Quarterbacks

Start:  Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars.  Cassel has had a pretty up and down season as he has three games in which he has thrown two touchdown passes and two where he didn’t throw any.  The good part of Cassel was that he wasn’t turning the ball over, as he had only thrown two interceptions before last week where he failed to throw for even 100 yards and had three picks.  But this week he will face the Jaguars, who even made Vince Young look like a viable quarterback again last week.  Jacksonville has allowed nearly 250 yards per game through the air and 13 passing touchdowns through the first seven games.   I’m not sure how much the addition of Chris Chambers will help the Chiefs’ offense, but I guess it can’t hurt since they don’t have a quality receiver after Dwayne Bowe.  Perhaps it will be addition by subtraction getting Larry Johnson out of the lineup this week.  I still think that Cassel has a few good games in him for the rest of the year, and this appears to be a quality matchup for him to have one. 

Start:  Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks vs. Detroit Lions.  I know that this might seem easy with the Seahawks playing the Lions and all, but Hasselbeck hasn’t been very popular among fantasy players this year as he has been dealing with broken ribs and two games with horrendous yardage totals and no touchdown passes.  He was almost unable to finish the game last week against Dallas as he was hit pretty good.  He isn’t expected to practice much, if at all this week, but is all but a lock to play.  I think this is going to be a close game, and the Seahawks have shown little ability to run the ball, so if they are going to score it is going to have to be through the air.  It shouldn’t be too difficult, as the Lions allow over 250 yards per game through the air and have given up 18 passing touchdowns in just seven games.  He might not be your favorite guy, but Hasselbeck should be an easy pick for a good game. 

Sit:  Eli Manning, New York Giants vs. San Diego Chargers.  Manning has been in quite the funk lately, with just three touchdown passes against six interceptions over the last three games with tough defenses in New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Arizona.  It doesn’t get any easier this week as the Chargers are giving up less than 180 yards per game and about one passing touchdown.  Eli has really been having trouble with accuracy lately, as he is barely completing 50% of his passes over the last month.  The Giants have also been beset by injury.  They were without wide receiver Mario Manningham last week, and could be down him and Dominik Hixon this coming Sunday.  Ahmad Bradshaw is also dinged up with his fractured foot, and while he is going to play through it, I don’t see the Giants pushing him as much as they were in the past. I think Eli is a decent quarterback, but things are just not good for the G-Men right now, and I don’t see it improving this week. 

Sit:  Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys.  Philly has been on a roll lately offensively, but Dallas has been pretty stout on the defensive side since coming out of their bye, and I see this being another good game for Dallas.  McNabb has a couple of really good games this season, but he has also had just as many bad ones.  He has nine touchdown passes on the season, but eight of them have come in three games.  Dallas has been allowing two touchdown passes in each of the last two games, but I could definitely see them holding McNabb to one this week.  Dallas is giving up just under 240 yards a game, and have also allowed 12 touchdown passes over their first seven games. This easily could be a game that is decided on the ground, as it appears that Brian Westbrook will be back on the field for the Eagles.  This is a bit of a stretch, but I think you might have a better option than McNabb this week. 

Running Backs

Start:  Beanie Wells, Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears.  Ok, so after his first big game, Wells didn’t exactly follow it up with another good effort.  However, it has to be taken into consideration that his team fell behind big and early, and had to abandon the running game in hopes of coming back.  Wells might have only gotten eight carries, but his backfield mate, Tim Hightower, also only got eight so it isn’t like Wells was forgotten about.  This week they play the Bears who allow over 110 yards on the ground per game, and the Cardinals shouldn’t get blown out of this one and I could easily see Wells getting at least 15 carries, and once he gets the opportunities the kid is going to succeed. 

Start:  Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Again, this doesn’t seem like a tough one as the Bucs are one of the worst defenses against the run in the entire NFL.  However, there are a lot of games with good teams against really bad teams, so I went with this one. I also know that Ryan Grant isn’t exactly the most popular fantasy player anymore, especially after his bad outing last week. But Grant has beaten up on the bad teams all season long, and there’s no reason to think he won’t again on Sunday.  Tampa Bay is giving up over 160 yards per game on the ground and it seems like a slam dunk that Grant is worth a start this week.  He has a good chance of breaking the 100 yard plateau, and a touchdown isn’t out of the realm of possibility either. 

Sit:  Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens.  I know, I know, this is a tough one to follow through on.  Benson has had an outstanding season, and he ran all over the Ravens for 120 yards and a touchdown.  While the Ravens defense has certainly not looked like the unit that it has in the past, they have still been tough on the run allowing just 87 yards a game, with only four rushing touchdowns.  Those of you who have emailed me in the past know that I always call Benson an every week starter regardless of the matchup, but I think he might be in for a rough week here.  This is obviously a case by case basis call here.  If you are in a tough, ultra-competitive league, it will probably be tough to sit Benson.  However, if you are in a league with a bunch of guys who don’t know what they are doing, like the league run by Wences Rodriguez, which is comparable to the XFL while all other fantasy leagues are the NFL, then you could get away with sitting Benson. 

Sit:  Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers.  Moreno has been getting more carries for Denver, and is certainly the starter over Correll Buckhalter but this is not a great week to play either.  The Steelers are the number one defense against the run, giving up just 76 yards per game on the ground and only two rushing touchdowns.  This will certainly be a game that is won and lost on the ground, as it features two teams that love to run the ball, but also have good defenses at stopping the run.  Moreno has averaged under four yards a carry for the last two games, and I could easily see him being under that mark again versus Pittsburgh.  I do like Moreno, and think he has a bright future, I just think that you have to have a better option. 

Wide Receivers

Start:  Mike Sims-Walker, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs.  Sims-Walker quickly became a fantasy darling after he had four straight games of at least six catches and 80 yards.  Last week it seemed that all the planets were aligned for perhaps his best game yet as the Jags faced the horrendous Titans defense and Sims-Walker had just two catches for nine yards.  However, I urge you not to fall off the MSW bandwagon because of one bad game, as he will face an equally bad defense this week in Kansas City and I put my stamp and guarantee that he will top 85 yards and while I won’t promise a touchdown I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he scored. 

Start:  Nate Washington, Tennessee Titans at San Francisco 49ers.  I am a card carrying member of the Haters of Vince Young’s Quarterbacking Skills, but I still think he will be able to succeed over the next couple weeks since his opponents don’t really have anything to go by when they are preparing to face Vince.  I don’t expect him to throw for a ton of yards or a ton of touchdowns, but I think Washington is the best bet out of the Titans subpar receiving corps.  Washington only had two catches this past week for 22 yards, but one was for a touchdown.   It is hard to put too much stock in the Titans passing game, but I think for another couple of weeks they could have a little bit of success. 

Sit:  Roy Williams, Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles.  It has been an incredibly disappointing season for Roy, as many thought that he would step into the statistics that Terrell Owens put up last year for the Cowboys.  However, Roy hasn’t had more than four catches in a game, and has topped 35 yards receiving only twice all season long.  Add to that the fact that Miles Austin is enjoying a breakout season, and has pretty much assumed the role as the number one receiver in Dallas, and Williams has certainly lost most of his value.  This week he will go up against the ultra-tough Eagles defense, who allow under 200 yards per game through the air.  You would have to think that if Dallas is able to throw a touchdown pass this week, Williams would be the fourth or fifth best option to choose from.  I hope that you have a better option than Williams this week. 

Sit:  Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos.  The Steelers continue to throw the ball more than they ever have before, and Holmes continues to be just an average receiver, week after week after week.  Sure, he did have a 100 yard game two weeks ago, but that was his first since Week 1 and it was against the Browns.  So, I think that counts as about a 65 yard game against anyone else.  When playing Cleveland you have to take about 60-70% of your stats and that is what you would have done against a real team. Ok, maybe that’s harsh, but Holmes has been one of my bigger disappointments of the year. Denver, on the other hand, is eighth in the league against the pass, and has only allowed four scores through the air so far this year.  I’m not saying that the Broncos shut down Big Ben, but there won’t be as many yards to go around as usual in Week 9, making Holmes a week play.  Look for a tough, physical receiver like Hines Ward to do well.

Tight End

Start:  Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals.  Olsen did have a nice streak in which he scored touchdowns in three straight weeks, but since then he has just 64 yards over the past two games.  But he is a very talented receiver and he gets a good matchup this week against the Cardinals.  Arizona is in the bottom third in the league against the pass, and has allowed 11 touchdown passes so far this season.  Olsen is a big target with great hands, and should get back on track this weekend with a favorable matchup.  He is a guy that could definitely have a much bigger second half than he did a first half. 

Sit:  Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers.  It might be fascinating to you, but the Carolina Panthers are the number one defense against the pass as far as yardage is concerned as they allow only 160 yards a game through the air.  The Panthers have only given up nine passing touchdowns to start the season, but they will be tested to the extreme as they go against the high powered Saints offense.  Shockey has been doing well the past couple weeks, but before that he hadn’t even reached 50 receiving yards in five straight games.  Shockey isn’t worth anything near the value that his name seems to get him, and he is borderline play most weeks.  It’s hard to say how Carolina does against the Panthers, because the past few weeks they haven’t faced a team that even has a pass catching tight ends.  When they faced the Bucs and Kellen Winslow, he was held to under 30 yards.  Going against the strong Panthers’ defense, I would see if there is a better option available for you to play at tight end this week.

I welcome your comments and questions at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com.   I can help you with roster questions, who to start/sit, etc.  I guarantee a response within 18 hours.  Also, don’t miss the Fantasy Football Tonight podcast every Tuesday night at 10pm EST with myself and Jeff Mans.  We will cover all the latest and greatest in fantasy football, and there is always some crazy things being discussed outside the world of football as well.  Please join us, to listen go to www.blogtalkradio.com/fantasy-football-tonight .  If that isn’t enough of Jeff and I for you, you can also now join us on the Fantasy Sports Channel on Blog Talk Radio for the Midnight Oil show. We will give you another hour leading into the weekend starting on Friday at midnight EST.  Go to www.fsc.fm to listen.

Tags: beanie wells, Cedric Benson, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Greg Olsen, Jeremy Shockey, knowshon moreno, matt cassel, matt hasselbeck, mike sims-walker, nate washington, roy williams, Ryan Grant, santonio holmes

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