Fantasy Focus - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders

Le'Veon Bell - a START for your Fantasy Team

A new feature on the site is going to be an all Pittsburgh Steelers "Fantasy Focus" where I tell anyone that plays Fantasy Football and has a Steeler on their roster whether or not they should "start" or "sit" the player in black n' gold this week.  I take a look at this week's matchup in Oakland vs the Raiders.

START 'EM
- Heath Miller - Lets be honest, Heath Miller is Ben Roethlisberger's safety blanket.  When in doubt, throw it to #83.  Heath will get his touches, especially if Todd Haley decides to deploy extra tackles to help in protection that will allow Heath to run his routes instead of blocking.  The Steelers redzone problems most likely will be solved at some point, and don't be surprised if they are solved with Heath Miller getting more receptions in the red area.  That equals fantasy points for all those that have Heath on their team this week.

- Shaun Suisham - Shaun Suisham is having a career year, and even though the Steelers hope to score more TDs, they will still have plenty of FGs.  Suisham is a solid kicker who should be in your lineup until proven otherwise.

- Steelers D/ST - The Steelers defense is starting to get going in terms of getting pressure on the QB, not to mention they are facing a rookie QB.  Pryor is a different beast though, as he is leading the Raiders in rushing, but the Steelers defense typically does well against QBs like Pryor.  The Steelers special teams have been good all year, and Emmanuel Sanders is already lobbying for more chance to return kick offs, and that could mean points for your fantasy team.

- Le'Veon Bell - The rookie RB is Mike Tomlin's "boy".  Drafted by him, the entire zone blocking scheme was employed for just him.  His patience is something that is rare to see anymore, but ever game he has played he has improved and so have the Steelers rushing totals.  Look for that to continue, but also look for Bell to catch the ball out of the backfield and use his great hands to help the Steelers be more versatile.  Screen passes and swing passes could be the equalizer for a Raiders defense that likes to get after the QB.

- Antonio Brown - I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Antonio Brown is turning into a younger, faster, and just as versatile Hines Ward.  He will get his catches, but the only question is will be break a long run or get deep?  I say start him anyways for the simple reason is you know the ball is headed his way.

SIT 'EM
- Emmanuel Sanders - Sanders has struggled to get open, and has had some misfortune where Ben was unable to find him when he did get open.  The Raiders do give up passing yards, but Sanders is too much of a question mark to start, in my opinion.

- Jonathan Dwyer / Felix Jones - With Le'Veon Bell visibly turning into the feature back that the Steelers thought he'd be, the work load for Dwyer and Jones is becoming less and less each week.  No need to start either of these two RBs unless someone like Dwyer carves a niche for himself as a goal line back, but I wouldn't bank on that anytime soon.  Sit both of these players.

- Ben Roethlisberger - Although last year Big Ben put up great numbers (over 300yds passing and 4 TDs) in Oakland, this Steelers offense is much more controlled, especially when they are running the ball.  Roethlisberger's stat lines have looked very mediocre in the past 2 wins.  Great news for the Steelers, but bad news for Fantasy owners.  I saw sit Big Ben with the Steelers not trying to be "pass happy".