Week 13 Start 'Em Sit 'Em

By Brandon Anderson
11/26/08
Email Brandon

It’s Thanksgiving week, and the fact that you watch football on the weekend, play the wonderful sport of fantasy football, and have the Internet and time in your day to read an article giving advice on it is proof enough that you have plenty to be thankful for this holiday season. So this weekend, enjoy a shorter article and use the extra 5 minutes to go out and thank someone that you love. A few words can go a long ways.

For this week, let’s stick with the Thanksgiving theme and see why we can be thankful for each of these players below…

**Start of the Week – Chris Johnson @ Detroit**
Be thankful that… you can visit an awesome site like Sports Outlaw that puts guys like Chris Johnson on your radar well before he exploded onto the season and your league mates. For all of Tennessee’s wins, they haven’t been on the TV much or had a chance to shine, so this is a great time for that to change while that tryptophan is hitting you hard. If you’re wondering, you should definitely start Lendale White as well and expect a TD or two and at least 10 references to him eager to hit the Thanksgiving buffet line.

**Sit of the Week – Matt Cassel vs Pittsburgh**
Be thankful that… Cassel has put up back to back 400 yard games for your squad, something that Brady fella has never done. It won’t be three in a row, not against the Steelers.

Quarterbacks

Start 'Em – Tony Romo vs Seattle
Be thankful that… Romo got healthy just in time for San Francisco and Seattle and your run at the fantasy playoffs.

Start 'Em – Donovan McNabb vs Arizona
Be thankful that… McNabb can’t have anything worse happening than a benching, and that monkey is finally off his back. He’ll be ready for a big Thanksgiving game.

Start 'Em– Trent Edwards vs San Francisco
Be thankful that… Edwards has 3 rushing TDs in his last two games and finally looks healthy again, and just in time for an awful 49ers defense to come to town.

Sit 'Em – Eli Manning @ Washington
Be thankful that… Peyton is still the only sure thing Manning in fantasy football, because you can only count on so many things in life.

Sit 'Em – Jake Delhomme @ Green Bay
Be thankful that… your life does not depend on getting consistent points from Delhomme on a weekly basis, or you wouldn’t be here to read this right now.

Sit 'Em – Tyler Thigpen @ Oakland
Be thankful that… Thigpen has evoked unfair comparisons to Billy Volek circa 2004, because he’s better and started early enough to save your season and your playoffs.

Running Backs

Start 'Em – Ronnie Brown @ St Louis
Be thankful that… Ronnie scored 5 times in that epic New England game that you had him benched for. No? Well be thankful that you sold high like I recommended. Still no? Fine, just be thankful that you can at least play him this week.

Start 'Em – DeAngelo Williams @ Green Bay
Be thankful that… all of your dynasty hopes and dreams are finally coming true for this guy with three straight games of 100+ yards and a TD after two and a half years of waiting.

Start 'Em – Darren McFadden vs Kansas City
Be thankful that… you held onto this guy, that he’s getting goal line carries, and that he got healthy in time to play the team he already put up 164 yards and a score on in one half earlier this season.

Sit 'Em – Pierre Thomas @ Tampa Bay
Be thankful that… you were smart enough to use Thomas and enjoy his top 10 performances over the last few weeks, just like you’re smart enough to leave him watching from your bench on the road against a tough Tampa D.

Sit 'Em – Peyton Hillis @ NY Jets
Be thankful that… Shanahan has struck fantasy RB gold again. Only this time it’s not exactly the sort of gold you’d buy your wife, or even your mother, but more like the kind you get your 5 year old daughter, they kind where it looks pretty in the right weather and because she’s your daughter, but if she’s away from home and playing a tough defense, you might want to look away. Did I lose the metaphor there?

Sit 'Em – Clinton Portis vs NY Giants
Be thankful that… you snagged Portis in the 2nd and have ridden him to glory all season, and that this is just a speed bump on the road to your fantasy title.

Wide Receivers

Start 'Em – Lee Evans vs San Francisco
Be thankful that… Evans got going again last week just in time to give you the confidence needed to start him for this big game.

Start 'Em – Hines Ward @ New England
Be thankful that… Ward has found the fountain of youth this season and should put up good numbers again this week against a worse-than-you’d-think Patriots secondary.

Start 'Em – Bernard Berrian vs Chicago
Be thankful that… Berrian gets to play Chicago again, about the only thing that can snap him out of this brutal slump.

Sit 'Em – Plaxico Burress @ Washington
Be thankful that… amidst the game-time decisions and awful stats, at least you have a dude with a sweet name in your lineup.

Sit 'Em– Marques Colston @ Tampa Bay
Be thankful that… your New Orleans WR is on a torrid streak right now with 75+ and a TD in four straight. Oh wait, that’s Lance Moore?

Sit 'Em – Braylon Edwards vs Indianapolis
Be thankful that… Edwards has been so bad that you don’t have to think twice about benching him.

Tight Ends

Start 'Em – Tony Scheffler @ NY Jets
Be thankful that… the Jets defense is good at everything now… except covering the TE.

Start 'Em – Justin Peelle @ San Diego
Be thankful that… San Diego is God’s gifts to opposing TEs, even ones with 9 catches all year.

Sit 'Em – Chris Cooley vs NY Giants
Be thankful that… Cooley only has to play the Giants twice a season.

Sit 'Em – Jeremy Shockey @ Tampa Bay
Be thankful that… you’re probably frustrated enough with Shockey that you’ve cut him by now.

Kickers

Start 'Em – Rian Lindell vs San Francisco, Jay Feely vs Denver
Be thankful that… you know how many points the 49ers and Broncos allow, and that is logic enough to start these guys.

Sit 'Em – Stephen Gostkowski vs Pittsburgh, John Carney @ Washington
Be thankful that… there’s at least one or two top 10 fantasy kickers on your waivers right now to play instead of either of these guys for the week.

Defenses

Start 'Em – Baltimore @ Cincinnati, Tennessee @ Detroit
Be thankful that… Cincy and Detroit are both so bad that, even at home, these smash mouth defenses are ready to dominant in sure thing starts.

Sit 'Em – Tampa Bay @ New Orleans, San Diego vs Atlanta
Be thankful that… this article is over, and in record time at that! Happy Thanksgiving!