Much like the beginning of the 2009 season, this year’s campaign has many fantasy owners—not to mention sports fans in general—scratching their heads at some of the more curious headlines in just under three weeks of play.
The Kansas City Chiefs are unbeaten at 3-0, Brandon Lloyd looks a lot like a top notch fantasy WR, and the vaunted Packers defense decided to fall asleep on MNF racking up nearly 20 penalties; squandering a chance to be the last undefeated team in the NFL.
But the 2009 season also taught all of us—start sit columnist in particular—that penalties eventually remedy themselves, hot trending receivers almost always come down to earth, and a 3-0 start doesn’t mean anything unless you make it to the postseason.
Week 4 offers a myriad of quality matchups for everyone to take advantage of, and please keep in mind that this is the first bye week, so Dallas, Kansas City, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay are all off—I’m looking your way newbies.
Let’s get right down to business, shall we?
Must Start Of The Week: Austin Collie – Indianapolis Colts
Darn, and Jackson almost made the trifecta by going three straight weeks as a Must Start of the Week, but the reality is, it’s time to stop doubting Collie’s presence in the Colts offense.
Austin Collie not only continues to impress nearly everyone with his weekly performances, but he also has the unwavering trust of QB Peyton Manning which means nothing but fantasy love. And if that’s not enough for ya, Indy gets to face one of the worst teams in the NFL when it comes to pass coverage: The Jacksonville Jaguars.
Think of it this way, if Michael Vick can throw for 291 yards and three TDs against the Jags, just imagine what Manning and company are going to do to them.
Through three games, Austin Collie has caught 27 balls for 359 yards and 4 TDs which leads the NFL.
Two Through Ten
| 2. Roddy White – ATL: The 49ers continue to struggle in their secondary with the absence of CB Will James, and White is now an official Top 5 weekly starter until further notice. |
| 3. Greg Jennings – GB: When the Packers embarrass themselves, they usually bounce back with a vengeance, and you can bet against the worst secondary in the league, Jennings is going to come up huge. Start him with confidence. |
| 4. Reggie Wayne – IND: Guys…it’s Jacksonville…c’mon! |
| 5. DeSean Jackson – PHI: Mike Vick will get his first real challenge Sunday when Donovan McNabb and the Washington Redskins come to town, but Jackson is just too good of a play maker to NOT mention in a Top 10. |
| 6. Brandon Marshall – MIA: Marshall has finally decided to make his presence known in fantasy with last week’s breakout performance, and against a weak New England secondary this week, you can expect more of the same. |
| 7. Marques Colston – NO: Brees entered the 2010 season with many owners knowing he was going to spread the wealth a bit more. But Colston still leads the team in targets, and on field plays. It’s just too hard to pass up a matchup against the declawed Panthers. |
| 8. OchoCinco – CIN: Cleveland is regressing in the coverage department and Ocho is bound to have a bounce back game against a team he always does well against. |
| 9. Calvin Johnson – DET: Matthew Stafford will return this week (or as it stands now he will…ya never truly know with the Detroit coaching staff) and you can believe that even against the Packers, he is still in line for a nice day. UPDATE: As expected, Jason LaCanfora is now expecting that Stafford COULD return—but not necessarily likely to— in Week 5. Perhaps it was trite to even speculate, but it doesn't change Johnson's value either way. |
| 10. Wes Welker – NE: Buffalo held the combination of Welker and Moss to under 100 yards receiving, but that doesn’t mean you begin sitting Welker. Miami has vastly improved their deep ball coverage, but still struggle with over the middle passes; an area in which Welker excels. He’s a must start this week. |
Honorable mentions: These are a short list of players who may have a good day, but not as good as the above mentioned.
Randy Moss – NE vs. MIA Jordan Shipley – CIN vs. CLEV
Malcom Floyd – SD vs. ARI Santana Moss – WSH vs. PHI
Jacoby Jones – HOU vs. OAK Donald Driver GB vs. DET
Mike Wallace – PITT vs. BAL Johnny Knox – CHI vs. NYG
Fitzgerald – ARI vs. SD Steve Smith – NYG vs. CHI
Must Sit of the Week – Braylon Edwards – New York Jets
Edwards is fast becoming a player that is more risky than he is worthy in nearly every fantasy league type. If it’s not his antics that either cost him time or looks, it’s the fact that he is the least targeted WR in New York right, and it is because of this that Edwards is simply going to have to do more before he can be considered an every week start.
This week it doesn’t get any easier.
The Jets head to Buffalo who are very, very good at covering. Remember, they held Moss AND Welker to under 100 yards, so for a guy who already has issues with control, and isn’t targeted that much anyway, I would not only sit him, I would sell, sell, sell.
There is no question he is the guy to sit this week.
Two Through Ten:
| 2. Michael Crabtree – SF: Crabtree is an every down WR, but he just isn’t doing anything yet, and with the 49ers going to Atlanta, he needs to be sat at least one more week until new O-Coordinator Mike Johnson gets him going. |
| 3. Mohamed Massaquoi – CLE: Until Delhomme returns, Massaquoi will be Mr. Irrelevant. |
| 4. Jabar Gaffney – DEN: Gaffney is usually a solid start, but the Titans are a terrible team to play against for receivers. Sit him this week. |
| 5. Joey Galloway – WSH: Galloway is fourth in team targets, and that won’t change against the Birds this week. |
| 6. Andre Johnson – HOU: Yep, you read that right. Not only will Johnson be a game time decision on Sunday (as of now, ankle issue) against the Raiders in the last three meetings he has gone 2/66/0, 2/19/0, and1/9/0. You don’t just start guys because of their names, it’s all about matchups, and this one will not be fruitful. |
| 7. Steve Smith – CAR: Nobody will be lighting things up for Carolina this week and Smith will have to deal with shutdown corner Jabari Greer all day long. Sit with confidence. |
| 8. M. Sims-Walker: He’s off to a real slow start, and against Indy his chances of a good game are even less. |
| 9. Louis Murphy – OAK: I admit, Murphy is a risky listing at number nine, but I don’t see him having a good day against a resurgent Texans team. Hopefully I am right! |
| 10. Mario Manningham – NYG: Normally a Top 20 WR, Manningham has suddenly been put on the Giants injured list with a concussion, and since the league is really cracking down on how a team handles a concussion injury, and his status is uncertain, it would best to avoid him against a Chicago team that is on cloud 9 right now. |
As always, leave your questions below if you have one, and good luck this week!
