Week 8 Fantasy Football Start Sit Advice is brought to you by Scott Pineau. Every week Scott breaks down this week's games and picks the winning team and who he likes fantasy wise, as a solid Starter.
Teams on bye: Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston
Tampa Bay at Minnesota – Thur. 8:20 pm ET
For a prime time game, this should be better in reality than it looks on paper. Both teams will try to establish the run early to open things up for their playmaking receivers. Look for Ponder to rebound from an absolutely horrible performance. It could develop into a shootout. And if so, both teams are capable of moving the ball quickly. I still expect the Vikings to pull away at some point in the 4th quarter.
Start: Martin, Jackson, AP, Harvin, Rudolph
Miami at New York (Jets) – Sun. 1:00 pm ET
The Dolphins will be coming off a bye and heading up to face a Jets team that is proving to be competitive despite multiple injuries to key players. Ryan has so many tricks in his bag that they should be able to keep this one close. This will help the offense which has been helter-skelter all year. Tannehill will be fooled into a making a couple of turnovers which may be the difference. Jets in a close one.
Start: Bush, Kerley
San Diego at Cleveland – Sun. 1:00 pm ET
Another team coming off of a bye, the Chargers look to finally put their recent meltdown versus the Broncos behind them. I look for Mathews to break loose a couple of big runs in this contest. With Richardson likely out, I expect Weeden to put up a decent stat line in an attempt to come back at the end of this one. But ultimately, Cleveland will fall short.
Start: Rivers, Mathews, Gates, Floyd, Weeden
Indianapolis at Tennessee – Sun. 1:00 pm ET
The Colts are still finding their way, but they are much better than expected so far this season. Luck is ahead of the curve and continues to make top NFL quarterback throws amidst his rookie tendencies. The Titans on the other hand have seemingly found their run game and will hand the ball off early and often to Johnson, which should set up a productive passing effort. I see the Titans winning this one, which could turn into a track meet in the 4th.
Start: Luck, Wayne, CJ
Jacksonville at Green Bay – Sun. 1 pm ET
The Jaguars are looking straight at the draft already. With MJD on crutches, their season is pretty much over. They might try some things they normally wouldn’t in order to shake things up, but the Packers should pound the Jags into the turf. The only thing to be scared of from a fantasy perspective is to see Graham Harrell with his helmet on in the 3rd quarter while Rodgers is wearing his ball cap. Let’s hope not.
Start: Rodgers, Green, Nelson, Cobb
Atlanta at Philadelphia – Sun. 1:00 pm ET
This is a very interesting game with the undefeated Falcons coming off of a bye week and facing an Eagles team whose defensive coordinator just got fired. I look for the Eagles to play with an edge we haven’t seen this year. These mid-season firings usually produce a short-term boost. And this roster, with any kind of boost, can be deadly. Upset of the week for me as the Falcons lose their first game.
Start: Ryan, White, Jones, Gonzalez, Vick, McCoy, Jackson, Maclin, Celek
Washington at Pittsburgh – Sun. 1:00 pm ET
The Steelers, despite their own injuries, are looking up in the standings at an even more banged up Ravens team and saying, “we can win this division!” They should add another “W” to their tally this week against an extremely entertaining Redskin ball club. Yet another contest where both teams could end up in the 30’s, or at least the upper 20’s.
Start: RGIII, Morris, Big Ben, Wallace, Brown
Seattle at Detroit – Sun. 1:00 pm ET
Everyone is waiting for Calvin Johnson to return to last year’s form. The problem is I don’t think that this is the game where that will happen. The Seahawks defense is playing at a very high level. The biggest question in this game is can Seattle score seventeen points? If they can, they might pull off an upset. Ultimately, I think the Lions will find a way, as their playoff hopes are practically on life support.
Start: Lynch, Megatron, Pettigrew
Carolina at Chicago – Sun. 1:00 pm ET
The football fans in Carolina have to be very upset, especially after Cam’s post-game comments last Sunday. The Panthers are in disarray and the Bears will eat them alive. Pretty much every player on Chicago’s defense is winning in their individual assignments on just about every play. I expect a blow out here, maybe before halftime.
Start: Cutler, Forte, Marshall
Oakland at Kansas City – Sun. 4:05 pm ET
The draft seeding bowl starts at 4:05 pm eastern time on Sunday. This will be a very sloppy game. Hopefully, McFadden can get something going in this game. Palmer has been able to move the ball, but the offense has not been able to sustain drives to get it in the endzone. Field goals might be enough in this one. KC is turning to Brady Quinn possibly for the rest of the season. If he can master the hand-off, and as long as the Chiefs don’t turn the ball over (league worst -15 giveaway/takeaway differential), they
can win this. Chiefs barely.
Start: Palmer, Moore, McFadden, Charles, Bowe
New York (Giants) at Dallas – Sun. 4:25 pm ET
I believe the Giants are on the cusp of separating themselves from the other teams in the NFC East. The Cowboys are playing squarely like an 8-8 team. They could win this game, but I don’t think they will. Coughlin’s staff is one of the better units in the league at making in-game adjustments, and figuring it out. I don’t expect a shootout, but more like a 21-17 game with the G-Men on top.
Start: Romo, Bryant, Austin, Witten, Manning, Bradshaw (check status), Cruz, Nicks (check status), Bennett
New England at St. Louis – Sun. 5:00 pm ET
The Pats are +11 in giveaway / takeway differential, and that might be the difference in this game. Although the Rams are not a particularly intimidating team on paper, they do play hard. And other than the game versus Chicago a few weeks ago, they haven’t been getting blown out. I fully expect the Patriots to win, but their struggling O-line faces a St. Louis defense that ranks 10th against the run and 14th against the pass. They also aren't giving up a ton of big plays. Expect the Rams to keep it interesting.
Start: Brady, Welker, Gronk, Hernandez
New Orleans at Denver – Sun. 8:20 pm ET
Can the Saints dig themselves out of the hole? If they lose to Denver this week then I would say no. They still have to face Atlanta twice, Philadelphia, San Francisco, the Giants, and Dallas. And with the way this season is unfolding, I don’t think 10-6 would cut it. The Broncos, with Peyton leading the way, have mastered the art of the 4th quarter comeback. I would say get your popcorn for this one. Glad this is a night game. Broncos pull out another victory.
Start: Brees, Colston, Manning, McGahee, Thomas, Decker
San Francisco at Arizona – Mon. 8:30 pm ET
Not the most exciting MNF game. This will be a defensive struggle, a real slobber-knocker. The Cardinals have got to find a way to get Fitzgerald the ball. The Niners run defense has not been stellar as of late. Look for Arizona to test it early on and try to eat up some clock on the ground. In the end, San Fran should pull away in the second half. Niners by two scores.
Start: Gore, Davis, Fitzgerald
