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Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 17 of the 2010 NFL season.
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Quarterbacks
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Start:
Eli Manning, New York Giants
Eli and the Giants have had their backs against the wall before and they’ve responded. In a must win, with Hakeem Nicks out or limited, I just get the feeling Peyton’s brother will come up with a big performance. Eli quietly has 30 touchdown passes on the year. I think he adds to it against the Redskins 31st ranked pass defense.
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Sit:
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
As tough as it is to sit the likely league MVP, especially against the Bills, he’s too big of a risk to use in a championship game. The Patriots have nothing to play for, and while his three touchdown passes last week were nice, he only threw for 140 yards. This is precisely why leagues should wrap up in Week 16.
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Running Backs
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Start:
Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers
Perhaps it’s a little late for Mathews to reward fantasy owners, but he should do so this week against Denver’s 31st ranked run defense (153.9 yards allowed per game). They have also yielded the most rushing touchdowns (23). With Matt Tolbert (neck, shoulder) banged up, Mathews should lead the way.
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Sit:
Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals
The Ravens shut down Peyton Hillis last week and will look to do the same this week against Benson. Baltimore ranks fourth with just 94.2 rushing yards allowed per game and tied for first, coincidentally with fellow AFC North mates Pittsburgh and Cleveland, with just five rushing touchdowns allowed.

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Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 16 of the 2010 NFL season.
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Quarterbacks
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Start:
Jon Kitna, Dallas Cowboys
Kitna has been inconsistent since taking over for the injured Tony Romo, but has thrown for a pair of touchdowns in each of the past two games, averaging 273.5 yards per game during that span. He has a date with Arizona’s 23rd ranked pass defense (228.1 yards allowed per game).
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Sit:
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
Despite playing in Mike Martz’s high-powered offense, Cutler has averaged 201.1 passing yards in the past seven games. That’s half of the season so far. Speaking of seven games, that’s how many times he’s thrown one or fewer touchdowns. Not exactly the type of production you want for your quarterback, especially when his opponent for the week (New York Jets) allows the ninth fewest yards (205.9).
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Running Backs
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Start:
Mike Tolbert, San Diego Chargers
Tolbert is sharing the load, but he’s doing enough in his to justify starting him, especially against Cincinnati’s 22nd ranked run defense (120.1). They are also tied for 21st with 13 rushing touchdowns allowed.
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Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks got crushed 34-18 last week, but that didn’t stop Lynch from running for 60 yards and a score. He added 17 yards on one catch. He has a very favorable matchup this week, going up against a Tampa unit allowing 136.5 rushing yards (29th in league) per game.
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Sit:
Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals
Benson went off last week for 150 yards and a score on a whopping 31 carries. Unfortunately this week he faces San Diego’s second ranked run defense (89.4). I’m afraid the Bengals will get down big early and will have to go away from the run.

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Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 15 of the NFL season.
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Quarterbacks
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Start:
Matt Schaub, Houston Texans
In case you didn’t get the memo, Matt Schaub is back. He’s thrown for 730 yards and five touchdowns in his past two games. He’s averaging 295.2  yards and two touchdowns in his past five games. He’s going up against a Tennessee team that is allowing 244.3 passing yards per game, which ranks 26th in the league.
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Sit:
Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos
I gave Orton a chance last week and he completed just 19 of 41 passes for 166 yards with three interceptions. The week prior he threw for just 117 yards. Now he’s facing an Oakland team that ranks seventh in the league with just 202.5 passing yards allowed per game. That same Raider team that held him to 198 yards in Week 7 when he was still posting monster numbers.
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Running Backs
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Start:
Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins
Brown has yet to reach 100 yards of total offense in any game this season, and is averaging just 62.3 total yards per game on the year. With just three touchdowns, he’s not making fantasy owners happy. This week, though, he should be able to turn in a solid performance. He faces the Bills, who at 165.8 rushing yards allowed per game rank dead last at stopping the run. RB had 85 total yards and a score in Week 1 against the Bills, and I like his chances against them at home this week.
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Mike Tolbert, San Diego Chargers
Just because Ryan Mathews had 16 carries and a score last week doesn’t mean Tolbert should be avoided. After all he had 16 carries of his own and a score. The Niners have the ninth ranked run defense (100.1 yards allowed per game), but Philip Rivers will take pressure of the running backs, which should allow Tolbert, and possibly Mathews, to have solid performances.
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Sit:
Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals & Thomas Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
This RB duo was once shared a backfield in Chicago. They have been two of the better fantasy running backs the past few seasons, but I’m down on both this week. Benson is going up against a Browns team that has allowed just four rushing touchdowns all season.They held him to 60 yards in Week 4. Meanwhile Jones had just one yard on three carries last week. I don’t anticipate him bouncing back against the Rams, who have allowed just five rushing touchdowns this year.

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Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 14 of the NFL season.
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Quarterbacks
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Start:
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
I still can’t wrap my head around why the Ravens were passing when Troy Polamalu made the game-changing strip on Sunday night. He should be able to dust himself off and get right back up against the Texans, who are allowing 298.3 passing yards and 2.5 passing touchdowns per game.
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Sit:
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
It’s not that I think Matty Ice will struggle this week. I just think that the Panthers are going to get a heavy dose of the run this week when they face the Falcons.
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Running Backs
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Start:
Christopher Ivory, New Orleans Saints
Even if Pierre Thomas returns this week, Sean Payton has made it clear that Ivory is his guy saying “I don’t want to affect his snap count at all in regards to his carries. Certainly Ivory has earned the reps that he’s getting now and the touches.” St. Louis has only allowed five rushing touchdowns, but with the Saints clicking, there’s a good chance that total goes up this week.
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Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
J-Stew also faces a run defense that has yielded just five rushing touchdowns this year. They did allow 103 yards and a score for LeGarrette Blount last week though.  Stewart is finally healthy, and the 90+ yards he’s had in each of the past two weeks makes me optimistic. Mike Goodson is dealing with a shoulder injury, meaning Stewart should get the bulk of the carries.
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Sit:
Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals
Benson draws Pittsburgh on the road. The Steelers are allowing league lows in yards per game (62.3), yards per carry (3.0) and rushing touchdowns (4). The last time Benson played in Pittsburgh he managed just 22 yards.

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Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 13 of the NFL season.
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Quarterbacks
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Start:
Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
Don’t look now, but the talented rookie has a 17-9 TD to INT ratio. It’s 10-1 in his past five games. He has the fortune of playing Arizona, who ranks 25th with 262.3 passing yards allowed per game. He struggled with three interceptions in his pro debut against the Cardinals, but that seems like an eternity ago.
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Sit:
Jon Kitna, Dallas Cowboys
Now that they lost under Jason Garrett, I wouldn’t be surprised if they returned to their losing ways. The Colts rank 7th with just 217.4 passing yards allowed per game and are tied for 6th with 13 passing touchdowns allowed.
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Running Backs
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Start:
Mike Tolbert, San Diego Chargers
Tolbert just keeps churning out big games, and his date with Oakland’s 28th ranked run defense (133.7 rushing yards allowed per game) is enticing. Ryan Mathews has become an afterthought.
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Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys
Jones hasn’t been explosive, but he has had at least 86 total yards in his past three games. He is a nice play against Indianapolis’ 29th ranked run defense (136 ypg). I’m not expecting him to get the goal line carries in Marion Barber’s absence, as Tashard Choice will likely get those looks, but there should be enough yardage to make him a decent RB2. Plus, he’s always a threat to break a long one.
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Sit:
LeGarrette Blount, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Blount managed just 55 yards against Baltimore’s 11th ranked run defense (101.7 ypg). This week he has the tall order of facing Atlanta’s 6th ranked run defense (93.7 ypg). They are tied for an NFL-low four rushing touchdowns.
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Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins
The Browns, Ronnie’s opponent this week, have also allowed just four rushing touchdowns. He ran for 85 yards last week against the Raiders, but is still sharing with Ricky Williams nearly 50-50. That won’t be enough against Cleveland.

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Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 12 of the NFL season.
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Quarterbacks
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Start:
Shaun Hill, Detroit Lions
Hill makes an excellent play against the Patriots this week. He has great weapons in Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, and Brandon Pettigrew. Jahvid Best is hurting so the Lions won’t have much of a ground game to rely on. The Patriots are allowing 300 yards per game through the air. Plus, Shaun Hill has delivered in just about every game he’s played in. Add it all up and Hill should be in fantasy lineups more often than not this week.
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Sit:
Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have become so bad they blew a 31-14 halftime lead to the Bills, allowing Buffalo to outscore them 35-0 in the second half. They take on the Jets this week, who completely shut down Chad Ochocinco last year. With Cromartie on board, the Jets have two cornerbacks who can hold their own against T.O. and Ocho.
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Running Backs
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Start:
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, New England Patriots
The Law Firm is averaging 111.5 total yards and 0.5 touchdowns over the past two games against Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. This week he faces a Detroit team that is allowing 130.6 rushing yards per game. They have also allowed 11 rushing touchdowns.
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Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins
I have long been a huge Ronnie Brown fan. I typically rank him a little higher than most because I loved his ability. This year I have been pretty down on him. This week, though, I’m back on his bandwagon. He should succeed against a Raiders defense that’s allowing 128.5 rushing yards per game.
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Sit:
Brandon Jackson, Green Bay Packers
Jackson has averaged 77.5 total yards with three touchdowns in his past four games. This week he takes on Atlanta, who has allowed 95.4 rushing yards per game and just three rushing touchdowns.

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Here’s some sit and start advice as you set your lineups for Week 11 of the NFL season.
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Quarterbacks
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Start:
Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs
Cassel is coming off a 469 yards, 4 TD game against Denver. He has 12 touchdowns in his past five games. He should continue to shine against Arizona’s 27th ranked pass defense (269.3 yards allowed per game).
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Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
Sanchez is clicking with Santonio Holmes, who is forming a nice 1-2 punch with Braylon Edwards.  Sanchez has averaged 317.5 passing yards in his past two games with three touchdowns. He’s also ran for a score in both of those games. This week he takes on Houston’s league worst pass defense (301.3 yapg).

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Sit:
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
Cutler was good enough last week against the Vikings at home. This week he travels to South Beach to face the Dolphins. They rank sixth is passing yards allowed with 203.9 ypg. They are also tied for 12th with 13 passing TDs allowed.