Quarter Back

BYE WEEK: Tom Brady, Kellen Clemens, Chad Pennington, Jeff Garcia, Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels

MUST START: Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Derek Anderson, J.P. Losman, Matt Hasselbeck

START

Marc Bulger (STL) – The Rams finally got their BYE last week and no other team needed it more.  Bulger looked good in Week 8 and the extra week of rest and preparation should benefit him tremendously. The Saints DEF has been playing really good lately, but I see this one turning into a shoot-out in the dome with both teams being very comfortable in doors. QB protection will still be an issue for the Rams, but they’ll be in catch up mode all day. (300yrds, 3 TD’s, 2 INT)

Jason Campbell (WAS) – I’ve got a feeling this is the week that the super-conservative Redskins cut Campbell loose. They have to do something to get the WR’s more involved in this offense. Philly will load the box and have success stopping the run which will force Campbell to throw. We know the RB’s and TE’s will get their looks in check-downs, but this team does have the weapons on the outside to make things happen. If this team considers itself playoff worthy, it needs to start throwing down field now. (280yrds, 30yrds rush, 2 TD’s, 1 INT)

SIT

Brian Griese (CHI) – I’d stay away from Griese this week. The Raiders have excellent corners and safeties but a terrible run defense. Unfortunately Chicago has no semblance of a run game to speak of, so that doesn’t help. This will be a game of defense and special teams, with turnovers making the difference. Unless you’ve got Tom Brady on BYE this week, you should be able to find a much better fill-in. (200yrds, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 FUM)

Jon Kitna (DET) – Something about the Cardinals play-making defense tells me to ignore Kitna this week. He’s had only 2 TD’s in his last 4 games and has thrown for over 250yrds in half of his games this season. I’d look for a similar trend to continue as the Lions would really like to get that run game up to a consistent threat. Playoff teams run the ball in November and December and the Lions look like they’re headed in that direction. (175yrds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 FUM)

Running Back

BYE WEEK:  Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, Earnest Graham, Michael Bennett, Michael Pittman, Ahman Green, Ron Dayne

MUST START: LaDanian Tomlinson, Frank Gore, Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, Brian Westbrook, Adrian Peterson(MIN), Marshawn ####, Marion Barber, Willis McGahee, Reggie Bush, Clinton Portis, Maurice Jones-Drew, LenDale White, Brandon Jacobs, Steven Jackson

START

Priest Holmes (KC) – That’s right folks, you know him, you love him, it’s the man you probably won you a couple of fantasy football titles a few years ago. He’s back, and with Larry Johnson sidelined this week, Holmes gets his crack against the worst rush defense in the league. Holmes is fresh and poised to show the league that he can still play at a high level in the NFL. The Chiefs may go to a different QB this week and Holmes will benefit the most in Herm Edwards super-conservative offense. They’ll play ball control offense and use the home field advantage to win. (125yrds, 7 catches 60yrds, 2 TD’s)

Justin Fargas (OAK) – The only thing the Raiders can do on offense is run the ball and you have to figure they’re going to do the same thing again this week. At home, the Raiders will want to control the ball and try to steal a win against the depleted Bears. Fargas has put up 2 performances of over 100yrds in limited game time. The Raiders get great match-ups this week and look for the run game to carry this team. (110yrds, 3 catches 25yrds, 1 TD)

SIT

Shaun Alexander (SEA) – Until further notice, Alexander needs to be benched. He has 1 rushing TD this year and has failed to top 80yrds since week 3. He’s either injured or just doesn’t care anymore. Which ever it is, you can’t rely on him going forward. While their schedule gets pretty easy, I see Alexander’s carries diminishing as he gives way to Maurice Morris more and more. The glory days are numbered for a player that just a few years ago was on top of the fantasy world. (50yrds 0TD)

Jamal Lewis (CLE) – Lewis has failed to break 100yrds in every game this year except for the Week 2 scoring bonanza against Cincy. If you played Lewis last week, his 4 TD’s probably won you your game. However, he only managed 37yrds rushing. Though he’s had some success against Pittsburgh in the past, don’t expect anything this week against the #1 scoring defense in the league. If the Browns are to stay in this game they’ll need to throw, and throw, and throw, leaving Lewis on the short end of the fantasy stick. (40yrds, 1 TD, 1 FUM)

Wide Receivers

BYE WEEK:  Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte’ Stallworth, Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, Brad Smith, Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard, Michael Clayton, Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones, Andre Davis

MUST START: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzedah, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, Marques Colston, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, Braylon Edwards, Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Steve Smith, Plaxico Burress, Lee Evans, Torry Holt

START

Drew Bennett (STL) – The game this week will be a huge shoot out and Bennett draws the best match-up in the Saints secondary. Look for the Rams to throw a lot and Bennett has the skill set to exploit the defense. The Saints will be busy covering Holt, Bruce, and Jackson all day, leaving Bennett to grab big plays all over the field.  (7 catches 100yrds, 2 TD’s)

Amani Toomer (NYG) – Toomer should benefit the most from a Redskins defense concentrating on everything else this week. Toomer has scored 2 out of his last 3 games and I’d expect him to get one here. The play-action pass will be big for the Giants and Toomer is a seasoned veteran that will take advantage of the Redskins aggressive defense. (5 catches 75yrds, 1 TD)

SIT

Bernard Berrian (CHI) – The Raiders have the ability to shut down opposing receivers. The Bears will focus more on getting their ground game going this week after how bad it’s been for the season. The Bears coaching staff has said they’ve made the adjustments to rectify the problems, so we’ll see how that goes. (3 catches 30yrds)

Ronald Curry (OAK) – With Jerry Porter likely to miss this week’s game, the Bears only have to neutralize Curry to shut down Oakland’s pass game, which wasn’t much to begin with in the first place. The Raiders will try and run the ball this week and shorten the game anyway, making Curry a bad option. (5 catches 40yrds)

Tight Ends

BYE:  Ben Watson, Kyle Brady, Jeremy Stevens, Alex Smith, Chris Baker, Owen Daniels, Jeb Putzier

MUST START: Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Heath Miller, Chris Cooley, Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow, Jeremy Shockey

START

L.J. Smith (PHI) – Smith will emerge as the go to receiver behind Brian Westbrook this week. With no real threat from the WR’s on the outside, McNabb needs to start moving the ball downfield in other ways. With Smith being as healthy as he’s been all year, I see him getting more involved each week going forward. Teams are always trying to stop Westbrook first, and Smith should benefit the most when that happens. (6 catches 75yrds, 1 TD)

SIT

Todd Heap (BAL) – Probably being Mr. Obvious here, but until Heap starts and gets through an entire game; you should look elsewhere for TE help.

Weekly Plug & Play

 KICKERS

John Kasay (CAR) – The Panthers should be able to move the ball between the 20’s all day. They’ll also probably stall in the red zone all day. I look for Steve Smith to be limited and the run game to get jump-started this week to take some pressure off of Testaverde and his lack of play makers on offense. (2-2 XP, 3-3 FG) 

DEF / SPECIAL TEAMS

Oakland Raiders – The Raiders have the defense to hold the Bears offense in check all day. This is a perfect time to grab them and plug them in. Don’t get worried about the Raiders lack of ability to stop the run, the Bears can’t and don’t run on anybody. Look for this DEF to take advantage of the secondary’s ball skills and grab a couple of picks. The thing to fear the most in this game is actually Chicago’s special teams. (16 PA, 250yrds allowed, 2 INT, 1 FUM)

Atlanta Falcons – If you read my blog last week, you would have scored nicely by starting the Falcons against the 49ers. The Falcons are looking like a good play again this week with David Carr OUT and Vinny Testaverde QUESTIONABLE.  If the Panthers have to start Matt Moore, they could be in for a long day. The Falcons will shut down Steve Smith and focus on pressuring the young QB into making some mistakes. (13 PA, 200yrds allowed, 3 INT, 2 FUM).  If Testaverde starts the Falcons are not worth a play here.

All information provided in this blog is of 100% original material. This article does not guarantee how a player will perform in their game, but rather an educated prediction based on my knowledge and research.