NFL Week 4: Early Game Wrapup

Houston Texans at Atlanta Falcons

Matt Schaub - 28/40, 317 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 5/19, 1 FL. Another solid game from Schaub who is almost proving that he's startable as a QB2 in the right matchup even without Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones. Miami's poor secondary next week is one of those matchups.

Joey Harrington - 23/29, 223 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1/-1. Harrington is also elevating himself to QB2 status and should be picked up in 12 team leagues. Again, like Schaub above, he's only a quality QB2 in the right matchup. He gets Tennessee next, but they've been the 5th hardest team against fantasy QBs this year. That doesn't bode well for using him in week 5.

Ron Dayne - 15/62, 2/12. He was solid, but thanks to Atlanta getting out to an early lead, Houston was forced to abandon the run game. It's a shame because Dayne ran well all game. Keep an eye on Ahman Green's health next week if you're up for using him again.

Warrick Dunn - 18/62. Another poor game from Dunn, although Houston has been pretty solid against the run so far this year. He's still the lead man in the backfield, but is a very unexciting RB3 option.

Andre Davis - 5/117, 1 TD. Party like it's...2003. You know, the last year when anyone gave a damn about Andre Davis. It appears he'll have value while both Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones are out, so he remains a WR3 option next week against Miami.

Owen Daniels - 5/69. Another solid game from Daniels who continues to post consistent yardage. He's a solid TE1.

Michael Jenkins - 6/64, 2 TD. This came out of nowhere. Jenkins is a solid redzone target, but remains behind Joe Horn and Roddy White. Given Horn's poor performances so far, Jenkins has a shot to overtake him in the starting lineup. He's not a bad idea to stash as a WR5/6, but I wouldn't risk using him unless he's starting.

Roddy White - 3/64. He continues to make plays downfield, and Harrington looks like a decent pro QB this year thus far. Does Bobby Petrino really have that sort of magic? At any rate, White is a matchup WR3.

Alge Crumpler - 3/34. A poor game for Crumpler, but with Petrino's enjoyment of throwing downfield, Crumpler remains a solid TE1.

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills

Chad Pennington - 32/39, 290 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1/1. Well, it's official. Anyone can pass on the Bills. Pennington has his faults, but it seems like you can use him as a bye-week fill-in during the proper matchup. Start any and all players against the Bills defense.

Trent Edwards - 22/28, 234 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1/-1. Edwards made a solid debut against the Jets, but given the poor Jets secondary, not too much can be read into this game. Still, he moved the ball fairly well, but is not a QB2 option.

Thomas Jones - 12/35, 2/20. A miserable effort from Jones against a very porous Buffalo run D. Leon Washington continues to look better than he does, and it's very possible that Jones will lose his primary RB role in the Jets offense moving forward.

Marshawn Lynch - 23/79, 1 TD. I'm sure his owners expected a 100 yard day against the Jets defense, but a TD helped him turn in another solid RB2 performance. Given the new faces on the Buffalo offensive line, he might start putting up better numbers as they continue to gel. Still, he's a quality RB2 providing solid draft day value.

Jerricho Cotchery - 8/106. It's a shame he didn't score to cap his day off, but his owners won't complain about the 100+ yards. Cotchery is a solid WR3, but Pennington still prefers Coles in the redzone.

Laveraneous Coles - 8/65, 1 TD. Another workman-like day from Coles with Pennington under center. He's a great WR3 with Pennington starting and is the preferred option in the redzone.

Lee Evans - 6/72. There we go. He still hasn't gotten deep on a defense yet, and Edwards underthrew him on a jumpball in the endzone that would have made his day even better. Still, Edwards looks for him, and it's a great sign for Evans moving forward. Buy low.

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

Steve McNair - 34/53, 307 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1/2. Sure, the yardage total is nice, but it's pretty damn hard not to throw for 300+ yards when you put the ball in the air 50+ timees. Despite the solid numbers, his job security is a threat, as is his health.

Derek Anderson - 10/18, 204 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. Better than expected against the Ravens D, with a big thanks to Braylon Edwards. He's looking like a decent QB2 used in the right matchups, but the Browns will have to keep winning for Anderson to keep his job.

Willis McGahee - 14/104, 2/32. It's a shame the Ravens had to abandon the running game because McGahee was slashing up the weak Cleveland defense when given the chances. He remains a solid RB2 who will put up consistent yardage, but it's annoying that he hasn't scored a TD on the ground yet.

Jamal Lewis - 23/64, 1 TD. Thanks to the TD, Lewis turned in a respectable fantasy day. His yardage was still poor, but this is the statline we've come to expect from this sluggish turd.

Derrick Mason - 10/78. He's PPR gold this year. In standard leagues, however, he's a solid WR4, or a WR3 if you don't like upside.

Todd Heap - 4/36. Heap suffered a hamstring injury, which likely lead to his subpar afternoon. His week 5 availability is in question, so keep an eye on him.

Braylon Edwards - 3/97, 1 TD. Baltimore mostly kept him in check, but he busted out a long 78 yard TD in the 1st quarter to ensure a solid fantasy day. This was better than expected against a tough Ravens D.

Kellen Winslow - 4/96. Winslow played through his partially separated shoulder, and he was the same old Winslow. His consistency despite a truly good QB is remarkable and he remains an elite TE1.

St. Louis Rams at Dallas Cowboys

Marc Bulger - 11/24, 114 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 1/-2. Bulger took himself out of the game after not being able to throw effectively through his injuries, and he'll be out in week 4. It's a loss for his owners, but given his health history besides last season, hopefully you drafted a solid QB2.

Tony Romo - 21/33, 339 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 3/24, 1 TD. There's Manning, Palmer...and Romo. He is the top scoring QB in most fantasy formats and continues to shred any defense put on the field in front of him. He's been the best value among all QBs thus far.

Brian Leonard - 16/58, 1/1. A pedestrian first start from Leonard, although I read he ran more like a fullback than a runningback in his first professional start. Given the time he spent at FB in college, this is not a surprise. He'll be limited by the offense, but with Frerotte starting in week 5, it will hopefully open things up for him. Arizona has been tough on RBs, so he's a weak bye week fill-in for week 5.

Julius Jones - 13/52, 1/11, 1 TD. Jones' best fantasy day on the season a week after Barber destroyed the Bears defense. Despite the effort, however, Barber continues to outplay him, but the stubborn Dallas coaching staff seemingly has no plans to start Barber anytime soon.

Marion Barber - 8/50, 2/22. For once, Barber owners were cursing out Julius Jones as Jones stole a goalline carry, the first since threats to give Jones more work around the goalline surfaced prior to the season starting. Barber remains a solid RB2 despite not starting.

Torry Holt - 5/52. Bulger's hurt and can't get him the ball, and it's apparent that Holt's still hurting from his offseason knee surgery as he's struggling to separate. Holt can't be viewed as anything more than a WR2 right now as my concerns about his performance this season are proving to be valid. Hopefully Frerotte will restore some of his value.

Isaac Bruce - 1/24. Bench him. He started off like a solid WR3, but Bulger's injury hurts his fantasy value. It remains to be seen how he'll do with Frerotte behind center.

Patrick Crayton - 7/184, 2 TD. There he is. He finally looks healed from the pinky finger injury that was limiting his effectiveness, and his patient owners were rewarded with a huge performance. Consider him a solid WR3 moving forward.

Jason Witten - 6/71, 1 TD. Romo's step to the next level has helped Witten take a step into the elite TE1 catagory. He's been the best value at the TE position so far this year.

Terrell Owens - 3/33. Owners had to be upset after the stinker TO threw in despite Romo going for over 300 yards against a weak secondary. Players will inexplicably do this from time to time, so hopefully it didn't cost you this week.

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions

Brian Griese - 34/52, 286 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT, 2/8. Grossman, Griese...what's the difference? Griese posted solid yardage totals thanks to the Bears throwing so much, but it was hardly an impressive performance. Not all the INTs were his fault, but he definitely made a few Grossman-esque throws and was not solid. Ignore him for now, but he might prove to be relatively effective later on.

Jon Kitna - 20/24, 247 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 2/-1, 1 FL. I'm sure owners expected more yardage against the 2nd string Bears secondary, but Kitna played a solid game, and the lack of yardage can be attributed towards Martz's horrible playcalling in the first half. With only the defensive line of the Bears defense being 100%, Martz decided to run the ball and attempt to throw deep against them, playing right into their hands. He finally stopped being a dumbass in the 2nd half and killed the Bears with the intermediate passing game.

Cedric Benson - 15/50, 5/24. Another dud. More was expected from Benson against such a weak defense, but he continues to disappoint. The Bears are talking about using him more like a workhorse moving forward, so more touches would obviously be a good thing for Benson's fantasy value. It'd be nice if he did something constructive with them, too. He's a weak RB2.

Kevin Jones - 10/38, 1 TD. Another goalline TD for Jones, which is great for his value moving forward, but he's still getting worked into the offense. I'd hold off one more week, and Tatum Bell didn't help his cause for touches by losing another fumble, a problem that plagued him in Denver.

Bernard Berrian - 8/99. Berrian was the beneficiary of the large amount of passing the Bears did, but again struggled with drops. He has to fix that problem in order to take the next step as a WR in the NFL.

Desmond Clark - 7/44, 1 TD. Don't think about picking him up. It's obvious that Olsen isn't 100% recovered from his knee injury, but Clark shares too much time on a bad passing offense to be worth a roster spot.

Roy Williams - 6/53. Owners expected more against the banged up Chicago secondary, but like Owens, this tends to happen at times. McDonald and Walters stole the TDs.

Mike Furrey - 5/91. The biggest beneficiary yardage-wise in this game. He's a solid WR4, but nothing more than that. He seems like the 4th option on the offense right now.

Shaun McDonald - 3/31, 1 TD. Keep using him while he's hot! This has to end at some point, though. I'd suggest selling high if you can sucker someone into giving you a more reliable receiver in return.

Oakland Raiders at Miami Dolphins

Daunte Culpepper - 5/12, 75 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 7/28, 3 TD. Don't let the 5 TDs fool you, Culpepper was not great in this game. While he made a few nice passes, his completion percentage was low against a bad secondary, and his RBs did almost all of the work. Still, this was his first NFL game in over a year, so I can't fault him too much. He's a very interesting QB2.

Trent Green - 14/25, 158 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. The Oakland secondary is playing like it did last year after a slow start, so I won't fault Green too much for this game. If anything, this proves my previous statement that in order for Green to be useful for your fantasy team, you have to use him in the right matchups.

LaMont Jordan - 15/74, 1/7. He would have had a huge game had he not twisted his back, forcing him to leave the game. It looked bad at the time, but X-rays were negative and he has a bye week to heal up. Culpepper also vultured one of his TDs.

Ronnie Brown - 15/134, 6/73, 1 TD. He's playing at the RB1 level I always knew he was capable of. Chatman is an afterthought and Brown has become an every-week starter.

Jerry Porter - 3/52, 2 TD. The recipient of 3 of the 5 Culepper completions. Don't be fooled into thinking you should start him, but Culpepper could turn him into waiver wire fodder. If you're short on WRs, pick him up and see what happens.

Ronald Curry - 1/16. A victim of a day where the Raiders didn't need to pass. He'll have better days, and unless you sold high on him after week 1, hang on.

Chris Chambers - 2/21. Oakland shut down the passing game, and Chambers suffered as a result. He's still a solid WR3.

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

Brett Favre - 32/45, 344 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 4/1, 1 FL. Favre is looking like his prime self so far, so continue starting him as a QB1. His rebirth seems for real as he's surrounded with some of the best weapons in the passing game since his SB runs, and GB's rushing attack is horrible.

Kelly Holcomb - 21/39, 258 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1/0. Dunno why I bothered writing that out.

DeShawn Winn - 10/20. With Jackson out hurt and Morency just returning to action, the Packers decided to run Winn into the wall that is the Vikings run defense with miserable results. Nothing to see here, for now.

Adrian Peterson - 12/112, 1/6. Yeah, Chester Taylor really deserves the starting job. It's a good idea to use Taylor to keep Peterson fresh in his rookie year, but Taylor was on the field far more often. Peterson did an outstanding job of making the most of his touches, but Taylor could turn Peterson into an inconsistent option.

Donald Lee - 4/66, 1 FL. Lee is the Packers TE to own, and a soild TE2 with as much as they'll throw the ball.

Donald Driver - 7/58. Solid effort from Driver, but the Packers are going to spread the ball around, so Driver is more of a WR2 this season than the WR1 he performed like last year as the only viable option.

Greg Jennings - 3/43, 1 TD. He caught the famous one, and will be the answer to the sports trivia question down the line. He's a decent WR3.

Sidney Rice - 6/75, 1 TD. He's a flashy rookie, but don't waste a roster spot on him with Tavaris Jackson likely returning next week.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

Jeff Garcia - 15/25, 176 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 4/10, 1 TD. Another workman-like effort from Garcia who continues to perform like a solid QB2.

David Carr - 19/41, 155 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 5/28. Same old David Carr. He's likely going to drag down the fantasy value of all receivers on the Panthers, of which Steve Smith and Jeff King are the most notable.

Cadillac Williams - 6/41. He was running well before tearing the patella tendon in his knee, ending his season. He can be dropped in redraft leagues.

Michael Pittman - 15/90. Pittman will be the starter and play the passing downs, but Earnest Graham will get his carries and likely the goalline work. Depending on the matchup, you could plug Pittman in during a bye week.

Earnest Graham - 17/48, 1/8, 1 TD. See above.

DeShaun Foster - 15/64, 3/17, 1 FL. That's another fumble for Foster, but he dominated the carries again and looks like the primary ball carrier for the Panthers right now. He'll have to stop putting the ball on the ground to maintain that role.

Ike Hilliard - 7/114, 1 FL. Don't even think about it.

Joey Galloway - 1/7. Much like Owens and Roy before him, this will happen. No worries.

Steve Smith - 5/32. 2 bum games in a row, and this one can be blamed on David Carr. His value is questionable with Carr at the helm, but he's a must start either way. Hopefully Carr will look his way more often, and better yet hopefully Delhomme returns soon.

Jeff King - 1/14. Send him back to the waiver wire while Carr is starting.