Week 11 Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

Welcome back to Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em, Week 11. I think you know the drill by now…

*Start of the Week – Reggie Bush @ Houston*
Anyone heard of Mario Williams? You have to imagine Reggie Bush is still a little sore over last year's draft and Houston passing up the chance to make him the #1 pick and the franchise player. Add to that a banged up Texan defense and you better believe Bush is ready for a huge game.

*Sit of the Week – Jamal Lewis @ Baltimore*
Jamal Lewis is a special player... Special enough to land himself as the first ever back-to-back Sit of the Week! Coming off a 4 TD game two weeks ago, Lewis responded with 16 carries for a whopping 35 yards last week and no TDs... despite playing for a team who had the lead much of the game. The guy is clearly washed up at this point and is nothing more than a bad matchup play or a guy you hope for a 1 yard TD plunge on. Play him at your own risk.

Quarterbacks

Start 'Em – Kurt Warner @ Cincinnati
Warner quietly got it going last week with 259 yards and 3 TDs, and that’s even with him continuing to come out at the goal line for Tim Rattay and losing a fourth TD. This week he gets another juicy matchup and will have to score to keep up with the Bengals, so it’s another good start.

Start 'Em – Eli Manning @ Detroit
Lil’ Manning has been a disappointment again this year but he has put up the numbers on occasion and usually against poor defenses. Detroit has done a lot of things better this year, but defense ain’t one of ‘em.

Start 'Em – Matt Schaub vs New Orleans
Schaub might be sitting on the waiver wire in a few leagues after early injuries have hampered him much of the season. But he is healthy after a bye and also welcomes back superstud Andre Johnson just in time for a great matchup at home against the Saints. Better get him while you can – and play him too.

Sit 'Em – Matt Hasselbeck vs Chicago
Chicago’s defense is not what it once was, but the way to beat the Bears this year has been with a pounding run attack, and Seattle simply does not have that this year. Hasselbeck has not fared well against the Bears in the past and should struggle again.

Sit 'Em – Jay Cutler vs Tennessee
Just because Denver has a nationally televised game every time you turn around doesn’t mean you should be starting the guys you’ve got on their team. Cutler has been so miserable this season that you would have only wanted to start him once, and that was against Pittsburgh when you surely benched him the only time he got more than 1 passing TD. Gross.

Sit 'Em – Daunte Culpepper @ Minnesota
Based on matchups, Culepper is not a bad play, and we saw what he did earlier this year against Miami in his first shot at revenge. Well call me a homer, but I don’t buy it happening again. Minnesota is flat out angry at how Daunte left them and they’re going to make him pay this weekend. That spells disaster for Culpepper.

Running Backs

Start 'Em – Chester Taylor vs Oakland
Hey, remember this guy? Good old C-Tay, last year’s 1200-yard runner, is back for more action with AD out at least for now. And he gets the start just in time with the worst run defense in the league on the schedule. Let’s just say he’d be the Start of the Week if it wasn’t already so obvious.

Start 'Em – Willie Parker @ NY Jets
Parker should be in your lineup every week, but I still find some folks asking about him because of his lack of TDs. Yeah that’s annoying but the guy is a great shot at the century mark every week he plays, and that isn’t true of more than just a couple other backs. Look for a big game this weekend.

Start 'Em – Brandon Jacobs @ Detroit
In an interesting twist, Jacobs has actually been carrying the full load well lately and piling up yardage but losing goal line touches in the process. Detroit’s run defense has improved as the season has gone on but Jacobs will still get his and could finally get a TD too.

Sit 'Em – Thomas Jones vs Pittsburgh
Thomas Jones has been as frustrating as any RB this season, one of those guys you took in the 2nd or 3rd round and feel compelled to start every week because he’s not awful and isn’t hurt either. Well it’s time to forget about draft position. There’s just no upside here, and you’re crazy to start him against the Steelers.

Sit 'Em – Maurice Jones-Drew vs San Diego
These last two sits are only worth doing if you’ve got other good options. MJD has a tough matchup but not an unbearable one – heck, just two weeks ago Adrian Peterson almost ran for 300 on this defense. But the Chargers rebounded and are fired up and ready for MJD.

Sit 'Em – Willis McGahee vs Cleveland
McGahee will not be terrible and you may not have much better options, but Cleveland has actually done a pretty solid job of late against RBs and should limit a banged up McGahee and keep him out of the endzone as well.

Wide Receivers

Start 'Em – Andre Johnson vs New Orleans
Normally I’d tell you to wait a week and make sure a guy is healthy and looking good, but this is the perfect storm for Andre Johnson. The Texans have rushed him back from injury in the past and took their time this year. Now the team is still in the playoff hunt and has AJ and Schaub completely healthy, and it’s against an awful defense. Start Johnson and expect huge numbers just like in weeks 1-2 so long ago.

Start 'Em – Larry Fitzgerald / Anquan Boldin @ Cincinnati
Chances are pretty good you’re starting both of these guys every week by name alone, but neither of them has been great this year. Did you know Fitzgerald only had 1 TD all season before last week? Either way this is a great matchup and there should be plenty of passes for both.

Start 'Em – Derrick Mason / Mark Clayton vs Cleveland
These two show up for the second consecutive week with another great matchup. Clayton looks like he is finally coming around and may be back to an every week consideration. It remains to be seen how that is affecting Mason, and it doesn’t look great, but for now both look to be pretty good plays this weekend.

Sit 'Em – Steve Smith @ Green Bay
My how the mighty have fallen. Smith was far and away my #1 WR at the beginning of the season but he just has not found any rapport with any of Carolina’s backup QBs. This week he faces one of the best secondaries in the league and just isn’t more than a matchup or upside play at this point.

Sit 'Em – Dwayne Bowe @ Indianapolis
Brodie Croyle is getting the call in Kansas City and that may not be a good thing for Bowe. Neither is facing a tough Indy defense that knows Priest Holmes can’t beat them.

Sit 'Em – Lee Evans vs New England
Lee Evans has been almost entirely shut down in his career against the Patriots. He has 14 catches for 247 yards and no scores… in seven starts. Asante Samuel has absolutely owned him and should continue to do so on Sunday night.

Tight Ends

Start 'Em – Todd Heap vs Cleveland
Be careful here, because Heap is not a sure thing to play this weekend, but he usually plays through the pain. Cincy’s pass defense is terrible, especially against tight ends, and Heap is a must start if it looks like he’s going.

Start 'Em – Jeremy Shockey @ Detroit
Looks like Mr. Shockey was not happy about my statements last week about him having a mediocre forgettable season. The Giants came off the bye week with a clear effort to get him the ball, and that should continue this week.

Sit 'Em – Alge Crumpler vs Tampa Bay
Don’t be fooled by last week’s numbers and think that Alge is back to an elite start again. It was one long broken play, and it was the first even halfway decent game since week 3. Let Alge sit this one out.

Sit 'Em – Kellen Winslow @ Baltimore
No you probably shouldn’t flat out bench the Soldja unless you’ve got another great TE, but he’s got a tough matchup and may have a quiet week.

Kickers

Start 'Em – Matt Stover vs Cleveland
Cleveland has continued to give up big points to kickers all season, and Baltimore is good enough to move the ball on this team, especially at home. Stover is a spot start, but this is a good spot to pick.

Start 'Em – Kris Brown vs New Orleans
Brown was a top 3 kicker for much of the season but has really tapered off over the past month as Houston looked awful. Well the offensive players are back and the scoring chances will be too, so it’s time to pick up Brown and play him again.

Sit 'Em – Jason Hanson vs NY Giants
Although the scoring in this game may be high, these two teams are last in the league in kicker points allowed so you may see a bunch of TDs and not many FG opportunities.

Sit 'Em – Lawrence Tynes @ Detroit
… Ditto.

Defenses

Start 'Em – Philadelphia vs Miami
Any time you can start a defense at home against a rookie QB making his first start, you are in good shape. When that defense is run by Jim Johnson and that opponent is 0-9, you just might have hit a jackpot.

Start 'Em – Indianapolis vs Kansas City
Croyle has been on the bench all season for a reason, and he’s going to have a really hard time getting anything going in the Dome this week, Freeney or not.

Sit 'Em – San Diego @ Jacksonville
The Chargers are one of the top fantasy defenses of late but the Jags know how to play safe and limit mistakes, and the Bolts are due for a letdown after last week’s big (lucky) win.

Sit 'Em – Dallas vs Washington
Anything can happen in this longtime rivalry, but Washington’s offense is conservative and does not allow many sacks or turnovers. This game will be much closer than you think, with the Cowboys licking their wounds after two games against tough NFC East opponents.