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I had a fantastic Saturday in college football going 3-for-3. I was all over Brandon’s first pick of the day in Clemson (-7) over Boston College. I bet that game big as I’ve been on the Clemson bandwagon all season long. I then took those winnings and took Texas (-2) over Oklahoma State and Wisconsin (+11) over Nebraska (Brandon’s pick in the late game). Both winners. The bank roll is doing well my friend going into Sunday.

This Sunday I have plays on Falcons (-7) over Panthers, Cardinals (-6) over Dolphins, and a teaser with Vikings (+11.5)/Over 41.5. I’m hedging my bets here with the Falcons and Cardinals as there’s some chatter that the Panthers and Dolphins may cover. In the Falcons vs. Panthers game, there is of course that risk that Cam Newton goes off and makes this a tight one. This is a division game afterall. I see some merit in the argument that the Panthers (+7) looks good on paper, but I look at how dominating the Falcons have been and see nothing but liabilities on the Panthers defense. Is a 34-31 style shootout possible? Yes, but I think the Falcons win by 10-14 points here. I’ll stick with the Falcons here. Although Cam may due for a solid game, his defense will let him down once again. The Panthers D-line doesn’t generate any pressure and the Panthers secondary can’t cover. Matt Ryan is going to have a big day. Good luck trying to keep up.

Others are claiming Dolphins (+6) is the play to make here. Now I warned that I’m concerned with giving up the points with an offense that isn’t very prolific against a solid defense. However, as long …

Question:

Which 2 WRs should I start in a standard league for week 4?

Michael Crabtree @ NYJ
Marques Colston @ GB
Danny Amendola vs. SEA
Dez Bryant vs. DAL

Answer:

This is a tough question since you have some tough matchups. Despite the tough Bears matchup, you have to start Dez Bryant as he’s your top WR. You play your best player regardless of the matchup. Bryant should still perform well even against the Bears. The Cowboys are at home on Monday Night which I like.

If this was a PPR league, I say you go Amendola, but without PPR, he’s not as valuable in standard leagues. Seattle has a tough defense and he shouldn’t be getting anywhere close to that 100 YPG that he’s been averaging.

I have Michael Crabtree on my squad but haven’t started him yet. He gets a lot of targets, but he’s not going to score a whole lot of TDs. He’ll gain 60-70 receiving yards consistently each week, but won’t put up any ridiculous numbers.

In your WR2 spot, I would go with Marques Colston. If you’re leaning Amedola for your WR2, that wouldn’t be a bad option either. Good luck.…

Question:

I have the following players and am struggling to decide who to start and who to sit.

Vincent Jackson vs. WAS
Eric Decker vs. OAK
Steve Smith @ ATL
Willis McGahee vs. OAK
Cedric Benson vs. NO

I have Jackson/Decker/Benson starting for week 4 but wondering if I should make a change. Thanks!

Answer:

You have some great matchups to work with. I would go with Vincent Jackson and Eric Decker as my starting WRs since they are facing two poor defenses. Decker should have his first monster fantasy game of the season. Big Ben threw for over 300 yards on the Raiders last week since the Raiders corners are banged up. Peyton Manning will pick them apart.

If you’re deciding between Benson and McGahee at RB, I say you go Benson. McGahee has some banged up ribs and is listed as questionable so he may sit this game out or take limited snaps. Green Bay was feeding Benson the ball last week and that should continue as they’re facing the Saints, who have the worst run defense in the league and gave up over 200 yards to Jamaal Charles last week.

You got it right. Vincent Jackson, Eric Decker, and Cedric Benson are your guys for week 4.…

Question:

I need to decide who to start in my flex spot for a standard scoring league.

Kendall Wright @ HOU
Robert Meachem @ KC
Dexter McCluster vs. SD

Or do I drop one of those guys to pick up Nate Burleson vs. MIN, but I’m limited to 12 add/drops for the year and already used 3.

Answer:

I would go with Robert Meachem, who has a pretty favorable matchup against the Chiefs. He’s also a deep ball threat, so maybe this week is the week that he cashes in that 40-yard TD to put your team over the top.

Kendall Wright has the toughest matchup against Texans defense that doesn’t give up a whole lot of points.

Dexter McCluster is too inconsistent for me to put in my starting lineup. I think you go Meachem here.…

Finally, a week that I like which features four home teams worth looking into. I think you take a hard look into Cardinals (-6), Falcons (-7), Broncos (-6.5), and Packers (-7.5).  Those four games are at the top of my list this week. Let’s get after it. Be sure to vote below for your favorite pick this week.

ATLANTA FALCONS (-7) over Carolina Panthers — Confidence: 9/10 — The Falcons have the best offense in the NFL right now, are we all in agreement there? Atlanta won and covered the spread against the Panthers twice last year including a 31-17 win at home and I think the outcome should be the same. The Panthers don’t have a pass rush and their secondary isn’t very good, which means that the Falcons will be able to move the ball effectively, rarely punt, and will score a lot of points. The Falcons defense is also very strong. They picked off Peyton Manning 4 times and held the Chargers to 3 points. The Panthers offensive struggles that were seen against Tampa Bay and New York should continue.  The only scare here is if Cam Newton finally has that week where he goes H.A.M. Even if he does, his defense will let him down once again. Panthers’ defensive star LB Jon Beason is also questionable with a knee injury. Want some trends to back this up? Atlanta is 4-0 ATS against the Panthers in their last 4 and are 11-2 ATS when facing a team with a losing record. Carolina is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 dome games and 6-11 ATS on the road.

ARIZONA CARDINALS (-6) over Miami Dolphins — Confidence: 8/10 — If the same Cardinals defense that showed up in the …

MIAMI DOLPHINS @ ARIZONA CARDINALS (-6)

The one downside to this pick is the Cardinals don’t necessarily have an offensive juggernaut and won’t light up the scoreboard against a solid Miami defense, but I’m banking on the Cardinals defense dominating the the Dolphins. The Cardinals defense is for real. I’m not overreacting their wins over the Patriots and Eagles either. I’m an Eagles fan and witnessed the Eagles debacle first-hand last week.

The Cardinals beat Vick’s ass and they did the same thing to Tom Brady and Russell Wilson. I don’t think Vick had a single snap where he had more than 3 seconds to get the football out of his hands. If Vick held onto the football for 4 seconds, he was either scrambling for minimal yardage, throwing an errant pass, getting sacked, or fumbling the football. I’m not going to put the blame on the Eagles offensive line either, the Cardinals defensive front four simply outplayed the Eagles offensive line.

If the Cardinals bring the same pressure they brought in the first three weeks, they’re going to dominate this game. The Cardinals managed to make Tom Brady befuddled. Imagine what they’re going to do when facing rookie Ryan Tannehill. It’s no surprise that the Cardinals defense rank 2nd in sacks behind the Chicago Bears. The Cardinals have 12 sacks so far. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, DE Darnell Docket is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. Tannehill has struggled this year as his average QB rating is 58.3. Last week against the Jets, he completed just 44% of his passes and threw an INT. That’s now 1 TD and 4 INTs for Tannehill. In week 1, the Texans picked him off thrice. His yard-per-attempt is an awful 6.0 …

In was a tough week 3 thanks in part to 9 home dogs on this week’s card. It was a mixed bag as the home dogs went 4-3 ATS this week. Our only play on Sunday was the Steelers. It was looking good for 3 quarters going into the 4th with a 31-21 lead until a little Oakland magic that only comes with home field advantage occurred, which gave the Raiders the upset win. Tonight we have another home dog on Monday Night.

GREEN BAY PACKERS (-3.5) @ SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

First, I’m not touching this game. To give you a teaser of what I like in week 4, I think you take a hard look at Cardinals (-6.5) at home over the Miami Dolphins, especially if Reggie Bush (suffered a knee injury and didn’t play the rest of the game) is ruled out. Miami’s success is squarely on the back of Reggie Bush and the Dolphins offense was ineffective against the Jets once Bush left the game. The Cardinals have a solid defense and will hold the Dolphins to 13 points or less next week. Now onto tonight’s game.

I’m going to pick my battles against the 12-6 home dogs and this isn’t a spot to pick against them on Monday Night. Seattle is a tough place to play. The Seahawks are 13-5 ATS at home in the last three years, including a 6-2 record when a home underdog of 3 points or less.The Packers have faired pretty well on the road going 11-8 ATS. I’m going to take them for purposes of the pick ’em league, but there’s no shame in passing on the game due to uncertainty.

The public loves the Packers and that’s what Vegas wants. 86% …