Week 11 Start Em Sit Em: The Inside Scoop on Must-Start Players

Week 11 is the final week where teams will be on the bye this season, and with a number of high-caliber fantasy players unavailable to their GMs, strategy is necessary if you want to notch another win and head into the playoffs as a team to beat.

Let's say you have Houston Texans running back Arian Foster as your starter. With the Texans on a bye week, you're going to need another option. On your bench you have the Raiders' Michael Bush and the Lions' Maurice Morris and are unsure which one would be the optimal starter.

Bush is up against the Minnesota Vikings defense, one that is stingier against the run than the pass, while Morris faces the Carolina Panthers defense, ranked dead last against the run.

Bush has been incredibly successful as a fill-in for the injured Darren McFadden, with 242 total yards from scrimmage (157 rushing and 85 receiving) and a touchdown in Week 10. Morris had just 44 rushing yards against a strong Chicago Bears defense last week.

Though Morris should have a better outing this week, considering the advantageous matchup, the momentum resides with the far more forceful Bush. Between the two, go with him.

How about wide receivers, then? The Steelers' Mike Wallace and the myriad of weapons associated with Drew Brees' New Orleans Saints offense are all on their bye weeks, so a replacement is necessary.

If you go with the waiver-wire option, a good add and start this week is the Tennessee Titans' Damian Williams, as his team is taking on the Atlanta Falcons and their vulnerable secondary. Williams is slowly usurping Nate Washington as quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's primary deep-threat receiver.

He's feast-or-famine to be sure, but in his last three games he is averaging 67 yards and has two touchdowns. If you're desperate or in a deeper league, Williams is a good fill-in starter for Week 11.

If you managed to acquire Dallas Cowboys receiver Laurent Robinson, he's an excellent start this week. He proved his worth over the last two weeks, filling in for the injured Miles Austin to the tune of 73 yards and two scores in Week 10.

In Weeks 8-10, Robinson has 208 yards and four scores. This week against the Washington Redskins, he should add to that total considerably. He's a great start, and with Austin's injury history he may keep or even share the starting role when Austin returns in December.

At quarterback, options are more limited, and unless you have a reliable backup already on your bench you're likely to be disappointed should you own Ben Roethlisberger or Drew Brees. But there are smart choices you can make on the waiver wire.

Just be sure to avoid starting the Cincinnati Bengals' Andy Dalton. Notoriously poor against strong defenses (the Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers, to be specific), the Baltimore Ravens are likely to hold his yardage totals down this Sunday.

A risky start, but one with the potential to pay off in a big way, is the Raiders' Carson Palmer. While the Vikings rank 12th in the league in defending the run, they're just 27th against the pass. Though favored target Jacoby Ford is sidelined this week, Palmer has no lack of speedy and talented receivers.

As Palmer's comfort level increases so will his completion percentage, yardage and touchdowns. He's worth starting this week as the missteps of his debut fade further away into a distant-though-unpleasant memory.

On defense, one of the week's least inspiring matchups has the potential to produce a number of fantasy points, as the Cleveland Browns host the Jacksonville Jaguars. This game won't be high scoring, as both teams seriously struggle to score touchdowns, let alone gain meaningful yardage.

Of the two, the Jacksonville defense comes with a higher recommendation, but if you're in a serious bind, you could do much worse than give the Browns D a start this week.