UK American Sports Fantasy: Football Start or Sit Week 4

Week 4 sees the arrival of the byes and the good news is there are only two teams on byes; the bad news is that it removes the best QB in the game and at least two starting running back options. Week 4 sees the arrival of the NFL to Wembley for the first time this year and so if you own Big Ben and Brown then it is worth putting them in your team just for the joy of cheering for a player you are watching, oh and their match up helps also.

Bye Week – Carolina & Green Bay

QB

Stud: P.Manning, Brees

Philly’s defence is awful so Manning will likely have another huge day, Brees has a harder match up but he has so many weapons and is so good he is still a stud for me.

Safe: Kaepernick, Stafford, Luck, Griffin, Romo, Ryan, Brady, Cutler, Vick, Wilson

St. Louis should offer Kaepernick a chance for a bounce back but he is starting to worry me a bit, Tough match up for Stafford but he will throw to Calvin a lot, Soft match up for Luck but the worry is they run a lot and ease Richardson in, Oakland’s terrible defence greets a struggling RG3 and this is a chance to see if he’s improving, Toughish defence for Romo without Austin but there are plenty of options there, Ryan and Brady could get involved in a shootout but my gut feeling is NE won’t want to do that and this could be a run heavy game, Detroit’s D is a soft match up for Cutler, Vick wil have to be at his brilliant best for Philly to even stay in their match up and Wilson has a tough one against but QB’s have been quite successful against them this year so far.

Deep: Bradford, Flacco, Manuel, Schaub, Eli, A.Smith, Roethlisberger, Palmer, Locker, Pryor, Dalton, Rivers, Tannehill

Thursday night game against a hurting 49ers spells trouble for Bradford, No Aldon Smith is a huge plus for him though, Eli will be desperate to bounce back but it’s a really tough match up, Roethlisberger in London should be a juicy match up for Rodgers owners, All the others have decent but not outstanding match ups and around 15-20 points is what you should expect.

2 QB only: Hoyer, Henne, Ponder, Freeman, Geno

Cincy have a tough defence for Hoyer, Indy’s D was good against a much better QB than Henne, Ponder could be replaced by the half if he sucks, Freeman probably should be replaced and Geno is going to be inconsistent as hell I’m afraid.

RB

Stud: Forte, Charles, Peterson, Martin, McCoy, Morris, McFadden

Forte has a great match up and he’s been seeing goal line work so a tier elevation was in order, Charles, Peterson and McCoy are all beasts and will be studs most week, Martin is carrying the load and that will be hard but this is a decent match up, Morris has a great match up against the Raiders and McFadden likewise against the ‘Skins

Safe: T.Richardson, Gore, Pierce, Bush, Lynch, Foster, Johnson, Moreno, Murray, Miller, Sproles, Powell

A welcome to the team game for Richardson but quantity worries me, Gore wil be desperate to prove SF should give him the ball more and recent Rams form says the 49ers could get up big early, no Rice once again and an easier match up for Pierce, he was nearly a stud for me this week!, Bush has a tough match up but if healthy will see a lot of touches, Lynch and Foster have tough match ups vs each other but should still prove decent in a poor field, CJ0k has a really tough match up vs the Jets but you have to start someone, I like the match ups for Moreno, Murray and Miller, Sproles is likely to be utilised a lot if Miami get their pass rush going and finally Powell, he is the number 1 option there and in that offence he should be a strong fantasy start.

Flex: Pead, F.Jackson, Spiller, Bell, Jones-Drew, Wilson, Mendenhall, Ridley, Bolden, Rodgers, Snelling, Bernard

If D.Rich is out then Pead becomes the number 1 in St. Louis and they are going to need to run the ball, Jackson has been a solid #3 option for fantasy teams with Spiller around; if he is out then Jackson becomes a safe start even with the tough match up, as for Spiller I just don’t trust him this week, Bell has a better match up and Bush should be back but I still think he gets enough touches, Jones-Drew will get points because this offence needs someone to run the ball, Wilson has a tough match up and a creaking offensive line so I wouldn’t want him as any more than a flex, Mendenhall get the Bucs which is not an ideal match up but he should be solid enough, Ridley should see the majority of carries still but Bolden has taken over the job Vereen was doing, Rodgers and Snelling are seeing a split in snaps but both are solid plays against NE, Bernard has a really tough match up and that is why he is nothing better than a flex.

Deep: Green-Ellis, McGahee, M.Bush, Tate, Ellington, Battle, B.Brown, R.Brown, Ball, Mathews, P.Thomas, Bradshaw, Michael, Woodhead, Hunter

BJGE will see less than 50% of carries but CLE have a tough Defence so both guys should see time, McGahee can only get better, Bush is seeing around half the goal line touches but he still makes me nervous as he struggled to put the ball in the endzone last week, Tate is looking like the best RB in Houston but they won’t give up on Foster and combined with the match up he should ride the pine in shallow leagues, Ellington is the passing down back in Ari and there is value there, Battle is the goal line back for the Titans and should see some short yardage carries, With McCoy looking a little fragile last week B.Brown could put up monster numbers with the opportunity, Ball will have one more week to prove he is the number 2, Mathews is not good this year and is losing snaps to Woodhead and goal line carries to R.Brown, Hunter, Bradshaw, and Michael are the #2s in their offences and should see 5-10 touches a game, With Ingram out Thomas needs to make more of his opportunity but expect at least 5 points, Woodhead is seeing a majority of targets in SD and that is a valuable situation to have.

20+: D.Thomas, Gerhart, Hillman, Helu, Jacobs, Blount, Rainey, Turbin, Scott, Dwyer, Jones, Redman

Thomas is getting carries but hes not putting up many points, Gerhart likely won’t see more than 5 touches unless of injury all year, Hillman needs to win more rock, paper, scissors it seems, Helu will be involved in the passing game but is inconsistent, Blount may be superseded by Bolden, Rainey will get some chances but not many, Jacobs is seeing touches in New York but against this D im not trusting him, Turbin now appears to be option 3 in this offence, Scott is option 3 in a poor offence, Dwyer, Jones and Redman are a mess and so hard to predict, HOWEVER: in a league which counts return yards Jones may be worth a look!

WR

Stud: Marshall, C.Johnson, Thomas, Bryant, Ju.Jones, Green

Love all these guys as always, Great match ups for Thomas, Bryant and Marshall make them primed for monster weeks, Calvin will be covered by Tilman but he is so dominant he can beat almost anyone, Julio will have Talib covering him more than likely but I think he overcomes this, Green has the toughest match up against Haden but he has dominated him before and Haden struggles with strong receivers.

Safe: T.Smith, Gordon, Wayne, Cruz, A.Brown, Fitzgerald, D.Jackson, Welker, Decker, Garcon, Colston, Boldin, T.Austin, V.Jackson

Smith gets his best match up of the season, Gordon has a tough match up but he is going to see 15+ targets I expect, Wayne has a superb match up and I nearly had him a stud this week, Cruz is the best receiver in this team and he will match himself up in favourable positions, Brown is the top option in Pitt, Fitz will be on Revis island but after 2 down weeks they will need him to be a big part of the offence, the Eagles will be in catch up mode and Jackson should be a beast, Welker and Decker are getting regular targets both in and out of the redzone, Garcon has a superb match up and they will want to get him a TD, Colston is the #2 option in a great offence and usually gets better as the season goes on, Boldin is someone Kaepernick needs to get the ball too if he is to be successful again, Austin is the Rams main option in the passing game and should see plenty of targets, Jackson is struggling with a rib injury but if healthy then Glennon has a nice arm and should get him the ball plenty.

Flex: S.Johnson, Hopkins, Hilton, Avery, Bowe, Thompkins, Hartline, Shorts, Nicks, Williams, M.Austin, A.Johnson

Stevie has a better match up but Manuel is inconsistent, Hopkins and Johnson have a really tough match up but if they get down early they will need to throw, Colts will be up big early this week and will run a lot and that hurts him more than Wayne, Avery is seeing the targets we all think Bowe should be getting and is currently the better start of the two, Thompkins is earning Brady’s trust and seems to be a redzone option, Hartline is seeing plenty of targets now #1 CBs are focusing on Wallace, Shorts should plenty of targets in the comeback option, Nicks is a great receiver but his situation isn’t great right now, Williams is the #2 but Glennon potentially has a better arm than Freeman, Miles is a strong option as the defence will focus its attention on Bryant and the run game,

Deep: Pettis, Givens, M.Brown, Woods, Sanu, M.Jones, Jeffery, Broyles, Heyward-Bey, Randle, E.Sanders, Hill, Washington, Wright, Edelman, Dobson, White, Douglas, Wallace, Bess, Tate, Rice, Avant, Moss, D.Moore, Streater, Royal

All of these guys see targets in their offence but I won’t highlight everyone as it’s a big list; Edelman is the #1 option currently but if Gronk is there then he may well take that mantle, White is still a shaky start and you will miss his first big game but it’s better than starting a guy who’s putting up low numbers, Wright doesn’t see enough deep balls to be anything more in that offence

20+: Stills, Moore, Caldwell, K.Williams, A.Sanders, Hunter, Britt, Gibson, Little, Patterson, Simpson, Jennings, Cooper, Hankerson, Reece, V.Brown, Harris

Stills is deep ball only, Britt is a waste of space currently, Patterson is starting to show something but I am not starting or even owning any Vikings receivers until a clear favourite shows up, Little is going to be a blocker for Gordon’s short receptions

DNS: Other NYJ WR’s, Other Jax WR’s

Terrible situations for both set up just avoid at all costs.

TE

Stud: Cameron, Witten, Gronk, Graham

JC makes the jump to the elite as it appears anyone can throw him the ball, Witten is definitely option 2 after Bryant if Austin is out, Gronk is Brady’s blue eyed boy if he’s healthy this week and should see a lot of targets, Graham is the best TE in fantasy and there is no doubt right now

Safe: Gonzalez, V.Davis, Cook, Bennett, Daniels, J.Thomas, Gates

Gonzalez slips as age seems to be catching him up, health is a worry for Davis but the 49ers need him, Cook is going to frustrate you but unless you have one of the others in the studs or safe your starting him, Bennett should see more looks against the leaky Lions, Daniels will always see redzone looks but they have to get there first, J.Thomas has a lot of competition for targets but a good match up and the hottest QB right now means he should still see a lot, Gates is looking revitalised and as a fantasy owner he is safe to start although more redzone looks would be nice Mr. Rivers

Deep: Myers, Rudolph, Gresham, Z.Miller, Fleener, H.Miller, Clay

Myers is probably the #4 option in an offence that is clearly struggling, Rudolph is an enigma but he is seeing the most targets on the team, Eifert takes too many looks away from Gresham for him to be a safe option, Miller saw two targets for 2 TD’s but I cannot see that happen again, Fleener is the only TE option there but the offence isn’t as TE heavy as we thought it would be, Miller is Ben’s safety blanket and should see plenty of targets but I want to see more before I start him in standard leagues, Clay will likely get at least 50 yards but you cannot count on a TD

20+: Celek, Eifert, Fauria, McDonald, Kendricks, Pettigrew, G.Graham, Fasano, Heap, Winslow, Walker

Celek seems to be losing looks to the other TE’s, Eifert doesn’t see enough looks currently, Fauria could have a bigger part now Burleson’s out, McDonald will be a deep option if Davis is out, Kendricks is the #2 TE but Bradford does have some comfort with him, Pettigrew is turning out to be useless in this offence but is another guy who could see more looks without Burleson, Graham is going to always be TD dependent, Fasano is in a safety first offence and I don’t like that, Heap isn’t the revelation I thought he might be this year, Winslow seems to be semi-invisible but should get a few targets, Walker should see planty of targets for the Titans especially with Britt being awful

DNS+: Dickson, Clark, Chandler, Lewis, Reed, F.Davis, Byham, Rivera, Green

Dickson and Clark are no’s until their offence improves, Chandler is a nothing option currently, Lewis is in a poor offence and is probably still hurt a bit, Reed and Davis are in an offence that doesn’t loo their way, Byham is seeing barely any targets but Glennon may use him more, Rivera is another unused option, Green is seeing targets in SD and a Gates injury could see him becoming a big part of the offence

DEF

Good Streaming Defences: Indianapolis @ Jacksonville: It’s the Jags! Enough said? Pittsburgh @ Minnesota (in London): The Vikings O is awful and Ponder or Cassel will be sure to turn the ball over, Chiefs vs Giants: G-men have a bad offensive line and KC should dominate thm.

Bad Steaming Defences: Miami @ New Orleans: Monday night football in the dome against the best offence in the league, Denver vs Philadelphia: Philly’s offence will be chasing the gae and should put up big yards and good points on the back of a long week of rest.

As always enjoy week 4, thank you for taking the time to read my article, please feel free to get in touch with any questions and I wish you all the best for your week 4 match ups in the great rollercoaster that is fantasy football.