Fantasy Football Week 3: Start or Sit?
By Dan Thomas
Running Backs
Start
Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons – It’s been a frustrating start for Ingram owners and panic could be setting in. After all, he’s only averaging 67 total yards a game and he has yet to score a touchdown. Despite those feelings and stats, you are starting him this week if you own him. Running backs are beating the Falcons on the ground and through the air. As we have seen before, Ingram is capable of doing both.
Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers – The old man is only averaging 71 total yards through two games and I’m not sure how much is left in the tank. But he’s playing against the Chargers in Week 2. He’s a borderline starter with a good opportunity in Week 3 and I think he gets it done. (If he doesn’t I’m putting him in the corner for the rest of the season AKA the “Sit” list. That’ll show him.)
Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints – It’s official: Coleman has standalone value. In two games he is averaging 14 touches and 94 yards. In a potentially high scoring game against the Saints on Monday Night Football, he should do well for the third straight week.
Sit
Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks – Hyde only has one, 100-yard rushing game in his NFL career and I’m wiling to bet he doesn’t get his second one against the Seahawks. He’s touchdown dependent and is closer to a second-rate fantasy football running back than a superior one.
Matt Jones, Washington Redskins, vs. New York Giants – A season ago, this would have been a nice matchup against the Giants. After the money the G-Men spent and the players acquired, it’s now a bad one. Not only that, but Jones simply hasn’t shown enough through two weeks to expect he can overcome a tough matchup.
Carolina Panthers RBs vs. Minnesota Vikings – On Sunday the Panthers backfield is expected to be a committee between Fozzy Whittaker and Cameron Artis-Payne. Even though nobody in their right mind is starting Mike Tolbert, he should be getting some touches too. It’s too hard to predict who is going to do what in that backfield and the matchup against the Vikings just puts this one over the edge for me.