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Week 4 NFL Fantasy Football Studs + Duds

A quick look back at week 4 fantasy football STUDS and Duds…

WEEK 4 STUDS AND DUDS

Each week, the CappersPicks.com staff brings you players you need to be paying attention to: Remember – fantasy football championships are often won by those who live eat and breath fantasy football.

After all of the weekly games are finished be sure to check our waiver wire column, cheatsheets, a who’s hot, and who’s not report plus more in our fantasy football guide. Without wasting any more of your time, here are the Week 4 Fantasy Football Studs & Duds plus key player stats for the NFL games that went on on this week (Week 4).

Week 4 is almost over, and typical of Fantasy Football, there are as many out of the blue Studs as there are Weekly ones. Week 4 also proved again that Fantasy Football is a pass catchers’s game – there were far more stellar receiving performances and let downs that rushers or throwers.

Here’s Week 4’s edition of Studs and Duds – you will recognize many, but if you’ve never heard of a few – don’t worry – only the parents of these guys had heard of them before.

Stud of the Week

Peyton Manning – Indianapolis – Ho Hum – Peyton had a good week. Granted it was a depleted Seahawks team that the Colts beat up on, but Manning dominated in Week 4. His 4th straight 300 yard performance to start the 2009 campaign has people once again believing in the Colts as Super Bowl favorites. MVP! MVP! MVP!

Dud of the Week

Darren McFadden – Oakland – Going against an uber-soft Houston defense, McFadden managed -3 yards rushing today. I can’t remember the last time a sure-thing 100 yard rusher ended up with negative yards. It looks like Tom Cable punched the wrong guy in Oakland, and if this year doesn’t kill Al Davis, he’ll live to be 150 years old!

Other Studs

Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh – Absolute Stud coming into the season has not disappointed at all. He shredded the Chargers defense and looked like he could do no wrong. With his Week 4 performance, he has entered the MVP chase with a bullet.

Eli Manning – NY Giants – Will a Manning lose a game this year? Another dominating performance by the G-Men on the road. Manning was truly the architect of the Week 4 victory, throwing for 3 TD’s and 292 yards. Maybe we should call Archie Manning a Stud too!!!

David Gerrard – Jacksonville – Anyone see this one coming?? Liar! 323 yards and 3 TD’s through the air and 38 yards rushing against Tennessee on Sunday. A Stud effort by “The Occasional Stud”. In a game where Maurice Jones-Drew had a substandard game, Gerrard really stepped up and became worthy of this list. He would have been Stud of the Week – but if I did that, my credibility would be called into question.

Rashard Mendenhall – Pittsburgh – Sure did make the most of his surprise start in Week 4 didn’t he. Mendenhall single-handedly got Pittsburgh back to the smash-mouth football they love to play. Mendenhall is what the Steelers need so grab some sloppy seconds Willie – there’s a new Stud in town!!!

Ronnie Brown – Miami – Huge game in Week 4 with 115 yards and 2 TD’s. He pounds the ball inside, runs outside of the tackles and has an incredible grasp of what the wildcat offense can do. Brown is a multiple threat back who’s stock continues to rise.

Ray Rice – Baltimore – 11 carries for 103 yards with 5 catches for 49 yards in Week 4. Anytime you can amass 150+ total yards – you are a Stud. Rice truly made the most of his touches, and when he got the ball, you knew something was gonna happen.

Jerome Harrison – Cleveland – Carried the load for the Browns in Week 4 and furthered Jamal Lewis’ decline into Fantasy obscurity. Cleveland seemed to have a bit of confidence of Sunday and Harrison appeared to be the stabilizing force behind it. 152 combined yards against a Bengals defense that had been holding opposing backs down makes Jerome a Stud and probably the sexiest name on Waiver Wires this week.

Steve Smith – NY Giants – Fantasy Gold!!! Smith was not mentioned at all in the preseason as the one to step up and become a “Classy Burress”. This dude keeps producing week to week and his 11 catch, 134 yard 2 TD effort in Week 4 has vaulted into must-start territory. Gonna be a monster year for Steve indeed.

Mohamed Massaquoi – Cleveland – WHO?????? He has been leading the league in vowels all season, but 8 catches and 148 yards came from nowhere. Enjoy it now, cause probably the only other time you’ll hear his name is when you sneeze!

Calvin Johnson – Detroit – 8 catches for 133 yards in Week 4. Against double teams and defensive schemes designed to take him out of the game, he still gets it done!! He’s beautiful to watch and obviously beautiful to throw to.

Antonio Gates – San Diego – A Beast in Week 4. Why doesn’t Rivers use Gates the WHOLE GAME!!! The 2 can dominate a game – if Rivers ever wakes up, Gates could be Huge. 9 catches, 124 yards, 2 TD’s. – Stud!

Other Duds

Jamarcus Russell – Oakland – Pretty fun to pick on this guy! Too dumb to be an NFL QB.  Enjoy your weekly appearance on the Dud list Jamarcus!!

Drew Brees – New Orleans – 2nd straight week without a TD? Not sure what to say except that they are still winning games. I guess you’s take the win over stats!! Ugh!!

Mark Sanchez – NY Jets – He was due wasn’t he? 138 yards and 3 interceptions were a true letdown for Fantasy owners. I’ll give Sanchez a mulligan, but I still consider him a Dud this Week.

Maurice Jones-Drew – Jacksonville – 40 COMBINED YARDS and your team scores 37? Total head scratcher! Although he added a touchdown with his 14 yards rushing, the Fantasy world expected a hell of a lot more!!

Willis McGahee – Baltimore – 26 combined yards (although he had a TD) was as big a disappointment as Jones Drew this week. Ray Rice proved (at least today) that he might be the better all around back. Hope it doesn’t’s chew into McGahee’s touches going forward, but the potential is definitely there.

LaDanian Tomlinson – San Diego – Thanks to Darren McFadden for taking the Dud of the Week honors – LT was definately a challenge to your dubious crown! Taken out of the game early because of the Chargers’ need to play catch up, Tomlinson still should have put up respectable numbers. No such luck!! – glad I didn’t draft him!!

Buffalo RB’s – Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch combined for 46 yards on 17 carries in Week 4. Not good!!!! The 2 managed to catch the ball out of the backfield, but unless they can run the ball and keep the defense honest, it will continue to be a LONG year in Buffalo.

Eddie Royal – Denver – Seems to be a fixture in this column and its too bad. He is a true talent that once again managed mimimal yards (16) on just 2 catches in Week 4. Time to give up on Eddie folks – he’s a Dud of the Year candidate.

Devin Hester – Chicago – One of the most dynamic receivers in football seemed to be developing a chemistry with Jay Cutler. Optimism was swelling until his 1 catch, 2 yard effort in Week 4.  Hope you didn’t plug this Dud in as a quality bye-week fill-in!!

Randy Moss – New England – Led the league in targets going into Week 4 and playing against a middle of the road Baltimore secondary should be a recipe for huge numbers for the most talented receiver in the NFL right???  Wrong – Randy only managed 50 yards on 3 catches Sunday. This week he was Dudworthy.

Greg Olsen – Chicago – The Bears came into Week 4 with a newfound passing optimism, and a date with the Lions was supposed to cement their value in the Fantasy world. A 1 catch for 1 yard game will leave many to scour the Waiver Wires for another Tight End.

Top Performers Week 3

Quarterbacks

D. Garrard, JAC 323 yds, 3 TD, 0 Int
B. Roethlisberger, PIT 333 yds, 2 TD, 0 Int
P. Manning, IND 353 yds, 2 TD, 1 Int
K. Collins, TEN 284 yds, 2 TD, 2 Int
J. Cutler, CHI 141 yds, 3 TD, 0 Int
P. Rivers, SDG 254 yds, 3 TD, 0 Int
E. Manning, NYG 292 yds, 3 TD, 1 Int

Running Backs

R. Mendenhall, PIT 191 yds, 2 TD
R. Brown, MIA 115 yds, 2 TD
M. Forte, CHI 140 yds, 1 TD
P. Thomas, NOR 132 yds, 1 TD
S. Slaton, HOU 89 yds, 2 TD
K. Smith, DET 51 yds, 2 TD

Wide Receivers

S. Smith, NYG 134 yds, 2 TD
M. Sims-Walker, JAC 91 yds, 2 TD
B. Marshall, DEN 91 yds, 1 TD
C. Ochocinco, CIN 24 yds, 2 TD
D. Mason, BAL 88 yds, 1 TD
M. Massaquoi, CLE 148 yds, 0 TD
C. Johnson, DET 145 yds, 0 TD

Tight Ends

A. Gates, SDG 124 yds, 2 TD
H. Miller, PIT 70 yds, 2 TD
M. Lewis, JAC 76 yds, 1 TD
C. Cooley, WAS 65 yds, 1 TD

By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.