Every week, for each position, the Crystal Ball tells you one player you should be starting who you might not have thought of, and player you shouldn't be starting who you just might be counting on.
QUARTERBACK
John Kitna, Lions (YES!): Kitna was a little slow out of the chute this year, but he's having a very solid fantasy season. The combination of the Mike Martz offense and a date with the 49ers should provide for some good numbers. This should be a high scoring game, and Alex Smith, who has struggled against strong pass defenses but played well against bad ones, is also a good start in a pinch.
Tony Romo, Cowboys (NO!): At this point, most leagues on the internet now provide you with stats at your fingertips regarding the defense your players will take on this week. Those stats may be boiled down to the Cardinals ranking 24th in passing yards allowed this year. Those numbers don't tell the whole story, as the Cards don't allow passing touchdowns and force a lot of turnovers.
RUNNING BACK
Anthony Thomas, Bears (YES!): The Colts are really challenging the conventional wisdom this year, winning with the league's worst rush defense. Normally, I don't recommend guys who are starting for the first time due to injury, but this looks like a good time to take a chance. Thomas is reunited with Dick Jauron and looked very good last week after McGahee went down.
Clinton Portis, Redskins (NO!): This one is a little out there, but hear me out. The Eagles have been inconsistent stopping the run this year, but Andy Reid has fixed problems time and again during the bye week during his tenure. They've had two weeks to focus on the one thing you have to do to stop the Redskins offense, and that's stop Portis. As for the Redskins, they surprised me by not running the ball particularly well (outside of one big play) coming out of their own bye week. If they haven't figured it out by now, they may not. So if you've got another alternative now that the bye weeks are done, Portis probably isn't a top 15 back this week.
WIDE RECEIVER
Braylon Edwards, Browns (YES!): Edwards has been inconsistent in his return from knee surgery this year, but at times he's looked very good, including last week when he made some plays that a guy with a reconstructed knee shouldn't be making. And the Atlanta defense gives up boatloads of passing yards, and will probably be ahead.
Javon Walker, Broncos (NO!): Are the Raiders about as sorry as a team can be? Yes. Has Art Shell apparently lost the team faster than any coach in NFL history? Probably. Nonetheless, the one thing the Raiders do well statistically is stop the pass, in part because their opponent is usually running out the clock. The Broncos are one of those teams that plays close to the vest when they're ahead. So unless Walker gets a touchdown early, he's not likely to score much.
TIGHT END
Jason Witten, Cowboys (YES!): I feel it's my duty to point out again that, even more than Terrell Owens, this is the guy who benefits from Tony Romo being the Dallas quarterback.
Jerramy Stevens, Seahawks (NO!): This isn't somebody you want to be starting until you see him start to put up some numbers. He's caught three balls in three games since getting back from injury.
DEFENSE
Denver Broncos (YES!): Until further notice the Raiders opponent is always a good defensive start.
Cincinnati Bengals (NO!): The Crystal Ball is a big proponent of Marvin Lewis' defense, but not this week against a Charger team that takes care of the ball.
KICKER
Jason Hanson, Lions (YES!): This game looks like a shootout, and a competitive one at that.
Jay Feely, Giants (NO!): The Bears should be surly in this one, and the Giants don't seem to have any wide receivers. I'm sure they'll score -- it's just hard to imagine exactly how.