Treat’s Take: Week 17 Start/Sit

Peyton Manning
Joseph Addai
Donald Brown (inj)
Reggie Wayne
Austin Collie
Pierre Garcon (inj)
Dallas Clark

If they pulled Addai in the 2nd and the rest in the 3rd last week, they should exit earlier this week. Brown might be a good bet for some nice touches, but he might even see rest.

It really doesn’t matter what QB the Bills put in, they aren’t getting the offense going much. Jackson is the only worthy fantasy guy here this week, but he didn’t get much against a mediocre run D last week.

The Saints don’t have anything to play for, but it appears the players will play. We’ll see. The Panthers are one of the hottest teams in the NFC right now and have a studly pass defense. Play your Saints with caution.

We are now hearing most Saints will be sitting and that Brees won’t play. Bench’em all against a hot Panthers team.

With Williams likely out again, JStew is set to take on a large load against a run defense that allows over 21 fantasy points a game to RBs (10th worst). Matt Moore has been solid lately, but no Steve Smith is gonna hurt.

Tom Brady
Laurance Maroney
Kevin Faulk
Benjarvis Green-Ellis
Sammy Morris
Fred Taylor (inj)
Randy Moss
Wes Welker
Julian Edelman

The Pats are playing for the 3 seed. They are in the drivers seat for it. If they lose, the Bengals can get it and it sounds like no starters will sit. Play your guys with confidence.

Matt Schuab
Arian Foster
Ryan Moats
Chris Brown
Andre Johnson
Kevin Walter
Jacoby Jones

The Pats have only allowed 3 rushing TDs this season and none in 6 weeks. The Texans have trouble running the ball. Schaub and AJ are it here for fantasy leagues.

The Vikings have shown poor safety play as of late and Eli could give the Vikes trouble with his trio of receivers. If you need a WR3 or 2nd QB this week, they are OK plays.

This week the Vikings are back in the dome where they average over 30 points a game and are undefeated. The Giants D isn’t very good and The Vikes fantasy players should show up.

The former 1st round picks for the 49ers are really showing up together this year. Davis (6th overall), Smith (1st overall), and Crabtree (10th overall) should all be very safe plays against a very poor Rams team this week. Gore should have a great game. He’ll carry a lot of the load once the 49ers take a nice lead.

Kyle Boller (inj)
Keith Null
Steven Jackson (inj)
Brandon Gibson
Donnie Avery
Danny Amendola

Here’s how it goes for the Rams. No one should be in lineups except SJax, and he might not play.

Matt Ryan
Michael Turner (inj)
Jason Snelling
Jerious Norwood
Roddy White
Michael Jenkins
Tony Gonzalez

Gonzo played a very tough pass D last week and didn’t find much room. TB is middle of the road. With Ryan back, White got a lot more looks. White is a great play, but Ryan has put up enough clunkers to be concerned.

Josh Freeman
Cadillac Williams
Ernest Graham
Derrick Ward
Michael Clayton
Sammie Stroughter
Antonio Bryant
Kellen Winslow Jr.

Despite Caddy scoring in 2 straight weeks and having a monster game last week, you never know when he’ll throw up another 11 carry, 14 yard day. The Falcons effectively shut down Fred Jackson last week. He’s a risky play.

The Steelers will most likely come out guns blazing. They need to win and get help to make the playoffs.

Chad Henne
Ricky Williams (inj)
Davone Bess
Ted Ginn
Greg Camarillo
Brian Hartline

The Dolphins might be playing from behind, making Henne an OK, albeit weak, 2nd QB this week. Ricky claims he will be good to go, if he is start him, even against the Steelers.

Jay Cutler
Matt Forte
Devin Hester (inj)
Earl Bennett
Devin Aromashodu
Greg Olsen

Cutler came to play on Monday night. We learned that DA is a much better WR than people think, big, can jump, OK hands. He has a nice matchup this week. Cutler is still finding Olsen in the red zone.

Drew Stanton
Duante Culpepper
Maurice Morris
Calvin Johnson (inj)
Bryant Johnson
Brandon Pettigrew
Casey Fitzsimmons

No matter who starts at QB, this offense isn’t really moving. CJ2 will get the targets to be fantasy relevant, but not studly.

What a nice matchup for the rare leagues that have fantasy championships this week. MJD and Sims-Walker have a great matchup. Sims-Walker is on a bit of downslide, but this week could help people forget that.

Harrison is hard to ignore right now. The Browns have found a place to funnel their offense through. You just can’t bench him right now.

Donovan McNabb
Michael Vick
Brian Westbrook (inj)
LeSean McCoy
Leonard Weaver
Jeremy Maclin (inj)
Desean Jackson
Jason Avant
Brent Celek

McNabb didn’t show up fantasywise in this matchup earlier this year. This game has a lot more on the line. The Dallas defense is very good, so you need to start Jackson and CELEK. Be a little wary of McNabb as he is still throwing picks almost weekly and this D is good.

(In case you are wondering, my capitalization of CELEK is an inside joke with a friend. I have been touting him for 3 years, but LJ Smith just wouldn’t go away.)

Romo has just shown up lately. He is putting up some solid numbers and winning games. Austin is proving to be a complete WR and he will be needed this week to keep up with the Eagles big play ability.

Flacco and Mason would have had decent fantasy days and had Mason not screwed up a sure TD, they would have had good fantasy days. Despite the Alphabet making the probowl, he hasn’t been nearly as shut down as in previous years. Mason should still be OK this week.

Charlie Frye
Darren McFadden
Michael Bush
Justin Fargas (inj)
Darrius Heyward-Bey (inj)
Chaz Schilens
Louis Murphy
Johnny Lee Higgins
Zach Miller

The Ravens are tough against the run, suceptable to the pass. The Raiders aren’t good at passing, but are OK at running. This isn’t a good matchup for fantasy guys.

Good teams crush the Seahawks. Recently the Packers and Vikings both did it. The Titans want CJ4.24 to get that 2000 yards and he will, with ease. Starting Chris Johnson this week might be the safest fantasy play out there. It’s reminiscent of when Emmitt Smith needed 1 TD on Monday Night Football against the Cardinals for a record (at the time) 25. They made sure he got it in the 4th. CJ4.24 will get his this week, even if it takes 30 carries.

Even playing from way behind and passing a lot against the Pack, these WRs just can’t put up good fantasy days. With the clock in the game bound to go by quickly with all the running, expect nothing from your fantasy ‘Hawks.

The Chargers will have nothing to play for. Fred Davis and Quinton Ganther weren’t really in the gameplan last week. The gameplan that involved forcing the ball to Moss and trying idiotic, ineffective trick plays apparently. Davis and Ganther should get back involved this week, but aren’t the greatest plays.

This is why you don’t play championships in week 17. Several sources including SD beat writers are expecting the Chargers to rest their key players. You probably shouldn’t start anyone here. Even if they do start, Washington has a great defense and the starters may get pulled.

Matt Cassel
Jamaal Charles
Kolby Smith
Dwayne Bowe
Chris Chambers
Bobby Wade
Lance Long
Mark Bradley

Last week, Leon Hall chose to cover Chambers instead of Bowe. That’s why Bowe had 61 yards and Chambers only had 34. In fairness, Joseph is great too. This week it would be nice to see who Bailey lines up on, but for now, both are weak flex/WR3 plays..

Gaffney is not going to get 2 TDs again. A guy who gets 1-4 targets a week explodes for a day, it happens. Don’t follow the hype. The Chiefs allow everyone to run on them. Moreno is the direction this game is going to go. He only had 9 carries last week and should more than double that this week. He had 21 carries and 2 TDs against KC in week 13 (that one was in Arrowhead too).

Marshall will not play.

The Packers are in a similar boat. They are guaranteed to be on the road next week, but there really hasn’t been much chatter about resting starters, so you’ll just have to keep your eyes open until Sunday. If they go, Rodgers should shred the Cardinals and Jennings/Driver will benefit. Grant has put up some pretty nice games this year and despite having a poor game for most of the day last week, one very long TD run and one goalline TD run made him a fantasy hero for many.

The Cardinals still have a shot at the 2 seed, but will know for certain at the start of the game. Should Minnesota win, The cards will be playing at home next week against the Packers or Dallas. Many expect the Cardinals to rest some people and not divulge their gameplan this week. The odds are that they will be hosting GB next week as well. Use your Cardinals with caution. As it stands, the Packers have a very good defense anyway.

Carson Palmer
Cedric Benson
Chad OchoCinco
Laveranues Coles
Andre Caldwell

Not only do the Jets have a ridiculously stout defense, but this game comes late. There is already talk about the Bengals sitting players regardless of the Patriots game outcome. If the Patriots win in the early game, the Bengals will be locked into the 4 seed in a likely rematch with the Jets. They also won’t want to show any gameplanning against a team they may face the following week. Starting Bengals this week is not advised.

The Jets need to win to be in. They can clinch before this game starts with some help, but looking at the matchups, they’ll need the win. If Hall and Joseph play, then I wouldn’t recommend starting Jets. They threw 0 TDs last week, even against the Colts backups. TJ should be safe though.