Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 10: Making the Call on Fantasy Football Fringe Starters

Fantasy owners have their work cut out heading into Week 10 of the NFL season. Deep teams will need to call up the reserves, and thin teams will be looking for waiver-wire replacements as bye weeks are prevalent once again.

The prolific offenses of the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts will not be available, causing a stir in the majority of fantasy lineups. Even key players like Philip Rivers, DeSean Jackson and Arian Foster won't be around to help their owners this week.

Before you start tweaking your lineup prior to the kickoff of Week 10, knowing which fringe players to have faith in is extremely pertinent. That said, here's a look at one player to start, and one to sit, at all four of the major fantasy football positions in Week 10.

Quarterback

Start 'Em: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Roethlisberger is coming off a historic pair of games after becoming the first quarterback to throw six touchdown passes in consecutive contests. He's absolutely on fire heading into a Week 10 matchup against a reeling New York Jets secondary.

While the Jets look good on the stat sheet, ranking 12th in the league in passing yards allowed per game, that's not the case in the fantasy realm. In fact, New York is ranked dead last in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, giving up an average of 20.7 per game, according to ESPN.com.

Now, consider those defensive rankings when looking at the quarterback's stats over his last two games:

Opp.	Comp%	Yds	TD	INT
Colts	81.6	522	6	0
Ravens	67.6	340	6	0

Those numbers are quite impressive; however, if you're still not convinced, this tweet from Erik Frenz of Bleacher Report regarding Roethlisberger's recent showings against the Jets should help:

Consider Pittsburgh's signal-caller as a top-tier fantasy starter this week. Unless the likes of Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers grace your lineup, he's a must-start.

Sit 'Em: Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins

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Tannehill is coming off a masterful performance against the San Diego Chargers; however, that doesn't mean he warrants a start once again in Week 10. While Miami's signal-caller has been very good of late, he hasn't exactly faced viable secondaries.

San Diego has been collapsing for the past few weeks now, and his two previous performances were against the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars, ranking 23rd and 25th in the league against the pass, respectively.

Tannehill will face his most difficult challenge of the season in Week 10, as the Dolphins travel north to take on the Detroit Lions and their top-ranked defense. The Lions boast the league's fifth-ranked passing defense and are giving up a league-low 15.8 points per game.

Things get even worse from a fantasy perspective, as Detroit allows the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, giving up just 11.6 per game.

Fantasy owners should look more toward quarterbacks with better matchups like Matt Ryan, Carson Palmer or Andy Dalton. Tannehill is best relegated to the bench this week.

Running Back

Start 'Em: Terrance West, Cleveland Browns

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West, Cleveland's rookie ball-carrier, has gone through quite a turbulent season. He started the season with a bang, racking up 100 yards against the Steelers, but he appeared to fall out of favor by Week 6—he was a healthy inactive.

Luckily for his fantasy owners, West appears to be making a comeback in the Browns backfield. He received a team-high 15 carries in Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rushing for 48 yards and recording one touchdown catch. Expect him to continue that workload, as Around the NFL alluded to a possible lead-back role going forward:

If that's the case, he'll see a very favorable matchup right away in Week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals run defense is ranked 30th in the league, giving up 139.6 yards per game on the ground. That's translated to allowing an average of 19.8 fantasy points to opposing ball-carriers this season, according to ESPN.com.

West may not be worthy of a must-start status just yet, but considering his opponent, he's a great addition to your starting lineup this week.

Sit 'Em: Anthony Dixon/Bryce Brown, Buffalo Bills

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Don't expect either of these Bills running backs to carry your fantasy team on Sunday. This duo saw action in Week 8 after injuries to C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson. The end results weren't good whatsoever despite Buffalo slaughtering the Jets by a 20-point margin.

Here's a look at their final stat lines:

Player	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
Anthony Dixon	22	44	2.0	0
Bryce Brown	7	15	2.1	0

Neither of the running backs were able to get anything going in that contest. Now, Dixon and Brown are expected to share the workload once again Sunday. However, this time around, they have an even more difficult test against the Kansas City Chiefs.

While the Chiefs may be ranked 19th in the league against the run, they haven't allowed many fantasy points to running backs this season, giving up just 11.5 per game. Don't expect a touchdown from either ball-carrier, as Kansas City hasn't allowed a single rushing touchdown this season.

Look elsewhere when attempting to fill the void at the running back position in Week 10.

Wide Receiver

Start 'Em: Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers

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It's time to dust off Crabtree and get him into your starting lineup. Yes, he's had a very disappointing season for fantasy owners, but starting him in Week 10 could quickly lessen animosity toward the veteran pass-catcher.

Crabtree has stepped up this season against weaker secondaries, putting up solid fantasy numbers against the Bears in Week 2, Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 and St. Louis Rams in Week 6. He even provided some late-game controversy in Week 9 against the Rams, catching a pass almost directly on the goal line.

Here's a look at his catch, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

Expect this wide receiver to find the end zone and produce his fourth double-digit fantasy performance of the season Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. There's a good chance we'll have a shootout on our hands here, and that will favor Crabtree against the league's 27th-ranked passing defense. The Saints are also allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing receivers, giving up an average of 24.4 per game, according to ESPN.com.

For fantasy owners needing a replacement at the wide receiver position this week, Crabtree fits the bill perfectly as a spot starter.

Sit 'Em: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants

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Beckham Jr. sure looks to be worthy of his first-round selection in this year's draft. He's coming off a huge performance against the Colts, accumulating eight receptions for 156 yards. Unfortunately for his fantasy owners, that's not likely to be duplicated in Week 10.

The wide receiver will face the Seattle Seahawks secondary on Sunday. This unit has been playing far better of late and is now the league's sixth-ranked defense against the pass. From a fantasy standpoint, the Seahawks are only allowing 16.0 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers per game—the second-fewest in the league.

Making matters worse for the rookie is the cornerback he'll be facing this week. Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus tweeted the details:

Richard Sherman is one of the league's most talented cornerbacks, and his veteran knowledge just may be too much for the rookie pass-catcher to handle. If fantasy owners are rolling with a Giants wide receiver this week, Rueben Randle would be a better choice.

Tight End

Start 'Em: Mychal Rivera, Oakland Raiders

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Rivera has really bust onto the scene over the past couple of weeks. The second-year tight end has caught the eye of rookie quarterback Derek Carr, and that's resulted in 15 receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 20 targets over the last two games.

Steve Corkran of InsideBayArea.com tweeted the tight end's comments about building chemistry with the team's signal-caller:

Fantasy owners should expect that trend to continue in Week 10 against a Denver Broncos defense that is allowing an average of 9.5 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, according to ESPN.com. Over the last two weeks, the Broncos have given up a total of 15 receptions for 168 yards and three touchdowns to the position. That's a similar number to what Rivera has accumulated in that span.

The tight end position is a thin one already, and with the likes of Dwayne Allen, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates and others on bye weeks, the position becomes even more barren. Rivera makes a great replacement.

Sit 'Em: Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers

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The 49ers may be poised for a shootout with the Saints, but don't let that fool you into thinking Davis will be a great fantasy play this week. The tight end has been a complete afterthought in this offense, compiling many forgettable performances since his two-touchdown outing in Week 1.

Making things even more difficult for the struggling Davis is New Orleans' prowess against the position this season. The Saints are allowing then second-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends, giving up an average of just 3.9 per game. After allowing a touchdown to a tight end in Week 1, New Orleans has blanked the position since.

Rolling with players such as Jared Cook, Delanie Walker or Owen Daniels in this bye-heavy week would make more sense. Leave Davis on the bench this time around.