Week 7 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Chris Johnson and More Stars To Bench

With bye weeks, new starters and injuries, how can you really afford to be picky in your fantasy league?

Well, to one degree, you can't. There is certainly a shortage of available, reliable players this week.

Still, just remember that your opponent is probably having a tough week too. So, especially if you're not in a really deep league, if you have these guys on your team, think about leaving them on the bench.

It's not that they're bad players, but the situations just aren't enough to depend on.

QB: Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan has only had multiple touchdown passes in one game this season. Don't look for that to change this week.

Atlanta's best, and probably only shot at outscoring the Lions is to feed the ball to Michael Turner. The Detroit defense is just not built to defend the run.

Now, they are much better at defending the pass. Only Tony Romo and the Cowboys have had a really strong passing day against the Lions, and even that came with three interceptions.

RB: Chris Johnson

Johnson has only had one 100-yard game this season. Other than that, he's only topped 50 twice and never topped 60.

Until he shows that he's capable of consistently carrying a load this season, he's just not worth a play. Even if Johnson has a huge game this week, I'll stand by what I am saying right now.

This late into the season, these players need to prove that they are worthy of a spot on your team and in your lineup. Johnson has just not done that.

If that's not enough for you, note that the Texans have also had good defensive days against teams that rush the ball well.

WR: Roddy White

You can pretty much just go back and read what was said about Matt Ryan and apply it here, but there is another reason to bench White.

Julio Jones is doubtful this week. The Lions will put all of their focus on White, making it really hard for Ryan to find him. Without Jones in the lineup a week ago, White caught all of two passes for 21 yards. More importantly, he didn't score any touchdowns.

And it's worth restating, when the Falcons are in position to score, their best bet is to hand the ball off to Michael Turner.

White is a fantastic receiver, but his fantasy numbers won't be there this week.

TE: Antonio Gates

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't tempted to go with Tony Gonzalez here, but I am not doing that. For one, I don't want to be repetitive. Two, when the Falcons are in the red zone, he is far and away their second-best option.

As for Antonio Gates, remember that he hasn't played since Week 1. It's unrealistic to think that some rust won't show.

When you're facing the Jets defense, rust is not a good thing to have. Well, it never is, but the Jets are a defense to really expose the problems.

Let Gates get his feet wet in NFL action before activating him.

K: Ryan Longwell

This one is pretty simple. Going up against a defense like the one Green Bay has, do you really want a rookie quarterback?

Well, the Vikings will have a rookie quarterback in the game. So, how likely is it that their kicker will get a lot of scoring chances? I wouldn't say that's very likely.

Defense: New York Jets

Will the defensive effort be good? Probably, but that's somewhat misleading. The problem here is that the Jets offense has done a terrible job of moving the ball and staying on the field.

That leads to a pretty rough combination for fantasy defenses. One is that the Jets defense will be on the field a lot. Two is that they will be dealing with a lot of short fields.

Against a team like the Chargers, this is a bad play. The Jets are normally fine, but against a good offense, there is just not a good reason to play them.