Week 10: Start 'Em
Finally back to normal in this week as every team is in action in week 10. Week 9 was relatively quiet on the injury front, with Miles Austin being the only player of note to be injured. Now he just joins the long list of already injured players (Andre Johnson, Ryan Matthews, Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw, Darren McFadden among those already injured). So even without any teams on bye, there are many injured players causing you to look to your bench for a player to start. Take a look below if you're one of those owners. Last week's recap: Brandon Lloyd - Another solid week for Lloyd, especially in PPR leagues as he caught 5 passes for 80 yards. Worthy of a start the rest of the season in PPR leagues as a WR3 or flex. Julio Jones - Jones made a HUGE splash in his first game back from injury, scoring his first 2 career touchdowns (the first being on a spectacular catch). He finished the game with 3 receptions for 131 yards. A must start the rest of the way. Early Doucet - Despite not having starting QB Kevin Kolb, Doucet still caught 6 passes for 78 yards. He has now had four solid fantasy weeks in a row. Worthy of a flex start. LeGarrette Blount - Despite not playing in a few weeks and his team being behind most of the game, Blount was still able to rush for 72 yards. With no one to take carries from him, Blount is a starter the rest of the way. Michael Crabtree - Worthy of being a flex start in PPR leagues only, as he gets the catches but doesn't get enough big plays. Crabtree had another decent game with 5 receptions for 51 yards. Jake Ballard - Another good game for Ballard who has made people forget Kevin Boss very quickly, catching 4 passes for 67 yards and the game winning touchdown with only 15 seconds left. Only worthy of a start based on match-up. Cedric Benson - Benson had 78 yards as the Bengals spent most the game playing from behind. Benson is a decent RB2 or flex option in the right match-up.
QB Christian Ponder, ---
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While he hasn't blown anyone away in his first 2 starts, Christian Ponder has shown signs of why he was drafted in the first round by the Vikings in the 2011 NFL Draft. Ponder is 1 and 1 passing for 455 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is far from being an every week starter and doesn't have the team behind him to win many games, but in a match-up like he has this week, Ponder is worthy of a start. This week Ponder faces the Green Bay Packers, who might be 8-0 but have given up 299.6 yards per game passing. The Vikings will be behind in this game and will need to pass. If you need a QB this week, Ponder is worth a shot.
QB Mark Sanchez, ---
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Halfway through the 2011 season, Mark Sanchez is on pace to set career highs in most passing categories. This week he faces the Patriots in a big rematch of the week 5 loss, when he passed for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. With the Jets playing at home, look for them to play with more confidence and for Sanchez to have a better game than he did in their earlier meeting. If your starting QB is down, Sanchez might be the guy.
RB Roy Helu, ---
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Here is one for PPR leagues. While it is hard to trust any running back on a Mike Shanahan team, it seems that Shanahan is finally ready to hand the ball over to rookie Roy Helu. With Tim Hightower out for the season, Helu started and played nearly every snap last week -- rushing for 41 yards and catching a team record 14 receptions for 105 yards. Now don't expect him to come close to 14 receptions again, but in PPR leagues he doesn't need to to still be effective. Look for him to gain 100 total yards and 5 receptions.
RB Chris Ogbonnaya, ---
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Here's someone you might want to start if you're in a deep league. Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty have already been ruled out for this week, which mostly likely means that (despite his poor performance last week) Chris Ogbonnaya will get another start. Last week Cleveland got behind early and could not establish a running game in their loss to the Texans. The only reason I even talk about Ogbonnaya is because at this point in the season it is possible you are dealing with a number of injuries and need a one week fill in (and the Browns happen to be playing the Rams, who are giving up a league worst 153 yards per game on the ground). So if you're in big trouble and in a deep league, give Ogbonnaya a look.
WR Plaxico Burress, ---
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Going into last week's game no one (including Plax) was sure if he was going to play and yet there he was on Sunday hauling 5 passes for 79 yards and looking healthy, despite sitting out most of the week with back spasms. After a slow start to the season Plax has really come on the last 2 games, scoring 3 touchdowns on 4 receptions for 25 yards 2 weeks ago. While the Jets will always try and be a run first team, they just don't seem to be running the ball the same way they did the past two seasons and therefore need to rely on the passing game more. This week the Jets have a big divisional game vs. the Patriots, who are allowing a league worst 314 yards passing per game. While the Jets will try and establish the run, it is quite obvious that the way to beat New England is through the air. So look for Plax to get a ton of looks and put up his game of the season; he might even surpass 100 yards for the first time all season. Make sure to start Plax this week in this above average match-up.
