Flex Position Dillema: Should I Start Ben Tate or Mario Manningham?

Alas, my fantasy football regular season came to an end last week (14). Through a combination of luck and skill, Ether has survived until the playoff round starting this week (15).

A few posts ago I told you who would comprise my starting lineup should I make the playoffs. Now that I have made the playoffs, I’m here to tell you that my starting lineup is pretty much the same, except for the removal of Green Bay’s best receiver Greg Jennings due to injury.

For better or for worse, I have inserted Pierre Garcon (vs. Tennessee) into his starting spot alongside the mercurial Vincent Jackson (vs. Baltimore). I also swapped tight end Brent Celek for Kellen Winslow (vs. Dallas), for this week at least.

My biggest dilemma is at the flex position. Should I start Ben Tate who’s at home against the porous Carolina Panther run defense or Mario Manningham against the Washington Redskins’ solid, yet unspectacular pass defense?

The case for the Texans’ Tate is that he’s facing the 9th worst run defense in the NFL and he’s likely to dominate the garbage time carries should the Texans garner a big league heading into the fourth quarter. The case against Tate is that his production, and most recently, his lack of production is a function of teammate Arian Foster’s domination of the total carries.

The case for Mario Manningham is that he’s scored a touchdown in four of his last five starts and will likely see single coverage most of the game because his teammates Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks will draw the bulk of the defense’s attention. The case against Manningham is mainly that those same aforementioned teammates can stifle his production based on their own prowess.

Decision, decisions, decisions…but it could be worse. I could be “home” for the playoffs.

Wish me luck ladies and gentlemen.