Welcome to the time of year every fantasy owner dislikes. It’s officially time to battle through massive amounts of bye weeks that could have debilitating effects on your fantasy roster.

During the next two weeks, 12 teams will be on bye, opening up difficult situations for your fantasy roster, especially in the running back department. Three of the top five running backs from week 7 will be on bye week during the next two weeks.

These two weeks will test any fantasy owner, but if you can get through them, you should be OK for the remainder of the season.

Don’t let the bye week blues get the best of you. Here’s the week 8 running backs start ’em, sit ’em guide.

Start

Jacquizz Rodgers vs. Oakland Raiders

With the second straight game against a team in the bottom-five of the NFL in rush defense, Rodgers should be another solid RB1 for fantasy owners.

The Raiders allow 128.3 yards per game on the ground and five yards per carry, the second-highest number in the NFL. That should be leaky enough that Rodgers has another opportunity at more than 100 yards rushing.

During his last two games as the featured back for the Bucs, Rodgers has gone for 255 combined yards rushing on 56 carries. There should be no reason to worry that Doug Martin could return and steal away carries.

Tampa Bay should continue to ride the hot hand, giving Rodgers plenty of room to roam against the Raiders.

Spencer Ware vs. Indianapolis Colts

Once again, an injury to the starter shouldn’t be an issue in this situation. Ware is the unquestioned leader in the running back position for the Chiefs. And that is a major get for fantasy owners with the Chiefs being a high volume rushing team.

Even with starter Jamaal Charles back in the lineup in week 7, Ware dominated the carries and didn’t allow an opportunity for the coaches to take him out. Ware went for 131 total yards in week 7 against New Orleans with a touchdown.

It was his fourth consecutive game with more than 75 total yards. Even with Charles healing from his injury, there’s no way the Chiefs will make a hurried change. Ware has done a good enough job to keep getting carries and action out of the backfield in the passing game.

Against Indianapolis, he should have a field day again. The Colts own the eighth-worst rushing defense in the NFL, allowing running backs to go for 4.7 yards per carry. Don’t worry about Charles’ shadow. It’s not strong enough to block out Ware’s fantasy value.

Matt Forte vs. Cleveland Browns

Forte isn’t done just yet.

He tallied a season-high in carries and went for the most receiving yards this season in week 7 against Baltimore. With so much turmoil under center, it’s not a surprise that Forte is being counted on more heavily by the Jets.

While the Jets should be on upset alert against the Browns, they shouldn’t be disappointed in Forte’s performance. The Browns own the second-worst rush defense in the NFL and the Jets will pound the rock consistently.

That should free up Forte to have a big day in fantasy. He’s been touch and go this season, with single-digit efforts in the four weeks previous to week 7. However, this situation screams for a big day for Forte. Don’t cover your ears to those screams.

Sit

Jordan Howard vs. Minnesota Vikings

There are a few teams that it’s difficult to start anyone against. The Broncos have proven to be that team in the past few years and the Vikings are quickly establishing themselves in that category.

The Vikings own the best defense in terms of total defense. And against the run, you might as well not attempt to go that route.

Minnesota allows 81.7 yards per game on the ground. Teams don’t even attempt to run the football and I doubt the Bears will do much in that department on Monday night.

The Bears have been atrocious on offense in recent weeks. And Howard has followed suit of late, going for 56 rushing yards combined in the last two weeks. The other problem with Howard is that he’s not getting the bulk of the carries, either.

That’s a recipe for disaster for fantasy owners. He should be avoided in week 8.

Mark Ingram vs. Seattle Seahawks

This is a tough play, especially with so many bye weeks, but Ingram is not likely to have a good day. New Orleans loves to pass the ball and that’s no more evident than this year.

Drew Brees is once again one of the best fantasy quarterbacks, thanks to tremendous volume and the ability for the Saints to give up a lot of points on defense.

That creates some challenges for Ingram. He can stay involved with catching balls out of the backfield, but his rushing total is not near the level that you would expect with a preseason RB1. He’s topped 60 rushing yards only twice this season and that’s unlikely to happen against Seattle’s stout defense.

The Seahawks allow 84.2 rushing yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry. Ingram is a tough sit, but if you have some options, then I would place him on the bench.

Isaiah Crowell is off to a hot start for the Cleveland Browns this season. Flickr
Isaiah Crowell is off to a hot start for the Cleveland Browns this season. Flickr

Isaiah Crowell vs. New York Jets

It’s been an up and down roller coaster in the last three weeks for Crowell. He went for 61 rushing yards last week and a score against an overrated Cincinnati defense. But in weeks 5 and 6, he went for 38 combined rushing yards.

And even though Crowell got back into fantasy relevance in week 7, he still managed only 12 carries. That’s concerning, especially with the Jets on board for week 8.

New York has been awful this season, but at least it covers the run pretty well. The Jets owns the second-best rush defense in the NFL. It gives up 74.1 yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry.

The Browns will have difficulties running the football against the Jets. There may be some volume, especially with so much uncertainty at the quarterback position. However, it won’t help Crowell, who will be running into consistent brick walls.

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