Everyone knows to start Peyton
Manning every week, regardless of the match-up. But not all decisions
are as easy at that one. So to help you decide who you should
start and who you should bench I have identified the players at
the QB, RB and WR positions that should excel this week and should
be started, as well as the players who will struggle this week
and should be benched. Don’t forget the Thursday night game—get
those lineups in on time. And no need to worry about your star
player being off; the bye weeks are over and everybody plays!
Let's start with the QB position. You shouldn't have to be told,
but just in case... always, always start the following players:
Peyton
Manning, Tom
Brady, Drew
Brees, Aaron
Rodgers, Eli
Manning, Philip
Rivers, and Kyle
Orton. Now on to the question marks...
Quarterbacks
Start 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Outperform Relative
To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype
Joe Flacco @ HOU
Flacco is currently 12th in the NFL with 249 yards a game to go
along with his 19 TDs on the year. And this week things should
only get better for Flacco as he faces the league's worst pass
defense. Houston is giving up 287 yards and over 2 TDs per game.
They allow the most yards, the most TDs, and the highest QB rating,
plus they are 31st in yards per completion allowed (8.2), and
only two other teams allow a higher passer completion percentage
(67 percent). Oh yeah, and they give up 5 big plays per game—also
worst in the league. The Texans are crashing right now and Flacco
and the Ravens look to get back on track after their tough loss
to the Steelers, so this could be a huge game for the Delaware
Blue Hen.
By air or by land, Garrard is your man.
David Garrard vs. OAK
With the run the Jaguars are having and with the recent play of
Garrard, it’s amazing that he's still just 28th in the league
in passing yards per game with 180; and he still has only 17 TDs,
which is tied for 13th in the league. This week he faces a strong
pass defense in the Raiders, who are ranked in the top 10, allowing
just 207 yards per game. But Oakland also gives up 2 TDs per game,
allows a QB rating of 90.7 (seventh-highest in the league), gives
up the fourth-most big plays (over 4 per game), and has just 7
INTs on the year—only the Broncos have fewer (6). Garrard
hasn’t passed for a single TD in the last two weeks, but
he’s run for one in each of those games. So whether by air
or by land, Garrard should have a pretty decent day as the Raiders
suffer a hangover from their upset win against San Diego.
Jake Delhomme @ BUF
Delhomme has led the “not dead yet” Cleveland Browns
to two wins in the last two weeks. He wasn’t so hot against
Carolina, but last week against the Dolphins he had a solid game,
completing 71 percent of his passes for 217 yards with a TD and
no turnovers. Buffalo is 10th in the league, allowing 207 yards
per game, which is higher than Delhomme’s average of 197.
But the Bills also give up nearly 2 TDs per game (22 total—fifth-most
in the league) and the sixth-highest QB rating (94.4), and they
have the sixth-fewest sacks (21) and the fifth-fewest INTs (just
8). Delhomme has 2 TDs and 6 INTs on the year, but against the
Bills those numbers might just get a lot closer.
Josh Freeman @ WAS
Freeman is ranked just 27th in the league, with 204 yards per
game and only 16 TDs for the league's 24th-ranked passing offense.
What the Bucs do best is run the ball, but this week Freeman gets
the 29th-ranked Redskins pass defense to help pad his stats. Washington
allows 260 yards and 1.5 TDs per game. They don’t get any
pressure on the quarterback, which results in low sack totals,
a ton of big plays (4 per game), and a high passer completion
percentage. Freeman hasn’t broken 200 yards passing since
Week 10, but in the three games since then he’s passed for
at least 1 TD in each contest. The Redskins look like they’ve
already shut down for the season, so the stats could be ripe for
the picking for Freeman this week.
Bench 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Under Perform
Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype
Sam Bradford @ NO
Bradford continues his Rookie of the Year campaign in New Orleans
this week against the league’s third-ranked pass defense.
The Saints allow just 199 yards per game and have given up a league-best
8 passing TDs all year—the Bears and Packers are the only
other teams to give up less than 1 per game. The Saints are on
a roll right now, and Bradford is coming off a tough game against
the Cardinals where he threw for just 187 yards, no TDs (leaving
him at 17 on the year), and his 10th INT of the season. That game
did nothing for his average of 221 yards per game, and I don’t
expect this game to help his stats either.
Matt Cassel @ SD
Cassel is not only right at the top of the passing TD category
(tied for fifth in the NFL with 23) but also has the fewest INTs
(tied with Brady for second-best in the league with 4, behind
Vick’s 2). He’s also been sacked less than any full-time
QB—except for the Manning brothers—and has the fifth-highest
QB rating (98.4). However, he’s still ranked just 25th in
the league, with only 209 yards per game. It’s not hard
to see why, considering how he was held in check by the Broncos
for most last week’s game. The Chiefs are undefeated at
home (6-0), but on the road it’s a different story (2-4).
They head to San Diego this week to face a team coming off a very
embarrassing loss to the Raiders (at home, no less)—their
first December loss in 18 games. This does not bode well for Cassel
as he takes on the Chargers’ No. 1 pass defense. San Diego
gives up just 186 yards per game and has allowed only 12 TDs this
year, while intercepting 13. They are sixth in the league in sacks
and give up the fewest big plays in the league. The Chargers are
two games behind division-leading Kansas City, so they have to
win this game. I would be very leery of starting Cassel this week.
Chad Henne @ NYJ
With 238 yards per game, Henne is 19th in the league. But he has
only 12 TDs against 15 INTs, and his rating is a mere 77.5. He’s
coming off a horrible loss against the Browns, where he threw
for 174 yards, 1 TD, and 3 INTs. The Jets, coming off their complete
annihilation by the Patriots, are looking to put their pass defense
(which is giving up 218 yards per game) back on top. New York
still holds opposing QBs to the league’s lowest pass completion
percentage (51.8), and Rex Ryan and some damaged pride could make
this a long, ugly day for the Dolphins—and for Chad Henne
especially.
Kerry Collins vs. IND
After missing the previous two games, Collins returned last week
and stunk the place up, completing just 44 percent of his passes
for 169 yards with 0 TDs and 2 INTs—against one of the worst
pass defenses in the league. On the positive side, he didn’t
fumble the ball. This week Collins puts his 135 yards and 1 TD
per game average on the line against the Colts’ fourth-ranked
pass defense—which isn’t really that good, but teams
run against the Colts so much that the stats trick you. If Collins
can get the 200 yards and 1 TD Indy gives up per game, it would
be a vast improvement on his stats this year, but nobody expects
that to happen.
Running Backs 
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