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
Shayne Graham at Tennessee Titans:Â Graham has quietly become a nice option in fantasy leagues. He ranks in the top 10 in fantasy points at his position, though he remains a free agent in most leagues on NFL.com. He has a nice matchup against the Titans, who have given up more fantasy points to kickers at home than any other team in the entire NFL.
Start 'em
Lawrence Tynes at Washington Redskins: Tynes, shockingly still a free agent in more than 30 percent of NFL.com leagues right now, is the top-scoring kicker based on fantasy points. He should continue to find success against the Redskins, who have allowed 22 field-goal conversions and the seventh-most fantasy points to kickers in 2012.
Dan Bailey vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Bailey has been on fire of late, scoring the second-most fantasy points at his position over the last four weeks. His success should continue against the Eagles, who have given up the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing kickers. Bailey is also still a free agent in over 25 percent of NFL.com leagues.
Sleeper alert - Rian Lindell vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: If you want to take a chance on a kicker off the waiver wire this week, consider Lindell. He has a great matchup against the Jaguars, who have allowed an average of over nine fantasy points to kickers on the road and over 10 points to the position overall. Lindell is on most waiver wires.
Sit of the week
Greg Zuerlein vs. San Francisco 49ers: "Legatron" has slowed down in recent weeks, putting up a combined 15 fantasy points in his last four games. He's also scored double-digit points just once in his last six contests. The Niners have given up the fewest fantasy points to kickers on the road, so a change of fortunes doesn't seem imminent.
Sit 'em
Rob Bironas vs. Houston Texans: Bironas was listed as a start 'em last week, and he responded with a solid 13 fantasy points. Unfortunately, this week's matchup against the Texans isn't a favorable one. In fact, Houston has allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to kickers on the road. Bironas also had just two points against them in Week 4.
Mike Nugent at San Diego Chargers: Nugent, also listed as a start 'em last week, posted a terrific 12 fantasy points. But like Bironas, he's just a matchup-based starter. This week, Nugent faces a Chargers team that has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing kickers overall. That means it's back to the waiver wire for Nugent.
Owners beware - Connor Barth at Denver Broncos: Barth has been fantastic in fantasy land, ranking sixth in points at his position after 12 weeks. Just keep in mind that this week's matchup against the Broncos is a difficult one. This unit is tied with the Browns for the fewest fantasy points allowed to kickers at home so far this season.
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**!
