Week 8 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Fantasy Football Stars to Play and Bench

The NFL and fantasy football seasons have a lot in common. You can divide seasons into four quarters though the final quarter of the fantasy year is playoff time. The first quarter is about establishing your identity, and the second quarter is about building off the initial success. 

As you prepare to enter the eighth week of the season, it's the final opportunity to maintain or gain momentum heading into the home stretch of fantasy football. All of your roster moves become magnified because positioning is everything. 

Here's a look at some of the week's top stars in matchups that don't seem so appealing on paper. You need help determining whether or not to keep them in the starting lineup, so here are the answers you are seeking. 

Start 'Em

Player	Pos.	Team	Opponent
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Green Bay Packers	at New Orleans Saints
Carson Palmer	QB	Arizona Cardinals	vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Marshawn Lynch	RB	Seattle Seahawks	at Carolina Panthers
Ben Tate	RB	Cleveland Browns	vs. Oakland Raiders
Golden Tate	WR	Detroit Lions	at Atlanta Falcons

You didn't need me to tell you that Aaron Rodgers is a must-start quarterback this week. With 17 touchdown passes and no interceptions in the last six games, he's as reliable as any fantasy player going. I just wanted to single out his matchup against New Orleans' inept defense as a way to say he could go for 30-plus points. 

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Moving through the must-start list with less obvious choices, Carson Palmer has come back from a strange shoulder injury to play some of the best football in his career thus far. It does come with a caveat because the last two games have come against Washington and Oakland. 

While that doesn't tell us much about his long-term prospects as a fantasy option, Palmer lucks out again in Week 8 with another favorable matchup against Philadelphia. ESPN's Jim McCormick notes that the Eagles defense has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. 

There figure to be a lot of points scored in Arizona this weekend with offensive geniuses Chip Kelly and Bruce Arians coaching against each other. Palmer hasn't been limited since returning with 75 attempts and four touchdowns, so expect another big game from the veteran quarterback with a favorable matchup. 

On the running back front, remember when Marshawn Lynch was holding out during preseason to get a bigger piece of the pie? He hasn't been bad this year but almost seems forgotten because Russell Wilson is running a lot more. 

Lynch has 97 carries through six games for 420 yards. He's on pace to have the fewest carries (259) and yards (1,120) in a season since 2010, when he was traded from Buffalo to Seattle in the middle of the year. 

Another problem is how the Seahawks have used him in recent weeks against defenses that aren't great at stopping the run, per Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead:

Fortunately for Lynch and fantasy owners, he's got a matchup with Carolina in Week 8. The Panthers defense has fallen off a cliff, allowing 388.3 yards per game this season. It's giving up 137.6 yards on the ground and a league-worst 5.3 yards per carry. 

Seattle lost its identity at some point this season. The defense isn't as good as it was last year while the offense is depending more on Wilson to create plays instead of using Lynch's power running style. This game is a great way for the Seahawks to reestablish their identity even if it only lasts one week. 

Another running back poised for a bounce-back game is Cleveland's Ben Tate. Nothing about the Browns offense looked good against Jacksonville, but the one cure for what ails a stagnant rushing attack is Oakland's defense. 

The Raiders have allowed the seventh-most rushing yards in the NFL, including 123 last week against an Arizona team that has the seventh-fewest rushing yards in the league. 

Quarterback Brian Hoyer has been exposed in the last two games, completing 41 percent of his passes, so the Browns have to rely on their running game to score points and win games. Tate is the lead runner in this stable and had 202 rushing yards with two touchdowns in the previous two games against Tennessee and Pittsburgh. 

It may not be time to buy into the Cleveland playoff hype that was growing two weeks ago, but Tate is the one offensive weapon you can count on in the right matchup. He's got it this week against the league's worst team. 

Another Tate, Golden Tate, is emerging as a solid No. 2 wide receiver in fantasy circles. He stepped up huge last week with Calvin Johnson out, has three 100-yard games in the last four weeks and is sixth in the league with 649 receiving yards. 

It's still unclear whether Johnson will return for this week's game against Atlanta in London though Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com noted on Wednesday that Megatron is getting slightly closer:

Since it's unlikely Johnson will be back to full strength at kickoff if he does play, Tate still remains the best receiver option for quarterback Matthew Stafford this week. Nothing screams fantasy success like a matchup with Atlanta's 29th-ranked pass defense. 

Sit 'Em

Player	Pos.	Team	Opponent
Andy Dalton	QB	Cincinnati Bengals	vs. Baltimore Ravens
Trent Richardson	RB	Indianapolis Colts	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
LeSean McCoy	RB	Philadelphia Eagles	at Arizona Cardinals
Brandon Marshall	WR	Chicago Bears	at New England Patriots
Antonio Gates	WR	San Diego Chargers	at Denver Broncos

Once again, Andy Dalton is going through the valley part of his season. We get teased by the Bengals quarterback every year, wondering if he's finally taken a step forward. It happened this year with no interceptions or fumbles in the first two games and only one turnover in the first four games. 

The last two weeks, Dalton hasn't done a lot to help fantasy owners. He did have 323 yards and two touchdowns against Carolina though two interceptions knocked his point total down. Last week against Indianapolis was a train wreck with 126 passing yards and no touchdowns. 

It's no secret what makes Dalton successful: A.J. Green. Unfortunately, the star wide receiver's status for Week 8 against Baltimore isn't clear. 

During an interview on The Dan Patrick Show, all Green could say about the decision regarding whether or not he plays was that it's up to his toe:

Unless fantasy owners know that Green is going to be in the lineup, Dalton is persona non grata this weekend against a Baltimore defense that's allowed just seven passing touchdowns this season. 

The running backs I hate this weekend are Trent Richardson and LeSean McCoy. Richardson seems like an obvious choice because everyone has fun at his expense though he's been surprisingly good with three double-digit scoring games in the last four weeks. 

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Richardson also set a personal milestone last week against Cincinnati with more than five yards per carry:

It would seem that Richardson can keep those good vibes rolling against a Pittsburgh defense that has allowed 4.4 yards per carry and five touchdowns to opposing running backs (three rushing, two receiving) in the last two weeks. 

However, Richardson did suffer a hamstring injury against the Bengals that led to an MRI. It seems like a precautionary measure since he told Zak Keefer of The Indianapolis Star he'll be fine for next week:

Given that Richardson is a power runner, any injury that limits his speed shouldn't be as much of a concern. Since the Colts have Ahmad Bradshaw doing great things out of the backfield this season, I would expect him to see an increased output this week. 

McCoy is coming off his best rushing game of the year two weeks ago against the New York Giants. He had 149 yards on 22 carries, the first time this season breaking the century mark and averaging more than four yards per carry in a game. 

His reward for that effort and a week off is a matchup against Arizona's top-ranked run defense. The Cardinals have the 31st-ranked pass defense, so expect a healthy dose of Nick Foles and Jeremy Maclin. McCoy will get his touches, but I want to see another game like the one he had against New York before jumping back in. 

Among pass-catchers to keep on the bench this week, Brandon Marshall and Antonio Gates immediately jumped to mind. 

Things have gotten so bad in Chicago that Marshall is reportedly lashing out at quarterback Jay Cutler behind the scenes, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com. He's also been a disappointment this season, so there's blame to go around. 

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Marshall has five touchdown catches though just one has come in the last five games. He's on pace for 71 catches and 798 yards, which would be his lowest totals since 2006. If you want to come out of a slump, New England's top-ranked secondary isn't the best way to do it. 

Darrelle Revis figures to be hovering around Marshall most of the game, so even if Cutler isn't turning the ball over, he might be better off looking at Alshon Jeffery or Martellus Bennett instead. 

Gates is healthy and proving he's still a matchup problem in the end zone. He's got 27 receptions this season, and seven of them have gone for touchdowns. His 13.4 yards per reception would be his highest since 2010. It seems like he's an easy choice to play. 

Following trends, though, Gates becomes less attractive. The Chargers play Denver on Thursday night in a huge AFC West showdown. The veteran tight end has been held in check by the Broncos with eight catches, 102 yards and no touchdowns in the last three regular-season games between these two. 

Keep in mind, that was before the Broncos upgraded their defense over the winter with Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and DeMarcus Ware. Gates has proved to have a lot left in the tank so far this season, but the matchup against Denver isn't a good one for fantasy owners. 

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