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 suggest you bench Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson because they have tough matchups – 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.
As usual, I’ll discuss these players within the context of my weekly positional rankings, so remember — everything is relative.
Forget about the whole ‘Neck Beard’ thing, Kyle Orton (#2) is having a great fantasy season. And with the Raiders coming to town (12 pass TD allowed in six games), Orton should have a very nice day…The Redskins have given up 298 passing yards and 1.5 pass TD per game this season, which is why I have Jay Cutler ranked #8…Matt Cassel (#11) has had his ups and downs this season, but I expect at least 200 yards and 2 TDs against the Jags’ 28th-ranked pass defense…Brett Favre‘s (#12) personal life may be a mess, but the Packers are mediocre against the pass, and as long as his O-line can keep Clay Matthews under control, Favre should have time to find Percy Harvin and Randy Moss for a few big plays. He’ll be very motivated to play well against his old team…Desperate? Sam Bradford (#18) and Bruce Gradkowski (#21), assuming he plays, are both sneaky good starts given their respective matchups with the Bucs (2.0 pass TD allowed per game) and the Broncos (1.5 pass TD allowed).
It’s tough to say whether or not Knowshon Moreno (#17) is really healthy…but the Raiders have given up 150 yards and 1.0 TD on the ground this season. Moreno should be good for around 90-100 total yards and a score…Arizona is 29th against the rush, so Marshawn Lynch (#18) looks like a good bye-week RB2. He got 17 carries and ran for a score against the Bears last week…Taking out the Indy game when the Chiefs fell behind, Thomas Jones (#16) has averaged 83 yards and 0.5 TD in four games. KC is likely to jump out on the Jags and kill the clock with Jones and Jamaal Charles (#10), so there should be plenty of carries for both this week.
Terrell Owens (#5) has been hot of late (17-324-2 in his last two games), and he faces an Atlanta defense that is ranked 25th against the pass. He should be able to catch at least one deep ball…Tennessee is just a mediocre matchup, but Jeremy Maclin (#9) went nuts last week after DeSean Jackson left the game and it looks like D-Jax will be out this week…Is Dwayne Bowe (#11) for real? We’ll find out this week. We know he has the tools to be a great wideout and with a sketchy Jags’ secondary coming to town, he should have a very nice game…Outside of a dreadful Week 4 performance by the entire Bears offense, Johnny Knox (#15) is averaging 4.0-88 with Jay Cutler at QB, and with the Redskins’ 31st-ranked pass defense coming to town, Knox is in line for a nice game…Looking for a waiver wire sleeper? Craig Davis (#38) will fill in for an injured Malcom Floyd this week against a Patriots defense that has yielded 273 yards and 2.2 pass TDs through the air this season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (#23) has been a pleasant surprise for the Bills thus far, but he has done it with a fairly easy schedule. The Ravens 3rd-ranked pass defense is another story. I think Fitzy struggles this week…Alex Smith (#24) faces a Carolina defense that has given up just 182 yards per game through the air. The 49ers want to run, and they should find more success on the ground with Frank Gore…The Bears have only allowed three pass TDs all season, so it’s doubtful that Donovan McNabb (#19) will be able to post his usual numbers.
Ronnie Brown (#30) has not been impressive of late and he has a terrible matchup against the league’s #1-ranked rush defense. Stay away…The Seahawks have been surprisingly good against the run (2.9 ypc this season), which is all the more reason to leave Beanie Wells (#25) on your bench this week…Brandon Jackson (#27) seems to be playing better, but the Vikings are a bad matchup, and the Packers just don’t run block well enough to overcome the Williams Wall.
Steve Johnson (#44) has played well this season, but with a tough matchup against the Ravens. I’m not optimistic. That goes double for Lee Evans (#50)…Steve Smith 1.0 (#30) looks like he’s back and although he has a fairly mediocre matchup with an up and down 49er defense, I’d like to see him have some success with Jimmy Clausen before trusting him with a start…I suspect Brandon Lloyd (#12) will draw the attention of Nnamdi Asomugha this week, which means he isn’t likely to break many big gainers this week. In fact, I’m thinking of moving him down into the middle teens.
