Fantasy Football Week 4 Sunday Recap- Playing Through the Pain Edition

How often have you seen a player on the injury report come out and lay an egg for their team?  Once?  Twice?  How about a bajillion times, as it seems to happen every week.  Well not this week.  Don’t get me wrong, there were a number of studs banged up coming into week 4- but I can’t think of a single one that did not have a huge day.  We will start our Sunday recap this week by highlighting a few of these heroes of grid iron grit.

Michael Vick, QB Philadelphia Eagles- There it is, the kind of fantasy production that we have come to expect from everyone’s favorite antihero.  Despite playing with a swollen and bruised non-throwing hand, Michael Vick went off for a career high 416 yards passing, in addition to two touchdowns and one pick.  Vick also amassed an additional 75 yards on the ground, leading everyone on his team in rushing yards (by a margin).  All of this production was good for the 4^th highest fantasy total of the week, worth 31 points in standard scoring formats.  However, all of this production was not good enough to win the Eagles the game, as they fall to the San Francisco 49ers 24 to 23.  Largely due to…

Frank Gore, RB San Francisco 49ers- Gore was a huge question mark this week after a week 3 ankle injury kept him limited all week in practice.  It was announced that he would play this week, but that he would be coming off the bench behind rookie Kendall Hunter.  No one (myself included) expected Gore to put up any kind of start worthy numbers, but Gore had a huge day running for 127 yards including a 12 yard touchdown with 3 minutes remaining in the game.  After a few weeks of looking less than Gore-like, Frank the Tank owners can put some concerns to rest for his promise going forward (even if you benched him this week).

Tony Romo, QB Dallas Cowboys / Dez Bryant, WR Dallas Cowboys-  I was pretty low on Romo going into this week, and shame shame I know my name.  While I don’t think Romo did his team any favors this week in the ‘ol win/loss category (he threw not one, but two pick sixes in the third quarter), he certainly put up startable numbers for your fantasy team.  Romo finished the day 8^th in fantasy scoring with 22 points as he totaled 331 yards and 3 touchdowns in addition to his three picks.  His first two scores went to Dez Bryant early in the game, another player who missed a whole bunch of practice this week with injured quadriceps.  Dez ended the day with 37 receiving yards and two scores totaling 16 points.  He basically disappeared after his second touchdown, likely because he really is not quite back to 100% health.  Cowboys have a bye this week, so expect for them to come out healthy and swinging in week 6, with Miles Austin likely re-entering the lineup at that time as well.

Beanie Wells, RB Arizona Caridnals- Do you know who is currently leading the NFL in rushing touchdowns?  I will give you two guesses, but hopefully you will only need one…  Who?  Marshall Faulk?  Man, you need my help more than I originally thought… the answer is actually Chris “Beanie” Wells.  Coming off of a hamstring injury that kept Beanie out of the lineup in week 3, Beanie just went  bonkers.  He tallied up a career-high 138 yards and another career-high three rushing touchdowns, which was almost good enough for the win (see SportsCenter for gratuitous overplay of what should have been a Victor Cruz fumble on the final drive).  It was however good for 31 fantasy points, making him the top running back for the week and the 3^rd best of any player.  Beanie is looking great so far this season, and as long as he stays healthy he is an absolute must start going forward.

Hakeem Nicks, WR New York Giants-  Nicks missed a good deal of practice this last week dealing with some swelling in his knee, but it appeared to limit him none in his first huge performance of 2011.  Hakeem the Dream was targeted 14 times, grabbing 10 for 162 yards, including a 27 yard touchdown grab for the go-ahead score.  This was the kind of dominant game that many experts were predicting for Nicks prior to the start of the season.  He has a tough matchup next week against what is turning out to be a fairly strong Seattle pass defense, but his abilities are going to get him double digit targets regardless.

Arian Foster, RB Houston Texans- This one came as much less of a surprise.  Foster should have been nearly 100% this week after sitting out most of the first three weeks with a hammy tweak he suffered during the preseason.  Gary Kubiak let everyone know earlier in the week that Arian was going to get the full work load, and he certainly did not disappoint, going for 155 yards and a score.  Foster owners can all breathe a collective sigh of relief, because he appears to be back to his 2010 form (and more importantly his 2010 workload, following concern that Tate’s success could cause a “by committee” situation).  He is a clear must start going forward, as if I have to tell you that.