Below you will find our Week 4 Fantasy Football Start and Bench Advice for the 2010 fantasy football season. Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em advice was meant to be both bold and calculated — We provide both here at Fantasy Football Xtreme. Also, before we jump into Week 4, remember that these four teams have byes this week: Dallas, Kansas City, Minnesota, Tampa Bay.
Maurice Jones-Drew (vs. IND) – MJD has been a huge disappoint so far this season, but a match-up against that Colts’ rushing defense will change all that. The Colts rank 28th in the league against the run, surrendering 141.3 rushing yards-per-contest. Expect at least 120 rushing yards and 1-2 scores in this one. The stud rusher should also pull in 3-4 receptions for 30-40 yards receiving. If you own MJD, especially in a dynasty format, don’t give up on him! We’re only three weeks into the 2010 NFL season… it’s premature to jump ship and write-off studs like MJD. Get ready for a big Week 4!
Michael Vick was our start of the week last week and he did us proud. Don’t sell Vick high, as he should remain a top 5 fantasy quarterback for as long as he stays healthy. Ride the wave!
Darren McFadden (vs. HOU) – He faces the league’s second-best rushing defense in the league in Week 4. The Texans give up just 54.3 yards-per-game on the ground and give up just 3.0 yards-per-carry. We have more on McFadden written below and why now is the time to trade him.
Ahmad Bradshaw (vs. CHI) – Don’t count on Bradshaw this week, as he faces the league’s best rushing defense in the Bears. That Chicago rushing defense surrenders just 39.7 yards-per-game and 2.1 yards-per-carry.
Jay Cutler (@NYG) – Unless you do not have any other solid alternatives, bench Jay Cutler against the Giants this week. In fact, don’t hesitate to sit Johnny Knox and all those Bears receivers in this outing. That Giants’ passing attack ranks 4th against the pass so far this year, and this game is in New York.
Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Brandon Jackson and Eli Manning were the “bench of the week” candidates last week and all four players disappointed. Manning had a good day in the yards department (386), but he had zero passing touchdowns and two interceptions. The Dolphins runners might have a better week in Week 4, as they go up against a mediocre Patriots’ rushing attack, but that Giants’ passing attack will likely struggle again this week, as they face an underrated Chicago passing defense — This game could be a defensive battle and could be very low scoring. B-Jax is a solid flex-option this week against the league’s worst rushing defense. The Lions surrender 148.7 yards-per-game on the ground and have already given up five rushing touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers might do most of the damage in this one, though, as the Lions also rank 26th against the pass. Here comes that 400-yard/or 3-4TD-game Rodgers‘ owners have been waiting for!
Peyton Hillis (vs. CIN) – Depending on your league size, Hillis might already be on someone’s roster in your league. That said, he should be available in most medium-to-large size leagues, as he only received nine carries in Week 1 and 8 carries in Week 2. His value was iffy, at best, entering that Week 3 outing against the Ravens, yet Hillis ran the ball 22 times for 144 yards (6.5) and 1TD, with 7 receptions for 36 yards. Will he start in Week 4? Will Jerome Harrison be back for Week 4 or 5 and command half the touches? No one knows for sure, but Hillis looks great and is a fine flex-option moving forward. I don’t trust Harrison.
Ray Rice (@PIT) – Ok, so here is the deal. Rice is banged up and could even sit out Week 4 (although recent news suggest he could be ok to play). Assuming he plays, his match-up against the Steelers is a rough one, especially if he isn’t 100 percent. If you can afford to trade for him and wait on him, make a move for him before it’s too late. If you’re 3-0, or even 2-1, steal Rice away from the Rice owner in your league, as that owner won’t likely want to wait through this speed-bump-of-a-week here in Week 4. You could wait until after this week to make a move, but Rice owners might be excited to get him back, or back to full strength, entering Week 5, so I suggest taking advantage of the disappointment Rice owners will have entering this coming match-up. What should you give up to get the stud rusher? Try using a Darren McFadden-type to get a deal done. You may have to give more, but now is the time to do a 2-for-1 involving McFadden. Have other comparable players? Ask Our Staff and get some expert advice today.
Darren McFadden has been on fire through the first three weeks of the 2010 NFL season, but here comes that rough outing. The Raiders face the Texans in Week 4, a rushing defense that ranks second in the league and surrenders just 54.3 yards-per-game. The Texans are last in the league against the pass and surrender 368.7 yards-per-game through the air, but Oakland doesn’t have a ton of weapons, so look for Houston to focus on shutting down McFadden. Trade McFadden away while you can still get tremendous value. This advice is especially for all of you dynasty league owners out there. Have McFadden on your bench in a 2RB format? Trade him for an undervalued Michael Crabtree. Or, use McFadden with another player to upgrade into an underrated Ray Rice, as mentioned above… Or, trade for a Maurice Jones-Drew, who is our start of the week up above. Now is the time to get him. Get creative and make moves before kickoff!
Take a listen to our Week 4 Fantasy Football Radio Shows!
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Here are the defensive ranks against the run through Week 3 of the 2010 NFL season.
| Rk | Team | G | Pts/G | Yds | Avg | Yds/G | TD |
| 1 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 17 | 119 | 2.1 | 39.7 | 3 |
| 2 | Houston Texans | 3 | 26 | 163 | 3 | 54.3 | 3 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 3 | 11 | 179 | 2.6 | 59.7 | 1 |
| 4 | New York Jets | 3 | 15.7 | 185 | 2.4 | 61.7 | 1 |
| 5 | Seattle Seahawks | 3 | 19 | 203 | 2.6 | 67.7 | 2 |
| 6 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 12.7 | 225 | 3.2 | 75 | 1 |
| 7 | Dallas Cowboys | 3 | 17.7 | 251 | 3.9 | 83.7 | 0 |
| 8 | Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 12.7 | 262 | 3.6 | 87.3 | 1 |
| 9 | San Diego Chargers | 3 | 20.3 | 274 | 3.9 | 91.3 | 1 |
| 10 | Denver Broncos | 3 | 21.7 | 283 | 3.7 | 94.3 | 1 |
| 11 | Washington Redskins | 3 | 22.3 | 294 | 3.5 | 98 | 2 |
| 12 | Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 15.3 | 304 | 5.1 | 101.3 | 2 |
| 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 18.3 | 314 | 4.5 | 104.7 | 1 |
| 14 | Carolina Panthers | 3 | 23.7 | 333 | 3.1 | 111 | 2 |
| 15 | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 29 | 334 | 3.9 | 111.3 | 2 |
| 16 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3 | 27.7 | 346 | 4.6 | 115.3 | 4 |
| 17 | Tennessee Titans | 3 | 14 | 349 | 4.4 | 116.3 | 1 |
| 18 | Green Bay Packers | 3 | 15.7 | 350 | 5 | 116.7 | 2 |
| 19 | Miami Dolphins | 3 | 17 | 352 | 4.5 | 117.3 | 2 |
| 20 | New England Patriots | 3 | 27.3 | 357 | 4.4 | 119 | 1 |
| 21 | Cleveland Browns | 3 | 19 | 368 | 3.8 | 122.7 | 0 |
| 22 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 20.7 | 377 | 4.1 | 125.7 | 3 |
| 23 | Baltimore Ravens | 3 | 13.7 | 383 | 4.7 | 127.7 | 1 |
| 24 | Oakland Raiders | 3 | 25.3 | 399 | 4.6 | 133 | 3 |
| 25 | St. Louis Rams | 3 | 16.3 | 401 | 5.1 | 133.7 | 1 |
| 26 | New York Giants | 3 | 28.3 | 410 | 3.8 | 136.7 | 3 |
| 27 | Buffalo Bills | 3 | 29 | 423 | 4.2 | 141 | 5 |
| 28 | Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 20.3 | 424 | 5 | 141.3 | 3 |
| 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 19.7 | 424 | 4.8 | 141.3 | 2 |
| 30 | New Orleans Saints | 3 | 19.3 | 435 | 4.4 | 145 | 3 |
| 31 | Arizona Cardinals | 3 | 25.7 | 439 | 4.3 | 146.3 | 3 |
| 32 | Detroit Lions | 3 | 26 | 446 | 5 | 148.7 | 5 |
Here are the defensive ranks against the pass through Week 3 of the 2010 NFL season.
| Rk | Team | G | Pts/G | Yds | Avg | Yds/G | TD | Int |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 3 | 13.7 | 350 | 4.8 | 116.7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Oakland Raiders | 3 | 25.3 | 383 | 6.5 | 127.7 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 3 | 15.7 | 432 | 6.6 | 144 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | New York Giants | 3 | 28.3 | 508 | 7.2 | 169.3 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | Tennessee Titans | 3 | 14 | 535 | 6 | 178.3 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | San Diego Chargers | 3 | 20.3 | 544 | 6.1 | 181.3 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 20.7 | 550 | 5.9 | 183.3 | 4 | 5 |
| 8 | Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 12.7 | 567 | 6.3 | 189 | 3 | 2 |
| 9 | Miami Dolphins | 3 | 17 | 580 | 6.3 | 193.3 | 4 | 3 |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 19.7 | 581 | 7.2 | 193.7 | 5 | 6 |
| 11 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 18.3 | 588 | 5.6 | 196 | 4 | 5 |
| 12 | Cleveland Browns | 3 | 19 | 597 | 7 | 199 | 5 | 3 |
| 13 | Carolina Panthers | 3 | 23.7 | 621 | 6.9 | 207 | 6 | 5 |
| 14 | Dallas Cowboys | 3 | 17.7 | 647 | 7.4 | 215.7 | 4 | 2 |
| 15 | New Orleans Saints | 3 | 19.3 | 652 | 7.6 | 217.3 | 4 | 3 |
| 15 | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 29 | 652 | 7.7 | 217.3 | 7 | 2 |
| 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 3 | 11 | 657 | 6.2 | 219 | 1 | 5 |
| 18 | Buffalo Bills | 3 | 29 | 664 | 7.7 | 221.3 | 5 | 0 |
| 19 | Arizona Cardinals | 3 | 25.7 | 694 | 6.1 | 231.3 | 5 | 4 |
| 20 | Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 20.3 | 707 | 7.6 | 235.7 | 4 | 3 |
| 21 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 12.7 | 714 | 6.8 | 238 | 4 | 2 |
| 22 | Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 15.3 | 715 | 7.9 | 238.3 | 3 | 6 |
| 23 | Denver Broncos | 3 | 21.7 | 720 | 7.4 | 240 | 7 | 3 |
| 24 | St. Louis Rams | 3 | 16.3 | 730 | 7.1 | 243.3 | 3 | 3 |
| 25 | New England Patriots | 3 | 27.3 | 781 | 7.5 | 260.3 | 7 | 3 |
| 26 | Detroit Lions | 3 | 26 | 795 | 8.3 | 265 | 5 | 3 |
| 27 | New York Jets | 3 | 15.7 | 824 | 7.2 | 274.7 | 4 | 4 |
| 28 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 17 | 838 | 6.6 | 279.3 | 2 | 4 |
| 29 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3 | 27.7 | 867 | 9.9 | 289 | 7 | 3 |
| 30 | Seattle Seahawks | 3 | 19 | 947 | 7.4 | 315.7 | 4 | 4 |
| 31 | Washington Redskins | 3 | 22.3 | 977 | 7.4 | 325.7 | 5 | 2 |
| 32 | Houston Texans | 3 | 26 | 1,106 | 9.1 | 368.7 | 6 | 0 |
Don’t forget to leave your comments below regarding our 2010 Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em advice. Also, for year-round fantasy football talk, or for Start and Bench Advice from a large group of people, jump on our Fantasy Football Forums!
Thoughts? Comments? Predictions?
I love the defensive rankings each week, but find myself going back and forth to see who is planying who. It would be helpful if you could list the teams each are playing for the upcoming week. Thanks,
I’ll look into this. I can’t promise we can work it in, but I’ll check into it.
Thanks, slacasse.
Smitty I gotta say you left me scratching my head on this one.
Above it states MJD is the start of the week, however in your weekly rankings he lies 18th among running back for see him getting 11-15 points. Only to be started for the garbage time yardage if nothing else.
However i’m glad to see i’m not the only one not buying into the Run DMC stock. Very tough matchup against a quietly good Texans run defense who’s averaged giving up only 57 yards on the ground.
Not so sure about the strength of the Texans run defense. Games agains Washington, Dallas and Indy doesn’t prove very much in their favor. Dallas ran for 100 yds against the Texans for their first running succes of the season. Peyton is throwing 50 or more times per game. So much so, that I decided to bench Addai. Portis is in danger of being benched in DC for Keiland Williams and Ryan Torain. Keiland and Ryan who?? Exactly.
Wutthecrapman, the projections are an average and not my own personal set. Variation makes this thing go ’round. I have MJD turning heads, but that’s me. Not everyone around here is as high on MJD this week, which is fine.
Yes, I say sell high on McFadden.
[...] Jones-Drew against the Colts is the fantasy football start of the week. MJD always tears up Indy, even if the Jags cannot beat the Colts. Jones-Drew owners will be happy [...]
smitty
i have ray rice now and have been taking my lumps so to speak as have we all. my question is should i drop him for mjd this week with the caveat that i will probably have to keep whomever i have this week for awhile as the league i am in has very very minimal transactions permitted per team. i need to save some to replace welker next week and manning and foster on week 7 and possibly rice and p. manning and the ravens def in week 8, whaddya think keep rice and cross fingers or gamble and take mjd? thanks
Wutthecrapman: I gave MJD a bump in his numbers [ Week 4 Projections ]
yak:
Tough to say. MJD should have a good game in this one, while Rice could struggle if he is even good to go come kickoff. I would never bench Rice if you own him, but swapping him out for MJD in your situation, with your limited transactions, isn’t a bad move.
I will say I like Rice after this week and won’t back down from my belief in Rice on the year. Only 3 weeks have passed, and after his rough Week 4, I think he will come on strong.
thanks guess i’ll stay with rice and cross my fingers. hope he surprises and doesn’t lose goal line carries. hoepfully batch will be batch and ravens will take the lead and run it with ray.
hopefully i can get some last minute input before game time. which one to start wallace, dem,thomas, floyd at wr.?
might as well throw murphy and heyward bey into the mix