Week 4 - Less or More fantasysharks.com Sat 10/1/11 6:21 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Texans Ben Roethlisberger -- Please, from all of us owners in fantasy land, have more than one touchdown. Roethlisberger's yardage has been up to expectations but the scoring is way behind. On top of that, turnovers are much higher than we expected at this point in the season. The Steelers' offensive line is in complete shambles and Roethlisberger is paying the price. The pass rush has completely throttled Roethlisberger to open the 2011 season. Until the Steelers can handle the rush, the Pittsburgh quarterback will not be able to hit his full potential. This is a chance for the Steelers offensive line to rebound from the debacle that was the Indianapolis Colts game. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis ripped up the offensive line and got to Roethlisberger in a big way. It makes one wonder -- how effective can Roethlisberger be with an efficient rush in front of him? The Houston defense will provide us with such an indication. Roethlisberger will either booms or bust here in Week 4. Let's hope that it's boom and he's able to put up his first multi-scoring game of the season. If not, it's time to move him down into a good matchup only play. I expect him to perform well and earn his No. 1 starting quarterback title here in Week 4. Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears Cam Newton -- Time to join the big boys, rookie. Here in Week 4, Newton has the chance to showcase his skills against another capable defense, extending his stock value. As vaunted as the Bears' defense is, they can most certainly be thrown on. This will undoubtedly be the best linebacker core that Newton has faced in his young career. The linebackers from Chicago are so talented that they should all but take away the Panthers' tight ends. This matchup will force Newton to find his wide receivers more often than his tight ends. I expect a huge day from the newly established Steve Smith and another impressive day from Newton. As long as Newton can move away from his safety nets in Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen, the overall stock of Newton should rise, win, lose or draw. If Newton can produce without his check down options then he'll make a massive jump up the rankings into distinguished quarterback territory. Atlanta Falcons at Seattle Seahawks Julio Jones -- I can all but guarantee that Jones finds the endzone in Week 4. Roddy White has been drawing heavy coverage so far in the young season and this matchup is more than enough for Jones to take full advantage. As always I ask, "If not now, then when?" Matchups don't get much better than this one and Jones needs to capitalize. Jones has the chance to reach his full potential at a premature age here in Week 4. The ability to dominate in easy matchups like this one could propel Jones way up the wide receiver rankings early in his young career. Matt Ryan should be able to dominate the Seahawks' pass defensive like most of the opposing quarterbacks have so far in 2011. Expect Jones' best day as a pro, but if even if he doesn't it's not the end of the world in relation to his value. New York Giants at Arizona Cardinals Victor Cruz -- We all know what Hakeem Hicks' role in that Giants' offense is. Nicks is the trustworthy, playmaking, highly targeted, safety blanket. But who hits the home runs in New York, outside of Curtis Granderson? Cruz showed huge ability in Week 3. But one game isn't enough cause to sit a proven player for a firework. Cruz has the chance against a big mismatch in the Arizona Cardinals. If Cruz can have back-to-back big nights for the Giants then owners should be ready to start him as their No. 3 receiver in hopes of a No. 1 receiver output. This is an extremely favorable matchup and if he could do it again it would most certainly happen here. Eli Manning has to be able to find someone to throw to. It could just as easily be Cruz as it was with Mario Manningham last year. Wait for two games of performance before benching a reliable point resource at the receiver position. But if a second effort were to come, why wouldn't it be against Arizona? Denver Broncos at Green Bay Packers James Starks -- From what I'm hearing at the current time, Ryan Grant will not be playing thanks to a bruised kidney suffered in Week 3. This could be the biggest chance that Starks has to shine in all of 2011. Grant is a fantasy football favorite thanks to seasons' past, and some are hoping for a rebirth in Green Bay. Grant has shown flashes but nothing worth starting over the other competition in the backfield. Starks should get a huge chance to handle the majority of the carries against a terrible Denver defense. Starks could get the carries and not look back for the rest of the season. He definitely has the most to prove in this matchup in Week 4 and I expect good results. We know what he can do and now he has the chance to become the lead guy in Green Bay. New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders BenJarvus Green-Ellis -- Tom Brady is incredibly efficient. But can a quarterback's ability handicap the running back? Yes. Brady seems to be too good for any running back to capitalize on. Brady has been too good in the red zone for any running back to get numbers in the Patriots' offense. Never mind a running back that is fighting for carries in an overstocked department on the Patriots' offense. We need to see Green-Ellis work his 2010 magic here in Week 4. If not, we have Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead just itching for more carries. Green-Ellis needs at least one rushing score to ease the tension at this point in the season. If not, then it's time to find another No. 2 running back option in fantasy. He may have been a high draft pick, but if it hasn't worked in the first four weeks, when will it? Miami Dolphins at San Diego Chargers Reggie Bush -- I will stand up and say that I though Bush was underused in New Orleans. I will also now stand up yet again and say that now I know why he was underused. He just can't do it. Plain and simple. He's received the most touches that he has in his career, or than any NFL player could ask for, and hasn't done anything. Now we have an emerging Daniel Thomas climbing the ladder and putting up good numbers in the same system. That means that there is no one to blame but Bush himself. He's running behind the same line, with the same quarterback, with the same receivers drawing coverage. There is no excuse for Bush's production in Miami. He's playing a less than friendly defense in San Diego in Week 4 but you need to look past the matchup. This is the last chance for Bush. He needs to put up or shut up here. I fully expect him to disappoint yet again like he has so many times in his young career, but there is still a chance. Coach Tony Sparano won't continue giving reps to a guy who clearly can't handle the load. Four weeks of opportunity should be more than enough for even Sparano to realize that the carries aren't worth the effort. New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens LaDainian Tomlinson -- I'm not saying that there is a chance for a Tomlinson revival in New York or anything. What I am saying is that if Tomlinson can produce enough to earn more carries, then Shonn Greene can officially been ruled a failure. So far in 2011, Tomlinson has looked like the more capable back in the New York offense. Greene has looked sluggish and slow behind the same exact line that Tomlinson has looked youthful and explosive behind. Tomlinson's value may rise slightly for a small period of time, but that would be enough to kill Greene's value largely for a long period of time. The Ravens' defense will be hard on any running back that tries to produce against them, without question. But if Tomlinson can outperform the younger back once again then Greene is all but dead in the water. Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys Jahvid Best -- So far the passing game of the Lions has ruled the offense. Here, Best has a chance to even the score. One successful phase of the offense can open up room for the other phase of the offense. That means that the passing game can open up the running game and vice versa. This should be a solid gold case of the passing game opening up the running game in Week 4. And in this particular situation, Best will be the main beneficiary. Tim Hightower and Roy Helu had some impressive runs against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Best could exploit the Cowboys' defense in a way that not even the Washington Redskins' running backs could. With attention shifting toward Calvin Johnson, Best should see way more room to roam than he should be allowed. If he doesn't excel here ... when? New Orleans Saints at Jacksonville Jaguars Jimmy Graham -- Who will turnout to be the only reliable target on a week in and week out basis for elite quarterback Drew Brees? It's not Marques Colston. It's not Devery Henderson. Who could it possibly be? I'm guessing his most reliable target will be the one that doesn't play the wide receiver position, though the skill sets are roughly the same. The Jaguars' defense offers the chance for the Saints' tight end to build upon his already impressive resume early here in 2011. Someone in the New Orleans' highly impressive offense needs to do it each and every week. Graham has the chance here in Week 4 to become that player. If he doesn't, then he'll just blend in with all the other high-potential/low-trust options that the Saints roll out each week. I'd expect him to make the jump up to the elite tight end ranking in week 4. If not, then you'll have to treat him as matchup filler only. Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns Chris Johnson -- Last week I said that the guy with the most value to lose was Johnson. I'm going to continue with that and say that Johnson has the most to lose yet again. This is a solid matchup and all the kinks of the holdout should be worked out by this point. Johnson needs to have a 100-yard rushing game to stay in Top 10 projections for the rest of the season. He looked slow and uninterested at times last week and needs to put those rumors to bed in Week 4. His catches are proof that the offensive coordinator is trying to find him but also proof that he currently can't produce. This is the end of the line. A Top 5 pick shouldn't need four weeks to prove his worth. He can either prove his draft status or completely fallout. I expect fireworks here in Week 4, but I suspect a dud. Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals Fred Jackson -- Jackson has always been a serviceable back in fantasy football, but here in Week 4 he has the chance to jump up the charts by giant leaps. With all the issues arising with Steven Jackson, Peyton Hillis and Arian Foster, Top 10 potential is growing by the minute. Jackson finds himself playing a very important position for a very effective offense. He has the chance to both capitalize out of the backfield on play action and see less attention on running plays thanks to the quarterback play. That's a double whammy for a player who is on the verge of breaking Top 10 production. Here in Week 4, the Bengals should be game planning for Ryan Fitzpatrick, which should bode well for Jackson. If he can't produce another great game here, he may etch his name among other notable matchup only running backs in fantasy. Or he could make the list of those you start no matter who they face. It's all up to Jackson here in Week 4. Washington Redskins at St. Louis Rams Rex Grossman -- He had a much more solid outing against a hungry defense than we should have expected. Grossman dealt well with the constant pressure and relatively decent pass defense for most of the Monday Night Football game. There were a few plays though where he looked like the Grossman that was benched in Chicago. Joe Flacco was able to tear up the Rams' defense in Week 3 though, and the same must be expected here in Week 4. Santana Moss should play the role of Torrey Smith on the deep ball and be able to pad Grossman's stats. Grossman has the chance to jump from matchup starter to possible No. 1 option. This game will be a huge measuring tool into Grossman's overall value. San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles Frank Gore -- I'll keep it short and sweet. Is he a bust? Is he injury prone? The Eagles are a great matchup for running backs and Gore should be able to exploit them. Can he? Questions 1 and 2 will be answered here in Week 4. Minnesota Vikings at Kansas City Chiefs Percy Harvin -- If Donovan McNabb has an ounce of quarterback left in his body then Harvin should be able to dominate the Kansas City defense. The Chiefs weren't exactly stacked to begin with and injuries have taken their toll on them already early in 2011. McNabb has looked pretty bad as the Vikings' new, old quarterback, and things could get even worse. Under pressure, a quarterback should be targeting his check down receiver and tight ends. McNabb found his tight ends last week and will hopefully find his check down this week. The matchup doesn't get any better all season long than it does here. You can start Harvin with confidence this week and this week only. But if he doesn't do it again, then all confidence should be lost for 2011 until we actually see something. Indianapolis Colts at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Josh Freeman -- High expectations were stamped on the young quarterback in the preseason. With high expectations comes high pressure. As we just learned in Boston Red Sox nation, pressure isn't always the best thing in terms of performance motivation. Freeman should have the chance to manage the game and not necessarily run it here in Week 4. LeGarrette Blount should be able to manhandle the Colts' defense and Freeman should be the beneficiary of the play action pass. If Ben Roethlisberger can hit Mike Wallace for 125 yards and a score, I'm imagining that Freeman should be able to find Mike Williams for similar numbers. If not, then it's time my usual question makes its special guest appearance ... when? I expect both Williams and Freeman to produce together and ease the worries for owners in Week 4. If not, then both the wide receiver and quarterback could be lost for the season in terms of draft value.