Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 3: Making the Call on Fantasy Football Fringe Starters

Every time I'm scrolling through my fantasy lineup and come across a player I can't quite decide if I trust to start or not that week, one song comes streaming into my mind: "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash.

If I bench him and he blows up, I'll be in trouble. But if I start him and he absolutely tanks, it will be double. Won't somebody let me know?

Well, if you've ever wanted somebody to let you know, I'm here to help. I won't sing to you or anything, but I will give you advice on those fringe players you can't quite decide whether to start or sit. No need to suffer through these major decisions alone, after all.

Start 'Em: Nick Foles, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Foles has been a bit disappointing thus far this season, there's simply no questioning that. And yet, I'm not willing to call it quits on him just yet. Here's why.

Foles played one of his worst halves of his career against the Jacksonville Jaguars and still finished with 322 passing yards and two touchdowns. He missed throw after throw against the Indianapolis Colts and still finished with 331 passing yards and a score. 

The reason? For starters, the Eagles' fast-paced offense wears opponents down and creates mismatches all over the field. Eventually, the yards are going to add up for Foles in a game. He has opportunities galore to strike. 

That's the thing—in the past two weeks, the Eagles have left a ton of big plays on the field. Against Jacksonville, Foles missed a wide-open Jeremy Maclin who didn't have anyone within 10 yards of him deep down the field. On Monday night, Foles overthrew Maclin for what should have been a touchdown, threw behind Zach Ertz on what should have been another and saw Riley Cooper drop a perfect pass in the end zone. 

And that was 12 points down the drain. 

I believe that Foles will make those throws in the future, if only because I've seen him make those throws in the past. We're not talking about threading the needle here—against the Colts, Foles had guys wide-open all the time. 

And even when he's off, he has playmakers who can break short plays into long gains. Darren Sproles and LeSean McCoy coming out of the backfield alone ensure that Foles will put up decent numbers. Foles may not be one of the more talented quarterbacks in the league, but he's in a system that completely renders that moot, especially for fantasy owners. 

He should put up very solid numbers against Washington this week. I want to see Foles playing with more confidence and rhythm. I want to see him making the throws he has to make like he did a year ago. If he consistently fails to do that going forward, I'll consider sitting him. Until then, the Eagles are simply too dynamic to assume that Foles won't have fantasy value.

Sit 'Em: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

I was utterly convinced that Tom Brady would light up the Minnesota Vikings defense and have a huge week in fantasy. I was utterly, completely wrong. 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and I'm going to rethink how I evaluate you from a fantasy perspective. I don't plan on being fooled twice by Mr. Brady, who has yet to reach double-digit points. I get that the Patriots emphasized the running game this past week but, c'mon, just 149 passing yards and a score this past week?

I'm not buying on Brady again. 

The problem lies in the team's weapons, for starters. Rob Gronkowski is a red-zone beast, sure, but he's not going to stretch teams vertically. Julian Edelman is a slot receiver who is going to work the underneath routes. Shane Vereen is a dink-and-dunk artist. Those are Brady's three most reliable weapons in the passing game.

In other words, the Patriots aren't exactly scaring teams with their vertical attack.

But maybe, just maybe, Brady is digressing, too. Consider this stat from Football Perspective:

Brady was one of fantasy's biggest disappointments for much of last year. This year hasn't gotten off to a great start, either.

But maybe he can turn things around against the Oakland Raiders. They're not very good, right? 

Well, here's the thing about that—the Raiders have given up 400 rushing yards already this season, easily the worst in the NFL. One would imagine the Patriots would pound the rock in this one too, which could again really hurt Brady's fantasy output.

Until he starts putting up bigger numbers, Brady deserves a spot on your bench. 

Start 'Em: Stevan Ridley, RB, New England Patriots

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Yes, Stevan Ridley owners, I know your eyes got big when you read that the Raiders have already given up 400 rushing yards. Even better, they are giving up an average of 27 fantasy points per week to opposing running backs, meaning both Ridley and Shane Vereen could feast this week.

Ridley was quite impressive on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, rushing 25 times for 101 yards and a score. While it's always hard to know which player will be the focus in any given week, you might want to trust the hot hand here. Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston thought Ridley really shined:

Ridley is a talented runner between the tackles and before his fumbling woes was a steady RB2 in fantasy. There is some risk involved here simply because the Patriots could lean on Vereen, but this really feels like the sort of game where Ridley will shine. He's a low-end RB2 and excellent flex option this week.

Sit 'Em: Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers

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There are two ways of looking at Frank Gore this week. The first is that he is facing arguably the best run defense in the NFL—or at least one of the best run defenses—and probably should be avoided at all costs this week. In Week 17 last year, he rushed just 13 times for just 14 yards against the Cardinals. 

Building on this argument against Gore is that the Niners could also feed the ball to Carlos Hyde, as they did in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys when the rookie rushed seven times for 50 yards and a touchdown. In that game, Gore rushed 16 times for just 66 yards. 

The other way of looking at it is that Gore has one of the best offensive lines in the NFL in front of him and is coming off of a performance where he ran for 63 yards, this time adding a touchdown. That may not look like much, but for fantasy owners it was good for 13 points, and Gore also had a long touchdown run called back because of a penalty.

The Gore optimists will also note that in Week 6 last year, he rushed 25 times for 101 yards against the Cardinals. 

Decisions, decisions...

I'm just not sure that Gore is good enough anymore to overlook really brutal matchups like a road trip to Arizona. You may not have the luxury of sitting him but, if you do, I'd keep him on your bench this week. I simply don't see much upside for him in Week 3. 

Start 'Em: Mike Wallace, WR, Miami Dolphins

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Mike Wallace scored double-digit fantasy points just five times last season. Don't look now, but he's already done so in both games thus far this season.

The production sure seems sustainable. While 12 of his 23 fantasy points have come from two touchdowns, Wallace has still brought in 12 passes for 137 yards and, more importantly, has been targeted 19 times. His 9.5 targets per game this year already have him on pace to exceed last year's targets, when he averaged 8.9 targets per week.

That's a great sign for his fantasy owners. So too is the fact that he faces a Kansas City Chiefs team that is giving up an average of 23 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers per week, 26th in the NFL. Wallace's inconsistency a year ago might have you justifiably nervous, but he and quarterback Ryan Tannehill appear to be on the same page this season. 

That makes Wallace a pretty strong WR2 option this week.

Sit 'Em: Michael Floyd, WR, Arizona Cardinals

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If you were wondering whether or not Carson Palmer's absence from the lineup due to injury last week would hurt the fantasy stock of both Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald, you got your answer.

While Fitzgerald was targeted 10 times in the passing game and ended with six receptions for 51 yards—he also had a touchdown taken away when it was ruled he didn't cross the plane of the goal line, forcing his fantasy owners everywhere to simply sigh in despair—Floyd was only targeted six times by Drew Stanton and had just one reception for 19 yards. 

It doesn't sound like Palmer will be back for this game, either, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com:

Even if Palmer does play, Floyd is a risky play against a tough Niners defense. The upshot for Floyd if Palmer can go is that the Niners are surprisingly giving up 27 fantasy points per week to opposing wide receivers, 30th in the NFL. 

But if Stanton is the starter again, it's hard to see Floyd getting many vertical looks down the field. Play it safe and keep Floyd benched this week.

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard-scoring leagues. 

Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes too. It's more fun than playing hot potato with James Jones.