Vereen will be a machine in the Pat’s backfield

Start: Shane Vereen, RB, New England Patriots

Shane Vereen finally got his opportunity to be a true lead back in Week 7 due to the unfortunate season ending injury to Stevan Ridley. Vereen ran for 43 yards on the ground on 11 carries but showed off his duel threat ability in the passing game. In the air he had 71 yards on five receptions and two touchdowns, according to NFL.com. These numbers were against a very solid New York Jets run defense.

The Patriot’s backfield has been a notoriously tricky situation to assess in terms of fantasy production in the past, but the may be the clearest it has been in a long time. While Vereen isn’t typical bell-cow running back size his versatility in the passing game and explosive playmaking ability make him an incredibly intriguing start. The Patriots play the Chicago Bears who have struggled at times this season against opposing running backs.

Sit: Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinatti Bengals

A year ago at about this time, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was a pleasantly surprising fantasy football dark horse. He finished the 2013 season as the fifth ranked fantasy quarterback, which led to many owners to wait on picking a quarterback in 2014 drafts knowing that he would be there late. Unfortunately, Dalton has failed to live up to his fantastic 2013 season so far this year. He is currently the 22nd ranked fantasy quarterback according to ESPN.com. The main reason for this is the absence of his partner in crime A.J. Green, the Bengals star wide receiver.

The Bengals offense has looked out of sync this year and until Dalton gets his main weapon back the immediate future does not look bright for the fourth year quarterback.

Start: Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has long been viewed as a mediocre real life quarterback who can’t perform when it counts. In the world of fantasy football however he has always been viewed as a very solid quarterback. This year it seems that he has finally reached that status of a good quarterback in both realms.

The Cowboys are the hottest team in the NFL right now, after losing in week one against the 49ers they have won their last six games. Romo has been given an incredibly valuable weapon in their amazing rushing attack led my DeMarco Murray. Due to this, he has been asked to do much less, and in his case less is more. Romo is the 10th-ranked fantasy quarterback so far in 2014, according to ESPN.com. So far he has thrown 14 touchdowns, 1,789 yards and six interceptions, according to NFL.com. Look for Romo to put up a very solid game against a weak Washington defense in Week 8.

Sit: Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Going into the 2013 season there was a ton of buzz in the fantasy community about Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith. This was due to coming off a Super Bowl win, the trading of Anquan Boldin, and Smith being in his third year (which is the supposed breakout year for wide receivers).

Smith finished in the top-25 for fantasy wide outs, but was always a boom or bust kind of guy. This year has been no different. Smith has 306 yards on 18 receptions and four touchdowns. Most of this production has occurred in the last four weeks. Despite putting out good numbers lately, the fourth-year receiver remains a risky play due to his inconsistency. He is playing at Cincinnati in Week 8, a team that has struggled on defense in recent weeks but will look to limit Smith vertically down the field.