Fantasy Football: Week 4 Sleepers and Poison

Need some more advice when it comes to Fantasy Football. You’ve come to the right place.

You’ve seen and read all of the different fantasy football takes about who to start and who to sit for a given week. Starting this week, I’ll be giving you thoughts, with a few twists.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Who are the players your team and the NFL cannot do without?

“Fantasy Football Sleepers and Poison” will be similar to a fantasy studs and duds column, but we’ll stay away from the obvious. You won’t be reading about how you should play Aaron Rodgers against the Kansas City defense, or how you should sit Alshon Jeffery against Seattle because he’s nursing an injury.

The main goal of this column will be to help you readers out there make a tough call with your flex position players, or even at times to grab a player who may still be on the waiver wire in your league and insert him into your lineup if you are in a pinch and you need to take a flyer on someone who can help your team.

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I’ll be posting the results of my picks the previous week so we can all keep an eye on the ups and hopefully, very few downs. Sounds like fun reading right? Well, it’s definitely going to be some fun/intense writing.

So without further ado, let’s get to the picks for Week 4.

Sleepers:

Oakland Raiders WR Michael Crabtree at Chicago Bears – The Bears are awful. We know this. Amari Cooper has had a great start to his rookie season, and he will get a lot of attention from the Bears secondary. Last week against the Browns, Crabtree had 4 catches for 36 yards, but he had 9 targets. Look for David Carr to continue to spread the ball around and get Crabtree involved early and often against a weak Bears secondary.

Philadelphia Eagles RB Darren Sproles at Washington Redskins – The Eagles need to ride the wave of Sproles electricity, and they will. The punt return last week against the Jets by Sproles just may have saved the Philadelphia season. That’s not a concern for us in Fantasy land, but the impact of that will resonate with Chip Kelly and the Eagles offense. Look for them to continue to get Sproles involved this week.

If DeMarco Murray is out, then that’s even better for Sproles. But even if he is playing, Sproles will still be a crucial part of the offensive attack against the Redskins after last week’s performance.

Sep 27, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) stretches for extra yards after a catch awhile being tackled by San Francisco 49ers strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) and cornerback Dontae Johnson (36) during the first half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Cardinals WR John Brown vs. St. Louis Rams – The St. Louis Rams are an aggressive team, an aggressive defense, with an aggressive mentality. They feel like they have a top flight defense and they will be looking to go into Arizona and make a statement…and they very well might.

Job No. 1 for Jeff Fisher and his crew will be to double team Larry Fitzgerald and put pressure on Carson Palmer with their defensive line. However, Bruce Arians LOVES to throw deep when the opportunities are there. Look for John Brown to get over the top of the aggressive Rams defense and put up some points.

Poison:

Houston Texans RB Alfred Blue at Atlanta Falcons – Last weeks numbers were nice, but the Atlanta Falcons at home will go to the best player in Fantasy this early in the season Julio Jones. They will get up on Houston early, and Houston will have to abandon the run. The Atlanta defense has also made some major strides, and they’ll be looking to make amends for Joseph Randle running on them the way he did last week.

It goes without saying that the Houston offensive line is NOT on the same level as the Dallas offensive line, so the Atlanta Falcons will do a better job of stopping the run early and putting the game in the hands of Ryan Mallett.

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA;New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings (23) runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Dallas won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants RB Rashad Jennings at Buffalo Bills – The Giants will eventually feature Rashad Jennings more frequently in an effort to get their running game on track, but it will not be this week. The Giants know they will have to score some points in Buffalo early and they won’t wait for their running game to get going against one of the toughest defensive lines in the league. Shane Vereen will be a better running back play in this matchup as the Giants will be forced to pass more than run over the course of the game.

Miami Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry vs. New York Jets – Revis Island is back in effect. Even though the Jets do not play 100 percent man-to-man under Todd Bowles and his complex defensive scheme, Landry will still have a tough time making catches in London against the Jets. Years ago you may remember Revis took on a murderers row of receivers…Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, Terrell Owens, etc. and held them all to under four catches and under 30 yards. Well he’s back to that level. Jarvis Landry will have a long afternoon.

Next: Who are the best bargains on Draft Kings?

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