Fantasy Football Start or Sit: Johnny Knox vs. Terrell Owens

With today marking the start of Thursday games, it’s early decision time regarding players for the Bears and 49ers.  One of the players on the bubble for fantasy owners is Johnny Knox.  Is he someone that is worth using, say over the struggling Terrell Owens?  Let’s take a look.

Before we get into details on the head-to-head matchup, let me say that if you play in a league that awards points for return yards, Knox has a distinct advantage.  He has a 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and has picked up 590 yards on 21 returns.  Now, onto those who operate in leagues without points for kickoff returns.

Knox has been consistent the past five games, catching between three to five passes while picking up between 31 to 44 yards.  He has one touchdown, but his biggest games came over the first two weeks, totaling 152 yards.  He has three touchdowns for the season, but none since Week Six.

His falloff has corresponded with the emergence of Devin Hester, who hasn’t had less than 81 yards in a game in the last four weeks, while also catching at least six passes.  We also saw Greg Olsen reemerge in Week Nine, picking up three touchdown passes.

With Hester and Olsen’s recent performances, as well as Matt Forte’s presence in both the passing and running games, it is hard to imagine him putting together a strong game.  He hasn’t done it in weeks, and Jay Cutler has clearly developed a solid rapport with his other options.

As for Owens, we all know his story.  Thought to come in and be a huge force in the Bills passing game, his quarterback has certainly helped to short circuit those plans.  Trent Edwards (who hasn’t played since Week Six but returns to the starter's role this week) ranks 28th in the league in passing yards with just 985, averaging 164.2 yards per game.  He has just five touchdowns against six interceptions.  Ryan Fitzpatrick, who saw some time when Edwards was injured, didn’t fare much better, throwing for 356 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

With performances like that, it is tough to completely fault Owens, isn’t it?  (I know, it’s painful to say, but unfortunately it is the truth.)

So, is there anything that could change in Week 10?  Taking on the Tennessee Titans, who have allowed a league high 278.4 passing yards per game, as well as 21 passing touchdowns (two more than the Detroit Lions), certainly helps.

It’s easy to point to Owens’ one touchdown and season high of 60 yards and scream that he is clearly not worth using, but this week it would be a mistake.  While he’s far from a top option, I would much rather take the gamble on him having a breakout game over Knox.  He had 10 TDs just a season ago, as well as closing the 2008 campaign with a 103 yard performance.

He may not be the player he once was, but if there was ever a week to make sure he was in your lineup, this would appear to be it.  I know Cortland Finnegan has been relatively solid, but is hard to imagine himself, Jason McCourty, Ryan Moutan, and Roderick Hood being able to shut Owens down.

To me, playing Owens is an easy decision (assuming that he is healthy, as he is currently nursing an injury), but what do you think?  If you were forced to decide between these two players, which would you use?  Why?

Need help in trying to decide who to start this week, check out our weekly rankings by clicking here .

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