yards and five touchdowns - including a pair of long-distance bonus scores - Portis had scored 60 points and suddenly I was trailing 92-85 going into the Monday Night Game. I ended up losing 104-94 and cursing Mike Shanahan for several hours afterward.

Moral of the story: It is never safe to celebrate until everyone is done for the week. Period. This Sunday, many of you will still be alive, roaring through the playoffs with oodles of questions and worries. Here are a few:

Q, from Neil: I was unlucky on draft day only because my No. 1 QB was Rich Gannon. I drafted Kerry Collins as my backup and for the most part he has surprised me with decent numbers. But now he is down and probably out and to make it worse, my backup is Jeff Blake, who was benched for the next week. So the question is: Do I pick up Collins' backup Jesse Palmer, or the best waiver wire guy, Joey Harrington?

A: Neil, you might need to go on "Dr. Phil" to get counseling for this dysfunctional family of quarterbacks. Every option you have stinks, but if I had to pick, I'd go with Harrington, given he's played better on the road this year and the Lions will be forced to throw against Kansas City because Detroit has no running game and will be down early.

Q, from Perry: I've got a pretty solid team but I'm dead at QB for my playoff game. Who should I start, Drew Bledsoe at Tennessee, Kordell Stewart (might split time with Rex Grossman) vs. Minnesota or Quincy Carter at Washington? The only free agent starters available are Tim Couch at Denver and Tim Hasselbeck vs. Dallas. I'll be up against Tom Brady vs. Jacksonville. Should I pray for a blizzard in New England?

A: Snow? Haven't you seen Brady in the snow before? Hope for sunshine and 65 degrees. Anyway, normally I'd go with a woozy Drew Bledsoe at Tennessee, but Bledsoe has been the definition of a fantasy disappointment this year. He's thrown a touchdown pass in only two of the past six games.

Tim Couch is almost always a crying shame at QB, and though I haven't had luck with the Hasselbeck brothers lately (see Matt's inexplicable meltdown in Minnesota last week), I still think Tim Hasselbeck will put up decent numbers this week at home against Dallas. The Cowboys do have an outstanding defense, but they've been lit up in successive weeks by Miami and Philly.

Tim Hasselbeck threw for 154 yards and a pair of scores against the Giants last week, and in my mind, is your best option.

As for the rest of you, enjoy your fantasy playoffs.

John Nemo writes Fantasy Fanatic, a nationally syndicated column, every week. Reach him with questions and comments at johnnemo@comcast.net