Making the Call on Week 8's Toughest Fantasy Lineup Decisions

It's that time of the week again, when fantasy football owners across the land wring their hands over roster decisions.

Injuries, byes and matchups usually make for intriguing choices, and this week is no different. Will Percy Harvin be worthwhile starting with his new team in New York? Can you trust waiver-wire darlings Tre Mason out of St. Louis or Denard Robinson with Jacksonville?

Click through to find out.

Flex Only: Brian Quick, WR, St. Louis Rams

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

A solid start gave way to a horrendous couple of weeks for St. Louis Rams receiver Brian Quick.

He has caught just three passes for 43 yards over the past two games, both poor matchups where quarterback Austin Davis was content to spread the ball around.

Quick's matchup is a bit better this week, as the Rams square off against the Kansas City Chiefs, who sit in the middle of the pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers.

Still, Quick needs to show more week-to-week consistency. He is something of an all-or-nothing option, having registered catches of 51 and 43 yards.

Fantasy Prediction: Five receptions, 85 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: Quick should bounce back with a decent game against the Chiefs this week.

Start: Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz is a boom-or-bust play. This week, he'll go boom.

The Arizona Cardinals defense has been rather generous in the passing department. It has given up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends as part of that general malaise, and Ertz will present some coverage problems this Sunday.

The entire Eagles offense should be clicking after the bye, and Ertz will help it prosper in a big way.

Fantasy Prediction: Five receptions, 75 yards, one TD

Final Verdict: The Cardinals are a nice matchup for a guy who has the ability to go off any given week.

Sit: Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

It's been a roller-coaster season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's fantasy output has not been spared.

He had a productive Week 7 outing against a Houston Texans defense that has been generous to opposing passing games in general (23-of-33, 265 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions).

This week, Roethlisberger is running headlong into a brick wall. The Indianapolis Colts have been stout on defense, particularly against opposing passers. They have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks despite having faced Denver's Peyton Manning and Philadelphia's Nick Foles in the first two weeks of the season.

Big Ben has some capable options, but it would behoove the Steelers to establish the run game behind fantastic starter Le'Veon Bell, and the passing game might be in for a slog.

Fantasy Prediction: 26-of-40, 250 yards, one TD, one INT; three rushing attempts, 15 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: This is simply a bad matchup for Roethlisberger. He will still be in the top 20 scorers, but it'll be toward the bottom of that list.

Start: Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals

Ben Margot/Associated Press

A shootout is brewing in the Old West high 4:05 PM.

The 5-1 Philadelphia Eagles, fresh off a bye, head to Arizona to take on the surprising 5-1 Cardinals in a battle for NFC supremacy. You already know to start a number of players in this matchup, but what about the quarterback in Phoenix?

Carson Palmer had a nice return from a nerve issue that kept him out several weeks earlier this season, completing 71 percent of his passes for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Week 7 against the Oakland Raiders. Of course, we must take that opponent with a grain of salt, even though Oakland sported a decent pass defense prior to that matchup. 

The Philadelphia Eagles do not feature a decent pass defense, however, having given up the 10th-most yards per game in that department. More pertinent to this article, they have given up the fourth-most fantasy points per game to date.

Palmer should get things going with receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd and running back Andre Ellington at his disposal.

Fantasy Prediction: 25-of-37, 275 yards, two TDs, one INT

Final Verdict: The Eagles are a fantastic matchup for Palmer, who is playing at home with a nice arsenal to work with.

Start: Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Darren McFadden, fantasy-relevant running back? What is this madness?

The Raiders stalwart has quietly become a workhorse again in Oakland, garnering 65.8 percent of the team's rushing attempts to date. He has averaged nearly 18 touches (receptions included) per game over the team's past four, seemingly having wrested the job away from Maurice Jones-Drew on a permanent basis.

Of course, he hasn't exactly been lights-out with all of those touches—he is averaging 3.8 yards per carry on the season and scored just twice thus far—but opportunity is a key predictor of future success. It helps that he is getting a tantalizing opponent this week.

The Raiders travel to Cleveland to take on a Browns team that gave up 127 rushing yards to Denard Robinson last week. The Browns have been rather generous to opposing running backs, having given up the fifth-most fantasy points per game heading into Week 8.

Fantasy Prediction: 17 attempts, 80 yards, one TD; three receptions, 25 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: McFadden has a great matchup in Week 8, and he will see enough touches to get him into RB2 territory for the week.

Sit: Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown, RB, Buffalo Bills

Associated Press

Anthony Dixon

The Buffalo Bills backfield is a MASH unit, having lost Fred Jackson (groin) and C.J. Spiller (broken collarbone) within minutes of each other in Week 7 (nine minutes, 46 seconds, to be exact).

The former will be out a few weeks, while the latter was placed on short-term injured reserve, suddenly thrusting Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown into the fantasy limelight. Well, as much limelight as third- and fourth-string running backs on the Bills can command.

The question is which one among them—if either—should you start. Or, more pertinently, whether you should risk starting either of them this weekend.

You shouldn't.

Dixon got a good look in Week 7, and he didn't look good. He had 13 carries for 51 yards, an average of 3.9 yards per carry. That's a half-yard more than his career average.

Brown, meanwhile, has been inactive for a reason, and it's not because of injury. The former Philadelphia Eagle has never capitalized on his potential, to the point where he had Boobie Dixon ahead of him on the depth chart.

Dixon's Prediction: 15 attempts, 45 yards, zero TDs; one reception, five yards, zero TDs

Brown's Prediction: Eight attempts, 30 yards, zero TDs; three receptions, 25 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: Neither of these guys has offered enough to be higher on depth charts throughout their careers, and the matchup isn't promising. Opportunity won't be enough to make them worthwhile starters this week.

Sit: Percy Harvin, WR, New York Jets

RICH SCHULTZ/Associated Press

In the end, New York might be a better place for receiver Percy Harvin than Seattle and Minnesota ever were. For now, however, you should be cautious with the newly minted Jet.

Harvin has only been with the team for a short while, after all, likely unable to absorb much of the playbook since the Seahawks shipped him over for a ham sandwich (conditional draft pick in 2015). Head coach Rex Ryan said so himself, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post:

"

I’m just saying that it’s hard to expect a guy to come in and learn an entire offense. We’re going to use him. It’s not to expect him to play 50 plays or something like that. That’s probably unrealistic. I think when you look at how we are going to use Percy, it might be different than how he was used in Minnesota [and] how he was used in Seattle. I guess time will tell, but I truly believe with his kind of talent it’s going to be a big help, obviously for our offense and with that, our whole team.

"

Harvin has a ton of talent, and he could well break one a long way. But it's likelier we will wait a while to get a full dose of highlight-reel plays.

Fantasy Prediction: Two receptions, 35 yards, zero TDs; two rushing attempts, 10 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: Harvin just got traded to the Jets, and he won't be on the field a ton yet.

Start: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

It has been a maddeningly frustrating season for Minnesota Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and his fantasy owners.

After an offseason of bluster about getting their dynamic wide receiver the ball often, he has seen just 37 targets, catching only 19 passes for 213 yards and a score. That score came last week in an otherwise lackluster performance where he had 12 total yards.

This is the week Patterson busts loose. Why? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the docket, of course. 

This is the same Buccaneers offense that is giving up 31.4 standard fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers, by far the most in the league.

Fantasy Prediction: Five receptions, 105 yards, one TD; two carries, 15 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: The Buccaneers cure all fantasy ills, and Patterson is primed to break out.

Flex Only: Tre Mason, RB, St. Louis Rams

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

It was a breakout game for Tre Mason, the St. Louis Rams running back who unexpectedly torched the Seattle Seahawks en route to victory in Week 7.

Mason rammed the ball through the heart of that defense 18 times for 85 yards and a touchdown. He clearly looked like the best running back the Rams have. The problem? Zac Stacy is still lurking.

Perhaps in an attempt to flummox fantasy owners everywhere, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said Stacy could get 25 carries this week when discussing the Rams backfield, per ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner. That would certainly throw a wrench into all of those waiver-wire claims fantasy owners made on Mason.

And then there's Benny Cunningham, who, despite being added to the injury report Thursday with a knee injury, had five receptions for 46 yards and a score last week versus Seattle.

Still, Mason was good enough to carve himself some sort of role, especially considering he has been far more efficient with his playing time at 5.4 yards per carry than Stacy at 3.9. That should make him a worthwhile flex option with plenty of upside, as we saw last week.

Just don't expect huge things if Stacy is fully healthy.

Fantasy Prediction: 10 attempts, 50 yards, zero TDs; one reception, 15 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: There is too much uncertainty to start Mason with confidence, but he could still put up a viable flex line.

Sit: Denard Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Denard Robinson had a career game last week. Quite literally.

The Jacksonville Jaguars running back carried the ball 22 times for 127 yards and a touchdown, perhaps signaling he should be getting a bigger share of the workload going forward. That may be true, but nothing in Robinson's career would indicate he will have future success.

Toby Gerhart is coming back from a foot injury this week, and it sounds like he will retain at least some of his workload, according to Hays Carlyon of The Florida Times-Union:

"

So do the Jaguars (1-6) ride the hot hand (Robinson) or go back to Gerhart? Jaguars offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch wasn’t tipping his hand much on Wednesday as the team prepares for Sunday’s game against Miami (3-3) at EverBank Field.

"I think we’ll continue to mix and match a little bit," Fisch said. "I don’t know exactly how that will all play out yet."

That would seemingly be good news for Gerhart if Fisch isn’t ready to fully endorse the back that gave the offense a needed lift. Fisch did praise Robinson for his strong outing and his improvement.

"

The good news for Gerhart is bad news for Robinson, who had 28 carries in 2014 prior to his Week 7 outburst.

Fantasy Prediction: Eight attempts, 25 yards, zero TDs; two receptions, 25 yards, zero TDs

Final Verdict: Robinson's workload could be far lighter than we saw last week, and the Miami Dolphins aren't a sieve on defense.

All fantasy statistics and rankings courtesy of FFToday.

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