Week 4 Fantasy Football Duds
Personally, I like to roll out the Halloween decorations early. But for many, October 1st marks the start of the socially acceptable time for dusting off the spooky decorations or perhaps just adding dust to non-spooky things. Whether you celebrate the season or not, you may have found yourself with a few frightful performers on your fantasy roster. These are the duds who pooped in their big boy pants in Week 4. Hear Andy, Mike, and Jason discuss the duds on today’s podcast and read up on the Week 4 Studs.
Quarterbacks
Matt Ryan vs BUF
242 passing yards, TD, 2 INTs
I bumped Ryan into the Pooper section because I want to calm the nerves of Ryan owners. He played most of this game without Mohamed Sanu and Julio Jones against a tough Bills defense. Assuming Jones and Sanu can return in short order, I’m not going to be worried about Ryan’s off day.
Jay Cutler vs NO (London)
154 passing yards, INT
This makes 3 subpar performances in a row to start Cutler’s stint in Miami. The most recent two sting the most because they were cake matchups on paper. Cutler will need to be shelved until he proves he’s still got it.
Running Backs
Melvin Gordon vs PHI
10 carries, 22 rushing yards, 1 reception, 7 receiving yards
The low usage tells me that Gordon’s knee is going to be a problem. Hopefully, he can get some rest and get right, or else this is going to be a maddening sit or start decision for his owners every week.
Marshawn Lynch @ DEN
9 carries, 12 rushing yards
I’m not in the players’ heads and I think Marshawn’s head would be a particularly scary place to be, but I am not convinced Lynch cares about football. This marks the second week in a row where he and the Raiders offense have been miserable and he just looks lackadaisical on the sideline, or worse… he’s dancing.
DeMarco Murray @ HOU
7 carries, 31 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 4 receiving yards
Full disclosure, I spend most of my Sundays tuned into the NFL Redzone. I didn’t hear Murray’s name once all day. That’s not a good sign.
Derrick Henry @ HOU
6 carries, 7 rushing yards
*nauseous emoji* followed by a *poop emoji*
Isaiah Crowell vs CIN
7 carries, 20 rushing yards, 1 reception, 7 receiving yards
There was a lot of hype about Crow in the offseason. For the detractors out there, like me, this was the fear. The Browns have games where they can’t/won’t run the football.
Jay Ajayi vs NO (London)
12 carries, 46 receiving yards, 1 reception, 8 rushing yards
This game had a perfect narrative for Ajayi. Returning to his birthplace against a miserable Saints defense, Ajayi was supposed to show out. He didn’t. Not what fantasy owners wanted to wake up to on Sunday morning.
Terrance West vs PIT
2 carries, 2 targets, 0 yards, 0 receptions, fumble
Drop West like he’s hot.
Adrian Peterson @ MIA (London)
4 carries, 4 rushing yards
I know the popular narrative was that Peterson is a “cyborg” or a “machine”. I assure you, this is not the droid you are looking for.
Wide Receivers
Antonio Brown @ BAL
4 receptions, 34 receiving yards, 9 targets
Since the start of the 2013 season, Antonio Brown has only failed to reach 5 receptions or 50 receiving yards 5 times. This is one of them.
Demaryius Thomas vs OAK
1 reception, 11 receiving yards, 5 targets
The Broncos had this game pretty well under control and appeared to take it pretty easy on the ailing Thomas.
Emmanuel Sanders vs OAK
4 receptions, 27 receiving yards, 5 targets
While Sanders was slightly more productive with his handful of targets, he fell victim to the same game script as Thomas.
Amari Cooper @ DEN
2 receptions, 9 receiving yards, 8 targets
Amari Pooper committed another unforgivable drop in this game. He’s an obvious “sit” should Carr miss any time. But you should probably sit him until further notice anyway.
Brandin Cooks vs CAR
3 receptions, 38 receiving yards, 6 targets
New jersey, same old Brandin Cooks.
Sammy Watkins @ DAL
1 reception, 17 receiving yards, 2 targets
Don’t forget that Watkins is still very new to this team and basically missed an entire week of practice leading up to this game.
Golden Tate @ MIN
3 receptions, 29 receiving yards, 5 targets
I’m going to have to go back and watch this game to find out what happened. With Rhodes locked up with Marvin Jones, this looked like a good spot for Tate, but it didn’t materialize.
Pierre Garcon @ AZ
4 receptions, 36 receiving yards, 8 targets
If Arizona has a strength on defense, it’s Patrick Peterson. Garcon found out on Sunday.
Tight Ends
Jason Witten vs LAR
1 reception, 9 receiving yards, 2 targets
Witten was the #1 TE in fantasy in many formats coming into Sunday’s game. The offense played well, but Witten vanished.
Coby Fleener @ MIA (London)
2 receptions, 21 receiving yards, 4 targets
Hopefully, the expected return of Willie Snead scared you away from Fleener in Week 4. Snead took the week off after all, but it appears Fleener did too.
Antonio Gates vs PHI
3 receptions, 18 receiving yards, 5 targets
You shouldn’t be starting Gates in your lineups unless you are in some weird TD-only league that has a multiplier based on age.
Eric Ebron @ MIN
2 receptions, 27 receiving yards, 4 targets
This was supposed to be the breakout year for Ebron. He’s officially out of excuses.
Kyle Rudolph vs DET
2 receptions, 34 receiving yards, 4 targets
The Vikings offense is not trustworthy without Bradford. Now they have lost Dalvin Cook for the season, so they are only going to be under more stress from a playmaking perspective.
Dishonorable Mentions
DeShone Kizer vs CIN
118 passing yards, INT, 10 rushing yards
Mike Gillislee vs CAR
12 carries, 49 rushing yards
Jonathan Stewart @ NE
14 carries, 68 rushing yards, fumble
Christian McCaffrey @ NE
6 carries, 16 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 33 receiving yards
Joe Mixon @ CLE
17 carries, 29 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 19 receiving yards
Ted Ginn Jr. @ MIA (London)
2 receptions, 25 receiving yards, 2 targets
J.J. Nelson vs SF
3 receptions, 34 receiving yards, 4 targets
Eric Decker @ HOU
2 receptions, 13 receiving yards, 2 targets