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Fantasy Football: Start Or Sit For Week Two Of The Playoffs

By Dave Fuqua

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Dec 7, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Steelers won 42-21. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Week two of most leagues fantasy football playoffs are upon us now, and that makes me sad. Not because I have been eliminated from a few leagues, but rather because its means that the fantasy football season is almost over and it seems like it just started.

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Regardless of the fact it is almost over, let’s examine a few options this week that you might want to consider benching in order to keep your run for the glory alive. We will also try to highlight some players who you should for sure have in your starting line-ups for this week.

Quarterbacks to Start

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers: Big Ben has been en fuego recently, and if you have him on your fantasy squad, I suggest you keep him active this week. Ben has delivered 785 yards with a 5:2 TD:INT ratio over the last two games as he heads to the indoor confines of the Georgia Dome to take on the fantasy-friendly defense of the Atlanta Falcons.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys: I have to admit that I am a bit hesitant to put Romo as a start for this weekend, and if you choose to not start him, I can’t say that I blame you. Romo and his reputation, however, can be a little bit overblown. The Cowboys are heading up to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in an important division match-up and the last time they squared off Romo did not fare so well. Romo, playing hurt while nursing an ailing back, only managed 199 yards and topped it off with 2 picks. Call me crazy, but I expect Romo to right the ship and have a solid fantasy outing.

Quarterbacks to Bench

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: With Wilson coming off of a great week you are going to be tempted to roll him out there this week for your fantasy squad. I would give pause to that idea as I expect the Seahawks and the 49ers to battle this out in a defensive showdown. Wilson may pick up a rushing TD or do a little better than I expect, but if I had the options, I am putting Wilson on the pine this week.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: Over the last 3 years when Julio Jones has been out of the lineup for the Falcons, Matt Ryan has just not been the same QB. I realize that you may not have a better option on your bench to replace Ryan, but you may be able to check out some streaming options in order to keep your hopes alive this week. With the way Odell Beckham Jr. has been playing, running Eli Manning out there over Ryan might not be a bad idea.

Dec 8, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy (27) during the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 43-37. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs to Start

Chris Ivory, New York Jets: Ivory gets the league rushing doormat in the Tennessee Titans. Really, if you have watched any football at all this season, you know that the Titans could not stop Rex Ryan if he were to strap on the pads and take Ivory’s place this week. Seriously, you might be able to get away with starting Chris Johnson this week if you were desperate as Rex has been known to let players avenge their old teams.

Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints: This is just kind of a gut feeling for me, but over the last month Ingram’s touches have rotated from roughly 10 to 20 each week. Last week, Ingram had 10 carries, and I would expect this week for the Saints to realize their need to get Ingram going and get him going early. I also just have a bit of a feeling that he is due to find paydirt this week.

Running Backs to Bench

Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers: With the lingering injury concerns and James Starks as a threat, you may be better off avoiding Lacy this week as the Packers may look to keep their stud back healthy for the playoffs and keep his reps low. Lacy has been on a roll as of late, so this is a bit of bad news for fantasy owners, and you may have to start him anyway depending on your options. That said, the Packers usually choose to go the conservative route, and that is something I will not be gambling my fantasy title on.

Shane Vereen, New England Patriots: Vereen has been abysmal this season, espicially for owners who blew an early to mid round draft pick on him. As usual, the Patriots have been all over the map with their backfield. No matter what, I am not using anyone in that backfield with the season on the line. I suggest you to follow and stay far away from Vereen and anyone in a Patriot uniform.

Nov 30, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) is Cincinnati Bengals by wide receiver Vincent Jackson (83) after he scored a touchdown during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Wide Receivers to Start

Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: After a pretty streaky but mostly bad season, last week V-Jax delivered what many owners have expected of him this whole season. Jackson put in work last week and hauled in 10 catches for 159 yards. This week, they head up to Carolina to take on the mostly defenseless Panthers. I actually found V-Jax on the waiver wire in one of my competetive leagues this week, and to be frank, you could do a lot worse than picking him up and plugging him into your lineup if you did the same.

Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons: White has been battling the injury bug a little more this season than usual. He did take the field last week after sitting out in week 12 and delivered a decent 3 catches for 42 yards and a TD. While I don’t quite expect you to see the numbers you have grown accustomed to seeing out of Matt Ryan with Julio Jones out of the lineup, I do expect White to have a pretty good game. I mean, after all, who else is Ryan going to throw the ball to?

Wide Receivers to Bench

Pierre Garcon, Washington Redskins: I just don’t trust Colt McCoy to come out and have a decent game this week and the Giants sport a pretty difficult defense against fantasy WRs. I know last week Garcon had a nice outing against a tough Rams defense, but there is just something I don’t like about Garcon this week. Sit him out if you can.

Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins: Landry gets the 3rd toughest defense against fantasy WRs in the form of the New England Patriots this week. Landry has really emerged recently as a nice weapon for the Dolphins, but the Patriots have always specialized in shutting down their opponents top weapons. This is also a road game for the Dolphins, which doesn’t bode well for the young wideout.

Dec 7, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen (88) scores a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Panthers defeated the Saints 41-10. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Tight Ends to Start

Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers: Olsen has been one of the top 3 options at what has become such a fickle position this season. Olsen is probably a bit under-rated as I would pit him against the likes of any of the big name TEs. You may be a bit worried with Derek Anderson getting the nod under center. Well back in week 1 with Anderson at the helm, Olsen raked in an 8 catch 81 yard day topped off with a touchdown. Start Olsen with confidence.

Larry Donnell, New York Giants:  The Giants get a pretty miserable team against the pass in the Washington Redskins this week. If I were you, Donnell is one of two Giants I would roll out with confidence this week. The Redskins have been a failure at covering TE’s, and will probaly look to key on Odell Beckham Jr. That means leaving Donnell open, who has been a pretty nice red zone target for the lesser of the two Mannings.

Tight Ends to Bench

Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts: Fleener has racked up pretty nice outputs in 4 of his last 5 games. The key there has been that fellow tight end Dwayne Allen has been injured through most of that time span. With Allen out of the line-up, Fleener has developed a nie relationship with Andrew Luck. Now it seems that Allen is back in the mix, which likely means that the two talented receivers will be splitting touches, and they also get a pretty tough Texans defense.

Jordan Cameron, Cleveland Browns: With the change of QB in Cleveland, there stands to be pretty good chance to see more offense. The problem is I only see Johnny Football doing one of two things. Hitting Josh Gordon on the deep ball or taking off and trying to make something happen himself. I hope that I am pleasantly surprised, but I just don’t see the rookie looking to be much of a dink and dunk passer looking for Cameron. For now take the safer wait-and-see approach.

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