I was shocked when I saw Rashard Mendenhall on the waiver wire in more than a couple of my leagues this weekend, so I decided to look a little closer and I saw that he is only owned in roughly 45 percent of all leagues. Maybe it was the injury last season; maybe it is the fast that Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore are still in Pittsburgh; either way, I snatched him up and kept it as low key as I could. The simple truth about Parker is it looks like he is running with two flat tires these days and Mendenhall put up 191 yards of total offense and two scores, so you know the Steelers aren?t going to bench him when Parker returns. Then there is the emergence of Steve Smith from the New York Giants as a WR1 in fantasy leagues. Has anyone from the NFL checked to see if any space aliens stole Steve Smith from the Panthers ability and gave it Steve Smith from the Giants ala Space Jam?
Winners
David Garrard: The Jaguars put a beating on the 0-4 Tennessee Titans, and it was the Garrard and friends show all day long. His 323 yards and 3 TDs were good enough to rank him as the No. 1 fantasy QB in Week 4.
Brett Favre: Against his old team for the first time, Favre went out and laid down an embarrassing beating on the Packers as he threw for 271 yards and 3 TDs on Monday Night Football. We all knew the Vikings were the better team, but I thought it would be more of the Adrian Peterson show than the Brett ?Freaking? Favre show.
Rashard Mendenhall: As we?ve already talked about, Mendenhall had a career night as he rushed for 165 yards and 2 TDs, then caught two passes for 26 yards, good enough to put him atop the list of fantasy backs this weekend.
Ronnie Brown: The Dolphins run the wildcat as if they invented it, and Brown is the main beneficiary of the system. Brown torched the Bills for 115 yards and 2 TDs, making him a legit RB1 in any format.
Steve Smith: Maybe this is his coming out party, or maybe this is first-half success and production will drop off once Brandon Jacobs steps up his game. Either way, I?ll take 134 yards and 2 TDs from a WR any day.
Mike Sims-Walker: I called it before it happened, so hopefully you took my advice. While he didn?t break the 100-yard mark (91), he did score twice and that gives owners 12 points in standard scoring formats.
Antonio Gates: Another guy I told you to play. Gates ended the night with 124 receiving yards and 2 TDs, and that means he was only topped by Smith for points from a WR or TE.
San Francisco 49ers Defense: It looked like the 49ers were going Harlem Globetrotters on the Rams this weekend as they shut them out and scored three defensive touchdowns on them. A zero spot and three scores equals roughly 39 fantasy points and that is not the norm when it comes to defenses.
Losers
Drew Brees: Two weeks in a row now Brees has failed to reach 200 yards passing or score a single touchdown after putting up 669 passing yards and 9 TDs in the first two games. There is no cause for alarm with Brees, but he pretty much secured losses for his owners two straight weeks now.
Tony Romo: I was high on Romo heading into the season, but now I am starting to realize that everyone has anointed him a superstar for no real reason. Remember, I told you to sit him. This week he threw for 255 yards and an INT, but wasn?t able to score again this weekend. On the season, he has a 1:1 TD to INT ratio going (4 TDs and INTs) and I am going to shop him in the leagues I own him in.
Darren McFadden: Is it time to just go ahead and call JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden busts? I?ve seen enough from McFadden to know it is the Raiders that is killing him, but Russell I think is a bust. No matter what, McFadden was a bust this weekend with his six rushes for -3 yards and one reception for 5 yards. McFadden tore his meniscus cartilage and will miss 2-4 weeks. Don?t cut him, but don?t play him for the next month either.
Adrian Peterson: I thought we would see more from Peterson in this game. He was able to get 25 carries on the night, but he managed just 55 yards and a cheap 1-yard TD run for his efforts. AP is still the league?s best back, but he didn?t fool the Packers in this one.
Marques Colston: Whenever a QB has an off day, there is about a 99.5 percent chance his WRs will also have off days. Colston managed 33 yards and no scores, so a whopping 3 fantasy points is what he netted his owners this weekend.
Braylon Edwards: What a waste of a roster spot this guy has become the last few seasons. This weekend he failed to even log a catch, but he will blame that on the lack of any type of QB worth playing on most teams.
Jason Witten: Another case of QB troubles rears its ugly head for Witten owners. Witten caught four passes for 31 yards and no TDs. On the season, Witten is ranked No. 15 for fantasy TEs and I hate to say it, but I told you so.
New York Giants Defense: The Giants held the Chiefs to 16 points, but they only logged five sacks and one fumble recovery, but that was all they could muster. In the end, the Giants defense put up 8 fantasy points and that puts them just inside the top 15 for Week 4.
Wow, 15-16 for the picks in Week 4! I only missed on Thomas Jones and if it weren?t for a cheap TD in the third quarter I would have been 100 percent. Still, I?ll settle for 94 percent ... I guess. If you can find one of those other sites that can get 94 percent of their picks right, you let me know. But, I am willing to bet I don?t get a single email on that topic because the Bengals have me locked up for themselves.
