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Week Sixteen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pittsburgh at St. Louis Bench: Marc Bulger, QB, Rams: He’s had a rough time getting going this season, and it’s not going to get any easier against the Steelers. Start: Steven Jackson, RB, Rams: This falls into the “Don’t Bench Your Stud” category, and since his return in Week 8, Jackson has found the end zone 5 times. Dallas at Carolina Bench: Steve Smith, WR, Panthers: Remember what I said up there about not benching your stud? Forget it, Smith is worthless until the Panthers find a quarterback. Start: Jason Witten, TE, Cowboys: This guy has been absolutely on fire of late, catching 29 balls in the last 3 games. Cleveland at Cincinnati Bench: Rudi Johnson, RB, Bengals: There’s always next year for a usually consistent player who proved, this season, to be a fantasy stiff. Start: Both Quarterbacks: Keep an eye on the weather reports, but both of these guys should feast on each others’ weak secondaries. Green Bay at Chicago Bench: The Bears: This offense is going nowhere fast. Start: Ryan Grant, RB, Packers: He’s an every-week start now, and opposing backs are feasting on the Bears run defense. Houston at Indianapolis Bench: Sage Rosenfels, QB, Texans: The Colts have a great secondary, and Rosenfels despite recent efforts is not a great quarterback. Start: Andre Johnson, WR, Texans: Forget about matchups AJ will get his one TD this week. Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Colts: The good news is that I predicted that Gonzo would make a huge impact as a rookie. The bad news, of course, is that it took him til week 14 to do so...however, he makes a great start again this week. Kansas City at Detroit Bench: Your Lions: It’s ‘look to the future time’ in Detroit, again, so don’t expect to see a lot of Jon Kitna on Sunday. Start: Every Startable Chief: The Lions gave up on football a couple of weeks ago, so your Chiefs Kolby Smith, Dwayne Bowe, Gonzo, and even Brodie Croyle should reap the benefits. New York Giants at Buffalo Bench: Eli Manning, QB, Giants: I think it’s safe to say that Manning isn’t a very effective NFL quarterback (6 INT’s in his last 4 games) and he just lost Jeremy Shockey for the season, so if you have a better option, go with it. Start: Marshawn Lynch, RB, Bills: The Bills can’t pass, so expect to see a lot of Lynch, who should go over 1,000 yards for the season this week. Oakland at Jacksonville Bench: The Oakland Passing Game: The Raiders are 31st in the league through the air. Perhaps the JaMarcus Russell era starts this week, but does it really matter? Start: Fred Taylor, RB, Jags: Fred Taylor seems to have found a flux-capacitor and transported himself back to 1999 where he is routinely running for over 100 yards and scoring TD’s. That should continue against the Raiders. Justin Fargas, RB, Raiders: I know he’s facing the Jags, but Huggy is the only show in town for Oakland. Philadelphia at New Orleans Bench: Any Eagle Not Named Brian Westbrook: Westbrook is money, but the rest of this offense isn’t. Start: Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Aaron Stecker, Saints: The Saints are running the football better than they have all season, thanks to Stecker, which has opened up the passing game for Brees and Colston, both of whom are on fire. Atlanta at Arizona Bench: Edgerrin James, RB, Cardinals: Posted perhaps the quietest 1,000 yard season in the history of the league. Edge has played every week, but hasn’t done a ton from a fantasy perspective. Start: The Rest of Your Cardinals: K-Warn, Fitz and Boldin should all be money this week against a reeling Falcon squad. Tampa Bay at San Francisco Bench: Frank Gore, RB, 49ers: It’s an inconvenient truth, but the Niners have been terrible this season and Gore has disappointed. Start: Earnest Graham, RB, Bucs: 7 TD’s and 3 100-yard performances in the last 6 games means Earnest Goes to Your Starting Lineup. Indianapolis at Oakland Bench: The Raiders Passing Game: The Colts have the best secondary in football and the Raiders will either be starting a McCown or a rookie. You do the math. Start: Joseph Addai, RB, Colts: Joseph Addai, Joseph Addai, 100 times Joseph Addai. Oakland can’t stop anybody on the ground. Baltimore at Seattle Bench: Shaun Alexander, RB, Seahawks: Has morphed into Anthony Thomas in the span of about two yearsÉyou can do better than Alexander and his 3.3 YPC. Start: Bobby Engram, WR, Seahawks: The Ravens are banged-up in the secondary, and the 84 year old Engram, who played at Penn State when JoePa was a young coach, is the ‘Hawks most consistent receiver. He has over 1,000 yards and 5 TD’s on the year. Miami at New England Bench: Donte Stallworth, WR, Patriots: Has been usurped by Jabar Gaffney as the Pats 3rd most effective receiver. Start: Laurence Maroney (and the rest of your Patriots): Larry has finally been given some love in the red zone, and the Phish are 32nd in the league in rush defense. As I type this though, Bill Belichick is probably devising a brilliant game plan centered around the running of Kyle Eckel. New York Jets at Tennessee Bench: The Jets: Absolutely nothing worthwhile happening here... Start: LenDale White, RB, Titans: The big fella should roll against a bad Jets defense. Washington at Minnesota Bench: All Viking Receivers: There’s no rhyme or reason to who catches the ball in Minnesota, and their receiving corps has “Coming Soon to the Arena League” written all over it, with such notables as Bobby Wade and Robert Ferguson leading the charge. Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins: With the only caveat being that you have a better option waiting on your bench. Start: Chris Cooley, TE, Redskins: Has been the only consistent fantasy ‘Skin (excluding last week) and should be in your lineup against the Vikings. Denver at San Diego Bench: Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers: Philip Rivers seems incapable of having two halfway-decent games in a row, plus he faces the league’s 6th ranked pass defense. Start: Jay Cutler, QB, Broncos: Though his team has faltered, Cutler has been decent, statistically, down the stretch, and faces a 22nd ranked pass defense in San Diego. Bad Quarterbacks Likely to Start Part Two: If you’ve been ravaged by injury and have yet somehow managed to make the playoffs, consider the following list of journeyman quarterbacks likely to start: Chad Pennington, QB, Jets: Keep an eye on the injury to Clemens...actually, do us a favor and don’t keep an eye on either of these players. Chris Redman, QB, Falcons: Don’t go there. Cleo Lemon, QB, Dolphins: Lemon left a sour taste in the mouths of Baltimore fans last week, and will cement his legend status if he can knock off the mighty Patriots. Matt Moore, QB, Panthers: I thought this was my unemployed neighbor for a while, until I realized it was a different Matt Moore. Shaun Hill, QB, 49ers: Hill hasn’t looked half bad. Kyle Orton, QB, Bears: Orton has looked half bad, and then some. Todd Collins, QB, Redskins: Went 8 for 25 on a windy day in the Meadowlands. Kyle Boller, QB, Ravens: Woozy after sustaining a minor concussion, but should get the start again. Ted Kluck is the author of three books, including “Paper Tiger: One Athlete’s Journey to the Underbelly of Pro Football.” Visit him online at www.tedkluck.com.
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