Week 7 Start Em’ & Sit Em’

This morning I am a happy and content man. Why you might ask? This morning I got 17 ounces of coffee for 17 cents. This week is the monster bye week with 6, yes 6, teams off. Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, San Diego, Kansas City and Miami get rest this weekend, but there are a lot of key fantasy players from those teams.

START EM

Brandon Weeden: Weeden is a risk because he has a tendency to turn the ball over. However, since his 4 INT week 1 performance he has a 7:6 TD:INT ratio with 1,401 yards passing. He is getting better, the Browns like to throw the ball and the Indianapolis defense just simply isn’t very good. They should be able to run and throw the ball in this game. While it’s anyone’s guess who will catch passes from Weeden, he has been able to continue to put up numbers. In a week with so many top QBs on bye, I think Weeden is a good one week plug-in. I’m using him in several of my leagues where I have Matt Ryan. (I’m accepting captions for the picture of Weeden right in the comments section below)

Matt Hasselbeck: The Bills defense is just plain horrible. In what might be his final week at the helm, Hasselbeck should enjoy a fine day in Buffalo with Kenny Britt returning to form.

Felix Jones: I can’t believe that Jones has somehow made his way back to relevance. During the preseason I was of the opinion that should DeMarco Murray go down at any point, Phillip Tanner was the cowboys RB to own. Well Jones may have saved himself with his performance against the Ravens last week. He faces the Panthers this week who have been the most generous to opposing rushers. They gave up 163 yards to the New Orleans conglomerate for goodness sake! Even if Tanner is involved this week, Jones should have plenty of opportunities himself.

Fred Jackson: While CJ Spiller has been more explosive with his opportunities and most owners are starting him, Jackson deserves consideration this week as well. Jackson shed his knee brace last week and looked much better himself. I think there’s room for both to produce against a suspect Titans run defense.

Rashard Mendenhall: I think he plays this week. Cincinnati has given up 7 rushing TDs in 6 weeks. There’s room for Mendenhall to run in this one as long as his injuries don’t act up. He has at least had a few extra days of rest from last week’s debacle.

Kenny Britt: He looks like he’s finally back. Even if he doesn’t know the whole playbook, he has WR2 talent. He is their best Red Zone target and all he needs is a TD to make it worth it. Against a bad Buffalo secondary, I think there’s a good chance he comes through.

Lance Moore: Moore comes back from a week off due to injury and a bye to a nice matchup against Tampa Bay this week. He was a favorite target of Brees before the injury and I think he picks it right back up in this one.

Randall Cobb: Cobb lost some attention due to his week 2 and 3 performances where totaled 6 standard points. during his other 4 weeks he has averaged almost 11 points per week. That is pretty consistent for the 3rd option in a powerful passing attack. Cobb also has the ability to bring points in the rushing and return games. While on the surface it looks like the Rams defense has been tough against the pass this year, they have faced several sub-par QBs. If anything, Rodgers put any doubts to rest with his 6 TD performance last week. Cobb will have room to run against the Rams’ nickle corner backs.

Jermaine Gresham: Dalton’s confidence is growing in Gresham. A huge target that has had a reputation of  being a dump off option, he is averaging over 12 yards per catch this year and seeing more targets down the field. Gresham will be the most talented TE that Pittsburgh’s aging LBs have faced so far this year and I think they struggle to stop him.

Vernon Davis: Davis has a very tough matchup in what could be a tough, defensive battle tonight against Seattle. I have a hunch he is one of the few useful 49ers in this one.

Patriots D/ST: I think facing Mark Sanchez nullifies the fact that the Pats just gave up over 300 yards to Russell Wilson. Don’t expect Shonn Greene to explode again this week either.

SIT EM

Mark Sanchez: Don’t be fooled by projections based off of the Patriots’ 31st ranking against opposing QBs. On a week where the Jets exploded on the ground and the boxes had to be stacked, Sanchez only managed 82 yards passing. I just won’t trust him even on a bye week with so many QBs out.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Similarly with Sanchez, Fitzpatrick has a nice matchup this week facing the Titans. I’m down on Fitz though for a different reason. I really think the Bills are shifting their offense to focus on their two great RBs and will de-emphasize the passing game. Fitz has combined for 9 standard points the last two weeks with no TDs, and while that is against two very good defenses it’s still pretty darn ugly. He might get a TD this week, but I wouldn’t expect many yards to go along with that TD.

Frank Gore: Gore has been excellent so far this year. Seattle is a different animal though from anything he’s faced so far. They’re flat out beastly.

Steven Jackson: Frankly, last week’s game set off a little warning bell in my head. Jackson looks like he might be nearing a time-share situation with Daryl Richardson. That means that TDs are key to fantasy success for Jackson. How many does he have this season? 0. Yeah…..

BenJarvus Green-Ellis: Even in a plum matchup against the Browns last week, the Law Firm managed just 62 yards rushing. 20 of that came on one carry. He just looks slow, and he’s not getting the TDs that made him so valuable in New England the past few years.

James Jones: He can’t keep catching 2 TDs every week right? Without those TDs the last three weeks his point totals would have been 5, 4 and 3 points. Now of course he did score those TDs. But like I said, he can’t keep doing that. Right?!

Michael Crabtree: I’m just not buying that he has much room to run against a big, physical Seattle defensive secondary.

Brandon Lloyd: Facing the toughest defense in the NFL against opposing WRs and coming off a shoulder injury, I’m not of the opinion that this is the breakout week that Lloyd’s owners are looking for. I’d leave him on the bench unless you’re desperate.

Coby Fleener: There seems to be a lot of love for Fleener this week and I’m not sure I get why. He hasn’t had a useful week since week 1, has not recorded a TD yet (Dwayne Allen seems to be the Red Zone TE target) and the Browns have actually fared pretty well against opposing TEs this season.

Dustin Keller: I was going to put Fred Davis here, then I noticed that Keller was ranked ahead of Davis. I can’t for the life of me figure out why. Keller has been hurt all year and in the two games he has played he is averaging 1 reception for 6.5 yards. Can you trust that? I can’t, and it’s not like Keller has ever been a fantasy monsters to suggest you could trust such slim production.

Steelers D/ST: I think Andy Dalton and the Bengals passing game has a big night against Pittsburgh this week.

Last Week’s Results: Season totals in parentheses.

Starts: 3-8, .272 (29-37, .439)

Andy Dalton: 25pts = W, Kevin Kolb: 15pts = W, Rashard Mendenhall: 1pt = L, Willis McGahee: 9pts = L, Michael Turner: 3pts = L, Kendall Wright: 7pts = L, Julio Jones: 6pts = L, Andre Roberts: 1pt = L, Heath Miller: 6pts = L, Antonio Gates: 20pts = W, Cardinals D/ST: 6pts = L

Sits: 6-5, .545 (45-21, .681)

Tom Brady: 23pts = L, Carson Palmer: 16pts = L, Ahmad Bradshaw: 17pts  = L, Stevan Ridley: 3pts = W, Mikel Leshoure: 9pts = W, Denarius Moore: 16pts = L, Nate Burleson: 10pts = L, Brian Hartline: 0pts = W, Vernon Davis: 3pts = W, Martellus Bennett: opts = W, Bengals D/ST: 3pts = W

With a 9-13 mark in a tough week, my season total stands at 74-58 (.560).