2009 Start/Bench List Week 15 Dec 16, 2009 | More

Can Chris Johnson continue his dominance? Will the Colts and Saints continue to top the passing charts? Yes and yes. The Broncos join the Titans as the top rushing teams this week as the Colts, Saints and Eagles dominate in the air.

When using this list, try and remember a couple basic rules:

1) Studs - Always play your studs. Each position will include a list of players that are considered studs and should not be benched. If you have the luxury of needing to decide between studs, check out the matchups or feel free to let the shark tank assist you in your decisions.

2) Depth - Every fantasy team is different and some have more depth than others. Only follow the recommended moves if your team depth allows you to make such a move.

Quarterbacks

Studs

Drew Brees, New Orleans vs. Dallas
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay at Pittsburgh
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Tom Brady, New England at Buffalo
Matt Schaub, Houston at St. Louis
Brett Favre, Minnesota at Carolina
Philip Rivers, San Diego vs. Cincinnati


Start

Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia vs. San Francisco: McNabb made it look easy against the Giants throwing and completing deep pass after deep pass. It helped that the Giants forgot to cover DeSean Jackson for most of the game. The San Francisco defense will try and defend Jackson this week, but they won’t have much success. McNabb will spread the ball around and find open receivers all day long.

Tony Romo, Dallas at New Orleans: Granted, most of Romo’s stats last week came in garbage time as a meaningless score on a 86-yard drive at the end of the fourth quarter salvaged a below-average performance. This week, the Cowboys won’t have as much success in the running game and they’ll need to pass early and often to keep pace with the dynamic Saints offense. Look for Romo to surpass 300 yards passing with at least one score as Dallas tries to cure its December blues.

Bench

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay: Talk about a fall from grace. Roethlisberger and has lost two straight games since returning from a concussion against the Raiders and the Browns. Big Ben was sacked eight times and held to only 201 yards passing against the Browns defense that is ranked 25^th in the NFL in passing yards allowed. This week, Roethlisberger faces a Green Bay defense that is ranked third in the NFL in fewest pass yards allowed and has 23 interceptions on the season. Look for more struggles from Big Ben and the Steelers offense as the defending champs continue to limp to the finish line.

Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle vs. Tampa Bay: Hasselbeck had to leave last Sunday’s game temporarily with a shoulder injury to his throwing arm which is still lingering. He will likely be without Nate Burleson which depletes an already under-producing corps of wide receivers. Look for Seattle to run Justin Forsett and Julius Jones all day against the Buccaneers, who have more trouble defending the run than the pass. Hasselbeck’s chances will be limited and his stats will be on the low side.

Running Backs

Studs

Chris Johnson, Tennessee vs. Miami
Ray Rice, Baltimore vs. Chicago
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville vs. Indianapolis
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota at Carolina
Steven Jackson, St. Louis vs. Houston
Frank Gore, San Francisco at Philadelphia
DeAngelo Williams, Carolina vs. Minnesota

Start

Knowshon Moreno, Denver vs. Oakland: Moreno carried the ball 23 times last week after Correll Buckhalter left the game with an ankle injury against the Colts in the first quarter. Look for Moreno to carry the full load again this week and he’ll have plenty of success against a Raiders defense ranked 30^th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed. Moreno had 21 carries for 90 yards and a score the last time he faced the Raiders back in Week 3. Expect those numbers and then some this week.

Laurence Maroney, New England at Buffalo: Maroney rushed for 94 yards on 22 carries last week against the Panthers and those numbers should only increase against the Bills, who have allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL this season. You never know what kind of weather you’ll get playing in Buffalo in December, so look for the Patriots to minimize the elements by feeding Maroney the rock until the Bills prove they can stop him.

Thomas Jones, N.Y. Jets vs. Atlanta: Jones continues to help his owners advance in the playoffs with two scores last week and 99 yards rushing (although that extra one yard would’ve been sweet!). This week, Jones gets to feast on the Falcons run defense, who haven’t faced a run-oriented offense in quite some time and are still ranked 23^rd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed. Look for Jones to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark as he continues to shape the strategy of owners for next season by using Weeks 14-16 as an important component of a player’s value.

Bench

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego vs. Cincinnati: Tomlinson has scored a touchdown in each of the past five games, but he hasn’t rushed for over 100 yards in any of those games and only ran for more than 75 yards once in that time frame. Tomlinson will struggle this week as the Bengals look to get back on track after getting knocked down by the Vikings last week.

Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay: All Steelers offensive players should be avoided this week against a tough Green Bay defense - including Mendenhall, who rushed for only 53 yards on 16 carries last week against the Browns. The Packers run defense has allowed an average of only 85 rushing yards per game this season and will be ready to shut down Mendenhall and the Steelers in Pittsburgh this week.

Ryan Grant, Green Bay at Pittsburgh: The only team that has allowed fewer rushing yards than the Packers this season is the Steelers. In his last two games, Grant feasted on a weaker run defenses ( Chicago: 137 yards, 6.9 yards per carry), but struggled against a solid run defense ( Baltimore: 41 yards, 2.3 yards per carry). Sometimes the numbers are just that easy. Another rough day on tap for Grant, as the Packers find more success in the passing game than the running game this week.

Wide Receivers

Studs

Wes Welker, New England at Buffalo
Andre Johnson, Houston at St. Louis
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona at Detroit *Questionable for Week 15*
Brandon Marshall, Denver vs. Oakland
Randy Moss, New England at Buffalo
Steve Smith, N.Y. Giants at Washington
Hines Ward, Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay
Vincent Jackson, San Diego vs. Cincinnati
Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati at San Diego
Marques Colston, New Orleans vs. Dallas

Start

Pierre Garcon, Indianapolis at Jacksonville: Garcon had a quiet game last week against the Broncos, catching just two passes for 39 yards as Dallas Clark did all the damage. With the Colts likely to start resting some of their starters, Reggie Wayne will be on the sidelines, allowing Garcon to take the lead wide receiver role for this Colts offense. With the Jaguars’  26^th-ranked defense in passing yards allowed on the docket, look for Peyton Manning to attack through the air and Garcon to post his second 100-yard receiving game in the past three weeks.

Anquan Boldin, Arizona at Detroit: Larry Fitzgerald is questionable this week with a knee injury and the Cardinals should pile up the yardage against the Lions, who have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL this season. You know the Cardinals want to forget last Monday night’s performance as quickly as possible and the easiest way to forget a turnover-filled game is to go out and crush your next opponent. Sorry Detroit, bad timing for you. Boldin should be the lead receiver this week and he’ll post huge numbers against a porous Lions defense.

DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia vs. San Francisco: Jackson just seemed to be running at a different speed than everyone else last Sunday night. If he’s not catching deep passes, he’s returning punts for touchdowns. Jackson’s big play capabilities make him a very valuable commodity during this time of “win or go home” in the fantasy world. Expect more big numbers from Jackson as Jeremy Maclin will be out for this week’s game and Jason Avant hasn’t been a factor.

Calvin Johnson, Detroit vs. Arizona: With Matthew Stafford returning this week, Johnson will revert back to his five-catch, 98-yard, one-touchdown average he posted between Weeks 11-13 before Daunte Culpepper stepped in. Stafford will need to throw often to keep pace with the Cardinals offense, and Johnson will be his primary target.

Bench

Mario Manningham, N.Y. Giants at Washington: With Hakeem Nicks starting in his place, Manningham finished last week’s game with just two catches for 16 yards. Expect more below-average numbers this week as Nicks takes over the No. 2 wide receiver spot in New York, leaving very few chances behind for Manningham to make an impact.

Percy Harvin, Minnesota at Carolina: Harvin missed last week’s game against the Bengals due to recurring migraines. With the Vikings playoff hopes locked up, look for Minnesota to proceed with caution with Harvin. A matchup with the Panthers who shut down Randy Moss last week may not be the best time to ease Harvin back into playing action. If Harvin plays, expect very little from him this week.

T.J. Houshmanzadeh, Seattle vs. Tampa Bay: With Nate Burleson out and Matt Hasselbeck likely to struggle, things don’t look good for Houshmanzadeh, who got his clock cleaned last week against the Texans. He may fall victim to alligator arms as he goes over the middle against the Buccaneers this week which doesn’t bode well for his fantasy numbers. Just ask Roy Williams.

Steve Smith, Carolina vs. Minnesota: The Vikings held Chad Ochocinco to just three catches for 27 yards last week, the Panthers still won’t have Jake Delhomme ready this week, and they lost their second starting tackle to injury as Jeff Otah is done for the season. I’d say it’s not exactly a bright forecast for Smith to post decent numbers this week against the Vikings.

Tight Ends

Studs

Dallas Clark, Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Vernon Davis, San Francisco at Philadelphia
Antonio Gates, San Diego vs. Cincinnati
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta at N.Y. Jets
Brent Celek, Philadelphia vs. San Francisco
Kellen Winslow, Tampa Bay at Seattle

Start

Jason Witten, Dallas at New Orleans: Witten returned back to earth after a combined 19 catches for 263 yards in Weeks 12-13 by posting four catches for 49 yards against the Chargers last week. With Dallas likely to throw the ball more often this week, Witten’s chances will increase, and his totals should revert back to the prolific stats from two weeks ago.

Jermichael Finley, Green Bay at Pittsburgh: Don’t look now, but Finley has averaged six catches for 75 yards and a score over the past two weeks. With the Steelers still reeling from their Thursday night loss to the Browns, the Packer passing attack will be in full force, and Finley’s role will continue to be large.

Bench

Zach Miller, Oakland at Denver: Not only does the Raiders and Miller face one of the best pass defenses in the league this week in the Broncos, Miller suffered a concussion last week and may not even play this week. Look elsewhere.

Todd Heap, Baltimore vs. Chicago: Heap caught just two passes for 28 yards last week against the Lions and he suffered an ankle injury that has his status for this week’s game against the Bears in question. Heap cannot be counted on this week for your starting lineup.