Washington Redskins a great fantasy defense to play in Week 4

Ask Athlon Fantasy Football for Week 4

If you have any fantasy football questions for Ask Athlon, send them my way @AthlonCorby on Twitter or via email to corby.yarbrough@athlonsports.com

Who is the best NFL fantasy defense/special teams play this weekend? Vikings at Chiefs, Redskins at Rams, Bills at Bengals or the Jets at Ravens?
@AthlonBraden on Twitter
Washington gets my vote.

The Redskins have surrendered 53 points, registered eight sacks, three interceptions and now have safety LaRon Landry back in the fold. St. Louis has scored just 36 points, given up 12 sacks and has coughed up the ball five times.

Got to keep 4 of 5 running backs: Ben Tate, Mike Tolbert, Daniel Thomas, Joseph Addai, Steven Jackson.
— @jacobwoody on Twitter
If we're talking the rest of the season, Addai is the one I let set sail.

There's upside for the other four. Tate has already proven he can step in for Arian Foster; Mike Tolbert isn't going to go away in the Chargers' offense; Thomas is just heating up for Miami and Jackson will get the bulk of the carries on a team with a rising QB and an easier second-half schedule.

I don't trust Addai to be there all season — both in health and production. The vibes are terrible in Indy, and once they are completely out of the playoff race, who's to say rookie Delone Carter doesn't start getting the looks more?

Better waiver wire pick up: Knowshon Moreno, Ryan Grant or Nate Washington? And I was offered David Nelson and Mark Ingram for Reggie Wayne. Thoughts?
@Will_Chaklos on Twitter
Nate Washington because he is the clear go-to target now for the Titans. Moreno and Grant are both in time shares, and not on the majority end of said time share.

And I would jump on the Nelson/Ingram for Wayne in a second. Both are in high-scoring offenses. Wayne, as good as he has been, has a QB situation that is dreadful

If Benson gets suspended and misses Week 4, is Bernard "Great" Scott worthy of a start over Shonn Greene who is at Baltimore. PPR.
— Mike Crowther on Athlon Sports Facebook
Well, it looks like this might be a question for next week now that Benson is playing against the Bills this week; or will he be suspended at all? Either way, I would not even have Bernard Scott on a roster. Scott has barely sniffed any action — he has 2.3 fantasy points total over three games — this season and is not seen as an every-down back by his team to begin with. He has 23 yards, no catches and with the addition of Brandon Tate, is no longer part of the return game. He averaged 6.1 and 4.5 touches per game his first two seasons. This season, under new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, Scott is averaging 2.6 touches.

Greene is still the bell cow for a Jets team that is struggling to run the ball, but he added a bit of PPR of his own in the loss to Oakland with seven catches on seven targets. If he can bring that part to the table each week as well, it will make up for his lackluster rushing numbers.

If Batman and Superman were to fight, who would win?
— Joe Campanelli on Athlon Sports Facebook
Unless Batman has kryptonie, I think Superman walks away with this one in a first-second knockout. Even if Batman did bring kryptonite into the ring, I'm sure Superman could gut it out for a few rounds before Miss Tessmacher, while Batman wasn't looking, slipped into the ring and pulled the kryptonite away.

— Corby A. Yarbrough @AthlonCorby on Twitter

Athlon Sports Week 4 Fantasy Waiver Wire


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The 0-3 Rams Will Make The Playoffs. No, Seriously.

Their schedule gets much easier after Week 9 and they're in a very bad division

With the first three weeks of the NFL season in the books, there are five teams — Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams — who have yet to win a game. According to research done by the NFL Network, teams that start the season 0-3 have a 2.8 percent chance of making the playoffs.

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Injuries Ruin St. Louis Rams Playoff Hopes

Injuries impact St. Louis Rams playoff hopes for 2011.

By Josh Kipnis

Two years after a 1-15 record, the St. Louis Rams were hoping to make 2011 a memorable year with their first playoff berth since 2004.  They probably aren’t saying the same thing after the NFL’s opening weekend.

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Fantasy Football Quarterbacks: Rising Stars

Making a Case for the New Class ...
Three young quarterbacks have quickly ascended into the top half of fantasy QBs to own. Here’s why you shouldn’t shy away from them this year.

Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
Bradford was thrown into the fire as a rookie and threw the third-most passes (590) in the league last year while finishing as the No. 20 fantasy quarterback. The Rams used the draft to upgrade the weapons around him, and they hired Josh McDaniels to coordinate the offense. McDaniels has called the plays for some of the top fantasy offenses in recent seasons, which is good news for Bradford. Throw in an enhanced group of weapons, and Bradford is set to improve his numbers from last year. Bradford still has room to grow, but Steven Jackson is getting older, and the offense will be shifting more toward the pass. As long as the Rams protect him, Bradford will grow into an every-week fantasy starter.

- Steven Lassan @AthlonSteven on Twitter

Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
The eyeball test is where it starts with Stafford, as there may not be a stronger arm on the planet. The Georgia product can make every throw in the book and has elite options to target with Calvin Johnson, Jahvid Best, Brandon Pettigrew and a slew of stellar rookie talents. Stafford certainly has health concerns, but when healthy, he has produced big numbers. He was averaging 20.2 fantasy points through three games last season, which would have landed the rocket-armed passer as the No. 8 fantasy quarterback in the league had he kept that pace — and remained healthy — all year long. With the weapons around him and the continued progress of the defense, Stafford has a chance to be the next elite fantasy option under center — if he can stay healthy.

- Braden Gall @AthlonBraden on Twitter

Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
He’s one of football’s up-and-comers at the quarterback position, and he should move his way into fantasy starting consideration this year. After a tough rookie season, Freeman blossomed in 2010, throwing 25 touchdown passes against only six interceptions in an impressive sophomore campaign. Freeman’s play got even better down the stretch, with 15 TD passes and only one pick in Tampa Bay’s last eight games. He also added 364 rushing yards on the season — a total that ranked second among quarterbacks. The future looks bright for the Buccaneers’ offense, with a solid offensive line and another emerging star in running back LeGarrette Blount. Freeman achieved his efficient statline without much experience at receiver. Rookie Mike Williams became his favorite target, catching 11 touchdowns. Those two should be even better in their second year together, and the Bucs have other young, athletic targets in Arrelious Benn and Dezmon Briscoe. Add in tight end Kellen Winslow, and Freeman will have plenty of weapons to work with as he piles up numbers in the wide-open NFC South.

- Patrick Snow @AthlonSnowman on Twitter

THIS WEEK'S POSITIONAL STORIES: QBRBWRTEKDST

More Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets and Rankings:
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 280
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 240 w/ IDPs

2
011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks
2
011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers

2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends

2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers

2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defense/Special Teams


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Sam Bradford Signs Poster For Crying Girl (Video)

The St. Louis Rams quarterback has power over the ladies.

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5 Bold Predictions for the 2011 NFL Season

Here's five big predictions for the upcoming season.

We make five out-on-a-limb predictions for the upcoming NFL season.

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St. Louis Rams 2011 NFL Team Preview

We look at the Rams chances of making the playoffs this year.

The Rams haven’t had a winning season since 2003, and haven’t made the playoffs since 2004, when they squeaked in as an 8–8 wild card. Is this the year the team finally gets over the hump? In a still-weak NFC West, 9–7 almost surely wins the division; even 8–8 might do. Heck, Seattle became the first 7–9 division champion in NFL history a year ago.

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