Week 4 Where to Put em

Friday, Oct 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm ET

fantasy football rankings
Where to Put 'em is the Fantasy Football Nerd's look at the best and worst matchups for Week 4. Decisions are based upon the FFN rankings and matchup analysis. Given the known conditions, these matchups are the ones to watch and/or avoid.

Put 'em In The Game: Michael Vick
It's Philly and Washington in what will be an emotional game for many of the fans. McNabb was the guy for the past decade in Philly. He's expecting to hear some cheers and I hope he does, but the guy I'm sticking in my lineup is across the field. Vick has exploded and we're expecting another solid performance this week. The Redskins are 31st in the league against the pass giving up 338 yards per game. This is the game of the week to watch.

Put 'em In The Game: Mark Sanchez
Sanchez didn't light the world on fire in Week 1 but he's been hot ever since throwing for 3 scores in each of his last two games. This week he faces a mediocre Buffalo defense that ranks 24th in the league in fantasy points given up to QB's according to FleaFlicker. Sanchez makes for a nice play this week.

Put 'em In The Game: Arian Foster
Foster is reaching stud status and will probably be a Top 10 back in next year's fantasy drafts. He's coming off a 106 yard rushing day last week. This week he faces an Oakland defense that ranks 26th in the league in points given up to RB's. The Raiders give up an average of 145 yards on the ground per game. Expect Foster to get most of those.

Put 'em In The Game: Rashard Mendenhall
Normally you worry about RB's facing Baltimore's stinging defense, but their rushing defense is actually middle of the road (14th best giving up 132 yards on the ground per game). Peyton Hillis ripped them up last week and we're expecting Mendenhall to do a similar job this week.

Put 'em In The Game: LaDainian Tomlinson
While he may not be the elite back that he once was, LT has worked hard enough to earn the respect of the Jets coaches. Last week he saw 15 carries and made the most of them. This week he has a nice little matchup with Buffalo that is 21st in the league in fantasy points given up to opposing RB's according to FleaFlicker. It brings back nice memories being able to put LT back in the starting lineup.

Put 'em In The Game: Malcom Floyd
I'm sure Floyd owners are thinking to themselves that Vincent Jackson can stay away all season. Floyd has quietly become the go-to guy in that offense. He hasn't reached 100 yards in a game yet (95 and 97 in the last two) but there's no reason to think that it couldn't happen this week against the Cardinals.

Put 'em In The Game: Austin Collie
If you had to guess who the #1 fantasy WR in the NFL was, who would you guess? Moss? Wayne? Fitzgerald? Nope. Austin Collie has lit up the fantasy world. Pierre Garcon is still dinged up and Wayne will still command attention making Collie a great play again this week.

Put 'em In The Game: Zach Miller
The 2nd week in a row that a Raider has made the Start List! I wonder if this is a trend? Miller looked good last week grabbing 4 catches for 64 yards and a score. This week he faces a Texans defense that is 31st in the league in fantasy points given up to TE's. The passing game in Oakland is actually looking pretty good and Miller should post respectable numbers this week.

Put 'em In The Game: Dustin Keller
As the 2nd most productive fantasy TE in the NFL, Dustin Keller is quickly reaching stud status. Last week's 6 receptions for 98 yards and two scores opened a lot of eyes, particularly because it followed up a 7 catch, 115 yard, 1 score performance the week before. Sanchez obviously likes Keller and so do we!

Put 'em On The Bench: Shaun Hill
Shaun Hill looked so impressive in Week 2 against Philly, but he came back down to Earth last week against the Vikings. This week he faces the Packers at home who give up the 3rd fewest yards per game to opposing QB's. Fresh off a Monday night loss to the Bears, you can be sure that the Packers will be watching their penalties, locking up Calvin Johnson, and putting pressure on Hill (meet Mr. Matthews). Hill's going to have a tough day.

Put 'em On The Bench: Charlie Batch
Charlie Batch's performance last week was nothing short of spectacular, however he'll be hard pressed to duplicate that effort this week against Baltimore's #1-rated pass defense. The Steelers are on bye next week and then Big Ben's back, so you're better off dropping Batch and finding another guy for your roster.

Put 'em On The Bench: Jahvid Best
After two stratospheric weeks, owners were distraught to see Best on the sidelines last week. His turf toe has apparently been enough to keep him limited this week but he says that he's "ready to give it a go" on Sunday. The Packers kept Matt Forte in check with 11 attempts for a paltry 29 yards Monday night. If Best is able to go, he's going to have his work cut out for him against a very tough rushing defense.

Put 'em On The Bench: Tim Hightower
With Beanie Wells back in action, Hightower's value takes a bit of a dive. He scored in his first two games and hit 115 yards in Week 2, but last week he was only able to gain 40 yards on 11 carries. With Wells back, it will be tough for Hightower to remain fantasy-relevant.

Put 'em On The Bench: Michael Crabtree
We have a call into the 49'ers but Coach Singletary is still busy ripping local television reporters. We're hoping to hear back to find out whether or not Michael Crabtree still plays for San Fran. He has been one of the most under-performing WR's in the league (he's currently ranked 74th among WR's). Atlanta's a middle-of-the-road defense so Crabtee should be a nice play on paper, but he's just not that involved. Last week he had 3 receptions and that was the record so far.

Put 'em On The Bench: Steve Smith
We hated to do it last week, but we recommended sitting Smith. That was the right call as Jimmy Clausen looked terrible. Clausen looked every bit of a rookie throwing for just 188 yards and a pick on 33 attempts. His fumbles were a problem and he couldn't get the ball to Smith prompting a heated discussion between the two on the sidelines. Until Clausen can beat his best QB rating of 53.6 and learn to get the ball to Smith, the receiver's value unfortunately goes way down.

Put 'em On The Bench: Heath Miller
We're recommending putting Heath Miller on the bench for all the same reasons that we recommend putting Charlie Batch on the bench. Tough Defense. Very low probability for fantasy success.

Put 'em On The Bench: Owen Daniels
We miss the 2009 Owen Daniels (1st half of the season of course) and had high expectations for him this year, but he hasn't been a factor yet. In his first 3 games this year, he's had 1 reception, 2 receptions, and 3 receptions. Could the trend continue and let him see 4 catches this week? Who knows? Who cares? He was limited in practice again today with a hamstring injury and doesn't warrant consideration until he gets back into playing form.

Join the Discussion

PsB456 CommentedOct 1, 2010 11:00 am

Who do I bench? K.Walter Hou, Donald Driver GnB, or L Naanee? Whats your advice

Nerd CommentedOct 1, 2010 11:00 am

I'm leaning towards benching Legedu Naanee. The matchups for the other two are a little better, particularly with Andre Johnson banged up and Driver at home against the Lions.

onehumpor2 CommentedOct 2, 2010 11:00 am

Just my opininon , Nerdster.....but I think you are way under-ranking Jabar Gaffney, Jeremy Maclin, and Braylon Edwards this week. I'll bet they get 5 TD's between them. They better....they're my starting WR's, since Austin is on a bye, Johnson is hurt (even if he plays, he has to go up against the Ashmooghige guy), and my roookie boy Mike Williams (TB) is on a bye too.

Clay

Wish me luck!

We'll see.

Nerd CommentedOct 3, 2010 11:00 am

The rankings aren't perfect, but I think they were pretty decent for Gaffney (5 rec for 51 yards) and too high on Maclin (1 rec for 15 yards). Too low on Edwards though (4 rec for 86 yards and a score).