Team Rankings Post Week Four

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1. Denver Broncos- Rolling, rolling and destroying teams as they do so.
2. Seattle Seahawks- Grit when playing from behind on the road is another big step for this team.
3. New Orleans- Even I was shocked at how well the Saints played against Miami. It was their best performance of the season. They just seem to be getting better by the week.
4. New England- Brady is at it again. They have the look of a team that’s going to be tested when it matters though.
5. San Francisco- The Super Bowl Champs responded well on Thursday night. But that was against the Rams. They’ll face a much tougher opponent Sunday
6. Houston Texans- Tough losses happen. How a team responds separates the solid teams from the greats.
7. Chicago Bears- Detroit would be a tough opponent for anyone on their home field. I’m not discrediting one loss by bumping the Bears too far down.
8. Kansas City Chiefs- They sit at 4-0 but I think this will be the highest they reach as far as team rankings on the year.
9. Green Bay Packers- Eddie Lacy is back and the Packers return after a bye week. They’ll be a top ten to fifteen team all season.
10. Baltimore Ravens- Based on their division they’re a team that can finish 10-6 or even 9-7 and still be a top twelve team. The past has proven an overall record isn’t the only thing that matters. They’re still searching for an identity offensively. But the Ravens defense is young, fast, and will grow as the season stretches.
11. Indianapolis
12. Detroit
13. Atlanta Falcons
14. Dallas Cowboys
15. Cincinnati
16. Tennessee
17. San Diego
18. Carolina Panthers
19. Miami Dolphins
20. Arizona Cardinals
21. Washington Redskins
22. Cleveland Browns
23. Philadelphia Eagles
24. Buffalo Bills
25. NY Jets
26. Minnesota Vikings
27. Pittsburgh Steelers
28. NY Giants
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30. Oakland Raiders
31. St. Louis Rams
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

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.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Will start week two’s, You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me with a whole unit. Chicago’s offensive line a year ago was pulverized by the Giants defense in front of a nationally televised Sunday night game. Their quarterback took a licking all year, only to break down completely in the playoffs with an injury. You’d think the unit could come together and fix issues at hand. How quickly and easily the Saints attacked Cutler was comical. It looked like an overmatched 1A high school, going against a 5A high school defensive line. The Saints lived in the Bears backfield, and the Saints turf became awfully familiarized with the imprint Cutler.

How about the Arizona Cardinals? In a game that they could of maneuvered themselves to a 2-0 start, Kevin Kolb throws the ball to Chansi Stuckey on a potential game winning drive. In game winning situations do you put the ball in a fifth string receiver’s hands? No. They paid Larry Fitzgerald and Todd Heap all that money, and couldn’t muster a better drive then that. Kneel down Washington, and Arizona fans remember that loss in week seventeen.

Philadelphia’s linebackers let Mike Turner run for a straight burst up the middle for sixty yards, and let the oldest tight end in football eat them alive over the middle all game. They’ve got to get better in the middle of their defense or playoff teams with solid duo backfields are going to feast in December and January.

Last week most of the Bundy moments occurred from players under performing. This week it was injuries that derailed fantasy starts to minimal total points.

Quarterbacks

Philip Rivers- A quarterback of Rivers caliber still can’t get his team off from perpetual bad starts. They won a sloppy game week one against the Vikings, and turnovers plagued their home game against the Patriots. Rivers did not contribute the type of numbers you would of expected in a shootout. He did get the Chargers going in the second half, but another two interceptions thwarted one of his touchdown throws.

Luke McCown- For McCown to be considered a veteran and play the way he has, is beyond ugly. It puts a glaring spotlight on the Jaguars front office. Everyone knows the reason they cut Garrard was not the fact that McCown was better. It was so they didn’t have to pay Garrard’s contract incentive. Look for McCown to be benched and next year on a team as a third stringer.

Matt Cassel- The teams start compared to last year is head scratching. They’re playing as if they were coached by Herm Edwards again. Discipline instilled a year ago by head coach Todd Haley has gone out the window. Talent level has drop and injuries have mounted. The mega investment on Cassel was a debate last year. Haley may have to yank Cassel in favor of Tyler Palko.

Mike Vick- He had the Eagles rolling, but mistakes by him while on the field were absolutely inexcusable. His concussion symptoms and prognosis were enough to drive owners to yell, you’ve got to be kidding me. But his fumble not protecting the football, and errant interception were both preventable.

Sam Bradford- The new system change seems to be helping Bradford stretch the field and get away from the dink and dump of a year ago. Speeding up plays for the hurry up offense has opposing defenses unsettled. Maybe without Steven Jackson, the Rams just couldn’t figure out how to run their red zone offense. Bradford just could not find open targets once the Rams got inside the twenty. Ignore the overall stats, as they were impressive. Leaving open red zone opportunities just does not bode well for fantasy owners. Field goals don’t cut, unless you had Josh Brown and were down single digits in your fantasy league.

Joe Flacco- I documented it last week, stating that this week’s game vs. Tennessee would be the tell all if Baltimore was actually moving forward. Guess not. Playing to the level of their competition is what the Ravens do. Close calls against the Bills, Browns, and other teams happened a year ago. There was absolutely no reason the Ravens should of not came out and demolished the Titans. Flacco just can not bring his A game every week.

Running Backs

Felix Jones- On the very first series Jones was hurt with a separated shoulder. Tallying just three total fantasy points and his status for next week is questionable. Jones has shown he can be a home run threat type of back even with limited work. Dallas needs those flashes from him to get this offense to an even higher level.

Jamaal Charles- Panic mode officially set in to owners that winced with Kansas City fans when Charles went down. He bumped Larry Johnson into retirement and weekly viable fantasy point fifteen to twenty point producer. With him out of your lineup now, major adjustments will need to be done.

Mike Tolbert- Two fumbles and not much brought to the offense in terms of rushing the football. Tolbert’s fantasy value has come out of the backfield. San Diego is not going to accept that for long. Tolbert needs to get back into gear, or he will lose a good share of the split with Ryan Matthews.

Reggie Bush- More involvement rushing the football and being even more of a weapon as a receiver was the expectations from Bush and Miami. Quietly it looks as if the Dolphins have decided to bump Daniel Thomas as the main back, and keep Bush’s involvement toned down like it was in New Orleans. Many probably started Bush as a flex starter and received Saint like fantasy numbers from him.

Wide Receivers

Malcolm Floyd- I had him pegged as one of the top receivers for week two. He was on his way to doing that, lighting up the Patriots secondary on the first drive. Rivers was basically throwing jump ball lobs to him, and Floyd was gobbling them up with his 6’5 frame. After an impressive forty yard sideline catch, in which Floyd contorted his entire body, he came down roughly and never returned with a groin injury. He was on pace to have Vincent Jackson’s day.

Mike Williams-
Sure a touchdown called back on an illegal formation cost fantasy owners a good ten points. Hey, Mike and the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator, there were fifty two total offensive plays to make some sort of contribution. At least Williams kept a streak of consecutive games with a catch intact. One for negative four yards. A strong punch to the gut for owners that have Williams as their second receiver.