Live Blog: Week 4
Welcome to the Rotoworld Week 4 Live Blog, where we will be analyzing fantasy football action as it happens. Stats, backfield committee breakdowns, early waiver wire options, and more will be covered as we settle in for a long day of NFL football.
* As the last few late games hit the two-minute warning, we will call it a wrap for the Rotoworld Week 4 Live Blog. Thank you for joining me today and I will see you again next Sunday. Good luck in your SNF and MNF matchups! *
(7:10 PM): Tight end Gary Barnidge is having another nice outing, with six catches for 75 yards and a score. Barnidge racked up six grabs for 105 yards and a score in Week 2 and looks like a decent fantasy option at the moment.
(7:02 PM): Rams speedster Tavon Austin is now at 114 total yards and two touchdowns on the day as St. Louis leads Arizona 24-15. Austin has the wheels to make plays if he gets the ball in the right spots, as he has today. Austin also showed some nice hands in a few spots this afternoon.
(6:59 PM): Todd Gurley just ripped off a 52 yard run and now sits at 92 yards on 12 carries. Tre Mason is still stuck at -1 yard on two carries as Gurley is slowly gobbling up the work in this backfield. Gurley should be fun to watch down the stretch this season and beyond.
(6:56 PM): * INJURY UPDATE * Demaryius Thomas is back in and just caught a pass from Peyton Manning.
(6:55 PM): Adrian Peterson just broke off a long touchdown run and is at 82 yards and a score on 15 carries. Peterson now has three straight big games after a slow Week 1 performance. No other Vikings running back has more than one carry today.
(6:52 PM): If Cairo Santos' seven field goal performance wasn't enough, Arizona's Chandler Catanzaro has booted five of his own this afternoon.
(6:48 PM): Duke Johnson continues to dominate in the passing game with nine catches for 85 yards and a score. Johnson is now at 15 catches for 117 yards over the last two weeks.
(6:45 PM): Ty Montgomery does have six targets while working as Green Bay's WR3 with Davante Adams out, but has caught only three passes for 15 yards.
(6:39 PM): The San Francisco 49ers have one touchdown in their last seven quarters as they enter the fourth quarter today against Green Bay. The 49ers offense has been awful once again today, with Carlos Hyde (eight carries, 20 yards) and Colin Kaepernick (105 passing yards) not able to get anything going. This offense should be avoided in most scenarios for now.
(6:35 PM): Both Chris Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald are at 83 yards today as the Arizona Cardinals try to dig out of a hole against St. Louis. Fitzgerald has now racked up over 80 yards in all four games this season and has five scores to boot.
(6:30 PM): * INJURY UPDATE * Demaryius Thomas is questionable to return today with a neck injury.
(6:29 PM): Philip Rivers is spreading the ball around today in San Diego, with four Chargers players at four or more targets so far today. Tight End Ladarius Green just found the end zone.
(6:23 PM): Nick Foles is outdueling Carson Palmer so far today, as he is up to 153 passing yards and two touchdowns. The St. Louis defense has held the Cardinals to three field goals in Arizona so far today after a strong showing against Pittsburgh in Week 3.
(6:20 PM): Green Bay's John Kuhn with a healthy stat line of one carry for one yard and one touchdown as Eddie Lacy owners cringe.
(6:12 PM): Ronnie Hillman getting the goal line work on Denver's opening second half drive. Hillman got stuffed twice and did not score, but is out-producing C.J. Anderson courtesy of his 72 yard TD run. Anderson has six carries for 15 yards and one catch for 27 yards.
(6:06 PM): No success from the St. Louis backfield today, as the team has combined for 10 carries and five yards. Tre Mason has two carries for -1 yards and Todd Gurley has five carries for -2. Tavon Austin is the only player in positive territory with one rush for eight yards. Gurley is still obviously the back to own here but this is a tough matchup on the road.
(6:01 PM): Rookie Stefon Diggs has four catches for 59 yards on eight targets for Minnesota at halftime. This is the first contribution from Diggs this season and Teddy Bridgewater appears to trust the young wide receiver, as he is tied for the team lead in targets today through two quarters.
(5:55 PM): Demaryius Thomas is quietly at seven catches for 74 yards on eight targets from Peyton Manning. Thomas now has at least seven catches in all four of Denver's games this season.
(5:52 PM): Mike Wallace just scored for Minnesota and has six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown on eight targets. This is by far Wallace's most productive fantasy stat line of the season and has been aided by the absence of Charles Johnson.
(5:42 PM): Chris Johnson is still handling the running back work in Arizona, running for 51 yards on 11 carries so far today. Johnsons's value will dip when Andre Ellington returns, and David Johnson will try to earn more playing time as the season progresses.
~
(5:39 PM): Browns backfield update: Duke Johnson has seven catches for 82 yards and a TD, while both he and Isaiah Crowell have four carries each. The receiving skill of Johnson definitely gives him the edge here moving forward.
(5:30 PM): After last week's four interception debacle, Colin Kaepernick is 7/10 for 78 yards as halftime approaches. Kaepernick does have 43 rushing yards, but he will not be on the fantasy radar while offering zero in the passing department.
(5:26 PM): Six carries for Melvin Gordon and four carries for Danny Woodhead in San Diego with two minutes left in the half. Woodhead has two catches as well.
(5:11 PM): Davante Adams is inactive for Green Bay today, but no other Packers wide receivers have a catch yet outside of James Jones and Randall Cobb. Ty Montgomery does have two rushing attempts, however.
(5:09 PM): C.J. Anderson continues to fade away in Denver. Ronnie Hillman just took his first carry of the day for a 72 yard touchdown run while Anderson sits at seven yards on three carries.
(5:03 PM): The Denver defense is unstoppable right now, and has three sacks already this afternoon against Minnesota.
(4:59 PM): No targets yet for Brian Quick, who is active for the first time this week for St. Louis.
(4:57 PM): The early receiving work for Duke Johnson today is encouraging for fantasy purposes. The Browns talked up Johnson's receiving skills all summer long but failed to throw him any passes in Weeks 1 and 2. Johnson finally hauled in six catches in Week 3 and now has three early grabs today. Fantasy owners could have a solid PPR contributor on their hands.
(4:55 PM): Chris Johnson handled all the rushing work on Arizona's first drive with Andre Ellington still out. Six carries for 14 yards for Johnson, with rookie David Johnson catching a 20 yard pass but dropping a short potential touchdown late on the drive.
(4:52 PM): Duke Johnson just found the end zone on a long touchdown from Josh McCown. Johnson and Isaiah Crowell have split the rushing duties so far, but Duke with the biggest contribution so far.
(4:47 PM): Keenan Allen continues his solid 2015 season, catching a touchdown pass from Philip Rivers. Aside from a Week 2 dud, Allen has been a surefire WR1.
(4:39 PM): One Denver drive is in the books, and C.J. Anderson was given two touches. Anderson took one carry for no gain but caught a pass for 27 yards as he attempts to keep his spot atop the Broncos depth chart.
(4:36 PM): It didn't take Aaron Rodgers long to throw a touchdown as he hooked up with TE Richard Rodgers for a score.
(4:29 PM): In the Washington backfield, Alfred Morris took over late on his way to 62 yards on 17 carries. Matt Jones wasn't involved late in this game as the Redskins came back against Philadelphia. Morris appears to have regained control of this backfield, but he is still far from a trustworthy fantasy asset at this point. Morris owners would be wise to patiently wait until Morris finds the end zone then trade him as soon as possible before he turns back into a pumpkin.
(4:25 PM): Fantasy Leaders so far today:
Devonta Freeman: 149 total yards, 3 TD
Cairo Santos: 7 FG
Jeremy Hill: 40 yards, 3 TD
Sam Bradford: 270 yards, 3 TD
Chris Ivory: 166 yards, TD
Kirk Cousins: 290 yards, 1 TD
Vincent Jackson: 147 yards, 1 TD
(4:22 PM): The late games are now underway, with no score so far in San Diego as the Chargers face the Browns. Josh McCown with an early fumble, but no other fantasy news in this one.
(4:20 PM): Jameis Winston struggled today with four interceptions, but did throw two late touchdown passes. Winston and the Bucs will host Jacksonville at home next week.
(4:08 PM): Cairo Santos continues his insane fantasy performance, as he has now booted seven field goals on the day. Incredible.
(4:03 PM): It has been a grabage time feast for DeAndre Hopkins, who is leading all players in Week 4 with 17 targets. Hopkins has seven catches for 118 yards.
(4:01 PM): Jeremy Hill joins Devonta Freeman with his third touchdown of the day. Hill is putting the game away in Cincinnati with the Bengals up 36-18 over the Chiefs. 40 yards and three scores on nine carries for Hill.
(3:56 PM): In kicker news, Cairo Santos is now up to SIX field goals on the day as Kansas City trails Cincinnati 29-18.
(3:53 PM): Allen Hurns continues his hot play and is up to 107 yards and a score on 10 catches. Hurns has at least 60 yards in all four games this season and should be owned in all leagues.
(3:50 PM): Rashad Jennings with a long touchdown catch and run from Eli Manning. Odell Beckham appears to be hurting after the play. Stay tuned for more updates on his status.
(3:45 PM): Houston has scored two garbage time touchdowns, with Chris Polk and C.J. Fiedorowicz finding the endzone with Brian Hoyer in the game for Ryan Mallett. DeAndre Hopkins has 12 targets on the day but just four catches for 62 yards.
(3:42 PM): Karlos Williams just salvaged his fantasy day with a long touchdown catch from Tyrod Taylor. Williams has 63 total yards and the score as Buffalo trails the NY Giants.
(3:38 PM): Nothing cooking in the Philadelphia backfield today. DeMarco Murray is still at 33 yards on seven carries, with Ryan Mathews sitting at 20 yards on four carries. Darren Sproles has two carries and has not caught a pass.
(3:34 PM): Each with defensive scores, the Carolina D/ST and Atlanta D/ST are leading the way among fantasy defenses. Atlanta gets Washington at home next week and could be useable again.
~
(3:27 PM): Jeremy Hill with touchdown number two on the day. Hill has received eight touches while Giovani Bernard has seen just three carries so far. This is looking like a strictly game script based backfield at the moment.
(3:22 PM): Alfred Morris may be reaching the cut stage of his fantasy football career. Morris is leading the Washington backfield with 12 carries but has just 22 yards. Matt Jones hasn't done much either, taking seven carries and running for only 10 yards. Chris Thompson has been the most productive back in this offense today, but this is a tough group to trust for fantasy purposes.
(3:15 PM): Sluggish day for Buffalo with Tyrod Taylor struggling. RB Karlos Williams is up to 46 yards on 15 carries and hasn't done much yet while filling-in for LeSean McCoy.
(3:10 PM): The NY Giants backfield hasn't done much today and has been fairly even in terms of workload. Andre Williams has eight carries, with Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen each handling five. Eli Manning hasn't been throwing to his backs much lately, so this entire group is worth ignoring for the most part.
(3:08 PM): Both of Ted Ginn's catches have gone for scores today. Ginn has at least 50 receiving yards or a score in all four Carolina games this season and could be a nice bye-week filler if he is on your waiver wire.
(3:05 PM): Matt Hasselback hasn't been great for the Colts today, and although he doesn't have an interception, has is just 16/28 for 158 yards and one touchdown. Hasselbeck has spread the targets evenly among Indianapolis receivers, with T.Y. Hilton catching two of seven targets for 20 yards, and Donte Moncrief catching five of six targets for 68 yards.
(3:00 PM): * INJURY UPDATE * Michael Crabtree is back for Oakland.
(2:57 PM): The Devonta Freeman show continues. Freeman just scored for the third time today and has six touchdowns in the last two weeks. 147 total yards are also in Freeman's stat line, but this guy is a TD machine right now.
(2:54 PM): Tough day for kickers so far. Cairo Santos of Kansas City is the leading fantasy leg so far today as he has connected on four of four field goals. No other notable kicking performances on the day up to this point.
(2:51 PM): It's Sam Bradford again, as the Eagles are creating the only 2nd half scoring so far. Bradford connected with Brent Celek for a score and is no at 186 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
(2:43 PM): Sam Bradford finally got on the board with a deep touchdown pass to Riley Cooper. Bradford is 7/14 for 145 yards and one score.
(2:34 PM): Halftime Target Leaders
Running Backs
Devonta Freeman (6): 5 rec, 81 yds
Jamaal Charles (5): 5 rec, 57 yards
Frank Gore (4): 2 rec, 6 yds
Latavius Murray (4): 3 rec, 12 yds
Wide Receivers
Allen Hurns (9): 8 rec, 82 yds, 1 TD
Jeremy Maclin (8): 7 rec, 97 yds
A.J. Green (8): 6 rec, 78 yds
Odell Beckham Jr. (8): 3 rec, 24 yds
Tight Ends
Martellus Bennett (7): 6 rec, 41 yds, 1 TD
Greg Olsen (5): 2 rec, 28 yds
Charles Clay (5): 3 rec, 14 yds
Coby Fleener (5): 4 rec, 35 yds, 1 TD
Jordan Reed (5): 3 rec, 28 yds
(2:26 PM): Arian Foster has handled six carries for three yards, but has two catches for 23 yards in the passing game. It will be interesting to see how much more work Foster gets with Houston getting crushed 28-0.
(2:21 PM): Tough start for Tyrod Taylor and the Bills as they trail the NY Giants 16-3. Taylor is 4/11 for 28 yards and an interception. Running back Karlos Williams has 35 yards on 10 carries so far.
(2:19 PM): * INJURY UPDATE * Latavius Murray is back in for Oakland.
(2:18 PM): Martellus Bennett is leading all fantasy tight ends so far today, catching five of six targets for 35 yards and a touchdown. Indianapolis' Coby Fleener is also producing today, as he just hauled in a touchdown from Matt Hasselbeck and is at four catches for 35 yards and a score.
(2:15 PM): Atlanta now leads Houston 28-0 after a Matt Ryan touchdown pass to Leonard Hankerson. Devonta Freeman is the leading receiver for the Falcons with five catches on six targets for 81 yards.
(2:12 PM): Doug Martin just found the end zone and is at 33 yards on 12 carries. Martin is attempting to salvage some fantasy value for his owners. Martin has 13 touches to five for Charles Sims.
(2:09 PM): * INJURY UPDATE * The Raiders are hit again, with Latavius Murray being checked out for a shoulder injury. Roy Helu came in after Murray's departure and scored a short touchdown.
(2:07 PM): The Philadelphia offense is looking awful once again. Sam Bradford is 2/5 for 11 yards while DeMarco Murray has three carries for 28 yards. Ryan Mathews has just one carry and Darren Sproles has zero touches so far in this one. Washington is leading Philadelphia 13-0.
(2:04 PM): Kansas City wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has caught all six of his targets today for 86 yards and could be in store for a big day with the Chiefs trailing on the road at Cincinnati.
~
(2:00 PM): While neither back has been productive today, Matt Jones received the goal line work for Washington on their last drive. Alfred Morris is at eight carries for 17 yards and Jones has 11 yards on six carries. Chris Thompson has been the most effective running back in Washington, with 71 yards on four touches.
(1:59 PM): With Atlanta now up 21-0 over Houston, Devonta Freeman is in line for a ton of work today with the Falcons in control of this game. Freeman has 81 yards and two scores on 10 touches so far.
(1:55 PM): Andre Williams is leading the New York Giants backfield so far today, with four carries for 15 yards. Shane Vereen and Rashad Jennings each have just one carry. This backfield hasn't done much for fantasy teams this season, but Williams could be looking to take over the early-down work here.
(1:53 PM): Tampa Bay rookie Jameis Winston is off to a horrendous start today. Winston is 2/7 passing for just 30 yards and two interceptions. Mike Evans has yet to record a catch.
(1:50 PM): Blake Bortles is off to a nice start today, as he has 126 yards and a touchdown pass to Allen Hurns. Bortles is 8/10 passing.
(1:46 PM): * INJURY UPDATE * Oakland wide receiver Michael Crabtree is down with an ankle injury. Stay tuned for more information.
(1:45 PM): Early Target Leaders:
Martellus Bennett (5): 4 rec, 30 yds
A.J. Green (5): 5 rec, 73 yds
Odell Beckham Jr. (5): 3 rec, 24 yds
(1:40 PM): Devonta Freeman again! Make it five touchdowns in the last two weeks for Freeman, as the second-year back is now at six carries for 44 yards and a pair of scores on the day. Tevin Coleman might be returning to a backup role when his ribs heal.
(1:36 PM): Julio Jones is up to his usual tricks with three receptions for 32 yards on four targets already this afternoon.
(1:33 PM): Both Cincinnati running backs are getting in on the action today, as Giovani Bernard scores on his first carry of the game from 13 yards out. The Bengals are up 14-3, with this game script setting up positively for Jeremy Hill owners.
(1:29 PM): Karlos Williams is filling in for LeSean McCoy today, and has five carries for 22 yards early against the New York Giants.
(1:22 PM): Matt Hasselbeck is in at quarterback for Indianapolis this week and he went 6/10 for 61 yards on the Colts' opening drive. Donte Moncrief caught two passes for 31 yards, with Frank Gore receiving three targets on the drive.
(1:15 PM): Lots of early scoring today, as Devonta Freeman finds the end zone again for Atlanta on the heels of his three touchdown performance in Week 3. Carolina is also racking up points, with an early field goal and a pick-six from Jameis Winston.
(1:13 PM): Bengals running back Jeremy Hill has a short touchdown run and three carries for 13 yards so far today. Giovani Bernard didn't receive a single touch on the Cincinnati drive.
(1:11 PM): Bears QB Jay Cutler didn't waste any time in his return from a hamstring injury, hitting Eddie Royal for a touchdown. Cutler was 3/4 for 66 yards on the drive. Royal, Marquess Wilson, and Martellus Bennett all had one target.
(1:09 PM): Arian Foster is testing his groin early today, with two carries for five yards on Houston's opening drive. Foster also has one catch for 15 yards early on at Atlanta.
(1:05 PM): The Jets/Dolphins game has wrapped up. Brutal effort from the Miami offense, but the most relevant Jets fantasy options all performed well with Chris Ivory and Eric Decker finding the end zone and Brandon Marshall topping 100 yards.
(1:00 PM): After what is looking like a New York Jets win in London, it's time for the early slate of games to kickoff. Good luck in Week 4!
