Week 4 Rankings

We all knew that Brian Hoyer would lead the Browns to victory over the Vikings on Sunday, right?  Not only that, but we expected him to help Jordan Cameron and Josh Gordon put up huge fantasy numbers on the day (in addition to himself).  No?  Didn't think so...

Let's see what AP had to say about it:

There were a few other surprises and even more non-surprises last week in the NFL.  There's a lot to get into for my Week 4 rankings, so let's dig right in.

QBs

1.Peyton Manning

2.Drew Brees

3.Tony Romo

4.Tom Brady

5.Matt Ryan

6.RGIII

7.Matthew Stafford

8.Colin Kaepernick 9.Michael Vick 10.Ben Roethlisberger 11.Andrew Luck  12.Terrelle Pryor 13.Philip Rivers

14.Jay Cutler 15.Russell Wilson 16.Alex Smith 17.Andy Dalton 18.Joe Flacco 19.Sam Bradford 20.Ryan Tannehill I talked a lot about being patient in my Week 3 rankings, and it paid off for some.  As far as QBs go, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton both finally cracked the top-5.  Cam gets an early bye this week, but we'll see if Russell can keep things going against a much tougher defense in Houston.  If you were being patient with Colin Kaepernick after the big ups and downs of the first two weeks, you were quite disappointed with his performance against the Colts.  I don't really know what to make of him just yet in 2013, but I'm going to continue to rank him in my top-10 this week as he gets a Thursday night game against the Rams.  I'm not sure if he'll throw 2 or 3 TDs, but I think he'll get plenty of points with his legs if he doesn't. I added Ryan Tannehill in my Friday rankings update, and he put up good numbers against Atlanta to get the Dolphins to 3-0.  Drew Brees had the biggest week though, and those two QBs will be facing each other in Week 4.  So far, the Saints defense has been much improved in 2013, and while I still have Tannehill in my rankings this week, he finds himself at the bottom of the list.  As for the top spot, I can't bring myself to take Peyton down from there just yet.  This week he gets an Eagles defense that's given up the 4th most passing yards so far, and while it's splitting hairs between Manning and Brees, I think I'll stick with the guy with the laser rocket arm. Guess who put up about another 17 fantasy points in Week 3?  That's right.  Andy Dalton.  I thought he would get a little more yardage, but he did get that pair of touchdowns.  Mr. Consistency also finished ahead of some good fantasy QBs, including the guy on the other side of the ball in that game (Aaron Rodgers).  Andrew Luck definitely surprised me on Sunday, but without that late rushing TD he would've had a pretty rough fantasy day.  He did end up finishing just inside the top-20 for the week though.  For now I'm going to keep him ranked outside of my top-10, as it looks like the Colts will ground and pound a little more with their new toy. You'll notice this week, the other Manning isn't even ranked.  The Giants are all sorts of messed up right now, and they travel to Kansas City to play the current #1 fantasy defense.  If you have other options, I'd go with them this week (at least until they get stuff straightened out).  Maybe by the time they get back home in Week 5 to play the Eagles, Eli will find his way back into my top-20.  For now, I'd roll the dice with Terrelle Pryor against the Redskins (assuming he passes his concussion tests) or a guy like Big Ben (who, ironically, will be playing in London this week against the Vikings).

RBs

1.Jamaal Charles

2.Adrian Peterson 3.Matt Forte 4.LeSean McCoy

5.Alfred Morris 6.Trent Richardson  7.Darren McFadden 8.Marshawn Lynch 9.Frank Gore 10.Arian Foster 11.Doug Martin 12.Ray Rice 13.CJ Spiller 14.Reggie Bush 15.DeMarco Murray 16.Bilal Powell 17.Maurice Jones-Drew 18.Chris Johnson 19.Darren Sproles 20.Knowshon Moreno 21.Lamar Miller 22.Joique Bell 23.Giovanni Bernard 24.David Wilson 25.Ahmad Bradshaw 26.Stevan Ridley 27.Jason Snelling 28.La'Veon Bell 29.Ryan Mathews 30.Daryl Richardson 31.Benjarvis Green-Ellis 32.Jacquizz Rodgers 33.Bernard Pierce 34.Brandon Bolden 35.Rashard Mendenhall 36.Pierre Thomas 37.Willis McGahee 38.Fred Jackson 39.Daniel Thomas 40.Danny Woodhead I put Marshawn Lynch all the way at the top spot last week as the Seahawks hosted the lowly Jaguars, but he didn't do much with that great matchup.  In fact, Seattle was up so big, he (and a lot of other starters) lost quite a bit of playing time in the second half of that game.  This week I'm dropping him back down a bit, and Jamaal Charles is the guy I'm going with at #1 this week.  He's been a huge part of that offense, and the Giants have given up a lot of fantasy points to RBs this season.   Is it time to...ring the bell? (awful, I know) There are still a lot of injuries to keep an eye on.  Last week I assumed Ray Rice and Reggie Bush would play, and neither did.  Both backups filled in nicely, but I really think both starters make it back on the field this week.  CJ Spiller owners got a scare on Sunday, but it looks like a thigh injury won't keep him out in Week 4.  A guy who could be coming back this week is Le'Veon Bell (hopefully you've been patient with him).  I don't know that this is the week to throw him right into your fantasy lineup, but I do have him as a top-30 play, assuming he's the starter against Minnesota.  It wouldn't be a true week of fantasy football without my team (Pig Newtons) having an injury.  I picked up Chris Ivory with my #1 waiver priority, and I really felt he'd finally show he's the better back against that weak Bills rush defense.  Well, he went out in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, and Bilal Powell proceeded to do his best feature back impression.  I guess he'll be the guy for the foreseeable future. I, like most others, moved Trent Richardson and Ahmad Bradshaw down considerably last week (since Indy was playing at San Fran).  Of course both put up solid numbers.  In my Friday rankings, I mentioned that I was high on Rashard Mendenhall.  Well, I've quickly jumped off that train.  Arizona's backfield has turned into a three-headed timeshare monster, and I don't really want any part of it right now.  Maybe Andre Ellington will emerge as the fantasy RB to own, but for now you're probably leaving them on your bench for another week or two.  I also noted that I was down on Stevan Ridley (ESPN #16, ME #22).  This one is also turning into a more typical Belichick timeshare.  Blount actually had more carries than Ridley on Sunday, and Bolden was in the mix making catches out of the backfield.  I think it's panic time for Ridley owners... Time to get Alfred going for real, Shanny!!! I did talk up Frank Gore a lot last week, but he wasn't close to a top-10 back (though he still managed double digit fantasy points).  It turns out he was also frustrated with not getting the ball enough, and he let Harbaugh know it.  I still have him as a top-10 play this week against a Rams defense that got destroyed by DeMarco Murray last week.  Another guy who should be a little upset with not getting more carries is Alfred Morris.  I was at the Lions/Redskins game on Sunday (and I have the sunburned scalp to prove it).  Morris was getting 5 yards/carry, but he only toted the rock 15 times!  I understand having such few carries in the first two weeks when you're down early and playing from behind, but this game was close all the way!  I think Morris and Gore owners might be in for plenty of carries this week, as both guys have favorable matchups and hopefully both coaches realize they need to stick to the ground game a little more. WRs

1.Dez Bryant 2.Calvin Johnson 3.Julio Jones 4.AJ Green 5.Brandon Marshall 6.Demaryius Thomas 7.DeSean Jackson 8.Wes Welker 9.Pierre Garcon 10.Eric Decker 11.Antonio Brown 12.Reggie Wayne 13.Torrey Smith 14.Victor Cruz 15.Anquan Boldin 16.Vincent Jackson 17.Larry Fitzgerald 18.Josh Gordon 19.Marques Colston 20.Julian Edelman 21.Andre Johnson 22.Dwayne Bowe 23.Mike Wallace 24.Cecil Shorts 25.Hakeem Nicks 26.Steve Johnson 27.T.Y. Hilton 28.Tavon Austin 29.Brian Hartline 30.Eddie Royal 31.Emmanuel Sanders 32.DeAndre Hopkins 33.Kenbrell Thompkins 34.Denarius Moore  35.Miles Austin  36.Golden Tate 37.Chris Givens 38.Mike Williams 39.Stephen Hill 40.Ryan Broyles I couldn't bring myself to move Megatron from the #1 spot in the WR rankings last week, especially going up against the Redskins.  But this week I'm really high on Tony Romo against the Chargers, and I think he'll be looking to Dez all day.  I also think it's time to just start ranking all 3 of Peyton's WRs in the top-10.  If you have one of them, you're starting them.  It's that simple.  I'm still keeping Roddy White out of my rankings until he shows that he's healthy (maybe one more week...).  Mike Wallace has been feast or famine through 3 weeks, but I have a feeling he'll have another big game this week against the Saints.  Speaking of which, I said I wouldn't give up on a guy like Lance Moore just yet.  But with the amount of attention Jimmy Graham is getting, I'm starting to reconsider that statement.  You won't find Lance in my Week 4 rankings. Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins looked better with their QB in Week 3.  Thompkins got the pair of TDs, but Dobson actually had more catches on more targets.  It'll be interesting to see what happens once Gronk and Amendola are back in the mix, but for now it seems that both rookies are finally on the same page as Mr. Brady.  I'm sticking with Thompkins in my top-40 this week, but I think a case could just as easily be made for Dobson. They're not playing the Vikings again, but Flash Gordon is still a good option. I was really high on Boldin last week, but the 49ers crapped the bed for the second week in a row.  Anquan got most of the targets, but it's tough to have good numbers when your QB stinks up the field.  I'll double down on him in tomorrow night's game against the Rams (along with all of the other 49ers I still have highly ranked).  As I mentioned, Andrew Luck had an average game himself, and Wayne had a pretty mediocre fantasy line.  With so many other top WRs below him, it's tough to say I was "right" about having Reggie so low, but he wasn't even close to top-20 or 30 in Week 3.  I have him back up near the top as a WR1 this week though.  Of course I have to mention Josh Gordon.  I guess he is a magician after all.  I'll bite and put him in my top-20 this week.  Maybe it's a total knee jerk reaction, but I think if you own him you're definitely considering him as a WR2 this week. TEs

1.Jimmy Graham

2.Jason Witten 3.Julius Thomas 4.Jordan Cameron 5.Vernon Davis 6.Antonio Gates 7.Martellus Bennett 8.Tony Gonzalez  9.Jared Cook 10.Owen Daniels 11.Heath Miller 12.Brandon Myers More like round 10 now, but whatever... I'm not sure why all of the experts were ranking Gronk last week, but they were.  Maybe this is the week he returns, but I'm not counting on it just yet.  If I know something more on Friday, I'll add him to the list.  But my guess is that we'll know very little from the nearly inaudible Belichick press conference mumblings.  Last week I was high on Jermichael Finley, but he got knocked out in the 1st quarter with a concussion before catching a pass.  That's a wash.  But I did have a gut feeling on Owen Daniels, and I had him ranked much lower than the experts.  I just knew that the Ravens would play tough D at home, especially with Ray Lewis back on the sideline (even if he wasn't suited up).  That doesn't mean I knew Daniels wouldn't find the endzone, but sometimes you go with the gut calls. I still can't move Graham from the top spot, but I was definitely shocked at Cameron's performance.  Some people kept him in their top-5, and kudos to them.  I'm moving him back up, as it seems he's matchup proof (which includes his matchup with whatever QB is throwing to him).  Vernon Davis was out with an injury in Week 3, but it sounds like he'll suit up tomorrow night.  I'm leaving him in my top-5 as well.  I can't believe I'm doing this, but Antonio Gates is now on my list.  He was a virus on my fantasy team last year, but he looks a little like the Gates of old now.  I think he's a top-10 fantasy tight end this week at home against Dallas.

DEF 1.Chiefs

2.Bengals 3.Bears 4.Broncos 5.Seahawks 6.Steelers 7.Ravens 8.49ers 9.Colts 10.Texans 11.Bucs

12.Titans Seattle was barely a top-10 defense against Jacksonville, which was pretty surprising.  Teams like Chicago, Green Bay, and Baltimore rode touchdowns to big defensive scoring in Week 3.  Speaking of the Ravens, they haven't allowed a touchdown since they got torched by Peyton Manning on opening night, which is pretty impressive.  They're not the Ravens defense of old, but don't overlook them.  That's exactly what I did last week, and with the exception of the Steelers, the ESPN experts were pretty spot on about the AFC North defenses.  I should mention that the Vikings weren't a top-10 fantasy defense as I predicted, but they finished respectably with double digits.  Again, who saw that coming from the Browns?!? This week, I'm finally getting the Chiefs in my rankings.  They're the #1 fantasy defense through 3 weeks, and they get the reeling Giants at home.  I'm just going to put them right there at the top spot since they're looking the part.  The Patriots and Cowboys aren't on my list this week, but that's really about the matchups.  Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but I just like teams like the Colts (playing against Jacksonville) and Tampa Bay (getting Arizona at home) much better. Enjoy your hump day everyone.  Hump Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Cheers, Bart