Fantasy Football Week 14 Start/Sit: Joe Flacco In, Matt Ryan Out

Ryan LesterDec 8, 2010

Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 14 of the NFL season.

Quarterbacks

Start:
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
I still can’t wrap my head around why the Ravens were passing when Troy Polamalu made the game-changing strip on Sunday night. He should be able to dust himself off and get right back up against the Texans, who are allowing 298.3 passing yards and 2.5 passing touchdowns per game.

Sit:
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
It’s not that I think Matty Ice will struggle this week. I just think that the Panthers are going to get a heavy dose of the run when they face the Falcons.

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Running Backs

Start:
Christopher Ivory, New Orleans Saints
Even if Pierre Thomas returns this week, Sean Payton has made it clear that Ivory is his guy saying, “I don’t want to affect his snap count at all in regards to his carries. Certainly Ivory has earned the reps that he’s getting now and the touches.” St. Louis has only allowed five rushing touchdowns, but with the Saints clicking, there’s a good chance that total goes up this week.

Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
J-Stew faces a run defense that has yielded just five rushing touchdowns this year. They did allow 103 yards and a score for LeGarrette Blount last week though.

Stewart is finally healthy, and the 90-plus yards he’s had in each of the past two weeks makes me optimistic. Mike Goodson is dealing with a shoulder injury, meaning Stewart should get a bulk of the carries.

Sit:
Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals
Benson draws Pittsburgh on the road. The Steelers are allowing league lows in yards per game (62.3), yards per carry (three) and rushing touchdowns (four). The last time Benson played in Pittsburgh he managed just 22 yards.

Wide Receivers

Start:
Sidney Rice, Minnesota Vikings
Last week I had Rice as a sleeper pick, but I did not think it would be Tarvaris Jackson making him relevant again. The way he makes plays on the ball, it’s hard not to plug Rice into your lineup and hope last week was a sign of things to come regardless of who is under center.

Deion Branch, New England Patriots
Branch has a tough match-up against the Bears, but the Jets didn’t faze him. He’s averaging 79.5 yards with three touchdowns in his past four games despite facing the Steelers, Colts and Jets.

Sit:
Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati Bengals
Ocho has totals of 15, 29 and 54 yards the past three times he’s faced the Steelers. He did not score a touchdown over that stretch. He’s had seven games with fewer than 60 yards this year. Hard to rely on that kind of production in the fantasy playoffs, especially when he’s facing a defense like Pittsburgh.

Tight Ends

Start:
Benjamin Watson, Cleveland Browns
Watson is coming off a 10 catch, 100 yard game against Miami. With Jake Delhomme playing quarterback, Watson figures to have another productive week. Buffalo is tied for 26th with 22 touchdown passes allowed. Watson is a good bet to use his speed and size to add to that total.

Sit:
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons
Same deal as with Matt Ryan regarding the Falcons using a run-heavy attack this week. Not to mention that Gonzo has had just a handful of quality fantasy games this year.

Defenses

Start:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense
The Bucs have quietly turned into one of the better fantasy defenses in the league. They face Washington, who is falling apart at the seams. Donovan McNabb has been sacked 35 times, which is the second highest total in the league. He’s also among the leaders with 15 interceptions thrown.

Sit:
Chicago Bears Defense
The Bears have a nasty defense. Unfortunately they draw the Patriots this week, who just rolled over the Jets. Don’t look for a letdown from the league’s highest scoring offense (31.6 points per game). They also have forced the fewest takeaways (nine) and are tied for the fifth fewest sacks allowed (18).

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