Start Em Sit Em Week 6: Last-Minute Advice for Fantasy Football Owners

Oftentimes, fantasy football lineup changes made in the last second are regretted for the duration of the following week. We still have to pay attention to injury and lineup news that trickles in as the week goes on to adjust our expectations for player performances on Sunday and Monday.

Extra time can also give us a chance to study film and listen to the news coming out of the home markets to get a feel for the direction of NFL offenses and defenses so we can anticipate the trends that will reverse and continue during the games.

Which starts/sits are looking like the shark moves as we enter the final countdown to Week 6 of the NFL season?

START: Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis

After being one of the top fantasy quarterbacks of Week 5, there is little reason to believe that Andrew Luck won't be in the top 10 again this week.

The once fearsome Jets defense has been defanged by the loss of Darrelle Revis for the season. The Colts do a good enough job of moving Reggie Wayne around to defuse the worry that newly minted shutdown corner Antonio Cromartie will cancel out the Colts' No. 1 receiver.

With Donald Brown out for two to three weeks (per the Associated Press), the Colts will rely even more on Luck's arm and legs to move the offense. You should rely on him unless you have an obviously elite quarterback like Matt Ryan, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers to play ahead of the rookie.

SIT: Alex Smith, QB, San Francisco

Smith is coming off a massive game, but it makes sense to sit him in a tougher matchup against the Giants. Some quarterbacks have had success vs. the Giants, but with the exception of Tony Romo, those results came in high-scoring games that saw the Giants score over 40 points.

That won't happen this week against the 49ers' stout defense, so expect this to be a low-scoring, conservative affair for Alex Smith. Smith is also losing some snaps to Colin Kaepernick to take the edge off his upside, and the Giants have actually contained Michael Vick and Cam Newton in two of their tougher quarterback matchups this season.

START: Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit

The Eagles' pass rush has been grounded with no sacks since Week 3, which means that a well-rested Matthew Stafford should be comfortable picking on the Eagles' overrated secondary.

Ben Roethlisberger was credited with a retroactive touchdown pass this week, and the Steelers wide receivers cost him a second scoring pass last week. Calvin Johnson and company won't shortchange Stafford's scoring potential.

We saw elite quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers get back to their productive ways over the last two weeks; expect Stafford to follow suit this week.

SIT: Christian Ponder, QB, Minnesota

You might want to start Christian Ponder after looking at quarterback performances against the Redskins this season. No quarterback has been under 299 yards passing, and every one has thrown at least one touchdown pass, with four of the five throwing multiple scores.

A closer look reveals that three out of their five opposing quarterbacks threw 39 or more passes, with two of them over 50. Ponder hasn't thrown more than 35 passes in any game this year, with the Vikings preferring a very conservative approach on offense.

Unless Robert Griffin III stakes the Redskins to a big early lead, fantasy owners who start Ponder on matchup expectations will likely be disappointed.

START: DeMarco Murray, RB, Dallas

DeMarco Murray has had trouble building momentum after a nice opening game of the season against the Giants, but he should be poised to bounce back against the not-so-scary Ravens run defense this week.

The Cowboys have had a bye week to get their interior offensive line issues straightened out, and they have done a good job keeping Murray involved as a receiver with 14 receptions over the last three weeks.

The Ravens gave up a 140-yard game to Jamaal Charles last week, and they have surrendered a rushing touchdown to a running back in each of the other four games. Murray should be a strong option in Week 6.

SIT: Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis

Steven Jackson is rounding into form after a groin injury limited his effectiveness for the last few weeks, but even a 100 percent Jackson will have trouble finding room to run against the Dolphins' front seven.

Arian Foster did have 79 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout Week 1 win against the Dolphins, but since then, no running back has topped 45 yards, and no rushing touchdowns have been scored by a running back against them.

The Rams also lost their best receiver, Danny Amendola, so the Dolphins can focus even more on stopping Jackson and the Rams running game.

START: Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland

Darren McFadden has failed to muster even 50 total yards in two of the last three games, but the Raiders spent their bye week tweaking the running game, according to Steve Corkran from the Sporting News.

McFadden has always done better in a power running game, and the Raiders did not scrap offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's zone-blocking scheme, but they'll have to be better with a week off to work on getting the scheme right.

The Falcons gave up over 100 yards to Alfred Morris in a zone-blocking scheme last week. McFadden should be well rested and the focus of the offensive game plan on the fast track in the Georgia Dome.

SIT: Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, New York Giants

As strange as it seems to bench a running back coming off a 200-yard game, that is probably the wise move this week if you have two solid options ahead of Ahmad Bradshaw.

He fattened up against a Browns defense that was without its starting middle linebacker and nose tackle for the second half in a blowout loss last week. The 49ers will have all hands on deck in a defense that has allowed no touchdowns to running backs and only one game over 53 yards to any back.

Adrian Peterson was that only back to top 53 yards, and Bradshaw is no Peterson. Look for him to struggle with rookie David Wilson also getting more touches this week.

START: Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay

Patience will be rewarded for Jordy Nelson owners. He was getting open last week, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers was uncharacteristically off on some of his downfield throws.

With Greg Jennings out and Jermichael Finley banged up, Nelson is sure to get a lot of targets, and that will eventually translate to the kind of WR1 production we saw from him last year.

With Nelson's ability to get behind defenses, all it takes is one good throw from Rodgers for him to put up top-20 fantasy numbers on one play. With the Packers needing a win to avoid going 2-4, Nelson should see a lot of vertical passes thrown his way this week.

SIT: Pierre Garcon, WR, Washington

Pierre Garcon's owners have been waiting for the follow-up to his Week 1 performance, when he had over 100 yards and a touchdown on only eight plays vs. the New Orleans Saints.

Judging by the comments of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, they could be waiting a bit longer. According to Chris Russell of ESPN Radio 980 in Washington, D.C., it still hurts Garcon to run as he "battles" his foot ailment.

Garcon hasn't flashed his top-end speed since the injury popped up in the season's opening week, and it doesn't sound like we'll see it this week vs. the Vikings.

START: Hakeem Nicks, WR, New York Giants

Hakeem Nicks hasn't been there for his owners in the last three weeks, but all signs point to a return to the field this week, which means you should err on the side of getting him in your lineup.

Nicks practiced all week, and he made the trip with the team to San Francisco, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York. Nicks has always performed well when he has entered the game classified as questionable, so don't worry about him playing at a diminished level of effectiveness.

If anything, the extra time off for his knee helped his foot to heal. Start Nicks as you normally would this week.

SIT: Brandon Lloyd, WR, New England

Brandon Lloyd has a terrific situation with Tom Brady at quarterback and the trio of Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez (assuming he is good to go) to draw attention from the defense, but this week he has one of his toughest matchups of the season.

Even in one-on-one coverage, Richard Sherman has had little trouble limiting elite receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Smith. In fact, no wide receiver has had more 63 receiving yards against the Seahawks, and wideouts have only caught three touchdowns on Seattle in five games.

START: Jeremy Maclin, WR, Philadelphia

Jeremy Maclin's hip injury limited his numbers and effectiveness through September, but everything is trending in the right direction for him in October. Maclin was a big part of the passing game vs. Pittsburgh, and quarterback Michael Vick played much better than the coverage of the game would have you believe.

Maclin had eight targets last week after having only three in Week 3. If that number ticks up into double digits, that should signal a big game for Maclin, who has had at least seven catches in every game where he has gotten at least 10 targets over the last two years.

SIT: Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore

Torrey Smith was red-hot coming into a Week 5 matchup against the Chiefs, but he was held down as Joe Flacco struggled to play with any consistency against the Kansas City defense. This week, Flacco will play a Cowboys defense that has held deep threats like Hakeem Nicks, Vincent Jackson and Golden Tate under 40 yards.

Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne have turned a weakness into a strength for Dallas, and DeMarcus Ware should ensure that Flacco doesn't have time to target Smith deep in Week 6. Look for the bust in Smith's boom/bust scoring profile this week.

START: Aaron Hernandez, TE, New England

Aaron Hernandez did not practice on Friday, according to Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe, after a full week of practice leading up to it. However, the Patriots are notorious for subterfuge when it comes to the injury report.

Hernandez would be set up to exploit the Seahawks' young linebackers in coverage as long as he plays, and Tom Brady is not shy about targeting him frequently.

It's good to have a tight end like Zach Miller, who plays in a late game, in tow to cover an inactive designation for Hernandez, but if he's active, he should be in your lineup.

SIT: Martellus Bennett, TE, New York Giants

Martellus Bennett is probable this week after hyperextending his knee against the Browns in Week 5, but there's no saying whether his knee is in good enough shape for him to threaten the 49ers' very talented pair of inside linebackers on pass routes.

The Giants may have all five of their wide receivers active for the first time this season, which means that Bennett might not have to play as large a role in the passing game anyway. Look elsewhere for a starting fantasy tight end until we see how Bennett looks post-injury.