PHILADELPHIA — The fantasy football staff has a lot to be thankful for this year, not least of which is that Dad didn't try using one of those deep fryers that promise to cook your turkey in an hour or nuke the neighborhood, whichever comes first.

On the field, it's been nice watching Cincinnati's Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson come to life in time to help with a playoff run. Seeing Pittsburgh's Willie Parker transform from a midround pick to a must-starter is nice, too.

Dave Kelly, of Jamison, Pa., is grateful that the guy who drafted ahead of him took Shaun Alexander "leaving me to take Peyton Manning. Nice."

Pat Davis, of North Wales, Pa., is "thankful that Donovan McNabb scored enough points for me to win my division and the total points for before getting injured."

Mike McDermott, of Allentown, Pa., is thankful "our league gives full salary-cap relief for injured reserve players. Now I can use McNabb's $10.5 million to improve the rest of my sorry team. It's the best I can hope for after that disastrous Sunday."

Trenton, N.J.'s Dan Cleary is 15th out of 16 teams in total points, but "would like to thank my weekly opponents, who have generally played down to my level and allowed me to post a respectable 6-5 record."

Finally, among the things Lee Russakoff, of Philadelphia, is thankful for is Saints wide receiver Marques Colston.

"Sure, he went down with a high-ankle sprain this past weekend," Russakoff said, "but the joy (he) brought me over the past 10 weeks has been nothing short of immaculate."

Four readers nearly pegged Vince Young's rushing total Sunday against the Eagles. The Texans quarterback ran for 49 yards.Derek Watson, of Philadelphia, was among those guessing 47 yards and will get a Daily News fantasy football T-shirt for his troubles. Also predicting 47 yards were readers Don Habermehl, Jeffrey Schmehl and Dave Gower.

• Before rushing out to pick up Jeff Garcia, keep in mind that the Eagles play four of their last six on the road and that one of their home games is against Carolina.• Don't drop Washington running back Ladell Betts just yet. Though he only posted 18 yards against Tampa Bay Sunday and could have another tough game this Sunday against Carolina, the Redskins do have appealing matchups coming up against Atlanta, the Eagles, New Orleans and St. Louis. He might warrant consideration as a second running back in those weeks.• In the unlikely event he's still a free agent, pick up Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams.• There's a lot of intrigue surrounding LaDainian Tomlinson's chase of Shaun Alexander's 2005 NFL record of 28 touchdowns scored. Tomlinson has 22 scores in 10 games, a pace of 35. San Diego's remaining schedule: vs. Oakland, at Buffalo, vs. Denver, vs. Kansas City, at Seattle and vs. Arizona. He might not get to 35, but he should get to 29.• Colleague Bob Vetrone Jr. points out that the wild play when a pass from Donovan McNabb bounced off Reggie Brown to Correll Buckhalter ended up being McNabb's final touchdown pass of the season. It wouldn't have been a TD pass had the Elias Sports Bureau not correctly changed the official scoring.• There's some speculation that Chad Pennington could get yanked. Patrick Ramsey (ugh) is the Jets' backup quarterback.• Ben Troupe's season-ending ankle injury means Bo Scaife is Tennessee's top tight end. Despite sounding like a character from a 1950s Western, Scaife is a fantasy option, since he and quarterback Vince Young were teammates at Texas.

Weather.com says it will be quiet, unusual considering this is the last weekend in November. A slight wind for Cincinnati at Cleveland is not enough to impact lineup decisions. Also, showers are expected during Chicago at New England.