Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is the ultimate look at the weekly NFL matchups and how they'll affect your fantasy football team. Sleeper alert features an under-the-radar player who could produce good numbers. Owners beware features a regular fantasy starter who could fail to meet expectations based on the strength of his opponent. Obvious fantasy starters like Aaron Rodgers and Arian Foster will not be featured in this column. For your final lineup decisions, check our lineup rankings.
Start of the week
Owen Daniels at Tennessee Titans: Daniels, who has re-emerged into a top fantasy option at his position, is a must-start this week against the Titans. Their defense has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points and eight touchdown catches to tight ends overall. Daniels also smashed them for 13.20 fantasy points back in Week 4.
Start 'em
Antonio Gates vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Gates posted back-to-back double-digit fantasy point totals in Weeks 9-10, only to score a combined three fantasy points in his last two games. That's frustration for owners! I'd stick with him, though, as the Bengals have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends on the road this season.
Jermaine Gresham at San Diego Chargers: While his numbers aren't eye popping, Gresham has scored the fifth-most fantasy points among tight ends over the last four weeks. The Chargers have allowed the ninth-most points to the position at home, which is enough for me to consider Gresham a pretty nice option at what has become a porous tight end spot.
Dallas Clark at Denver Broncos: Look who's back? Clark, a former fantasy star, has recorded six-plus fantasy points in three straight games (that's good for a tight end this season). The Broncos have allowed the most fantasy points to the position overall, and Clark should be motivated to face his old quarterback, Peyton Manning, this weekend.
Sleeper alert - Martellus Bennett at Washington Redskins:Fantasy owners desperate for a tight end should give Bennett a look off waivers. No team has allowed more fantasy points to the position in home games than the Redskins (11.86 PPG). What's more, Bennett put up a solid 7.9 fantasy points against them in their first meeting of the season.
Sit of the week
Brandon Pettigrew vs. Indianapolis Colts: Pettigrew has had a forgettable fantasy season in standard leagues, scoring nine or more fantasy points just once. He's also scored fewer than six fantasy points in five of his last seven contests. The Colts have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to tight ends overall, so Pettigrew is a real risk.
Sit 'em
Heath Miller at Baltimore Ravens: Miller had been one of the best tight ends in fantasy land a few weeks ago, but that was before Ben Roethlisberger's absence. Over the last four weeks, the veteran has averaged a meager 4.50 fantasy points while failing to find the end zone even one time. The Ravens also held him to just 22 yards back in Week 11.
Brent Celek at Dallas Cowboys: Celek put up 157 yards against the Baltimore Ravens back in Week 2. Since then, he has averaged 34 yards and has found the end zone once. Among those performance was a 3.1-point dud against this week's opponent, the Cowboys. Simply put, it's almost impossible to trust Celek as a fantasy starter at this point in time.
Dennis Pitta vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Pitta has scored double-digit fantasy points in two of his last three games, so his value is back on the rise overall. However, it's still tough to recommend him this week against the AFC North rival Steelers. Their defense has allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends overall this season.
Owners beware - Brandon Myers vs. Cleveland Browns: It's tough to bench Myers, who has scored the second-most fantasy points at his position over the last four weeks. Just keep in mind that the Browns have allowed just two scores and the fewest fantasy points to tight ends overall in 2012. That makes Myers somewhat of a risk as a No. 1 option.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com. Have a burning question on anything fantasy related? Tweet it to _**@MichaelFabiano**_ or send a question via **Facebook**!
