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Bye Weeks: Dallas, Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Oakland

Here are week five’s rankings at running back. Keep an eye on how many carries Rashard Mendenhall receives this week from Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh and team doctors have cleared his return and need him desperately as their running game has lacked effeciency. He is not included in this week’s top forty, but may make his way as a fantasy impactful player within the next two to four games.

1. LeSean McCoy
2. Arian Foster
3. Ray Rice
4. Matt Forte
5. Marshawn Lynch
6. Adrian Peterson
7. Frank Gore
8. Willis McGahee
9. Trent Richardson
10. Jamaal Charles
11. Ryan Matthews
12. MJD
13. Michael Turner
14. Alfred Morris
15. Darren Sproles
16. Reggie Bush
17. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
18. Stevan Ridley
19. Cedric Benson
20. Chris Johnson
21. Ryan Williams
22. Fred Jackson
23. DeAngelo Williams
24. CJ Spiller
25. Steven Jackson
26. Daniel Thomas
27. Michael Bush
28. Donald Brown
29. Shonn Greene
30. Andre Brown
31. Isaac Redman
32. Jonathan Stewart
33. Jackie Battle
34. Jacquizz Rodgers
35. Ben Tate
36. Pierre Thomas
37. Ronnie Hillman
38. Kendall Hunter
39. Brandon Bolden
40. Lamar Miller

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Bye Weeks: Dallas, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Oakland

The first month of the season flew by. October is a month where we will find out which teams are the real deal, and others that were over hyped. From a quarterback standpoint there are many stars that need to rectify some woeful performances to get their fantasy GM’s back in the running. Barring injury those studs drafted in round one will get their teams back in the thick of things to attempt to sneak into the fantasy playoffs. What are their true separations in terms of fantasy with the starts of Joe Flacco, RG3, and others?

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Mike Vick
3. Tom Brady
4. Matt Ryan
5. Joe Flacco
6. Drew Brees
7. RG3
8. Philip Rivers
9. Cam Newton
10. Alex Smith
11. Peyton Manning
12. Jay Cutler
13. Matt Schaub
14. Eli Manning
15. Christian Ponder
16. Andy Dalton
17. Ben Roethlisberger
18. Kevin Kolb
19. Russell Wilson
20. Sam Bradford
21. Andrew Luck
22. Brandon Weeden
23. Ryan Fitzpatrick
24. Blaine Gabbert
25. Ryan Tannehill
26. Matt Hasselbeck
27. Matt Cassel
28. Mark Sanchez

Twitter Questions @Cimini

A month has now been concluded in the NFL. The last game of week four featured the media’s favorite quarterback to bash in Jay Cutler obliterate the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Romo can now get his spot back right next to Mark Sanchez in the media’s circle of bashing. Jay Cutler is one of those quarterbacks that either gets it done or kills your fantasy team. Who else makes it into week fours waiver wire edition from Notjustagame.com?

Quarterbacks

Ryan Tannehill-

The skillset of Tannehill was on display in college, and led to him being drafted with the eighth overall pick by Miami. Like any young quarterback he is going to have his fair share of the learning curve. That will come each week of gained starting experience. As a fantasy owner you just can’t ignore a performance such as Tannehill had. When playoff time comes favorable matchups can come from anywhere.

Jay Cutler-
You truly pay for your ticket with Cutler before getting on the rollercoaster. Yet when he limits his interceptions he can be a spot starter and suitable fantasy backup. After his poor performance against the Packers and a non standout game against the Rams fantasy owners began to drop him. He is available in twenty eight percent of Yahoo leagues. With his familiarity with big play receiver Brandon Marshall, and favorable backfield with Matt Forte and Michael Bush why not have him on your team.

Joe Flacco-

I guess there were just too many non-believers out there for Joe Flacco. He has came out and been a top seven fantasy quarterback in the first month of the season. A trend that could remain for the entire season if the Ravens keep the offense churning the way they are. He has the confidence of his teammates and now coaches to be a weekly fantasy starter. There is no reason for him to be available in nearly twenty percent of Yahoo leagues.

Running Backs
Brandon Bolden-

As the Patriots started to explode in the fourth quarter they found out a gem in Bolden. You just have to wonder if the Patriots will run the football as much as they did against the Bills. Regardless, the way the Pats offense is starting to look again, it’s going to give plenty of players the chance at being a fantasy stud. Pickup Bolden and stash him to see how the Patriots plan to keep on using him. He won’t have the hundred yard games but rushing touchdowns will make him fantasy relevant.

Jackie Battle-
San Diego is going to try to keep Ryan Matthews healthy. To do so they will utilize a dual backfield, similar to what they did with LT and Michael Turner and Mike Tolbert. Battle has supplanted Curtis Brinkley in the role and is becoming a consistent double digit carry back every week. With Matthews documented fumbling issues, Battle may be the back that steals plenty of short yardage touchdowns.

Wide Receivers

Andre Roberts-
Roberts has been on my waiver wire report a few times this season. He has been a factor for the Cardinals with both John Skelton and Kevin Kolb. With Kolb though his value increases, as the offense moves at a better pace. With the Cardinals poor rushing attack, the Cardinals have short route plays designed to keep the defense off balance. Michael Floyd is still adjusting as a rookie, while Roberts has been the one to step up to the plate. Roberts is widely available in leagues.

Chaz Schilens-
Almost by default Schilens ascends to the top of the Jets passing offense. As profiled as the Jets horrific game against the 49ers was, it was just one loss. They’re .500, and a good few weeks by Mark Sanchez will erase the tension spiked to get Tim Tebow on the field.

Jerome Simpson-
Simpson has freak athletic ability, and the Vikings want to get him involved. Even though the Vikings pass offense is in the bottom tier of the league, there just are not many options to go to. Harvin, simpson, and tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Brian Hartline-
This is yet another repeat entry as Hartline was included a week ago. There is not much more to explain with Hartline as his career game speaks for itself. The other stupefying number is that Hartline is available in 75% of yahoo leagues.

Kendall Wright-
Kenny Britt has had a plethora of injuries over the last year, the latest being an ankle injury. It’s not expected to hamper him for an extended time, but it’s enough to raise an eyebrow. The rookie Wright will get opportunities this year to get involved in more plays and show the value and reason why the Titans drafted him high.

Leonard Hankerson-
Even with Pierre Garcon back in the fold fantasy owners that currently own Hankerson do not need to be worried. RG3 is putting up monster numbers every week and it’s not just with his legs. Hankerson is a target RG3 eyes and has made Hankerson into a double digit fantasy wide receiver in three games he has played.

The Cowboys and Bears are both expected to be in the hunt for the playoffs come week seventeen. This game will end up being a pivotal game come December for playoff implications. Dallas has the lines maker classic three point home edge, and a 41.5 point over/under is set for the point total.

Tony Romo and Jay Cutler have the good and the bad mixture in the eyes of the NFL fan and media. Romo has been an elite quarterback from a statistical standpoint but just can’t pull off the big games when needed. Cutler has shown to get flustered when things are going bad, and a poor play tends to lead to more bad decisions from Cutler.

If he can have Matt Forte back tonight that should help alleviate forced throws, as Cutler can check down as he is accustomed to. Many are expecting this to be a low scoring game, but I expect some big plays to happen.

DeMarco Murray and Matt Forte are home run threats in the open field and will cause both defenses to have to apply more attention to a running back out of the backfield. That will open up holes for one on one matchups occasionally for either Brandon Marshall or Dez Bryant, and the tight ends in Jason Witten and Kellen Davis.

We all know that Jay Cutler has been prone to sacks. A lot of the blame in the Green Bay contest was on the Bears offensive line and not Cutler. If he can keep his head in the game, the Bears should be able to pull out this win on the road. J’Marcus Webb has had enough attention on him the last few years. Cutler’s shoving of him on Thursday night may be what he needed to get himself in gear on a game to game basis.

Can J’Marcus Webb get embarrassed on national television once again as he has vs the Giants on Sunday Night football a few years ago, and against the Packers Thursday two weeks ago? I think he’ll actually be up for the challenge tonight.
Two plays tonight: Bears +3 and the over first half of 21

Twitter Questions @Cimini

Quarterbacks drafted in round one finally broke out to high performing standards, and quelled the rest of fantasy drafters that still ignore the value of a fantasy quarterback. Here is the post week four listing and analysis on weekly wonders. Three were actually profiled as fantasy under the radar starters this week that outperformed mild expectations with scorching results.

Quarterbacks

Ryan Tannehill-

What a game from the rookie Tannehill. This will boost his confidence for the remainder of the season. Errors did come happen though on a few occasions, including a costly interception in overtime. Overall you’d have to give Tannehill an A though. Arizona came in winning seven in a row at home, and Miami established a 13-0 lead. After taking a sack on second and goal that pushed Miami back to the twenty. Tannehill still tried for the endzone, hitting Hartline to the Cardinal one. Miami’s ground game was effective but Tannehill was the one that established the offense. This won’t be a typical game from him, but his upside is bright towards the second half of this season.

Peyton Manning

Manning had a near flawless game that would be even hard for the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees to have right now. The effect from a year off of football and recovery from neck surgery has not entered the part of the season you’d expect a decline to happen. Once it’s midseason and beyond will be the tough question for Manning’s body to answer. At age 36, can he complete a full season at a high rate, attempting thirty eight throws?

Running Backs

Michael Turner-

I listed Turner as a start this weekend but expected more carries than thirteen. The fact that he had a big game may lead to the Falcons re-establishing Turner and the run game. With how well Matt Ryan and the passing game is going Turner’s carries per game are going to be a huge question mark. It’s his first quality fantasy game of the year that also featured a pass catching touchdown for Turner.

Brandon Bolden-

Bolden is going to be a consensus hot waiver wire pickup this week. His hundred yard game and the fact that he is on New England are all good reasons to think so. You just never know on a given week if Danny Woodhead is going to get some carries, or if the Patriots are going to even run the ball consistently. Against Buffalo they ran the ball forty times. A lot of those carries came during the fourth quarter explosion of 31 points off of mental miscues and interceptions by Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Wide Receivers

Anquan Boldin-

Boldin’s individual tenacity and leadership are now higher skill sets for him than on the field talent. Baltimore can depend on the veteran for intermediate catches, and using his physical skill set to separate from defenders. Though Baltimore is throwing the football more he should still finish around the same numbers he has the past two seasons. Even against Cleveland a lot of his catches were due to the fact that Joe Flacco was delivering the football with precise accuracy, not because Boldin was getting proper separation.

Brian Hartline-

Hartline was another fantasy start listed in week three starters. His game was an obvious career day and a new record for the Miami Dolphins. If anyone anticipated Ryan Tannehill throwing for over 450 yards at any point this season kudos to you. I did expect Hartline to have a good game though due to Miami’s offensive line holding up against the Cardinals pass rush. Hartline exposed William Gay almost every drop back Miami had.

James Jones-

The Packers passing attack showed its first Packer like performance Sunday. Jones will have a higher role as Greg Jennings sits out to heal a re-injured groin. Jones prior role a few years ago was as a deep threat, but that has now been filled by Jordy Nelson and even Randall Cobb. Jones is now the intermediate threat Donald Driver filled for many years. Jermichael Finley is still getting back into the flow of things after missing last year with injury. Once his production gets back to where everyone expects him to be, I believe Jones value takes a huge hit.

One more official week to factor in before a month is in the books. Keep firing with those under the radar starters that can give you that needed edge to pull out a fantasy football victory. Go the contrarian route and insert these guys for week four.

Quarterbacks
Ryan Fitzpatrick-
Fitzpatrick seems to bounce back for weeks at a time and then tail off opposite like a perfect graph chart. One team that Fitzpatrick seems to have confidence against is the New England Patriots. Last year he led a tremendous early season comeback victory against the Patriots. This game figures to be a high scoring affair, as Brady will come out gunning early to try and knock the Bills out early. Fitz looks like he will have maybe both Fred Jackson and Spiller back. It’ll be interesting to see how dynamic Buffalo can be with both of those backs healthy. Look for another three touchdown throws from Fitz.

Matt Cassel-
Division rivals usually lead to tight games and a deciding home field edge that can anchor a team past the opponent. San Diego and Kansas City have typically had close battles no matter the teams records. This is an important division game that the Chiefs will be able to use their running game to open up the passing game. San Diego had trouble last week with tall targets in Julio Jones and Roddy White. Jon Baldwin and Dwayne Bowe are not the same caliber tandem, but they’ll pose the same type of issues for the Chargers secondary.

Alex Smith-
The apparent transition of the New York Jets in their secondary without Darrelle Revis has even their head coach trying running back Joe McKnight at cornerback. That points out two things. The Jets do not believe they have the depth at cornerback, and that they used the bulk of their money on their secondary solely on Revis and Cromartie. The 49ers defense is already going to be rowdy and aggressive to get after Mark Sanchez after last weeks loss to the Vikings. Expect Smith to put up around 250 yards and a few scores.

Running Backs
Michael Turner-
The bashing of Michael Turner by fantasy owners has been worse than a six year old hitting a piñata on his birthday. Turner use to be the main cog of the Falcons offense. The shift has completely turned to Matt Ryan and his triple threat options of Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White, and Julio Jones. Even backup running back Jacquizz Rodgers is getting more and more attention from the Falcons. As a fantasy owner dealing with roster talent underperforming you have to be able to know when to get him in the lineup for high scoring games. Atlanta’s offense is as prolific as they come, especially at home. This game has a few plunge touchdowns from Turner written all over it, along with near 100 yards.

Cedric Benson-
We all saw what New Orleans defense allowed with the Kansas City Chiefs last week. With a huge lead, and the Chiefs just trying to get one successful drive going, the Chiefs found they could run the football all over the Saints the entire second half. Green Bay has had its struggles to start the season, but have no other option at running back but Benson. The offensive woes will subside for a week as the Packers launch a full out assault rushing and throwing attack to get their team back on track

Ben Tate-
The Titans are one of the bottom teams in football in terms of stopping the run. Houston has been doing whatever they want against opponents. Running the football with Tate/Foster or allowing Matt Schaub to pick his spots for big plays. When Tate can get around twelve carries his fantasy numbers can be as impactful as an RB1. That’s how potent the Texans ground attack currently is. This will be a week where Tate thrives even with Foster having a big day.

Wide Receivers

Vincent Jackson-
This should be the week that the Buccaneers get the air attack launched. Josh Freeman had a decent outing against the New York Giants, so his two mediocre performances against the Cowboys and Panthers should not hold him down entirely. He is not a guy that’s going to light it up every week and be a top twelve fantasy quarterback. There will be around six to eight games where he can crack the top twelve, and this week is definitely a favorable matchup against the Washington Redskins

Jon Baldwin-
Kansas City finally balanced their poor defense with an offensive attack that was enough for a come from behind victory against New Orleans. Jon Baldwin is a receiver by mid-season that will be considered as a fantasy starter or flex option on a weekly basis. It starts with big games out of nowhere. Cassel obviously loves Dwayne Bowe exponentially better than Baldwin, but Bowe may not be 100 percent Sunday with his thigh aggravating him. Look for Baldwin to get a touchdown catch with around sixty yards receiving this weekend against the San Diego Chargers.

Brian Hartline-
Possession receivers are the type that can get catches against the Arizona Cardinals. Miami will do what they have been doing, and pound the football with their stable of running backs. The air attack will feature quick throws to sustain drives. Hartline should rack plenty of PPR points with around six catches. Arizona has been thriving against teams because they have attacked and blitzed at one of the highest rates in the league. Miami’s offensive line will be up for the challenge on getting Tannehill extra time to find Hartline and the quick route throw.