Finally someone took my crown. I finished tied for second (or third, however you might want to look at it), losing to my bloody uncle, Papa Weimer, in this week’s fantasy predictions. Ryan and I tied, finishing a ranking point behind Papa. It was a tough week for me, all around, no doubt. Whether it was the flu, my other job, or the fantasy realm, it was a weak of taking shots right on the chin. But I’ll wear it, get up, and be better because of it. This is the week that was, Week 4 in the NFL.

Elite Starters: Guys picked early that I love this week…

1. Phillip Rivers – It didn’t start well for Phil, but he ended as the #3 overall QB – A
2. Adrian Peterson –  The Packers shut down AP, that’s about all there is to be said. But he still scored. D
3. Brandon Jacobs – The Giants run game isn’t dominating this season, just 92 yards, no score from BJ. D
4. Tom Brady – #9 QB for the week, not good enough for an A, but his 21 points were solid. B
5. Reggie Wayne – #11 overall WR, not too shabby, the Seahawks didn’t keep it close enough. B

Solid Starters: Guys picked in middle rounds that should outplay their ranking/draft position this week…

1. Julius Jones– JJ let me down in a huge way. F
2. Devin Hester – Hester got hurt in this one, didn’t need to throw too much either. F
3. Darren McFadden– Gross. McFadden got hurt, but he had plenty of time to do something. F
4. Carson Palmer – Pretty solid, 21 points, tied for #9 overall. B+
5. Hines Ward –#6 overall in Week 4, his best week of the season. A+

Sleeper Starters: Guys ranked low, drafted low or not at all, but I still like them this week…

1. Tashard Choice – In a PPR, choice was 19th overall, not bad for a waiver pick up. B
2. Mike Sims-Walker – #2 overall, turning into a great option at WR week in and week out. A+
3. Mario Manningham –Just one 43 yard catch, not good enough to be happy about my pick. D
4. Rashard Mendenhall– #1 overall running back with 165 yards and two scores. You bet. A+
5. Eddie Royal – Ugh, Eddie still can’t get Orton to throw him the ball. Dude is open, I promise. F

Sit ‘Em Son: I don’t care where they were drafted, I don’t like these guys starting this week…

1. Matt Cassel – A couple late touchdowns got him to 15th overall, better than I expected, better than he actually played in this game, but numbers are numbers. C-
2. Steven Jackson – 10 fantasy points, 23 carries for 79 yards, 3 catches for 6 yards. Right. A
3. Nate Burleson – Didn’t do anything. 4 grabs for 31 yards. A
4. Bernard Berrien or Percy Harvin – Give me and F and a B for this one. Berrien produced nicely, his best game of the season, so I sucked there, Percy had just 2 catches for 39 yards, got that one pretty well.
5. Reggie Bush –4 fantasy points for Reggie, but he actually ran well against the Jets. Still, 4 pts. A

PS – Bye weeks are back, and here for some time, recognize! Mind the gap!

Week 4 Fantasy Rankings

Ryan Kauffman	        Josh Arsenault		Papa Weimer		Lucky Lester

QBs----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.Peyton Manning 6  	1.Peyton Manning 6	1.Peyton Manning 6	1.Phillip Rivers 3
2.Ben Roethlisberger 4	2.Carson Palmer 9	2.Tom Brady 9     	2.Matt Schaub 19
3.Jason Campbell 19 	3.Jay Cutler 8    	3.Jay Cutler 8    	3.Tom Brady 9
4.Jay Cutler 8    	4.Tom Brady 9     	4.David Garrard 1 	4.Peyton Manning 6
5.Eli Manning 4  	5.Aaron Rodgers 6   	5.Aaron Rodgers	6  	5.Drew Brees 23

RBs-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.Adrian Peterson 23	1.Cedric Benson 28	1.Adrian Peterson 23	1.Adrian Peterson 23
2.Chris Johnson 19	2.Adrian Peterson 23 	2.Steve Slaton 7 	2.Brandon Jacobs 23
3.Brandon Jacobs 23	3.Chris Johnson 19 	3.Maurice Jones-Drew 19	3.Chris Johnson 19
4.Maurice Jones-Drew 19	4.Brandon Jacobs 23   	4.Fred Jackson 28  	4.Matt Forte 5
5.Cedric Benson 28	5.Glen Coffee 13   	5.Clinton Portis 28 	5.Julius Jones 39

WRs-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.Reggie Wayne 11       1.Reggie Wayne 11       1.Steve Smith (NY) 1	1.Reggie Wayne 11
2.Santonio Holmes 31	2.Calvin Johnson 3   	2.Reggie Wayne 11	2.Randy Moss 19
3.Terrell Owens 31  	3.Jericho Cotchery 22	3.Randy Moss 19    	3.Chad Ochocinco 15
4.Johnny Knox 19    	4.Nate Burleson 42	4.Andre Johnson 38 	4.Vincent Jackson 31
5.Mike Sims-Walker 2 	5.Braylon Edwards 100	5.Devin Hester 89  	5.Terrell Owens 31

TEs-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.Jason Witten 17 	1.Jason Witten 17 	1.Dallas Clark 6 	1.Antonio Gates 1
2.Owen Daniels	23	2.Chris Cooley 4	2.Dustin Keller 23	2.Chris Cooley 4
3.Dallas Clark 6	3.Owen Daniels 23	3.Vernon Davis 10 	3.Jason Witten 17
4.Chris Cooley 4   	4.Dustin Keller 23  	4.Chris Cooley 4	4.Dallas Clark 6
5.John Carlson 14  	5.Dallas Clark 6  	5.Jason Witten 17	5.Greg Olsen 17

DSTs-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.49ers 1 		1.Giants 13		1.Bears 9 		1.Giants 13
2.Redskins 6		2.Vikings 10      	2.Steelers 23		2.Bengals 6
3.Bears 9		3.Cowboys 17		3.Titans 24		3.Bears 9
4.Giants 13		4.Titans 24 		4.Texans 3		4.49ers 1
5.Bengals 6		5.49ers 1		5.Giants 13		5.Redskins 6

Kickers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Josh Scobee, Robbie Gould, Lawrence Tynes, and Adam Vinitieri all scored more than the other
kickers. In that order too, the points went like this... 15, 14, 10 and 10.... Yay!
Keeping score for week 3! This is the positional breakdown based on Week 3's rankings:
Josh Arsenault		Ryan Kauffman		Papa Weimer		Lucky Lester
1.QBs 2         	1.QBs 3		        1.QBs 1  		1.QBs 4
2.RBs 2		        2.RBs 4	   	        2.RBs 1                 2.RBs 3
3.WRs 4 	        3.WRs 1		        3.WRs 3         	3.WRs 2
4.TEs 4  		4.TEs 3          	4.TEs 2         	4.TEs 1
5.DST 3         	5.DST 1         	5.DST 4         	5.DST 2
Papa took the crown by winning the big boys, taking home the top spot in quarterbacks and running backs in Week 4. My Drew Brees pick, teaming up with my Matt Schaub pick, got me a fat 4th place, something I’m just not accustomed to. Papa started his work naming David Garrard a top 5 option, and looking back, that really worked out for him. Papa was the only guy to believe in Steve Smith (NY), and that worked out well for him as well, as Steve was number one overall. Ryan took Mike Sims-Walker, he was the only guy who picked the #2 overall receiver. Josh had his own top pick, as the only guy to select Calvin Johnson. But lets get to who we missed, because it’s always good to look back on what could have been. Mohamed Massaquoi, one of my favorite rookie receivers, just happened to break out this week, putting up 22 fantasy points. Derrick Mason, Bernard Berrian, Brandon Marshall, Hines Ward, and Nate Washington also got into the Top 10. Austin Collie finished just outside. In the RB realm, nobody picked #1 back Rashard Mendenhall, he finished 9 fantasy points higher than any other back as he produced just under 200 yards of total offense with two touchdowns. In fact, me taking Matt Forte (5th overall) and Papa taking Steve Slaton (7th overall), were the only two instances in which any of us got a hold of a Top 10 running back. It went like this, Mendenhall, Ronnie Brown, Joseph Addai, Pierre Thomas, Matt Forte, Kevin Smith, Steve Slaton, Ray Rice, Jerome Harrison, and Mewelde Moore. If you predicted Harrison and Moore would be Top 10 guys in Week 4, shoot me an email, I’ll see if I can’t get you a job. We all had plenty of Top 10 QBs, but like I said, only Papa grabbed number one guy, David Garrard. Brett Favre was #2 in his return performance against his old squad. Besides that, Kyle Orton was the only guy not one of us predicted to be a top guy, and he finished 10th. That’s impressive. I was the only guy to take Antonio Gates, and while he didn’t do much for most of the game, his last quarter and a half gave me the #1 spot easily. Guys we missed, Heath Miller, Jermichael Finley, they were 2nd and 3rd respectively. Marcedes Lewis was tied for 4th with Chris Cooley. Sean Ryan (of KC) was 7th. Steve Heiden and Will Heller grabbed 8 and 9. Defensively we did alright, three of us listed top ranked San Francisco and all four of us had at least 2 top 10 defenses in our picks. Papa took the Texans and looked good doing it, as they were 3rd. The Saints did work, finishing second, but nobody picked them to dominate the Jets. The Dolphins were 4th with a huge week. The Bucs had a nice performance against the Redskins, but still couldn’t get the win.