NFL Fantasy Football Week 10 Start Em or Sit Em; Cutler, Winslow, Jackson
Well, in the fantasy football world it’s “crunch time.” We are now in Week 10… Including this week you are looking at four more weeks to either maintain your current dominating lead, or go on a tear and enter the playoffs hot!
“Olsen is coming off of a 3 TD performance, and Jay Cutler just figured out that his most talented receiver plays at the tight end position. Olsen should flourish the rest of the season!f”
In Week 9, we learned that rookie quarterback Josh Freeman can play. Freeman exploded onto the scene by throwing for 205 yards, 3 TD’s and 1 INT. Wondering what to do with Freeman? Click this link for PFI’s Week 10 Sleepers and Waiver Wire Steals.
Week 9 also gave us yet another huge game out of the Titans running back Chris Johnson and Co. Has anyone noticed that the Titans are undefeated since inserting Vince Young into the starting line up?
Cedric Benson continued to be a franchise back as he and the Bengals rolled the Ravens, making the Bengals 4-0 against the AFC North!
Going into Week 10, we have injuries to deal with and bye weeks for only two teams, the Giants and the Texans.
PFI does not focus on the obvious for who to start and sit, rather, we attack the questionable players to add insight into your starting line ups.
Quarterbacks
David Garrard-Jaguars-Sit Em Against similar aggressive defenses like the Jets, Garrard struggled this season. He has 3 games on the season where he did not even eclipse the 200 yard mark through the air. Garrard has not been reliable this season and I do not like his match up against the Jets coming off of a bye week.
Matt Cassel-Chiefs-Start Em If Cassel is on your team, I am sure that you drafted him way too early for how he has produced this year, hoping for a repeat performance from 2008 . Facing the Raiders, this is your week to start him. The Chiefs lost locker room cancer Larry Johnson this past week, and Cassel is coming off of a strong 262 yard, 2 TD performance against the Jaguars last week. Cassel should be in line for a nice performance against the Raiders, which due to their lack of offensive production keeps their defense on the field entirely too long.
Jay Cutler-Bears-Start Em Cutler is coming off of his best performance of the year in a losing effort, throwing for 369 yards and 3 TD’s. The 49ers are the 4th worst pass defense in the league, and Chicago will not be able to run with any success against the 49ers D, meaning, if the Bears want to win, Cutler will be the source of offense.
Other “no brainers” with incredible match ups this week are Brett Farve, Drew Brees and Kurt Warner. The Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning show should be a QB shootout.
Running Backs
Steven Jackson-Rams-Start Em Even with a difficult match up this week versus the Saints, Jackson is the Rams ONLY source of offense. This is a great back stuck on a miserable offense. In his last two games, Jackson has 283 rushing yards and a TD. He has the ball in his hands 25 to 30 times a game, picking up yardage through the air out of the backfield as well.
Ray Rice-Ravens-Start Em The Browns are back on the field this week, which is great for fantasy owners who have players on the Ravens. Fresh off of a non productive game against the Bengals, the Ravens will be eager to get back on track by taking their frustrations out on the NFL’s whipping post, the Cleveland Browns.
Thomas Jones-Jets-Start Em Jones has been on fire his last three games. He had 22, 26 and 27 carries per game over that stretch, totaling 433 rushing yards and 2 TD’s. The Jets are a run first team, and with the loss of Washington, Jones’s workload increased.
Other great match ups for stud backs this week are Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner and Pierre Thomas.
Wide Receivers
Vincent Jackson-Chargers-Start Em Week in and week out, Jackson should be a start if he is on your team! Jackson has been on a tear this year, posting 7 TD’s, with 2 of those 7 coming last week. Jackson has 4 consecutive games with a TD and is appearing to be Philip Rivers favorite target.
Cleveland Browns Receivers-Bench Em Playing the Ravens is usually a disaster for the Browns, especially this year. Regardless of who Cleveland lines up under center, their is no value from this squad since Braylon Edwards bounced.
Oakland Raiders Receivers-Bench Em It does not matter who Oakland plays, their is no talent being displayed at all from the wide receiver position here.
Buffalo Bills Receivers-Bench Em Until a quarterback goes under center for the Bills and displays the ability to get the ball into playmakers hands, your talented Bills receivers must sit on your bench due to the Bills miserable offensive line and lackluster quarterback play.
Great match ups this week for #1 receivers include; Larry Fitzgerald, Marques Colston and the rest of the Saints, Sidney Rice, Packers Receivers and Ravens Receiers.
Tight Ends
Zach Miller-Raiders-Start Em Playing the Chiefs will be one of JaMarcus Russell’s best chances of the season to have decent fantasy numbers. Russell’s favorite and only capable target this year has been Zach Miller, who is quietly having a good year on a terrible team.
Greg Olsen-Bears-Start Em Greg Olsen has entered the building! Olsen had 3 TD’s last week, and Cutler has now learned that his most gifted receiver on his team plays at the tight end position. I look for good production out of Olsen for the remainder of the season.
Kellen Winslow-Buccs-Start Em With Josh Freeman under center using his athletic abilities to extend plays, Winslow will find openings in the defenses, all Freeman has to do is find him. If these two develop any chemistry together, Winslow will have a nice remainder of the season and a bright future in Tampa.
Other must starts are Vernon Davis, Dallas Clark, Jeremy Shockey, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Brent Celek (since McNabb has been targeting him over the past two weeks).
Defenses
Start Em-Broncos, Vikings, Titans, Saints, Steelers, Cardinals and Ravens.
Sit Em-Colts, Patriots, Bengals, 49ers, Cowboys and Packers.
Any questions? Comment at the end of the page and I will get back with you!
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Kurt Fraschetti / ProFootballinsight
Kurt@ProFootballinsight.net
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I have waivers tonight and i’m wondering which QB to start since Shaub is on a bye week. I have gerard (who I doubt I will play). But should i pick up Alex Smith or Josh Freeman? QB are thin, also Vince Young is out there but his matchup with Buffalo isn’t appealing..especially since they Buf rank dead last v the run….
Andre,
Vince Young’s match up is not appealing by any means this week. I think Freeman has the most upside out of this group, but Miami’s Defense is playing well this year overall. They have secondary issues due to injuries that they are dealing with, but Freeman’s inexperience may lead to costly turnovers, both in fantasy points and to the Buccs.
Alex Smith is the safe bet there. They will have to use the pass to beat the Bears. The Bears have been getting gashed in the secondary as of late.
Garrard has been known to pull out big games against tough defenses…. I just would not bet my fantasy week on it.
Kurt
barber, stewart,or betts and sims-walker collie or holmes. Ive been dissapointed by all of them.
Vince Young is a great start this week. The Bills run D is garbage, absolutely horrible. Therefore they will have to be so focused on Chris Johnson aka Every Coaches Dream that the pass will open up. Also Vince plays better when he can get a couple solid runs and with this D he will be able to. So start Vince over Freeman who will be eaten alive by that Miami D.
Powell,
Vince Young will only be as successful as the offensive coordinator allows him to be. He has been error prone his whole career. Freeman does not have the same backfield that Young does, and will have to be relied upon more for the success of Tampa’s offense. The Bills run defense is horrible, but they do have a talented secondary. Young’s points this week would come from his ability to scramble, not throw. Miami can stuff the run, it is their pass D which is suspect. This debate is one that I am not sold on either side. I can see both players having great days, or both having miserable days. Sunday will tell! Thanks for taking the time to write in.
Kurt
Steven,
Your cast has all underperformed this year. If Portis is a no-go, which as of today, he looks like he will not play, Betts is your best bet here. I would follow that up with Sims-Walker, if he does not have any surprise last minute suspensions. Betts would get more carries than Stewart or Barber. If you are not in a ppr league, I would play Barber over Sims-Walker.
which TE this week: Olsen or Shiancoe?
which K this week: Reed or Rackers?
Thanks!
Which 2 would you start? Dwayne Bowe, Crabtree, Steve Smith(Car)
I recently inherited a team from a friend that quit a fantasy league that I was interested in joing its H2H scoring and two keepers at the end of the year thing is his team was/is terrible… I’ve made a few upgrades, but I’m sitting at 2-7 and have no chance at playoffs my question is who do I keep for next year and who do I try and trade off to possibly attain a better keeper.
Jay Cutler
Matt Schaub
Carson Palmer
Joseph Addai
Darren Sproles
Ronnie Brown
Laurence Maroney
Shonn Greene
Andre Johnson
Austin Collie
Bernard Berrian
Dustin Keller
Jason Witten
Steelers D/ST
Ryan Longwell
Mike Scifres
Olive,
I love Olsen. He is the best option on a team which cannot effectively run the ball. The 49ers will kill their run game, and Cutler is coming off of his best Bears performance, as is Olsen.
Reed and Rackers is a toss up. Arizona should go nuts again this week on offense, my concern is, will it be 5 TD’s like last week, giving Rackers only 5 pts., or will Seattle’s D hold them to any field goals.
Reed is in the bottom half of kickers this year in terms of fantasy numbers. I anticipate him to have two field goals and a few extra points, but Rackers offense has more upside this week.
Thanks for writing in!
Kurt
Drew,
I would sit Crabtree out of this group. The Chambers addition to the Chief’s should only help Bowe from attracting opposing teams entire secondaries to him. Crabtree has not proven anything to me yet, and if Delhomme and remove his head from his … Smith could have a nice game against the Falcons. It is hard to see Smith as a fan of the game struggling without a capable quarterback this year.
Kurt
Casey,
Your record is terrible, but your team does have talent. Your potential keepers are your 3 QB’s and Andre Johnson.
You do have trade bait too. I want you to keep a top 10 QB and get a top 10 RB. Trade Carson Palmer and Andre Johnson since this season is in the tank for a stud running back. Find a team shot at QB but stacked at RB and work magic. You could upgrade your QB’s too, but I love Cutler and think that Chicago will get him more ammo in the form of WR’s for next season, increasing his value. He is throwing 300 plus yards a game with no true WR’s on his team! Dump Addai too, someone on a playoff push weak at RB would be interested in him too, as well as Witten. Look at moving Maroney too, while Taylor is down is when Maroney has his most value. Toss this season in the toilet like you said and make moves for next year. You can use my weekly posts to let me know your trade offers.
Thanks for the question,
Kurt
i have Crabtree vs the bears and santonio vs the bengals. Im in a toss up an need some help
Jon,
Until Crabtree proves anything, I would take Holmes… Not to say that on some crazy end around Crabtree would not make a big play, but I view Santonio as the safe play out of the two. You know what Ben is capable of, where Alex Smith is still a question mark.
Thanks for writing in!
Kurt
Due to Cutler’s miserable performance, and both teams lack of offense altogether, PFI next week will examine what trends have occurred over the past year to teams on shortened weeks due to Thursday games.
I currently have Zach Miller starting and Kellen Winslow on the bench. Opinions?
Amanda,
They are almost a coin flip this week. Miller is Russell’s favorite target, but Russell is far too inconsistent. The Raiders will be facing one of their weakest opponents of the year in Kansas City.
On the flip side, you have Josh Freeman at QB for Tampa. Freeman found Winslow for a TD last week. Freeman extending plays with his legs will allow Winslow time to get open. This along with the fact that Winslow and opposing LB Joey Porter have a hated history towards each other, which will be even more motivation for Winslow to succeed this weekend. If I had to pick one or the other, I would take Winslow as I think he has more upside.
Kurt
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