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.

Quarter Back

BYE WEEK: Eli Manning, Brian Griese, Cleo Lemon, Marc Bulger

MUST START: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Tony Romo, Donovan McMabb, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger

 START

Derek Anderson – Anderson has the Browns offense firing on all cylinders since their loss to the Patriots. In those two weeks since he has thrown 3TD’s in back to back games without turning the ball over.  He has thrown for over 200yrds in every game this year and gets the Seahawks at home this week.  Look for the Browns to move the ball up and down the filed this week as this game should turn into a shoot-out. (300yrds, 3 TD)  

Philip Rivers – Rivers threw 3 TD’s last week and looks to keep things rolling against one of the worst pass defenses in the league.  With the Vikings being able to shut down the run, look for Rivers to find Gates, Tomlinson, and newly acquired Chris Chambers often in this game. Yards have been tough to come by for Rivers for season as he has only thrown for over 200yrds twice, so don’t expect much more in that category. San Diego’s Defense though, should provide ample scoring opportunity this week. (200yrds, 2 TD, 1 INT)

J.P. Losman – Losman came back from injury/bench last week and looked good moving the football and leading the Bills to victory. He gets a terrible Bengals offense this week in a game that has big scoring potential. With Marshawn ####’s ability to draw extra defenders into the box, Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish should find ample space in the secondary. Losman hasn’t been bad when he’s been in there and I’d expect a decent day from him. He’s usable as a BYE week fill-in. (200yrds, 2 TD’s, 2 INT)

SIT

Vince Young – The Panthers are used to facing Michael Vick twice a year. They’ll be ready for what Vince Young can do. Young is still not fully recovered in my opinion, so that may limit his mobility even more. The Titans will do what they do every week, run the football until the wheels come off, only throw when they absolutely have to, kick field goals, and play good defense.  Until further notice, stay away. (125 pass yrds, 25 rush yrds, 1 TD, 1 INT)

Jeff Garcia – Garcia easily had his worst game last week and I’ve got a feeling about the Cardinals defense coming off a BYE this week. Tampa Bay just doesn’t have enough offensive weapons after Joey Galloway to make an impact in this game. The Cardinals defense has play makers on it and they know how to get after the run game. Expect the Cardinals offense to be on the field a lot, limiting Garcia’s value even more. (170yrds, 1 TD, 2 INT)

Running Back

BYE WEEK: Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Reuben Droughns, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Jesse Chatman, Patrick Cobbs, Steven Jackson, Brian Leonard

MUST START: LaDanian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, Frank Gore, Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, Brian Westbrook, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn ####, Marion Barber, Willis McGahee, Reggie Bush, Thomas Jones, Clinton Portis, Maurice Jones-Drew, LenDale White

START

Kevin Jones – Yes, the Lions do have a run game! Jones is at home this week against one of the worst rush defenses in the league.  He had a monster game last week topping the century mark for the first time while scoring a TD. Jones has seen his workload increase in every game this season and has scored a TD in 4 out of his 5 games played. He is also averaging a couple of catches per game. That number could increase since the safer Jon Kitna could be checking down a lot due to the Broncos excellent corners. (125yrds rush, 5 catches 40yrds, 1 TD)

Shaun Alexander – This is Alexander’s last hurrah in my opinion. If he doesn’t produce in this game, he becomes a must sit from here on out. The Browns defense has been better, but Alexander has the skill set to exploit them.  Coming off their BYE, Seattle has had more than ample time to prepare for Cleveland.  Look fro the Seahawks to control the ball and the game and keep the Browns offense off the field.  Alexander will be a major part of that game plan. (75yrds, 2 catches 15yrds, 2 TD) SIT

DeShaun Foster/DeAngelo Williams – The Panthers will struggle again this week with David Carr at QB.  They will try to run, but Tennessee’s rush defense is among the best in the land.  The Titans will play ball control offense and not turn the ball over, getting points every time they get into range.  This will force Carr to air out the football late in the game in desperation mode with eyes for only Steve Smith.  Look elsewhere if you can. (40yrds, 3 catches 20yrds)

Packers RB – I’m not sold on Ryan Grant repeating what he did last Monday night. Don’t forget that the Pack throws the ball more than any team in the league and they were playing Denver.  Now, I think Grant is still worth a roster spot this week, but not as a starter unless you’re hurting from BYE weeks. (35yrds, 3 catches 20yrds)

Wide Receivers

BYE WEEK: Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, Musin Muhammad, Bernard Berrian, Rashied Davis, Marty Booker, Ted Ginn Jr, Derek Hagan, Tori Holt, Issac Bruce, Drew Bennett

MUST START: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzedah, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, Marques Colston, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Joey Galloway, Steve Smith, Braylon Edwards, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes

START

Jerricho Cotchery – With Laverneous Coles apparently headed to the sidelines this week with a concussion, Cotchery should benefit the most from newly named starting QB’s Kellen Clemens strong arm.  With Clemens at the helm, the Jets will be able to open up the playbook and use more down field pass plays to loosen up the Redskin defense.  The Jets should be down in this game and forced to throw late. (8 catches 125yrds, 1 TD)

Ronald Curry – Curry is salivating at getting a chance to square off against a Texans defense that has been giving up big points to opposing receivers of lately.  There’s also a chance that Josh McCown relieves Culpepper in this game if he struggles early.  If that happens, Curry’s number s will be even bigger.  If the Texans focus on stopping the Raiders run game, and they should, Curry will be the main target with Jerry Porter hurting and Mike Williams released this week. (7 catches 100yrds, 1TD)

Chris Chambers – Chambers caught a TD last week and looks to make it two in a row as the Vikings have arguably the worst pass defense in the league but are excellent in stopping the run.  Look for Rivers to throw early and often to try and open up running lanes and for Chambers to be a big beneficiary of the long ball that drives Norv Turner’s pass game. (5 catches 80yrds, 1 TD)

SIT

Kevin Walter – No, not this week. The Raiders are very good against the pass, not so much against the run. Expect Houston to try and control the game on the ground and wear down the front 7 of Oakland.  Walter is too average to do anything against this defense. (3 catches 25yrds)

Kevin Curtis – The Cowboys will use Terrance Newman to cover Curtis, likely taking him out of the game this week.  The Eagles should be behind in this game, so they’ll be throwing a lot this week, but they’ll keep everything in front of them, thus limiting Curtis’s down field strength. (4 catches 50yrds)

Tight Ends

 BYE: Jeremy Shockey, Desmond Clark, Greg Olsen, David Martin, Justin Peele, Randy McMichael

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

START

Todd Heap – It looks like Heap will play this Monday night and if he does he’ll have a nice little match up.  If there’s one area of the Steelers defense you can exploit, it’s the underneath routes over the middle and along the side lines.  Heap has had great success against the Steelers in the past and games between these two teams are always tight, defensive struggles.  If you don’t like waiting until Monday Night to make decisions, you might want to look elsewhere just in case. (5 catches 65yrds, 1TD)

SIT

Jeff King – King has been hot lately, providing the Panthers with most of their production in the passing game.  Keith Bulluck is a masterful linebacker that can shut down the underneath routes that tight ends thrive on.  I think David Carr back at QB this week actually hurts the Panthers more than it helps.  Try to find an alternative if you can. (2 catches 20yrds)

Weekly Plug & Play

Kicker

Shaun Suisham – The Redskins will want to get back on track after last week’s beat down and they conveniently get the Jets this week.  Washington should be able to control the game with the run and play-action pass that will lead the offense on scoring drives for most of the day.  If you need a quick fill-in this week, Shaun is your man. (3-3 FG, 2-2XP)

Defense/Special Teams

Atlanta Falcons – I know the Falcons are bad but you can’t get any worse than the San Francisco offense right now.  They are at home and if there’s been one bright spot on the team it has been this unit.  I expect a low scoring game from both teams with the 49ers offense stalling on many occasions. (9 PA, 3 SCK, 2 INT, 1 FUM)

All information provided in this article is 100% original material. This information is in no way a gaurantee as to how individual players will perform in their games.