2014 Fantasy Football Week 10 Start'em, Sit'em

The bad news is that there are six teams on bye in the NFL again this week. The good news is that it’s the last week of the season with six teams on bye.

While some fantasy studs (Matt Forte, Julio Jones, Jordy Nelson, etc.) are coming off their bye, some others (Andrew Luck, Rob Gronkowski, T.Y. Hilton, etc.) are going on bye this week.

Considering the number of teams on bye this week, you may not have many choices when it comes to setting your lineup(s) and may still need to get a starter (or more) off the waiver wire.

As the standard disclaimer for these start’em, sit’em posts, the players that I would start (or sit) are better determined by using my fantasy football rankings. This list is used primarily to highlight some players that I like or dislike more than usual.

With that said, here are some players to consider starting in Week 10:

QB – Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (at NYJ)

Drafted as a QB2 this offseason, Big Ben has become a must-start for fantasy owners. While I have both Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning ranked ahead of him, I would start him over every other quarterback this week including Drew Brees. In his past two games, Roethlisberger has completed 76.6 percent of his pass attempts for 862 yards (10.02 Y/A) with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. Coincidentally, the team that has to slow down the Steelers this week allows the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Not only have the Jets given up multiple passing touchdowns in all nine games, they have just one intercepted pass on the season.

QB – Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins (at DET)

Without a doubt, Tannehill has a difficult matchup as the Lions limit opposing signal-callers to the fewest fantasy points per game and they are coming off their bye with an extra week to rest and prepare for the Dolphins. That said, Tannehill has been very productive lately. Not only does he have a pair of top-four finishes in the past three weeks, but he has averaged 21.2 fantasy points per game over his past five games. The biggest change during that five-game stretch is his rushing production — 45.4 yards per game and 9.87 per carry.

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RB – Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. CLE)

With Giovani Bernard ruled out for tonight’s game, it will once again be Jeremy Hill in the featured-back role. Flourishing in that role last week, Hill rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries and added a nine-yard reception. While I don’t expect 163 yards from scrimmage and two scores again tonight, the Browns allow the 11th-most fantasy points and 4.63 YPC to opposing running backs.

RB – Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints (vs. SF)

With a massive 54 carries over the past two weeks, Ingram has rushed for 272 yards and three touchdowns and finished as a top-four fantasy running back each week. Eventually Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson will return, but they both missed practice on Wednesday. If either or both miss this week’s game, Ingram should get another healthy workload. And although the matchup isn’t favorable (SF allows fifth-fewest fantasy points to RBs), the Saints are projected by Vegas to score the fifth-most points this week, which should set Ingram up for a few goal-line opportunities.

RB – Denard Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. DAL)

Since becoming the team’s featured back three weeks ago, Shoelace has a minimum of 104 yards from scrimmage in each game and he has scored in two of those three games. Robinson has a minimum of 19 touches in each of those games and has finished the past three weeks as the RB7, RB18 and RB9. Once again, he’s a solid RB2.

WR – Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals (vs. STL)

Fitzgerald has been productive over the past four games with at least 70 yards in three of those games. During that four-game span, Fitz has a stat line of 22/349/2. Given the inconsistent production from Michael Floyd, Fitzgerald should be able to exploit the favorable matchup against the Rams, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

WR – Eric Decker, New York Jets (vs. PIT)

Decker has yet to reach 75 receiving yards in any game this season, but he has double-digit targets in back-to-back games as well as three of his past four games. In addition, he has scored a touchdown in three of his past five games. Not only should he be heavily targeted again this week as the Jets try to keep up with the Steelers, but there is at least a 50-50 chance that he scores another touchdown.

WR – Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers (at NO)

In his past three games, Boldin has six-plus receptions in each game with at least 93 yards and a touchdown in two of those games. In addition, he has a minimum of 50 yards in five consecutive games. Through eight games, Boldin has more receptions, targets, yards and fantasy points than fellow receiver Michael Crabtree, who offers a little more upside but has been relatively inconsistent. The Saints have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season setting Boldin up to produce as a WR2 with six teams on bye.

WR – Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints (vs. SF)

Especially at home, the Saints have focused on getting the ball into Cooks’ hands. In his three home games, Cooks has 28 targets (23 receptions) and three carries. As a comparison, Cooks has 26 targets in five road games as well as three carries. Perhaps better in PPR formats, Cooks should get a lot of opportunities to do some damage on the fast track.

TE – Mychal Rivera, Oakland Raiders (vs. DEN)

Still available in three-quarters of Yahoo! leagues, Rivera will serve as a bye-week replacement in one of my leagues for Gronkowski, who’s on bye this week. While I don’t expect Gronk-like production from Rivera, I have him ranked as a mid-tier TE1 this week. Rivera scored his first two touchdowns of the season last week and while he may not score in Week 10, he has seen a high volume of targets (20) over the past two weeks that he has turned into 15 receptions. If Rivera finishes as a top-10 fantasy tight end this week, it will be his third consecutive top-10 finish. In addition, the Broncos have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to the position.

TE – Larry Donnell, New York Giants (at SEA)

The team that allowed Rivera to haul in two touchdowns last week was Seattle, which is Donnell’s opponent this week. Only the Bears and Jets have allowed more fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season. Donnell has been a little inconsisent this season, but he has seven-plus targets in each of the past two games and a total stat line of 11/115/1 in those two games.

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Here are some players to consider keeping on your fantasy bench(es):

QB – Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys (at JAX)

Maybe you’ve heard, but Romo is dealing with a couple of broken bones in his back. It appears that Romo will play this week after sitting out Week 9, but there are a lot of reasons for Romo owners to be worried. It’s fairly safe to assume that the Jags will try to bring as much pressure as possible. Assuming that we see a heavier dose of DeMarco Murray (only 19 carries in each of past two games), it’s possible that the Cowboys get an early lead against the 1-8 Jaguars without Romo accumulating loads of fantasy points. And if so, it’s possible that Romo is pulled as a safety precaution at some point in the second half, which limits his upside.

RB – Ben Tate, Cleveland Browns (at CIN)

Since getting 47 combined carrries in Weeks 5 and 6, Tate has seen his carries decline in each of the past three weeks to 16 (Week 7), 15 (Week 8) and 10 (Week 9). The injury to center Alex Mack has had a huge impact to the team’s rushing attack overall, but Tate has gained just 65 yards on those 41 carries (1.59 YPC). Considering rookie Terrance West had more carries than Tate last week, Tate is better off remaining on your bench tonight.

RB – Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. CAR)

After scoring 38.3 fantasy points on 26 touches in the first two weeks of the season, Sproles has yet to get more than seven touches in any of the other five games he has played. Meanwhile, Chris Polk got a season-high eight touches last week behind LeSean McCoy, who has 24-plus touches in four consecutive games. Despite the favorable matchup and six teams on bye, Sproles is just a flex option this week.

RB – Chris Johnson, New York Jets (vs. PIT)

Johnson had his most productive outing since Week 4 as he scored 10.1 fantasy points (RB20) on 13 touches. Given the volatility of his production, however, it’s never easy to trust that he’ll provide you with that RB2 type of production. Here’s where he has finished on a weekly basis in fantasy points among running backs in his nine games: 10th, 60th, 50th, 13th, 85th, 70th, 25th, 58th and 20th. Feeling lucky?

WR – Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. ATL)

Switching back to Josh McCown (from Mike Glennon) certainly isn’t good news for V-Jax (or Mike Evans) owners. In games McCown has started and finished, Jackson has averaged 43.5 yards and 8.0 targets per game. In games Glennon has started and finished, Jackson has averaged 68.2 yards and 10.4 targets per game.

WR – Rueben Randle, New York Giants (at SEA)

The good news is that Randle has nine-plus targets in six consecutive games so he’s getting the opportunities. That said, he has only converted 32 of those 59 targets into receptions. In addition, Randle has yet to finish with double-digit fantasy points in any game and has just two top-30 finishes in eight games. The Seahawks defense has not been as stingy as they were last season, but they have still allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.

WR – Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints (vs. SF)

Like Randle, Colston ranks outside the top-50 fantasy wide receivers in scoring through Week 9. Colston hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 3 and he only has eight targets combined in the past two games. Both Kenny Stills (12) and Cooks (10) have more targets in those games. As noted above, the Saints have given Cooks a lot of looks at home whereas Colston has a combined 16 targets in the team’s three home games.

TE – Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers (at NO)

Davis has yet to finish in the range of TE3 to TE20 this season. In other words, he has either finished as a top-two fantasy tight end (once) or outside the top-20 fantasy tight ends (five times) this season. Since his 4/44/2 line in Week 1, Davis has averaged just 4.0 targets, 2.4 receptions and 23.4 yards per game. In addition, the Saints have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

TE – Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. CAR)

Going into the season, I expected a breakout season from Ertz. The frustrating part for Ertz owners is that he has shown the ability to create mismatches with seven receptions of 20-plus yards, but his playing time continues to dwindle. Ertz played a season-low 24 snaps (27.9 percent) against the Texans in Week 9 and has been at 41.1 percent or less in three of his past four games. (As a comparison, he played 64.5 percent of the offensive snaps in Weeks 1 to 4.)

To see who I would start based on your team, please consult with my Week 10 rankings:

• Week 10 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings
• Week 10 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
• Week 10 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings
• Week 10 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

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