NFL Week 5 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

It is the bye-week season. Now the real fun begins.

It is hard enough to manage your fantasy football lineup and roster when you have a full 32 teams at your disposal. Taking away six -- such as Baltimore, Dallas, Miami, St. Louis, Washington and Cleveland in Week 5 -- makes it even more challenging.

Say goodbye, for a week, to Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, Ravens D/ST, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Felix Jones, Cowboys D/ST, Steven Jackson, Tim Hightower/Ryan Torain, Santana Moss and Peyton Hillis. Say hello to the likes of Mark Ingram, Thomas Jones, Steve Breaston, Mike Thomas, Marcedes Lewis, Mike Williams (either one), Isaac Redman, Michael Crabtree, Plaxico Burress and Johnny Knox.

That group comprises who we should be leaning on without our Ravens, Cowboys, et al this week. They haven't done much to date if you have been starting them, but you have no choice but to use them now.

Those who make the best switch-aroos are going to be the ones with the high seeds heading into the fantasy postseason.

Remember, though, no one goes unbeaten in fantasy football, so don't do anything drastic with your roster to try to salvage one week. It is still early. In fact, having all your players on bye now -- and being forced to start certain zeroes -- could be a blessing in disguise later. You can be closer to full strength in the rest of the weeks, while everyone else is scraping along with hardly useful spare parts.

On to the all-important Start 'Em and Sit 'Em in our first bye week of the 2011 season ...

Note: Remember, the obvious choices are omitted here. We focus our energy on the players you might actually be making a decision on.

Philadelphia at Buffalo

Start 'em

• QB Michael Vick, D/ST Eagles, K Alex Henery

Vick is a must start like LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, but we figured we would highlight him here for a huge game. The Bills have given up the fifth-most points to quarterbacks -- despite picking off Tom Brady as many times as Brady was picked off all of last year. Vick's expected big game should mean some numbers for a guy like Brent Celek or Jason Avant and Steve Smith, too. These guys are options as bye-week replacements. Celek is especially interesting because the Bills are in the bottom 10 against fantasy pass-catchers. On the other side, the Eagles D/ST faces a Bills team that has given up the fewest fantasy points to opposing defenses. The Bills have allowed just three sacks and haven't lost a fumble. With that said, Trent Cole and company are going to get to the quarterback and cause problems this week.

• RB Fred Jackson, K Rian Lindell

The Eagles defense has been a huge disappointment, even against the pass. Also bad is a unit that is second-worst against the run and has allowed the most points to running backs to date. This could be another Bills shootout-type game, so consider all of the Bills offensive parts as necessary, including Lindell, who should be busy as the Eagles bend but don't break.

Sit 'em

• RB Ronnie Brown, D/ST Bills

With the bye weeks kicking in, you likely are scraping for a flex player or a fill-in running back. Don't bother with Brown, even if the Bills are bottom 10 in the league against backs. Brown had a boneheaded "fumble" near the goal line last week when he thought it was a good idea to pass the ball back when he was stuffed at the line. That kind of play will get you buried on the bench. Brown didn't need any other reasons to be used less. He hasn't been busy yet anyway. As for the Bills, this could be wide open, but the Eagles secondary could start playing the way it is supposed to any week here. That makes Ryan Fitzpatrick, David Nelson and Donald Jones less intriguing.

New Orleans at Carolina

Start 'em

• RB Darren Sproles, RB Mark Ingram, WR Lance Moore, K John Kasay

Sproles has thoroughly outperformed both Ingram and Pierre Thomas, so consider him a must-start in deeper leagues through the bye season. We are going to advise going with Ingram as necessary here, too. The Panthers are fifth-worst in fantasy against RBs, and the Saints are going to want to control the clock to keep the ball away from the surprisingly potent Panthers. As for the Saints receivers, it is pot luck with Marques Colston back. The only sure thing is tight end Jimmy Graham, but if you need a sleeper WR, go with Moore over Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson right now. Any one of them could be useful, but none is a sure thing.

• RB DeAngelo Williams, RB James Stewart, TE Greg Olsen

The Panthers running game opened up a little last week, so Williams and Stewart should prove useful as bye-week replacements. If you have been starting them all along, this might be their best chance to put up numbers yet. Olsen looks like a very good option this week with Jeremy Shockey banged up. The Panthers feature the tight end heavily in the offense and more will be heaped on Olsen's shoulders here. Newton and Steve Smith are obvious must-starts right now.

Sit 'em

• D/ST Saints, D/ST Panthers

These aren't first choice units but they are useful in some weeks -- just not this one. This is going to be a shootout. You can start any Saints or Panthers offensive player you deem necessary, except Colston. He came back early from his injury but he just wasn't much of a factor last week. It will be tough to trust him if you have other viable options not on bye.

Oakland at Houston

Start 'em

• WR Denarius Moore, K Sebastian Janikowski

We haven't really been fair to the Raiders thus far this season in this space. They are a much better offense than given credit for. Darren McFadden, an obvious must-start, makes everyone around him better -- even Jason Campbell, who is the least-sacked quarterback in the NFL. Michael Bush could be a sleeper flex option to post a TD in relief of McFadden, who was dealing with a minor hammy tweak.

• RB Arian Foster, TE Owen Daniels, K Neil Rackers, D/ST Texans

Well, we have to admit we were impressed with what Foster did to the Steelers defensive front. Either Foster is a world-beater and/or that Texans offensive line is the best in the game. Let's go with the idea that it is a bit of both worlds. With Andre Johnson (hamstring) out, you should expect Daniels to be Matt Schaub's go-to man. Daniels is healthy and likely to be one of the most productive tight ends in the coming weeks. Schaub is going to be less productive without Johnson but he should still be good enough to use as a starter during the bye weeks. He can spread the ball around to the backs, tight end and Kevin Walter or Jacoby Jones -- the latter of which are nice sleepers this week.

Sit 'em

• RB Ben Tate, D/ST Raiders

The Raiders are the second-worst team in fantasy against backs, but we learned last week just how much the Texans are going to lean on Foster when their primary back is healthy. Tate didn't get many touches -- he has been a bit banged up himself now, too -- and we cannot advise you using him unless as a flex fill-in in a deeper league. As for the Raiders D/ST, the Texans have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing D/STs. They are averaging just one turnover a game and Foster should run often on Sunday.

Kansas City at Indianapolis

Start 'em

• RB Thomas Jones, RB Dexter McCluster, QB Matt Cassel, WR Steve Breaston, K Ryan Succop

Here is your bye-week landmine, the all-disappointment bowl. Like the Colts, the Chiefs have been busts in the first month, but they draw a favorable matchup here and are looking ready to get something fantasy-worthy together. Both backs should be decent against a Colts front that was gashed by the Bucs on Monday night. Also, Cassel is healed and should be his best yet, allowing a secondary target like Breaston to take the pressure off Dwayne Bowe.

• RB Joseph Addai, WR Reggie Wayne, WR Pierre Garcon, TE Dallas Clark, K Adam Vinatieri

What do you know, Curtis Painter has revived the Colts' fantasy options! Garcon seems to be Painter's favorite target and Clark should be much more productive against a Chiefs team that is in the bottom quarter of the league against fantasy TEs. Addai should be leaned on heavily against a Chiefs defense that has given up a league-high five rushing touchdowns to backs and is fourth-worst in fantasy against RBs.

Sit 'em

• D/ST Chiefs, D/ST Colts

It is tough to dislike any option on either side in this one, other than the defenses. We are accustomed to taking advantage of the favorable matchups these two teams provide, but we cannot advise using either defense against the other. You should have better options available to you, even without the six D/STs on bye. The Chiefs and Colts offenses are going to finally give us some hope.

Cincinnati at Jacksonville

Start 'em

• RB Cedric Benson, WR A.J. Green, TE Jermaine Gresham, D/ST Bengals

Andy Dalton hasn't played like a rookie and the Bengals won't yet lose Benson to suspension (they might not at all). Green and Gresham are performing well enough to use in all leagues on a regular basis, too.

• WR Mike Thomas, TE Marcedes Lewis

We don't have any confidence in rookie Blaine Gabbert against the Bengals, who are fourth-best against WRs and third-best against QBs. Thomas and Lewis, though, are Gabbert's go-to guys. He is going to lock on them and keep trying to get them the ball on passing downs. If Maurice Jones-Drew can stay as productive as he has been on the ground, those passing downs will be short-yardage ones -- good news for Lewis. The Jaguars tight end is closer to 100 percent now and fantasy owners are wise to jump back on board.

Sit 'em

• RB Bernard Scott

We thought Scott was going to be useful by now, but he isn't even an option as a bye-week replacement. Benson is just too much of the offense. You likely aren't trusting many of the Jags and Bengals in fantasy anyway, but this one figures to be more of a defensive game and less fantasy-friendly.

Arizona at Minnesota

Start 'em

• RB Beanie Wells, D/ST Cardinals, K Jay Feely

Wells has been one of the better finds this season, and although the Vikings have a decent run defense, the Cardinals are going to pound the rock with Wells to set up the pass. The Vikings have struggled where the Cards defense has been exposed -- via the pass -- so if you need a replacement for the Ravens or Cowboys, the Cards might be a sleeper fill-in.

• QB Donovan McNabb, WR Percy Harvin, WR Michael Jenkins, K Ryan Longwell

McNabb and the Vikings have been inept through the air, but Jenkins has been a pleasant surprise and Harvin still has the potential to have a huge breakthrough. We figure the Cardinals, who are in the bottom 10 against QBs and WRs, will provide a matchup to take advantage of with the sleepers in the Vikings' passing game. These are viable bye-week replacements, particularly at home.

Sit 'em

• QB Kevin Kolb

We wouldn't trust Kolb in most weeks because his receivers after Larry Fitzgerald are nondescript. Todd Heap is not good for more than a few catches or a handful of yards and Early Doucet hasn't made an impact since Week 1.

Seattle at N.Y. Giants

Start 'em

• WR Sidney Rice, WR Mike Williams

You cannot trust Tarvaris Jackson, despite his big performance last week, but it looks like Rice has at least made the Seahawks a threat down the field. The Giants are in the bottom half in the NFL against the pass, so consider Rice a must-start and Williams a sleeper. You might even give Zach Miller a look, too.

• RB Ahmad Bradshaw, QB Eli Manning, WR Mario Manningham, WR Victor Cruz, D/ST Giants, K Lawrence Tynes

We are assuming you're starting Nicks without thinking twice, but the Giants return home with their offense clicking under Manning. Bradshaw is sharing carries but he has also been productive as a receiver and his running mate is a little banged up right now. Manningham should be healthier while Cruz has put some good weeks together in his absence. The bye season should help both of these guys find starting time in fantasy lineups.

Sit 'em

• RB Marshawn Lynch, RB Brandon Jacobs

The Giants have won back-to-back road games, despite not being able to stop their opponents on the ground. It looks like it could be a decent week for Lynch, but we have a feeling this run defense is going to improve. Against Seattle, you stop the run first -- and teams mostly have. Jacobs, meanwhile, has a swollen knee and his fantasy production has been reliant on getting one-yard touchdowns. There won't be any of those this week as the Giants score from further out.