What is a fantasy football owner to do with all this craziness?  Keep marching on:  look at the matchups, read all you can, ask questions on the ROTOEXPERTS.com forums, tune into ROTORADIO (on BlogTalkRadio – I heard they get great guests all the time) and make the best decisions possible based on the information that you have. 

Sometimes the decisions you make are right and sometimes they are not, but that’s what makes this hobby a challenge. Think about it, would this be any fun if the decisions were easy to make?

Quarterbacks to start
Matt Schaub (HOU) – Well, it looks like a lot of fantasy owners and writers wrote him off too soon.  Following a couple bad games Schaub has bounced back to post back-to-back solid outings, ending any thought of a quarterback controversy for the Texans.  With a cushy game against Detroit, another good week and his holding the starting job are certainties.

Jay Cutler (DEN) – Did you see what Philip Rivers (SD) did to New England last week?  Expect more of the same this week, as the undersized Patriots secondary has no hope of matching up with Denver’s receivers.

Don't hesitate to use Jeff Garcia this week. Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Jeff Garcia (TB) – Garcia has already been named the starter for this week’s game against Seattle.  He is an experienced quarterback with decent receivers.  Further, his line is doing a fantastic job of keeping the pressure off him and giving him time to throw.  His statistics won’t win the week for you, but he will score more than the question mark quarterbacks out there.  The only downside to starting him is that if you watch his game, you have to listen to the Sunday Night Football duo.

Quarterbacks to sit
Matt Cassel (NE) – Mr. Belichick, please stop this insanity.  Whatever you are seeing in practice from Cassel is not making it into the games.  He gets happy feet as soon as he takes the snap, showing no pocket presence at all.  Further, his repertoire seems limited to only two passes: Bouncing it a few yards in front of the receiver or throwing it just at the limit of their reach to ensure they get laid out by the nearest defender.  While it is hard to believe a quarterback could perform this badly throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker, he actually is.  While we wait for Belichick to bench him, all fantasy owners must do it now, even with a cupcake of a game against Denver at Foxboro.

Brad Johnson (DAL) – So, you read the news that Tony Romo is out for up to five weeks, and as quick as you could, you put in a waiver claim to grab his replacement.  If you got him, congratulations; you just picked up a 40-year old quarterback with a throwing arm on par with my six-year old daughter.  Now do yourself another favor and put a sticky note on the front of your monitor reminding yourself not to play him.  Even in a game against St. Louis, Johnson will not do enough to help your team, except in the deepest two-quarterback leagues.

Running backs to start
Warrick Dunn (TB) – He … is … alive!  Dunn posted 115 yards on 22 carries against Carolina, which means he had almost as many rushing yards in the past two games as he did in the first four.  Does that mean you can trust him for the rest of the year?  Who knows.  But I do know that Dunn can help your fantasy team this week against the lowly Seahawks.

Marion Barber III (DAL) -- With Brad Johnson taking over as quarterback for Tony Romo and his broken pinkie the Cowboys' offense will change dramatically.  The biggest beneficiaries of the change will be the Dallas running backs.  But with Felix Jones expected to be out this week against the hapless Rams, Barber is an obvious play who will rack up studly numbers.  Tashard Choice is worth a look as a flex play in deep leagues.

Willie Parker (PIT) – After missing two games with a sprained MCL (and his open week in there for good measure) Fast Willie returns just in time to run through a Bengals defense that is having a hard time stopping anybody on the ground.

Running backs to sit
Larry Johnson (KC) – Sure he blew up for almost 200 yards three weeks ago, but he also rushed for less than ten yards two weeks ago.  Now after his open week, which Larry Johnson will show up?  Against a tough Tennessee defense which features the best defensive line in the NFL, Larry will find little room to run and will only serve to disappoint any who start him.  Expect a brutal day from LJ.

Wide receivers to start
Braylon Edwards (CLE) – FINALLY!  That strong breeze you felt Monday evening was the collective sigh of relief from all of us who drafted Edwards to be a stud receiver this season.   His 154 receiving yards and touchdown versus the Giants was a dominating performance, not just a sign of life.  And it is encouraging enough to get him back in your lineup. 

Brandon Stokley (DEN) – (Assuming he plays despite the concussion he suffered in Week Six.)  Whether he is starting in place of Eddie Royal or working out of the slot as the third receiver Stokley should have a solid game.  Stokley has the speed to run circles around the aged linebackers of New England and roam free over the middle of the field.

Bernard Berrian (MIN) – While I have never been a fan of his, there is no arguing with results.  And the results show that since the switch was made from Tarvaris Jackson to Gus Frerotte, Berrian is the fourth-highest scoring wide receiver in the league.  Don’t be scared off by the Bears secondary, which got banged up last week, Berrian is a solid starting wide receiver.

Antwaan Randle El (WAS) – Sure he is the second receiver for the Redskins, but he put together a nice game against St. Louis.  Expect roughly the same production this week against Cleveland’s poor defense.  

Lance Moore (NO) – With 26 receptions over the last three weeks, do not fret about the expected return of Marques Colston (WR) this week.  Moore has established himself as a vital part of the Saints offense and any reduction in targets should be offset by the Panthers defense being forced to roll coverage towards Colston, leaving Moore in man-to-man coverage, which he should be able to beat.

Wide receivers to sit
Chad Ocho Cinco (CIN) – Ryan Fitzpatrick will be running the offense for at least another week in place of the injured Carson Palmer. Which means against a tough Pittsburgh defense, Ocho Cinco can finally sentarse on your bench.  Whether it is the lingering effects from the pre-season shoulder injury or some other undisclosed condition, he does not seem to be 100 percent and starting him is only dragging your team down.

Bobby Engram (SEA) – Without Matt Hasselbeck out, nobody in the Seattle offense will be a consistent fantasy play.  Whenever Hasselbeck comes back, go ahead and plug Engram right into your lineup, but until then keep him benched.  Especially this week against Tampa Bay. This game could get ugly for Seattle’s offense.

Defense/Special teams to start
Miami Dolphins – In case you haven’t noticed, the Dolphins are emerging as a pretty good defensive unit.   They should be able to hold a Baltimore Ravens team that is offensively challenged (to put it nicely), while forcing a couple turnovers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs seemed a little more blitz-happy in their game against the Panthers last week, also throwing in lots of man-to-man coverage.  In fact, they had little resemblance to the famed Tampa-Two defense of old.  This modern version, however, should shut down the "offense" of the Seattle Seahawks.

Deep plays for larger leagues
Chad Pennington (QB, MIA) – While starting Pennington against the Baltimore Ravens defense may sound crazy, it actually may not be.  The Ravens are racked with injuries and last week. both Ravens cornerbacks (Chris McAllister and Corey Ivy) were abused by the Colts.  While the Dolphins don’t have any receivers near the quality of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez, they do have a quarterback in Pennington who is smart enough to exploit any mismatches or poor coverage.

Mewelde Moore (RB, PIT) – Though Fast Willie Parker is scheduled to be back this week, Moore will hold some value in deep leagues.  He was more than capable filling in when Parker was injured.  As a result, expect around 10 touches, which will give him a chance for decent yardage totals.

When not analyzing NFL match-ups, Bangs spends his free time on the ROTOEXPERTS forum and making guest appearances on ROTORADIO.  Email him NFL, NBA and MLB questions as This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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