America’s favorite game is back and The Sports Bank has you covered with the best and worst of what was Fantasy Football Week Four.
I’m officially donning 2011 one of the weirdest fantasy years ever as some very surprising players made the awards this week (just look at Honorable Mention for MVP if you don’t believe me).
Follow the jump to receive up-to-date fantasy analysis and the best waiver wire pick-ups for week five!
* Points and line-up statistics adapted from ESPN standard scoring leagues
Fantasy MVP: QB Aaron Rodgers (29/38, 444 total YDS, 6 total TD and 1 INT = 45 points)
Rodgers became the first quarterback EVER to throw for over 400 yards, toss four touchdowns and rush for two more. Averaging just under 28 fantasy points a game has Rodgers thriving as an elite fantasy QB. With sexy match-ups against Atlanta, St. Louis and Minnesota in the next three weeks, expect a lot more of the same from Rodgers who has more weapons in the passing game than he knows what to do with them. A-Rod has 12 touchdowns compared to only two interceptions, if he can keep playing at this rate, he could be the NFL’s MVP (always a good thing for fantasy as well)!
Honorable Mention: RB Beanie Wells (31 points), QB Cam Newton (31 points), QB Michael Vick (29 points) and the Ravens D/ST (29 points)
Worst Performance of the Week: RB Adrian Peterson (23 CAR for 80 YDS = 8 points)
I’m not blaming the guy for the underwhelming performance, but as most people’s consensus number one overall pick, Peterson has to score more than 8 points against the 31st ranked rush defense in the NFL. RB’s Fred Jackson, Jahvid Best and Ryan Mathews lit up the Chiefs defense in the first three weeks, so why couldn’t the best back in the NFL do the same? Nothing seems to be going right for the Vikings in 2011 and I’m not sure how long this dry spell will last. AP has an upcoming soft match-up with the Arizona Cardinals, let’s see if he can rebound for his owners.
Wasting Away (Best Bench Player): QB Matt Hasselbeck (10/20, 220 YDS, 3 TD and 1 INT = 18 points)
Started in only 5.5 percent of leagues, Hasselbeck is another quarterback having a decent year thus far. Through four games, he’s averaging 17 fantasy points per game. Even with the loss of stud WR Kenny Britt, Hasselbeck still had a field day against the Cleveland Browns who are pretty good against the pass. If you have a QB who’s struggling, just plug in Hasselbeck, he just might win a game for you.
Somebody Pick Me Up (Best Free Agent): QB Tavaris Jackson (25/38, 319 YDS, 3 TD and 2 INT = 21 points)
Having a healthy Sidney Rice and offensive line made all the difference for Jackson who threw for a career-high 319 yards and wasn’t sacked once. As expected, Tavraris is owned in only 2.0 percent of the leagues out there (Seahawks fans I assume). I wouldn’t expect this every week, but Jackson is at least worth a bench spot if you have some tricky bye weeks coming up.
Chiefs K Ryan Succop (21 points, 0.6%), Redskins RB Ryan Torain (19 points, 57.5%) and Bengals QB Andy Dalton (18 points, 6.8%) should also be considered for roster spots in the upcoming week.
Hurts So Bad (Worst Injury): WR Andre Johnson (Hamstring)
Johnson is one of the best wide-receivers in the history of the game, meaning any type of loss is detrimental to the Texans and any fantasy team who owns him. Houston’s coach Gary Kubiak said “we know he’s going to miss some time. I don’t know if that’s 3 or 4 days or a few weeks.” Well thanks coach, I’m glad your treating Johnson’s hamstring injury just like Arian Foster’s, who just happened to finally have a good week this past week. If Johnson can’t go, teammate WR Jacoby Jones will receive a huge bump and expect TE Owen Daniels to be a top-ten tight end, even when Johnson comes back.
What surprised you the most in Fantasy Week Four? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.
2011 Fantasy Football Awards Archive
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
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