NFL Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Week 11: Sanchez In, Cutler Out

Ryan LesterNov 17, 2010

Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 11 of the NFL season.

Quarterbacks

Start:
Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs
Cassel is coming off a 469-yard, four-TD game against Denver. He has 12 touchdowns in his past five games. He should continue to shine against Arizona’s 27th ranked pass defense (269.3 yards allowed per game).

Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
Sanchez is clicking with Santonio Holmes, who is forming a nice 1-2 punch with Braylon Edwards. Sanchez has averaged 317.5 passing yards in his past two games with three touchdowns. He also ran for a score in both of those games. This week he takes on Houston’s league-worst pass defense (301.3 yapg).

Sit:
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
Cutler was good enough last week against the Vikings at home. This week he travels to South Beach to face the Dolphins. They rank sixth is passing yards allowed with 203.9 ypg. They are also tied for 12th with 13 passing TDs allowed.

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Running Backs

Start:
Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys
Jones’ numbers were bloated by his 71-yard touchdown catch, but that’s the kind of big play ability he brings. Jason Garrett is wise to get him the ball in space and let Felix make plays. Detroit ranks 26th with 130.4 rushing yards allowed per game, and they are giving up 4.7 yards per carry.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, New England Patriots
The Law Firm ran well against Pittsburgh’s league-best run defense last week. He should have another good game in him against Indianapolis’ 29th-ranked run defense (133.2 yapg). The Pats used a lot of short passes and runs to perfection against Pittsburgh, and they will likely employ a similar strategy to keep Peyton Manning at bay.

Sit:
Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins
Brown scored a touchdown last week, but only gained 11 yards on 12 carries. He’s scored in consecutive weeks, but he plays the Bears’ second-ranked run defense (82.3 yapg) in a short week.

Wide Receivers

Start:
Santonio Holmes, New York Jets
Holmes has finally started to reward those owners who stuck with him despite his suspension and slow start. He has 10 catches for 190 yards and a touchdown in his past two games and a date with the league’s worst pass defense (Houston) on the horizon.

Mario Manningham, New York Giants
With Steve Smith out, Manningham caught 10 passes for 91 yards and a score. While I don’t expect a repeat performance against the Eagles, a strong game against the 18th-ranked pass defense (241.9 yapg) wouldn’t be a stretch. The Eagles are also tied for 22nd with 16 passing touchdowns allowed.

Sit:
Mike Sims-Walker, Jacksonville Jaguars
MSW had a golden opportunity last week against Houston’s porous pass defense. He responded with three catches for 26 yards. Mojo is running well and Mike Thomas has clearly replaced him as the go-to guy.

Tight Ends

Start:
Todd Heap, Baltimore Ravens
Heap is coming off a solid game (four catches, 57 yards, TD) against Atlanta. More importantly playing in the Thursday game gave him a mini-bye week, which should help the bumps and bruises at this stage of the season. He should play well against Carolina.

Sit:
Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears
Olsen has scored in consecutive games, but his lack of yardage is concerning. If he doesn’t score, you’re looking at about three fantasy points. At this crucial part of the season, you just can't rely on that lack of production.

Defenses

Start:
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs get a nice home start against the struggling Cardinals. They are prone to sacks and interceptions, plus Beanie Wells is a question mark.

Sit:
New York Giants
Perhaps the G-Men were looking ahead to this week’s tilt with Philly. Perhaps the Cowboys finally tried. Whatever the scenario, the Giants looked bad against Dallas and have the misfortune of facing Michael Vick this week.

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