Fantasy Football Week 8: Start'em / Sit'em

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In our Fantasy Football Week 8 Start ’em/ Sit ’em, we look at which players will outperform their projected point total and which players will disappoint.

Last week: 16-15-3, Season: 106-73-14 (59%)

Week 7 Recap: I had my worst week of picks in over a year, so I apologize if any of my recommendations hurt your chances at victory last week. If it makes you feel any better, I lost 80% of my match-ups in week 7 due to some poor roster decisions and playing against Russell Wilson in half my leagues.

Speaking of poor decisions, I am done recommending Brandin Cooks after another disappointing performance (-8). I recommended starting Russell Wilson (+26) but ended up getting crushed by him in a handful of leagues. Bill Belichick finally took the leash off of Shane Vereen (+15) and Odell Beckham (+12) had the breakout game I predicted.

A few of my other Start’em predictions didn’t work out so well as Jay Cutler (-9), Ben Tate (-9), Jordan Cameron (-7) and Delanie Walker (-7) joined Brandin Cooks in disappointing fantasy owners last week. A couple of fantasy disappointments that I correctly predicted were Zac Stacy (-11), Steven Jackson (-8) and Matt Ryan (-7), but I missed on Roddy White (+7), Torrey Smith (+6) and Dwayne Allen (+6).

A few other fantasy notes from week 7:

– QB Russell Wilson had his 2nd game with over 40 fantasy points in the last three weeks. I said this after the first one, but Wilson is a must start every week.

– RB Denard “Shoelace” Robinson came out of nowhere to gain 127 yards as the Jags starting RB. That is more yards than opening day starter Toby Gerhart (125) has all year! The Jags offensive line is bad, but they have improved since Blake Bortles took over as opposing teams have to actually consider the possibility that the Jags can pass now. Robinson has the starting gig now and with running backs dropping every week, just the fact that he’s going to get 20+ touches makes him start worthy in my book.

– In the first game without Stevan Ridley, RB Shane Vereen turned 11 carries and 8 targets into 114 total yards and 2 TDs. This is the usage that Vereen owners have been hoping for, but who knows if it will last under fantasy nemesis Bill Belichik. Save yourself some stress and try to trade Vereen while his value is high.

– RB Ronnie Hillman, the new starter in the Broncos backfield, had his 2nd consecutive game with over 20 fantasy points and may have locked down the starting gig regardless of Montee Ball’s health. If someone else in your league owns Hillman, play up the fact that Ball is coming back in week 9 and try to steal Hillman for cheap.

– Vikings RB Jerick McKinnon had his first 100 yard game (103) last week. Vikings HC Mike Zimmer’s claimed that he would split carries equally between McKinnon and Asiata, but the rookie McKinnon got 23 touches compared to just 7 for Asiata. After two weeks of dominating the RB touches, it is looking like McKinnon is the primary running back in Minnesota and should be owned in all formats.

Start’em

Russell Wilson @CAR (59%, 18) – I mentioned it above, but Wilson has two 40+ fantasy games over the last three weeks and is a must start every week.

Jay Cutler @NE (58%, 17) – This may be a homer pick, but last week was Cutler’s first sub-par fantasy game and I think it was a fluke. The Bears have too many weapons to be this mediocre on offense and are due for a breakout game. The Pats have a tough defense, but the Bears season is in the balance and I think they come out strong this week.

Tony Romo WAS (57%, 17) – Another guy who is bordering on “must-start” territory with a 14/6 TD/INT ratio despite playing some tough defenses. The Cowboys offensive line may be the best in the league and is consistently giving Romo time to find his talented receiving core.

Shane Vereen CHI (66%, 14) – The Bears have had a hard time stopping the screen pass (forever) and dump offs over the middle, which are Vereen’s strengths. He had 8 targets out of the backfield last week and should continue to be a big part of the offense with Stevan Ridley out for the season.

Brandon Oliver @DEN (65%, 11) – Didn’t gain 100 yards for the first time in three starts which has dropped his start% under 75 for some reason. Don’t make that mistake and keep Oliver in your lineup. The Chargers / Broncos match-up should be high scoring and Oliver should get plenty of touches as the Bolts try to keep Peyton Manning off the field by winning the time of possession battle and running the ball. Both Ryan Matthews and Donald Brown are still out for tonight’s game, so Oliver should get at least 20 touches and blow past his projection point total.

Jerick McKinnon @TB (50%, 14) – The Bucs are really bad on defense and McKinnon has taken over as the Vikings primary back. Sometimes it’s that simple.

Bishop Sankey HOU (27%, 9) – I know I have been wrong on Sankey the last few weeks, but I’m going to stick to my guns. Sankey was my #2 RB in the draft (Mason #1) and is averaging a respectable 4.0 ypc, but the Titans haven’t committed to giving Sankey 20+ carries per week or involving him in the passing game. I think this will be the week Sankey gets 20+ touches as the Titans are starting a rookie QB (Zack Mettenberger), so they should lean on Sankey more than usual.

Denard Robinson MIA (22%, 8) – Came out of nowhere to post a 20+ fantasy game last week and take over the Jags starting RB job. The Jags offense has been better since Blake Bortles took over and I think Robinson is a lock for 20+ touches which puts him in my top 20 RBs this week.

*Robinson also qualifies as a WR in Yahoo leagues

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Fantasy Football Week 8: Start’em / Sit’em

By Mike Flannery | Oct 23, 2014

Start’em