2013 Fantasy Football: Week 8 Thursday Night Matchup & Sit/Start Advice

Week Eight is upon us, and that means we are basically at the halfway point of the NFL season. This week begins with a match-up of two pretty disappointing teams this year when the Carolina Panthers head to the sunshine state to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Suicide Pick of the Week (Record: 5-2):

We picked the Giants last week, and while they looked pretty bad on Monday night, we improved our suicide pick record to 5-2 because the Minnesota Vikings looked even worse. This week we are going with the Thursday night matchup, and picking the Carolina Panthers to beat the Bucs in Tampa. The winless Bucs will play out the string without Doug Martin, meaning an already poor offense will get even worse against a very good Carolina defense. Tampa's D will probably keep it close, but we think the Panthers end up winning a low scoring affair.

Week 8 Thursday Night Matchup & Sit/Start Advice

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Thursday 10/24, 8:30PM

Matchup We Love: Panthers DEF

This is a no-brainer. The Carolina Panthers are the fourth-highest-scoring defense in fantasy this year. The Tampa offense has scored fewer than 20 points in four of their six games this year, and are averaging only 14.5 points per contest.  Now that the team will be without Doug Martin, things on the offensive side of the ball are sure to get even worse. This could add up to a huge day for the Carolina defense, who are still owned in fewer than 75 percent of all Yahoo! leagues.

Analysis: The Panthers Defense is a must-start this week. If for some reason you're in one of the almost 30 percent of leagues where they're not owned, go grab them ASAP.

Matchup We Hate: Steve Smith, WR

The Carolina defense has been great, but lost in how poorly the Tampa offense has played is the fact that the Tampa D has been pretty good as well. The Carolina offense has had their share of struggles this year, and I'm not excited about any receiver who is probably going to end up spending the majority of the game on Revis Island. Steve Smith is a matchup play, and this is not the matchup to play him.

Analysis: There has to be a better matchup to use this week-- in fact, I'd probably prefer to use Smith's teammate Brandon LaFell over Smith.

Key Injuries: Brandon LaFell WR, CAR (probable), Jonathan Stewart RB, CAR (out), Steve Smith WR, CAR (probable), Doug Martin RB, TB (out), Mike Williams WR, TB (questionable)

Start 'Em: Cam Newton, DeAngelo Williams, Brandon LaFell, Steve Smith, Greg olsen, Panther DEF, Vincent Jackson, Mike Williams, Bucs DEF

Good luck to whomever you have going on Thursday night. We'll see you Friday and Saturday with all of our Sunday matchups. As always, check out the RotoBaller.com chat rooms for any up to the minute advice you may need.

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In case you missed them, here are some other RotoBaller Week 8 articles.  Let’s win some leagues!

• Waiver Wire Pickups Recap – Wide Receivers (WR)
• Week 8 Waiver Wire – Wide Receivers (WR) & Defenses (DEF)
• Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups – Quarterbacks (QBs)
• Week 8 Waiver Wire Running Backs (RB) – Deep Leagues
• Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 8 Tight Ends (TE)

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As always, you can find all of our weekly waiver wire recommendations on our famous waiver wire pickupslist. And if you haven’t joined the best and largest fantasy football chat room community on the web, check out the RotoBaller.com Fantasy Football chat room for live fantasy advice, sit/start questions, and more.