2011 Fantasy Football Week 3 Start/Sit: The Great Saints Debate

This week starts a very tough stretch of games for the Houston Texans, but the matchup in New Orleans provides some very intriguing fantasy plays.

First off, Arian Foster remains a concern. He probably will as long as Ben Tate is running well and that hamstring is still dinged up. All reports suggest that Foster could have finished the game last week but for precautionary reasons, so expect him to play against the Saints, just not as much as you're used to.

Speaking of Tate, one area where the Texans could find some success against New Orleans is in the run game. He's proven he can fit into this scheme well, but as Lance Zeirlein pointed out earlier this week, Tate left some yards on the table against Miami. He might make a decent flex option this week.

All the Texans receivers are good plays, but the Saints aren't entirely slouches in pass defense. They showed off some great pass rushing skills against the Bears. Granted, that offensive line was atrocious and the Texans line has been very good. There have been signs that Houston's line is susceptible to good pass rushing. Against both the Colts and the Dolphins, Houston gave up sacks off the edge. New Orleans likes to blitz more but got good pressure with its line against Chicago, so there are some concerns with Matt Schaub.

The Saints receiving corps should also see a small uptick in value, but it's hard to say who will benefit. The Texans secondary has been solid (especially against the run), but at times they've given up big plays. With guys like Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson stretching the field, that could mean some big value for them.