Breaking down Week 8 in fantasy football

With a little help from my friends Paulie, Chris and EZ, we’re here to help out with the not-so-obvious fantasy football decisions and maybe help you find a quality pickup or two. Feel free to use the comments link to post questions about your team or the topics you would like more information about. We’ll respond as quickly as possible.

WEEK 8

LACE ‘EM UP – Three players to start

1. We KNEW someone other than the marquee names would hit pay dirt for the Packers last week against the Browns, but we thought it would be tight end Jermichael Finley, not special teams player Spencer Havner. We’re so determined to give you a solid TE pickup option that we’re going to give you two this week! We like Lions TE Brandon Pettigrew against St. Louis (see break-down below for more on that topic) and feel like it’s time to take a chance that Broncos TE Tony Scheffler’s breakout performance before the bye wasn’t a fluke (also see below for more).

2. Speaking of taking a risk, if you are in a deeper league and your quarterback is on a bye (like mine) and your backup quarterback is hurt – or you don’t have one (like me), go grab San Fran QB Alex Smith from the waiver wire (as I did). If he’s already gone and you feel like throwing a hail mary, Rams QB Marc Bulger could be the answer to your prayer against the Lions.

3. We’ve seen defenses put up a lot of points this year, and our go-get pick of Week 8 is San Diego’s defense/special teams against the Raiders. I’ve seen the Chargers’ D still available in many of the leagues I’m in and they have a chance to ring it up against a hapless Oakland offense that returned to Earth last week.

RIDE THE PINE – Three players to sit

1. With Austin Collie getting more looks and the (maybe) return of Anthony Gonzalez, it’s time to put Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon back on the shelf.

2. Kudos to you if you were smart enough to pick up Eagles running back LeSean McCoy to back up the oft-injured Brian Westbrook. Even more kudos to you if you’re smart enough to sit both against the Giants’ defense this Sunday.

3. Maybe I’m just selfishly hoping for a reverse jinx here, but I’m going to be the one to say it’s time to start thinking about benching Packers wideout Greg Jennings if you have a better option. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me five straight weeks, shame on me.

FANTASY BREAKDOWN: Lineup strategy

JOSH: All right, Paulie, how many times have you seen an owner beat himself by setting the wrong lineup?

PAUL: From bad owners? Every week!

JOSH: There are basically two schools of thought on lineup strategy, and you can think of it as the two options every jock has in high school. You can either (A) dance with the prettiest girl (play the best player) or (B) beat up on the weaklings (play the matchups).

PAUL: Those are your choices. First of all, I always remind myself that THIS IS MY TEAM. I play this silly game because I want control. I generally fall into the first category, but I hate the people who say that’s all they do. It’s time to sit Matt Forte against a great defense and play a warm body against the Rams. That’s just the way it is these days: There are some guys you never sit and some Ds you play your mom against. But in the middle? I play the player I like more.

JOSH: Agreed. I tried to get cute early this year, and I sat DeSean Jackson in favor of Santonio Holmes against a “favorable matchup.” Holmes put up a 1, Jackson put up a 28, and I lost by 12. I try to play the better players earlier in the season while we’re figuring the league out, and then – as you said – you have a better idea about the matchups in the second half of the year. Which is where we are now!

PAUL: Just last week, I wanted to play Darren Sproles because I felt the TD pass coming, but I went with a guy with a better “matchup.” I watched that Sproles TD accumulate on my bench. “Cute” always happens to my bench. Never works when I play ’em.

JOSH: Well put. So, as we just mentioned, we’re hitting the home stretch of the season. A lot of owners have already lost interest, but do you have any tips for a team that is in the middle of the pack trying to make a run at a playoff spot?

PAUL: Join a keeper league. Just kidding (not really), but it’s time to get ballsy. You need to be the guy going after Miles Austin after that Kansas City game. Take a risk, but don’t dump the aforementioned Forte. You’ve got to hope he gets it together soon.

JOSH: Yeah, don’t think that you can’t afford the risk because you’re still waiting for your group of guys to get it together. That group of guys has you in the middle of the standings for a reason.