Week 8: Sit 'Em
Week 8 Bye Week teams include: Cincinnati, Kansas City, New England, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Washington. If you have guys on these teams or are weighing your options for the bye week shuffle of roster positions, there are some match-ups and trends that point to players you might want to bench. This week's feature focuses on players with projected decreases in production against average and lower weekly ranking. A few of these guys are tough calls as they can be productive when on cue, but we all have to make the tough decision some weeks. This season has provided some interesting twists and turns. Trying to best gauge your starting roster is a constant challenge. With weekly reviews of position rankings, trends in production and a degree of gut feel, we all set our rosters and hope to win. Hopefully this column helps provide some insights. This week as far as sit'ems go, I have three quarterbacks and four running backs you should consider benching.
Quarterbacks to sit: Kurt Warner faces Carolina and is coming off a 1 TD, 1 interception game. Joe Flacco will try to crack the undefeated Denver defense and his running backs will be challenged as well. Eli Manning is up against a tough Philadelphia defense and has been underperforming lately.
Running Backs to sit: Ryan Grant had a season high game last week, but do not expect the same versus Minnesota. Knowshon Moreno will have a challenge against Baltimore and this game will likely be low scoring with this defensive match-up. Fred Jackson is losing carries right and left to Lynch and is not your bye week plug in. Willis McGahee has lost his starting role and carries are dwindling. Ray Rice is the man.
QB Joe Flacco, DEN
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Flacco is throwing nearly two touchdown passes per game this season. His performance this year has been better than expected with three 300 plus yard games. This week Flacco is ranked as the 13th best QB and should see decreased production versus a tough Denver defense that is still undefeated. The Baltimore defense will have to experiment in this game to see if they can gain more yardage on the ground or through the air. Ray Rice and Flacco will be challenged. I look forward to seeing this game.
QB Eli Manning, NYG
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Eli Manning has thrown 4 interceptions and only 2 TDs in his past two games, both losses. Manning and his offense face the Philadelphia defense this week. Manning is ranked fourteenth this week and it is expected that his performance will suffer again in Week 8. Manning's sacks and low passer rating recently have not been helpful to a team trying to get back on track. His 47.5 passer rating last week was poor at best. Philadelphia will significantly challenge New York this week and Manning and his core of receivers have not been great against other teams with powerful offenses. This trend continues this week against Philly. I anticipate Manning having a touchdown, but his trend of interceptions will continue and possibly New York's losing streak.
QB Kurt Warner, ---
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Kurt Warner has not had a game with more than 2 passing touchdowns this season. With the talent he has at receiver and Hightower in the mix, he should be tossing TDs more often in my mind. This high powered offense needs a jump start. maybe the win against New York provided some spark, but when I see Warner throw 1 TD and 1 interception, I am not impressed. This week versus Carolina, Warner is ranked 11th at QB. I foresee his trend of decreased production continuing this week. I would like to see Warner consistently throwing two plus touchdowns per game before I plug him in over some other QBs that are performing.
RB Ryan Grant, ---
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Ryan Grant rushed for a season high 148 yards with a touchdown in last week's huge-margin victory over Cleveland. This was a break-out performance for Grant, who has yet to fully impress his fantasy owners this season. Hopefully Grant's productivity is not a fluke and he gets on track this season, but in Week 8 he faces a Minnesota team he faced in Week 4 and only gained a total of 101 combined yards -- 51 rushing, 50 receiving -- without a score. I anticipate this game being another shoot-out like the first match-up. Grant will likely have his normal role, but nothing spectacular if that is what you are looking for.
RB Fred Jackson, ---
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After a strong start to the season, Fred Jackson's fantasy production has taken a nose dive. Marshawn Lynch's return has put Jackson on the back burner. Despite Lynch's decreased production lately -- not more than 60 yards or so rushing at best -- he is still the starter and Jackson is seeing less and less carries. On my list, Jackson is a sit unless we start to observe otherwise or Lynch is injured. Ranked at 41 for running backs this week, Jackson is not a guy who you want to plug in to see how he will fare. Lynch will receive 80-90% of carries (or more) and Jackson will be relegated to other duties.
