Updated Week 4 Rankings

I started writing the notes for this column at 2 a.m., my mind racing from an insane night of baseball and my sleep patterns irrevocably changed by my newborn daughter Ellis.

With my mind a mess this morning, I asked our managing editor Brett Vandermark for thoughts about the intro. He suggested writing about my refusal to play Fred Jackson in our office league. It was Brett’s lame attempt at trash talking, but it’s actually not a bad idea.

In that league, we can only play two running backs with no flex position. I drafted Jackson as my third running back. My fourth and fifth running backs were Willis McGahee and Ben Tate. All this depth is really not doing me any good.

It’s only Week 4, but it’s not too early to start trading your depth. I can and should move one of my starters (LeSean McCoy, Peyton Hillis) or decent backups (Jackson or Tate) to upgrade another position.

Wins at the beginning of the year count the same as the ones in November. It’s not too early to start improving your roster if one position on your team is much deeper than another.

Now, on to the good stuff:


Week 4 Quarterbacks

QB Notes: The Titans showed the limitations of the Ravens offense two weeks ago. I’m curious to see if the Jets will do the same. Cortland Finnegan absolutely took Anquan Boldin out of the game, and Joe Flacco didn’t have enough options to go. Let’s say Darrelle Revis takes out Boldin. Is Torrey Smith ready to be that other main guy? I still like Flacco long-term – especially when he faces the NFC – but you only start him in plus matchups. Not this week. … Rex Grossman had one good half against the Giants. His other ten quarters have been mediocre. There just isn’t enough talent around him, and he’s not the type of player to life his teammates up.

Tony Romo is a somewhat risky play against Detroit’s front seven this week. … Teams that feel like rolling the dice could buy low on Vick. There’s a good chance he’ll miss games, but it may be worth the risk if you have a mediocre roster that needs a possible savior. … The Bengals defense is ranked third in the league, but they haven’t played a team like Buffalo. This will be a big test for the Bills’ pass protection. They should pass it.

Kevin Kolb starts retreating in the pocket an awful lot, trying to create plays that aren’t there. He is about as inconsistent as I expected. Good, not great. Just a QB2. … Matt Schaub played three fantastic quarters against the Saints and then starting spraying passes all over the place. He still looks like a borderline top ten guy. … I’m sticking with Cam Newton as a QB1, even in a tough matchup against the Bears. He doesn’t need to throw for big yardage to be a solid fantasy starter. He wasn’t as good as he looked the first two weeks, and he wasn’t as erratic as he looked last week. Something in between will be plenty good.

I started writing the notes for this column at 2 a.m., my mind racing from an insane night of baseball and my sleep patterns irrevocably changed by my newborn daughter Ellis.

With my mind a mess this morning, I asked our managing editor Brett Vandermark for thoughts about the intro. He suggested writing about my refusal to play Fred Jackson in our office league. It was Brett’s lame attempt at trash talking, but it’s actually not a bad idea.

In that league, we can only play two running backs with no flex position. I drafted Jackson as my third running back. My fourth and fifth running backs were Willis McGahee and Ben Tate. All this depth is really not doing me any good.

It’s only Week 4, but it’s not too early to start trading your depth. I can and should move one of my starters (LeSean McCoy, Peyton Hillis) or decent backups (Jackson or Tate) to upgrade another position.

Wins at the beginning of the year count the same as the ones in November. It’s not too early to start improving your roster if one position on your team is much deeper than another.

Now, on to the good stuff:


Week 4 Quarterbacks

QB Notes: The Titans showed the limitations of the Ravens offense two weeks ago. I’m curious to see if the Jets will do the same. Cortland Finnegan absolutely took Anquan Boldin out of the game, and Joe Flacco didn’t have enough options to go. Let’s say Darrelle Revis takes out Boldin. Is Torrey Smith ready to be that other main guy? I still like Flacco long-term – especially when he faces the NFC – but you only start him in plus matchups. Not this week. … Rex Grossman had one good half against the Giants. His other ten quarters have been mediocre. There just isn’t enough talent around him, and he’s not the type of player to life his teammates up.

Tony Romo is a somewhat risky play against Detroit’s front seven this week. … Teams that feel like rolling the dice could buy low on Vick. There’s a good chance he’ll miss games, but it may be worth the risk if you have a mediocre roster that needs a possible savior. … The Bengals defense is ranked third in the league, but they haven’t played a team like Buffalo. This will be a big test for the Bills’ pass protection. They should pass it.

Kevin Kolb starts retreating in the pocket an awful lot, trying to create plays that aren’t there. He is about as inconsistent as I expected. Good, not great. Just a QB2. … Matt Schaub played three fantastic quarters against the Saints and then starting spraying passes all over the place. He still looks like a borderline top ten guy. … I’m sticking with Cam Newton as a QB1, even in a tough matchup against the Bears. He doesn’t need to throw for big yardage to be a solid fantasy starter. He wasn’t as good as he looked the first two weeks, and he wasn’t as erratic as he looked last week. Something in between will be plenty good.

Week 4 Running Backs

RB Notes: This sounds crazy, but I was wondering what was wrong with Felix Jones Monday night when he rushed for over 100 yards. He got in the open field a few times and didn’t make anyone miss. He didn’t pull away from defenders. Perhaps he’s not running with the same explosion because of his shoulder. I know it was a good game statistically, but it concerned me for the future, especially for this week before Dallas’ bye. … The Redskins are eighth in rushing attempts through three weeks. Roy Helu may get more of the load eventually, but owners should stick with Tim Hightower even if he’s not that effective per-carry. The Rams defense looks like a plus matchup at this point, which is a big surprise.

Wes Welker, Fred Jackson, and Cam Newton are three preseason projections that I’m proud of. The absolute worst call I had this year and possibly in my entire career at Rotoworld was doubting Darren McFadden as a first round pick. I’m glad Silva and Wesseling pushed him higher. Could McFadden still get hurt and confirm my worst fears, which were injury related? Sure, but that wouldn’t make my projection right. He’s an animal and the loss of Tom Cable hasn’t remotely hurt the Raiders offensive line. Doubting McFadden, even a little, was a case of being a contrarian just for the sake of it without having enough to back it up.

Ahmad Bradshaw is one player I thought was undervalued in the preseason that is starting to come around. It’s weird that a guy who went over 1,500 yards from scrimmage last year was so overlooked. The concerns about Brandon Jacobs getting more of the workload were somewhat overblown. Bradshaw has 54 touches this year. Jacobs has 32. After a mediocre start, Bradshaw was at his hop-stepping best last week. He had an epic stiff arm. … I would just play Arian Foster this week, sit Ben Tate, and not think too hard about it. … Montario Hardesty will hurt Peyton Hillis’ value, but I’m not sure it will devastate it. Hardesty will get the touches we thought Brandon Jackson was going to.

Daniel Thomas looks like he belongs. Big change from a rough preseason. He may not get enough carries when the Dolphins trail, but I think he’ll wind up sticking as a RB2. Buy low if its still possible. … James Casey may go down as one of the great fluke fantasy games of all time. … If we re-drafted today, where would LeSean McCoy go? I’d say top-three.

Week 4 Wide Receivers

WR Notes: Dez Bryant was hobbling the other night. He produced enough for fantasy leaguers, but it would be nice to see the kid play one game at 100%. We’re 0-for-3 this year. It’s going to limit him. … Silva’s boy Victor Cruz probably won’t be consistent enough to be a fantasy starter, but his outburst against Philly won’t be his last big game. He’s worth a look in deeper leagues.

I liked Mike Thomas going into the year because he was the only halfway decent wideout on his team. I underestimated the crushing effect of Luke McCown and expected Blaine Gabbert to be worse. The rookie had some nice moments against Carolina. Perhaps it was just the matchup, but it gave me some hope for Thomas long term. … Jabar Gaffney gets plenty of chances for big plays, but he doesn’t have the skill set to consistently pull it off. He’s worth owning in deeper leagues, but that’s about it despite the steady production.

It would be fun to see Devin McCourty and Denarius Moore vie for jump balls this week. Moore is clearly Oakland’s best playmaker so he deserves the best defender against him. The rookie isn’t going away. The plays Moore makes on the ball are breathtaking. The kid could be special long-term. I don’t see him having a Anquan Boldin-type rookie year, but he’s using as a WR3.

There is no apparent growth yet from Mark Sanchez. Things look good one quarter, shoddy the next. He’s better in fantasy because they throw the ball more, but Santonio Holmes’ chances for a true breakout year aren’t great unless Sanchez improves in reality. … After watching both of the Browns’ games, there’s just no reason to think any of their wideouts will emerge. Greg Little is worth holding on to in deeper leagues, but barely.

Week 4 Tight Ends

TE Notes: Chris Cooley is running in quicksand. He’s playing, but he’s not Chris Cooley anymore. He’s getting fewer snaps overall than Fred Davis. With all of the depth at tight end, I wouldn’t hesitate to cut Cooley if you need room.

I’d say that Davis is a revelation, but he was on our sleepers last year. We were one year early, but his skill set remains. There isn’t a tight end quite like him, and that’s true even after his quiet Monday night game. When Davis leaps for passes, he looks like the dude in Tecmo Bowl that jumps out of the screen to make a vertical catch. He has the perfect storm for big production in Washington: Rex Grosman’s arm strength is mediocre, Santana Moss has lost a step, and the Redskins’ secondary receivers are vanilla. The team needs a star; Davis is an every-week play. Last week didn’t phase me.

It’s a Dustin Keller year. Finally. Mark Sanchez still struggles to throw outside the seams. Derrick Mason isn’t making a big impact. Jerricho Cotchery is gone. Keller can finish the year as the team’s leader in receptions and a top-10 tight end. … It’s a thin line between fantasy starter and useless at tight end. Blaine Gabbert pushes Marcedes Lewis towards the useless side.


Week 4 Team Defense

Week 4 Kickers