Week 8 Fantasy Football Start/Sit/Sleeper

Time to give our week 8 Fantasy Football picks! Send us your individual start/sit questions!!

Quarterback:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Philip Rivers (at CLE) – I’m not a huge Rivers fan, as everybody knows, but he gets a favorable matchup coming off of a bye week. He can put up huge numbers at Cleveland this week. The only thing that might worry me is a west-coast team with a 1:00 Eastern start…I’ll take that risk coming off of the bye.	Alex Smith (at ARI) – I like Alex Smith and think he can be a great QB. However, he doesn’t throw downfield enough, and this week he’s playing Cardinals’ 4th ranked passing defense. There are better options out there this week.	Mark Sanchez (vs. MIA) – As much as I dislike Sanchez as a QB, I think he could be a nice play this week against the Miami pass defense that is currently ranked 28th in the league. He threw for 328 yards and a TD last week against the Patriots, and it could have been more if not for drops and bad play calling. The Tebow fear is there, but until Tebow takes away goal line opportunities, you can at least use Sanchez sparingly in a matchup game.
The Saint:	Peyton Manning (vs. NO) – Facing the league’s 30th ranked passing defense. If Josh Freeman could throw for 4 TDs against them, what do you think Peyton Manning could do?	Mike Vick (vs. ATL) – Just too many turnovers and too inconsistent of play. The bye week helps, but do I trust him against the Falcons? No.	Andrew Luck (at TEN) – Every QB that has faced the Titans this year has scored 15+ fantasy points.
Mad Scientist:	Carson Palmer (at KC) – The Raiders will use any and all means to put points on the board, and facing Brady Quinn may mean Palmer can take a few more risks and chuck it deep.	Matthew Stafford (vs.  ARI) – I’m almost considering benching Megatron. That’s how badly the Lions are doing on offense right now. If more teams keep going into prevent defense, Stafford will be forced to just hand it off more often than not. You can’t throw effectively against Cover 2 like that all game long.	Brandon Weeden (vs. SD) – 328 pass yards and 3 TDs last week, now facing the Saints.

Running Back:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Willis McGahee (vs. NO) – 31st in the league against the rush. Yes, the Saints are also 30th against the pass and you know Peyton will get his scores, but he will audible many times to the run as well. Against such a bad defense, advantage McGahee two-fold.	Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart (at CHI) – Not only because it’s against the Bears, but also because they have COMBINED for only two TDs this year. Their yards per carry average is 3.5 and 4.1, respectively. Not to mention either Newton or Tolbert will continue getting the goal line carries. Neither belongs on your team.	Mikel Leshoure (vs. SEA) – The Seattle run defense is not very good on the road. Yes it’s still Seattle, but after seeing how Chicago just let the game go by putting two safeties over 20 yards off of the ball, I expect to see more run plays for Leshoure in the future. (Rashad Jennings, Darryl Richardson, and LaRod Stephens-Howling are the top waiver pickups for the week though)
The Saint:	Chris Johnson (vs. IND) – Ride the hot hand while he stays hot!	Steven Jackson (vs. NE) – Have you finally decided to sit Jackson every week? He’s splitting carries, will fall behind early and be left out of the offense.	Rashad Jennings (at GB) – With MJD out for a while, Jennings takes over the load. Expect a big role this weekend.
Mad Scientist:	Alex Green (vs. JAC) – Against the 29th ranked rush defense and in a game where the Packers will get ahead early, I expect 20+ carries from Alex Green.	Trent Richardson (vs. SD) – “Healthy” or not, stay away from Richardson for a bit. You can’t afford a guy to carry it 8 times for 8 yards and then decide that he’s too hurt to play. As a fantasy owner, play it safe and hold off for a while.	Jonathan Dwyer (vs. WAS) – He looked like a second coming of Jerome Bettis with his 122 yard performance last week. With the status of Redman and Mendanhall still in doubt, take a look at Dwyer.

Wide Receiver:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Reggie Wayne (at TEN) – Against the 27th best pass defense in the league, expect Luck and Wayne to hook up numerous times on the field. I can see double-digit catches for Reggie Wayne this week.	Steve Smith (at CHI) – Second straight week I vote to bench Smith. Don’t start ANY Carolina player this week against Chicago. And in fact, hold off maybe next week as well until they show they can be effective on offense again.	Santana Moss (at PIT) – I honestly don’t know how Pittsburgh is ranked 2nd in pass defense. With Garcon out still, Moss has stepped up in a big way. He’s a flex play this week against the Steelers if Polamalu is still out.
The Saint:	Mike Wallace (vs. CLE) – The drops kill, but he still gets the looks and the catches each week. That, and the Redskins allow the most fantasy points to opposing WRs each week.	Brandon Lloyd (at JAC) – I had high hopes for Lloyd this year. I didn’t expect him to be a second coming of Randy Moss, but c’mon man! He had eight targets last week – he caught one, for six yards.	Kenny Britt (vs. IND) – He’s getting healthier and stronger and more in sync each week. Don’t forget about this guy.
Mad Scientist:	Malcom Floyd (at CLE) – Good matchup after a bye week. Cleveland is sixth worst against the pass this year, with nearly all damage coming from WRs.	Dez Bryant (at NYG) – Just too many big plays missed on dropped passes. You can’t have that.	Josh Gordon (vs. SD) – Can’t believe how much success the Browns are having with their passing game. If Gordon is available, with the way they throw it deep, you must get him on your roster.

Tight End:

	Start ‘em	Sit ‘em	Sleeper Pick
Value Man:	Martellus Bennett (vs. DAL) – Will love to put a TD up against his former team, and the Cowboys will focus on shutting down Cruz and Nicks.	Greg Olsen (at CHI) – Not a chance you go for Olsen. I’d drop him actually. Cam just isn’t throwing well enough.	Dustin Keller (vs. MIA) – Who else will Sanchez throw it to?
The Saint:	Tony Gonzalez (at PHI) – He’s the best in the league right now. Don’t worry about the matchups. Just start him.	Brandon Pettigrew (vs. SEA) – Underperformed this year so far and now has to face the Seahawks.	Heath Miller (vs. WAS) – HEEEEEEEEEEE EEEAAAATHHH HHHHH!!!!
Mad Scientist:	Antonio Gates (at CLE) – Cleveland usually is good against the TE. However, after seeing the athletic TE Jermaine Gresham get loose against them, Gates is a good shot.	Brandon Pettigrew (vs. SEA) – Stay away from Detroit players, especially a TE who doesn’t get enough targets.	Brandon Myers (at KC) – He’s been targeted 17 times in the last two games. He could hit 100 yards this week against KC.