Kevin Liles-US Presswire
Week four has officially concluded, meaning that the NFL is one-third of the way through the regular season.
There are three 4-0 teams: Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, and the unlikely Arizona Cardinals.
Then, there are the teams with goose eggs in the win column: Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints.
Let’s shift gears to the fantasy side of things.
Through these four weeks, players like Matt Ryan, Robert Griffin III, C.J. Spiller, and Arian Foster have been fantasy workhorses. They are living up to the value given, unlike players such as Chris Johnson and Darren McFadden, who owners hoped to get more of by now.
Prior to the start of week four, an inaugural piece called ‘The Fantasy Football Lineup‘ was published. It’s basically where I advise owners who should be taken into special consideration as a would-be starter. So, how did ‘the lineup’ do in its debut?
QB – Matt Ryan
He didn’t quite put up the points Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees did, but he stayed relatively consistent to his No. 2 fantasy-scoring status. Ryan threw for a season-high 369 yards and three touchdowns.
Fantasy point total: 24
RB – Maurice Jones-Drew
I missed with this choice. Against the second worst run defense, Jones-Drew managed only 38 yards. Perhaps I forgot to take into account that the Bengals knew the game-plan wasn’t for Blaine Gabbert to beat them.
Fantasy point total: 7
RB – Adrian Peterson
Peterson did everything that he usually does against the Lions…except score a touchdown. He ran for a season-high 102 yards.
Fantasy point total: 12
WR – A.J. Green
Andy Dalton connected with Green once more. That makes three straight end zone scores for him, as well as two straight 100 receiving yard games.
Fantasy point total: 17
WR – Vincent Jackson
The Redskins secondary is very charitable – maybe more than any team - to the pass. Josh Freeman connected with Jackson for six times, good for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Fantasy point total: 16
TE – Owen Daniels
This wasn’t a sexy pick, but if owners had him starting, as suggested, it no longer mattered. Daniels took advantage of a tight end-friendly defense that is the Titans. His end result was six catches, 72 yards, and a touchdown.
Fantasy point total: 13
Flex – Arian Foster
Foster rushed the ball near 25 times, and every time he has done so, good things happen. He finished with 86 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
Fantasy point total: 14
D/ST – Seattle Seahawks
I missed this one, too. I guess after containing the Packers offense to 12 points, the Seahawks defense didn’t quite take the Rams offense seriously. They gave up 19 points in a loss. Maybe this one was strictly karma?
Fantasy point total: 6
K – Matt Bryant
The Panthers are another charitable defense. A potent offense versus a charitable defense equals a kicker who will get his.
Fantasy point total: 14
So with the exception of selecting Jones-Drew and the Seahawks D/ST, owners should’ve benefited from these choices. When starting players, the hope would be that they can reach double-digit points. If this was anyone’s entire starting lineup, these players would be responsible for scoring 123 points in ESPN Fantasy (standard scoring). It would be a safe bet to assume that a victory is in the works with that type of team performance.
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