Week 6 Fantasy Football - Start/Sit/Sleeper

Four fantasy football experts giving their opinion on this weeks studs, duds, and sleepers. Some contrasting opinions as well! The Mad Scientist says start Ridley, while the Value Man says bench him against Seattle. Lots of great opinions, you make the final call. Good luck in week 6! Good luck in the bye weeks.

Quarterback:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Matt Ryan (vs. OAK) – Matt Ryan is the hottest QB in the league right now. His reward? Playing the #28 ranked passing defense at home.	Tony Romo (at BAL) – Baltimore actually has a bottom 10 ranked passing defense, but it’s still Baltimore, and the Dallas offense still looks troublesome. He truly could have a big week, but there are better, safer options this week.	Christian Ponder (at WAS) – The Redskins still have the worst pass defense in the league. Ponder is due for a big game against a poor secondary.
The Saint:	Philip Rivers (vs. DEN) – 40 fantasy points over the past two weeks, he has turned the corner and has another favorable matchup this week against Denver, who have allowed multiple TDs to every opposing QB except Carson Palmer.	Tony Romo (at BAL) – He’s facing Baltimore’s great defense. ‘nuff said.	Christian Ponder (at WAS) – Weak Redskins defense, good pick for this week.
Mad Scientist:	Andy Dalton (at CLE) – Cleveland’s 26th ranked pass defense makes Dalton gold this week.	Tony Romo (at BAL) – He needs to be on your bench until further notice. Period.	Joe Flacco (vs. DAL) – Dallas actually has the least passing yards allowed per game, but that’s more from matchup than anything. And they don’t cause turnovers (only one INT this year). Don’t shy away from Flacco this week.
TheLostCause:	Ben Roethlisberger (at TEN) – They love to throw, and against a “craptastic” pass defense this week.	Carson Palmer (at ATL) – The Falcons have allowed only one double-digit fantasy QB this year (Cam Newton, week one). They shut down P. Manning, Rivers, and Griffin.	Brandon Weeden (vs. CIN) – Just because Andrew Luck is owned by too many now, so I can’t call him my sleeper any more!

Running Back:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Darren McFadden (at ATL) – The only way the Raiders stay close is to feed DMC the rock 30 times against the Falcons’ 27th ranked rush defense. Yes he’s struggled this year, but he’s getting the touches for sure.	New England RBs (at SEA) – First, you can’t trust whether it’s Danny Woodhead, Brandon Bolden, or Stevan Ridley who will get the touches. And traveling up to Seattle will not bode well. It’s best to sit all Patriot backs this week.	LaRod Stephens-Howling (vs. BUF) – Beanie Wells is out for a while, and Ryan Williams is done for the year. LSH is a starting RB, and any starter you can pick up on waivers is gold.
The Saint:	Rashard Mendenhall (at TEN) – He had 16 points last week against the Eagles, and that won’t change against the Titans, who have allowed four RBs to reach double digits in fantasy points. RBs have scored against Tennessee in seven of the last eight games.	Steven Jackson (at SF) – The Dolphins front seven has been among the best in the NFL and opposing rushers have struggled against them this year. MIA has held Darren McFadden, Shonn Greene, Ryan Williams, and Green-Ellis to a combined 10 fantasy points. Oh, Jackson hasn’t scored a TD yet this year either.	Vick Ballard (at NYJ) – Donald Brown out 2-3 weeks, Ballard takes over the starting role against a weak NYJ run defense. The Colts won’t be able to throw the ball.
Mad Scientist:	Stevan Ridley (at SEA) – Averaging just under 21 points over the past two weeks. He’s getting his touches and finding the endzone.	Chris Johnson  (vs. PIT) – Take away his 157 total yard performance against Houston, and he has averaged just 34 yards per game.	Alex Green (at HOU) – You can run on Houston, especially with Cushing out. And Green now gets the carries with Cedric Benson on IR.
TheLostCause:	Rashard Mendenhall (at TEN) – In terms of fantasy football, the Titans have the absolute WORST defense in the NFL. That, and PIT wants to use a fresh Mendenhall.	Steven Jackson (at MIA) – The Miami front seven is among the best in the NFL this season.	William Powell (vs. BUF) – On a hot team with Beanie Wells AND Ryan Williams on IR. However, I also like Vick Ballard with Brown out, and LeGarrette Blount against KC who has allowed 5 TDs to RBs this year.

Wide Receiver:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Dwayne Bowe (at TB) – Many will worry about starting Bowe this week with Matt Cassel out. Don’t. Brady Quinn cannot possibly be worse than Cassel. And Quinn’s best play is the jump ball, which is Bowe’s specialty as well. Oh, don’t forget that Tampa still is the worst against the pass in the NFL.	Jordy Nelson (at HOU) – He only had two catches on five targets against an inexperienced Colts secondary last week. Now he has to face a top five defense in Houston, and he still is without the help of Greg Jennings drawing coverage. With only two TDs this year and averaging less than 60 yards per game, it’s time to sit Nelson for a game.	Antonio Brown (at TEN) – The lack of a TD this year (a fumble recovery TD doesn’t count…) is a bit scary, but Brown is due for reaching pay dirt this week against the Titans and their 25th ranked pass defense. Only the Redskins have allowed more scores through the air than the Titans.
The Saint:	Wes Welker (at SEA) – He’s on a roll and wants to prove Belichick wrong. On pace for 1,600 yards, his production has skyrocketed with Hernandez out. You have to play the hot hand here.	Nate Washington (vs. PIT): He has struggled of late with 7 catches for 89 yards and no TDs in his past two games. The Steelers have only allowed two receivers to reach double digits in fantasy points this year.	Vincent Jackson (vs. KC) – The Chiefs have allowed few WRs to have big games this year. Jackson has at least 10 targets in 3 of his last 4 games. Don’t worry too much about the KC pass defense.
Mad Scientist:	San Francisco Receivers (vs. NYG) – The G-Men have an absolutely terrible secondary. So that makes Mario Manningham and Michael Crabtree great matchups this week.	Dez Bryant (at BAL) – See a pattern here? Dallas players are not to be trusted at this time. Don’t drop them yet, but definitely don’t start them either.	Andrew Hawkins (at CLE) – Cinci’s most reliable receiver (beyond A.J. Green) against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. Gold.
TheLostCause:	Malcom Floyd (vs. DEN) – He has a TD in 2 of the past 3 games against the Broncos, including a 100 yard performance in the last meeting.	Pierre Garcon (vs. MIN) – Dump him now. His foot injury is more nagging than a…well, it’s nagging. Just leave it at that.	Jeremy Kerley (vs. IND) – The Colts have allowed 7 TDs to opposing WRs in just four games this season!

Tight End:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Tony Gonzalez (vs. OAK) and Owen Daniels (vs. GB) – These two have been consistent all year and have favorable matchups against weaker defenses.	Antonio Gates (at DEN) – I said from day one not to trust Gates. He’s averaging just 35 yards per game with no TDs. He doesn’t belong in your lineup.	Lance Kendricks (at MIA) – Lots of injuries at WR for the Rams, and Kendricks is a performer. He is on the field for 85% of plays, and is 3rd on the team in receptions (behind Brandon Gibson and the injured Danny Amendola) and will see more playing time on top of his already high rate.
The Saint:	Vernon Davis (vs. NYG) – He has had bad weeks, but he’s a solid performer each and every week. That continues against a poor NYG secondary.	Brandon Pettigrew (at PHI) – Eagles play too well against TEs (including shutting out Heath Miller last week).	Heath Miller (vs. TEN) – The Titans have allowed more fantasy points to TEs than any other team, including 7 TDs allowed.
Mad Scientist:	Fred Davis (vs. MIN) – If Kirk Cousins starts, he has a rookie QB throwing to him. All rookies like TEs, and Cousins utilized them better than anybody in college. If RGIII starts, it’s RGIII. C’mon!	Jason Witten (at BAL) – More Dallas talk here…Witten might be the only Cowboy worth playing just because Romo always seems to look for him. Until that becomes a consistent occurrence, leave him on your bench.	Jermaine Gresham (at CLE) – A consistent 60 yards per game. He needs to find the endzone more consistently to be a weekly starter, but against CLE he’s as good of a start as any.
TheLostCause:	Heath Miller (at TEN) – He’s owned in 75% of fantasy football leagues (why not 100% of leagues?). He’s easy money this week.	Jason Witten (at BAL) – The Ravens are tough, and the Dallas offense just won’t go anywhere if Witten is, once again, the ONLY target. Plus, The Ravens have allowed only ONE TE to reach double digits in fantasy football in the last 23 games!	Dwayne Allen (vs. BUF) – He has 2 TDs in his last three games, and 3 total on the year.