The NFL schedule is moving along into Week 8 and with that comes another big fantasy football matchup week and this season there have been a number of big games and while there are six teams on a bye, there are still plenty of matchups to watch out for and on Thursday some players to start or sit for the Buccaneers and Panthers are Mike James, Doug Martin, DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert, Brandon LaFell and Steve Smith.
Mike James is the top option and it mainly is because of Doug Martin and his injury, which will keep him out of the game against the Panthers on Thursday night. The divisional matchup will feature James starting and playing against the Panthers could give him a very good performance, as he has speed and ball skills that could get him out in space for big plays. Martin was knocked out of the last game in the loss against the Atlanta Falcons after rushing for 47 yards on 11 carries and after getting his shoulder hurt, the team thought he might be out for the season, but luckily it is not that serious, but it is serious enough to keep him out of the home matchup on Thursday night football.
Martin left the game and many fantasy owners were obviously worried, but James could be a very solid option while he is out with the injury. Brian Leonard is also on the roster and he obviously is a Schiano man and James should be the top back left on the roster. Martin was not having as good of a season as he did as a rookie, but that likely is due to how bad the Bucs are and not on him, as he ranks in the top 10 in the league in rushing yards and yards per game. This season he has 456 yards rushing and 12 catches for 66 yards and that comes after last season when he rushed for over 1,400 yards as a rookie and made 49 catches for over 400 yards.
James is the best option for deeper league pickups and players that have Martin, as he has nice speed and the coaching staff trusts him and he did a good job coming in relief for Martin. James had 14 rushes for 45 yards and also had three catches for eight yards and that could make him a factor on Thursday, as Mike Glennon could use the screen game quite a bit. James came into the game with just three carries and 12 yards in his past five games with one catch, but he bested all of those numbers on Sunday and could continue on that path.
Cam Newton is having another very solid season for the Panthers and he is coming off of a game where he competed over 80 percent of his passes and he had over 200 yards passing in the game. Newton has 179 yards rushing this season and while he has passed for over 300 yards once, he could be in for a big game on Thursday night. DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert, Brandon LaFell and Steve Smith are all players to watch and the offense could have a nice game against the Buccaneers, as they are terrible.
