Week 10 Start/Sit: Don’t Forget The Thursday Night Game

With Larry Johnson out of Kansas City, does he have any fantasy value left? Many teams are struggling at running back, but most have made it clear that they have no interest in LJ. The big story this week was Johnson’s desire to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Larry Johnson is exactly the type of player the Steelers want no part of. Pittsburgh is a team of integrity and character, neither of which the disgraced RB has ever shown.

To answer the initial question, it would depend on where LJ ends up this season. One team that could desperately use him, to the point of overlooking his flaws, is Seattle. Julius Jones is simply not capable of getting the job done. Although, given the Seahawks offensive line woes, I doubt LJ would fare much better in the Pacific Northwest. And after his gay slurs, the community would not stand for his presence there either.

Another rumor has the Washington Redskins interested, which probably comes as no surprise given the God awful ownership in D.C., but current back-up RB, Ladell Betts is the same type of bruising back Johnson is. It would be a mistake to bring LJ on.

If Johnson has any real value left, it may be next season when he can get on the field with a new team and a fresh start, but with something to prove. That said, who knows where or if he’ll find another starting gig anywhere in the NFL.

Back to the week at hand...

Only the New York Giants and Houston Texans are on a bye in this final week of breaks. These are the guys we’ll miss in week 10:

QBs - Eli Manning and Matt Schaub

RBs - Brandon Jacobs, Ryan Moats, Steve Slaton and Ahmad Bradshaw

WRs - Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter

TEs - Kevin Boss

--Quarterbacks--

Chad Henne, MIA - Against the Tampa defense he should get 2 - 3 scores with his arm. It may be his best fantasy game this season.

Brett Favre, MIN - He has a sweet match-up this week against the Lions.

Alex Smith, SFO - I like Smith’s chances to get into a shoot-out with Chicago Thursday night. He could put up three TDs.

--Running Backs--

Ladell Betts, WAS - On paper it’s not an ideal match-up against the Broncos rush defense, but Rashard Mendenhall tagged them for 155 yards Monday night.

Jamaal Charles, KCC - Charles gets to feast on the Raiders rush defense that gave up about 1000 yards to the Jets a couple of weeks ago.

“Beanie” Wells/Tim Hightower, ARI - Wells and Hightower get to punish the Seahawks in Arizona this weekend.

--Wide Receivers--

Chaz Shilens, OAK - After teasing us for weeks, Shilens should play this week against a porous Chiefs secondary

Greg Camarillo, MIA - Camarillo is a lesser version of Wes Welker, but he has been looking solid lately, and this week he faces the Buccaneers secondary.

Terrell Owens/Lee Evans, BUF - Most owners have been benching these guys. They have been fantasy black holes this season. However, they face the league’s worst pass defense in the Titans this week. (Owens has a strained hip, keep an eye on his status).

--Tight Ends--

Brandon Pettigrew, DET- The Vikings are the leagues worst vs. the TE position and Pettigrew is Stafford’s favorite target.

Jeff King/Gary Barnridge, CAR - If you’re hurting at TE, Carolina faces a poor Falcons defense against the TE position. One of these guys should score this week.

Bo Scaife, TEN - The Bills aren’t very good at protecting against the TE spot, so Scaife provides a nice outlet for screens from Vince Young.

Generally, I always recommend starting your top picks, regardless of match-ups, barring injury, of course. It is obvious that you’ll almost always play guys like Andre Johnson, Adrian Peterson and Peyton Manning. I try to save this list for guys who are not always obvious starts.

Note: While I’m not saying sit Tom Brady this week, he has a tough match-up against the Colts.

By Rustyn Rose