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Week 8 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Advice on Fantasy Football Stars to Play or Bench
- Updated: October 27, 2016
Name power often influences how fantasy football owners approach lineups.
While varying schools of thought exist on the matter, it probably shouldn’t. In Week 7, owners who trotted out Houston Texans running back Lamar Miller in a dreadful matchup against the Denver Broncos received all of five points.
San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is the best example. In a Week 6 encounter against those Broncos, he totaled nine points. Fast-forward to Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons, though, and he led all scorers at the position with 29.
It’s a good lesson to keep in mind going into Week 8—owners sometimes cannot afford to put a blindfold on and toss big names into any matchup. Here’s a look at matchup comparisons for the week and notable start-sit options.
Quarterback
Star to Know: Matthew Stafford, DET (at HOU)
Hype for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford as an MVP candidate continues to grow, which won’t surprise fantasy owners. He’s fourth in scoring at the position this year with three outings of 25 points or more.
Keep in mind some of the allure about Stafford’s season comes from the fact he’s doing this without Calvin Johnson.
Owners don’t care either way so long as it keeps up. It should in Week 8 as Stafford gets to take on a Houston Texans defense with five notable names on the injury report. The unit has also allowed 18 or more points in two of its past three outings.
After freeing himself of a matchup-based label, Stafford should have a big day.
Star to Sit: Carson Palmer, ARI (at CAR)
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Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer sits on the other extreme end of the spectrum.
He has fallen completely off the map, battling injuries and scoring more than 20 points in an outing just once this year despite having weapons such as Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson around him.
In Week 8, Palmer hobbles into Carolina on the road for a game against the Panthers. This would be great for most quarterbacks because the Carolina defense allows the third-most points on average to passers, but the unit continues to get healthier out of a bye week and Palmer has not shown anything that should inspire confidence.
He hasn’t even thrown more than a single touchdown in a game since Week 2, so avoid him this week.
Running Back
Star to Know: Chris Thompson, WAS (at CIN)
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