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 Carson Palmer 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.
START ‘EM
QB: J.P. Losman and Damon Huard both have nice matchups this week against the Dolphins and Broncos, respectively. Each defense is fairly stingy in yards allowed, but they’ve both given up 15 pass TD this season…Ben Roethlisbeger is a must start against a Browns defense that has allowed a staggering 277 yards and 2.5 TD to opposing QBs this season…Kurt Warner (vs. DET), Steve McNair (vs. CIN) and Vince Young (vs. JAX) also have good matchups.
RB: Cedric Benson has been suspect, but he has a great matchup against the Raiders this week. Oakland has yielded an average of 153 yards and 1.5 TD on the ground thus far this season…Edgerrin James has a nice matchup against the Lions. They aren’t bad against the run, but opposing RBs have been able to have success catching the ball out of the backfield against Detroit…DeShaun Foster has a pretty good matchup against the Falcons, who have allowed 125 rushing yards per game thus far.
WR: Derrick Mason is a must start against the Bengals, who are tied for last in the league in pass TD allowed (20)…Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward are both worth a start against the Browns, who just can’t stop the pass…Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin face the Lions, who despite a good showing against the Bears last week, have been unable to defend the pass consistently this season…Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are both worth a start as they face a Vikings defense that is great against the run but pretty bad against the pass.
SIT ‘EM
QB: Phillip Rivers has a tough matchup against the Colts and should be benched if there is a better option available…Brian Griese faces a stingy Oakland defense that has only given up 179 yards and 0.9 pass TD this season…David Garrard (@ TEN) and Alex Smith (@ SEA) should also be avoided.
RB: Jamal Lewis may find the going tough against the Steelers who have the league’s fourth best run defense and have allowed a league low two rushing TD this season…Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson look like bad starts against the Ravens, who are much more vulnerable to the pass than they are the run…Expect a quiet game out of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor as they face the Titans, who have the league’s best run defense.
WR: It would probably be wise to shy away from Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson this week as the Colts defense is quite tough against the pass…Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad should be benched against the Raiders…Roddy White doesn’t have a very good matchup against the Panthers, who have allowed just 0.9 pass TD per game this season.
