Fantasy Football 101: Week 4 Quick Hits, Adds, Drops, and Buy Low Opportunities

The fantasy regular season is nearing the end of its first trimester, meaning we know what we have and what we don't.  Depending on one's roster, it is either time to sit tight or shake things up.

Here is a look at what we learned from the injury-plagued first bye week.

San Francisco vs. Atlanta

49ers — There has been a Michael Crabtree sighting.  Ok, it was just five catches for 58 yards but the 49ers are making an effort to get him involved.  A buy low opportunity for a receiver needy team.  The defense also showed some life which should keep them fantasy relevant in the offensively-challenged NFC West.

Falcons — Roddy White has been the best receiver no one likes to talk about, but the numbers he puts up in a run-first offense prove he is among the elite.  One of the most consistent receivers you will find.  Michael Turner made a minimal impact for the second time in four games, while Jason Snelling continues to get about a third of the load.

New York Jets vs. Buffalo

Jets — On the surface it looks like Shonn Greene finally had a breakout game, but keep in mind he did the bulk of his damage in the second half when the game was already decided.  If this remains an LT-first rushing attack, Greene's value may grow as the season progresses and Tomlinson tires, but he is not little more than a bye week flex option right now.  It will also be interesting to see how the passing game changes with Santonio Holmes coming back in the next game.

Bills — Why did the Bills draft CJ Spiller ninth overall?  After an electric preseason, he has become an afterthought in an offense going nowhere (just three touches this week and 26 in four weeks).  The Andrew Luck watch is officially on in Buffalo; unfortunately, they need an offensive line even more.

Cincinnati vs. Cleveland

Bengals — Carson Palmer and the passing attack showed they can exploit porous pass defenses.  TO showed his "spurtability" but don't expect consistency from him, Ocho, or Palmer.  Cedric Benson finally reached four yards per carry but still has not exceeded 81 yards in any game this season, ranking among the many disappointing early round backs this year.

Browns — Peyton Hillis is the real deal and is currently challenging Michael Vick for waiver wire pickup of the year.  Outside of deep leagues, there is little else of fantasy note on this roster.

Detroit vs. Green Bay

Lions — Megatron finally breaks through with a six-catch (11 targets), 86-yard, and two TD effort.  Knock Shaun Hill all you want, but in three weeks as a starter he has thrown for 300-plus yards and two TDs twice.  Makes you wonder what a healthy Stafford could produce.  Tight ends Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler each have six catches or more in three out of four games.  Stay patient with Best—better days lie ahead. 

Packers — Aaron Rodgers has failed to breakout as expected this season but has put up consistent numbers through four games.  Both John Kuhn and Brandon Jackson are barely fantasy relevant, despite playing for one of the league's most prolific offenses.  Keep an eye on any roster moves they make in the backfield, as the team's late season back is probably not on the roster yet. 

Denver vs. Tennessee

Broncos — Kyle Orton is the best fantasy quarterback no one wants to believe in.  He is averaging just 1.5 TDs per game, but has yet to throw for less than 295 and has no running game to fall back on.  Believe it or not, but Brandon Lloyd is the receiver you want with 115-plus in three out of four games.  He is more than just keeping Demaryius Thomas's spot warm.  Hard to believe the ground game misses Knowshon Moreno as much as it has the past two weeks (Maroney and Buckhalter had just eight yards on 17 carries this week).

Titans — Sadly the Titans' conservative run-first offense is capable of games like this when Chris Johnson is held in check.  Through four games, none of the receivers have established themselves as a consistent option.  If there is one breakout, it will likely be Kenny Britt and he could be a decent buy low option.

Seattle vs. St. Louis

Seahawks — At home the Seahawks are respectable but on the road they struggle.  If there were one thing to take away from this week's game, it was Justin Forsett establishing himself as the team's No. 1 running back, getting 19 of the team's 21 running back carries.  Golden Tate's role continues to increase even though the stats don't show it yet.

Rams — Sam Bradford continues to exceed all expectations, turning a Steven Jackson first offense into a respectable passing attack despite mediocre receivers (he's made Mark Clayton a solid WR2/WR3 option).  Bradford is inching his way into the top 15 among quarterbacks, especially when playing weaker NFC West competition.

Carolina vs. New Orleans

Panthers — DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart finally gave their owners some hope, but the offensive struggles make them RB2s at best.  Jimmy Clausen progressed in his second start, but if Steve Smith is out for any period of time, his short-term upside is extremely limited, as is the value of either running back.

Saints — The offense has gone horizontal and the big play has disappeared from the Saints offense, as Brees has just one game with a play of more than 30 yards thus far. Drew Brees has thrown 36 or more passes in every game but has only exceeded 275 yards once.  Lance Moore caught five passes and a touchdown while getting eight targets, proving he will be streaky but has officially joined the Saints receiver merry-go-round at Robert Meachem's expense.  Chris Ivory was solid in place of Pierre Thomas.

Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh

Ravens — Joe Flacco, Derrick Mason, and Anquan Boldin exceeded expectations against the tough Steelers D, although forgotten TJ Houshmandzadeh got the receiving TD.  Ray Rice owners can only hope he gets healthy soon, because the top four back ranks among fantasy football's biggest disappointments.

Steelers — The Roethlislberger wait is over, making players other than Rashard Mendenhall relevant again. 

Houston vs. Oakland

Texans — In the absence of Andre Johnson the Texans became a run-first attack with Arian Foster putting up 187 total yards in just three quarters.  Despite the run focus, Matt Schaub appeased fantasy owners with a two TD effort.  Jacoby Jones (1 catch 12 yards) was a big disappointment as the team's big play receiver.

Raiders — Bruce Gradkowski is by no means a fantasy star, but he is proving to be serviceable while establishing himself as the team's quarterback and proving he is one tough cookie.  The first Darren McFadden and Michael Bush outing gave us a taste of 50/50, 60/40 timeshare, with Run DMC taking a larger role in the passing game.  Hopefully McFadden's hamstring injury is not too serious.  TE Zach Miller had the type of big game many expected out of him this season, while scoring a TD for the second straight week.

Indianapolis vs. Jacksonville

Colts — Peyton Manning put up his third 325-plus yard game of the season with the passing game, while Reggie Wayne reminded owners he still has some "spurtability" left, with a career-best 15 catches (and 196 yards).  Popular pickup Blair White was near invisible with just two catches for 20 yards as the Colts consolidated the passing game to Wayne, Clark, and Collie. 

Jaguars — David Garrard reminded us of his home game magic with a three touchdown outing (two passing, one rushing) while a visibly hurting MJD broke through for his first 100-yard game and touchdowns (2) of the season.  Josh Scobee's kicker value has always been tied to his strong leg.

Washington vs. Philadelphia

Redskins — Don't be surprised if Ryan Torain out-gains Clinton Portis the rest of this season.  Santana Moss's shutout is concerning as is McNabb's failure to complete 50 percent of his passes for the second time in four games. 

Eagles — Michael Vick's injury shows the risk of running quarterbacks.  Without Kevin Kolb at the helm, the Eagles went from a dynamic, receiver-centric offense to a dink and dunk TE/RB offense.  The biggest concern has to be Kolb's confidence as he rarely targeted Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.  An extended Vick absence is good news to Brent Celek and LeSean McCoy owners.

Arizona vs. San Diego

Cardinals — Did anyone outside of the Cardinals organization not see that the Derek Anderson/Matt Leinart experiment was not going to work?  Just four weeks into the season, the Cardinals have turned to another undrafted free agent, Max Hall.  He can't hurt Larry Fitzgerald's value anymore than Anderson did, can he?

Chargers — Like Matt Schaub, Philip Rivers was quietly efficient, putting up 241 yards and two TDs. On the negative side, Mike Tolbert's success is limiting Ryan Mathews's upside.

Chicago vs. New York Giants

Bears — The smoke and mirrors the porous Bears O-line used in Weeks 1-3 were exposed big time in a nine-sack first half.  The Bears can only hope Jay Cutler's concussion is not serious.

Giants — The pass rushing defense was back in full force but the offense continues to struggle aside from Ahmad Bradshaw.  Expect Hakeem Nicks's role to increase as his hands and the season progresses.

New England vs. Miami - TBD

Chris Maier is Senior Editor for NFLDraft101.com.  He can be reached at [e-mail].  Follow me on Twitter: nfldraft101.