FRIDAY GUT CHECK

A list of players who may have bad match ups, are lesser options or have not been productive but something in the gut says now is the time to start them. Last week...4 out of 5 due to Pennington getting hurt.

PIERRE GARCON IND....If you have him, you have no doubt been let down big time thinking each week is his week to break out. He is far from his draft value and for the most part has flex play value only. Even on good match up weeks he fails to produce and Manning seems to be in love with Tamme. This week comes the Patriots whom are weak vs the pass, but "The Hoodie" is proving just how great a coach he is by putting this team in contention in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. He will scheme to stop Manning and defend the pass, but he can't cover all bases. Garcon has the ability and while the Pats focus on Wayne and Tamme, Garcon has one of his bigger games.

DONALD BROWN IND....Much like Garcon he's been a huge let down, and it is a big probability that objective one for the Pats will be stopping the pass. Manning is poised to have a field day against this young and vulnerable secondary so look for them to sell out vs the pass and allow plenty of running room for Brown. Like Garcon, this could be his best week.

DARREN MCFADDEN OAK....Benjarvis Green-Ellis rushed for 87 yards and caught for 30 last week vs this top rated rush defense whom have shut down runners all year. Oakland comes out of the bye fresh and you can bet they will try and mimic what the Patriots did to them last week. Oakland gets Murphy and possibly Miller back this week, so the Steelers will need to pay attention to those threats, especially if they get off to a quick start. Let's face it, you're probably starting Mcfadden anyway but the opponent is a tough one. He is the Raiders best weapon and Cable will find ways to get him the ball. This is the time of year when even great defenses start breaking down so Mcfadden exceeds expectations this week.

JHAVID BEST DET.....He hasn't broken double digit fantasy points since week 5 and continues to struggle with turf toe issues. He faces an inspired Dallas team in their house whom feel like they could beat anybody. Detroit loves to pass, and will take advantage of a banged up Dallas secondary. Dallas will also apply a ton of pressure, leaving Best able to flare out for plenty of pass catches. Dallas should effectively take Megatron out of the picture so look for Best to see plenty of work.

AURELLIOUS BENN TB....He has caught no more than 2 balls the last three weeks but has made the most of them, catching 2 TD's the last two weeks and coming inches from a third three weeks ago. WR Mike Williams was charged with a DUI last night though he should be fine to play pending an investigation and testing since he was under the legal limit but may have been high as a kite. Benn is quickly becoming Freeman's go to guy in the red zone and the last few weeks Williams has seen tighter coverage with teams doubling up on him at times. Look for Benn's role to grow each week and he carries even higher value as a pick up should Williams have to miss a game. Williams will face some tough coverage with Nate Clements this week leaving Benn with the better match ups.

FRIDAY GUT CHECK

A list of players whom have tough match ups, or maybe are not producing but feel are good starts despite their projections or status. It's that feeling in your gut that tells you it's their time.

1. RONNIE BROWN & RICKY WILLIAMS MIA.......Neither one has had a good season so far and neither one has been start worthy. This week they face the Bengals 15th ranked run defense on the road. Not much to feel good about, but Williams had a pretty good game last week against the top run defense. Both guys seem to slowly be getting things going, and with the loss of Adam Jones this week I can see Henne and the pass game opening things up for the back field. Brown has had some amazing games on the road in his past and both guys are over due.

2. CADILLAC WILLIAMS TB.....Legarette Blount for all intensive purposes has become the clear cut best running back in Tampa, yet Morris refuses to name a lead guy. Part of it is that Williams is the better 3rd down/blitz pick up guy. The emergence of Blount I think actually helps Williams value. Especially against the Arizona 26th ranked rush defense. Blount will open up lanes for Williams and since Williams will be considered just a pass threat, he could surprise with a few big runs. As he showed last week, Williams has value even if he is averaging only 3 YPC. I think he scores again this week but on the ground.

3. BEANIE WELLS ARZ......Another guy who has struggled with injury and has been slow to produce. Beanie has however received a huge majority of the carries over Hightower since he has come back and has been getting a bit better every week. He hasn't been start worthy all year, but the Bucs are a bad rush defense team and the Cards will need to run the ball since the Bucs are 2nd in pass defense. I expect to see Wells post over 60 yards and a score despite his poor start.

4. JHAVID BEST DET......He has been hurt and very ineffective since his huge two weeks to open the season. Best this week faces the 23rd ranked rush defense, and will have Stafford back whom will have the Redskins respecting the pass. Best had a bye week to help rest his ailing toe and will no doubt be in the best health he has been in since the toe injury. I don't expect him to be 100% but I do expect a big involvement from him Sunday.

5. TROY SMITH SF......This is the riskiest of the list since nobody knows where he stands after not seeing much action since the Baltimore release. However, we do know he has the tools and can manage a game. The guy is a former Heisman trophy winner and while that doesn't mean anything in the NFL, it does say the guy has a certain skill set. He can't be worse than Alex Smith, and he adds the threat of running with the ball which helps catch defenses off guard and move the chains. This week he faces Denver's banged up defense which ranks 16th against the pass and just got torched by Jason Campbell and the run game. SF has Gore, as well as more receiving weapons than the Raiders. Do not be surprised if he leads them to a win in London.