Weekly Fantasy Roundup: Bench/Start Week 13

From the desk of The Bad Guy:

BENCH

WR Dwayne Bowe (Chiefs) - CB Nnamdi Asomugha could very well be the best cover corner in the NFL, as he seems to shut down the opposing team's #1 WR every week. This is really bad news for Bowe, as Asomugha will most likely be all over him for most of Sunday's game. #82 has been very consistent so far in 2008, catching at least five balls in eight of his 11 games (and scoring in six of them), but will having trouble creating space against Oakland. The Raiders have yet to allow a WR to reach 100 receiving yards in a game, a trend that is sure to continue against the Chiefs. Oakland seems like an easy match up on paper, but when you look a little deeper, things don't seem very promising.

WR TJ Houshmandzadeh (Bengals) - With Chad Johnson out of the lineup, TJ was shut down last week against Pittsburgh, as he was the main focus of the defense and constantly double teamed. Ocho Cinco is questionable to play this week against the Ravens, but it shouldn't make too much of a difference if he's in or out, as the entire Bengals passing game will have a rough time against Baltimore's secondary on Sunday. Housh has had a fantastic season, so I don't know if you can actually sit him, but there's a good chance he wont do much in Week 13.




WR Braylon Edwards (Browns) - After being drafted in the top rounds of many fantasy leagues, Mr. 5 Hour Energy has had an extremely disappointing season. In 11 games so far in 2008, he has gone over 100 yards receiving twice and has only caught three touchdown passes (compared to 16 last season). Unfortunately for Edwards, Indianapolis comes to town in Week 13, and the Colts have only allowed four passing TDs all season. With Brady Quinn's inconsistent play and a tough match up, Edwards might be better off sitting this one out on your bench.

START

QB Jay Cutler (Broncos) - Mr. Culter has been struggling of late (He completed less than 50% of his passes last week against Oakland), but look for the former Vanderbilt star to bounce back strong in Week 13 against a Jets D that is allowing nearly 240 passing yards per game. Denver should have a hard time running the ball against Kris Jenkins and company, and will need to move the ball through the air if they want to have a chance. This is a big game for the Broncos, so look for the South Park star to fill the stat sheets while he puts his team on his back and leads them to victory.



RB Lorenzo Booker (Eagles) - This is a long shot, but we all clearly saw that Westbrook was nowhere near 100% in Week 12, and because of the short week, is not a lock to play when the Eagles face off against Arizona on Thanksgiving. Correll Buckhalter is out with a knee injury, which means that if Westbrook cant go on Thursday, the backfield is Booker's for the taking. He would make for a pretty decent play against the Cardinals, and if you are in need of a RB, make sure to keep an eye on the Eagles' injury report, as you might be able to strike gold with the 2nd year RB.




RB Ronnie Brown (Dolphins) - The former Auburn standout is a pretty easy call this week considering the match up, but Ronnie Brown has been pretty disappointing for fantasy owners the past couple of weeks. Since Week 5, Brown has gone over 100 yards only once, and has seen Ricky Williams steal more and more carries from him every game. This is the week things change though, as #23 gets to run on the pathetic St. Louis defense. The Rams allowed Frank Gore to find the end zone twice in Week 11, and Matt Forte to score twice in Week 12, so The Bad Guy is going to once again bust out a guarantee that Ronnie hits pay dirt at least once on Sunday.