Every week, I will 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 Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, 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 Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.
The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.
Definitely get Aaron Rodgers in your lineup this week. After all, he is facing the Lions…Matt Hasselbeck came back in a big way last week, and he has another good matchup this week with a Cardinals defense that has allowed more than 300 yards passing per game. In fact, Hasselbeck has the best remaining schedule of any QB in the league, so if he can stay healthy, he should have a nice run…David Garrard and the Jags were miserable last week, but with the Rams coming to town (and Mike Sims-Walker coming off his “lady friend rendezvous” suspension), things are looking way up…The Chiefs have given up 270 yards and 2.0 pass TD per game to start the season, so Jason Campbell is a solid play for fantasy owners looking for a fill in or running a QBBC…For the desperate, Jake Delhomme is looking like a good start against a Tampa Bay defense that has allowed 227 yards and 2.4 pass TD per game…For the really desperate, Marc Bulger has a terrific matchup with a porous Jags defense. Whether or not he can do anything with a great matchup remains to be seen.
Don’t worry about Maurice Jones-Drew‘s struggles last week. The Rams are in town, and that will cure what ails him…Quick — name all the backs in the league that have more rushing yards than Cedric Benson. Did you name anyone? Well, you’re wrong, because it’s Benson who leads the league. And he has a great matchup this week with the Texans, who own the league’s 26th-ranked rush defense…Correll Buckhalter is back at practice, but Knowshon Moreno is taking the first team snaps and should have a monster day against the Chargers, who have allowed an average of 151 yards and 1.5 TD on the ground this season…Rashard Mendenhall should still be the main RB for the Steelers this week, but keep an eye on the reports about Willie Parker’s workload against the Browns. Cleveland has the league’s worst rush defense, so whoever gets the lion’s share of the carries is bound to have a very nice day…The Bills are solid against the pass, not-so-much against the rush. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington should have nice days against Buffalo’s 29th-ranked rush defense…Carnell Williams was brutal last week against the Eagles, but his OC wants to get him more involved and the Panthers’ rush defense has given up an average of 156 yards and 1.0 TD on the ground through four games.
Steve Smith 1.0 has a great matchup against the Bucs and should be in all fantasy lineups this week. Even Muhsin Muhammad could be used in larger PPR formats…With Tennessee’s brutal pass defense coming to town, both Randy Moss and Wes Welker should put up nice numbers. The Titans have given up 2.6 pass TD per game this season…Greg Jennings and Donald Driver should be great starts against a bad (27th-ranked) Lions defense this week. I’d expect the Packers to button up the pass protection, which will give Aaron Rodgers time to find his receivers…T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson should be in lineups this week. Arizona has been brutal against the pass and with Matt Hasselbeck looking good, Housh and Burleson should post good numbers…After a pretty slow start, Santana Moss is playing better ball now, posting 16-296-2 over the last three weeks. With the Chiefs’ 29th-ranked pass defense coming to town, he should have a solid outing…Don’t look now, but Donnie Avery made some noise last week with a 5-87-1 day. He has a good matchup against the Jags and is the only good receiving option that the Rams have…For the desperate, take a look at the Detroit WRs — Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt — this week if Calvin Johnson is sidelined. The Packers have struggled against the pass and Detroit will likely be playing from behind for much of the game. Johnson and Northcutt have a chance to post some nice numbers even with Daunte Culpepper throwing to them.
Matt Cassel could still be started in a pinch, but Washington has the league’s 3rd-ranked pass defense thus far. Given their competition, the Redskins might be a bit overrated, but they’re still stingy…Fantasy owners should avoid Mark Sanchez if they can. The Bills actually have a pretty good pass defense (6th in the league) and, after a hot start, the rookie has come down to Earth in the last couple of weeks…Trent Edwards and the rest of the Bills’ pass offense has been pretty brutal of late, and given a tough matchup with the Jets’ 8th-ranked pass defense, this is not the week to start him…I’d still start them all (and probably will), but Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger all have relatively tough matchups this week, so don’t expect a magical performance from any of these QBs this week.
He’s definitely startable in PPR leagues, but don’t expect Ray Rice to go nuts against a stout Minnesota rush defense, which has yet to give up a rushing TD this season. He’d be fortunate to post 80 rushing yards and a score…The Steelers have the 2nd-ranked rush defense in the league, so stay away from Jamal Lewis this week. Stay far away…Sammy Morris gained 107 yards from scrimmage last week against a pretty good Broncos defense, but as bad as the Titans are against the pass, they’re awfully good against the run. If Morris is involved in the passing game, he has a chance to post some nice numbers, but look elsewhere if you can…I’d still start him under certain circumstances, but don’t expec Brandon Jacobs to bust out with a big game this week. The Saints are surprisingly good against the run, allowing just 83 yards and 0.8 rush TD per game this season…Is the Broncos’ defense for real? Based on its performance against a pretty good Pats offense, it would seem so. This makes LaDainian Tomlinson a questionable start. Not only is he struggling, but he’s facing the league’s 6th-ranked rush defense.
I’d steer clear of Terrell Owens and Lee Evans this week. Both of these players are always a threat to go off, but they haven’t done much this season and they face a stingy Jets pass defense this week…The Giants pass defense has been amazing this year (105 yards allowed–1st in the NFL), which is why I’m not optimistic about Marques Colston (or any other NO WR) having a big game this week…Antonio Bryant has a tough matchup this week against a Panthers defense which is ranked 2nd in the league against the pass…Vincent Jackson and Braylon Edwards are still startable, but they have tough matchups this week against the Broncos and Bills, respectively. Proceed with caution.
