Twitter Questions @Cimini

Here is a look at week five’s automatic fantasy football starters.
Quarterbacks

Jay Cutler
Look for Cutler to continue off of his Monday Night performance. Jacksonville ranks near the bottom of the league in rush defense. An early established running game with Matt Forte and Mike Bush will only brighten the horizon for a big game from Cutler. He made the easy throws Monday night, and seems comfortable with Brandon Marshall back in the fold.

Brandon Weeden
The Giants strength has always been with their front four defensively. Their secondary has cost them many a games. Josh Freeman had his best game this season against the Giants, and Brandon Weeden is coming off an impressive gutsy performance against the Ravens. Weeden is a big quarterback that will be able to withstand in the pocket to deliver some solid throws against the Giants.

Andy Dalton
Dalton’s in a zone right now with elite receiver AJ Green. It’s almost automatic to see them connect for over a hundred yards and a touchdown. Green is just that good and he will have an all out breakout year. That means Dalton’s stock is entering tier one level.

Running Backs

Jackie Battle
The split role last week with Ryan Matthews likely won’t continue regardless of what the depth chart says. Matthews though has struggled with injuries and fumbling woes. They’ll give Battle double digit carries this week against New Orleans. In a game that should continue to feature poor defensive play by the Saints, Battle should have solid value for double digit fantasy points.

Ben Tate
This is back to back favorable matchups for the Texans on facing teams poor against the run. Last week Tate disappointed all fantasy owners that threw him in as a flex starter expecting him to rack up garbage yards in the second half. Could he possibly have a let down two weeks in a row?

Kendal Hunter
Things may get real ugly Sunday with Ryan Fitzpatrick gunning the football. The 49ers will be able to stop the tandem of Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller. Fitzpatrick is one of those quarterbacks that doesn’t know how to throw the football away. His turnovers just create short fields and easy scoring opportunities for backup running backs like Hunter.

Wide Receivers

Greg Little
Little has big play capabilities and just needs to hone in on being ready to catch the football. He seems one breakout game away from getting on the fantasy map. With Mohamed Massaquoi likely out another week, Little figures to have an impactful role against the Giants. The parallels of Brandon Weeden settling in as a quarterback and Little rising as more of a sure handed receiver will go hand in hand.

Jerome Simpson-
Tennessee’s defense has been atrocious with the passing game this year. Simpson did decent last week and will be a main threat in the passing attack. With Minnesota you just do not know how many throws they’re going to allot for Christian Ponder. Simpson was one of the league leaders in yards per catch, which makes his fit in Minnesota intriguing. He can turn a fifteen yard hitch into a forty yard gain at any time.

Eric Decker
Decker has not been bad this season, and has been coming along to a higher standard the last few games. Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady is always a prolific match up to behold. With how Manning seems to have settled in since his ugly first quarter against Atlanta, Decker should be a no brainer insert. He is getting near six catches a game, which will likely spike this week.

Domenick Hixon-

The Giants can just input whoever at wide receiver and not look back, from Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Ramses Barden, and on and on. Hixon gets to move up the charts with the apparent concussion issue with Ramses Barden and ongoing injury woes with Hakeem Nicks. The way the Giants passing attack has been Hixon is a must start for fantasy owners that were able to land him off the waiver wire.

Dwayne Bowe

Through the pitfalls of having Matt Cassel at quarterback Dwayne Bowe has still been an asset for fantasy football owners. Most of his damage occurs in the fourth quarter, but results are results. Jonathan Baldwin may not even play with a concussion injury, which would mean Steve Breaston and dinged up flex receiver/running back Dexter McCluster would have to step up. I don’t expect that to happen, which means Bowe should have another solid week.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

September has concluded. The next four weeks of October are pivotal to either sustain your lead atop your fantasy league, or to start climbing back in the race. At the end of the month will you be haunted or the one causing the chaos?

Here’s a look at some athletes that should be automatics to start and others to sit.

Quarterbacks

Start: Matt Hasselbeck

Hasselbeck may be the only quarterback that can make ten completions fantasy worthy. Without Kenny Britt he has found a way. Utilizing veteran Nate Washington and tight end Jared Cook. As long as Chris Johnson continues to improve, Hasselbeck is a solid number two fantasy quarterback.

Start: Matt Cassel

Cassel should be playing basketball. When he is hot, he can be as consistent as they come at delivering your Chiefs fantasy receivers 100 yard games. When he is not, he’ll throw for under 100 yards with a pair of picks. Cassel looks to be charting back upward, so he could be a waiver wire addition consideration after this week.

Sit: Mark Sanchez

Sanchez was definitely rattled by harassed blitzes from the Ravens. Each of the past two years, Sanchez has struggled to respond when faced with adversity during the regular season. The Jets will look to control this game with the ground game. I don’t think Sanchez will have over twenty attempts in this one. Rex Ryan wants to keep his defense and the Tom Brady dink and dump offense off the field.

Sit: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Running Backs

Start: Marshawn Lynch

The New York Giants somehow win with a formula of Eli turning the ball over, and the defense giving up chunks of yards. Maybe they’re just fortunate. The opportunistic defense will force turnovers, but they offset that with allowing running backs to rush all over them.

Start: Jahvid Best

Though he has been quiet this year, Best thrives in divisional games. With teams needing to key in on the passing attack more, Best should start to see his production rise. He has it in him, and should be a top seven fantasy back heading into next year.

Sit. Joey Addai

I really like the way Addai has ran the football the past few games for the Colts. The team has fed off of its veterans but just can’t sustain the effort in the 4^th period. There comes a point when veterans use to winning hit that loser wall. This team is 0-4 and reality will set in. This team and front office will want to see where the youth lies with this team. Bring in Delone Carter, who will get more and more carries as the season goes on.

Sit: Mark Ingram

Wide Receivers

Start: AJ Green

Green gets an actual favorable match up this weekend. He has been quite a surprise on an offense not expected to do much. Rookie Andy Dalton has found a way to deliver the football, and the team remains balanced with Cedric Benson rushing the football. Green should have another solid game to pad to his stats.

Start: Mike Williams

Williams has had a tough time adjusting to defenses this season. Teams are not letting him beat them all day with intermediate routes. Josh Freeman is finding other targets such as Preston Parker and Arrelious Benn. Look for Williams to get back on track this week, with his best game of the year.

Start: Titus Young

Teams may find a way to gear up and stop Megatron. All that’s going to do is divide up more throws Young’s way. Even though Johnson typically posts great numbers against the Bears, I’m going with the Contrarian view that Young will be the Lions leading receiver.

Sit: Plaxico Burress

Sit: Marques Colston