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Welcome in once again to another start sit column. I'm writing this after having watched the abomination that was another Thursday night football game. The offense in these games is painful to watch. It is a marginal product at its best, and is not safe for the players. But the money will keep them coming back. I digress.
So for the fourth week of the season there are some great match-ups, and some not so good. This is, as always what we strive to unearth every week. So let us take a look at the players who we should start and sit this week.
Start
Chris Ivory, RB, New York Jets
Ivory was active last week for the Jets, but did not get a touch. This week Ivory has said that he feels much better than last week, and he has been participating in practice. The Jets play in the London game this week, and will kick off at 9:30 am eastern. This will require you to make an early decision on him, but as long as he is active, I would start him. The Dolphins defense has been a huge disappointment so far this season. Allowing 145 yards per game on the ground so far this season, Miami is like a matador to opposing running backs. Ole, and start Ivory.
All the Bears and Raiders
Obviously this is meant for the top tier starters for these teams. I would include in this Amari Cooper, Alshon Jeffery, Latavius Murray, Matt Forte, and of course Martellus Bennett. With Gronk out, many fantasy analysts have Bennett as the top tight end this week. The Raiders can't stop the tight end. This is evidenced by them allowing a career day to Gary Barnidge last week, which in turn allowed me to win a bet where I now get to kick the loser in the face. Defense will not be at a premium in this game, and I would start all my players in this game with confidence.
Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans
Foster has been out since the preseason with a groin injury. It has become possible that he will get into the action this week for the Texans. If Foster is active, he is a must start in my opinion. Foster usually will not come back from an injury unless he is ready to go. Houston will face the Atlanta Falcons this week. The Falcons are middle of the pack in yards allowed on the ground, but they have given up six rushing scores through three weeks. If you drafted Foster this year you have been waiting for him to come back. Bask in his glow while you can.
Karlos Williams, RB, Buffalo Bills
Williams has been a very bright spot for the Bills so far this season. So far on the season Williams is averaging 62 yards per game on the ground, but he has also scored a touchdown every week so far. The Giants are actually the second ranked run defense by yards allowed, but I believe that is a bit of fools gold. The Bills are a good run blocking unit. I expect the rookie to have a solid week.
Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers
Gordon has had positive and negative press in the Fantasy community so far this season. He has not been able to pass block, and a lot of his role has been taken by Danny Woodhead. This week the Chargers and Gordon take aim at the worst run defense in the league, both this year and last. The Browns have allowed 158 yards per game so far this season. I expect Gordon to be able to gash them, and hopefully get himself a nice long score. Gordon should be a solid RB2 or flex play for your squad this week.
Sit
Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Bucs
Martin has opened the season with three great match ups this season. The problem is that he has looked every bit of the Martin we saw over the last two years. Martin has been unable to take advantage of his beneficial schedule early this season. This week Martin squares off against the fourth ranked by yards run defense of the Carolina Panthers. Carolina is only allowing 75.7 yards per game. The offensive line of the Bucs is not very good either. This seems to be the perfect storm to keep Martin's numbers down this week.
Lamar Miller, RB, Miami Dolphins
I have lost my faith in Miller and the Dolphins. Miller has been abysmal so far this season, and the Dolphins have been under-performing on both sides of the ball. The Jets have a good defense, even though they are middle of the pack in yards allowed per week. The Dolphins have not blocked well, passed well, and definitely haven't run well. I am not interested in starting any piece of their offense outside of Jarvis Landry, and that is only because of volume in a PPR.
Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Hyde looked amazing on the first Monday night of the season. Then he got banged up during Week 2. And in Week 3, the box was stacked. The rest of the league knows that Colin Kaepernick is not a good quarterback. They are willing to stack the box and let Kaep throw and force him to beat them. You can expect this to remain the case for the rest of the season. This week against Green Bay I expect the same, and with coverage for the Packers being pretty good, they can afford to push forward and force the issue.
Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Bucs
Evans has been out or a decoy in two of three games this season. So how can I tell you to sit him? Josh Norman. The corner for the Panthers has been making his case to be the next shutdown corner in the NFL, and he is making it well. With a rookie quarterback in Jameis Winston, and facing off against one of the better defensive units in the league, I am thinking that I will take my chances with whoever I was playing while he was out.
Defenses to stream
Green Bay Packers are a solid streaming choice this week. The 49ers almost fooled us in Week 1. But their true colors have shined through since. I expect a solid game from the Packers, and even though the game is in San Francisco, I am starting the Packers defense this week.
San Diego Chargers face off against the Cleveland Browns. Possessing a good secondary will help to control Travis Benjamin. The Browns have been a bad running unit and I can't see this changing much this week. I think the Chargers at home this week are a good option for a defensive streamer.
Quarterbacks to stream
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, New York Jets is facing off against the middle of the road pass defense of the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have allowed six passing touchdowns on the season. If Fitzpatrick has all of his weapons back, he is a solid streaming option this week.
Brandon Weeden, QB, Dallas Cowboys faces off against a New Orleans Saints defense that has allowed six touchdowns on the season. The Saints have not intercepted a pass on the season, a good thing for a quarterback that is a backup. With another week under his belt, and a chance to get more comfortable with his abilities and limitations, I can see using Weeden for an emergency fill in this week.
We reach the end of another start sit for Week 4. It's crazy to think that we are already in the fourth week of the season. It's going so fast. All the buildup of the off-season and drafting has come down to this. Take this information and use it for good this week. Good luck!
