As is the case in most things in life, we take the good with the bad and the same can be said for happenings in Week 4.
Take for example, there were no arrests for domestic violence in the NFL this past week and that is obviously great news. Then you have the Oakland Raiders who fell to 0-4 to lose ten straight games dating back to last season. They fired their head coach, Dennis Allen, and the whole team is surrounded by yellow caution tape in terms of fantasy football.
Tom Brady and the Patriots warrant a fair amount of caution after the Chiefs demolished them on Monday Night Football, 41-14. Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen didn’t get the running game going while Brady got picked twice and lost a fumble as the Pats fell to 2-2. The second interception resulted in a pick six and Brady’s eventual exit from the contest.
Backup Jimmy Garoppolo played in garbage time and outscored Brady in standard fantasy leagues, six to four. As of matter of fact, Oakland’s rookie signal caller, Derek Carr, has more fantasy points than Brady through four games this season, 40-34. Gisele’s husband is towards the bottom of the barrel for fantasy quarterbacks largely because he’s a statue in the pocket with a makeshift offensive line.
No one is feeling sorry for Tommy ‘Terrible’ though, but I am a little empathetic towards Calvin Johnson owners. Megatron hobbled around for only 37 snaps on a sprained ankle when he would have been better off sitting this one out to rest. It would have forced fantasy owners to sit the ‘must-start’ receiver instead of seeing him catch only two balls for a meager 12 yards. Now this ankle sprain could turn into a lingering issue.
Moving on to another game, Steve Smith, Sr. stole the show in a victory over his former team as the Ravens beat the Panthers, 38-10. Smith caught two touchdowns and Justin Forsett along with rookie Lorenzo Taliferro both found pay dirt as well. Bernard Pierce didn’t get a carry and his fantasy value just vanished like the hopes of Adrian Peterson coming back this season.
Carolina lost DeAngelo Williams to a foot injury and he is doubtful for Week 5. The Panthers are now without their top three running backs with Mike Tolbert and Jonathan Stewart also banged up. Cam Newton didn’t look particularly good again and now even more pressure will be put on him and the passing game that features rookie Kelvin Benjamin and tight end Greg Olsen. The offensive line is suspect and it seems like forever since we saw Cam’s Superman touchdown celebration.
Let’s jump back to the Thursday night game when the New York Giants took Washington to town as Eli Manning tossed four touchdowns and the offense looked a lot better. Tight end Larry Donnell caught three of them himself and his legend continues to grow while still on the waiver wire in most leagues.
Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins came into the game as the hot waiver wire pickup with more hype than the iPhone 6. The former Michigan State Spartan couldn’t dial it in tossing four interceptions and losing a fumble as Washington committed a total of six turnovers. The Seattle Seahawks are coming to town off a bye week and Washington could be in for more trouble on Sunday.
Make sure to check out the newest Fantasy Couch articles for all of your fantasy football needs and hope your players don’t end up on Fantasy Woes next week.
Tom Brady photo credit: Keith Allison
