Week Eight Automatics/Don’t Do Its Follow@cimini It’s Thursday which means if you plan on having a Panther or Buccaneer in your week eight lineups you must have it submitted before kickoff. With several teams on byes this week it is imperative to dig deep on your rosters for points. Here are some automatic starters and others to sit for this week.

Automatics

Tony Romo Romo gets all the negative publicity for the way the Cowboys falter in big games and rightfully so. As a fantasy football week to week performer Romo has been stellar. Dallas has had an unbalanced offensive ratio of run to pass plays most of the season. Thus far it hasn’t caused Romo any extra unnecessary hits or injuries like years past. Keep Romo in your fantasy football lineups this week against the Detroit Lions. Victor Cruz For facing a Vikings secondary that has been ripped apart all season there it was an undeniable Monday night poor performance from Cruz. Fantasy owners should have been able to expect ten to sixteen fantasy points from Cruz to catapult them to a come from behind fantasy performance. I do not expect Cruz to have back to back poor performances against a struggling defense. RG3 RG3 finally displayed what fans have been waiting for---to utilize his legs a bit more. Washington’s offense was able to outscore the Bears because of RG3’s offsetting abilities. When RG3 can be a threat with his legs it allowed the Redskins running game to finally flourish. Numbers likely won’t be sky high like they were against the Bears, but RG3 should end up being a top eight to ten fantasy performer. Kendall Hunter Jacksonville’s defense has been thrashed every week against the run. Meanwhile San Francisco has picked up a lot of steam since their blowout road win over the St. Louis Rams. They’ve done it by shifting the focus from Colin Kapernick and utilizing the run game. With how poor Jacksonville has been against the run you can expect the 49ers to exploit it early with Frank Gore. When San Francisco has a comfortable lead they continue to pound the football. Expect Hunter to get double digit carries and hit pay dirt at least once. Jarrett Boykin Aaron Rodgers is a prime time glutton. He loves to devour opponents on the big stage. It’s not a secret that Minnesota is a very vulnerable team at this stage. Look for Aaron Rodgers to come out early to put a team dispirited in a hole quickly. Boykin should have a second consecutive solid fantasy week. Marques Colston A lot of fantasy owners are likely extremely upset with how Colston has underperformed to start the season. Returning off a bye week the Saints should find a way to get Colston re-emerged in the offense. You never want to phase out a guy like Colston who has proven his longevity in the NFL for years, especially with a quarterback like Drew Brees on the field. Others: Michael Floyd, Vincent Jackson, Khiry Robinson, and Stevan Ridley

Don’t Do Its

Terrelle Pryor I’m very concerned for how Pryor is going to finish out the second half of the NFL season. He had a poor second half against San Diego and an even worse performance in the second half against Kansas City. Teams have tracked down the Raiders game plan with Pryor. It’s now putting Pryor in situations that he has to think more instead of create. Pittsburgh should only challenge Pryor more this week. Cam Newton The Panthers have won consecutive games but fantasy owners still can’t figure out what to do with Newton’s see-saw stats. The offense still doesn’t have a strong ebb and flow to it. They’re getting performance from the run game but having a mediocre impact with the pass game. Carolina has even turned to Mike Tolbert for the short yardage touchdowns that Cam Newton use to get. Jacquizz Rodgers With Steven Jackson expected to return Rodgers value automatically drops. Some will likely still insert Rodgers in their fantasy lineups thinking that Jackson won’t be a big factor off his return. It’s likely Jackson won’t garner a high load upon his return. But I think defenses will start impacting the Falcons offense more without their big weapons on the field. Last year Matt Ryan had an awful first half with several interceptions at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Julius Thomas After his monster start to the season it’s hard to decide to sit a player such as Thomas. Getting exposed on prime time repeatedly for poor blocking is something that all the NFL saw and will attack. Denver’s coaching staff is going to have to limit his plays on the field to prevent Peyton Manning from an unwarranted pass rush. Remember this is Thomas’s first success as a football player. Springing back and regaining his confidence is going to be something he has to do for the first time mentally as a pro football player. Jerome Simpson Christian Ponder has been hearing from the media and Vikings fans for quite awhile that he needs to be replaced as a starter. It happened and now the Vikings are going right back to him. With his confidence shaken I do not expect Ponder to life up the Vikings offensively against the Packers, though Ponder did play well in two games against Green Bay a year ago. Trust the stats that show Ponder has not shown a strong ability to get the ball down the field. That negates the impact Simpson, Rudolph, and Greg Jennings can have. Others: Percy Harvin, Zac Stacy, CJ Spiller, and Ryan Tannehill