The bye weeks are finally done which leaves you with a full roster of choices for your starting lineup. Be warned that there is a Thursday night game each week for the next six weeks. Start looking at your matchups early in the week so that it’s not a coin flip at 7:59 p.m. on Thursday night deciding your fantasy team’s playoff fate.
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. This list will change from week to week.
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.
Enough of the chit-chat, onto the list!!
Quarterbacks
Studs
Kurt Warner, Arizona at Seattle
Drew Brees, New Orleans at Kansas City
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis vs. Houston
Jay Cutler, Denver at Atlanta
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia at Cincinnati
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay vs. Chicago
Philip Rivers, San Diego at Pittsburgh
Start
Sage Rosenfels, Houston (at Indianapolis): Rosenfels faces the Colts for the second time this season looking to improve on his week five stats of 246 yards passing with a TD and an INT. The Colts have won two straight games and are looking for a season sweep of the Texans in
Indianapolis this week. Look for the Colts to take the lead early turning the Texans offense into a passing machine. Rosenfels won’t have Matt Schaub fearing for his job, but his stats will be starter-worthy when all is said and done this week.
Chad Pennington, Miami (vs. Oakland): Prior to last week’s game, Pennington had four straight games of 280+ passing yards while completing those passes at a very efficient 68% completion percentage. While Pennington’s 209 yards passing, one TD and one INT last week wasn’t terrible, he should improve in each of those categories this week against the Raiders. Start as many Dolphins offensive players as you can find this week and enjoy.
Bench
Jason Campbell, Washington (vs.
Dallas):
Campbell threw his first interceptions of the season against the Steelers in week nine before the Week 10 bye. This week,
Campbell faces the Cowboys for the second time this season. Back in week four,
Campbell threw for 231 yards and two TDs in a Redskins win. Expect the pressure to be turned up a few notches for
Campbell, and if Clinton Portis isn’t ready to play due to his knee injury, that will only make matters worse. Downgrade your expectations on
Campbell this week as the
Dallas defense will be well-rested and flying around the field.
Kerry Collins,
Tennessee (at
Jacksonville): Pay no attention to the 289 yards passing, two TDs and zero INTs from Collins last week. The Jaguars are a better pass defending team than the Bears and Collins’ stats this week will prove it.
Running Backs
Studs
Frank Gore, San Francisco vs. St. Louis
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota at Tampa Bay
Clinton Portis, Washington vs. Dallas
Joseph Addai, Indianapolis vs. Houston
Matt Forte, Chicago at Green Bay
Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia at Cincinnati
Ladainian Tomlinson, San Diego at Pittsburgh
Marion Barber, Dallas at Washington
Start
Ronnie Brown,
Miami (vs.
Oakland): Fear not, Brown owners, the balance of power has not shifted to Ricky Williams despite his success last week against the Seahawks. The Raiders are 29th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed.
Miami won’t need the wildcat formation to confuse the
Oakland front four and find holes in the defense this week. Big stats are on the horizon for Brown this week.
Willis McGahee, Baltimore (at N.Y. Giants): Despite what head coach John Harbaugh wants you to believe, McGahee is the man in Baltimore when healthy and he’ll shoulder the bulk of the carries this week against the Giants. While the Giants run defense has played well as of late, McGahee will grind it out and likely crack the 100-yard mark for the second straight week and third time this season.
DeAngelo Williams,
Carolina (vs.
Detroit): Don’t look now, but Williams has quietly turned the RBBC situation in
Carolina with Jonathan Stewart into a one-man show. Williams has rushed for over 100 yards in three of the last five games and faces the Lions this week who are ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing yards allowed. Make it three straight 100-yard games for Williams.
Bench
Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay (vs. Minnesota): Combine the fact that Graham hasn’t rushed for more than 62 yards since week four with the Vikings run defense that ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, and you have one of the easiest benches in the history of fantasy football. Plus, the return of running back Carnell ‘Cadillac’ Williams may take carries away from Graham.
Mewelde Moore,
Pittsburgh (vs.
San Diego): For arguments sake, let’s say Willie Parker won’t play this week as the speculation surrounding the severity of his injury just adds confusion to this equation.
Moore has rushed for 55 yards on 28 carries the last two weeks combined averaging less than two yards per carry. Look for the Steelers to air it out against the Chargers as
San Diego‘s pass defense has played much worse than their run defense limiting
Moore‘s chances to improve his yards per carry average.
Ryan Grant,
Green Bay (vs.
Chicago): Grant has run the ball well the past three weeks against tough opponents (
Indianapolis,
Tennessee and
Minnesota). Things don’t get any easier this week against the Bears who are ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed. Grant’s lack of receiving skills hurts his value as even when the Bears pass on third down situations, Brandon Jackson will be the likely target out of the backfield, not Grant.
Wide Receivers
Studs
Anquan Boldin, Arizona at Seattle
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona at Seattle
Andre Johnson, Houston at Indianapolis
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis vs. Houston
Brandon Marshall, Denver at Atlanta
Randy Moss, New England vs. N.Y. Jets
Steve Smith, Carolina vs. Detroit
Greg Jennings, Green Bay vs. Chicago
Roddy White, Atlanta vs. Denver
Calvin Johnson, Detroit at Carolina
Santana Moss, Washington vs. Dallas
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati vs. Philadelphia
Start
Marques Colston,
New Orleans (at
Kansas City): He’s baaaaaack! Colston caught seven passes for 140 yards last week against the Falcons in what is sure to be the first of several big games down the stretch. Congrats to all of you Colston owners who had the patience to hang onto him throughout his injury and slow return to the starting lineup. The rewards will be doled out weekly.
Ted Ginn Jr.,
Miami (vs.
Oakland): Ginn made an unbelievable TD catch last week against the Seahawks despite double coverage. Ginn should find plenty of open space against the porous Raiders defense this week as he continues to prove his worthiness as the No. 1 WR in
Miami.
Lee Evans, Buffalo (vs. Cleveland): The Patriots did a fine job of holding Evans to only two catches for 22 yards last week, his lowest totals of the season. Look for Evans the Bills passing offense to find its groove again this week against the Browns who allowed Jay Cutler to throw for 447 yards in a tough loss last week at home.
Jerricho Cotchery
,
N.Y. Jets (at
New England): I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Jets won’t defeat the Patriots 47-3 this week the repeating their Week 10 performance against the Rams. The Patriots will focus on containing Laveranues Coles and Thomas Jones leaving just enough space for Cotchery to sneak in and gobble up the stats. WARNING: This is a Thursday night game so make up your mind early!
Bench
Torry Holt,
St. Louis (at
San Francisco): Put a fork in him, he’s done. Cut your losses if you can.
Roy Williams, Dallas (at
Washington): Anyone have an extra fork? While Williams may be rare compared to Holt’s well-doneness, he won’t serve any purpose in your lineup against the tough Redskins defense unless your planning on drafting first next season with your lousy record.
Chad Johnson,
Cincinnati (vs.
Philadelphia): Don’t expect another two TD outing for ‘Ocho Cinco’ against the Eagles like he did against the Jaguars prior to his Week 10 bye. The Eagles have held their previous two opponents to under 200 yards receiving and the Bengals passing attack won’t be able to change that trend this week.
Devin Hester, Chicago (at
Green Bay): Gone are the preseason hopes that Hester would mature into a No. 1 WR for the Bears this season. Now Hester owners are relying on a special teams scores which isn’t coming either. The struggles in the offense continue against
Green Bay who is ranked third in the NFL in passing yards allowed.
Tight Ends
Studs
Owen Daniels, Houston at Indianapolis
Dallas Clark, Indianapolis vs. Houston
Antonio Gates, San Diego at Pittsburgh
Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City vs. New Orleans
Chris Cooley, Washington vs. Dallas
Start
Robert Royal,
Buffalo (vs.
Cleveland): Royal didn’t do much against the Patriots last week (one catch for six yards), but he’ll post solid numbers against the Browns who will struggle slowing down Trent Edwards and the Bills passing attack.
Kevin Boss, N.Y. Giants (vs.
Baltimore): Did you see Boss hurdle that Eagles defender last week? Just awesome. Boss has caught a TD in three straight weeks including 13 catches for 133 yards. I think it’s time to get him in your lineup.
Bench
Greg Olsen, Chicago (at Green Bay): Olsen had a decent game last week catching five passes for 40 yards, but the Packers defense combined with another week of Rex Grossman doesn’t make starting Olsen a very enticing option.
Bo Scaife,
Tennessee (at
Jacksonville): Scaife caught 10 passes last week for 78 yards and a TD. The 10 passes were a season high and the TD was only his second all season. With Kerry Collins likely to struggle moving the ball this week, Scaife will be hard-pressed to repeat those stud-like numbers on the road against
Jacksonville in Week 11.
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