Texans Fantasy Start/Sit: Week 10

Start:

Arian Foster - The Bucs are allowing 132 rushing yards per game, bad enough for 26th in the league. The Texans ran for 156 yards vs. Jacksonville, ran for 180 yards against Pittsburgh, two teams that rank in the top 10; they'll run all over Tampa Bay. On top of that, their best defensive tackle, Gerald McCoy, is now out for the season. If they were already 26th with him, how bad will their rush defense be without him? Last season McCoy missed the final 3 games of the season, in their first game without him, they gave up 181 rushing yards vs. Detroit. Expect Foster to reach 150 total yards and at least 1 touchdown; another monster game.

Ben Tate - This one was close, but I like Tate this weekend for the same reason I like Foster; Tampa can't stop the run. If your league only starts 2 running backs, then it's a close call, but if your league gives a RB/WR flex spot, then I believe Tate is a must-start. Tampa has given up the 4th most fantasy points to opposing RB's and Tate has proved recently that he can still shine even as a back up. Just like he did last week, I'm expecting between 10-13 carries, around 80 yards, and a touchdown.

Texans Defense - The Texans have held 3 straight opponents under 200 yards but Tampa's offense is better than their last 3 opponents. It's unlikely the Texans will make it 4 in a row, but I still love them as a start this week. Josh Freeman who was great last year, has taken a step back. On the season he's passed for just 8 TD/10 INT. A big part of that is because his receivers aren't helping him out. Last year's breakout star, Mike Williams is averaging just 45 receiving yards per game and sadly, that leads the team. On the ground, their leading rusher LeGarrette Blount has struggled with only one 100 yard rushing game this season; the Texans have given up just two 100 yard rushers all year. The Texans rank 2nd against the pass, 4th against the run...I just don't see how Tampa will be able to move the ball.

Neil Rackers - Outside of the Baltimore game, Rackers has been on a roll recently. This week the Texans face a similar defense to the one they played last week; good against the pass, awful against the run. I'd expect 2-3 field goals and 2-3 XP this week and at least 8 points.

Sit:

Matt Schaub - Without Andre, I just don't trust Schaub in the world of fantasy. He hasn't been awful by any means, but the Texans gameplan just doesn't feature him enough to make him worth starting. Schaub's only averaging 213 yards passing over his last 3 games with 3 touchdowns and 2 turnovers; not exactly a must-start. Drew Brees, a better QB, in two games this season threw 3 TD/4 INT against Tampa. With the Texans facing the 26th ranked run defense, they'll look to run all day again this week; avoid Schaub.

Owen Daniels - Alright, I was wrong. I've hit on almost every other Texan fantasy prediction each week, but it seems I have too much faith in Daniels. Perhaps it's because with Andre Johnson out, opposing teams are focusing on him; whatever the reason, he hasn't scored a touchdown since October 2nd and is averaging just 44 receiving yards in his last 4 games. The Bucs have given up a lot of points to tight ends, but so had the Browns and Jaguars and he scored just 9 total points over those two games.

Kevin Walter - Like with Schaub, passing the ball a lot just isn't in the Texans game plan. The Bucs have a terrible run defense so expect the Texans to focus on the ground game. Walter hasn't scored a touchdown since week 5 and over the last 3 weeks, he's averaging just 36 yards per game. For the time being he just isn't a big part of the Texans attack and shouldn't be a part of your starting lineup.

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