Week 12 Start 'Em / Sit 'Em - Thanksgiving Primer

This week starts the Thursday game tradition with three Thanksgiving day games, so I thought I'd give a primer in bullet form for the 6 teams playing on Turkey Day.

Detroit

• Jon Kitna - Should be another normal Kitna week. Lots of attempts, plenty of yardage, and a TD or two. Nothing great, but not bad either.
• Kevin Jones - Detroit has completely abandoned its run game two weeks in a row, Jones is not healthy, and Green Bay's run D is one of the best. Run away.
• Roy Williams - Williams has had good Thanksgiving performances in the past and has been a bit vocal this week after the tough Giants loss. Even against a good GB secondary, that means he's probably a pretty solid play.
• Shaun McDonald, Calvin Johnson - Both these two are pretty risky plays. McDonald gets consistent catches and yards, and Calvin gest consistent TDs, but in a tough matchup, they are decent WR3 options who can be played just to give you someone to root for on Thanksgiving.
• Jason Hanson - Both teams give up minimal kicker points and will probably give you average at best Thanksgiving performances.
• D/ST - You may be tempted to make a play here with Detroit's fantasy defense rated high and maybe hope for some Thanksgiving magic, but the Packers have allowed the least points to opposing fantasy defenses this season so you should look elsewhere.

Green Bay

• Brett Favre - Let's see here... Detroit has an awful defense, Green Bay is firing on all cylinders, and Favre likes to put on a show on the big stage... Yeah, you better get him in your lineup.
• Ryan Grant - Grant is a big time start against a terrible run defense. Yes the Lions have been better a bit lately but they're still below average to awful, depending on the day.
• Donald Driver, Greg Jennings - Plug and play as always. Both of these guys are solid WR2s with potential every week for WR1 performances, and against this defense, you definitely want them in.
• Donald Lee - Lee has been very hot lately and is a must start against a team that has defended TEs very poorly.
• Mason Crosby - Like Hanson, you can probably find better options elsewhere, but he also won't be awful.
• D/ST - Solid play against a team that gives up a lot of sacks and plenty turnovers, but in a tough division game and on Thanksgiving when Detroit usually steps it up, not necessarily great.

Dallas

• Tony Romo - No one needs to tell you to start Romo by now, especially against the Jets. But just in case you need a reminder, Romo put up 300+ and 5 TDs last Thanksgiving.
• Marion Barber - MB3 has been average of late, but the Jets run defense is terrible and Barber should definitely get at least 1 TD as well. Get him in that lineup.
• Julius Jones - Jones admittedly has a good matchup. But he has yet to break 80 yards combined this year and has only 1 TD. Then again, you're not thinking about playing him anyway unless your name is Mike and you own the greatest fantasy sports site on the internet.
• Terrell Owens - No one -- not even Randy Moss -- is as hot. TO has been a top 2 WR three consecutive weeks.
• Patrick Crayton, Jason Witten - Both solid starts and should be in your lineup probably. Witten is a tough matchup but will get redzone looks.
• Nick Folk - Folk should be in your starting lineup every week, and the Cowboys will not struggle to score this one.
• D/ST - Folks were a little turned off by the Sit notion last week, but Dallas's D is better in person than fantasy. Another week that's not a great matchup, unless Pennington has to play. Still not a bad play either.

NY Jets

• Kellen Clemens - Your team is probably in pretty sorry shape if you're thinking of playing Clemens, but he'll probably have solid numbers. Playing behind all game means 250+ passing against a soft secondary and could get a garbage TD or two.
• Thomas Jones - Like the rest of the Jets, Jones should be a pretty average play. Don't think he'll be hot just because he's coming off a 100 yard game. The other two such times this year he averaged about 50 yards, and that was against Buffalo and Cincy.
• Jerricho Cotchery - The Crotch is a good start this week who should see plenty of looks and catch at least 5 passes, maybe even double that, and threaten 100 yards.
• Laveranues Coles - Coles is still dealing with concussion symptoms and looks unlikely to play. On a short week, you should stay away.
• Mike Nugent - Meh.
• D/ST - Probably not a great option. Dallas always comes to play on Turkey Day and is one of the best offenses in the league right now.

Indianapolis

• Peyton Manning, Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne, Adam Vinatieri - What is there to say? You're starting these guys every week. It's an average matchup, and you get the feeling the Colts will just run the ball, run the clock, limit mistakes, and get an ugly win. I don't expect much from Peyton, but you aren't going to bench him no matter what I say. Addai is the best start of the group.
• Marvin Harrison - Absolutely no way he comes back on a short week. Expect this to be one final game sitting out so he can return on 10 days rest to play Jacksonville.
• Dallas Clark - Play him if he's healthy. Should get plenty of looks and yardage, and always a TD threat.
• D/ST - The Colts' defense will dominate Atlanta, but that may not turn into many fantasy points. An average play.

Atlanta

• Roddy White, Warrick Dunn - Both these guys should get their customary 50-75 yards, and they're the only two I'd play... and hopefully only as a deep league flex or injury fill in.
• Everyone else - There are few fantasy teams with less fantasy implications than the Falcons this year.

That's it! Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy the food and the football, and take a minute sometime during the day to be thankful for family, friends, and life!