Below is our Start and Bench Advice for Week 12 of the 2008 Fantasy Football season. Our "Who To Start & Who To Bench" advice is loaded with fantasy football player projections, fantasy analysis and straight up bold predictions.
Also, be sure to check out all of our updated Week 12 Player Projections, which are updated right up until kickoff. For previous Start Bench Advice, click here.
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As I stated in our Week 12 Players On The Rise/Decline article, Steve Smith is very underrated heading into Weeks 12-16. He has struggled in back-to-back contests, but in his five games prior, Smith was averaging over 100 yards per game and had four scores in those five outings. He was pulling in 5.8 catches per week in that time as well. Smith is the guy to start here and you don’t bench him unless you have another top 10WR option to roll with. Bernard Berrian is an excellent WR3, but Smith is still a top 5-10WR moving forward… don’t even consider benching him. If you want Berrian in your line-up, make it happen for sure, but bench someone else. For further advice on that branch of this conversation, jump on our Fantasy Football Forums and hammer it all out! |
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As bad as QB Jake Delhomme has played the last few weeks, I cannot bring myself to sit a guy like Steve Smith in favor of Bernard Berrian – a guy who has caught a total of 5 passes in the last 3 weeks. Smith is still being targeted more than anyone on the team, it’s just a matter of Delhomme improving his accuracy to get Smith the chances he needs to put up some numbers. I expect Smith to get his normal 5-7 catches for 75+ yards with the potential for much more, which is much better than hoping Berrian catches more than two passes. |
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The Saints are 19th against the run, so Ryan Grant is a solid start this week. That said, Matt Forte has the best rushing match-up a player can ask for. In Week 11, it was Frank Gore who was lucky enough to face the Rams — And in last week’s Start Bench Advice, this is what I wrote:
Now, Gore didn’t hit that 120-yard mark, but he did have 18 rushes for 106 yards and the 2TDs. The Rams give up 158.4 rushing yards per game and now have given up a league-leading 18 rushing touchdowns on the season (10 games). Forte should be started in all leagues and formats and fantasy owners can feel good expecting well over 100 yards rushing and 1-2TDs. |
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If you have both Ryan Grant and Matt Forte, you should absolutely find a way to get both in your lineup. If that’s not possible, then Forte is who I would roll with considering the matchup with the Rams – a team that looks like it has packed it in for the year. Yeah, it’s tough to sit Grant considering his last 4 starts, but I think the Bears will feed Forte from beginning to end in this contest and he is almost guaranteed to have 125 total yards and a score. The only risk is that this game gets ugly early and you only get three quarters of play out of Forte. |
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I admit I was wrong about that Ravens rushing game. I was a big believer in that Cam Cameron attack heading into the season, and I even thought owning all three Ravens runners was the answer to any potential problems. Well, the rushing attack produces and Cameron is that good, but one just can’t know which back will get the bulk of the carries in any given week. It is truly an awful situation. Start Peyton Hillis and expect roughly 100 total yards and a score. He is a safe bet and won’t likely disappoint unless he is injured. He did suffer a shoulder stinger in Week 11, but as you will read on our Breaking News Wire, he appears to be just fine. Start Hillis. |
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Willis McGahee may be one of the toughest running backs to peg this season – just when you think you have him figured out, he does the opposite. And that’s really the problem here. How can you trust a guy to be in your lineup when there is no way to know if he’ll get 2 carries or 22 carries? On top of that, the Ravens face a pretty good defense in the Eagles, one of only a dozen teams who give up less than 100 yards per game. I give Peyton Hillis the nod here in spite of my mistrust of Mike Shanahan – the matchup with the Raiders is favorable and should yield some decent numbers for him. |
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The Titans are 10th (95.1/Gm) against the run and the Bills are 18th (109.6/Gm). To me, that’s close enough to just go ahead and start the player that is playing better. Thomas Jones received 30 carries last week for 104 yards and a score. I like Larry Johnson a lot more this week than I did last week, but I want to see more out of him before I start plugging him in for guys like T-Jones. I see Jones having roughly 100 yards rushing and one score in Week 12. L.J. might score and could get the same kind of yardage totals, but because there is still some risk with Johnson, I just have to roll with the safer start. |
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Not an easy decision only because of the matchup Thomas Jones has with Tennessee. Both of these guys should see around 20 carries, so it’s a matter of figuring out who will do more with those chances and potentially put up a score. The easy out here is going with LJ on the grounds Jones will not find running room against the Titans , but I’m going against the grain and sticking with the hot hand in Jones. Not only that, but I am going to go out on a limb and predict 100 yards and a score in the Jets upset win over the Titans. |
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The Giants are 8th against the run and the Texans are 17th against the pass. I have to roll with Braylon Edwards on this one because I think, of the two, he will have more opportunities this week. But, it sure is tough benching Tim Hightower, even with the tough match-up. Expect 80-100 yards receiving out of Edwards in Week 12, and look for a touchdown grab as well. Hightower should score, but his yardage totals might be low. |
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Not many teams are playing better than the Giants right now, and they can score points in addition to stopping the opposition. That presents a boatload of problems for the Cardinals, so I don’t see them running a lot in this one – and that makes Tim Hightower a poor start this week in my opinion. I’ll take my chances with Braylon Edwards, a guy who has shown some promise after his 8-for-104 performance Monday night. I’m predicting similar numbers against Houston, although that assumes he actually catches most of the balls thrown his way. |
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