2010 NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Start/Sit: Who to Start

QB

Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs: Cassel has been Mr. Efficient in the last couple of weeks, completing 70% of his passes and tossing five touchdowns with no interceptions. Buffalo is dead last in the NFL in QB rating against (114.1), next to last in touchdown passes allowed (14), and 27th in completing % against (65.3%). Definite start this week.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills: There’s not much to feel good about if you’re an 0-6 team, but Fitzpatrick has certainly been a bright spot. He threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday’s overtime loss at Baltimore, and he has thrown for 969 yards and 11 touchdown passes in four games. The Chiefs have allowed a lot of yards through the air this season, and with the Bills likely playing the familiar game of catch-up at K.C., Fitzpatrick should be able to rack up big numbers again.

Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks: Hasselbeck has found a go-to receiver in Mike Williams and has been sold in each of the last two weeks in helping the Seahawks record back-to-back wins, and the Raiders have a defense that’s allowed 14 touchdown passes already this season.

Jon Kitna, Dallas Cowboys: Starting a quarterback who, up until being pressed into duty on Monday night, hadn’t played since 2008? Risky, sure. But the Jaguars have one of the worst pass defenses in the league, and the Cowboys are at home. I’ll take my chances.

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers: He’s put up big numbers almost each week, and though there’s the risk of trouble against the Titans, who are first in the league with 12 interceptions and tied for first with 25 sacks, he’s well worth the risk, considering how many times he should be putting it up against Tennessee.

Sleeper

Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions: DeAngelo Hall may have had four interceptions against the Bears on Sunday, but the Redskins still rank poorly overall against the pass. It’s likely that Stafford will start in place of Shaun Hill, who broke his forearm against the Giants in Week 6. He might be rusty after not playing in the last five games, but solid numbers should be had.

Jamaal Charles & Thomas Jones, Kansas City Chiefs: Charles and Jones have combined for nearly 200 yards in each of the last two weeks (193 at Houston in Week 6, 196 vs. Jacksonville last Sunday), and they’re going up against a Buffalo defense that is allowing 174.5 rushing yards per game. Gonna be a long, long, long day for the Bills.

Arian Foster, Houston Texans: Remember what Foster did against the Colts in Week 1? Even if his numbers on Monday night aren’t half as good – and you can bet the Colts will be eager to slow him down after how he embarrassed them in the first meeting – he’ll still have an extremely productive day.

Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers have issues at quarterback and a lot of other areas, but one area where they don’t have an issue is with Gore, who followed up a 149-yard day against the Raiders in Week 6 by rushing for 102 yards on 19 carries and catching four passes for 57 yards in Sunday’s 23-20 loss at Carolina. With the Broncos coming off fresh off of their debacle (talk about understatement of the year, eh?) against the Raiders, Gore should be chomping at the bit.

LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets: Tomlinson, who’s run for 490 yards and five scores in his first six games with the Jets (who top my most recent NFL Power Rankings), should be refreshed and ready to go against the Packers after the Jets had Week 7 off. I look for him to have no problems finding room to run against Green Bay, who gave up 196 yards on the ground against the Vikings on Sunday night and 150 against the Dolphins the week before.

Ryan Torain, Washington Redskins: Torain is coming off of back-to-back 100-yard games, as he went for 100 and two scores against the Colts in Week 6 and topped that with 125 yards at Chicago last Sunday. Expect to see him get close to or surpass that mark at Detroit, who’s allowing an average of almost 139 rushing yards per game. He’ll need to hold on to the ball better though, after fumbling twice against the Bears.

Sleeper

Tim Hightower, Arizona Cardinals: Hightower’s continued fumble issues could lead to reduced carries this week against Tampa Bay, and that plus the limited amount of carries he receives in comparison to other backs is why I didn’t seriously consider him as a definite ‘start’ this week, but he’s worth taking a risk on, with a high YPC (5.7) and the Buccaneers ranking last in the NFL in that category (5.3) and next-to-last in rushing yards allowed per game (157.7).

Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys: Austin has been the invisible man in the last couple of weeks, catching only five passes for 50 yards and no touchdowns. As is the case with Kitna, he’s a high-risk, high-reward option against Jacksonville’s porous pass defense. If it doesn’t pan out, I won’t be disappointed, but if it does, it could pan out very, very well.

Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers: Davis has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last four games, and even with a new Smith (Troy) under center this week, he should be productive against the Broncos, who have given up 11 touchdown passes this season.

Steve Johnson, Buffalo Bills: Johnson had a huge game at Baltimore last Sunday, catching eight passes for 158 yards and finding the end zone for the fourth straight game. Another productive day should be in the cards this week, as the Chiefs are 25th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, and as I stated above, with the Bills likely playing from behind again, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for productivity in the passing game.

Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos: After back-to-back-to-back 100-yard games, Lloyd has been held relatively in check over the last two games, catching only five passes for 120 yards and no touchdowns. Look for Kyle Orton to have him in his sights early and often at San Francisco, whose pass defense is mediocre, at best.

Mike Williams, Seattle Seahawks: Williams has become Matt Hasselbeck’s go-to guy, as he caught 10 passes for 123 yards at Chicago in Week 6 and 11 for 87 and his first touchdown of the season against the Cardinals last Sunday. If he’s on your roster, he’s a must-start agianst at Oakland, who’s allowed 14 touchdown passes this season. And if he’s still available, you better try to nab him as soon as possible.

Sleeper

Kenny Britt, Tennessee Titans: After his monstrer game against the Eagles, he would seem to be an auto-start, but his legal issues, plus the matchup (San Diego is first in the NFL in pass yards allowed per game and tied for first in sacks), have me holding back. But given how regularly Kerry Collins went to him last week against the Eagles and his run of five straight games with at least one touchdown catch, he’s no worse than a sleeper pick. That is, unless Jeff Fisher elects to sit him completely against the Chargers.

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