Bye Weeks: Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, St. Louis

Fantasy owners were hoping for more than 113 rushing yards through three games from Eddie Lacy.

Grab a Helmet

Eddie Lacy @ CHI or Matt Forte v. GB: Lacy and Forte, along with Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy, and Jamaal Charles, comprised the consensus top five at the position before the season started. Unfortunately, not one of them is currently posting top five numbers. In fact, only one of them (McCoy at #17) is even posting top TWENTY numbers through three weeks of action! If nothing else convinces you this has been a crazy start to the season, that statistical tidbit probably should. Aaron Rodgers advised Packer fans to R-E-L-A-X earlier this week and fantasy GMs who invested in these two backs would probably do well to heed that advice too. They’ll both be fine, maybe even as early as this week when they square off against each other. Neither Green Bay nor Chicago has been especially stout against the run and that means you stick with both men Sunday.

Donald Brown v. JAX: San Diego’s curious off-season commitment to Brown, an ostensible third-stringer, seemed considerably less curious when Ryan Mathews (predictably) went down after just two games. It looked downright brilliant, however, after the Chargers also lost Danny Woodhead to a season-ending broken leg. You know what else looked brilliant? Me plucking Brown off our FF Today staff league’s waiver wire just prior to that Week 3 win over Buffalo. Boom! Suddenly, this former Colt/current Bolt is now the only back in sunny San Diego with any significant experience. He notched an astounding 36 touches at Orchard Park (31 carries and five receptions). Nobody in the league had more. That’s not a sustainable workload, I wouldn’t think, but it isn’t difficult to envision him earning 20+ touches on a regular basis. Moreover, when/if Mathews returns, Brown probably slips into Woodhead’s former role. If he’s still available, go get him.

Lamar Miller v. OAK (in London): Miami’s off-season acquisition of Knowshon Moreno, a surprise stud for Denver in 2013, seemed to indicate the Fish were done pretending Miller could serve as their franchise back. After an explosive Week 1 performance, though, Moreno dislocated his elbow against Buffalo in Week 2, thrusting Miller right back into that starting role the Dolphins didn’t seem to trust him with in the first place. Naturally, he went out and notched his second career 100-yard game in the loss to KC, looking every bit like Miami’s most reliable offensive weapon in the process. Forget what you know in 2014, readers, because they’re apparently making it up as they go along. Miller’s 5.8 yards/carry mark puts him behind only Justin Forsett (6.3) and Le’Veon Bell (5.9) amongst backs with 30 or more carries and he draws Oakland’s 31st-ranked run D this Sunday. Don’t sleep on Miller.

Grab a Gatorade

Rashad Jennings @ WAS (Thursday): Jennings is fresh off an explosive performance (34 carries, 176 yards, and a score) so there’s basically no chance you’ll be sitting him down Thursday night. That’s not what this is about. It’s about pumping the brakes on those runaway Week 4 expectations for a guy who, prior to last week, only had three 100-yard games to his credit in five previous NFL seasons. OK, let’s call it four since he missed all of 2011. My point is this: Jennings has about as many 100-yard games on his resume as he does years of NFL service and that’s because he’s never really shown the ability to handle lead rock-toter duties for more than a couple games at a time. Bear in mind he’s played for some teams (Jacksonville and then Oakland) desperate for such a guy. Washington’s no joke against the run so be careful.

Joique Bell @ NYJ or Chris Ivory v. DET: My co-Shot Caller, Colby, liked both of these guys heading into the Week 3 games and it’s hard to fault him for that, though neither guy turned in a terribly effective performance. They were facing Green Bay and Chicago, respectively, two defenses I’ve already told you are struggling to stand up to opposing runners. That won’t be the case this coming Sunday, however, when they face off against each other. Detroit and New York boast the league’s two best run defenses through three weeks, meaning Bell and Ivory could find the sledding much tougher. The Jets, in particular, seem determined to make other teams beat them through the air and that, unfortunately for them, is exactly what’s happening. If Detroit gets it done in the Meadowlands, it will have more to do with Matt Stafford and Megatron than with Mr. Bell.

Toby Gerhart @ SD: I haven’t been right about much in the early going, so I’ve gotta trumpet the wins when I get the chance. Where others saw a breakout candidate with three-down chops and little competition for carries in the Jacksonville backfield, I saw a plodding, unspectacular plow horse and little competition for carries in the JACKSONVILLE backfield. Gerhart’s made me look smart by tallying 82 yards on 34 attempts (aka, a 2.4 yards/carry clip) through three weeks. In other words, he’s still waiting for that 100-yard performance…and he’s already played 12 quarters. Blake Bortles could open up some running room for the decidedly un-nifty Stanford alum, but I think it’s just as likely Bortles uses that room to tote the leather himself. Opportunity is a necessary condition for fantasy success, not a sufficient one. Colby says Gerhart’s on the bench until further notice and I couldn’t agree more.

Wide Receivers