We are here once again. Week 4 of the NFL season is quickly gaining on us and I have nothing to wear!! Good thing I don’t have to leave the house. A fourthish of the season will be done after this weekend. I just made myself sad. But we’re here chugging along trying to figure out the best players and matchups and pickups and hookups and eff ups for ya’ll. Below you’ll find some fliers to throw out there if you are really hurting this weekend and then some links that I found to be neat and keen, but before we get to that you should check out our schtuff behind these site links: $250 Razzball FanDuel, Week 4 Rankings, Subscribe to our Newsletter, my updated Twitter 101, and check out our up to the minute Injury Report. And if you want to take me on in a one on one FanDuel just slap me in the face with a glove in the comments. We’ll duel to the death!
Pinch Starters:
Kendall Hunter: The Eagles rush defense has been so horrid that I want to start someone against them, but it’s hard to trust Frank Gore who has an ankle injury and even without the injury has not looked good. His “Elusive Rating” over at Pro Football Focus is near the bottom of the pack. Yes, the opposing teams know that he’s going to get the ball, but it looks like he’s lost the ability to make people miss completely. Adrian Peterson is of course near the top of their elusive rating and teams know he’s getting the ball constantly. This game would be a good time to see what Hunter can do. He looked awesome in preseason and no matter what has fresher legs than Gore.
Stevan Ridley: Yeah, you know my Ridley infatuation so take this with a grain of salt, but knowing The Hoodie like I do, which is not at all, I do know that anything can happen on any game day. Ridley has looked good in his limited snaps and if Belichick believes he makes the team better he sure as hell will play him. His allegiance is to winning. The Raiders rush defense has looked like horse manure so far, which is slippery, but if you tip toe you can get through it ok. Benjarvus Green-Ellis was stuffed at the goal line last week and I could see Ridley getting those looks this week if they materialize. I would start him in a pinch.
Roy Helu: Coach Shanahan said on the radio the other day that he was ready to put Ryan Torain in for Timmy Hightower. He’s blowing smoke as usual. Why say this unless you are messing with someone? Maybe Torain would get the shot after Hightower, but Helu is by far the superior player and would end up getting the work. But for this week Helu is a pinch play because he is getting a decent amount of work as it is and the Rams are the opposite of serviceable in rush defense.
Laurent Robinson: Last Monday Night Kevin Ogletree looked about as bad as a receiver could look, so in comparison Laurent Robinson looked like Jerry Rice and Lance Alworth’s love child. If Dez Bryant is out that leaves the starting receivers as Robinson and Ogletree and even if he isn’t I think Robinson has earned himself more targets this week. Either way you look at it the Lions are going to score and Romo is going to have to throw it to someone. Robinson is who I’ve got my fake money on.
Danario Alexander: We keep looking for the Josh McDaniels offense to get to scoring, but so far they’ve got to dropping. These wide receivers just aren’t getting the job done, but I’m going to give them one more shot. Sadly the most gifted receiver on the team has also had half a bazillion knee operations and will most likely be making Dorf on Receiving videos soon, but for now he’s still able to run upright. He had a great game two weeks ago and then a crappy one last week. The good thing is that he got plenty of looks last week and was on the field longer than usual. Washington is ranked 29th in DVOA against #1 receivers and when he’s out there he is the #1.
Dane Sanzenbacher: This little undrafted scrapper is making the most out of his shot. He has a touchdown in each of his last 2 games while Earl Bennett has been hurt and he gets the start once again. He has 9 receptions which ties him with Johnny Knox for the team lead in receiver receptions! That’s crazy talk. Add that to the Panthers poor pass defense and you have a recipe for a nice game.
Damian Williams: The newly appointed #2 receiver in Titan land gets a decent matchup this week against the guy not named Joe Haden. Haden is quickly becoming a shutdown corner and has the Browns ranked #2 in DVOA against #1 wide receivers. Darelle Revis has the Jets at #1. So don’t feel too good about Nate Washington this week. But on the other side the Browns DVOA is ranked #29 against #2 receivers and Sheldon Brown has a groin injury. That bodes well for Williams. I also like Jared Cook quite a bit as well, but I can only write about one of them. It’s a rule.
James Casey: His nickname is Thor and after watching him destroy the Saints last week I can see why. His diving touchdown reception isn’t what you think of for fullback/tight end players and out of his 155 yards receiving 108 of those come after the catch. He’s a hard man to bring down for sure. The Steelers are a tough matchup, but had trouble holding down the Dickson/Pitta sandwich in week 1. It’s hard to know how Casey will be used from here on out, but I believe the lack of production out of Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones will lead to more work for Casey and his upside in that offense is worth spot starts in a pinch.
Hot Links:
Eric Decker has stepped up this season. Take a look at Matt Waldman’s scouting portfolio on Decker from last July.
Chris Brown from Smart Football breaks down Darren McFadden’s 70 yard touchdown run.
Possible Problem Weather: Tennessee at Cleveland — 80% Showers, 20 MPH Wind
Evan Silva takes a look at the Week 4 matchups.
My target breakdown over at Rotoworld.
The Fantasy Douche looks at Historical Matchups Similar to LeGarrette Blount’s Matchup vs. the Colts
I didn’t think Jon Stewart was down on this play, but I could be wrong. Either way, JStew is a bad ass.
Who are the most efficient QBs through Week 3? Check here.
Does Michael Vick not get enough late hit calls?
The Patriots at Raiders matchup has an over/under of 56 and should be an interesting game. Tuck rule anyone? Here is a breakdown of some of the stats for these two coming into week 4.
Check out Carl’s in depth analysis:
