Week 1 Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

When it comes to fantasy football, the draft is only half the battle. Whether you've drafted a strong or not-so-strong squad, the damage is done.

The other half is managing your team on a weekly basis throughout the season by: (1) scouring the waiver wire for hidden gems, (2) working the "phones" to negotiate trades in your favor and (3) starting (or benching) the players on your roster based on their weekly match-ups.

Boy, that sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it?

Although we have a column with analysis aimed at helping you on all three fronts (granted, you may question how much we "help" at times), this column will focus on players to start or sit. We'll skip the obvious choices (e.g., start Tennessee running back Chris Johnson) and instead focus on the decisions that may be more difficult.

Each start/sit recommendation is made in general terms and may not be applicable based on the strengths and weaknesses of your particular roster.

But the players attached to a start'em classification are essentially players with favorable outlooks compared with their baseline outlooks. The opposite is true for the sit'em guys.

Here we go:

QB Start'em:

Jay Cutler, Bears (vs Lions): Last year, the Lions allowed a league-worst 265.6 passing yards per game (YPG) and 35 touchdowns and no team allowed more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. While the Lions' defense will be better in 2010 (can't be worse, right?), Cutler and the Bears should be able to throw (and run) all over the Lions this Sunday.

Matthew Stafford, Lions (at Bears): Last year, Stafford aired it out 37.7 times on average in his ten games played. With a healthy Calvin Johnson and a better No. 2 receiver (Nate Burleson), Stafford has better weapons around him and should generally be more consistent and productive even if he doesn't sling it 38 times every week. Last year, the Bears allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

QB Sit'em:

Joe Flacco, Ravens (at Jets): Last year, Houston's Matt Schaub (the NFL passing leader) had only one game with fewer than 200 passing yards. Week 1 versus the Jets, he threw for 166 yards. Flacco's Week 1 opponent? The Jets. With Darrelle Revis ending his holdout, you should temper your Week 1 expectations for Flacco even though I think Flacco has top-five upside for 2010. (FYI: Flacco is the quarterback in our fantasy football contest for Week 1.)

Brett Favre, Vikings (at Saints): What Favre did last year (4,202 yards, 33 TDs and seven INTs) was simply amazing! It was almost too good to be true for a 40-year-old quarterback. There is no way he can repeat that performance, especially with his go-to receiver (Sidney Rice) out for half the season. And the Saints, who knocked the crap out of him in the NFC Championship game, have vowed to bring tons of pressure again.

RB Start'em:

Ronnie Brown, Dolphins (vs Bills): If you read my blog or listen to my podcasts, you know I'm not a fan of drafting Ronnie Brown. While he's not on any of my teams, Brown can't get a much more favorable matchup than the Bills, who ranked 30th in the NFL in rushing allowed (156.3 YPG) last year. For what it's worth, Brown has averaged only 2.9 yards per carry (64 attempts for 185 yards) in season openers and has never gone over 57 yards (2005).

Matt Forte, Bears (vs Lions): Last year, Forte was arguably the biggest fantasy bust. In 2009, he had two 100-yard rushing games. The opponent? The Lions. Two times. In fact, three of his five career 100-yard games have come against the Lions. See the trend?

Jerome Harrison, Browns (at Bucs): Everyone seems to doubt Harrison. But Eric Mangini has recently said that he expects Harrison to "seize the opportunity" as the team's No. 1 back. When given the majority of work (29+ carries in four games last year), he rushed for more than 100 yards all four times. And no team allowed more rushing YPG in 2009 than this week's opponent.

RB Sit'em:

Brandon Jacobs, Giants (vs Panthers): Ahmad Bradshaw appears to be in line for the feature role within the Giants offense as Jacobs takes more of a complimentary role. Unless your league has a category for complaining, Jacobs is better suited for your fantasy bench.

Justin Forsett, Seahawks (vs 49ers): While Forsett was named the team's starting running back (over Leon Washington) to begin the season, he faces a tough San Francisco defense in Week 1. Plus, the Seahawks will be without Russell Okung, their first-round left tackle.

Pierre Thomas, Saints (vs Vikings): The Vikings have the league's best defensive line in football. No team allowed fewer rushing touchdowns (five) than the Vikings last year and they ranked second in fewest rushing yards allowed (83.3 per game).

WR Start'em:

Mike Williams, Bucs (vs Browns): Coach Raheem Morris says of Williams: "... he does remind me of Fitzgerald because of the length, the speed and the ball skills." In his NFL debut, Williams faces the Browns, who ranked 28th in passing yards allowed last year.

Santana Moss, Redskins (vs Cowboys): In ten career games against the Cowboys, Moss has 906 yards on 59 receptions. With quarterback Donovan McNabb's ability to throw the deep ball, Moss could be in for one of his "typical" games against the Cowboys.

Jacoby Jones, Texans (vs Colts): Jones was one of the most popular sleeper picks in fantasy football. In fact, he became less and less of a "sleeper" as we moved closer to the start of the NFL season. I like Jones better than Kevin Walter and expect this matchup to turn into a shootout.

WR Sit'em:

Anquan Boldin, Ravens (at Jets): Jets shutdown corner Darrelle Revis is back. It's hard to expect Boldin to have a big game when Revis has shut down the likes of Andre Johnson, Randy Moss and Carolina's Steve Smith. With the addition of T.J. Houshmandzadeh, I'm curious to see how the targets are allocated in the passing game.

Dez Bryant, Cowboys (at Redskins): Bryant will be a great NFL receiver although I think rookie expectations are a bit high. Suffering a high-ankle sprain early in training camp, Bryant has missed all of the team's preseason games.

Kenny Britt, Titans (vs Raiders): It's hard to have confidence in a receiver dubbed the "Question Mark" by his teammates for reporting out of shape and dropping too many passes. Plus, the Raiders have talked about moving Nnamdi Asomugha around to cover the opposing team's best receiver, a la Darrelle Revis, and that would be Britt.

TE Start'em:

Zach Miller, Raiders (at Titans): In his three seasons, Miller's receptions (44 to 56 to 66) and yards (444 to 778 to 805) have increased every season. This could be a breakout season for Miller and the Titans ranked in the top ten in most fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends in 2009.

Kellen Winslow, Bucs (vs Browns): Only two teams allowed more fantasy points to opposing tight ends in 2009 than the Browns. With few options in the passing game, Winslow should receive a healthy dose of passes this week -- and throughout the season (provided he stays healthy). Last year, Winslow finished fourth among tight ends in targets.

TE Sit'em:

Greg Olsen, Bears (vs Lions): Typically tight ends don't flourish in a Mike Martz offense. Olsen, who was the subject of off-season trade rumors, has talent, but Olsen will be out of my starting lineup until he proves that a tight end can be a viable fantasy option in a Mike Martz offense.

Owen Daniels, Texans (vs Colts): After suffering a season-ending injury in the middle of the 2009 season, Daniels has been cleared to play. Per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Daniels is expected to play only 15 to 20 snaps against the Colts. Too few to warrant a starting spot.

Make sure to check out our fantasy football podcast on Blog Talk Radio breaking down all of this week's match-ups. Also, our positional rankings for Week 1 will be released Thursday at TheTipDrill.com (our fantasy section).

Good luck in your Week 1 match-up.