Quarterback to Start
Nick Foles, Eagles: After a hot start to the 2014 season, Foles has come back down to earth a bit with his fantasy stats. His last 3 starts have all been under 13 fantasy points, but those were all tough matchups. This week Foles gets the 22nd ranked pass defense of the Arizona Cardinals. Chip Kelly has had an extra week to game plan for this Cardinals defense, and I expect the Eagles to exploit the Cards weakness against opposing tight ends by utilizing both Zach Ertz and Brent Celek in this game. Look for Foles to resemble the QB that finished strong in the second half of the 2013 season.
Tony Romo, Cowboys: Romo has completely regained his form coming off of back surgery this past off-season and his efficiency is at an all-time high this season. Romo boasts a QB Rating of 104.7, making him the 4th highest rated passer in the NFL. Put that on top of Romo getting to face the Redskins defense allowing 20.8 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs, most in the NFL. The Cowboys should set an example on Monday Night Football against their rival Redskins, and Tony Romo will lead the charge. Start him with confidence.
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: Roethlisberger has had an up and down season by his standards, and it has reflected on to his team’s success, or lack thereof on the season. “Big Ben” simply needs to play better in order for his team to get over the mediocrity hump. Sunday’s matchup against the Indianapolis Colts is a primetime 4:25 game on National TV, and I’m sure Ben has heard all of the hype surrounding Andrew Luck, and will not be looking to get outshined. Roethlisberger should be able to take advantage of the matchup between Antonio Brown and Vontae Davis, also look for rookie WR Martavis Bryant to get more involved.
Quarterbacks to Sit
Jay Cutler, Bears: Jay Cutler is in the midst of one of his classic Cutler funks where he loses all of his footwork and mechanics in the pocket, leading to being careless with the football. There are also reports of dissension amongst the Bears locker room, between Cutler and his start WR Brandon Marshall. Combine that with the fact that the New England Patriots give up the 3rd least amount of fantasy points to opposing QBs, and Cutler becomes a liability in your fantasy lineup this week.
Joe Flacco, Ravens: Flacco exceeded all expectations as a fantasy option this season. He comes in to week 8 rated as the #9 fantasy QB in 2014 and many people have come to rely on his consistent production. This week might be a little bit of a speed bump for Flacco in a tough matchup at the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens struggled offensively week 1 at home against the Bengals and Flacco has struggled in the past against the Bengals. I expect this to be an old-fashioned AFC north slugfest, with both teams establishing the line of scrimmage with their respective run games.
Andy Dalton, Bengals: Dalton has struggled mightily with AJ Green out of the lineup, and is just not a fantasy starter without his all-pro WR. Green will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against the Ravens, and even if he plays, can he really be trusted to be used as more than a decoy. Dalton should be benched until he is able to prove that he’s worthy of fantasy consideration.
Running Backs to Start
Jamaal Charles, Chiefs: Charles is back to being in the upper echelon of fantasy RBs. Last week’s 24 touches against the San Diego Chargers proves that he is ready to carry a full games workload. The St. Louis Rams are riding high off an amazing upset victory of the Seattle Seahawks, but will probably struggle against their in-state rivals, who are simply a better team. Andy Reid will feed his bell-cow, and Jamaal Charles will serve as an anchor for many fantasy teams for week8.
Giovanni Bernard, Bengals: Bernard is coming off of his worst performance as a professional with just 17 yards on 7 carries last week against the Colts. This week Bernard gets the Ravens in a tough AFC North Division matchup, and I expect Hugh Jackson to call a run heavy game plan given the fact that AJ Green is still hobbled. Bernard had 104 total yards in week 1 against the Ravens, and should be able to reproduce that yardage total and add a TD on top. For all of you Giovanni Bernard owners, make sure you have Jeremy Hill stashed on your bench as a handcuff too, you can never go wrong with the insurance policy.
Branden Oliver, Chargers: Oliver is the only show in town in the Chargers backfield, as Ryan Matthews and Donald Brown have already been ruled out of Thursday night’s matchup against the Denver Broncos. Oliver is averaging 19.5 carries per game and should continue to see this amount of value and subsequent production going forward. Oliver is an option that many owners have to make a decision on since he was picked up off waiver in the recent weeks. Oliver is probably better than many of the RBs that you may have drafted so deserves a lot of consideration for being an RB2 or flex option this week.
Running Backs to Sit
Steven Jackson, Falcons: Jackson was drafted in the mid-rounds of fantasy football drafts, and its simply time to let him go. The Lions are the top ranked defense against the run, and Ndamakong Suh will not let Jackson get loose. Jackson is borderline droppable at this point in the season. You would be better off taking a flyer on young players Tre Mason and Jerrick McKinnon than to keep getting disappointed by Jackson.
Mark Ingram, Saints: Ingram will be a hot name for many fantasy analyst’s this week because of the injury to Pierre Thomas, but don’t buy into the hype. Ingram is still in a RB platoon with Khiry Robinson and Tavaris Cadet both looming. Ingram came back from his broken hand last week against the Lions and had 10 carries for 16 yards. This week the Saints get the Green Bay Packers in a Sunday night matchup, and Ingram will be a complimentary option in this duel between future hall-of-fame QBs.
Bryce Brown, Bills: There are many fantasy owners who lost Spiller or Jackson last week and expect Bryce Brown to be able to fill in for some of that production, and I’m just not buying it for this week. Brown has been inactive in every game this season, and he will definitely not be the feature back on Sunday as the Bills are very fond of Anthony Dixon as a player. Brown is worth a stash and future consideration for your team, but there are better homerun options for this week.
Wide Receivers to Start
Jeremy Maclin, Eagles: Maclin has performed as a #1 fantasy WR all season, and this week gets a dream matchup facing the Arizona Cardinals who give up the 2nd most yards to opposing WRs and the 5th most fantasy points. Foles will look to target Maclin deep down the field, and in the intermediate route tree. Maclin is by far the most dependable WR in the Eagles offense, and will continue to see the lions-share of the targets.
Golden Tate, Lions: Tate is proving to be worth the money that the Lions gave him in offseason free-agency. Golden Tate has really stepped up for the Lions while Calvin Johnson has been out, going for 100 yards or better in 3 of the last 4 games. This week he gets the Falcons defense allowing the most yards per attempt to opposing WRs. Make sure you get Tate into your lineup before Sunday morning because the Lions and Falcons have a 9:30am (EST) start time, so grab some coffee and enjoy Tate’s London performance. Cheerio.
Keenan Allen, Chargers: Just a hunch, but I believe Keenan Allen will break his 2014 TD drought tonight against the Broncos. Last week Allen was very active in the passing game receiving 10 targets and converting on 6 of them for 58 yards. If the Thursday night game turns into a shootout, Allen my finally put himself on track to salvage any value that he has left.
Wide Receivers to Sit
Desean Jackson, Redskins: As good as Desean Jackson has played this season, how can you trust him with Colt McCoy behind center?
Marques Colston, Saints: Colston had been struggling through the first 5 games of the season, but an injury to TE Jimmy Graham allowed for Colston to have more targets and produce his first 100 yard game of the season. Reports out of New Orleans are that Graham will be more involved in the offense this week and that will cut into the looks for Colston. Brees has been looking for his young speedsters Brandin Cooks and Kenny Stills an awful lot on the outside. I think this might be the end of the road season for Marques Colston’s WR2 fantasy football.
Sammy Watkins, Bills: Watkins has shown great strides in his rookie year once the Bills made the switch the Kyle Orton at QB. This week the Bills face the NYJ defense that has been solid up front. Buffalo will have a hard time protecting Kyle Orton and he will not have the time in the pocket to get the ball to Watkins deep down field. Watkins has been a boom or bust type of fantasy player so far, and I expect this weekend to be a bust. Avoid him if at all possible.
Tight Ends to Start
Zach Ertz, Eagles: This year the Cardinals are allowing the 8th most fantasy points to opposing WR’s this is coming off of their 2013 season where they gave up the most fantasy points To opposing TEs in NFL history. Ertz is a big red zone target, and should have no problems finding the end zone on Sunday.
Jordan Cameron, Browns: Cameron will bounce back after his disappointing performance against the Jaguars last week with a big game against a depleted Oakland Raider defense. Start him with confidence as a high end TE1 this week.
(Also Consider Charles Clay and Jared Cook)
Tight Ends to Sit
Martellus Bennett, Bears: After starting out the season with 4 TDs in his first 3 games, Bennett has not scored in his last 4 contests. I expect that trend to continue against a tough New England defense. If Jay Cutler is going to go down firing bullets, and it will most likely be Marshall and Jeffrey on the receiving end.
Owen Daniels, Ravens: Daniels is coming off of his best game as a Raven with 58 yards and a TD last Sunday, but overall he has been inconsistent as a pass catcher since starter Dennis Pitta has gone down. If Daniels does not get in the end zone, which he probably won’t, you will be sorely disappointed with his ceiling of 3-4 fantasy points. Scour the waiver wire and find a better streaming TE option for the week.