NFL Weekly Grind Down: Week Four - Page 2
Cincinnati at Cleveland
| Cincinnati Bengals | Cleveland Browns | |||||||||
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| Sun – 1:00PM ET | FirstEnergy Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| -4.5 | 41.5 | 23 | 4.5 | 41.5 | 18.5 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 25.0 | 10 | 11 | 21 | Off. | 15.7 | 28 | 15 | 27 | |
| Def. | 21.3 | 12 | 14 | 14 | Def. | 21.3 | 12 | 12 | 7 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Dalton | 16.13 | 16.13 | 16 | 17.01 | Hoyer | 21.64 | 21.64 | 11 | 15.26 | |
| Bernard | 13.47 | 13.47 | 8 | 16.10 | Ogbonnaya | 4.07 | 4.07 | 9 | 16.34 | |
| Green | 17.47 | 17.47 | 17 | 28.95 | Gordon | 27.80 | 27.80 | 19 | 30.95 | |
| Gresham | 6.10 | 6.10 | 7 | 5.85 | Cameron | 20.30 | 20.30 | 10 | 7.38 | |
Cincinnati
- Andy Dalton was a bit of a disappointment last week. He was my favorite QB in 50/50 leagues and while he ended up with 2 TD’s, the fact that they got off to that big lead really hurt his production. Dalton is averaging 16 fantasy points on the season and is facing a Browns defense that is allowing QB’s to score an average of 17 fantasy points. The Bengals are a much better team than the Browns and they should prove it this weekend. Dalton is in that middle range of QB’s this week. Rating = 5
- There is only one running back in Cincinnati that has the upside to be worth taking and his name is not Benjarvus. Giovani Bernard has seen his touches and production increase each week and while the Bengals want to get both backs an even number of touches, it’s clear who the better back is. Bernard is very explosive and the Browns run defense doesn’t scare me because Bernard makes a lot of plays catching the ball out of the backfield. Rating = 5
- A.J. Green was another player last week that let a lot of people down. Luckily, he did end up catching a TD, but he only finished with 4 catches for 46 yards. I am going to take a pass on Green this week as Joe Haden will be covering him for most of the game. Haden has shut down Mike Wallace and Torrey Smith already this season. While I like the TE’s better than any WR’s, Mohamed Sanu could be a nice sleeper.
- Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert both make it difficult for us fantasy guys to predict which one will have a better game. The Browns have been solid against TE’s this season, but the Bengals use their TE’s in more formations than most teams. I think both of these guys are in play as cheap TE options. Rating = 5
Cleveland
- Brian Hoyer came out firing last week. The coaches told him that he could win the starting job if he played well and he certainly wasn’t going to waste that opportunity. He threw for 321 yards and 3 TD’s in a nice win over the Vikings. I chalk that performance up to bad preparation by the Vikings more than anything. The Bengals will be well prepared for Hoyer this week and I think he will come back down to earth. Rating = 2
- The Browns didn’t really have much of a plan in place as far as running back is concerned when they traded away Richardson. They now have Chris Ogbonnaya, Willis McGahee, and Bobby Rainey all splitting carries. None of which carry any fantasy value this week. Rating = 1
- Josh Gordon came back from his suspension with a bang. He finished the game with 10 grabs for 146 yards and a TD. That’s definitely not a bad way to start the season. I don’t think that the Vikings were expecting the Browns to throw it deep as often as they did and the Browns caught them off guard. I just don’t see that happening again this week. In my eyes, the Bengals should be one of the top scoring defenses this week.
- Jordan Cameron didn’t skip a beat without Brandon Weeden. In fact, he had his best game of the season as he grabbed 3 TD’s. Inexperienced QB’s look to their TE’s often so if there is one player on the Browns that I think is in play, it would be Cameron. Rating = 7
Baltimore at Buffalo
| Baltimore Ravens | Buffalo Bills | |||||||||
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| Sun – 1:00PM ET | Ralph Wilson Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| -3.5 | 44 | 23.75 | 3.5 | 44 | 20.25 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 23.7 | 12 | 20 | 25 | Off. | 21.7 | 20 | 25 | 5 | |
| Def. | 21.3 | 12 | 21 | 4 | Def. | 24.3 | 18 | 19 | 30 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Flacco | 13.45 | 13.45 | 19 | 20.04 | Manuel | 17.39 | 17.39 | 21 | 20.92 | |
| Rice | 10.55 | 10.55 | 19 | 19.20 | Spiller | 6.90 | 6.90 | 6 | 13.75 | |
| Smith | 11.63 | 11.63 | 29 | 38.65 | Johnson | 15.37 | 15.37 | 22 | 34.78 | |
| Dickson | 0.60 | 0.60 | 11 | 7.48 | Chandler | 8.23 | 8.23 | 25 | 14.50 | |
Baltimore
- Joe Flacco has not had a great start to the season but he has had to face 3 average to above average pass defenses so far in the Broncos, Browns, and Texans. His matchup against the Bills this week is his best yet and I think he will be one of the more popular picks in H2H and 50/50 leagues that allow more than one QB. The Bills pass defense got beat time and time again by the Jets last week and the Ravens should be licking their chops for this matchup. Expect Flacco to easily reach value this week. Rating = 6
- After Ray Rice practiced earlier this week it looked like he was going to be probable heading into this week’s game, but today Harbaugh came out and said that Rice is somewhere between questionable and doubtful. He will likely be a game time decision. If Rice is out, immediately plug in Bernard Pierce against this bad Bills defense. Assuming Rice doesn’t play, I will give Pierce a Rating = 6
- Torrey Smith has quietly racked up at least 80 receiving yards in each of the first 3 weeks. My favorite stat is that he has been targeted 30 times already. I love the matchup this week against the Bills who got beat deep by both Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill last week. I also think that Marlon Brown has some decent value as a sleeper play.
- Dallas Clark isn’t a bad option if you want to punt the TE position, but there isn’t anything that stands out to me in this matchup. Rating = 4
Buffalo
- EJ Manuel has been better than I expected him to be this early on. While he isn’t putting up huge numbers, he has put his team in a position to win each week. If you look at the Ravens defense vs. positions stats, you will see that they are currently ranked 21st against opposing QB’s, but that number is inflated thanks to Peyton’s 7 TD’s in Week 1. I don’t think Manuel is a great play outside of a large tournament where you are just trying to cover your bases. Rating = 3
- C.J. Spiller is practicing this week and is listed probable for Sunday’s game. While I love the upside of Spiller, that thigh injury may really limit his ability to make cuts. Taking players with injuries is always a risky proposition that usually has more downside than upside. You can probably mark Fred Jackson down for a few more touches this week, but neither of these RB’s make good plays against the Ravens unless you can get them for a cheap price. I think C.J. Spiller has GPP value, but is too risky for H2H and 50/50 games. Rating = 4
- Stevie Johnson leads the team in catches (17) and targets (29). The next closes is RB Fred Jackson so if you are going to target a WR from the Bills, I wouldn’t take anyone other than Johnson. That said, I think the Ravens defense stifles this Bills offense and gives them their worst loss of the season.
- Scott Chandler is what he always is. A decent cheap option that can get you a TD every few weeks and the Ravens have struggled to contain TE’s. Rating = 4
Pittsburgh at Minnesota
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||
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| Sun – 1:00PM ET | Mall of America Field | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| -1 | 42 | 21.5 | 1 | 42 | 20.5 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 14.0 | 30 | 10 | 31 | Off. | 27.0 | 7 | 24 | 13 | |
| Def. | 25.3 | 21 | 3 | 22 | Def. | 32.0 | 30 | 28 | 21 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Roethlisberger | 13.74 | 13.74 | 22 | 21.26 | Ponder | 15.41 | 15.41 | 3 | 11.12 | |
| Bell | 30 | 26.97 | Peterson | 19.60 | 19.60 | 26 | 23.07 | |||
| Brown | 18.27 | 18.27 | 18 | 30.38 | Jennings | 7.17 | 7.17 | 2 | 18.80 | |
| Miller | 5.00 | 5.00 | 31 | 20.23 | Rudolph | 6.90 | 6.90 | 13 | 8.42 | |
Pittsburgh
- The Steelers are 0-3 and could be all but ruled out of the playoffs if they lose this game against the Vikings. Something tells me that Mike Tomlin is going to have his team ready to play this week. Ben Roethlisberger ended up having a big game against the Bears with over 400 yards and 2 TD’s, but they got down by so much that they had to throw the ball in order to get back in the game. We could see another nice game out of Big Ben against this Vikings team that has struggled against the pass. Rating = 6
- Le’Veon Bell will make his debut this week against the Vikings and for the Steelers and it couldn’t come at a batter time. The combination of Dwyer, Redman, and Jones just hasn’t packed the punch that they have been looking for. I’m not sure how many carries Bell will get this week, but he will be a nice player going forward. I think the players to target here are players from the passing game. Rating = 3
- I was really high on Antonio Brown to start the season and after two so-so performances in Weeks 1 and 2, I thought there was no way he would go off against the Bears. But he sure did. He ended up with 9 catches for 196 yards and 2 TD’s. Brown is hauling in almost 70% of his targets and Big Ben is really starting to trust him more. I like the matchup and think he is in play on sites that haven’t raised his price too high. I also think Emmanuel Sanders has some value against this secondary.
- Heath Miller is back for the Steelers and has an excellent matchup against the Vikings who are currently ranked 31st against opposing TE’s. Rating = 5
Minnesota
- Christian Ponder is dealing with a rib injury and the Vikings have decided to start Matt Cassel this week. They figure that a healthy Cassel is better than a hurt ponder and I can’t say that I disagree there. Cassel isn’t much of an upgrade over Ponder, but he is a bit more turnover prone so give a slight bump to the Steelers defense. London is likely to see a pretty boring game this week. Rating = 1
- Adrian Peterson is the only Vikings player that has a favorable matchup. The Steelers have really struggled to contain opposing RB’s, especially ones that can catch the ball out of the backfield. I think Peterson will crack the 100 yard mark and find the endzone again this week. If he can get more involved in the passing game like he did last week, that only adds to his value. Rating = 8
- The Steelers have really done a nice job of shutting down opposing WR’s and neither Greg Jennings or Jerome Simpson make great plays this week with Cassel at the helm.
- Kyle Rudolph is in the same spot that a lot of TE’s are in this week. He is cheap and is a decent option if you are punting the TE position. Rating = 4
Arizona at Tampa Bay
| Arizona Cardinals | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||||||||
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| Sun – 1:00PM ET | Raymond James Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| 2.5 | 40.5 | 19 | -2.5 | 40.5 | 21.5 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Off. | 18.7 | 25 | 19 | 23 | Off. | 11.3 | 31 | 31 | 15 | |
| Def. | 26.3 | 22 | 26 | 3 | Def. | 19.0 | 11 | 15 | 17 | |
| Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | Top Players | FP-S | FP-3 | DvP | FP-A | |
| Palmer | 12.09 | 12.09 | 13 | 15.74 | Glennon | 30 | 23.32 | |||
| Mendenhall | 9.30 | 9.30 | 15 | 18.10 | Martin | 12.53 | 12.53 | 12 | 17.57 | |
| Fitzgerald | 12.40 | 12.40 | 3 | 21.12 | Jackson | 11.33 | 11.33 | 8 | 23.60 | |
| Dray | 2.90 | 2.90 | 30 | 17.42 | Stocker | 0.00 | 0.00 | 32 | 22.58 | |
Arizona
- The Cardinals take on the Buccaneers this week who have been surprisingly decent on defense this season. Last season they had one of the worst defenses in the league. Carson Palmer has had some great matchups so far this season and has really failed to put up any numbers except for Week 1 against the Rams. Palmer has been a garbage time QB for a couple of years now meaning most of his stats have come after his team gets down big. Palmer only has a quarterback rating of 72 and I just don’t see it changing this week against the Buccs. Rating = 3
- Neither Rashard Mendenhall or Andre Ellington are great options at RB this week. For around the same price, you can get guys like MJD or Jacquizz, both of whom are better plays. Rating = 2
- The Cardinals have some talented WR’s so if Palmer can get them the ball, they may be able to make some things happen. Larry Fitzgerald is under priced after having a couple of down weeks and Andre Roberts is a cheap play with decent upside.
- Rob Housler and Jim Dray. If your first reaction was to say “Who?” I don’t blame you. Neither players will be in any of my lineups this week. Rating = 2
Tampa Bay
- The Josh Freeman drama looks like it has come to an end. The Buccs have decided to give the keys to Mike Glennon. Glennon has a big arm, but the report on him is that he like to hit his check down guy so we could see Martin climb the ladder of the PPR rankings. I’m going to wait a couple weeks before taking Glennon on any of my rosters. Rating = 2
- Doug Martin has averaged over 100 yards from scrimmage through the first 3 weeks which is pretty impressive considering the fact that the Buccs have only really kept it close in one of those games. Martin has yet to get involved in the passing game but that could really change this week with Glennon at the helm. I think this is the breakout week for Martin that we have all been waiting for. Rating = 8
- Vincent Jackson is the ultimate boom or bust play. He’s not recommended in H2H and 50/50 leagues, but he is always in play in GPP’s because he has that deep play potential. I’m not sure if they are going to let Glennon throw too many deep balls, but I suppose we will find out.
- The TE’s for the Buccs have had no part in the passing game other than blocking. Rating = 1