20 Fantasy Football Studs and Duds From Week Four

20 Fantasy Football Studs and Duds from Week Four

September 30, 2008

What a week in the NFL and Fantasy Football!  Some old names have moved back into the fantasy spotlight on Team Studs while some others surprise us and fall to Team Duds.  Let’s have a look at those Top Dogs and the Dogs that laid down for you in week four of the fantasy football season…

TEAM STUD

QB: Brett Favre, Jets

You have heard about this, right?  Six TD passes.  Some greedy owners were likely asking where all the yards were too.  Who would have thought that Favre and Aaron Rodgers would only be separated by a couple fantasy points at this time of year?  Well, that part may not be such a surprise as much as it is that they are both Top Five Fantasy QB’s.  Brett gets to sit the week out before getting the Bengals in week six.

RB: Larry Johnson, Chiefs

Larry Johnson has not put up a week like that in the fantasy football regular season since week 8 of the 2006 season.  Yeah, that long ago.  A week after there was talk of taking away carries, especially at the goal line, and Hermy saying the season is devoted to seeing what they have in the younger guys, Johnson busts out.  It will be interesting to see what direction Herm wants to go in this week.

RB: Steven Jackson, Rams

Jackson looked exactly like what we expected him to look like this season.  Rather surprising given his previous performances.  Just in time for you to miss him on his week five bye.  Well, Jim Haslett, of the Jim Haslett that started out great with the Saints and then went to hell Haslett’s, is the Head Coach now for the time being.  We’ll see how that works for ya…

WR: Laveranues Coles, Jets

Three of Brett Favre’s six TD’s went to Coles.  So much for that “But they don’t have any chemistry, blah, blah…” that we have been hearing.  Coles is back.  He is usually worth a couple big games per year but we may be able to get a couple more out of him with Favre’s big arm throwing to him.

WR: Greg Jennings, Packers

Greg Jennings made Ronde Barber look silly on his first TD.  Then he tacked on another while racking up over 100 yards on six receptions.  Truly the highlight of a poor game for the Packers.  At the pace he is going, Jennings could end the season as one of the top WR’s.

TE: Jason Witten, Cowboys

Witten is easily the top dog at TE this season.  If you were able to grab him in your league while others jumped at the old boys like Gates and Gonzo, good for you.  Witten gave no reason to believe at the end of last season that he would be any less of a great fantasy TE and it continues into week five of 2008.

DT/ST: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Turnovers galore and a Special Teams TD, how about that?  Kinda reminds you of a Bucs Defense of old, doesn’t it?

Individual Defensive Players (IDP)

LB: LaMarr Woodley, Steelers

Monster game for Woodley.  Woodley get’s five tackles, three assists, one and a half sacks, a forced fumble, recovered fumble, and TD.  To put that into perspective for those that don’t play with IDP players, Woodley scored right around what Tony Romo did and a little less than Steven Jackson.  This week scored twice as much as his previous high for the season.

DL: Trent Cole, Eagles

Eight tackles is a lot more than you usually ask of your starting D-Lineman.  Tack on sack and a forced fumble and you are one happy IDP owner this week.  Cole was actually likely one of the earlier DE’s drafted so it is time that you reap the reward.

DB: Michael Lewis, Niners

Lewis put together a monster game with 11 tackles, a forced fumble, and two passes defensed.  All this coming off his least productive game of the season the week before.  Lewis is a safe bet to start every week and is a welcome addition to Team Stud this week.

TEAM DUD

QB: Carson Palmer, Bengals

If you set your lineup early and went about the Sunday family thing you were likely horrified to find out that Palmer did not take the field for warm-ups and then was listed as the #3 QB for the Bengals for the game.  Want to be even more pissed?  Palmer was told on Saturday that he would not be playing…and you, the man that spent the precious draft pick on him, were told nothing.

RB: Marion Barber, Cowboys

Marion Barber III was kind of left behind in the Coboys playing catch up and then neglected when they did catch up.  Worst fantasy showing for Barber since week 15 of last season (assuming you don’t play week 17 in your leagues).  You can certainly look for Barber to bounce back ASAP.

RB: Reggie Bush, Saints

Bush is still the leading RB in leagues with PPR but he was plain out stopped this week.  We don’t know for how long but Deuce McAllister is back to take some carries away.  The biggest disappointment here was Bush’s history against the Niners and all the injuries on the Saints led us to believe he would light it up this week.

WR: Chris Chambers, Chargers

Just as it began looking like the Chargers passing game was going to be fun for fantsay owners, Chambers only put up 42 yards on two grabs against the Raiders.  The yards are about on his average but you likely expected him to be in the endzone.  He is still a fantasy football improving Phillip Rivers main man for the WR’s.

WR: Donald Driver, Packers

We knew that Driver would play second fiddle to Greg Jennings but on fantasy draft day you had to think he would be off to a better start than he is.  Only one catch for eight yards against the Bucs.  If Driver is on your roster we wouldn’t use him for much more than bye week filler if you don’t have better options for now.

TE:  Tony Scheffler, Broncos

Two low scoring weeks in a row.  Owners had to think that a game with the Chiefs would bring the numbers back up.  Nope.

DT/ST: Dallas Cowboys

If it had not been for a couple of sacks, the Cowboys could have been in negative numbers if your league allows that.  Not only were the Cowboys surprised by the Redskins, so were fantasy owners that though they could walk over them.

Individual Defensive Players (IDP)

LB: D’Qwell Jackson, Browns

Jackson is still a Top 10 Scoring Linebacker despite this week.  Owners had to be bummed though when he only chalked up one tackle and three assists.  Not enough to think of moving the guy, not even close.  Just one of those bummer weeks.

DL: Mario Williams, Texans

After coming out in week one and having a solid showing, Williams owners had to be pleased.  They lost a week to the hurricane, had an average game with no sacks and then were doomed with a one tackle performance this week.  Defensive line is not an IDP goldmine but it sure does give you an advantage when you have guys that score…kinda like Williams owners thought they would have this week.

DB: Antonio Cromartie

A week after being on Team Stud, Cromartie owners likely thought they were dreaming when they saw the Raiders on the schedule.  Not so much.  After a monster week, Cromartie logged just one tackle.  He will still have some big weeks but this could also be a hint of inconsistency.

*** We are a quarter of the way through the season.  Watch for the NFL Team and Fantasy Football 1st Quarter Report Cards this week at Football Jabber!.