Posted by DC | Posted on 03-10-2009
Category : Sleepers & Player Rankings
Tags: BYE WK, Fantasy sleepers, Sleepers
Bye Week Helpers For Week 4
Shaun Hill San Francisco 49er’s
NFL odds are not pretty for the St. Louis Rams this weekend. The 49er’s had their hearts broken last week by a guy named Brett Favre and will want a little revenge. Shaun Hill is looking for his third straight game against St. Louis with at least 2 touchdown passes in what looks to be a blood bath. The 49er’s are not looked at as a passing team, but when facing an opponent that allows an average of 255 yards per game you can’t overlook the match-up.
Derek Anderson, QB Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals game is one of the few NFL Week 4 match-ups that pits division rivals against each other, and it should be an interesting contest. On one hand, many people want to give the Bengals a lot of credit for toppling the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers over the last few weeks, but it might be premature to start hopping on the Bengals Super Bowl odds.
Derek Anderson will get the nod for Cleveland this week and given his track record against the Bengals, he’s worth a look if you are in dire need of a starting quarterback.
Posted by Kevin Roberts | Posted on 02-10-2009
Category : Fantasy Coin Flip, Start'em Sit'em
Tags: Fantasy sleepers, Sleepers
Fantasy Coin Flip
We’re entering our fourth week of tough battles. The Monday night game showcases the undefeated Vikings vs. the 2-1 Packers, another match on Sunday highlights the 3-0 Ravens and the 2-1 Patriots, and we could also see supposed Super Bowl contenders like Tennessee drop to 0-4. While the NFL has become increasingly more difficult to predict with the Denver Broncos 3-0 and the Cincinnati Bengals on the verge of being 3-1, thank God we have the fantasy realm to depend on.
Having trouble picking between Aaron Rodgers or Matt Schaub this week? How about Clinton Portis or Cedric Benson? Look no further. Instead of the usual Start/Sit piece, here’s a match-up between two guys, giving you some analysis and the heads-up on the best play in week four.
Aaron Rodgers VS. Matt Schaub
Rodgers is walking into Brett Favre territory, and no folks, he won’t be playing at Lambeau Field. Things have changed, and not necessarily for the better for Rodgers, as his offensive line is in shambles, and Green Bay is still having troubles running the ball.
Yes, Ryan Grant came one yard shy of 100 against the Rams last week, but it took him 26 attempts, and oh yeah, it was against the Rams. Add all that “success” up, along with the Packers sketchy line play, and the Packers offense is no guarantee to be rolling on all cylinders against a Vikings defense that has yet to give up over 90 yards or 250 yards passing to a running back or quarterback.
Preseason Fantasy Update
It’s hard to get a sense of how a fantasy player will produce in preseason football. All the real plays are tucked away for the regular season, so you have to be more intuitive when scouting for sleepers and ranking players. Watching a player run or read a defense is always something I look for. Here are my thoughts on a few standouts over the weekend:
Tom Brady- The Mike Vick signing definitely stole away from Brady’s excellent performance against the Eagles. Despite making one bad throw that was picked off, Brady looked very accurate. Brady’s value may take a week or two before people realize that he is back to his old self and move him up their draft boards.
Kevin Smith- We had written an article on Smith a couple of weeks back about his sleeper value in Detroit; seeing him in a brief appearance this weekend has backed up our prediction. Kevin Smith is a real RB threat and should not be knocked down due to being a stinky Lion.
Donald Brown- After a terrible start for the offensive line, Brown had 5 carries for 58 yards including a 38 yard scamper. It’s hard to gauge whether the Vikings starters would have allowed such a performance, but either way he was impressive in his debut.
Sage Rosenfels- The numbers weren’t huge, but a couple of his throws were bang on, including a few on the run. I saw a lot of Travis Jackson last year and in my opinion Rosenfels has the edge for the starting job.