Fantasy Football Week 7: It's Time to Bye

By Tim Bearden in News on Oct 23, 2011 3:00PM

We're almost halfway through the NFL regular season, which also means we're about halfway to the playoffs in some leagues. It's been a rough season so far and it's only getting rougher as the injuries continue to pile up.

LaGarrette Blount (RB) is out this week against Chicago with his knee injury, Julio Jones (WR) is doubtful with a hamstring injury, Andre Johnson (WR) won't play again this, also with a hamstring injury and who could forget players like Kenny Britt (WR) and Chad Henne (QB) that are out for the season.

With the nagging injuries this season has produced and the frustrations of bye weeks, a lot of teams are hurting right now. Don't despair if you're struggling during byes because there's a week reprieve coming up, but now is the time to panic if your players are injury prone because it's only going to get messier the closer we get to post-season.

Teams on bye weeks this week: San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals.

That means we're without the help of Tom Brady (QB), Wes Welker (WR), Frank Gore (RB)--who's really turned his season around as of late--, Michael Vick (QB), Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB), Ahmad Bradshaw (RB) and DeSean Jackson (WR). So let's see who can replace these gaps.

Starts:

1. Cam Newton (QB) - I've been saying it all season and I'm sticking to it. Newton is a great young quarterback. He's poised in the pocket and is a threat to both run and pass. Carolina picked up a good weapon in the draft and I think he'll only continue to grow.

2. Joe Flacco (QB) - Flacco has had some rough weeks, but don't expect Jacksonville to give him too many problems. They're among the middle of the league in passing defense and Flacco has a knack for exploiting holes in defenses.

3. Calvin Johnson (WR) - Megatron has done really well this season and the Lions are off to their best start in over 50 years. He still managed over 100 yards in the loss to the 49ers last week. He should be a permanent start on your list.

4. Arian Foster (RB) - Foster is due for another breakout game. He was kind of quiet last week against the Ravens and expect him to take that out on Tennessee this week. Their run defense, while decent, could still use some work.

5. Miles Austin (WR) - Austin wasn't a major producer last week, but he did show why he should be one of your top receivers. He's still averaging around 100 yards a game and he's got a great match-up this week as the Cowboys are playing the struggling Rams, whose pass defense is nothing to talk about.

6. Dez Bryant (WR) - Even with Austin back, he will still see a decent amount of targets. While only getting 37 receiving yards last week he still managed two touchdowns. He is starting to look like Tony Romo's endzone target.

7. [ALT] Earnest Graham (RB) - With Blount out this week, Graham will be Tampa Bay's starting carrier against the Bears. Even though the Bears running defense can be stiff, they've also shown they can let big ones go. He's a solid alternate for week 7.

8. [ALT] Doug Balwin (WR) - I don't think he's getting enough credit this week. He's one catch ahead of Sidney Rice making him the leading receiver on the Seahawks. He may not get consistent weekly targets, but he's capable of big risk, big reward.

9. [HIGH-RISK] Antonio Gates (TE) - Gates has been in and out this season with a foot injury, but they're reporting he could be good to go for Sunday's game. His official status is questionable, but if he's announced to play, play him.

10. Marques Colston (WR) - He's still good to go this week and had a breakout week last week against Tampa Bay. Expect a similar, if not better, performance this week against the Colts.

Sits:

1. Mark Sanchez (QB) - Assuming you started Sanchez to cover some bye weeks recently, especially against Miami last week, you should probably sit him this week. He's going up against one of the better passing defenses in the league with San Diego. Expect a better performance than his Baltimore game, but not much.

2. Sam Bradford (QB) - He's been declared out with an injury for this week's game against the Cowboys. Leave his back up, A.J. Feeley, alone too as Dallas has a good enough passing defense to stifle the Rams.

3. Tim Hightower (RB) - It was a tough decision to put him on the sit list this week as he is one of the better running backs out there this season. He still has a nagging shoulder injury and even though he was a full participant in practice on Friday, he may still not see as many carries this week as he's used to.

4. Brandon Lloyd (WR) - He's just not consistent enough this season. He has the ability to make big plays and get big points for fantasy owners, but he's also prone to weeks like week 6 where he does not produce at all. He may have a good week this week with his new team, but the stats say let him sit until consistent.

5. Kyle Orton (QB) - Not only was this a questionable pick-up in the first place, but now it's definitely possible he won't be returning this season with Tim Tebow at the helm. Tebow isn't quite fantasy material yet, but Orton was less so.

6. Andre Johnson (WR) - He's out with a hamstring injury this week, but even if he wasn't, he'd still be on this list. Tennessee has been tough on receivers this season and it won't be any different this week against the Texans. Houston fans, be thankful for Foster.

7. Julio Jones (WR) - He's not officially out this week, but don't hold out much hope that he'll play. He's listed as doubtful so they may give him another week to rest his hamstring.

8. Mohamad Massaquoi (WR) - He may be the leading receiver on the Browns, but that doesn't make him active material in your fantasy league. He does have a favorable match-up this week, but he has been disappointing thus far.

9. Reggie Bush (RB) - I thought at the beginning of the season he would be a great addition to your fantasy roster. He's proven me wrong and Daniel Thomas has taken the spotlight in Miami. He's listed as probable, but don't play him unless he's an absolute last resort.

10. Jets (D/ST) - They've been pretty solid this year, aside from the Baltimore fiasco, but expect those headaches to return this week against Phillip Rivers and the Chargers. If you're hurting for a defense, fine, but not an optimal match-up this week.

Those are your top 10 starts and sits for week 7. Check back next week to see who's going to be on a bye and who should start instead. After next week you get a reprieve from the byes.

Follow my on Twitter (@tdbearden) for advice on Sundays from 10 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. Ask me last minute roster questions as I will be tweeting live. Use hashtag #CFF