Who To Start, Sit, And Scoop Up For Your Week 8 Fantasy Football Lineup

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Through 7 weeks, the sample sizes have been analyzed, the handcuffs have been picked up, and now we head into one of the worst stretches of bye weeks this season. If you’re reeling from injuries and have key players resting up in Week 8, it’s time to hit the waivers and consider some of these plays to keep your fantasy season alive, or lumbering forward like a patchwork Frankenstein monster. This is your Halloween-themed Week 8 primer. Scary stuff.

The bye-nado begins: Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, NY Giants, Pittsburgh, San Francisco are all on bye.

Start of the Week

Spencer Ware: Jamaal Charles still isn’t right, and Spencer Ware is ballin’, so why stop the freight train? When he gets rolling and is featured, he is the Chiefs offense, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this were a changing of the guard. Charles will have his role, but there’s no need to rush him back and have a setback on his knee, and Andy Reid knows this. He told the Kansas City Star:

“His knee acted up after the last game, and it was up and down through the last week,” Reid said. “We were doing OK without him in there, and I felt like if we could get by with that, (we should).”

So play Spenny Ware, who goes up against the 3rd-worst rushing defense in the league, and the worst rush defense available to play against in Week 8 — the Indianapolis Colts.

Expect to see stuff like this:

Start/Sit

QUARTERBACK STARTS

Matthew Stafford: It looks like Stafford is going to get you points no matter what. Anquan Boldin bailed out plenty of owners in Week 7 with his game-winning TD catch, but points are points and the Texans should be willing participants in a TD exchange between the two teams. Look at the stats!

Russell Wilson: He’s not the pocket passer we were hoping he’d be, especially after lighting the world on fire in the second half of the 2015 season, but he’s getting healthier, and a game against the soft New Orleans defense with a vengeful Jimmy Graham could be what the doctor ordered. If he doesn’t do it this week, especially while averaging over 36 pass attempts a game, it may be time to bench him until you can see him move out of the pocket to create magic with his legs.

Andy Dalton: Somehow, Dalton has been able to maintain his top 12 QB status despite throwing only 8 touchdowns all season. He’s still putting up decent week to week numbers by averaging nearly 300 YPC, mostly because he’s not turning the ball over (5 games this season without a turnover). Now he’s facing a Washington defense that ranks in the bottom of the league for passing defense, and they could be without Josh Norman, who is in concussion protocol.

QUARTERBACK SITS

Carson Palmer: He’s barely been a QB2 this year, and is a good example of why you shouldn’t bet on a 36-year-old QB coming off the best season in his career. Carolina could be a get right game before the Cardinals have a bye, but why risk it? The bye weeks are only holding out two real QBs of note (Landry and Eli Manning), so are you even considering this? Proceed with caution, but don’t move forward thinking 2016 Palmer is anything near 2015 Palmer, who faded as the year went on.

Let’s look back to last week here:

Tyrod Taylor: Few people love TyGod as much as I do, but with Marquise Goodwin going down, Robert Woods possibly out for another week with a foot injury, LeSean McCoy hurt and Charles Clay banged up, he simply has no one to throw to. We know he can create offense with his legs, but who will he pump fake to? The New England defense will feast on the Bills this week, and it will be a sad thing to watch. Remember the preseason, when Sammy Watkins was around and everyone was happy?

It’s like The Walking Dead, when they had the dream sequence and Glenn was holding his son at Sunday dinner with Abraham.

Dak Prescott: Prescott is leading the most polite coup d’etat ever in Dallas. If he plays well here against the Eagles, who are allowing the least amount of fantasy QB points this season, then it’s hard to deny him the job. But the other shoe is going to drop. It has to. This is the NFL, after all, and a rookie QB can only last so long without being eaten up by a nasty divisional opponent. I think this is that week.

RUNNING BACK STARTS

Christine Michael: Let’s not worry about Thomas, okay? Not yet. It looks like Thomas Rawls is coming back from injury in Week 9, but that shouldn’t be an issue in Week 8 when he’s plugging a few in on the Saints. Russell Wilson has no injury designation for Week 8 even though he looked limited as hell against the Cardinals, and that will certainly affect Michael’s game, but it’s the Saints, and Wilson should be healthier which means Michael should be better. That math adds up, right?

Here’s some perspective:

Jacquizz Rodgers: In his two games as the lead back in Tampa Bay, Quizz has seen 57 touches on the ground and caught 6 passes. For volume alone, you want Rodgers. Now it looks like Doug Martin is going to miss another week, so Quizz becomes a no-brainer must start against the Raiders. Amazingly, this guy isn’t 100 percent owned.

He’s the fantasy band-aid legends are made of. And maybe he’ll play the Charles Sims role once Doug Martin gets back too, so there’s value beyond the handcuff.

RUNNING BACK SITS

Mark Ingram: Unfortunately, Ingram simply isn’t getting the touches you want out of a No. 1 RB (which he was drafted as) and he’s been bailed out by his catches in PPR leagues. There are tons of mouths to feed in New Orleans, and Seattle is coming to town. If you’re in a situation where you drafted Melvin Gordon in rounds 5-7, picked up Jacquizz and Jay Ajai, Tye Montogomery (depending on designation), or Spencer Ware, I’d play any oft hem over Ingram this week.

This should be taken into consideration:

CJ Anderson: He played great Monday night against the Texans and their 29th ranked run defense, rushing 16 times for 107 yards and a score, but he was in an equal timeshare with rookie Devontae Booker who actually out-snapped him 35-28. This is concerning, and now Denver plays San Diego featuring a renewed front 7 with Joey Bosa. When Anderson played the Chargers in Week 6, he had 10 attempts for 37 yards. If you have better options, use them.

Let’s enjoy this while we can…

Lamar Miller: Sadly, it’s no longer Miller Time. The heavy workload has caught up to him it seems, and now he’s nursing a shoulder injury that saw him split work with Alfred Blue. You’ll want to monitor this situation all week long, and even though you start your studs, it may be time to let Miller rest. Hopefully the Texans do the same thing. Miller ran well against Denver — 11 times for 61 yards, but if he doesn’t have the volume, he can’t be trusted if he’s going to be playing with this injury.

WIDE RECEIVER STARTS

Ty Montgomery: Here’s a weird one the benefitted owners who grabbed Ty Montgomery off waivers last week — the Green Bay receiver is now RB/WR eligible in ESPN leagues and Fanduel, However, he will not (and supposedly cannot) have that designation changed in CBS leagues. We’ll see where Yahoo falls and if we can get a definitive answer this week. But for now, enjoy this do-it-all and think back to the great times when Marques Colston was a TE/WR in Yahoo back in 2006. Montgomery saw 13 targets (a shockingly low 23.2 percent target share) against the Bears, and rushed 9 times for 60 yards. He’ll be worth starting as long as James Starks isn’t back.

And about that Yahoo designation:

Michael Thomas: It’s time to fully embrace Michael Thomas, who seems impervious to the evil Drew Brees away game blues. In fact, he’s quietly emerging as the team’s No. 1 receiver. Look at this:

A few digital inches above these words, I was touting the Seattle defense, now I’m saying play Thomas against a fantastic defense on a team with too many mouths to feed? Yep. Thomas and Brees should get you some points this week with Antonio Brown, OBJ, Jarvis Landry and the formidable Brian Quick on bye. Brees has thrown it 45.5 times per game this season, so the points will be there.

Will Fuller: After being shut down in Minnesota, missing the easier Colts matchup with an injury, then being shut down once again by Denver, the Texans welcome Detroit to town so they can finally get their wide receivers some points. Osweiler is not playing well at all, injuries have set Fuller back and he’s been playing against phenomenal defenses, so don’t hold those last 3 weeks against him. Will? It’s not your fault. No. Listen. It’s not your fault, Will.

It’s not your fault.

WIDE RECEIVER SITS

Tyrell Williams: He’s the guy to own in San Diego, but he’s facing Denver, one of the best pass defenses in the league that held him to 3 catches for 28 yards when they met in Week 6. Hopefully, the byes don’t affect your ability to sit him this week. Just know that he has a great schedule coming for the playoffs (Car, Oak, Cle).

Alshon Jeffery: Cutler’s coming back and Alshon’s previous greatness flashes before your eyes. Finally, he’s back. Ready to do great things.

Very great things! Then you remember that the Bears are playing in primetime again for some reason, on Halloween, against Minnesota, the league’s best defense. You’ve waited this long, perhaps you can wait just a little longer for Alshon to get right. It might get spooky scary with Jay Cutler ending up face down in the dirt.

Speaking of “spooky scary,” here’s the contractually guaranteed Halloween video for the final week of October:

Jeremy Maclin: He has the potential for a bounce back game against the Colts this week, but after a 4/40 game against New Orleans, are we even depending on Maclin anymore? Byes will make this a tough sell, but if you can flex in someone other that Maclin, like Davante Adams or Tye Montgomery, do it. He’s not playable in standard league formats and is 36th in PPR leagues.

TIGHT END STARTS

Jordan Reed: We know Reed is one of the most dynamic TEs in the league and he has cleared concussion protocol as of Monday night and will return to practice on Wednesday at the perfect time. Washington is playing Cincinnati in Week 8, and the Bengals are the 6th-worst pass defense against the tight end. Reed has a history of concussion issues, but for now, unless some news comes out that he’s sitting, Reed’s a play.

C.J. Fiedorowicz: This is weird, but over the last month, Fiedorwicz has been the most dependable receiver in Houston. Fiedorowicz has scored at least 12 points in PPR leagues before he lead all Texan receivers against Denver with 5 receptions for 35 yards. Ah, wait. DeAndre Hopkins led all receivers, like he should. Hopkins had 5 catches for 36 yards. There aren’t many TEs that are sitting with this week’s byes, but the Lions have allowed a touchdown to an opposing TE 6 times this season. It’s a sneaky play for the deep league team that’s lamenting the loss of Dennis Pitta this week.

Gary Barnidge: Are you desperate for a TE? Guess what, Gary Barnidge caught 6 receptions for 66 yards Week 7. This “666” if you will is a clear indicator that he must be played in Halloween’s Week 8. Think about it — the Browns wear orange, like pumpkins and fall leaves. He’s also a “monster” with Josh McCown, who could be back this week.

*This fantasy entry brought to you by Halloween.

TIGHT END SITS

Martellus Bennett: Should we just admit that Bennett is the handcuff to Gronk, who is admired by the hooded Belichick for his blocking and feisty attitude? His role isn’t as predictable as once thought and since he’s put under the sit column, he may just have 3 catches for 22 yards and 3 TDs this week against the Bills, but he’s only usable in the deepest of leagues after 2 target, 1 catch day. Let’s call Week 6 his floor with 5 targets — if he doesn’t get in the end zone, he’s only usable in a deep PPR league. Week 8 is not the time to get cute, and if you’re playing Bennett, you probably need a win.

Don’t live that non-Gronk TE life.

Cameron Brate: The Make Tampa Bay TEs Brate Again movement won’t actually be moving if Tampa doesn’t get Brate the ball. This week Brate only had 3 targets, of which he caught 3 for 29 yards. That was good for a 10.3 percent target share. Last week he only saw 3 targets as well. Oakland may be enticing, but there has to be someone all the way up to a 14 team league. Martellus Bennett is a better play than Brate.

Charles Clay: With Robert Woods out, Clay simply couldn’t get anything going as the primary receiver for the Bills. It was ugly, and Tyrod Taylor only connected on 14 passes. No Marquise Goodwin could possibly be out against New England with a concussion, and the banged up Clay is basically Jon Snow looking down the charging Bolton army.

Waiver Wire

It’s time to start handcuffing. Andre Ellington, Devontae Booker, etc if you haven’t already.

SD DE Joey Bosa and SD Defense: Defenses haven’t been discussed much outside of matchups here, but this is worth noting for those who need a defense during the byes, or want to stream San Diego — Bosa is changing everything for them.

He’s an excellent pickup as an IDP as well, if you haven’t already.

CHI RB Ka’Deem Carey: It looks like the Bears are going to their third option at RB, with Carey getting more snaps, rushes and catches than Jordan Howard last Thursday against the Packers. This is a desperation handcuff, and he may not be worth starting. We could have a three-headed monster in Chicago soon. Just in time for Halloween.

MIN RB Matt Asiata: I’ve been banging the Asiata drum for weeks. Now he’s outperforming McKinnon when he gets a chance behind the ugly Minnesota O-line. He’s catching more passes, and he’s the red zone guy. It may not be sexy, but in this bye week awfulness and with McKinnon nursing a hurt ankle, he could be a good fill-in. Especially in PPR leagues.

WAS RB Chris Thompson: Fumbles have ruined Matt Jones’ chance at a consistent, heavy workload. Now Washington’s pass-catching RB is seeing back-to-back weeks of career high carries on top of catching 7 of 7 targets in Week 7. He was a solid PPR play in deeper leagues, now he’s creeping into relevancy in all leagues if he carves out a real role for himself. Gruden said Matt Jones may see less touches due to his fumbles, so pick Thompson up, stash him, or even play him if you need to during the byes. He’s locked in for at least 4-5 catches. With that said, here are some stats that hopefully mean nothing:

IND TE Jack Doyle: Did you play him last week? Good! Now play him for as long as Dwayne Allen and Donte Moncrief are out. He and Luck have a nice little connection and he should be serviceable at home against the Chiefs.

BAL RB Kenneth Dixon: Harbaugh has officially called for Dixon to see more touches after two-week fantasy darling Terrence West had 8 carries for 10 yards. It’s worth grabbing him now in case he take hold of the job, but for now, we could be looking at the status that everyone but a 60-year-old couple in Florida dreads: timeshare.

49ers (???) WR Torrey Smith: Rumors are swirling around Torrey Smith’s status with the 49ers with the trade deadline looming. Various reports have stated that the Eagles are interested, which would be interesting indeed. Wentz has cooled down considerably since his first few weeks this season, but perhaps a downfield threat like Smith is what he needs?

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