I’m pissed off right now (I know, big surprise, right?). It’s not because my fantasy teams are struggling; three of my four teams have pretty much locked up playoff spots. The fourth? Let’s just say it’s been rough for the Charm City Cheetahs (the crappy name might be a factor).

As the final weeks of the season wind down, there are a million useful things to discuss. But recent events have forced me to write about a little bit of fantasy etiquette. I feel like the Fonzworth Bentley of fantasy football.

Here’s what set me off: In one of my leagues, the first-place team had Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers — two top fantasy QBs — but inexplicably traded Rodgers to the third-place team for Trent Edwards. Edwards is freakin’ terrible!

Naturally, I protested the trade and sought an explanation since this wasn’t some random league. Someone was obviously doing their friend a favor. Alas, my cries of foul play were ignored and the trade was allowed. This may seem petty, but when you put a considerable amount of time and energy into a league (and in some cases, money) you want some semblance of integrity to be maintained.

This is also the time of year where you see salty non-playoff-bound owners trading away valuable players for next to nothing or dropping them outright. These are the same people who stopped adjusting their lineups two weeks ago, giving opponents an easy matchup down the stretch. All these things are fantasy faux pas — you’d figure that would go without saying — so don’t be that guy.

He’s heating up: After Tom Brady’s injury, I predicted that Matt Cassel would be a solid fantasy performer. I just didn’t expect it to take this long. Those who kept the Cassel faith were rewarded this past week when he threw for 400 yards and three TDs against the Jets (he also ran for 62 yards). Cassel should be in your lineup the rest of the way.

He’s on fire: The Arizona passing attack refuses to cool off. Kurt Warner threw for 395 yards against Seattle, with 186 of them going to Anquan Boldin and 151 to Larry Fitzgerald. Who needs a running game when you’re getting that kind of production?

Pickup artists: Denver’s running back du jour is some guy named Peyton Hillis. Picking him up could pay off. Or totally screw you over. Do it at your own risk. Also consider Kevin Smith, Sammy Morris, Tyler Thigpen, Justin Gage, Joe Flacco, Mark Bradley, Derrick Ward and Zach Miller. The pickings are starting to get slim, folks.

Fantasy doghouse: Donovan McNabb, get in the doghouse. Not only did you commit four turnovers against the Bengals, you also didn’t know there are ties in the NFL, a league you’ve played in for 10 seasons. You should lose fantasy points for that. Philip Rivers, Jason Campbell, Julius Jones, Tim Hightower and Antonio Gates are in there, too.

Trainer’s table: Earnest Graham (knee/ankle) is likely out for the season. Grab Warrick Dunn if he’s out there. … Steven Jackson (quad) has been ruled out for Sunday. … Tight ends Heath Miller and Kellen Winslow are questionable. … Keep an eye on the status of Brandon Jacobs (knee) and Matt Hasselbeck (neck) before starting them. … Reggie Bush (knee) could return Monday night.

Extra point: The Panthers are 8-2, but their two-headed running back monster was maddeningly inconsistent until recently. DeAngelo Williams rushed for less than 80 yards in four of the team’s first six games and failed to find the end zone in five of them. But he’s turned it on in the past four games, scoring at least one TD in each and putting up huge numbers in Weeks 8, 10 and 11. Jonathan Stewart hasn’t lived up to my expectations, but he could be on the verge of a late surge after rushing for 130 yards and a score on Sunday.

Matt Vensel is a content creator for b. Contact him at matt@bthesite.com.

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