Start/Bench list 2008 Week 5

Fantasy points galore in week four as the Brett Favre/Laveranues Coles connection dominated the Cardinals. Who cares about six turnovers when you get 472 yards and two TDs from Kurt Warner trying to respond? You won’t find as much fire power in the air this week, but there are some gems for running backs in week five despite the rash of injuries at the position.

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!!

Teams on a bye week: N.Y. Jets,

Oakland,

St. Louis,

Cleveland

Quarterbacks

Bye Weeks: Brett Favre, JaMarcus Russell, Marc Bulger, Derek Anderson

Studs

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis at Houston

Drew Brees, New Orleans vs. Minnesota

Tony Romo, Dallas vs. Cincinnati

Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia vs. Washington

Jay Cutler, Denver vs. Tampa Bay

Start

Jon Kitna,

Detroit (vs.

Chicago): Check your latest injury reports before starting Kitna this week. While all signs are pointing to a start, these things can change at the last minute (a la Carson Palmer). If Kitna does play, he’ll have plenty of success against the Bears who have been able to contain the run, but have struggled to stop the pass. Kitna should have the luxury of an inspired Roy Williams along with the dangerous Calvin Johnson paving the way for a big day in the air.

Matt Cassel, New England (at

San Francisco): Forget about the Kevin O’Connell rumors. Cassel will look much better after the bye week playing in

San Francisco. Cassel will quickly erase the bad memories of the

Miami game as Randy Moss and Wes Welker will be open early and often.

Bench

Jake Delhomme,

Carolina (vs.

Kansas City): Last week was Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad all day. You know what they say: “Glory days … well, they’ll pass you by; Glory days …. in the blink of a young girl’s eye; Glory days… ” Back to reality for Delhomme and he won’t experience the same success in the air against the Chiefs this week.

Matt Schaub, Houston (vs.

Indianapolis): You won’t see 307 yards passing with three TDs and no INTs this week against the Colts. Schaub will return to the 180-200 yards range and a turnover or two is likely. Stay away.

Running Backs

Bye Weeks: Leon Washington, Thomas Jones, Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush, Steven Jackson, Jamal Lewis

Studs

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego at Miami

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota at New Orleans

Clinton Portis, Washington at Philadelphia

Marion Barber, Dallas vs. Cincinnati

Larry Johnson, Kansas City at Carolina

Frank Gore, San Francisco vs. New England

Joseph Addai, Indianapolis at Houston

Reggie Bush, New Orleans vs. Minnesota

Start

Earnest Graham,

Tampa

Bay (at

Denver): The Broncos can’t stop anyone on the ground this season. Graham has posted 100+ yards in two of the past three games and will make it three out of four this week.

Brandon Jacobs, N.Y. Giants (vs. Seattle): Jacobs saw his 5.8 yards per carry average after the first two games drop after rushing for only 35 yards on 14 carries in week three against the Bengals. Look for a return to the five yards per carry this week as Eli Manning and the Giants keep the Seahawks on their heels with the passing game, and Jacobs dominates the middle bowling his way down field.

Steve Slaton, Houston (vs. Indianapolis): After catching only seven passes for 14 yards in his first two games, Slaton exploded with eight catches for 83 yards and a TD last week against the Jaguars. While Slaton is unlikely to match those receiving totals, it’s a safe bet that he will improve on the 33 rushing yards from last week as the Colts as still reeling from the beating they took from the Jaguars on the ground back in week three.

Bench

Chris Perry,

Cincinnati (at

Dallas): The Bengals signed free agent Cedric Benson this week. Any questions?

Marshawn Lynch,

Buffalo (at

Arizona): Lynch has been steady this season rushing for an average of 20 times for 69 yards with a TD and catching an average of three passes for 20 yards. These aren’t numbers that are going to win you many weeks, but he won’t cost you many weeks either. I don’t like this matchup against the Cardinals after the poor outing from

Arizona last week. I think Fred Jackson posts decent numbers, but Lynch is due for a stinker.

Rudi Johnson,

Detroit (vs.

Chicago): Given the state of the Bengals backfield, what does it tell you that Rudi Johnson was released? While Johnson may have rushed for 83 yards last week against the 49ers, don’t expect the same success against the Bears this week.

Wide Receivers

Bye Weeks: Jerricho Cotchery, Laveranues Coles, Chansi Stucky, Javon Walker, Ronald Curry, Dane Looker, Torry Holt, Braylon Edwards, Donte Stallworth, Syndric Steptoe

Studs

Calvin Johnson, Detroit vs. Chicago

Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis at Houston

Greg Jennings, Green Bay vs. Atlanta

Randy Moss, New England at San Francisco

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona vs. Buffalo

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati at Dallas

Terrell Owens, Dallas vs. Cincinnati

Santana Moss, Washington at Philadelphia

Brandon Marshall, Denver vs. Tampa Bay

Steve Smith, Carolina vs. Kansas City

Andre Johnson, Houston vs. Indianapolis

Start

Lance Moore,

New Orleans (vs.

Minnesota): The flavor of the week in your fantasy league free agency is worthy of a start for those of you lucky enough to snag him off waivers.

Moore posted seven catches for 101 yards with two TDs last week and while the two TDs is unlikely, breaking 100 yards is very much in reach.

Wes Welker, New England (at

San Francisco): Fear not Welker owners, the six-catch 50-yard totals are not going to be the norm for Welker this season. Matt Cassel will continue to improve and Welker’s stats will reflect that improvement. Look for big things out of Welker this week as the Patriots bounce back big time against the 49ers.

Roy Williams, Detroit (vs. Chicago): Tell me is you’ve heard this one before: 1) player grumbles to the press; 2) rumors fly about possible trades; 3) player shuts up and just plays posting big numbers squashing the trade talk. You’re about to see Step 3 take place in

Detroit this week.

Marvin Harrison,

Indianapolis (at

Houston): It just feels wrong not seeing

Harrison‘s name at the top of the WR list. But, the numbers don’t lie.

Harrison has not lived up to expectations (which were very high for me considering I own him in two leagues).

Harrison should perform well against the Texans after the Colts bye week as Peyton Manning gets the Colts offense cranking.

 

Bench

Hines Ward,

Pittsburgh (at

Jacksonville): First Willie Parker went down, then Rashard Mendenhall fractured his shoulder. You can bet the Jaguars won’t be scheming to stop Mewelde Moore from beating them. The entire Steeler passing attack should be downgraded a couple notches with Ward taking the biggest hit in stats.

Antonio Bryant,

Tampa

Bay (at

Denver): Bryant dropped way off his dominant performance in week three catching only four passes for 39 yards last week. Bryant won’t find it any easier this week against the Broncos who are susceptible against the run, but have defended the pass well.

Muhsin Muhammad,

Carolina (vs.

Kansas City): Don’t fall into the Muhd trap. You won’t see eight catches, 147 yards, and a TD again from Muhammad this week.

Kevin Walter, Houston (vs.

Indianapolis): Walter has three TDs in three games and plays a nice second-fiddle to Andre Johnson. However, with Matt Schaub likely to struggle against the Colts, Andre Johnson will still post his yards, but Walter’s chances will be limited.

Tight Ends

Bye Weeks: Chris Baker, Zach Miller, Randy McMichael, Kellen Winslow

Studs

Dallas Clark, Indianapolis at Houston

Jason Witten, Dallas vs. Cincinnati

Chris Cooley, Washington at Philadelphia

Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City at Carolina

Antonio Gates, San Diego at Miami

Start

Billy Miller,

New Orleans (vs.

Minnesota): In Miller’s first start since replacing the injured Jeremy Shockey, he caught three passes for 30 yards. Facing the Vikings tough run defense this week, look for Drew Brees to utilize not only Reggie Bush in the passing attack, but he’ll take advantage of Miller as he finds openings over the middle.

Reggie Kelly,

Cincinnati (at

Dallas): If you have Kellen Winslow and you’re looking for a one-week replacement, then Kelly should fill in just fine. Don’t expect Kelly to make any bids for the studs list anytime soon, however he’ll produce solid numbers this week against the Cowboys in the ballpark of four catches for 60 yards with a high chance of goal line looks as Cincy continues to lose faith in Chris Perry.

Bench

Tony Scheffler, Denver (vs. Tampa Bay): How the mighty have fallen! After Scheffler’s performance in week two, you would have expected his name listed up above under Antonio Gates. Scheffler continues to share time with Daniel Graham and with Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall showing no signs of slowing down, there’s simply not enough to go around for Scheffler.

Dante Rosario, Carolina (vs. Kansas City): After exploding for seven catches, 96 yards and a TD in week one, Rosario has combined for five catches for 42 yards and no TDs in the three last three weeks. Expect more of the same this week as the Chiefs hold Rosario and the rest of the Panthers passing attack in check.