Fantasy Breakdown for Week 4

After an embarrassingly easy victory in week 3, it might be easy for me to get cocky and think I don't need to make any changes. Sitting at 3-0 and with a big lead in points over the rest of the league, it is important to realize it is a long season and there is still a lot of football to be played. My roster now will probably be much different from what it looks like in week 16 because of injuries. Even though I appear to be deep in every position, I need to constantly be monitoring the waiver wire, and grabbing players I can plug in just in case any of my players go down.

I recently grabbed Marques Colton as an insurance policy. In three games he already has 15 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns. His eligibility as both a TE and a WR should be very beneficial, because a TE that catches a lot of balls every week is hard to come by. Since L.J. Smith can't go a week without being on the injury list, I will likely have to use him at TE at least a couple of times.

.....Quarterbacks...

Donovan McNabb continues to silence critics as he is on his way to another great season, and this time without TO. He hasn't really faced any great defenses yet, but considering how many times the Eagles will ask him to put the ball in the air, there is no way you can put him on the bench this year, no matter who the Eagles play. Not that you need to worry about the Packers defense this week, because they haven't exactly been a defensive juggernaut. Michael Vick should bounce back this week against the Cardinals after a miserable performance against the Saints. Hopefully Vick doesn't mail it in after one quarter, but I really think he will be itching to have a big game, and the Cardinals don't have the defense to stop him. As Atlanta's bye week approaches, it also important for me to be aware of how my backup Jon Kitna is performing. He's not exactly lighting it up, but he is not turning the ball over and has thrown for 800 yards and touchdowns. So I should be able to get "bye" for one week with those kind of numbers.

....Running Backs...

Not a whole lot for me to contemplate this week with Ladanian Tomlinson returning from bye week and Reggie Bush still performing at a high level (well at least for PPR leagues anyway). Bush has already caught 19 balls on the season, which is better than a lot of receivers. HE still hasn't found the endzone yet, which is disappointing, but Deuce McAlister gets all the goal-line carries, so I didn't have any big expectations for TDs anyways. Willie Parker is on bye this week so I don't have to face the tough decision of who to play in the swing position this week. So for RBs I got Bush and Tomlinson in and Lamont Jordan, the biggest bust of 2006, out. Nothing else you can really say about how bnad the Raiderss offensive line and team are this year.

...Wide Receivers...

T.J. Houshmandzadah had a huge season debut against the Steelers catching touchdowns on two consecutive possessions for the Bengals, and finished with with 9 catches for 94 yards. He is listed on the injury report as probable this week, but he has been practicing, and there is no way he won't be on the field against the Patriots. With Chad Jonhson getting all the attention, he should have another big day against that horrible Patriots' secondary. Darrell Jackson is continuing to perform at a high level, and his knee injury hasn't been a problem. With Deion Branch being phased into the offense gradually, Jackson is still going ot be picking up big numbers every week, especially now that Shaun Alexander is out and the Seahawks will be be more passing-oriented. Chris Chambers has been a big disappointment, but I think the problem rests more with Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper has been playing porrly, and he it looks like he won't be at 100% for much of this season. Tearing all three knee ligaments is a very tough injury to come back from, especially for a QB that has always relied on his mobility to get out of trouble. Donald Driver is putting up great yardage, but his touchdown productoin has not been ideal, but I think it will pick up, because Greg Jennings is establishing himself as a major scoring threat, and defenses will have to respect him as well. So Chambers, Driver, and Jackson in at receiver with Housh in the swing for this week.

....The rest...

My opponent this week is employing a strange strategy, playing both Joseph Addai and Dominick Rhodes. Although he is insuring himself at least a touchdown or two, and decent yardage, he is severly limiting his potential for points playing two backs on the same team, putting all eggs in one basket. He boasts great receivers in Santana Moss, Chad Jonhson, and Marvin Harrison, but with weak QBs in Philip Rivers and Chad Pennington, it will allow me to pick up another victory and move to 4-0, though it may be somewhat close, well Yahoo! has me projected for a 220 to 161 victory...