Fantasy Football Week 11: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Welcome to The Big Lead's weekly start 'em, sit 'em column. We are here to dig into the toughest decisions you may be facing for your fantasy matchup in Week 11 of NFL action and give you answers. Some of those answers may even be right!

Presenting our Week 11 start 'em, sit 'em calls.

Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

It has been a tough stretch for Pollard these last few weeks and really his whole season hasn't been great. Despite being the feature back on one of the league's most effective offenses, Pollard has not scored a touchdown since Week 1 (!!!) and hasn't hit double-digit fantasy points in the last three games following the team's Week 7 bye. It seemed everybody but Pollard had a great day against the paltry New York Giants; he mustered only 55 yards on 15 carries and his team won by 30 anyway. But one figures the dam has to break eventually and there's no better matchup to do so than this week against the Panthers and their 31st-ranked fantasy rushing defense. START 'EM

Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans

Dell has emerged big-time in the fantasy realm these last few weeks as the Texans have forced us all to take them seriously. Dell's speed makes him a threat to take it to the house at any given moment and, more importantly, he's not one of those fast gadget guys who's only good for two or three plays a game-- Dell has received 25 targets in the last two contests. It's risky relying on rookies in general when it comes to fantasy football, and relying on two in Stroud and Dell to keep producing is a leap. But Stroud appears to be the real deal and they don't have a particularly tough matchup this week, going up against the Cardinals, who rank 20th in points given up to opposing wideouts this year. Have faith and hope they keep the good times going. START 'EM

Will Levis

Woof. Levis has fully returned to planet Earth after a standout debut, totaling fewer than 10 fantasy points two weeks in a row. He went up against a few tough defenses, to be sure, and Tennessee's complete lack of run game in both games didn't do him any favors. But it seems more and more that the Levis who dropped 26 points in Week 8 is not going to show up again -- or, at least, not anytime soon. Going up against a Jaguars team that will undoubtedly be playing very pissed off after an embarrassing home loss to San Francisco, avoid Levis at all costs. SIT 'EM

Calvin Ridley

It's been tough sledding for Ridley all season. His inconsistency has been killer, even if perhaps not entirely his fault. He had a decent week before the team's bye against the Steelers and then was basically nonexistent on Sunday with two catches for 20 yards in the aforementioned blowout defeat at the hands of the 49ers. Ridley is easily the best receiver the team has but is more prone to down weeks than his teammates. There is some reason for optimism here, though, as Jacksonville will be playing for something to prove against a Titans defense that should've given up multiple receiving touchdowns if it weren't for Mike Evans' butterfingers. Let's roll with Ridley against a weak defense with the knowledge that he may not be up to snuff against the better units out there and sleep well. START 'EM

Brandin Cooks

Cooks has gotten into the good graces of Dak Prescott recently, catching a touchdown in two of his last three games. He especially dominated the Giants on Sunday with a nine-catch, 173-yard performance that counted as one of the very best fantasy outputs across the league. Cooks is obviously still firmly behind CeeDee Lamb in the pecking order but Dallas boasts a strong enough offense that there's still plenty of fantasy points to go around. Will Cooks benefit yet again against the Panthers this week? Well, despite being one of the worst defenses in the league defending the run, Carolina actually boasts a top-10 pass defense in terms of fantasy points allowed to wideouts. So while Pollard is primed for a bounce back, Cooks is looking at a hard regression that will make his stat line look more like his one-point Week 9 outing than his Week 10 explosion. SIT 'EM