Every week, I highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Tom Brady or LaDainian Tomlinson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and start them. I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Ben Roethlisberger, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

As far as the matchups are concerned, we’re working off of last year’s data.

START ‘EM

QB: Jon Kitna (@ ATL) has a nice matchup against a Falcons defense that is traditionally pretty bad against the pass… In leagues that start two QBs each week, Matt Ryan (vs. DET) and Joe Flacco (vs. CIN) are both playing at home against suspect secondaries… I’d rather wait a week or two to see how the Redskins look in their new West Coast Offense, but Jason Campbell (@ NYG) has a pretty nice matchup against the defending Super Bowl champs.

RB: Selvin Young (@ OAK) faces a Raiders defense that was awful against the run last season… Look for Ricky Williams (vs. NYJ) to have a solid game while Ronnie Brown continues to work himself back into the lineup… Willie Parker (vs. HOU) is worth a start in most leagues. The Texans struggled against the run last season.

WR: Derrick Mason (vs. CIN) faces a Bengals defense that was pretty bad against the pass in 2007… Patrick Crayton (@ CLE) should be able to take advantage of the openings created when the Browns turn their attention to Terrell Owens and Jason Witten… Dwayne Bowe (@ NE) figures to clean up in garbage time when the Chiefs are playing from behind. Don’t forget that the Pats have new starting corners this season… I think Jericho Cotchery (@ MIA) is going to be a must-start this season, but he definitely should start against the Dolphins this week.

SIT ‘EM

QB: Trent Edwards (vs. SEA) and Chad Pennington (vs. NYJ) both have fairly tough matchups this week, though they are playing at home… On the stud front, Derek Anderson (vs. DAL), Jay Cutler (@ OAK), Drew Brees (vs. TB) and Matt Hasselbeck (@ BUF) all have poor matchups, though I wouldn’t bench any of them unless I had a much better option on the bench.

RB: I like Chris Perry this year but his matchup with the Ravens is a bad one. He’s probably not going to score much in the ground game, but he’s still a decent start in PPR leagues… Ryan Grant (vs. MIN) faces a very stout Minnesota defense. Grant is a solid RB2, so start him unless you have a better option.

WR: It’s not a good week to experiment with Vincent Jackson (vs. CAR) in your starting lineup. The Panthers’ secondary is pretty solid… It’s probably wise to stay away from the Denver WRs (Eddie Royal, Darrell Jackson and Brandon Stokley) as they face a formidable Oakland secondary that features Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall at corner.

DTBWW

One way to approach the defensive team position is to scour the waiver wire to find a mediocre defense with a good or great matchup week to week. I call this strategy Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW). Mediocre defenses usually play better at home, so focus on those teams with a home field advantage. Here is a list of defenses that should fare pretty well this week:

ATL (vs. DET), SF (vs. ARI), PHI (vs. STL) and DEN (@ OAK)