3 Things We Learned in Each Game From Sunday
Alex Dunlap, Rosterwatch.com

 

Saints  23   Jaguars  10

1) Saints TE Jimmy Graham is the #1 receiver in New Orleans until proven otherwise. That is huge for your TE position if you risked taking him in the 5th or 6th round of your draft.
2) Saints RB Mark Ingram is a buy-low candidate in fantasy football, poised for a breakout game in week 5 against Carolina. I’m calling it now.
3) Jaguars Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert and WR Mike Thomas may be developing a good relationship, but this development under fire is getting them away from their bread and butter- letting RB Maurice Jones-Drew carry the load on the ground. Look for heavy doses of MJD moving forward.

Titans  31   Browns  13

1) Great Defense and QB play wins divisions, and the Tennessee Titans are getting both right now. Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck has been unbelievable even with the loss of  star WR Kenny Britt, and Houston can no longer be considered a shoe-in to take the AFC South.
2)  Titans RB Chris Johnson is back. Guys who bought low after week 3 are likely smiling today.
3) The Browns as an offense are having a bit of an identity crisis and playing unbalanced, I believe they threw the ball over 700 times Sunday.

Lions  34   Cowboys  30

1) Proof positive evidence of two points: 1a- No lead is safe when the Cowboys have the lead. 1b- No lead is safe against the Lions.
2) Regardless of health status, if Lions WR Calvin Johnson or Cowboys WR Dez Bryant are active- they need to be in your starting lineup.
3) Lions WR Titus Young will be the Lions #2 WR by the end of the 2011 regular season. He just brings too much to the table.

Panthers  29   Bears  34

1) If you picked up Panthers QB Cam Newton off waivers after Week 1, you are a genius. If you drafted Steve Smith– you are just lucky.
2) Bears RB Matt Forte continues to be unbelievable, and we think other runners will have big games vs. the Panthers down the stretch.
3) It seems impossible that one player could legitimately squash the fantasy value of two elite players on their team, but that is exactly what Panthers QB Cam Newton is doing to RBs Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart by taking all the goal-line carries himself.

Vikings  17   Chiefs  22

1) In a “cream-of-the-crap bowl” between two 0-3 teams, the Vikings put on their best Brad Childress-era impression and cemented themselves as a horrible team that I will not be looking forward to watching this season. Brutal.
2) The Chiefs are a terrible running team without star RB Jamaal Charles.
3) Vikings RB Adrian Peterson‘s value is slowly slipping as this Vikings season gets out of hand. The offensive line and QB play look horrible (save 1 beautiful TD throw) and if Peterson sustains an injury while playing in a 1-6 or 2-7-type campaign, he will likely be shut down. Too much risk with no possible reward.

Steelers  10   Texans  17

1) The Steelers are a mediocre football team when their offensive line is not firing on all cylinders.
2) Houston RB Arian Foster is back and the Rosterwatch.com inbox will be receiving a welcome respite from fantasy owners wondering about Ben Tate‘s role. The auto-response will now read- “He is Arian Foster’s back up.”
3) Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall got in the end-zone, saving fantasy owners from outright panic that would have ensued had he put up a fourth straight stinker. We still believe there is some value to be had here, and would recommend targeting Mendenhall as a buy-low at this point.

Broncos  23   Packers  49

1) When Denver WR Brandon Lloyd calls a meeting asking for the ball more often, he gets the ball more often.
2) Green Bay RB James Starks has been merely “OK” given his surrounding personnel and situation. We like Ryan Grant‘s fittedness better, especially as the weather starts turning bad. Grant is at his best slogging through the mush.
3) I’m going to start bumping Broncos RB Willis MacGahee up in my weekly rankings. He has been 100% dependable and should be making his way to starting rosters of owners who took a late-round gamble on him. Knowshon Moreno has become borderline droppable.

Dolphins  16   Chargers  26

1) Chargers RB Ryan Mathews is healthy and has become the player they were hoping they would get. He should now be considered one of the league’s top runners. Even with this being so, fellow RB Mike Tolbert stays involved and is still well within the sphere of fantasy relevance. Do not bail on him.
2) The Dolphins depend on RB Daniel Thomas to carry the load, and Reggie Bush is downright droppable at this point. Thomas has a minor injury, but his owners should be excited about the abject lack of ground productivity in his absence.
3) Its about time for fantasy football owners of Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall to be getting a little worried if you had him penciled in as your WR1.

Falcons  30   Seahawks  28

1) The Falcons are a better team when RB Michael Turner is heavily involved, and his fantasy owners were pleased to see him have such a big day yesterday.
2) Seahawks WR Sidney Rice is a physical beast and should be in your lineup even given the abysmal QB play of Tavarris Jackson. 2 weeks, 2 big double-digit fantasy-production games. Get him in until the trend stops.
3) Falcons WR Julio Jones has become a must-start, while Roddy White has been fantastic at times yet inconsistent. Roddy White ranks as my #1 “buy low” for this week, as I am certain he will get back to fantasy prominence sooner than later.

49ers  24   Eagles  23

1) The Eagles 1-3 “Dream Team” has some work to do along both the offensive and defensive lines. QB Mike Vick can make a mediocre O-line look respectable, which he has done thus far, but has been unable sit in space long enough to make his 3rd (and sometimes 2nd read) on passing downs which is detrimental to the entire offensive philosophy and players in that system.
2) 49ers RB Frank Gore might have made over 500 grown men cry yesterday (*raising hand in shame*) as they wasted his near 20-point outing on their benches for fear of his injury and non-starting status. Get him back in your lineups or get him moved after the big game while he has value again.
3) Owners of Eagles RB Lesean McCoy should be pleased with the fact that backup RB Ronnie Brown will likely never be allowed within 10 yards of the end zone again after his stunt yesterday at the goal line during the play that represented the would-be winning score for Philly. I call it a “stunt” because I can’t cuss, and I honestly don’t know what else to call a grown man simultaneously being tackled toward the end zone and purposefully throwing a ball away from the end-zone (overhand) to nobody without cussing. I’m not that good a writer. Florio might call the decision “enigmatic”.

Redskins  17   Rams  10

1) All the disappointed owners of Redskins RB Tim Hightower are panicking AS I PREDICTED SATURDAY with the insertion and emergence of fellow RB Ryan Torain into a Redskins running game that Hightower seemed to have on complete lock for Weeks 1-3. Welcome to The Shanahan Fantasy Nightmare. And all you proud new Ryan Torain owners, be prepared for disappointment after the bye. Choosing between those runners has now become guesswork and as I predicted pre-season– get your tylenol ready.
2) Redskins WR Santana Moss seems to find at least one big play a week. He’s moving quickly into suitable WR2 terriory in all formats.
3) There is not one single dependable fantasy player on the offensive side of the ball for the Rams, and to make things worse- their brutal schedule does not let up until after Week 8.

Giants  31   Cardinals  27

1) I should have listened to the Trashman all along. I have been ranking Cardinals RB Beanie Wells far too low in my weekly rankings. He is slowly turning into a true NFL runner having put on a bit of weight and getting the fumblitis under control. Fantasy Stud moving forward barring injury.
2) Giants WR Victor Cruz is one more semi-productive game away from officially being a better fantasy WR option than teammate Mario Manningham who many had slated to pick up where Steve Smith left off in New York as the league’s leader in receptions.
3) Giants RB Brandon Jacobs has become a serviceable flex option,  and seems to get at least 2-3 chances at the goal line every week.

Patriots  31   Raiders  19

1) Raiders RB Darren McFadden is indeed mortal. Patriots WR Wes Welker is not. He is an alien from the fantasy championship international space station.
2) The Raiders played a closer game than the score indicates, but as usual were killed by penalties. Note to teams playing Tom Brady: If you so much as breathe heavily too close to the man, you will be getting a flag.
3) Raiders WR Jacoby Ford‘s return (as I predicted last week) gave WR Denarius Moore a hit as far as productivity, but Moore still came through for his fantasy owners with a cheap garbage time TD to salvage a week that was looking like a sure stinker. Proceed with caution here.

Bills 20   Bengals  23

1) Bengals WR A.J. Green is the real deal and belongs in starting lineups. He sometimes looks like a man amongst boys and is rookie QB Andy Dalton‘s obvious number one target with any real competition for looks in a distant second.
2) Bills RB Fred Jackson is as dependable as they come, and many- like myself are kicking themselves for not pulling the trigger on him earlier in drafts. Good Luck trading for him unless you want to pay through the nose.
3) You’re going to want to start giving a bump to your RBs facing Buffalo until further notice.

Baltimore Ravens 34   New York Jets  17

1) There is still very good reason to fear the Baltimore defense.
2) New York Jets RB Shonn Greene continues to disappoint, and this puts his owners in a tough spot similar to the way Frank Gore owners were feeling last week. It is hard to dump a guy you are invested so heavily in. The best hope is a 1-2 game burst of productivity that may elevate his trade stock, but for now you’re stuck between a swindle and a suckout.
3) New York Jets WR Santonio Holmes has been disappointing, but he is a baller and will bounce back. Do not deal him low if you own him and think of him as a great buy-low that you can acquire for pennies of the dollar this week if you are interested in making a low-investment upside play.