Who To Start, Who To Sit–Week in17 NFL Fantasy Football

If you are reading this, congratulations, chances are you are in your league’s championship.  Hopefully your team has one more great week in it and you can bring home the hardware.  Here are guys that can make or break your title hopes.

Quarterback

Start:  Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions.

It seems that Rodgers is taking a lot of heat and blame for the fact that the Packers have only won five games this year after being in the NFC Championship last season.  Rodgers’ fantasy owners have only one thing to say about that.  Who gives a crap? 

Rodgers statistics are far better than any of us expected and there is no points in fantasy for team wins and losses.  Rodgers has a hell of a chance to throw for over 4,000 yards and already has 25 touchdown passes against only 13 picks. 

He has been great, and should finish strong as the Packers should send the Lions to the first 0-16 season in NFL history.  Meanwhile, how's that Favre guy's statistics?  Pro Bowl?  What a joke!

Sit:  Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys.

The Eagles laid an egg against the Redskins last week that took them out of playoff contention.  This week they get a chance to eliminate the Cowboys, but i don’t see the Eagles having any sort of a good game offensively. 

Dallas should win this game and somehow find their way into the playoffs and it will be their defense that keeps the Eagles to under 20 points to finish the year.  McNabb might throw one touchdown, but I don’t see him throwing two.

Running Back

Start:  Matt Forte, Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans.

One of three players with a chance of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Forte has been a workhorse for the Bears all season long.  He is also a great pass receiver out of the backfield and if the Bears are going to find a way into the playoff spot it is going to have to be Forte to carry them there. 

The Houston defense is nothing to get excited about, and Forte should be able to approach 100 yards and four or five receptions.

Sit:  Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs.

Last week Benson surprised everyone by running for over 150 yards in a game against the Browns. 

However, there is no reason to think that he can do it again.   It was a good yardage game, but Benson has only scored one touchdown all season long, so it isn’t like he is a great fantasy scorer. 

Unless you have a bunch of guys who are injured or guys that are being sat, I would stay away from Benson even with a good matchup against the Chiefs.

Wide Receiver

Start:  Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos.

Somehow through all the ups and downs they have been through this year the Chargers are now one game away from actually winning their division.  Jackson has been a huge part of that as he has had at least 90 yards in three straight games and has scored in two of the last three. 

The Broncos pass defense is among the worst in the league, so Philip Rivers and Jackson should be in for another good day although I think at the end of the day it will be Denver who wins the AFC West.

Sit:  Lee Evans, Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from Jackson, Evans has been horrible over the last three weeks.  He hasn’t had more than 23 yards in a game over that span and hasn’t scored since the middle of October.  The Patriots should walk all over the Bills and keep them at 13 points or less.  Evans might be able to get to 50 yards but I don’t see him finding the end zone at all.

Tight End

Start:  John Carlson, Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals.

Carlson has been the leading receiver for the Seahawks by a mile, and he finishes the season with the team that has allowed the most touchdown passes in the NFL.  Carlson has had over 75 yards or a touchdown in five straight weeks, and look for that trend to continue to end the season.

Sit:  Owen Daniels, Houston Texans vs. Chicago Bears.

Daniels had one of his great yardage games in Week 16, but he has had 41 yards or less in five of his last seven.  To make matters worse, he hasn’t scored since October 19th and that multi-touchdown game was the only game he has scored in all season long. 

With 67 catches and over 800 yards, Daniels has been a decent option at tight end in 2008, but the Bears need this game to stay alive in the playoff hunt so the defense should come out inspired, so expect them to keep Daniels in check.

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