"Dolphins. It's What's for Dinner." (Jerome Davis / Icon SMI)

Fantasy Football Start Sit

FREE weekly fantasy football who to start & sit advice

Our weekly "Who to Start and Sit" column is part of FootballDocs In-season content. All of FootballDocs In-season content is 100% free.

After starting your studs (typically players ranked after week 5 in the top ~15 RBs, top ~ 10 WRs, top ~ 10 QBs, top ~3 TEs, top ~5 Defenses, and top...wait, no kicker is a fantasy football stud), the Docs will help you decide who to start and sit as we recommend players in our fantasy football start sit column that are not clear studs and can step in with a big game for your team this week. Consequently, we will not recommend who to start and sit with the top few players at each position in our weekly fantasy football start sit advice (given starts every week); however, we may occasionally recommend players ranked 15 - 25 overall due to some teams out there that will have multiple players at one position in this range but can only start one.  If we recommend such a player it does not mean we think they are not a stud, we are just trying to help those folks out there that may be in such a situation. We also recommend players to bench, so our fantasy football start sit column is sometimes referred to as fantasy football start bench column. Additionally, we offer Fantasy Football Weekly Rankings to help even further with some of those more difficult start sit decisions. Last, be sure to check us out every Tuesday as we do a Wrap-up on our advice - both good and bad.  In fact, every wrap-up is kept and posted as a permanent, public record of what we called and how good or bad the calls were. Why?

Three reasons: 
1.  Accountability.
2.  Confidence in our analysis and recommendations.
3.  Because the Docs take winning every bit as seriously as you do.

Thank you for visiting and welcome to FootballDocs Fantasy Football - "Where the geeks meet the gridiron."

New England Patriots Defense - Thanks to their Week 8 BYE, the Patriots have had an extra week to analyze the Dolphins and to prepare to take them apart. Don't think that the Patriots have forgotten how they were embarrassed by the Dolphins in 2008. This defense will be playing with a greater purpose than they have in a typical week. Look for Chad Henne to turn the ball over and for Ronnie Brown to have a little bit of a down week too.

Matt Hasselbeck, QB, SEA - Hasselbeck has been very inconsistent this season through injuries, poor o-line play, poor WR play, and poor personal play. Thus, it is understandable that many owners have soured on this former reliable fantasy QB. This week he is facing the one constant that can be relied upon throughout the ages... the Detroit Lions. The Lions have made many fantasy seasons look much better, and that is just what Hasselbeck should get this week. Don't start him over other reliable fantasy starters, but if you are in a bind, he could be your man.

Jason Campbell, QB, WAS - For those in a BYE week pinch, take a good look at Campbell. He has a great match-up with the Falcons, and the Redskins feel like they have something to prove. Campbell had a decent game against Philly, and the Redskins have had a BYE between now and then to work with the new offensive coordinator. Make no mistake, Campbell is a high-risk, high-reward start, but it could be just what is needed to get you through a BYE.

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC - Larry Johnson has a severe case of "foot-in-his-mouth." This has opened the way for Charles to see some significant playing time this week. He will be running against the Jaguars. The Jaguars are a nice middle of the road defense for your RBs to go up against. The real key for Charles here is that he should finally see a lot of carries. His skill set is also very well suited for the Chiefs running attack.

Ryan Grant, RB, GB - Grant has a great matchup this week against the Buccaneers. Look for the Packers to try and rebound after a demoralizing loss to Favre for the second time in 2009. Grant should be an important cog in the offense.

Joseph Addai, RB, IND - Addai was picked up very late in most leagues, and he has been a solid play most of the season. This week he will be splitting carries again, but the Texans run defense has plenty of fantasy goodness to help both Addai and Brown have decent fantasy efforts in Week 9.

LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, SD - We are going to go to the well one more time. After a great Week 8, Tomlinson should back that up with a decent Week 9. He is running with a chip on his shoulder and the Giants have been vulnerable to giving up rushing TDs. That is more than enough for us to give Tomlinson the nod again for Week 9.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, SEA - Housh has been a shadow of his former self since leaving Cincinnati and joining Seattle, but this week things look much better facing the hapless Lions.

Greg Jennings, WR, GB - Jennings has been a disappointment many weeks this year, but Aaron Rodgers has started to find this talented WR over the past few weeks. This week that trend should continue against the hapless Buccaneers.

Michael Crabtree, WR, SF - We don't believe that the Tennessee defense has suddenly fixed all of its pass defense woes. Look for Crabtree to be force-fed the ball again. The end result should be a nice performance from this rookie.

Santana Moss, WR, WAS - The Falcons secondary is thin and banged up. We should see another Santana Moss sighting on Sunday.

Chad Henne, QB, MIA - There are a lot of holes in Henne's game, and there is a very good chance that the Patriots will exploit those holes in Week 9. The Patriots have had a week to get healthy and plot an attack scheme that should leave Henne with a poor outing in Week 9.

Knowshon Moreno, RB, DEN - Between Moreno's propensity for putting the ball on the turf and the Steelers ability to stop the run, you should look elsewhere for a fantasy RB in Week 9.

Willis McGahee, RB, BAL - McGahee is on his farewell tour, so look for him to continue to be phased out against this stout Broncos run defense.

Mike Wallace, WR, PIT - Wallace has been great at pulling in the deep ball and posting some very nice fantasy showings, but this week he gets Champ Bailey and the rest of the Broncos sound secondary. The Broncos have been very good at taking away key aspects of their opponents’ game plan, and it is no secret the Steelers love to pop a deep ball or two to help open things up for their ground game.

Deion Branch, WR, SEA - Branch nailed a TD last week and has a great match-up against the Lions this week, but it takes more than a TD in the previous week and a great match-up for us to trust you with the start.

For an expanded list of players to help with weekly fantasy football start sit line-up decisions, be sure to check our our Fantasy Football Weekly Rankings, which are released every Thursday during the regular season.