Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 14: Making the Call on Fantasy Football Fringe Starters

It's do-or-die time for fantasy owners, making your weekly lineup decisions more crucial than in any of the previous 13 weeks.

Week 14 of the NFL season is like most other weeks during the year. There are the potential blowouts—San Francisco 49ers against the Oakland Raiders stands out here—and there are your potential overtime thrillers—Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals will surely deliver plenty of excitement.

Given that this week in football is relatively mundane, it'll take some analysis to determine which players to start and sit.

Below are the guys to play and the guys to pass over at each of the four major positions in fantasy.

Quarterback

Start 'Em: Tony Romo

John F. Rhodes/Associated Press

Tony Romo didn't look good against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving. He passed for just 199 yards and didn't find the end zone.

His two interceptions equaled the number he threw in the previous six games combined.

Such a poor performance would usually stick in fantasy owners' minds for some time, but Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan told reporters he believes Romo will light it up against the Chicago Bears on Thursday:

"

Quarterbacks aren’t going to have A-games every week. You’re going to have a couple games that aren’t as good as others. I love his experience and the fact that he’s been through that. He’s had a really good season for us and we as an offense, we as a team, didn’t have one of our better days last week.

It has nothing to do with anything other than we’ve all got to do our part better and step up better. Tony is a great, experienced veteran leader for us. We know he’s going to come ready to play the next game after a game like that.

"

Prior to last week's blip against Philly, Romo had tossed seven touchdowns and no picks in two games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants. Those teams rank 24th and 19th, respectively, against the pass at this point in the season.

The Bears rank 30th.

It's rare to see Romo post back-to-back poor weeks. The Bears haven't done a lot of good defensively this season, so he's primed to get his offense back on track.

He has just one 300-yard game this season (Week 5 against the Houston Texans). He should notch his second one this week.

Sit 'Em: Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger is the No. 6 quarterback in standard ESPN leagues. While that would usually make him a must-start, his Week 14 date with the Cincinnati Bengals may not end all too well.

He has yet to face his division rivals this season. Cincy has given him some problems during his career, however, as he has been picked 20 times compared to 24 touchdowns. He has also averaged just 219.2 yards per game through the air.

The Bengals defense is just as stingy this season, ranking No. 14 in the league in passing yards allowed per game (238.9).

Owners may be tempted to roll with Roethlisberger following his 435-yard, two-touchdown performance against the New Orleans Saints in Week 13. They should realize, however, that many of those yards and one of those touchdowns came in the waning seconds of a game that was out of reach. 

The second touchdown—thrown to Antonio Brown—was brought down in the end zone literally as time expired. The Saints had already locked up the win.

Ever since his back-to-back six-touchdown games, Roethlisberger has four touchdowns and five picks in three games. He's trending somewhat downward, and that should continue against the Bengals.

Running Back

Start 'Em: Eddie Lacy

Eddie Lacy has finally lived up to the high expectations resulting from his strong rookie season.

The 23-year-old has been producing at a high clip, amassing 100 yards from scrimmage in each of the past five games. He's also averaging 4.4 yards per carry on the season, an improvement on his 4.1 mark from last year.

Lacy is set to feast against the one of the worst defenses against the run. The Atlanta Falcons have allowed a league-high 15 rushing touchdowns as well as 118.2 yards per game on the ground.

The defensive line in Atlanta hasn't been getting the job done. That should allow the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers to open up plenty of lanes for Lacy to run through.

The New England Patriots, who have only allowed five rushing touchdowns on the year, were manhandled in the early stages of last week's contest with Green Bay.

ESPN's Rob Demovsky tweeted an image showing the Packers' supremacy in the trenches:

If the team's line plays the same way in Week 14, Lacy will high-step his way to a big performance.

Sit 'Em: Alfred Morris

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Alfred Morris entered Week 13 with decent expectations, seeing as he topped 100 yards for the first time all season in Week 12. He let his owners down, however, tallying just 67 yards on 17 carries.

That was against an Indianapolis Colts defense which has allowed 12 rushing touchdowns and 4.5 yards per carry on the year.

Next up on the schedule is the St. Louis Rams. They are fresh off pitching a shutout against the Oakland Raiders and hungry to finish the 2014-15 season strong. The unit has allowed 10 rushing touchdowns, but it allows 111.2 yards per game on the ground and has forced nine fumbles.

This is a fast, aggressive defense that will get into the backfield and make plays. Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, Alec Ogletree and the rest of the defense won't make things easy for Morris.

Yes, he'll be heavily utilized due to the nature of the Washington Redskins offense, but that won't translate to results against St. Louis.

Wide Receiver

Start 'Em: Kenny Stills

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

One of the biggest hit-or-miss players in the NFL, Kenny Stills has now posted three consecutive weeks with at least 98 yards or a touchdown. That's production that makes him valuable.

Last week was his best showing, hauling in five balls for 162 yards and a touchdown. A huge chunk of those yards came on one play, a 69-yard TD reception. That was the biggest play for the New Orleans Saints this season, as noted by Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate:

Stills was the epitome of inconsistency prior to the team's bye week in Week 6, hauling in just 10 balls for 141 yards.

He has turned the corner with authority, however, posting 34 catches and three touchdowns since.

The Carolina Panthers don't have the depth in their secondary to keep up with the many weapons of the Saints. Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston will probably go up against Josh Norman and Melvin White, leaving Stills and Robert Meachem presumably against a combination of James Dockery, Bene Benwikere and Thomas DeCoud.

Those are favorable matchups.

ESPN.com's Christopher Harris even likes Stills more than Colston right now, aside from the potential matchup:

"

If I'm comparing Stills and Marques Colston right now, Stills wins. While Colston keeps committing weird drops (he had another one on an easy catch along the sideline Sunday, giving him six for the season, tied for second most in the NFL), Stills blew up for 162 yards receiving, giving him 260 since Cooks' injury. He doesn't have the open-field quicks of a Cooks, but Stills is every bit as straight-line fast. Don't treat him as a top-20 WR, but top 30? I could get behind that.

"

Stills isn't in must-start territory yet, but he should be active given the right opponent.

Sit 'Em: Mike Evans

Brian Kersey/Getty Images

After three straight games with seven catches, at least 124 yards and at least one touchdown, Mike Evans has now posted back-to-back disappointing games. He has just seven catches, 96 yards and one touchdown in the past two weeks.

His next matchup against the Detroit Lions isn't a favorable one, as they are the No. 3 team against wide receivers in fantasy this year.

The combination of Rashean Mathis and Darius Slay should be able to contain the big receiver.

One thing that could help his numbers is his physicality. He's 6'5", while Mathis and Slay are both 6'1". He absolutely manhandles smaller defensive backs, as evidenced by the number he did on Terence Newman last week:

"

Mike Evans has no chill  | https://t.co/ERnfI3dEcb

— Six Second Sports™ (@SixSecSports) December 1, 2014"

His physical nature makes him a handful to defend, and Pro Football Focus tweeted about a few glaring stats which are a direct result of his overpowering size:

"

Mike Evans leads all WRs in receptions (17), catch % (58.6%), yards (549), and tied for lead w/ 6 TDs on passes thrown 20+ yards in air

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) December 1, 2014"

Evans could rip off a big gain or two against Detroit, but don't expect the type of numbers you've become accustomed to. The Lions have allowed just 16 passing touchdowns, sixth-fewest in the league.

Mathis and Slay will double him to the point where he'll have problems finding a rhythm with Josh McCown.

Tight End

Start 'Em: Kyle Rudolph

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Kyle Rudolph has played just two games since returning from surgery for a sports hernia, so he still isn't at full strength. In that span, he has only five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.

Those numbers don't scream "start" for owners, but this week's matchup against the New York Jets puts him toward the top of this week's tight end rankings.

The Jets have allowed 12 touchdowns to the position this season, most in the NFL. They've allowed multiple touchdowns to the position five times.

Rudolph is in good shape to at least find the end zone once against an inept Jets defense. Young Teddy Bridgewater will learn to make good use of his big target, who has 17 career touchdowns on 124 catches.

Sit 'Em: Greg Olsen

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

While the Jets are third-worst against tight ends, the Saints are third-best.

They've let up just three touchdowns to the position. Greg Olsen, who has five touchdowns this season, will be hard-pressed to notch No. 6 in Week 14.

His last touchdown was also in Week 6, so it has been some time since he has been successful in the red zone. Instead, Olsen's role in the offense has fluctuated from week to week.

Olsen was held to just three catches and 30 yards in the Carolina Panthers' game against New Orleans in Week 9. The Panthers as a whole were unsuccessful through the air, as the Saints limited Cam Newton to just 151 yards.

None of these factors bode well for Olsen, even at a brutally thin position. One should even consider starting the likes of Jared Cook or Luke Willson instead.

All fantasy information courtesy of ESPN.com and current as of Dec. 2 at 10 p.m. ET.