Cut Bait or Just Wait?
Dorian “The Trashman” Colbert, Rosterwatch.com

It’s week 13, and there’s a good chance you have to win to get in to the playoffs. This is not the time to take on water, so we’ll help you make the tough decisions about these dicey players.

Brandon Lloyd WR, Patriots: Lloyd just can’t seem to get things going in a Patriots offense that is anything but anemic. He hasn’t topped 45 yards in three weeks, but he is on the field in two wide sets opposite Wes Welker. That gives me hope. Even when Julian Edelman was ripping plays off before his head injury, Lloyd was still a starting receiver though it didn’t show. We are unsure of what state Edelman is in or if he will be playing this coming week, but we do know that as long as Lloyd is on the field, which is 95% of the time, he has a chance of going big. You have to hold onto him.

Mike Williams WR, Buccaneers: Williams has been suffering from the emergence of Dallas Clark as a receiving force in Tampa Bay in recent weeks. Now while I’m happy for Clark, as a Williams owner I am not pleased with the current state of events. Clark isn’t going away either. Still, Williams is too talented and has a match up against Denver this weekend that will pit him against, well rather not against Champ Bailey. I expect him to bounce back this week.

Brian Hartline WR, Dolphins: Notching only two receptions against the Seahawks (though we now know they had an unfair advantage via PEDs), Hartline has had two straight clunkers. Defenses are giving him a lot more attention since his week 4 behemoth, allowing Davone Bess to run free and garner 20 targets over the past two weeks. Fortunately, Miami will face a New England team this week that allows receivers to get open pretty freely and Hartline has a great shot to get back in our good graces. Run him out there Sunday.

Ronnie Hillman RB, Broncos: So much for the Hillman experiment. Knowshon Moreno started and finished as the top running back on Sunday, and looks to do so again versus the Buccaneers. Hillman just doesn’t cut it in pass protection, so no matter how explosive he may be, he will not usurp Moreno unless Moreno suffers an injury. Oh, and then there’s Lance Ball. Hillman will get a handful of carries, but you don’t need him this week.

LaRod Stephens-Howling RB, Cardinals: The return of Chris Wells to the rotation has left LaRod out in the cold. I expect the Cardinals to be playing from behind pretty often though, and LSH plays on obvious passing downs, so he may yet retain some value. Don’t cut him just yet.

James Starks RB, Packers: It doesn’t really matter if it’s Starks or Alex Green in the Green Bay backfield, you’re not going to get good production from either. There are a slew of guys I’d start in my flex over this guy. Check The Garbage Grab this weekend for some ideas.

Martellus Bennett TE, Giants: Bennett has seen a major slump as of late, and Eli’s arm can’t be the entire blame, as Manning, as predicted by us, had a terrific game on Sunday night. The Giants always make a late season push though, so maybe the Black Unicorn will as well. Hold onto him.

Alex Smith QB, 49ers: Unless Colin Kaepernick gets concussed, this should be his team from this point on. Smith is a solid game manager, but he just doesn’t have the ability the Kaepernick shows. Drop Smith if Jim Harbaugh names Kaepernick Week 13 starter.