Week 9 Start Em, Sit Em

Armando Marsal

Fantasy Writer

Teams on bye: Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Tennessee

Quarterbacks

Start Em

Colin Kaepernick, SF vs. STL - Kaepernick is coming off of a bye week and should be well rested. In Week 6 he faced the Rams in St. Louis and threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns. In the last three meetings against the Rams, he's thrown six touchdowns and 785 yards. It's safe to say that he's pretty successful against them. The Rams have allowed nine touchdowns in the last five games and are allowing 18.9 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. If he's on your roster, he should be in your starting lineup.

Other Starts

Russell Wilson, SEA vs. OAK

Tom Brady, NE vs. DEN

Nick Foles, PHI at HOU

Carson Palmer, ARI at DAL

Sleeper Alert: Alex Smith, KC vs. NYJ

Sit Em

Joe Flacco, BAL at PIT - Since his huge game against the Bucs in Week 6, Flacco has thrown just 453 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games. He also has thrown four interceptions in those games. This week, he's taking a Steelers defense that isn't what it used to be, but it's a defense that Flacco has struggled with throughout his career. Even in the second week of the season, he managed to throw for just 166 yards against them. He's only thrown more than one touchdown in one of five career games in Pittsburgh, and in the last six meetings against the Steelers, he's averaging just 196.8 yards per game. He's a hit or miss and plays a team he doesn't do well against on the regular. Stay away.

Other Sits

Colt McCoy/Robert Griffin III, WAS at MIN

Michael Vick, NYJ at KC

Eli Manning, NYG vs. IND

Mike Glennon, TB at CLE

Bust Alert: Cam Newton, CAR vs. NO

Running Backs

Start Em

Ahmad Bradshaw, IND at NYG - Bradshaw will have a shot at getting back at his former team. He plays the Giants that allow the fourth most fantasy points to opposing backs (20.6) and have allowed a rushing touchdown in four consecutive games. They have allowed 20 or more fantasy points to running backs since Week 4. Bradshaw has scored at least one touchdown in all but two games this season and has a total of eight touchdowns for the year. In a week where there are six teams on bye, Bradshaw can be considered a must start. So far this season, numerous players got "revenge" against their former team and have put up solid numbers. I'm expecting the same of Bradshaw this week.

Other Starts

Lamar Miller, MIA vs. SD

Giovanni Bernard, CIN vs. JAC

Mark Ingram, NO at CAR

Ronnie Hillman, DEN at NE

Sleeper alert: Ben Tate, CLE vs. TB

Sit Em

Jonathan Stewart, CAR vs. NO- DeAngelo Williams is back in the mix and is expected to get the start for Carolina. According to reports, both Stewart and Williams will split the carries. This isn't good news for Stewart who's been unable to do much with most of the carries. Now that the volume will lessen, so will his production. The Saints haven't been that terrible against the run either. They have allowed just one 100 yard rushed in the last five games (DeMarco Murray). In addition, the Saints offense could take advantage of the suspect secondary of Carolina and jump out to a quick lead, which will force the Panthers to abandon the run early. There are just too many red flags for Stewart this week.

Other Sits

Zac Stacy, STL at SF

Chris Johnson, NYJ at KC

Denard Robinson, JAC at CIN

Darren McFadden, OAK at SEA

Bust Alert:  Jerrick McKinnon, MIN vs. WAS

Wide Receivers

Start Em

Jeremy Maclin, PHI at HOU - Maclin bounced back from a disappointing Week 7 with a 12 catch for 187 yards and two touchdowns performance last week against the Cardinals. Maclin now has six touchdowns in seven games. This was also his second 100+ yards receiving game of the season. Besides a fluky Week 7, Maclin has caught at least four passes in each game this season and has been targeted more than 10 times in five games. The Texans have allowed receivers to score at least one touchdown in every game since the season opener and in the last five weeks they've allowed two touchdowns to receivers in three games. The Texans allow the fifth most fantasy points to opposing receivers (24.6). This should be another big week for Maclin, so make sure he's active in your lineups.

Other Starts

DeAndre Hopkins, HOU vs. PHI

Kelvin Benjamin, CAR vs. NO

Michael Crabtree, SF vs. STL

Mike Wallace, MIA vs. SD

Sleeper Alert: Dwayne Bowe, KC vs. NYJ

Sit Em

Andre Holmes, OAK at SEA - Holmes has had himself a solid month of October. He has 12 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns in the last three games. This week he heads to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. Granted, this is not the shutdown defense that we saw last season, but it's in Seattle, and a rookie quarterback starts for the Raiders. This is a tough, if not the toughest, place to play at in the NFL. Also, the Seahawks have still been impressive against receivers. They've allowed just three touchdowns to receivers this season, only one at home, and that was to Randall Cobb in the first game of the season. They have not surrendered a touchdown to any receiver since Week 5. There are many receivers on bye this week, which may make it tempting to start Holmes, but don't do it.

Other Sits

Malcom Floyd, SD at MIA

Allen Robinson, JAC at CIN

Kenny Britt, STL at SF

Eric Decker, NYJ at KC

Bust Alert: Torrey Smith, BAL at PIT

Tight Ends

Start Em

Travis Kelce, KC vs. NYJ

Dwayne Allen, IND at NYG

Jordan Reed, WAS at MIN

Sit Em

Clay Harbor, JAC at CIN

Jared Cook, STL at SF

Crockett Gillmore, BAL at PIT

Defense

Start Em

Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49ers vs. St Louis Rams

Sit Em

Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints

Denver Broncos at New England Patriots