Who to Start, Who to Sit: Week 10

Quarterbacks

Start:  Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Quickly becoming one of my favorite fantasy quarterbacks, Rodgers has put all of the criticism to bed at the start of the season with the Favre fiasco.  Rodgers showed last week that even against tough defenses like Tennessee he can put up good stats, as he threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown. 

It will most likely be a typical hard-fought NFC North battle between the Vikes and Pack, but look for Rodgers to throw for at least 250 yards and two scores.

Start:  Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers vs. Oakland Raiders

Delhomme has had two touchdown passes in three of his last four games and hasn’t thrown an interception in two straight.  This week the Panthers play the Raiders, who, as usual, are in turmoil.  Not only have they already fired their coach and gotten shut out by the Falcons, but now there are reports that they are considering some mass cuts of some of their veteran players like DeAngelo Hall and Javon Walker.  The Raiders are a total mess, and Delhomme and the Panthers should be able to take advantage.

Sit:  Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams vs. New York Jets

Even though the Rams have started to play better lately (outside of the second quarter last week), Bulger’s stats really aren’t coming around.  He’s only thrown multiple touchdowns once this season and has three games with no scores.

The Jets do give up some points, but their secondary is great with Kerry Rhodes, Darrelle Revis, and Dwight Lowery.  Not only are they good at covering, but are playmakers, and Bulger will most likely get picked off more than once.  He might throw for 200 yards, but I see a max of one touchdown and multiple turnovers, as the pass rush will keep him on the run all afternoon.

Sit:  Eli Manning, New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Eli is having a great season, but he has consistently struggled against the Eagles in his career (like many do).  In nine total games he has averaged just over 210 yards per game and has as many interceptions (eight) as touchdowns over his career.  This will be a hard-fought defensive struggle, and I don’t see him throwing any more than one score.

Running Backs

Start:  Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Detroit Lions

Okay, he has been a colossal disappointment, but if you don’t start him against the Lions, when are you going to put him into your starting lineup?  The yardage hasn’t been great, but he has scored four times in the last four games.  The Lions are fantasy gold for any of your players, so start Jones-Drew with confidence, and he should reward you with another score.

Start:  Thomas Jones, New York Jets vs. St. Louis Rams

Those of you who email me know that I am not a fan of Thomas Jones at all.  However, when the matchup looks this good, I can’t advise against playing him if he is on your roster.  Jones has scored in three of the last four games, and in the one he didn’t score he ran for almost 160 yards.  With Favre’s inconsistency of late, it appears that the Jets are leaning more on their running game and, against a Rams defense that allows over 150 yards a game on the ground and has allowed 12 rushing touchdowns, Jones is a good play this week.

Sit:  Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings

After a horrible start to the season, Grant has rushed for more than 80 yards for four straight weeks.  However, the Vikings' run defense is no joke, and I see the Packers trying to win this game through the air.  Minnesota is second in the league against the run with fewer than 70 yards per game, but I don’t even see Grant getting there.  Look for no more than 50 yards and no touchdowns this week.

Sit:  Steve Slaton, Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are the No. 1 defense against the run, allowing fewer than 65 yards per game.  Not only do they keep the runner to a low number of yards, but they have only allowed one rushing touchdown all season long.

Slaton has had one of the more impressive rookie seasons on the ground—or at least the most unexpected—but this will not be a good game for him.  He has had a couple good games against tough defenses, but the Ravens just beat your ass and I don’t see Slaton getting any more than the 65 that the Ravens normally give up.

Wide Receivers

Start:  Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers

Even with the tremendous turnover in quarterback play for the Chiefs this season, Dwayne Bowe has been putting together a good season.  All of a sudden, Tyler Thigpen has started to look like he knows what he is doing.

Thigpen isn’t turning into Tom Brady by any stretch, but the Chargers are the worst defense against the pass and this is a great week to start Bowe.  He needs to start scoring a few more touchdowns, but this is a good a week as any to expect him to catch at least six passes, with one of them being in the end zone.

Start:  Ted Ginn Jr., Miami Dolphins vs. Seattle Seahawks

This guy could be one of the next explosive receivers.  Many fantasy players went and picked him up after his 175-yard game two weeks ago.  He could have been jettisoned back to the free agent wire after his three catch disappointment last week. 

Ginn has shown the ability to break a short pass all the way, and he is exciting every time he touches the ball.  Chad Pennington is starting to look his way, and I think that Ginn could have a great second half.  Seattle is second worst against the pass and has allowed 13 passing touchdowns already this season. Ginn and Pennington will look to add to that this week.

Sit:  Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Big Ben is hurting, Byron Leftwich looks to be the starter this week, and the Colts have been a great defense against the pass.  Despite the touchdown last week, Holmes has been a disappointment this year.

The Steelers' passing game has been just a shell of what it was last year when Roethlisberger threw 31 touchdowns.  The Colts have been solid all season long, and allow just over 180 yards per game through the air.  However, the most impressive stat is that they have only allowed two aerial scores in eight games; so don’t expect Holmes to find pay dirt in week 10.

Sit:  DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants

Yardage-wise, the Giants are the second best defense against the pass, and I see this upcoming NFC East showdown to be a low scoring, smash mouth game.  Despite his punt return capabilities, Jackson’s stats have started to diminish some since the Eagles have gotten healthy.

With the return of Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, Jackson has just five catches in the past two weeks, and you can expect another tough game for DeSean again this week.  He will catch a handful of passes, but look for a better option on your roster for this coming week.

Tight End

Start:  Bo Scaife, Tennessee Titans vs. Chicago Bears

With Kerry Collins “managing” the game, Scaife has been a great security blanket for him.  The Titans do not have a dynamic passing game, but that actually favors the tight end.  They don’t have a vertical passing game, and like to find the tight end over the middle.  The Bears are actually third worst against the pass, and Scaife has a good chance of scoring this week.

Sit:  Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears vs. Tennessee Titans

The Titans are winning games by running the football and with a stone cold tough defense.  With Kyle Orton likely out of the game, the ever-inconsistent Rex Grossman will be behind center, and with that most likely comes inconsistency in the Bears' offense.  Olsen has been one of the best of the next level of tight ends this year, but with a change in QB and a stiff defense, this doesn’t look like a good week to start Olsen.

As always, your comments and questions (adds/drops, trade advice, lineup questions, etc.) are welcome at [e-mail]. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.