James Morris hails from Rio Rancho, NM and has been playing fantasy sports for just over 15 years. Not only does he write the Bengals fantasy section, but he also does the Jacksonville Jaguars fantasy section. Crossing over, Morris writes the fantasy sections for the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA. Just send him an email and he will reply back the same day with your answer.
Last week was the start of the NFL bye weeks; but, owners were lucky as the only guys you had to work around were four fantasy starters (Ray Rice, Dez Bryant, Steven Jackson and Brandon Marshall). This week however there are some real questions that plague owners as they will have to find substitutes for Larry Fitzgerald, Beanie Wells, Brandon Lloyd, Dwayne Bowe, Phillip Rivers, Ryan Mathews, Vincent Jackson and Chris Johnson. It is going to be hard to replace these guys because it is very likely that you could own more than one on a single team.
Tony Romo: Yes, Romo is a basket case and doesn't seem to make the best decisions in crunch time. But, this week he gets all his weapons back and healthy and he is easily the QB1 you drafted him as against the putrid Patriots defense.
Cam Newton: Newton is owned in virtually every fantasy league out there, but he is started in slightly less than 70 percent of those leagues. The thing that scares his owners is the statistical swings of 374 yards one week, then 224 yards the next week against a much worse secondary. He will have his ups and downs as he is still just a rookie, but I fully expect this to be an up week against the Falcons.
Earnest Graham: Graham can be had on many waiver wires right now and he will get the lion's share of the carries with LaGarrette Blount out in Week 6. Graham is a one-week flex option or possibly a RB2 in PPR formats this week, but he could be a solid fill-in for this week's bye.
Ryan Torain: Torain is more than likely going to be named the Redskins starting RB, with Tim Hightower being a third down back (PPR value) and Roy Helu giving Torain a breather. Because of the rotation, Torain's upside is somewhat limited, but I think he can have solid RB2 value against an Eagles defense that is ranked dead last in fantasy points allowed to opposing RBs. Shoot, if Torain was on there on a rascal scooter, I'd bet he could still score enough fantasy points to be a decent flex option against the Eagles!
Miles Austin: Austin is finally back and fantasy owners will want to get him in their lineups this week. Austin leads all wide receivers in fantasy points per game this season, which means he should be a beast against a Patriots defense that gives up the most fantasy points to WRs.
A.J. Green: Green is someone who is picking up steam and fantasy owners have taken notice. Over the last four weeks, Green has averaged 5.8 receptions and 90.3 yards per game. There is almost no way he is available in your league, but I have him as a WR1 this week against the struggling Colts defense.
Brandon Pettigrew: Pettigrew found the end zone in Week 5 on a blown coverage by the Bears, but that is most likely the first time owners even noticed him this season. Did you know he is ranked fourth in the NFL at the TE spot for targets with 36 this season? You'll see more of Pettigrew later in this article.
Cincinnati Bengals Defense: The Bengals are finding a way to turn things around as a team, and their defense is actually ranked No. 12 in fantasy football this season and owned in about 35 percent of leagues. Against the Colts offense, I'd play the Bengals D as one of the top defenses this week.
Matt Schaub: Even without Andre Johnson, Schaub is still a low-end QB1 most weeks. Arian Foster will take the heat off him and Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones do well enough to make Schaub a solid play more often than not, but this week is a not. The Texans lock up against the Ravens, who are giving up the second-fewest fantasy points to QBs this season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick: Fitzpatrick shot out of the 2011 gate like a rabbit shot out of a cannon. However, he has thrown for under 200 yards in back-to-back games and the Giants defense is ranked No. 12 in fantasy points allowed to QBs. If that weren't enough, they are tied for the second-lowest TDs allowed from a QB with just five this season.
Ryan Grant: Make no mistake about it, James Starks is the Packers RB1 going forward. Too many people are all excited about grabbing Grant off the waiver wire. At best he is a flex option, and even then I wouldn't play him until we see exactly what his role is going to be within the Packers running game.
Mark Ingram: Ingram was drafted way too high this season (preseason ranked No. 40 by ESPN.com) and his owners are struggling with having to start him based on his draft position. On the season, Ingram has just 216 rushing yards and a pair of scores, yet he is owned in 100 percent of those ESPN leagues and started in just over 50 percent of them. I'd leave him on the bench until he can brag about his career high hitting triple digits or a multi-score game.
Reggie Wayne: Why are over 80 percent of those in NFL.com leagues still starting Wanye? The guy hasn't visited the end zone since the first game this season and hasn't had an 80-yard game since then either. Curtis Painter looks like he has a man-crush on Pierre Garcon, and that is bad news for those who drafted Wayne in the middle of the third round. You can't cut him, but you are ice-skating uphill by playing him.
Julio Jones: Jones has been officially ruled out for Week 6 with a hamstring injury. The problem with Jones is that Yahoo, ESPN and NFL.com are still projecting him out this week and owners who aren't keeping up with news daily (or following me on Twitter/Facebook), they may not know he is even hurt. You have been put on notice.
Owen Daniels: I've seen some rankings with Daniels as high as fourth for TEs this week, and I don't understand that at all. Sure, TE is feast or famine every single week. But, the Ravens are allowing the second-lowest fantasy points to TEs at 3.0 PPG. Maybe he gets lucky and scores, but I would rather play Fred Davis or Brandon Pettigrew.
Chicago Bears Defense: I am certainly not a Donovan McNabb fan, but I am an Adrian Peterson fan. Peterson rocked fantasy leagues last week when he rumbled for 122 yards and 3 TDs. The Bears are right in the middle of the NFL for fantasy points allowed to RBs (15th with 18.8 PPG) and ninth for points to QBs at 24.2 per game.
