Turkey day

Thanksgiving’s always been one of my favorite holidays, because it combines my three great loves: food, football and fantasy sports.

Oh, and family too. Sorry mom.

Fantasy makes the cut because unlike regular Sundays and Mondays, Thanksgiving allows us a day to totally focus our attention on two football games (three this year, if you’ve been blessed with the NFL Network). It’s just the right dosage of NFL action spread out over the course of the day, and although two of the three games this year aren’t as attractive as the schedule-makers hoped they’d be, just about every matchup features somebody fantasy players are keeping an eye on.

Here’s a look at the Turkey Day games from a fantasy perspective:

PACKERS AT LIONS

Green Bay has lived by the pass this year behind a rejuvenated Brett Favre and receivers Donald Driver, James Jones and home run threat Greg Jennings. Tight end Donald Lee is coming off a two-touchdown game and is a great roll-the-dice tight end option. The Packers’ passing game has great potential against a Detroit defense ranked in the NFL’s bottom three in passing yards a game and touchdowns allowed.

Packers running back Ryan Grant has exceeded expectations and was settling into his role as the feature back until hurting his ankle Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. He's been limited in practice but expects to play Thursday, so he's a decent No. 2 option, although Detroit's tougher against the run.

Assuming the Lions can keep him upright, QB Jon Kitna will spread the ball around to Roy Williams, Shaun McDonald and rookie Calvin Johnson, who finally caught another TD pass last week. Running back Kevin Jones hasn't looked so hot the past two weeks, rushing for -4 and 25 yards, and the Packers have given up only three rushing TDs all season, so he’s probably someone to avoid.

JETS AT COWBOYS

Use your New York skill players with caution. The receivers are inconsistent, veteran Laveranues Coles is hampered by an ankle injury, and Thomas Jones, though he managed 100 yards against the tough Pittsburgh Steelers last week, still hasn’t scored a touchdown as a Jet.

Dallas, on the other hand, is on fire. Tony Romo has two straight four-TD games and tossed five last Thanksgiving against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Expect him and favorite target Terrell Owens to be hamming it up for the CBS cameras often. Marion Barber and Julius Jones should get in on the action too against a Jets defense ranked dead last against the run.

COLTS AT FALCONS

Peyton Manning’s coming off two sub-par games, a rarity in his career. He can’t be that bad again, even if his line is thin, and old friend Marvin Harrison (knee) is likely to sit again. I'd expect to see a heavy dose of Joseph Addai in an attempt to get the offense back on track.

Byron Leftwich is out and Joey Harrington’s in as Atlanta’s starting QB, but you don’t want any part of that scene. Top receiver Roddy White is a better option, but he is coming off his first sub-50-yard game since Week 1. And Warrick Dunn is a risky proposition: the Colts haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since Travis Henry in Week 4.

Picture courtesy of Norman Rockwell.