By : Steve DeAngelo
Week 4 in the Books! Season is going faster than the Cheesesteaks at my Uncle Larry’s 57th Birthday Party. I’m gonna switch it up this week from my normal game by game breakdown. Let me know your thoughts below.
Finally Risen ( About time because I own each of these guys in two of my 6 leagues)
Calvin Johnson had his best game of the year and it was a relief to see if you’re a Johnson Owner. He didn’t have a huge game yardage wise but had Two Td’s while still finishing with 86 yards. Shaun Hill is actually playing pretty well right now and loves to target Calvin so it remains to be seen if Stafford’s return will hurt him some. Stafford may have to shake off some rust but eventually he will be better for Calvin.
Maurice Jones-Drew (26-105-1TD, 2 catches for 16 yards-1Td) is another guy who finally arose. I guess it took the Colts below average Run D to finally help him break out. For 26 Carries you’d like to see him go for a bit more than 105 and again he had a poor game in the receiving department but still Maurice ran with power and looked good. It also helped that David Garrard had one of his good games this week. Garrard will still have horrific games here and there which will hurt MJD, but Maurice will be fine overall, just wanna see his receiving numbers improve which they should. Jones-Drew enjoys a nice matchup this week and will keep it going vs Buffalo.
Terrell Owens– Holy Batman! Despite being somewhat decent finishing with about 50 yards each week T.O. was kept out of the endzone and without a 100 yard game until this week. T.O went absolutely nuts this in week 4 (sorry Cannici) as he went for 222 yards receiving on 10 Catches with a TD. His game against Cleveland kind of brings me back to this video. While Cleveland’s secondary is stinky and T.O probably won’t see another 200 yard game this year he should enjoy some nice games going forward and finish nicely overall.
Shonn Greene
While Greene was kept out of the endzone again and L.T had 2 Td’s Greene still had his best game to date finishing with 22 carries for 117 yards. Greene looked good running hard and hitting holes quickly. It also was good to see Greene get a big workload this week. Part of it was them blowing out Buffalo but Greene still saw a good amount of work early in the game. He also just missed out on a couple of TD’s by tripping up on one and another falling short at the two yard line. It was discouraging to see L.T. come in after that run though and it looks like the Jets want to give L.T. most of the goaline carries. Greene will still have some games where he doesn’t produce much but when the Jets matchup against inferior teams then he turns into a very solid play. He is still worth a flex play almost every week.
Fo Real? You bet your Chinese Swords they are
Kyle Orton
This dude is just going nuts every single week. Kyle “Sexy Dollar Juice” Orton has now thrown for 1,400 yards already this year with 6 TD’s. Orton started to show signs in his last year in Chicago and was fairly solid last year. Now with a year under his belt in Mcdaniels system Orton is passing on everyone. A lot of credit has to go to Mcdaniels but Orton is a smart QB with talent. Purdue University now has two good QB’s in the NFL with Drew Brees and Orton. Orton and the #1 pass offense in the league will face the #1 pass defense in the league in Baltimore in Week 5. If Orton gets it done against them as well then he is clearly a #1 QB.
Arian Foster
Just in case you were still hatin and didn’t think this guy was Fo real then you should definitely know by now that he is. After being benched in the 1st quarter for missing a couple of team meetings Foster came in and dominated the Raiders defense for 187 total yards and two Td’s. He could have been discouraged and played with lack of energy after his benching but Foster did the complete opposite. He came out and ran with force. Foster is talented and it also helps that his O-line is opening up lanes for him consistently. This play clearly showcases Foster’s talent.
Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller
The two connected for two more TD’s this week and now have connected for 5 TD’s in 4 games. While both of these guys will remain consistent this year you can expect their production to drop off because right now it’s kinda crazy for both. Sanchez has 8 TD’s with 0 picks thus far so it’s not gonna be that rosy going forward. Keller has 5 TD’s already in 4 games so don’t expect him to catch a TD every week. But the offseason work that these two put in together is really paying off and they will continue to be an effective combo.
Other guys who look are Fo Real– Peyton Hillis, Sam Bradford, Austin Collie, Lesean Mcoy
Waiting to Exhale
Ray Rice– I also own Rice in 2 leagues and right now he is absolutely killing me. This week you figured he would struggle vs Pittsburgh somewhat but you at least expected him to start the game and get the majority of the carries. That didn’t happen, Willis Mcgahee started and got all the carries until he got hurt in the 2nd half. Even Leron Mclain was getting carries over Rice. Obviously they wanted to take it easy with him and his knee bruise. All you can do is just remain patient with Ray, he will pay dividends soon. Let’s just hope he hasn’t burned us enough to the point where it’s too late to turn our seasons around. Rice faces another tough matchup this week against Denver and their stout Run D which just shut down Chris Johnson. Looks like we may have to hold our breath for at least one more week.
Prune the Hedges (Aka Cut Bait)
Legedu Naanee– If you have room and can hold onto him then maybe you want to consider it but it appears Legedu is not going to be reliable this year. Aside from Week 1 when he had a fluky TD Legedu has done little. This week takes the cake with 1 catch for 4 yards. He also has dropped passes and this week was called for a bad holding penalty. Rivers is looking Gates way all the time and when he’s not its Macolm Floyd. Those are his two best options. Naanee is probably 3rd but probably won’t see any big games this year. Rivers also has Crayton , Craig Davis and Darren Sproles to get the ball too. Also now with Mike Tolbert running solid and Ryan Matthews back it means the Chargers will be running a bit more as well. Go hed and cut Naanee I don’t think you’re gonna regret it.
Jerome Harrison– I believed in him this year but it appears I was wrong on him. Harrison had his chance to keep the role but blew it against the Chiefs in Week 2 by not impressing Coach Mangini. Peyton Hillis than took full advantage of Harrison’s injury in Week 3 and ran all over the Ravens. It now appears that Harrison might be in Mangini’s doghouse as he didn’t even receive a carry this week against the Bengals. Also Hillis went for over a 100 yards again against a tough Bengals D. Without a Hillis Injury it’s gonna be hard for Harrison to get his job back because Hillis will probably be solid almost every week from here on in. Remember the Browns offensive line is one of the best in the league so Hillis is going to see holes and he hits them hard. Unless you’re a Hillis owner then it’s probably time to let go of Harrison. If Harrison does ever get a chance to take this role back he will impress but it may never come again this year.
Derek Anderson and Matt Hasselback
It had to be Whisenhunt’s stubbornness that made him cut Matt Leinart because he really couldn’t have been thinking straight when he left the season to Derek Anderson. It’s unfortunate that Leinart never really got a fair chance. Anyway Anderson was benched on Sunday and probably won’t get his job back as Max Hall the rookie from BYU will probably take over this week. I don’t see how Whisenhunt could go back to Anderson.
Matt Hasselback is a shell of his former self. He really looks like Gramps out there. Just cut him and don’t ever think about him again this year.
Both of these guys should have never been drafted in the first place.
Go and Trade for now!
Mike Wallace– When Ben returns in Week 6 Wallace is going to go off. Wallace is very talented so get creative and trade for him.
Dez Bryant– Coming off a bye week Bryant had time to rest his rib injury and develop more chemistry with Romo. Now is the time to get him because Bryant is going to get better and better as the season goes on. Get him now especially in keeper leagues.
Jamal Charles– Go and Trade for him now. You may have to pay a decent penny for him still but Charles has yet to really break out. Haley and Weiss really can’t be that dumb to let Charles and his 7 yards per carry not get more touches. Charles should see a bigger role starting this week. Get him !!!!!!!!!!!
Santana Moss– Owners might be a little down on him after he absolutely disappeared this week. See if you can snatch him up because Mcnabb and him will be successful.
Brett Favre– Favre will get better than his current 2 TD’s and 6 picks. Also the Vikings would be stupid not to try to trade for Vincent Jackson. A trade is still highly likely. Either way Favre had the bye week to develop more chemistry with his wideouts. You can proabably get Favre on the cheap right now.
Other guys to target- Macolm Floyd, C.J Spiller, Terrell Owens (may have to wait till he has a bad week), Ryan Matthews, DeAngelo Williams, Hakeem Nicks, Aaron Hernandez, Tony Gonzalez, Michael Crabtree, Beanie Wells, Dwayne Bowe, Ahmad Bradshaw, MJD, Ray Rice, Shonn Greene
Trade Away
Steven Jackson- Jackson is a warrior who plays through injuries but I just think they are taking their toll on him. He still runs hard but lacks the explosiveness and make you miss ability he once had. He still is talented but his TD’s will continue to lack and he will remain an injury concern. I would try to move him, at least test the waters
Darren Mcfadden– Honestly, Mcfadden has looked pretty explosive this year. He has even looked more agile than I’m used to seeing him. However he has had some swiss cheese matchups this year so far against the Rams, Cardinals and last week against the Texans. Plus he just pulled up lame with a hammy injury. Injuries have always been a problem for D-Mac. Go and test the waters and see what kind of response you get. I really don’t think he can maintain this production and he not a good bet to stay healthy.
DeSean Jackson/Jeremy Maclin– Without Vick they are just not as effective. They lose a lot of value with Kolb. Kolb loves to checkdown and throw 5-10 yard passes. Plus when he throws deep he is inaccurate. Jackson did virtually nothing in week 4 and so did Maclin. Kolb really hurts these guys value so go out and trade them while you can. Go and act like you’re still high on em though.
Michael Vick– We’ve been saying it for the past couple weeks but it’s probably too late now with the injury. See if there is any interest out there. There is probably one guy in your league that is a big Vick fan.
Big Injuries from Week 4
Michael Vick- (Rib) Looks like a cartilage tear in his rib not a break. Strange injury but this is supposed to be more severe. He’s already been ruled out for Sunday Night. It could be a couple of weeks.
Ryan Matthews – (Ankle, Elbow) Injured his elbow in practice before Sunday’s game. If you noticed Matthews had a huge wrap on his elbow. It was probably the reason Mike Tolbert was getting so many touches. Matthews is still the guy but Tolbert probably has earned a bigger role with his play.
Clinton Portis- ( Groin) We’ve been saying it, go out and get Portis’ backup because he won’t stay healthy. We thought it would be Keiland Williams but he got cut and Ryan Torain took over. Shahahan likes Torain saying he has good “Upside” and already was giving him half the carries before Portis went down. Anyway Grab Torain as Portis is going to be out at least a week or two with a groin injury and even when Portis returns Torain will remain a factor.
Jay Cutler– (Concussion) He suffered a concussion after he got sacked 40940940940949 times on Sunday Night. Part of it was his line but another part was Jay looking down field too long and not ridding the ball to open wideouts. Cutler said he feels good and should be Ok for Sunday.
Darren Mcffaden- (Hammy)– Pulled up lame after a nice run. Mcfadden has always been an injury risk so this is nothing new. Reports are he will most likely miss week 5 right now.
Any questions on Trades Email Me SteveDeAngelo@gmail.com
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