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<div>Week 8 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Sunday Matchups to Exploit and Avoid</div>

Fantasy Football
October 31, 2015

Name recognition is no longer important in fantasy football. It doesn’t matter what a player has done in the past or where you drafted him; all you should care about is whether he will help you this week.

There are a number of high-profile stars who have failed to live up to expectations in 2015. While it is understandable to keep them on your bench and hope for a turnaround, that doesn’t mean you should trust them in Week 8.

In many cases the lesser-known performers will outproduce some of the top names in the sport. Here is a look at a few cases where that could happen with players to start and sit this weekend.

 

Sit ‘Em

Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning simply hasn’t been the player we have come to expect over the course of his career. Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated suggested the Broncos should consider benching him after seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his first six games:

If a team might bench a player in real life, there should be little hesitation before benching him on your fantasy team.

Manning has just 23 fantasy points combined in standard leagues over his past three games, which is just one more than Tom Brady’s worst week of 22. Even in a big game against the Green Bay Packers, it has simply become too difficult to trust the future Hall of Famer.

 

Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

There is always the possibility Jeremy Hill gets a handful of touchdowns at the goal line, but that is tough to trust in fantasy football. He clearly had a much bigger role in his last game against the Buffalo Bills (16 carries, 56 yards and a 13-yard receiving touchdown), but he remains ineffective as a runner.

After averaging 5.1 yards per carry in his rookie season, Hill is down to just 3.1 yards per carry in 2015. He also has only three receptions all year as Giovani Bernard has taken over the majority of the passing downs.

Against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that has allowed the third-fewest points to opposing running backs, per ESPN, this is not a good time to start the young running back.

 

Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

Last week showed the Oakland Raiders will work to get Amari Cooper the ball no matter what. The rookie receiver also proved he can make things happen whenever the ball is in his hands.

The problem is the matchup against the New York Jets and Darrelle Revis is a tough one.

Even if some might think Revis might be slipping, the fact is none of T.Y. Hilton, Jordan Matthews, Jarvis Landry, Pierre Garcon or Julian Edelman were able to top 60 receiving yards against the Jets this season. 

Oakland’s offense is much improved and should be exciting the rest of the year, but this is a terrible matchup for everyone involved.

 

Start ‘Em

Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

He’s not any easier to trust in fantasy than he is in real football, but Jay Cutler has looked good since returning to the lineup. In three weeks heading into the bye, he averaged 295 passing yards per game with five combined passing touchdowns and just two interceptions.

His last game (353 passing yards against the Detroit Lions) was the first real pairing with Alshon Jeffery as his No. 1 target and it led to a lot of success. It is certainly easier for a quarterback when you can trust a receiver to come down with the ball no matter where you throw it.

“Man, it’s just a leap of faith,” Alshon Jeffery said this week about his connection with Cutler, per Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. “I tell Jay to just throw it up and let me make a play.”

With a full complement of weapons like Jeffery, Eddie Royal and Martellus Bennett, Cutler has a good chance at big numbers going forward.

 

Andre Ellington, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Chris Johnson is clearly the No. 1 back in Arizona, but Andre Ellington is still part of this offense. According to Pro Football Focus, he finished with 18 snaps in Week 7 compared to 27 for Johnson, Ellington’s highest total since getting hurt in Week 1.

The former starting running back ended with 49 total yards from scrimmage on eight touches after getting 54 on three touches the week before. He still obviously has plenty of playmaking ability as long as he gets a chance.

Most importantly, he faces an awful Cleveland Browns run defense Sunday that has allowed by far the most rushing yards per game in the NFL. Players like Bilal Powell, Dexter McCluster, Danny Woodhead and Buck Allen all topped 50 rushing yards despite being secondary runners for their teams against the Browns.

Ellington might only need five to 10 touches to have solid numbers in Week 8.

 

Stevie Johnson, WR, San Diego Chargers

The Baltimore Ravens defense is not what it once was. The team ranks 28th in the league in passing yards allowed per game and struggles to get off the field, as Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun noted:

Obviously this should lead to big games for quarterback Philip Rivers and No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen, but Stevie Johnson could also get involved in the fun.

The receiver missed two games with a hamstring injury but returned in Week 7 to finish with four catches for 50 yards on eight targets. The Chargers offense struggled early, but Johnson was on the field most of the game and remained heavily involved in the action.

Against a poor secondary, Johnson could surprise people with some big numbers.

 

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for all your fantasy football and daily fantasy needs.

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