Opinion Corner: Sits and starts for week 9

As we head into week 9, the inconsistencies of players continue to boggle the minds of fantasy owners.

As difficult as it is to predict this season’s Super Bowl champ, it is just as difficult for some to decide on whom to start on a week-to-week basis.

Jamaal Charles owners must be scratching their heads. Coming into week 8, Charles looked like a guaranteed starter. The Chiefs were up against the Raiders and with the score being close for the majority of the game; the potential for carries and long rushes was huge.

How do the Chiefs and Charles respond? Chiefs lose again, and Charles racks up a total of 10 yards. For three consecutive weeks, it looked as if Charles was going to dominate the fantasy world, instead he follows that performance with three consecutive disappointing games.

So, should owners start Charles this week? It depends. Monitor Charles’ status, if he is healthy and starting, I’d say gamble on him if you don’t have the depth at running backs.

As far as the Lions go, I must apologize to those managers who may have listened and benched Matthew Stafford. And for those of you who listened and picked up and started Titus Young of the Lions, you’re welcome.

Is it too early to say that the Lions and Stafford are back to form after one solid outing? Maybe, but I do recommend staring Lions players this week. Once again, Titus Young is a good start, as is Stafford.

Calvin Johnson owners, I have no evidence from the past few weeks to suggest that Johnson will have a big game, but he is due and the Jaguars do provide a good opportunity for him to get out of his slump. I’m expecting big things this week, and if he doesn’t, you probably wasted an early pick on what might be considered one of the worst fantasy busts ever.

Sticking with the Lions and Jaguars game, Rashard Jennings is a good start again this week. Jennings had a decent game against the Packers.

If you’re in need of some help at the wide receiver position, pick up Cecil Shorts of the Jaguars if he is available. He has had two solid starts and looks to be the starter and number one option going forward. He’s receiving the targets and making the most of his opportunities.

A sleeper pick that I’m going with this week is LaRod Stephens-Howling of the Arizona Cardinals. To say he had a difficult time against the 49ers on Monday night is an understatement.

He was quite productive two weeks ago and his explosiveness should allow him to make some noise against the Packers this week.

With the Patriots on a bye this week, there’s a manager in every league looking to their bench, or waiver wire, trying to make up some serious points. If you’re not in a deep league, then Matt Schaub is whom you should be targeting. Schaub should be able to pick apart the Bills who will be unable to contain the Texans offense.

For those of you who have Cam Newton, this is the week he reminds us all of last year. The Panthers are up against the Redskins, and Newton should have an extra chip on his shoulder, as RGIII will be lighting it up against the Panthers, who is another safe play this week.

Another quarterback that you should be considering is Jay Cutler. The Bears travel to Tennessee and Cutler and Brandon Marshall will look to increase their production from last week.

For those that are in deep leagues and have Joe Flacco as your starter, time to look elsewhere this week. The Ravens will travel to Cleveland and the Browns will frustrate the Ravens as they did the Chargers last week.

The Ravens problems on defense will allow Trent Richardson to get back on track if he’s healthy and once again the Ravens problems on defense will transfer over to their offense as it did against the Texans two weeks ago.

For those that are looking to replace Rob Gronkowski, or Vernon Davis, look for Owen Daniels of the Houston Texans, or Detroit’s Brandon Pettigrew. Both have favorable matchups and should get back on track this week.

With all of the criticism he’s currently facing, Michael Vick will prove to all that he still has what it takes to win games in the NFL.

This truly is a must win game for the Eagles. The Falcons will be helping the Eagles cause by taking care of the Cowboys and the Giants win streak will come to an end against the Steelers.

Vick will have a great day in the air as he’ll find DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin with ease. He’ll also rack up a few yards on the ground as he leads the Eagles to victory.

A couple of running backs that you might want to bench are Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson.

The Vikings wide receivers will not be given extra attention by the Seahawks secondary which will allow them to stack a few more in the box and run down Peterson.

Johnson racked up 99 yards against the Colts last week and those numbers should decrease this week against the Bears.

Good luck this week and don’t let late-season trades ruin your league. Register for free with fantasymoves.com to ensure all fair trades are accepted and unfair trades rejected. Send your start em, or sit em, questions to moves@fantasymoves.com.

Jessy Sandhu is the founder of Fantasy Moves. Follow him on Twitter @FantasyMoves

Tags: sports, nfl, football