Week 14 Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

Welcome back to Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em, Week 14. If you're reading this, you're probably either in the final week of the regular season fighting for playoff seeding or else in the first round going for the gold. Congrats on making it this far, now let's get down to business...

*Start of the Week – Ryan Grant vs Oakland*
In case you missed November, here’s what happened. One magical Monday night in Denver, the Packers got a bunch of their RBs injured and happened into an undrafted rookie named Ryan Grant. Since then he has been the answer to their run game, averaging over 100 yards and a TD in his last four games. This week he plays the worst run defense in the NFL. You know how they always tell you to play your studs? Don’t let the name confuse you. There are few more reliable RBs in fantasy football right now.

*Sit of the Week – Brett Favre vs Oakland*
Brett Favre is an absolute warrior, truly the heart and soul of Green Bay and its football team and a football icon for our time. He will fight through injury this weekend and make his 250th consecutive start, an unimaginable feat. But he should not be in your fantasy lineup, and I will tell you why. Favre has not finished all of the games he’s started in recent years, and this looks like a good candidate for a quick Green Bay lead and a chance to rest Favre. The Raiders are terrible against the run and have limited the passer, and Favre is coming off a serious injury, even for him. The Packers won’t risk him much this weekend. You shouldn’t either.

Quarterbacks

Start 'Em – Tom Brady vs Pittsburgh
Duh, right? But don’t think this is so obvious. I’ve seen some people out there with solid second QBs actually trying to figure out whether to play Tom Brady this weekend or not. Memo to those people – stick with what got ye here. Brady’s bad week is a good week for everyone else, and the Pats haven’t lost to the Steelers yet. Don’t overthink this one.

Start 'Em – Kellen Clemens vs Cleveland
Don’t go benching your studs for Mr. Clemens. But I’ve got a feeling about the Jets at home this weekend, and Clemens will have to be in the middle of it. Look for 250 yards and his first multi-TD game.

Start 'Em – Tarvaris Jackson @ San Francisco
Tarvaris Jackson has quietly been awesome over the last three weeks, and really is continuing to improve over the whole season. He is 6-2 as a starter. Look for another efficient but not great performance this week, with some rushing yardage plus about 200 in the air and another multi-TD performance.

Sit 'Em – Kurt Warner @ Seattle
Warner has not been a big fan of playing in Seattle over his career, and things should only get worse this week with both Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin either playing hurt or sitting this one out completely. Add in a tough defense and cold weather and Warner shouldn’t sniff your lineup this week.

Sit 'Em – Jon Kitna vs Dallas
After a great first month of the season, Kitna has been hit or miss the rest of the way, and hits just aren’t coming that often. Since those first four games, he has only one 300-yard game and only two multi-TD showings, and now he has lost Roy Williams for the season and plays a tough defense with the Lions reeling. Stay away.

Sit 'Em – Jay Cutler vs Kansas City
Looks like Cutler has found himself a new home here in the weekly Sit ‘Em. Maybe he can call up Phil Rivers and ask about real estate.

Running Backs

Start 'Em – Earnest Graham @ Houston
I’ll call your Ryan Grant and raise you an Earnest Graham. Like Grant, Graham is not the first name you think of when you imagine a fantasy RB who could carry you through the playoffs. But like Grant, Graham too has given his playoff contending team a strong running attack, and he too is averaging over 100 yards and a TD over the last four games. Add in a bad Houston run defense and it’s a must start situation.

Start 'Em – Frank Gore vs Minnesota
The Minnesota run defense is not what it used to be, and Gore has been better lately, especially at getting involved again in the passing game. Expect him to be a big factor in an upset bid over Minnesota.

Start 'Em – Marion Barber @ Detroit
Barber isn’t as good as he looked early in the year but he’s still a great TD vulture and a guy who gets solid yardage, and both of those should be readily available against a Lions team that can do no right anymore.

Sit 'Em – Thomas Jones vs Cleveland
Thomas Jones has been in No Man’s Land all season. He’s only had a couple decent games, and usually against tougher defenses when he probably sat on your bench, and he’s been unbelievably pedestrian in the rest with no nose for the endzone. Sit him out here against a stingy run defense.

Sit 'Em – Fred Taylor vs Carolina
If the last two weeks are any indication, Taylor should have 14 carries for 104 yards. What a weird coincidence, huh? But the run stops there. Taylor is still no TD threat and you won’t be able to rely on him for 80-100 yards against this defense.

Sit 'Em – Ron Dayne vs Tampa Bay
Dayne has been solid lately, but what else is new? Badum-chh… thank you, I’ll be here all night. Seriously though, Tampa is no ordinary defense, and you don’t want Black Thunder rolling through those fields.

Wide Receivers

Start 'Em – Roddy White @ New Orleans
Like Graham and Grant, if you have Rowdy Roddy White, you better get him in your lineup and don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. White has been as good as any fantasy receiver the last two weeks and now he gets one of the worst pass defenses in the league. Play the numbers, not the name.

Start 'Em – Sidney Rice @ San Francisco
Rice has actually been establishing himself as a go-to playmaker in Minnesota, and he has scored a TD in three of his last four starts. Against a bad 49ers defense, he has a good shot to make that four of five.

Start 'Em – Laveranues Coles / Brad Smith vs Cleveland
Be sure to monitor Coles’ injury status, but he’s a must start against the Browns if he is playing. If not, that makes Brad Smith even more intriguing as that last minute sleeper. With Cotchery out, Smith is getting a lot of looks and could have a big game against the worse secondary in the league.

Sit 'Em – Calvin Johnson vs Dallas
You’re probably pretty excited about Calvin after waiting on him all year now that Roy Williams is out. But all that means is that Johnson gets Terence Newman draped all over him this weekend, and he’s just too inconsistent to be worth a start at this point.

Sit 'Em – Javon Walker vs Kansas City
Javon Walker has been a pretty major disappointment this year with all of his injury problems. Now he is back and healthy but more disappointing than ever with almost no production. That won’t change against a good KC defense.

Sit 'Em – Lee Evans @ Miami
It looked for awhile like Lee Evans was turning into his usual second half self, but it looks like Old Lee is back and that makes him a pretty questionable start each week from now on.

Tight Ends

Start 'Em – Bo Scaife vs San Diego
You’d think the Chargers would have plenty of practice in covering the tight end, but they’re one of the worst teams in the league. Scaife has been as consistent as any Tennessee target and should get plenty of looks this weekend for a nice game.

Start 'Em – Marcedes Lewis vs Carolina
Lewis has really come on in the last few days for David Garrard, and now he faces one of the worst defenses in the league against TEs. Great filler spot.

Sit 'Em – Donald Lee vs Oakland
Lee was a stud TE for a stretch there but it seems that teams have adjusted and are making sure to cover him now. Add to that the Favre injury and that means Lee just isn’t as valuable as he was a month ago.

Sit 'Em – Owen Daniels vs Tampa Bay
Daniels has quietly been very good this year, especially in PPR leagues, but the Bucs do a great job against the tight end and should limit him, them and Sage Rosenfels.

Kickers

Start 'Em – Mike Nugent vs Cleveland
The Nuge has actually been pretty solid lately, and Clemens and the Jets are getting him into plenty of field goal opportunity situations. Against the Browns there’s no reason for that to change.

Start 'Em – Phil Dawson @ NY Jets
Dawson should get his points too as the Browns continue to move the ball but may struggle to punch it in against an improving Jets team.

Sit 'Em – Rob Bironas vs San Diego
I like Tennessee in this game, but the Chargers just don’t seem to give up many field goals, so that doesn’t bode well for Bironas.

Sit 'Em – Kris Brown vs Tampa Bay
Sit Brown because Tampa is a great defense and because Sage Rosenfels is a terrible QB. Take your pick.

Defenses

Start 'Em – Minnesota @ San Francisco
Probably a no brainer, but the Vikings defense has been hot again lately and gets to play possibly the worst offense in the league.

Start 'Em – Cincinnati vs St Louis
I know, Cincinnati is a terrible defense, but it’s fantasy points that matter. And when a guy named Brock Berlin is starting at QB behind a shell of an offensive line, just trust me on this one, you want the other team’s defense that week.

Sit 'Em – Tennessee vs San Diego
Same thing as Bironas really. I like the Titans in this game, I just think it will be a conservatively played game that won’t allow for many points in this area.

Sit 'Em – Pittsburgh @ New England
Don’t try to be a hero. Get off the “Lose, New England!!” bandwagon. You wouldn’t have played the NFL All Star defense against the Pats a couple weeks ago. Brady got sacked 3 times last week and the announcers were stunned. The Pats are going to score, they’re not going to make many mistakes, and there’s a far better chance of you getting negative points here than anything worth your while.