NFL

5 Fantasy Football Stars to Start or Sit on Sunday, Week 10

Down to the wire: who gets the nod and who gets the boot?

We've already been through a number of names to start or sit on your fantasy team this week, including Steven Jackson, Stevan Ridley, and Tony Romo. But if you're still struggling on Sunday morning, we're here to help. Here's five more names we're looking at this week that are right on that line between Stardom and Bench City.

Fantasy Football Best Starts/Must Sits Week 10

Joe Flacco - Baltimore Ravens

Week 10: 18.17 Projected Points (#9 Ranked QB)
Percent Started: 22%
Verdict: Start Him

As a Steelers fan, this is hard for me to write. Not only do I have beef with Joe Flacco as a divisional rival, but I have beef with him going back to his college days, where he transferred out of a Pitt in a hissy fit after losing out in a QB battle against Tyler Palko. Yes, you read that right. Tyler Palko. The same Tyler Palko who is now selling insurance. Nice job, Scott Pioli!

Personal issues aside, ol' Unibrow is playing moderately well this year. Not elite, of course - but no one really believed him when he said that. I suspect not even his mother - who I'm told also has a unibrow - believes that he's elite. Still, a matchup against Oakland should serve him well. We've got him at #9 this week amongst QBs, right around the fringe for startability in most leagues. All five of his top comparables scored above 15 points and with a pretty safe confidence interval between 10 and 26, he's a safe play.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis - Cincinnati Bengals

Week 10: 8.35 Projected Points (#21 Ranked RB)
Percent Started: 56%
Verdict: Sit Him

Man, what happened to the Law Firm? With A.J. Green causing all kinds of havoc and Jermaine Gresham slowly becoming a relevant TE, you'd think he'd have plenty of room to knock around between the tackles. Instead, he's been a fumbling machine who can't seem to get going, much to the chagrin of his owners.

The Giants matchup is not a good one for BenJarvus - they rank #8 in defensive efficiency - and while his similar players look fairly decent (Jamal Lewis 2008, Willie Parker 2008) - his comparables do not, topping double digits just three times out of the top ten strongest predictors. Combine that with only about 17 carries and a decreasing importance in the pass game, you've got a prime candidate for riding the bench of most rosters.

Reggie Bush - Miami Dolphins

Week 10: 9.70 Projected Points (#14 Ranked RB)
Percent Started: 79.4%
Verdict: Start Him

Reggie Bush is a frustrating guy to own. You know he's got all the talent in the world, but he never seems to fully tap into it. Whether that's a function of a decreased workload due to the return of Daniel Thomas or due to the eminent crappiness of whomever is under center in Miami, you always feel like Bush is leaving something on the table. He also dated Kim Kardashian right after Ray J; it's not fantasy relevant but it does make him look pretty bad, doesn't it?

The good news is that Bush is playing the Titans, the defense most commonly confused for a MAC squad. Now I'm not saying that the Titans are terrible, but the Colts rang up nearly 180 yards on them... and we're talking about Donald Brown and Vick Ballard here. Well, actually, I guess I am saying they're terrible. Either way, comparing Reggie Bush to either Ballard or Brown is like comparing Kris Humphries to Kanye West, so you have to think Reggie is a good bet to easily top double digits. His comparables agree: he's in double-digits in six of his top ten predictors. Start with confidence, especially in PPR leagues.

Danny Amendola - St. Louis Rams

Week 10: 8.72 Projected Points (#27 Ranked WR)
Percent Started: 68.5%
Verdict: Sit Him

I know, I love him too. He's like Wes Welker's little brother, the human eight-yard reception. You have to respect a guy who does the dirty work - and there's nothing dirtier than playing for the Rams. Remember when Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner set the country ablaze with their ridiculous offense? Yeah, it's safe to say that these 2012 Rams are just about the opposite of that. Kurt Warner couldn't say enough prayers in a lifetime for these guys.

And of course, they're going against the 49ers. An entire receiving corps of Amendola clones being thrown to by a robotic Marc Bulger would have a tough time against the 49ers, much less Sam Bradford and his battalion of washed-up former stars and #4 receivers. Amendola isn't fully healthy, the RB situation is a mess, Brandon Gibson won't get deep on the corners... you get the picture. You're itching to get him into your lineup, but this isn't the week. Sorry. I miss him too.

Oh, and just as an aside: look who Danny Amendola's comparables are: Bobby Wade, Peter Warrick, and Tai Streets. Yikes. That is a lineup that scares only the weakest of middle school secondaries. Or possibly the Titans.

Malcom Floyd - San Diego Chargers

Week 10: 9.71 Projected Points (#27 Ranked WR)
Percent Started: 60.8%
Verdict: Start Him

Both Malcom Floyd and Robert Meachem have been woefully disappointing for the Chargers this year. I think everyone - including us - thought that the Chargers would be one of more dynamic offenses of the league, featuring an electric Ryan Mathews and a great mix of Meachem, Floyd, and Gates tearing up secondaries. Instead, it's been like watching the Padres: a horrific experience that makes loyal Chargers fans huff copious amounts of glue.

On the surface, the matchup against the Bucs isn't fabulous - they rank #17 overall in defensive efficiency, and you have to figure that San Diego will be a little sloppy traveling cross-country to play a 1 PM game on the East Coast. The lurking variable here is that almost everyone is dramatically underrating how good the Buccaneers actually are. We've got them as our #10 power-ranked team, ahead of Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. They're sneaky good (seriously, look at Josh Freeman's statistics some time) and they're likely to turn this game into an offensive shootout. This means Rivers and company will have to throw the ball - great news for Floyd owners.