Who To Start, Who To Sit–Week 13
Quarterbacks
Start: Brett Favre, New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos. The Jets are the second highest scoring team in the NFL, and the way they are playing and lighting up the scoreboard how can you sit any of their players? He might not be playing the risk taking, long pass game that made him an icon in Green Bay, but this conservative, short pass system that they play in New York has been suiting Favre just fine. He has completed over 70 percent of his passes for three straight weeks and has five TD passes over that span. The Broncos defense just made the Raiders look good, so Favre should be able to pick them apart.
Start: Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins vs. St. Louis Rams. The man that Favre replaced in New York is having a pretty damn impressive season in his new home in Miami. Pennington is coming off of one of the best games of his career against the Patriots last week, and now he gets a very favorable matchup against the Rams. He is never among the leaders in yards or touchdowns, but as a play this week as you head into the playoffs you can do far worse.
Sit: Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers vs. Green Bay Packers. His yardage total was far better in Week 12 than it had been the two weeks before that, but Delhomme is just not putting up the touchdown numbers needed to be a solid fantasy quarterback. In Week 13 he has a matchup against the Packers, who outside of last Monday night has been one of the best pass defenses in the league. I have found from watching this game that if a team gets embarrassed one week they seem to come back the next week excelling at that facet of the game. Well, Green Bay got embarrassed on Monday night by Drew Brees and the Saints, lookfor the pass defense to be awesome this week.
Sit: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots. This has not been the kind of season that Big Ben envisioned when the season started. He has been beaten to death and has a myriad of nagging injuries, some more serious than others. His offensive line has really struggled and Roethlisberger has paid the price. The Steelers will face that Pats who have gotten torched by the Jets and Dolphins in back to back weeks through the air, but I don’t think that will happen a third time. Even with giving up over 700 yards in the last two games, the Pats still only average allowing just over 210 yards a game. Big Ben has one touchdown pass in the last four games and shouldn’t be trusted in Week 13.
Running Backs
Start: Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans vs. Detroit Lions. It seems that the juggernaut that was the Titans ground game has struggled some over the past couple of weeks. Johnson hasn’t scored in three weeks and his best game over that span is 64 yards. However, LenDale White made some pretty stupid comments after last week’s game that has a chance of having an effect on his playing time, plus the Titans get the Lions on Thanksgiving and what better remedy for a struggling offense? Look for Johnson to go for over 100 yards and score a touchdown.
Start: Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints. Now that he is the every down back in Tampa, Dunn could be a great find for fantasy owners down the stretch. Dunn has never been a prolific scorer, but should get you a good amount of yards and even catch three or four passes out of the backfield. The Saints are a better defense than the Lions team that he just ran for 90 yards against. Dunn should be a good play in Week 13 against New Orleans.
Sit: Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers. Grant has had an incredibly up and down season. For the first four or five weeks he couldn’t find a running lane to save his life. The next four or five he looked like back that we saw at the end of last season. He did ok on Monday night, but the Packers fell so far behind in the second half that they had to abandon the run. His opponent is the Carolina Panthers who before last week was one of the best against the run. Well, that was before MIchael Turner got a hold of them. Expect the Panthers to go back to their dominating self and keep Grant under wraps.
Sit: Tim Hightower, Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles. After an jmpressive first game as a starter, Hightower struggled mightily since. He may have scored twice against the Giants, but Hightower hasn’t ran for more than 35 yards since that first game as a starter and now J.J. Arrington is really starting to contribute to the offense. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a real share in carries between the two in the upcoming weeks. Put that all together witht eh fact that the Eagles defense is really good against the run, and Tim Hightower isn’t a good play this week.
Wide Receivers
Start: Randy Moss, New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers defense may be good, but the way the Pats are playing you have to keep Moss in your lineup. It is obvious that Matt Cassel is now a quarterback that you can count on, and Moss’ numbers should continue to be impressive. The offense doesn’t include a bunch of long bombs to Moss, but he is dangerous when he gets the ball in his hands in space, and he is fully capable of taking seven yard slant all the way to the house.
Start: Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons vs. San Diego Chargers. San Diego is the worst defense against the pass by yardage, and has allowed the second most touchdowns through the air in the league. Quarterback Matt Ryan has had one of the best seasons for a rookie quarterback in recent memory and his relationship with Roddy White is obviously solid. White is definitely the number one receiver in Atlanta and should have another great game against the Chargers in Week 13.
Sit: Braylon Edwards, Cleveland Browns vs. Indianapolis Colts. After a nightmare begin to the season, Edwards had been mostly better over the last six weeks or so. Considering the year he had in 2007, Edwards has been a major disappointment. The quarterback during the beginning of the season for Cleveland, Derek Anderson will be back under center this week with the news that Brady Quinn will miss the rest of the season with that broken finger. Also, no team has allowed fewer passing touchdowns than the Indianapolis Colts with only four in eleven games. This is not a good week to have Braylon in your lineup.
Sit: DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals. It has been a tough two weeks for Donovan McNabb and the Philly offense. They both have been stagnant and ineffective. Until they get Brian Westbrook healthy and consistent play from the quarterback, it doesn’t make sense to start any Eagles’ offensive player. It is obvious that Westbrook is the straw that stirs the drink in Philly and without him the offense plays like hot garbage (thanks to Scott Van Pelt). Keep ‘em on the bench.
Tight End
Start: Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks. Now that Tony Romo is back, it is looking like the Cowboys will go back to the solid offensive team that they were in the beginning of the season. If you look at the beginning of the season, Witten was off to an amazing start before Romo’s injury and the many that have plagued him all season long. Witten had 35 catches over the first five weeks and was on his way to another Pro Bowl season. Now that the team is back intact and they are relatively healthy, look for Witten to get back on track. Witten’s owners something to be thankful for on Thursday, because the Cowboys are playing the Seahawks who might be the worst pass defense in the league.
Sit: Owen Daniels, Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars. Since his 11 catch game in Week 9 against Minnesota, Daniels hasn’t had more than three catches or 28 yards. I don’t think he will be that bad against this week against the Jags, but the Texans offense has been sputtering lately. Although Sage Rosenfels is a pretty competent backup, the offense just doesn’t run the same without Matt Schaub behind center.
As always, your comments and questions (adds/drops, lineup advice, etc.) are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.
RYAN
I lost last week and i need to get this win this week
Qb- Cutler, Romo, Pennington, Farvre, Rivers, Rodgers. I think rivers will have a solid week becaause i think it will be a very high scoring game.2 guys
Wr- Roddy white, Eddie , owens, plax, colston, 4 guys
Rb-frank gore, reggie bush, clinton, ronnie 2 guys
Te- Keller???
J-Unit,
Let’s get you a win this week.
I would stick with Keller at TE.
At WR, I would sit Royal.
At RB, I would go with Brown vs. Rams and if Portis isn’t going to play I would go with Gore. I would stay away from Bush this week.
At QB I would play Romo and Rivers. Perhaps Favre over Rivers but I think i would go with Rivers.
I’m crossing my fingers for you.
Ryan
love the site. need your help with mcnabb or ryan this week? i do have r white on my team too and will be starting him. also, how about 2 from gore, slayton and lynch?
thanks for your help
Waterfall,
Sorry I didn’t get to this in time for today’s game. Hope you decided on McNabb because my advice would have been Ryan. I thought McNabb would be going in the tank this week again.
At WR, I would go with Lynch and Slaton. I think the Bills will beat the Niners and Lynch will be a big reason why. I like Gore too, but I am worried about SF coming east and playing in cold weather (and snow?). I really like Slaton who runs and catches passes and usually finds the end zone.
Glad to hear you like the site, how did you find it? Any more help, just let me know.
Ryan
ryan,
i need a replacement for plax ./….. royal, avery, or harrison which one
J-Unit
Should I take a chance on pierre thomas producing again this week?
J-Unit,
All three go against subpar pass defenses. I think I would go with Royal. I am almost finished with my Fantasy Football Game of the Week and it is the Jets vs. Broncos. I think both teams will score points, and since the Broncos basically have no running game at this point, the scoring is going to have to come through the air. I think Cutler/Royal/Marshall will have a good game.
What do you think?
Ryan
Eddie,
It depends on who your other options are, but with Bush now looking like he is going to play it would be a risky move to expect Thomas to have another good game. It is possible since Bush hasn’t played in so long, but unless you really have no other good choices I would stay away from Thomas this week. Especially against Tampa who is a pretty solid defense.
Ryan
hey ryan….i lost last week cause lendale had a neg 1 yd game…go figure…..mason crosby should have given me the 5 pts i needed to kick my opponents butt..but NOOOO 3 XPts and whammo!! I am done… I need this one to get into the playoffs….Lendale did me right on thanksgiving…now I need 1 RB….out of… leon washington…MJD…payton hillis………then i need 2 out of ted ginn…roddy w…reggie wayne…mike jenkins……and finally…thigpen or phil rivers at QB???? I got a fightin chance….gave me some GOOD help..PLEEEEZE!!!!…greg
What’s up Ryan. I have two questions about who to start this week, I play in a ten team one PPR league that awards bonus points for the length of td’s:
Which 3:
LT vs. Falcons
MJD at Texans
Ronnie Brown at Rams
Reggie Bush at Bucs
Warrick Dunn vs. Saints
Which WR:
Bowe at Raiders
Eddie Royal at Jets
Kevin Walter vs. Jags
I am leaning towards LT, MJD, Brown, and Bowe. I think Bush will be limited this week plus he is playing Tampa. Thanks. Hope everyone recognizes that good call on Witten. He sure has helped me this week so far.
ryan…hey again…..i have another couple of opinions i need from you……..plax shot hissef in the foot…hixon is avail on my scout team…should i pick him up, or even play him this week????also , looking forward to playoffs weeks….who would you reccommend as a kicker….also for DSTs…for the next 3 weeks ..considering strength of schedule….plz give me two of each…preferably sleeper types, for my playoffs…thx again….greg
Greg,
I’ll need some more time to answer the rest of your questions, but I definitely think Hixon is worth picking up, but who would you drop? Jenkins? Let me know and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Ryan
hi again…with plax gone…if i pick up hixon…i would have to drop jenkins probably…but i also have gage, who didnt do much(4 FP) last week… i dont own ginn either but he is free on my scout team(for now….7pm sat nite)…its all such a roll of the dice kind a thang…after all thats what its all about..right???…I found you thru the “LIBRARIAN”..she has given me a lot of expansion of advice , in my short FF life….but i think you are quite a gifted prognosticator(sic)….its only a game..no money involved,only pride…like someone once said…….” I have always been a big believer in LUCK….and i have found , over the years, that the harder i work and study for each endeavor, the luckier i get!!”Ben Franklin,or Alfred E Neuman (mad magazine)…..greg
Greg,
Thanks for having good faith in me, hopefully these choices will get you on the right track.
At QB I think I would go with Rivers. Thigpen has been on a great roll. However, surprisingly the Raiders defense isn’t that bad, and they are statistically better than the Atlanta defense that Rivers plays. At this point I would also want to go with the more experienced guy, and that is also Rivers.
At RB, I would go with Jones-Drew. Hillis gets one of the toughest run defenses in the Jets and Leon is a second stringer. Jones-Drew gets Houston who has allowed 15 rushing TDs.
At WR, go with Reggie Wayne and Roddy White. I think they are the best two receivers on your team by far. I love Ted Ginn’s matchup against the Rams but it is nearly impossible to sit Wayne and White.
For some help at kicker you want to go with guys who kick in warm weather or in domes at this point of the season. Two guys that fit this profile are Ryan Longwell from Minnesota and Jason Elam of Atlanta. For a deeper sleeper who doesn’t kick indoors, what about Phil Dawson from Cleveland.
On DEF, take a look at the Jets. They play SF, BUF, SEA, and MIA. None of those teams scare you offensively. Another would be the Dolphins. They play BUF, SF, KC, but play the Jets the last week of the season.
I would want Ted Ginn and Hixon and would let go of Jenkins and Gage.
Ryan
David,
I am going to agree with all of your ideas. I would sit on Bush this week if I was you just because you have other great options. Dunn could be a good call, but the Saints have actually been pretty good against the run and have only allowed seven rushing TDs this year.
At WR, I was thinking of Royal just because the Broncos are going to have to throw the ball all day long, but there is supposed to be bad weather here in New York so that might hinder the ability of Cutler to be that effective. So, with that in mind I’d take Bowe.
Thanks for the faith in me, hopefully these calls will get you into the playoffs.
Ryan