Week 4: Bye Bye, Replacement Refs? - 11 comments

This week we make our slow transition into the dreaded byes, with the Steelers and Colts off for a week. The great news of the week is that the NFL and the NFL Referee Association appear close to coming to terms and getting the replacement refs off our collective fields … finally. Let’s hope that by the time you read this, a deal has been finalized and we can all go back to complaining about good refs doing a mediocre job at times. And now, our Start/Sit rankings for Week 4.

Note: I’ll be out of town Thursday through Monday, but I’ll try my best to answer lineup questions in the comments section as often as I can.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opp	Avg
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	vs. NO	1.0
2	Tom Brady	NE	at BUF	2.3
3	Matt Ryan	ATL	vs. CAR	3.3
4	Drew Brees	NO	at GB	4.0
5	Robert Griffin III	WAS	at TB	4.7
6	Eli Manning	NYG	at PHI	7.0
7	Peyton Manning	DEN	vs. OAK	7.3
8	Michael Vick	PHI	vs. NYG	9.3
9	Christian Ponder	MIN	at DET	11.0
10	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. MIN	11.0
11	Joe Flacco	BAL	vs. CLE	11.7
12	Cam Newton	CAR	at ATL	13.3
13	Philip Rivers	SD	at KC	13.7
14	Andy Dalton	CIN	at JAC	14.0
15	Tony Romo	DAL	vs. CHI	15.0
16	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	vs. NE	15.3
17	Josh Freeman	TB	vs. WAS	15.3
18	Matt Schaub	HOU	vs. TEN	16.0
19	Jake Locker	TEN	at HOU	19.0
20	Alex Smith	SF	at NYJ	20.7
21	Jay Cutler	CHI	at DAL	21.7
22	Matt Cassel	KC	vs. SD	22.0
23	Kevin Kolb	ARI	vs. MIA	23.7
24	Carson Palmer	OAK	at DEN	24.0
25	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	vs. SF	25.0
26	Sam Bradford	STL	vs. SEA	25.0
27	Shaun Hill	DET	vs. MIN	25.3
28	Russell Wilson	SEA	at STL	27.3
29	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	vs. CIN	27.7
30	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	at ARI	29.7
31	Brandon Weeden	CLE	at BAL	30.0
32	Tim Tebow	NYJ	vs. SF	31.7

Start: Christian Ponder, Vikings. Ponder grew up in front of our eyes by taking on the mighty 49er defense and not only surviving, but triumphing. He did it without Jerome Simpson, who returns from a three-week suspension this week. With Simpson joining a very talented core of Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson and Kyle Rudolph, Ponder has plenty of weapons to exploit bad secondaries. I’d say the Lions qualify after getting skewered by Jake Locker last week.

Sit: Tony Romo, Cowboys. Romo has had trouble getting things going in the past couple weeks after a nice performance against the under-manned Giants defense. After being stymied by the Seahawks and Buccaneers, the Cowboys offense rolls into a Bears defense that may be playing the best out of any defense after three weeks. If the Bears stay true to form, it’s going to be a long day for the Romocoaster.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opp	Avg
1	Arian Foster	HOU	vs. TEN	1.0
2	Ray Rice	BAL	vs. CLE	2.0
3	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	vs. CIN	3.7
4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	vs. NYG	4.0
5	Jamaal Charles	KC	vs. SD	5.7
6	Adrian Peterson	MIN	at DET	6.0
7	Darren McFadden	OAK	at DEN	7.0
8	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	at STL	7.3
9	Alfred Morris	WAS	at TB	11.3
10	Darren Sproles	NO	at GB	12.0
11	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	CIN	at JAC	12.7
12	Frank Gore	SF	at NYJ	13.0
13	Stevan Ridley	NE	at BUF	13.3
14	Trent Richardson	CLE	at BAL	14.3
15	Doug Martin	TB	vs. WAS	14.3
16	DeMarco Murray	DAL	vs. CHI	14.3
17	Ryan Mathews	SD	at KC	14.3
18	Cedric Benson	GB	vs. NO	18.3
19	Michael Turner	ATL	vs. CAR	20.7
20	Fred Jackson	BUF	vs. NE	21.0
21	Steven Jackson	STL	vs. SEA	21.3
22	Ryan Williams	ARI	vs. MIA	22.7
23	Michael Bush	CHI	at DAL	24.3
24	Willis McGahee	DEN	vs. OAK	24.7
25	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	at PHI	25.0
26	Mikel Leshore	DET	at TEN	25.3
27	Chris Johnson	TEN	at HOU	26.0
28	Ben Tate	HOU	vs. TEN	26.3
29	Reggie Bush	MIA	at ARI	27.3
30	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	at ATL	29.7
31	Shonn Greene	NYJ	vs. SF	30.3
32	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	at ATL	33.0
33	Pierre Thomas	NO	at GB	33.3
34	Tashard Choice	BUF	vs. NE	35.0
35	Andre Brown	NYG	at PHI	35.3
36	Mark Ingram	NO	at GB	36.3
37	Dexter McCluster	KC	vs. SD	38.0
38	Jacquizz Rodgers	ATL	vs. CAR	38.7
39	Daniel Thomas	MIA	at ARI	39.0
40	Matt Forte	CHI	at DAL	40.0
41	Peyton Hillis	KC	vs. SD	41.0
42	Lance Ball	DEN	vs. OAK	42.0
43	Bilal Powell	NYJ	vs. SF	43.0
44	Kahlil Bell	CHI	at DAL	44.0
45	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. NE	45.0
46	Danny Woodhead	NE	at BUF	45.7
47	Ryan Grant	WAS	at TB	46.7
48	Kendall Hunter	SF	at NYJ	47.7
49	Shaun Draughn	KC	vs. SD	48.7
50	Joique Bell	DET	vs. MIN	49.7

Start: Ryan Williams, Cardinals. Beanie Wells was placed on the see-you-in-a-couple-months IR this week, leaving Williams to pick up all the running game work in Arizona for the near future. He did well last week, and if the Cardinals defense is really as dominant as it looks, Williams will be protecting many a second-half lead while acting as the workhorse. I love his upside this week against the Dolphins and think he’s locked in as an RB2.

Sit: Shonn Greene, Jets. Greene has struggled to pick up any significant yardage this year, churning out less than three yards per carry. Now he faces an RB’s worst nightmare, the 49ers defense. Indications from Rex Ryan have me believing Greene may not be long for the starting job, and a Chris Johnson-type performance (sorry, CJ0K owners) against San Francisco may be the nail in the coffin. I’ve tried to make room for Bilal Powell in as many leagues as I can.

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opp	Avg
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. MIN	1.0
2	A.J. Green	CIN	at JAC	2.3
3	Percy Harvin	MIN	at DET	3.3
4	Andre Johnson	HOU	vs. TEN	3.3
5	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. CAR	5.7
6	Victor Cruz	NYG	at PHI	6.0
7	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	vs. OAK	9.3
8	Roddy White	ATL	vs. CAR	9.7
9	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. MIA	10.7
10	Steve Johnson	BUF	vs. NE	11.3
11	Dwayne Bowe	KC	vs. SD	11.7
12	Vincent Jackson	TB	vs. WAS	12.7
13	Miles Austin	DAL	vs. CHI	14.0
14	Steve Smith	CAR	at ATL	15.0
15	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	at PHI	15.0
16	Brandon Marshall	CHI	at DAL	15.7
17	Jordy Nelson	GB	vs. NO	16.0
18	Torrey Smith	BAL	vs. CLE	16.3
19	Wes Welker	NE	at BUF	17.3
20	Brandon Lloyd	NE	at BUF	21.0
21	Eric Decker	DEN	vs. OAK	21.0
22	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	vs. NYG	22.3
23	Greg Jennings	GB	vs. NO	22.3
24	Michael Crabtree	SF	at NYJ	24.3
25	Danny Amendola	STL	vs. SEA	25.3
26	DeSean Jackson	PHI	vs. NYG	25.3
27	Dez Bryant	DAL	vs. CHI	26.0
28	Marques Colston	NO	at GB	26.3
29	Malcom Floyd	SD	at KC	27.3
30	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	vs. SF	29.0
31	Denarius Moore	OAK	at DEN	32.7
32	Kenny Britt	TEN	at HOU	32.7
33	Mike Williams	TB	vs. WAS	33.7
34	Lance Moore	NO	at GB	33.7
35	Anquan Boldin	BAL	vs. CLE	36.0
36	Brandon LaFell	CAR	at ATL	36.0
37	Jerome Simpson	MIN	at DET	38.3
38	Nate Washington	TEN	at HOU	39.0
39	Nate Burleson	DET	vs. MIN	39.3
40	Andrew Hawkins	CIN	at JAC	41.0
41	Pierre Garcon	WAS	at TB	41.3
42	Leonard Hankerson	WAS	at TB	42.0
43	Randall Cobb	GB	vs. NO	42.7
44	Brian Hartline	MIA	at ARI	43.7
45	Golden Tate	SEA	at STL	44.0
46	Sidney Rice	SEA	at STL	44.7
47	Brandon Stokley	DEN	vs. OAK	47.7
48	Justin Blackmon	JAC	vs. CIN	48.3
49	Jeremy Kerley	NYJ	vs. SF	48.7
50	Armon Binns	CIN	at JAC	49.7
51	Davone Bess	MIA	at ARI	50.7
52	Greg Little	CLE	at BAL	51.7
53	Robert Meachem	SD	at KC	52.7
54	Ramses Barden	NYG	at PHI	54.3
55	Titus Young	DET	vs. MIN	55.0
56	Kevin Ogletree	DAL	vs. CHI	55.3
57	Stephen Hill	NYJ	vs. SF	56.3
58	James Jones	GB	vs. NO	57.3
59	Mario Manningham	SF	at NYJ	58.3
60	Steve Breaston	KC	vs. SD	59.3
61	Rod Streater	OAK	at DEN	60.3
62	Randy Moss	SF	at NYJ	61.3
63	Kendall Wright	TEN	at HOU	62.3
64	Donald Jones	BUF	vs. NE	63.3
65	Kevin Walter	HOU	vs. TEN	65.0
66	Andre Roberts	ARI	vs. MIA	66.0
67	Alshon Jeffrey	CHI	at DAL	67.0
68	Santana Moss	WAS	at TB	68.0
69	Brandon Gibson	STL	vs. SEA	69.0
70	Jacoby Jones	BAL	vs. CLE	70.0
71	Cecil Shorts	JAC	vs. CIN	71.0
72	T.J. Graham	BUF	vs. NE	72.0
73	Aldrick Robinson	WAS	at TB	73.0
74	Laurent Robinson	JAC	vs. CIN	74.0
75	Harry Douglas	ATL	vs. CAR	75.0

Start: Michael Crabtree, 49ers. The dropoff from Darrelle Revis to Kyle Wilson is pretty steep even if Wilson is a league-average cornerback. If he’s less than that, the Jets defense is in trouble. It’s going to be much easier for teams to pass on the Jets for the rest of the year, and that should start this week against the 49ers, where Crabtree looks like a quality WR3 option and Mario Manningham has a little sleeper potential.

Sit: Golden Tate, Seahawks. The “hero” of Monday night grabbed two TDs and locked in his place in the starting lineup over Braylon Edwards, but that doesn’t mean Tate’s ready to be plugged in as a decent WR3/flex option. The Seattle passing offense, with Russell Wilson at the helm, doesn’t look very good, and the Rams pass defense looks vastly improved now that they aren’t signing and starting street free agent cornerbacks on a weekly basis.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opp	Avg
1	Jimmy Graham	NO	at GB	1.0
2	Rob Gronkowski	NE	at BUF	2.7
3	Vernon Davis	SF	at NYJ	3.7
4	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	vs. CAR	4.0
5	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	at DET	7.0
6	Dennis Pitta	BAL	vs. CLE	7.0
7	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. MIN	7.7
8	Jermichael Finley	GB	vs. NO	8.0
9	Antonio Gates	SD	at KC	8.0
10	Owen Daniels	HOU	vs. TEN	9.0
11	Martellus Bennett	NYG	at PHI	11.0
12	Brent Celek	PHI	vs. NYG	11.3
13	Fred Davis	WAS	at TB	12.7
14	Scott Chandler	BUF	vs. NE	14.0
15	Jason Witten	DAL	vs. CHI	14.7
16	Greg Olsen	CAR	at ATL	15.7
17	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	at JAC	16.0
18	Jared Cook	TEN	at HOU	17.7
19	Brandon Myers	OAK	at DEN	19.7
20	Jacob Tamme	DEN	vs. OAK	20.0
21	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	vs. CIN	21.0
22	Anthony Fasano	MIA	at ARI	21.3
23	Kellen Davis	CHI	at DAL	23.0
24	Todd Heap	ARI	vs. MIA	24.0
25	Lance Kendricks	STL	vs. SEA	25.0
26	Tony Scheffler	DET	vs. MIN	26.0
27	Joel Dreessen	DEN	vs. OAK	27.0
28	Tony Moeaki	KC	vs. SD	28.0
29	Jeff Cumberland	NYJ	vs. SF	29.0
30	Dallas Clark	TB	vs. WAS	30.0

Start: Kyle Rudolph, Vikings. Rudolph hooked up with Christian Ponder for two TDs last week, giving him three scores on the season. He should be able to exploit the Detroit defense for his biggest game yardage-wise of the season.

Sit: Jason Witten, Cowboys. He’s had problems with drops this year, and now he has to face an extremely tough Bears defense. If I owned him in any leagues (I don’t), I’d be finding a Week 4 replacement if at all possible.

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opp	Avg
1	Cardinals	ARI	vs. MIA	2.3
2	Ravens	BAL	vs. CLE	3.0
3	Seahawks	SEA	at STL	4.7
4	Giants	NYG	at PHI	4.7
5	Texans	HOU	vs. TEN	5.0
6	Bears	CHI	at DAL	5.7
7	49ers	SF	at NYJ	6.7
8	Falcons	ATL	vs. CAR	9.3
9	Cowboys	DAL	vs. CHI	9.3
10	Bengals	CIN	at JAC	10.0
11	Packers	GB	vs. NO	11.0
12	Patriots	NE	at BUF	12.0
13	Eagles	PHI	vs. NYG	12.3
14	Jets	NYJ	vs. SF	13.0
15	Chargers	SD	at KC	15.3
16	Bills	BUF	vs. NE	16.3
17	Buccaneers	TB	vs. WAS	17.3
18	Lions	DET	vs. MIN	17.7
19	Redskins	WAS	at TB	19.0
20	Broncos	DEN	vs. OAK	19.3
21	Dolphins	MIA	at ARI	22.7
22	Titans	TEN	at HOU	22.7
23	Jaguars	JAC	vs. CIN	23.0
24	Raiders	OAK	at DEN	24.3
25	Rams	STL	vs. SEA	25.0
26	Vikings	MIN	at DET	25.0
27	Browns	CLE	at BAL	25.3
28	Chiefs	KC	vs. SD	26.0
29	Saints	NO	at GB	28.0
30	Panthers	CAR	at ATL	29.0

Start: Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have faced the Seahawks, Patriots and Eagles, three good teams by most accounts, and they have three wins on the scoreboard. Most of the success can be attributed to the defense, and they now get to face rookie Ryan Tannehill at home. Have at it, gentlemen.

Sit: Buffalo Bills. The Patriots seem primed for one of those “Screw You” 49-14 wins this week. At 1-2, their season may depend on it. Though I like the Bills defense most weeks, I wouldn’t run them out there in this one.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opp	Avg
1	Jason Hanson	DET	vs. MIN	2.7
2	Matt Bryant	ATL	vs. CAR	2.7
3	David Akers	SF	at NYJ	3.0
4	Mason Crosby	GB	vs. NO	4.7
5	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	at BUF	5.3
6	Justin Tucker	BAL	vs. CLE	5.7
7	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	at PHI	8.7
8	Shayne Graham	HOU	vs. TEN	8.7
9	Nate Kaeding	SD	at KC	9.0
10	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	at DEN	9.0
11	Blair Walsh	MIN	at DET	9.7
12	Garrett Hartley	NO	at GB	13.0
13	Mike Nugent	CIN	at JAC	14.3
14	Robbie Gould	CHI	at DAL	15.7
15	Greg Zuerlein	STL	vs. SEA	16.3
16	Matt Prater	DEN	vs. OAK	16.3
17	Billy Cundiff	WAS	at TB	17.3
18	Jay Feely	ARI	vs. MIA	18.7
19	Ryan Succop	KC	vs. SD	19.0
20	Alex Henery	PHI	vs. NYG	19.3
21	Dan Bailey	DAL	vs. CHI	20.0
22	Steven Hauschka	SEA	at STL	21.7
23	Connor Barth	TB	vs. WAS	23.0
24	Josh Scobee	JAC	vs. CIN	23.3
25	Rian Lindell	BUF	vs. NE	24.0
26	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. SF	24.3
27	Dan Carpenter	MIA	at ARI	24.7
28	Phil Dawson	CLE	at BAL	27.3
29	Rob Bironas	TEN	at HOU	28.0
30	Justin Medlock	CAR	at ATL	29.7

Start: Lawrence Tynes, Giants. Tynes is available in many a league despite putting up one of the best performances by a kicker, if not the best, over the first three weeks. The Giants defense should give the team great field position consistently against a struggling Philadelphia offense, and that could lead to several FG attempts for Tynes yet again.

Sit: Alex Henery, Eagles. Henery was a pretty appealing kicker option heading into the season but has had to deal with an inept Eagles offense. This may be the week Philly gets it together, but I wouldn’t trust the Eagles kicker until I see it with my own eyes.

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe and contributes to CBSSports.com's MLB Rumors blog. He has previously written for FanHouse, Razzball and FanDuel. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

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11 Responses to “Week 4: Bye Bye, Replacement Refs?”

SMACK1028 says:

September 27, 2012 at 3:38 pm

Help who do I play this week
gonzalez, gates, daniels? I need to play 2 of them but who do I bench?
Everything i see said play them all
But GATES keep screwing me
help
Reply
dstar22222 says:

September 27, 2012 at 5:20 pm

I would bench Gates… He is fantasy whack-a-mole, the rest get a lot of touches and have a lot of trust from their QB’s, Gates has better upside than Daniels but Daniels is consistent and gets more looks than Andre Johnson.. Just thought I would offer my opinion for what its worth…

So my question is:

I am in a head to head, standard non ppr league that is 1QB, 2RB, 3 WR/TE (can use either/or), DST and K

I can’t decide if I start Colston or Jermichael Finley in my last WR/TE spot…

I would love some opinions: I am thinking Finley for the following: Colston is still a bit banged up, the Saints are a mess, his touches are down and my opponent is starting Rodgers as his QB….

If Rodgers has a big game I sort of handcuff it under the assumption that Finley will most likely put up nice numbers as well, and if Rodgers sucks and Finley sucks then he would be worse off than I would since it is my only #3 WR/TE spot… Everywhere I look people think Colston is going to have a breakout game this week but I have no idea what to do and he has killed me this year so far…. Thanks!
Reply
STLpride says:

September 27, 2012 at 7:11 pm

@dstar22222:

I would definitely go for the Rodgers handcuff, it’s really a brilliant idea. Believe it or not the team I played last week deliberately dropped his kicker and picked up Lawrence Tynes to handcuff me because I’ve got Eli as my QB. I had never seen it done before, but it definitely worked out for him.

Go with Finley, you won’t regret it.
Reply
dstar22222 says:

September 27, 2012 at 7:37 pm

Thanks, glad to get some constructive feedback! My only concern is that Nelson and Jennings will go off for crazy points and Finley will be left in the dust :{ Kickers are one thing since they automatically tie to the QB but a TE with drops isn’t as automatic… but i put in a trade for Nelson since I have rediculous depth at WR/TE so fingers crossed :)
Reply
rdj3385 says:

September 28, 2012 at 12:37 am

@dstar22222: While I understand the theory about handcuffing a receiver to the qb and all of that…but my opinion is and always has been to start the guy who you think will get you the most points every single time. And I tend to agree with the hype that Colston will have a big game. Both QB’s know how to spread the ball around, of course, but I feel like Colston has the better chance in this situation. What ever you do, I hope it works out. Good luck.
Reply
FantasyChump says:

September 28, 2012 at 7:47 am

I’m in a 12 man .75 ppr league. I have sporles R bush Ryan Williams and Tashard Choice. I know I play sproles but the other three idk. I have an open RB and a Flex spot. I also have Garcon, if he plays do I bench 2 rbs and run Garcon in the flex. These match ups kinda make it tough for me.
Reply
daullaz says:

September 28, 2012 at 9:30 am

Smack: I’d bench Gates too. I like Daniels’s matchup.

Dstar: I don’t see the handcuff strategy there. Rodgers has so many weapons that he could be fantastic and Finley still have a bad game. I think you have to go by whichever guy you feel is a stronger play without considering handcuff. For me that’s Colston.

Chump: Williams is a definite play for you in the RB slot. If Bush is active, he’s your flex. If not, Choice is your guy.
Reply
ObeYsXeGianT says:

September 28, 2012 at 2:49 pm

Two weeks in a row I have started Pitta over Rudolph and 2 weeks in a row it doesn’t work out >.> Only been playing Pitta because its a PPR league. Hopefully it doesn’t cost me the W.
Reply
Ted Spencer says:

September 28, 2012 at 2:52 pm

Hi R.J. … just heard that Nicks is doubtful … got Nicks, MacLin, Moore, Barden and Marshall … need two for a 1 pt. PPR.
Who do you like?
Reply
MistaBigxxL says:

September 28, 2012 at 9:31 pm

These comments are better suited for the Start/Sit forum.
Reply
daullaz says:

September 28, 2012 at 11:36 pm

@Ted Spencer: I like Maclin and Marshall.
Reply