Fantasy Football Week 4
Player Rankings

Quarterbacks
1: Peyton Manning: These 3 bad weeks mean he’s just going to be making up for lost time. People think the league’s figured out the Colts offense, but what exactly is there to figure? Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokley are good receivers?

2: Donovan McNabb: He’s guaranteed to throw at least 15 TDs to Owens. I think 200 yards and 2+ TDs/game is a given from here on out. He’s banged up, but you don’t have to be 100% to throw screens to Westbrook that turn into TDs.

3: Carson Palmer: He’s got a huge arm and it’s accurate. The Cincy offense doesn’t rely on the pass, but Palmer hits his targets when he gets a chance to go downfield. Last week’s game in Chicago was just a defensive battle. He’s going to be in the Top 5 for about the next 10 years.

4: Mark Bulger: Perhaps the most underrated of all fantasy quarterbacks. When the Rams lose he’s still throwing for close to 300 yards. And since their defense is so bad he’ll be airing it out just playing catch-up.

5: Ben Roethlisberger: He’s got better receivers than Brady and his co-coordinator likes calling screens and hitches that somehow turn into 50 yard plays. Antwaan Randle El is on the verge of a breakout season and Roethlisberger has shown nothing but talent since he stepped into the starter’s role

6: Tom Brady: Very quietly giving you 2 TDs/game and 200 yards.

7: Kerry Collins: I wouldn’t want him leading my team, but for fantasy purposes Collins is a good bet to pick up big yards throwing downfield to Moss and Porter. There aren’t many better tandems in the league and I will guarantee you this offense picks up pretty quickly. Collins has no choice but to throw and he’s still got that big arm. Lamont Jordan is all right at RB, but it’s all downfield with Oakland.

8: Jake Delhomme: If Steve Smith can stay healthy he’s going to top 1,100 yards receiving and notch 15 TDs. Delhomme is right up there with McNabb in terms of production.

9: Trent Green: Usually overrated because of KC’s propensity for notching 30 point games. Green doesn’t have the receivers (aside from Gonzalez) to be much higher on this list.

10: Michael Vick: Still hasn’t shown he can throw the ball with any kind of consistency. Until he does I’m not giving him, Michael Jenkins, and Brian Finneran any credit. Alge Crumpler would be the best fantasy tight end in football if Vick just knew how to see the field.

11: Daunte Culpepper: He’s throwing to Nate Burleson and Marcus Robinson. Unless he runs for 10 TDs he’s going to have trouble keeping up with the rest of the Top QBs in terms of production.

12: Matt Hasselbeck: Darrell Jackson is still unreliable, but the Seahawks have a good enough running game to clear space for some 250 yard/3 TD games from Hasselbeck.

13: Drew Bledsoe: Now that he’s found a team with a decent offensive line Bledsoe looks like a good bet to post a very nice year. He’s got decent receivers in Johnson and Glenn, and a great TE in Witten. Drew should keep giving you 200+/2 TDs/game as long as he’s upright.

14: Drew Brees: When the season’s over take a lot at Bledsoe’s numbers compared to Brees’. I guarantee, assuming they both stay healthy, that you’re talking about almost identical years from these guys who are essentially the same quarterback.

15: Brett Favre: With Javon Walker out and the Packers’ offensive line in shambles you really can’t expect much from Favre this season. He’s going to be sacked a ton, throw a lot of picks, and give you middling performances that are more a reflection of the state of this team than Favre’s declining skill-set. Ahman Green does not look good.

16: Eli Manning: There’s the possibility of huge returns here…next year. But Manning has some serious weapons and I wouldn’t be surprised at a 25+ TD season.

17: Jake Plummer: The guy’s an absolute headcase. You never know what you’re going to get from him week-to-week. It’s going to start snowing in Denver pretty soon and Jake’s gonna come up with some of those 0 TD games.

18: Aaron Brooks: The very picture of mediocrity, Brooks is good for 1-2 TDs/game and 200 yards. He used to run, but now he’s strictly a pocket passer who’s prone to making horrible, awful decisions with the ball.

19: David Carr: If the Texans could just get this guy an offensive line and a receiver not named Andre Johnson he’s be right up there with Palmer at the top of this list. Carr has a rocket arm, great field vision, and an ability to run the ball for serious yards when given the chance. He’s also getting sacked 6 times/game.

20: Byron Leftwich: Leftwich has one of the biggest arms in football, but the Jags’ offense is just not conducive to getting Byron fantasy points. Fred Taylor had 36 rushing attempts last week. That doesn’t leave much room for Byron, especially considering this guy is a strictly pocket passer.

21: Steve McNair: He’s fallen this far because he’s slowed down. You can tell just by watching a Titans game that Steve is pretty much on his last legs. This guy’s been beat up pretty bad in his career and the Titans are a re-building team. If he were the McNair of old he would have picked the St. Louis D apart last week. Instead he looked slow and shaky.

22: Brian Griese: He’s in the same boat as Leftwich. Griese is a middling talent with decent receivers and no scrambling ability. His maximum output is pretty much an average fantasy performance on any given week.

23: Kurt Warner: He can’t, under any circumstances, play behind that offensive line. It’s terrible. Worse than bad.

24: Gus Frerotte: Miami has Boston, Chambers, and Marty Booker. But Gus has been a backup for the past 5 years and Saban isn’t trusting him to air the ball out.

25: Kyle Boller: Hasn’t figured it out yet and probably never will. Boller’s arm just isn’t that great and the Ravens have that Jacksonville style offense. Run. Run. Run.

26: Joey Harrington: He’s just bad. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for the guy, but he’s got a weak arm and receivers (Charles Rogers) that could care less about making plays for him, or being where they’re supposed to be on the field.

27: Patrick Ramsey/Mark Brunell: Two huge disappointments, regardless of who’s starting. These guys will give you 1 TD/week. Santana Moss might make it 2 at the very most.

28: Kyle Orton: He’s not that bad, but the Bears aren’t going to score points in the air. He also threw 5 interceptions last week on balls that missed the mark by the smallest of margins. That just means he needs time to adjust.

29: Trent Dilfer: Same deal as Orton and Frerotte. Dilfer is a decent QB who’s playing in an offense that is designed for short passes and a hard-nosed running game.

30: J.P Losman. He’s got a great arm, and quick feet. Moulds and Reed are quality receivers. But McGahee gets the ball in goal line situations and the Bills passing game is strictly possession. He make not break 20 TDs this year.

31: Brooks Bollinger: Pennington and Fiedler are out. I don’t have much faith in Brooks, but let’s see what he can do. I think the most likely answer is “hand-off 40 times to Curtis Martin.”