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TNF: 10/8/15 Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans

AARP member Matt Hasselbeck saves the day for the Colts. He teamed up with 34 year old Andre Johnson and hit him for 2 TDs. They tried to give it away but Matt & Andre had taken an extra swig of Geritol and were ready to go. Johnson's 2yd score in the 4th Qtr put them ahead to stay. A. Johnson was released by the Texans in March after 12 seasons with them, he tallied up 6 catches for 77yds & 2 TDs. Hey, it's 25yr old guys who can't do that on a daily basis. Sure it might be he his last year, but he looks like he's going out with a bang. They won 27-20. With 2:08 left in the 2nd Qtr, Nick Novak hit a 36yd FG to finally put the Texan on the score board. The Texans would get the ball one more time in the 2nd QTR with maybe 1 min left.  Hoyer kept moving it down the field, no sooner than I said it, it happened.  Hoyer threw a pretty Hail Mary pass into the end zone with 0 seconds left on the clock and Jaelen Strong caught it.  He was as open as a convict giving testimony to get time off his sentence, LOL.  There were 3-4 Colts around him but they were busy knocking each other around while Strong caught the pass and after the 1pt kick, we had a game 13-10 going into the half. I kept telling Indy that Hoyer was going to throw it. Ryan Mallett wasn't cutting the mustard so they sat him down, early. Oh yeah-Hasselbeck was so ill he couldn’t even speak at meetings Wednesday night, so the injured Andrew Luck spoke for him. Luck was saying that Matt said, "this is your team man, I'm just happy I could help." Yeah right. Luck better be glad Matt is 40 or he would give him a run for the money, just my thoughts. He went to the emergency room on Monday and was discovered to have a really bad bacterial infection. Hasselbeck is 40 and prior to this season, he hadn’t started and won a game in the NFL since 2012. Yet here he is, taking over for Andrew Luck amid a disappointing 0-2 start, leading the Colts to consecutive victories in the division. Same ole story with the Texans, though they tried, they could not win. Mallett, who started for the Texans had the wind knocked out of him on an illegal hit midway through the 2nd Qtr & was replaced by Hoyer. Nuff said about this one. M. Hasselbeck threw for 213yds & 2 TDs. F. Gore had 22 carries for 98yds & 1 TD. T. Hilton, who, 2 years ago that he would be the best receiver to every play in the NFL, had 5 receptions for 88yds. You got a long way to go man. B. Hoyer, threw for 312yds, 2 TDs & 1 int. He received a game ball along with A. Johnson of the Colts for their work today. No rushing yds worth writing, where you at A. Foster? 41yds, that's ridiculous. D. Hopkins had 11 receptions for 169yds. Could you please help out Hilton.

Arizona Cardinal: 4-1

The start of week 5 means we are nearly a third of the way through the fantasy regular season for most leagues. Hopefully, your team is sitting in a good position, but if it's not that just means you have higher priority on the waiver wire to use my advice try and turn things around! Four teams are on bye this week; Saints, Seahawks, Jaguars and Chiefs.

Note: all waiver picks listed here will have only been owned in 50% or less of Yahoo leagues at the time of publication.

Quarterback

Carson Wentz (PHI) - 38% owned - Coming off a bye-week Wentz gets an amazing matchup against a Detroit defense giving up the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. He's a great fill-in if your QB is on bye and even if your QB isn't you should still consider him as a plus streaming option.

Honorable mention: Joe Flacco (BAL) - 34% owned

Running Back

Terrance West (BAL) - 29% owned - West ended up being named the starting running back for the Ravens in week 4 after they surprisingly announced Justin Forsett as a healthy scratch. He made the most of the opportunity by putting up 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He will have some competition for the starting position coming with Kenneth Dixon returning from injury, but has the first opportunity to separate himself in week 5 against a Redskins defense giving up an awful 133 rushing yards per game.

James White (NE) - 28% owned - White has thus far underwhelmed after taking over for the injured Dion Lewis but he's definitely worth a speculative add this week to see if the return of Tom Brady impacts his fantasy value.

Honorable mention: Kenneth Dixon (BAL) - 25% owned

Wide Receiver

Robert Woods (BUF) - 23% owned - With Sammy Watkins being placed on injured reserve Woods is now the number 1 receiver in Buffalo. While I don't see him as a great talent, I do consider him to be great depth and for your team as an every-week WR3 strictly based on the volume of targets.

Eddie Royal (CHI) - 13% owned - Royal has a long time history of being fantasy fool's gold, but it did look as though he and Hoyer had a connection last week against the Lions after he caught 7 of 7 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown. There are talks of Hoyer keeping the starting QB position in Chicago long term if he continues to play well which might mean more upside for the speedy Royal.

Honorable mention: Quincy Enunwa (NYJ) - 37% owned

Tight End

Cameron Brate (MIN) - 10% owned - Brate has looked to take on a big role in the Bucs offense since Austin Seferian-Jenkins was cut, catching 10 of 18 targets for 113 yards and two touchdowns. The volume of targets should make him a high floor play if you need a TE fill in.

Honorable mention: Jacob Tamme (ATL) - 45% owned

Defense/Special Teams

Buffalo Bills (BUF) - 44% owned - The Buffalo defense is quietly is tied for the second most fantasy points through four weeks and they have a plus matchup against the LA Rams this week. They are my streaming defense of the week.

Taking a look at the player trends over the past few weeks can reveal some surprising things - it's important, though, to temper expectations in some cases and realize that some great (and some awful) performances can be the product of gameflow as much as the talent and/or rising production of a player. But since each player can only be owned by one team at a time in most standard fantasy leagues, you've got to scoop them up before anyone else and make smart decisions as far as when to play a rising (or falling) star. What do you think about these scenarios? Will the players listed below live up to expectations based on recent weeks? Make sure to check out the podcast to find out which side we take on each player.

Quarterbacks

Russell Wilson (SEA)

Week 2 @ LA - 22/35, 254 yds, 0 TD, 11.56pts

Week 3 vs SF - 15/23, 243 yds, 1 TD, 14.02pts

Week 4 @ NYJ - 23/32, 309 yds, 3 TD, 23.86pts

Perhaps Russell Wilson is inhuman, after all. Ankle injuries, a knee injury, and who cares, he's still trending upward. With zero interceptions over these three games, he's playing efficient football, which is exactly when he and his team are at its best. Wilson is on bye week 5, so we'll delay our prediction on him by one week. He has upcoming matchups against Atlanta, Arizona and New Orleans, so you should be able to confidently start him from now on. We'll set the line and predict next week.

Cam Newton (CAR)

Week 2 vs SF - 24/40, 353 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT, 30.82pts

Week 3 vs MIN - 21/35, 262 yds, 0 TD, 3 INT, 16.08 pts

Week 4 @ ATL - 14/25, 165 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT, 15.60pts

Cam Newton exited the week 4 game with a concussion and is currently in the concussion protocol. We know that if he's healthy, he will play. Newton has struggled in recent weeks, though against Minnesota we'd expect that. Last week against Atlanta was more alarming, as the Panthers fell behind and struggled to keep up. Coming up are matchups against Tampa and then New Orleans, a couple of defenses that are giving up lots of points to opposing QB's. We'll start Cam's line at 21 points.

Wide Receivers

John Brown (ARI)

Week 2 vs TB - 1/3, 14 yds, 1.40pts

Week 3 @ BUF - 6/11, 70 yds, 7.00pts

Week 4 vs LA - 10/16, 144 yds, 14.40pts

John Brown exploded back into the fantasy scene this week with an awesome 16 targets. Though he hasn't reached the end zone yet, his re-introduction to the Cardinals offense was a relief for fantasy owners. Coming up are some tougher defenses, but first he gets a crack at the 49ers. Will he be able to remain in Palmer's crosshairs? We'll start his line at 7.5 points.

DeAndre Hopkins (HOU)

Week 2 vs KC - 7/11, 113 yds, 1 TD, 17.30pts

Week 3 @ NE - 4/8, 56 yds, 0 TD, 5.60pts

Week 4 vs TEN - 1/6, 4 yds, 0 TD, 0.40pts

Where oh where has our DeAndre Hopkins gone? Last week's 4 yard performance was really rough to take, especially against Will Fuller's 20 point performance. So, it's tough to tell right now, but is Osweiler favoring Fuller a lot more than anyone thought he might? Is Hopkins just going through a rough patch and will rebound? He has Minnesota and Denver in the next three weeks, so it's going to be tough to get back to where we expect him as a WR1. We'll start his line at 8 points.

Alshon Jeffery (CHI)

Week 2 vs PHI - 5/7, 96 yds, 9.60pts

Week 3 @ DAL - 5/7, 70 yds, 7.00pts

Week 4 vs DET - 3/5, 46yds, 4.60pts

With no touchdowns this season, Alshon Jeffery has his fantasy owners worried. He's declined in yardage each week this year, and it seems like he's not really a favorite target of Brian Hoyer, who seems like he may keep playing QB as long as he plays well. This week, the Bears play the receiver-friendly Colts, so he could be in good shape for a rebound week. We'll start our line for Jeffery at 7 points.

Running Backs

Jordan Howard (CHI)

Week 2 vs PHI - 3/22yds, 2/2 rec, 9 yds, 3.10pts

Week 3 @ DAL - 9/45yds, 6/4 rec, 47 yds, 9.20pts

Week 4 vs DET - 23/111yds, 4/3 rec, 21 yds, 13.20pts

Jordan Howard has confirmed that for now, he's the starting back for the Bears. While Langford is out, Howard is carrying the load all by himself. With Howard's 5.1 yards per carry, compared to Langford's 3.7 - they will be splitting carries once Langford comes back. This week, Howard faces the Colts, who have given up the second most points to opposing running backs. We'll start his line at 9 points.

Matt Forte

Week 2 @ BUF - 30/100yds, 3 TD, 3/2 rec, 9 yds, 28.90pts

Week 3 @ KC - 15/65yds, 0 TD, 4/2 rec, -1 yds, 6.40pts

Week 4 vs SEA - 14/27yds, 0 TD, 3/2 rec, 16 yds, 4.30pts

Matt Forte is the victim of a terrible Jets offense, and his numbers show it. The Jets have totally fallen apart the last two weeks, with 9 picks from Ryan Fitzpatrick over that time. No backs are going to put up good numbers when their offense turns over the ball that often. The bad matchups continue for the Jets, this week against Pitt and next week against Arizona, both on the road. Forte is a sit consideration for me, until the Jets get their offense back on track. We'll start Forte's line out at 11 points.

Tight Ends

Jimmy Graham

Week 2 @ LA – 3/4, 42 yds, 0 TD, 4.20pts

Week 3 vs SF – 6/9, 100 yds, 1 TD, 14.00pts

Week 4 @ NYJ, 6/8, 113 yds, 0 TD, 11.30pts

Jimmy Graham finally looks like the guy who left New Orleans all those years ago (fantasy football years are much longer than regular human years). He’s finally gotten into a good rhythm with Russell Wilson, and 17 targets in the last two weeks is a great sign. The 12 receptions is even better, but the yardage totals going up and up are best yet. Graham should wind up being the best red zone threat on the team, and ought to look very good going forward. With Graham on bye, we’ll set our line on him next week.

Jason Witten

Week 2 @ WAS – 3/4, 51 yds, 5.10pts

Week 3 vs CHI – 2/2, 25 yds, 2.50pts

Week 4 @ SF – 7/9, 47 yds, 4.70pts

To start the season, it looked like Jason Witten would have a huge role in the Cowboys’ offense, but as Dak Prescott has gotten more and more comfortable, he’s looked Witten’s way less. 14 targets in Week 1 have been followed up by just 15 targets across the last three games. Is Witten’s time of fantasy relevance at an end? Does he need Tony Romo to be worthy of starting? Witten plays the Bengals this week, we’ll start the line at 5 points.

Injuries are a huge part of the fantasy football season. This year, they have already taken a bite out of the fantasy production of many teams with extended injuries to such players as Adrian Peterson, Keenan Allen, Danny Woodhead, Ameer Abdullah, and more. The hits just keep coming! This week we’ll look at a few key injuries that may change the direction of some fantasy match-ups.

Cam Newton (QB, CAR)

Newton is in the league’s concussion protocol and has a number of tests to go through and pass before he can suit up on Monday Night Football. Still likely to play, but it puts a lot of owners in a tough spot if he ends up sitting out!

Carson Palmer (QB, ARZ)

Palmer is no ‘Spring Chicken’ and he is also in the concussion protocol for now. The difference for Palmer is that he is scheduled to play on Thursday. If he doesn’t go, Drew Stanton will fill in and likely make the Cardinals look even worse than they already have this season.

Trevor Siemian (QB, DEN)

Siemian has been one of a few surprises this season, putting up some great numbers recently. With a sprain in his non-throwing shoulder, Siemian could easily start under center on Sunday but the Broncos’ healthy new toy Paxton Lynch is also chomping at the bit to play after getting his first NFL snaps in week 4. Regardless, Kubiak has said, “Trevor is our starting Quarterback”, so as of right now we should expect him to resume active duties.

Dez Bryant (WR, DAL)

A hairline fracture (and not having Tony Romo as QB) are both keeping Bryant from being especially fantasy relevant so far this year. With only Jerry Jones speaking up on the issue, we have no idea whether or not Bryant will start against the Bengals in week 5. Even if he did start, Bryant may be a suggested sit depending on your bench depth.

Kevin White (WR, CHI)

A sprained ankle has sidelined Bears’ wide receiver Kevin White for now – watch for more news later this week. White has yet to score a TD in the NFL, but with Hoyer playing QB his stats have improved over the beginning of the season. One of these games could prove to be a breakout for White if he avoids serious injury.

Zach Ertz (TE, PHI) & Tyler Eifert (TE, CIN)

Both Ertz and Eifert are scheduled to return to fantasy rosters everywhere. Temper expectations for Eifert in what could be his first game of the season this week, but the Bengals desperately need more targets on that offense and there’s a reason why Eifert is already nowhere to be found on waiver wires. Ertz has been sidelined with a rib injury since week 1, but he’s an exciting prospect with rising star QB Carson Wentz controlling his fantasy destiny. Could be a good year for Ertz.

Chris Johnson (RB, ARZ)

Now on IR indefinitely for a sports-hernia injury, this just means more carries for David Johnson.

Dwayne Washington (RB, DET)

A sprained foot and ankle could sideline Washington for a few games. Be aware of the situation, as The Lions are rapidly losing depth at the position and may look to someone like Karlos Williams or make a trade for other talent at the position if they cannot get healthy.

Doug Martin (RB, TAM)

Looks like Martin will miss one more week (the following week is a bye for the Bucs) and so Sims will continue to fill in as the lead back in Tampa Bay. Not a great play against Carolina, however.

Rob Gronkowski (TE, NE)

News is starting to bubble up in the media about Gronkowski’s hamstring injury and subsequent lack of fantasy production. Not many people expected him to be this hampered early in the season, but if he can’t perform this week with Brady under center it’s already past time to panic.

Jordan Cameron (TE, MIA)

Cameron is out with another concussion and his past history of them means that we can’t expect him back anytime soon. Deep league? Dion Sims is not a terrible choice at the position against a Titans defense with some holes in it.