Game Recaps: Week 4

Jets v. Ravens

There were no surprises in the ground game for both teams: Ray Rice is a stud when you add in those valuable receiving yards, and Shonn Greene kinda sucks. The surprise here was the awful play of Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco following excellent Week 3 performances. They had QB ratings of 30.5 and 37.4 respectively. You could chalk it up to two tough defenses or an "off day," but true elite QBs do not have days that are this bad. Flacco did not complete a single pass throughout the entire 2nd and 3rd quarters. The Torrey Smith hype train came to a screeching halt, as he had only one catch for one yard. It will be tough to hold onto him because he has a Week 5 bye and then Lee Evans is sure to return, but Smith's 6 targets were second only to Ed Dickson's surprising total of 12. Flacco's poor play is also dragging down Anquan Boldin, who had one catch for 28 yards. If Flacco keeps up his trend of good, bad, good, bad, then you should start him next week, but he has a bye. I still think Flacco is worth starting in decent matchups, and fortunately, he has a lot of those coming up on the schedule.

Panthers v. Bears

Cam Newton is legit! Too legit to quit! He threw for 374 yards and a TD, and added 35 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs. The threat of his legs is opening up holes for DeAngelo Williams and Jon Stewart who averaged 8.2 and 6.5 yards per carry today respectively. More importantly, it's clear which two receivers will be the beneficiaries of Newton's success: Steve Smith and Greg Olsen, who will be must-starts going forward. Jay Cutler sucked it up, but inconsistency is to be expected from Cutler. He only attempted 17 passes because the Bears were having so much success on the ground with Matt Forte. Forte carried the ball 25 times for 205 yards. Johnny Knox didn't light up the scoreboard, but he led the team's receivers in catches, yards, and targets. Knox is clearly the Bear's WR to own.

Titans v. Browns

Chris Johnson finally eclipsed the century mark! I don't even own him in a single league but I just like things to be somewhat predictable. So I'm happy when CJ looks halfway decent, and when Scott Chandler comes back to Earth because rando TEs shouldn't be lighting up the league. Johnson's 112 yards and no score are nowhere near the huge games he's known for putting up, but you're still starting him every week. And I am buying Jared Cook. His 93 yards and TD on just 2 catches may look flukey, but he was the most targeted Titan, so I think he can help fill some of Kenny Britt's void going forward.

Redskins v. Rams

Mike Shanahan has done it again! The RB rotation completely changed with no rhyme or reason, and with no warning. Hightower started and carried the ball 8 times for 24 yards, but Ryan Torain came out of nowhere with 19 carries for 135 yards and the score. Shanahan revealed afterward that he planned on getting Torain more work because Hightower didn't look good in practice this week. I honestly don't know what to make of this. I hate to say it, but it looks like if I had to start one Redskin back in the next game, it would be Torain. He will very likely be the top waiver wire add this week. On the Rams side, I'm tired of making apologies for Sam Bradford. The news does not look good for Danny Amendola, so Bradford may not get his best receiver back for a while. In a decent matchup, Bradford completed less than half his passes and averaged just 3.8 yards per attempt. His lone TD came in garbage time. In 10 or 12 team leagues, you can drop Bradford. In slightly deeper leagues, I'd hold onto him and see if he can live up to his potential. 

Saints v. Jaguars

For the 4th week in a row, Darren Sproles was the most productive Saints RB, with 7 carries for 75 yards and 5 catches for 56 yards. Ingram is going to rely on falling into the endzone for fantasy production, making him a risky flex start. He had 17 carries for just 55 yards. Marques Colston was eased back in with just 3 targets, leading to just one catch for 8 yards. Meanwhile Jimmy Graham erupted for 10 catches and a score on 14 targets. He just put himself up there with Gronkowski, Finley, and Witten as the 4 elite TEs of 2011. Robert Meachem and Lance Moore cancelled each other out with 6 targets each and about 50 yards, making them each interesting flex options, but far from must-starts. Also Devery Henderson went catchless on one target, and can safely be dropped in all but the deepest of leagues. 

Patriots v. Raiders

Stevan Ridley is the story here - carrying the ball 10 times for 97 yards and a TD. The Law Firm (Green-Ellis) had a solid game too, with 16 carries for 75 yards and a score. Woodhead had 2 touches and left the game with an ankle injury. Ridley is clearly going to be a big part of this mix and needs to be owned in all leagues. Rob Gronkowski settled down with one catch for 15 yards, but as they say, "Pobody's Nerfect!" Don't stress; Gronkowski was second only to Welker in targets with 5. The Raiders leading receiver was Darrius Heyward-Bey with 115 yards. We like Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford's talent the most, but they are far from must-starts. In Ford's return to action, he had no catches on 2 targets and an impressive 30 yard run that reminded me why he's worth owning. Moore had 3 catches and a garbage time TD, meaning he's also at least rosterable. McFadden didn't find the endzone, but when 123 yards is disappointing, you know you're spoiled with the top fantasy RB.