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.
Even though Bronco fans weren’t very happy with him after last week, I’m still a (fantasy) fan of Kyle Orton (#4), who faces a 49er defense that was torched by Matt Moore, David Gettis and Brandon LaFell last week. Throw in a gimpy Knowshon Moreno and I think Orton will have a big day…With Tony Romo out for most of the rest of the season, Jon Kitna (#7) takes over the Cowboys’ dynamic offense. The defense can’t really stop anyone, so no matter how much Dallas wants to run the ball, Kitna is going to have to make some plays, and he proved he could be a good fantasy QB when he was in Detroit. Besides, the Jags have given up a league-leading 16 pass TDs this season…First game back? No worries for Matthew Stafford (#12) who looked great in preseason and had a bye week to prepare. The Redskins have had trouble stopping the pass this season…Need a sleeper/waiver wire-type guy? David Garrard (#18) should have a good game against a Cowboys defense that is reeling after getting sliced and diced by Eli Manning last week.
The Lions are 27th in the league against the run, so Ryan Torain (#5) should have a big day…Jamaal Charles (#11) and Thomas Jones (#13) should both tear up the Bills rush defense. Buffalo has yielded 175 rushing yards per game and I wouldn’t be surprised if Charles and TJ post 200+ combined…Felix Jones (#14) never really got rolling last week, but with the Jags’ 25th-ranked rush defense coming to town, he should have a nice outing. I’d expect Marion Barber (#29) to find the endzone at least once, since the Jags have given up 10 rushing TDs already this season…Donald Brown (#31) is still limited in practice, so if that continues, look for Mike Hart (#20) to handle most of the rushing duties for the Colts (which means he’d be a good bet to score)…If DeAngelo Williams (#26) continues to miss practice, look for Jonathan Stewart (#21) to pick up the slack. The Rams are in the middle of the pack against the run, but if Williams is a scratch, I’d expect an RB1-type day from Stewart.
Pierre Garcon (#6) has a great matchup with Houston’s 32nd-ranked pass defense and should get a few extra looks with Dallas Clark and Austin Collie sidelined…It might seem like Mike Williams 2.0 (#12) is a little high, but the matchup with Arizona is pretty good and there’s a dependability factor here. Williams has 31 targets in the last three games…It’s not clear how the targets are going to shake out, but Miles Austin (#9) and Dez Bryant (#23) are starts with a lot of upside considering they are facing the Jags’ 27th-ranked pass defense (that has given up 16 pass TDs on the season)…Need a sleeper? Patrick Crayton should once again be heavily involved in the Chargers’ passing attack. He’s not going to set the world on fire, but 70-80 yards is a good bet…With Louis Murphy out and a great matchup against the Seahawks, Darrius Heyward-Bey (#40) is worth a flier. Someone besides Zach Miller has to catch passes in Oakland, right?
I’m not all that high on Tom Brady (#9) this week. I think he’s going to miss Randy Moss more than people realize and he has a bad matchup this week with a Vikings pass defense that has only given up 1.3 pass TD per game. He’s still a decent start, but don’t expect him to light it up…Brett Favre (#20) has a great matchup, but I’m not optimistic about him playing at a high level (or for the entire game) with all that’s going on with his ankle…It’s nice that Vince Young (#23) is back (and he’s worth a pickup given his favorable upcoming schedule), but this week’s matchup with the Chargers’ #1-ranked pass defense isn’t appealing.
I bumped Knowshon Moreno (#18) down a few spots in my rankings on the heels of the news that he pulled up lame in practice. The Broncos say he’s fine, but keep an eye on this…The Bengals’ rush defense has been decent (118 yards allowed, 0.8 TD), so neither Ronnie Brown (#23) nor Ricky Williams (#24) seem like a good bet to score this week. The Dolphins have really struggled running the ball this season…Christopher Ivory (#35) is still the lead ball carrier in New Orleans, but he has the mother of all bad matchups this week as he faces the Steelers, who are giving up just 2.8 yards per carry and just 0.3 rush TD per game.
He has been great lately, but I’m a little worried about Greg Jennings (#13) given his matchup with a now-healthy Darrelle Revis. If Revis shadows him, he could be in for a quiet game…I’m not high on Michael Crabtree (#38) given the fact that Troy Smith is starting at QB for the first time this week. I think the 49ers will feature Frank Gore and that could mean a subpar game for Crabtree.
