The fantasy football week gets started on Thursday night with the Carolina Panthers visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a divisional game at Raymond James Stadium and the top players to start and sit for the night includes Mike James, Brandon LaFell, Mike Tolbert, Doug Martin, Mike Williams as well as Cam Newton and Mike Glennon at quarterback.
The top players to watch for are Doug Martin and Mike James, as the team fears that Martin's season could be over, although the injury now appears to be not season-ending, but either way, Martin is not likely to play on Thursday night, giving James the chance to shine and based on how he played in relief for Martin, he could have a very solid day despite the Panthers having a good defense up front. Martin said that his shoulder is getting better and while he will likely not be playing on Thursday, that is good news for fantasy owners heading into the matchup even if he misses out. Martin had a huge season in 2012 and while he has been solid in 2013, he has not quite been up to his rookie season and one reason is likely due to how bad the Bucs are.
Head coach Greg Schiano was optimistic about Martin's shoulder and even if he sits out, he should be back the following week as long as there are no setbacks. Last season Martin had over 1,200 yards rushing and 50 receptions and this season he has just over 450 yards with one touchdown for the 0-6 Bucs. James has the potential to be a prime back on Thursday, as he showed some flashes of speed on Sunday against the Falcons.
James got 14 carries after taking over for Martin and he had 45 yards on the day while making three catches for eight yards. James could be a valuable factor coming out of the backfield since the team has a rookie quarterback in Mike Glennon and he came into the Falcons game with just three carries over the previous four games and now he will have the chance to be a starter.
Brandon LaFell is probable for the game on Thursday night and he is coming off of a couple solid weeks and he has been a great target for Cam Newton this year. The young wideout has 18 catches for 255 yards and three touchdowns this season and two weeks ago he had a nice four catch performance for 107 yards and a touchdown and over the past four weeks he has had three TD catches. The Buccaneers are ranked 18th in passing yards allowed per game and Newton and LaFell could have big games against the winless Tampa Bay team.
Mike Tolbert will get some extra carries and Mike Williams is a solid option as well for the Bucs and Martin should be a SIT, while James is a start option. Tolbert comes in after scoring two touchdowns over the past two weeks and three in the past four weeks and he is coming off of a 36 yard game against the Rams. He could get some extra carries and the quarterbacks in the game could also have good performances.