Sunday morning observations -- Week 17

Happy New Year, Fools! I hope each of you made it through 2016, and NYE, safely and that you're about to settle in for a very busy afternoon of NFL football with little, if anything, riding on the outcomes.

For me, I'll be battling for 5% of the pot in both of my leagues, as we hold our "Free for All Bowl," where the top overall scorer for the day wins a little financial consolation prize. It's basically a way for us to stretch the fantasy season out one more week without extending our championship game to Week 17, which is nuts.

Why is it nuts, you ask? Well, here are just some of the players who won't be competing at all today either due to injury or because their teams are playing meaningless games (versus the ones who will make token appearances and/or will just try to make it through their games unscathed): Ben Roethlisberger, Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, Tyrod Taylor, Le'Veon Bell, Carlos Hyde, Melvin Gordon, Theo Riddick (just placed on IR), Lamar Miller, Jeremy Hill, Matt Forte, Chris Ivory, Adrian Peterson, Ryan Mathews, Antonio Brown, Brandon Marshall, A.J. Green (IR), Stefon Diggs, Taylor Gabriel, Jordan Matthews, Malcolm Mitchell, Donte Moncrief, Allen Hurns, Danny Amendola, Kendall Wright, Tyler Eifert, Ladrius Green, Cameron Brate.

Others who will likely play only a token amount of time or who are game-time decisions: Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Spencer Ware, Dez Bryant and Kenny Britt. The Giants have nothing to play for either, so don't be surprised if Eli, Odell and others hit the showers early.

It will be interesting to see just how much playing time Tony Romo gets once Dak jogs off the field this afternoon. Early betting is not much, and that Mark Sanchez will receive the bulk of the snaps. Don't count on a lot from any Cowboy player, though I wouldn't be surprised if the starters log a TD or two before hitting the showers. 50 yards and a TD sounds about right for Zeke Elliott in a quarter or more of play...

Trevor Siemian may only get a half's work of play, with Paxton Lynch taking over for the rest of the way.

There's good news if you're relying on any Patriots players, especially Tom Brady. They still have the first seed on the line, so expect big things from them against the Dolphins today. I think Jarvis Landry could have a nice outing as well, at home, with playoff seeding also on the line and Jay Ajayi dealing with a sore shoulder.

Some reports are suggesting DeAngelo Williams is the Steelers back to start today, while others point to Fitzgerald Touissant. They obviously have a tasty matchup with the Browns, but it appears the two backs will split the workload in some fashion. Either could come up big, or small. Sorry...that's why you shouldn't have a lot at stake in Week 17!

Now that we know about Doug Martin's suspension, and with Charles Sims placed on IR, Jacquizz Rodgers projects to have a busy day against the Saints. He's a solid Week 17 prospect, if you need a fill-in.

And you have to love tonight's game between the Packers and Lions, with a division crown on the line for both. If you've got 'em, start 'em!

That's it for now. Will turn next to Twitter for the final inactives report of the 2016 regular season. Enjoy the games, Fools! Tomorrow's column will feature the Perfect Draft: Final Edition. Always a crowd-pleaser...