Week 4 was a tough week for me. I had bold predictions blow up in face. Thank you Kirk Cousins. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has egg on my face regarding Cousins. Drew Brees and The Saints were not able to rebound like Aaron Rodgers and The Packers did. I’m not sure anyone had as tough of a week as the New England Patriots and specifically Tom Brady. I usually preach patience when it comes to players of Brady’s caliber. There does come and end of the line for every player. Is this that time for Brady? We should know before too long. In the mean time I would look for a way to upgrade my QB situation if I was a Brady owner. There is no nostalgia in fantasy football. Brady’s NFL career may not be over but his time as an elite fantasy option is. I’m not sure I would cut him just yet but it is time for his fantasy owners to move on.
One great thing about the NFL is when one Legend fades like Brady there will always be the dawn of new legends on the horizon. Week 4 may have seen just that with the 1st NFL starts for Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater. Neither rookie QB set the world on fire. Bridgewater did look like a viable fantasy play until going out with an injury. Derek Carr has been starting since Week 1 and has yet to produce a win for Oakland. He also had to leave his game with 2 injuries to his leg. Overall it wasn’t a great week for rookie QB’s but Bridgewater has some value as a backup this year. It’s been a really down year for rookie RB’s. Bishop Sankey, Andre Williams and Carlos Hyde looked to be the most likely to players in fantasy this year. Sankey and Williams are finally showing signs of life. A rookie RB will break through soon. Will you have him on your roster?
There is almost a full slate of games Week 5. The only teams on Bye Weeks are Oakland and Miami as they rest up from their trip across the pond. If you can’t survive a week without your Raiders or Dolphins players you should probably reconsider owning a fantasy football team. There is no real need for waiver wonders this week. The same guys will be available as last week in most leagues and there weren’t really any breakout players in Week 4. Most leagues have new GM’s. New GM’s usually aren’t very good. The best thing to do on the waiver wire around this time of year is pay attention to who the newbies are dropping. A new GM may cut Seattle’s D/ST or Martellus Bennett because they are on a bye week. Always be checking the waiver wire. Your league most likely has a GM or 2 cutting quality players to fill out their rosters when bye weeks hit.
The Highs
Eli Manning – Eli the #1 ranked QB of Week 4? Who saw that coming? I certainly didn’t. It may not be a fluke either. He may not score 32 again but Eli and the Giants have looked great the last 2 weeks. Manning is still only owned in 50% of leagues on ESPN. He would be a solid pickup at this point. Tom Brady owners may be looking to Eli.
Andrew Luck, Antonio Brown, DeMarco Murray – It looks like you can pencil in these 3 to be in this part of the column every week.
Green Bay offense – Many fantasy owners were ready to hit the panic button last week. This week The Packers showed you why you can’t do that in fantasy football. Rodgers, Nelson and Cobb all returned to form with huge games in Week 4. Even Eddie Lacy finally got into the End Zone and had a decent game.
Jamal Charles – Owners of Jamal Charles can finally breathe a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure we would see Charles have a game like that. His fantasy owners must feel good having it happen early in the season. Charles looked 100% and will be a factor as long as he is healthy. Any GM who took Charles over Peterson or McCoy in the draft was probably getting killed by their league. How does that look now?
Larry Donnell – Who? I had barely heard of this guy before last Thursday. Donnell shredded the Redskins secondary for 3 TD’s and 23 fantasy points. Donnell is only owned in about half of ESPN leagues. If he’s there in yours go get him. The Giants appear to be trending up and Donnell has been a consistent target for Eli Manning all season.
Philip Rivers/Chargers WR’s – Rivers has been great all season and had his best game Week 4. I have no clue why so many experts had him ranked so low going in to the season. Keenen Allen finally showed up and looked must quicker than last week. Eddie Royal looks to be the WR that is going to put up the explosive plays with teams keying on Allen. The Chargers passing game looks very strong riding the right arm of Rivers.
Steve Smith – What a great game for Steve Smith Sr. He put up an impressive 25 points against his former team. It must have felt great for Sr. He has not hid the fact that he took being cut by the Panthers personally. I bet the Panthers regret that move now. The Ravens and Smith’s fantasy owners are reaping the benefits of the Panthers folly.
Matt Asiata – You can’t really say Asiata was a break out player in Week 4 because he’s been on the fantasy map since Peterson was suspended. He did have his breakout game as an NFL player on Sunday. Asiata put up an amazing 27 points scoring 3 TD’s. If I was an Asiata owner I’d be a little weary of this performance. He only had 78 yards on 20 carries. He is unlikely to get 3 TD’s or even 20 carries again.
Chiefs D/ST – The Chiefs completely dominated the Patriots Monday Night. Kansas City got off to a slow start but their defense looked elite again against New England. Was it the real Chiefs D or the real Patriots that showed up to that game? That’s what remains to be seen but the Chiefs D/ST looks like a solid play again.
Frank Gore – Gore finally had a big game Week 4 with 22 points. He will be a good test for the Chiefs defense in Week 5.
Travis Kelce – Kelce put up a big 15 points in the Chiefs rout of the Patriots. He has been a consistent target all season for QB Alex Smith. The Chiefs were a very good team last season. With Jamal Charles back and healthy they have that look again this year. Kelce is available in 58% of ESPN leagues. He should be a reliable fantasy performer with upside for games like this for as long as the Chiefs offense is clicking.
The Lows
LeSean McCoy – It looked like a fluke when Shady put up 2 points in Week 3 vs Washington. Well he was at it again in Week 4 against the 49ers. McCoy only managed 1 point Sunday. This is one of the most puzzling situations I’ve seen in fantasy football. It still feels like more of a fluke but McCoy and The Eagles will be tested again vs a tough St Louis defense.
Nick Foles – It was a terrible day of the Eagles offense despite it being a close game Sunday. The Eagles offense has been strange so far this season to say the least. Foles didn’t look great the 1st 2 weeks but looked to hit his stride in Week 3. The Eagles have fallen way behind in every game except this last week where they finally lost. You have to start to wonder how good this Eagles offense really is.
Kirk Cousins – What can I say about Kirk Cousins performance last Thursday? I’ve been hyping the guy up all year. He didn’t live up to the hype his in his 2nd start vs the Giants. He looked every bit like a young QB that isn’t ready to play. The Redskins have Seattle and Arizona in their next 2 games so things aren’t looking up for Cousins either.
Calvin Johnson – One point is all Johnson was able to put up Sunday. When was the last time you could say that? He has been average since Week 1. That is sure to change soon. Calvin has a banged up ankle and didn’t practice Wednesday but it doesn’t look like there is anything to worry about here.
Cam Newton – Newton has yet to break 20 points this season. He had his lowest output Sunday with 12 points in Carolina’s 38-10 loss at Baltimore. The Panthers offense is struggling and it shouldn’t be a surprise. Newton wasn’t healthy coming into the season and didn’t get much of a chance to work his new WR’s and O-Line. Cam has a friendly matchup Week 5 vs the Bears which should be telling. If he struggles again it’s time to find another option.
Carolina D/ST – It was a bad game all the way around for Carolina. The Panthers D has been spanked the last 2 weeks for a combined -15 points. They did that against offense’s you can’t really call elite. You can’t play a defense if they are going to go negative 2 straight weeks. Don’t trust this defense for the time being. Chicago is not a friendly opponent for a struggling defense.
DeAngelo Williams – Did I mention it was a bad week for Carolina all the way around? A lot of fantasy owners have probably been waiting patiently for DeAngelo to get back in the lineup to be that solid #2 RB of Flex play. Well he came back scored 3 points and left injured again. He will not play Week 5. I’m not sure DeAngelo Williams owners are going to get any kind of return on their investment this season.
Shonn Greene – I thought Shonn Greene was way overrated as a fantasy player going into this season. He is proving me right. It looks like it’s just a matter of time before rookie Bishop Sankey takes over the starting RB job for Tennessee. Greene only managed 1 point Sunday before giving way to the rookie.
Donald Brown – When Ryan Matthews went down you knew Brown would get his shot to play. When Danny Woodhead went down the next game you knew there was no one left to carry the ball in San Diego but Brown. He has not capitalized on the opportunity so far.
Maruice Jones-Drew – Those who thought Jones-Drew was a late round sleeper were wrong. Much like Tom Brady it looks like the sun has set on Jones-Drew the fantasy football legend.
Antonio Gates – Gates is not flourishing with Chargers passing game. He’s only scored 3 points since his huge game against Seattle.
Atlanta D/ST – If you picked up the Falcons D based on their huge performance in Week 3 you were foolish to do so. They were ranked dead last going into Week 3 and they showed why in Week 4.
