NFL Fantasy Football Week 4: Sleeper, Creeper, Stud and Dud

If you were lucky enough to pick up and start Nate Washington this past week, then you received a nice bump in points from the tall speed receiver.  With Kenny Britt lost for the season and Chris Johnson still spinning his tires, Washington should be a solid WR2 start for the rest of the season.  Good luck in the championship game.  Well, it isn't that easy, but Washington owners are well on their way.

As expected, Henderson saw a drop in production with Lance Moore healthy, as Drew Brees prefers to work the middle of the field.  Henderson is an outside receiver who rarely goes across the middle of the field, instead working the sideline routes.  Trade him if you can.

Cam Newton also came back to Earth, but it took Mother Nature to do it.  This week he travels to Chicago, who has not fared particularly well against pass happy teams.  Expect Newton to have an above-average performance.

Now for a couple waiver wire pick-ups. 

Kevin Walter is healthy again.  He could be worth a pick-up as Houston likes to throw the ball. 

Torrey Smith likely won't have another three-TD performance, but so long as Lee Evans is sidelined, Smith is Baltimore's deep threat and will get looks.  Don't expect much this week against the Jets, but in Week 6 following their Bye in Week 5, the Ravens host the Texans who are vulnerable deep.

Outside of finding the hot waiver wire ticket to fantasy glory, it is important to analyze your players' matchups and figure out who your must starts are and who might need to sit the week out.

STUD:  High draft pick with a favorable matchup this week.

DUD:  High or moderate draft pick with an unfavorable matchup this week.

SLEEPER:  Unknown who has a favorable matchup this week.

CREEPER:  Known player who has been average recently, but has a favorable matchup this week.

On to the Sleeper, Creeper, Stud and Dud!

Week 4 Sleeper: Curtis Painter

Kerry Collins has been pretty terrible early this season, but how could he have succeeded?  He was signed just before Week 1 and had little time to prepare.  He finally started to look like he might understand the offense (and the Colts understand his ability) last week, but he left the game early with a concussion and could be held out of their Week 4 match against Tampa Bay. 

Painter entered the Week 3 game and made a strong comeback attempt against the top flight Pittsburgh defense on Sunday night.  The Colts should have stuck with Painter from the start.  He has been in the system for three years and should be plenty prepared to step in.  After a weak preseason, the Colts thought they could still be competitive if they could get a veteran QB.  No.  No QB can replace Peyton Manning who makes every player on the Colts offense better, but Painter has been working behind him for so long that he at least knows the offense.  He knows the receivers, running backs and, most importantly, the offensive linemen. 

If Painter starts against Tampa Bay in Week 4, then expect the Colts offensive line to play better as Saturday and Painter will make protection changes at the line of scrimmage with better communication.  Expect Painter's timing to be better than Collins, as he knows the receivers better.

Another wrinkle which should favor the Colts QB is that Cody Grimm, the Buccaneers' top safety just went on IR.  Tampa Bay's defense was already weak against the pass.  I would also consider Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark good starts as well.

Week 4 Creeper: Percy Harvin

Percy Harvin has had a slow start, but this week the Vikings visit Kansas City who start one of the worst pass defenses in the league.  So long as McNabb continues to improve after a solid outing against one of the better pass defenses in the league in Detroit, Harvin should see more targets and have plenty of room to run. 

Also, if your league awards points for return yardage, then Harvin could get some points on kickoff returns too.  On kickoffs, teams have returned against the Chiefs who don't rollover at Arrowhead Stadium so they'll score some and follow by kicking the ball to Harvin.

Week 4 Stud: Darren McFadden

After just running away from the Jets at home, McFadden is likely to repeat his performance as the Raiders host the Patriots. 

Don't expect the gaudy numbers to come on the ground again as New England is pretty good against the run and have good film from the Jets thrashing.  Instead, with the high powered Patriots offense lighting up the score board, expect the Raiders to be passing the ball and McFadden to receive plenty of passes. 

The Raiders know he is their best playmaker and have to get him the ball.  Campbell threw the ball well and proved they should allow him to drop back more.  When they host the worst pass defense in the league this weekend, Oakland should be passing often.

Week 4 Dud: Ben Tate

Pittsburgh still sports one of the best run defenses in the league.  They are number one against the pass, but that could change after they face the wide open passing attack of the Houston Texans.  Houston is one of the best rushing teams, too, so the Steelers know they need to bottle up the run early to get the Texans offense off the field. 

Ben Tate is a good runner, but he lacks superior acceleration and agility to beat the Steelers run-stuffers to the holes. 

Also, the release of Steve Slaton could mean something for the workload of Tate.  If they see promise in newly promoted Chris Ogbonnaya, who had a very good preseason, Tate's carries could be down over the next couple weeks.