Fantasy Football: Start'em, Sit'em for Week 2

Roughly one out of ten NFL teams make the post-season after getting off to an 0-2 start. Unless you're in a 16-team league where six (or less) teams make the fantasy playoffs, losing your Week 1 matchup may not create the same sense of urgency to get off the schneid.

That said, our Start'em, Sit'em list is aimed at helping you avoid such a skid or, better yet, at helping you establish an early lead over the rest of your league through two weeks.

If a player's name doesn't appear on this list, feel free to send your start/sit questions via Twitter @EDSFootball, check out our Week 2 fantasy rankings at TheTipDrill.com or post your question in our Fantasy Football Forum.

Players to Start for Week 2:

QB - Michael Vick, Eagles (at Lions): Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb, who suffered a concussion against the Packers, has been ruled out for Week 2. As his replacement last week, Vick was one of only four players in the league to rush for 100+ yards in Week 1. This week, Vick faces a Lions' pass defense that allowed Chicago's Jay Cutler to pass for 372 yards in Week 1. Granted, Vick trusts his legs more than his arm, but he could potentially have a strong game through the air and on the ground.

RB - Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants (at Colts): Although he started slowly, Bradshaw finished Week 1 with 20 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. This week, Bradshaw faces the defense that allowed Houston's Arian Foster to run for 231 yards. Plus, the Colts will be without safety Bob Sanders (for this game and many more). A potential negative (to Bradshaw's fantasy value) is an early Colts lead, which could force the Giants into passing mode, as the Colts haven't started the season 0-2 since Peyton Manning's rookie season.

RB - LaDainian Tomlinson, Jets (vs Patriots): The Jets trusted Tomlinson more than they trusted Shonn Greene, his backfield mate. Greene carried the ball only five times, but he fumbled twice on Monday Night. Coach Rex Ryan says that Tomlinson, who had 11 carries last week, and Greene will ideally get 15 carries each per game. Greene sat 25 of the last 26 offensive snaps in Week 1. Since the Jets will be desperate to avoid an 0-2 start (especially at home at the hands of the Patriots), I expect L.T. to get a heavier workload this week than the ideal split (unless you're a Greene owner).

(Note: Our Week 2 Fantasy Football Contest based on this week's Monday Night Football Matchup is open. It's free to enter and newcomers are welcome.)

RB - Brandon Jackson, Packers (vs Bills): With Ryan Grant out for the season, Jackson, the former second-round pick, was the biggest waiver-wire pickup of the week (and perhaps the season). Subject to change in the future if the Packers trade for someone like Buffalo's Marshawn Lynch, but Jackson will get the majority of carries within the Packers offense. And in his first start, he faces the Buffalo Bills, who ranked 30th against the run in 2009.

RB - LeSean McCoy, Eagles (vs Lions): McCoy is similar to Chicago's Matt Forte in his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. When Forte faced the Lions last week, he exploded for 151 receiving yards. That will be difficult for McCoy to duplicate, but a 150-yards-from-scrimmage game seems reasonable for Week 2.

WR - Dez Bryant, Cowboys (vs Bears): Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo looked for Bryant early and often. And late. Considering Bryant missed the entire pre-season due to a high-ankle sprain, it sends a strong signal about Romo's level of confidence in the rookie. Bryant finished with eight receptions for 56 yards.

WR - Malcom Floyd, Chargers (vs Jaguars): Although Legedu Naanee (110 yards) had a better statistical game than Malcom Floyd (48 yards) on Monday Night, more than half of Naanee's receiving yards came on a blown coverage play. Plus, Floyd had more targets (12) than Naanee (eight). I expect Floyd to continue to get more targets than Naanee, who is a decent flex play. The Jaguars defense allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing receivers in 2009.

(Did we mention our MNF fantasy contest is open?)

WR - Wes Welker, Patriots (at Jets): Welker is a start every week, but I expect him to have a much better week than teammate Randy Moss, who will try to "stay off 'Revis Island.'" In fact, Welker had 15 catches for 192 yards in his only matchup against the Jets last year (missed other due to injury) while Moss had only nine receptions for 58 yards in both games against the Jets.

WR - Steve Breaston, Cardinals (at Falcons): Breaston had a career-high 132 yards in Week 1. While I wouldn't expect a duplicate performance, he and quarterback Derek Anderson seem to be on the same page (unlike Larry Fitzgerald). Meanwhile, Early Doucet will miss the next 3-6 weeks after having sports hernia surgery so a few targets may be heading Breaston's way.

TE - Visanthe Shiancoe, Vikings (vs Dolphins): Vikings quarterback Brett Favre completed as many passes to Shiancoe (four) in Week 1 as he completed to all Vikings receivers. Plus, Shiancoe, who scored the team's only touchdown last week, has 12 touchdowns in 17 career games with Favre under center.

Players to Sit for Week 2:

QB - Jay Cutler, Bears (at Cowboys): Against the Cowboys last week, Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb completed less than 50 percent of his passes, threw for less than 200 yards and no touchdowns. With elite pass-rushers like linebacker DeMarcus Ware, the Cowboys should hit Cutler early and often to force several mistakes.

QB - Carson Palmer, Bengals (vs Ravens): I still view the Bengals as a run-first, defensive-minded team and that was apparent in their two matchups in 2009 where Cedric Benson had 61 carries and went over the 100-yard mark in both games. Last week, the Bengals were down early and big to the Patriots, which forced the Bengals to air it out 50 times (and Patriots fans to beat the traffic).

RB - Jahvid Best, Lions (vs Eagles): Best scored two touchdowns against the Bears, however, he also averaged less than two yards per carry in his debut. The Lions are without quarterback Matthew Stafford this (and severl more) week(s) and I expect the Eagles to force Shaun Hill to beat them. In other words, look for the Eagles defense to key in on Best.

RB - C.J. Spiller, Bills (at Packers): Spiller had six rushing yards on seven carries in his career debut. There's no denying that Spiller is an electrifying, talented running back. There's also no denying that there is limited talent around him to take the pressure off. It doesn't help that Green Bay led the NFL in rushing yards allowed (83.3 per game) and rushing touchdowns allowed (five).

RB - Jerome Harrison, Browns (vs Chiefs): Harrison should (operative word: should) get a bigger workload than the nine carries he had against Tampa. In fact, coach Eric Mangini had said that he expected Harrison to "seize the opportunity." Inexplicably, Harrison's workload was limited despite nearly six yards per carry. Harrison is only on this list because I do not trust Mangini to give Harrison the work necessary to be a fantasy starter.

RB - Ronnie Brown, Dolphins (at Vikings): Brown, who was on the Start'em side in Week 1, faces a much tougher run defense this week than last. Considering Brown didn't fully exploit last week's matchup, I have no confidence in him against the Williams Wall. (Feel free to sit Ricky, too.)

WR - Lee Evans, Bills (at Packers): Evans had a relatively favorable matchup against the Dolphins last week. Although Packers cornerback Charles Woodson is dealing with a toe injury, he should be on the field Sunday. With horrible quarterback and offensive line play, you should not rely on Evans -- ever.

WR - Randy Moss, Patriots (at Jets): First off, Moss is ALWAYS a start unless he's hurt. In two matchups versus the jets in 2009, however, Moss had only 58 receiving yards. Although Moss said his off-season was dedicated to "staying off 'Revis Island,'" temper your expectations for Week 2. Four receptions for 50 yards is reasonable for the "slouch." Welker (see above) should have a better week than Moss.

WR - Terrell Owens, Bengals (vs Ravens): If the Bengals are determined to run the ball against the Ravens, which I expect, then there will be less targets to go around to the receivers. And T.O. is Batman in (corny nick) name only to Chad Ochocinco. Don't expect 13 targets for both again this week.

WR - Mark Clayton, Rams (at Raiders): In his Rams debut, Clayton had his first-ever double-digit reception game. The former first-rounder from Sam Bradford's alma mater recorded his tenth 100-yard game. Here's an interesting stat about Clayton's inconsistency: In the games following his other nine 100-yarders, Clayton had two (or less) receptions in seven of them. In other words, Clayton had more than two receptions in only two of nine tries following 100-yard performances. If you're banking on Clayton posting back-to-back fantasy-worthy performances, don't say you haven't been warned.

For more lineup help, check out our Week 2 rankings: Top 25 QBs | Top 40 RBs | Top 50 WRs | Top 20 TEs

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Good luck in your Week 2 matchup (unless you're playing me).