When I was 6 or 7 years old, I remember walking through the parking lot of the high school near my house with my older sister, about 13 at the time. I don’t really remember why we were there or what we were doing, but like a good sister, she was on Dan Duty, making sure I didn’t sprint toward the street on a whim. My family knew that I was empty-headed enough to the point where it’d be only a matter of time.
The Sack: SB Nation’s Fantasy Football Mailbag answers your Week 4 questions
Got fantasy football questions? Come to SB Nation’s Fantasy War Room or tweet @TheSackSBN for answers. Every Thursday, a few will be pulled and answered here. This week, we address start/sits, Kirk Cousins and some trade strategies.
Before I got the chance to play in traffic that day, we came across a group of high school kids, all huddled around something. It was a golden retriever, and it had been hit by a car.
My sister froze, appropriately. Her silence became my silence, but mine due to curiosity instead of sorrow and empathy. Remember, I was dumb enough to run rampant in parking lots, so my grasp on the mystery and weightiness of death was tenuous at best.
What I did have a grasp on, apparently, was ironic, corny and off-color humor, which to the horror of my sister, culminated in me eagerly screaming “WELL DOG-GONE IT!”
If you haven’t closed the browser yet, you’ve had to at least asked yourself why is he telling me this?
It’s because 6-year-old me was so freaking stupid and would have sucked at fantasy football. And no matter how much help you may think you need, you’ll never be as dumb as I was. That’s really it.
Now let’s answer some questions!
@TheSackSBN benjamin or Steve smith? And do u see Sankey getting more touches?
— Joe Fleissner (@Joe_Fleissner) September 24, 2014 Here's what Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt had to say about Bishop Sankey after Week 3's loss.
"There were a couple of handoffs where he's not doing it the right wayand it almost was a fumble," Whisenhunt said of Sankey's play againstthe Bengals. "When he gets those things correct, then he'll have the opportunity to get more playing time."
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but his words don't really match his actions. Sankey played in 29 of 69 snaps in Week 3, up from the combined 14 he had in the first two weeks of the season. He was the Tennessee Titans' most electric runner, and had a 22-yard run called back that would have pushed his yardage total to 83. Had it counted, I guarantee I'd be getting a lot of questions this week on whether to start him or sit him.
All of this comes down to whether Sankey convinces his coaches for more time, not us. His role looks like it will steadily increase, and one would think the Titans wouldn’t have made Sankey the first running back off the board in the draft if they didn’t plan on using him more. For now, I’m keeping him stashed until he earns a bigger role.
As for Steve Smith or Kelvin Benjamin, both are target monsters for their respective teams, which is something I predicted for Benjamin before the season. However, Smith's target feeding is not something I could have imagined in my wildest dreams, and I have some pretty wild dreams. I'm not as tame as I seem. Just ask Stevie Johnson.
@StevieJohnson13 Switched from decaf green tea to regular so I can get that extra #boost.
— Dan Ciarrocchi (@TheSackSBN) September 24, 2014 That’s some classic Riverboat Dan stuff right there. It’s why I get all the fantasy questions. It’s this badassness that draws people to me, because it sure isn’t my tendency of delaying answers to questions over the last one and a half paragraphs like I did right now.
So. Smith's usage alone, should it remain where it is, will have him in the WR2/WR3 conversation going forward, even though he was out-targeted last week by his teammate Torrey Smith for the first time this season. But even with Torrey Smith's (hopeful) awakening, there's still plenty of reason to remain optimistic about Steve Smith being peppered with targets now that Dennis Pitta is out for the year. My concern regards the overall offense. Losing Pitta, and now left tackle Eugene Monroe for the next few weeks, will likely throw a wrench into the passing game's potential as a whole.
I just can't advise starting Smith over Benjamin this week, who is facing a suspect Ravens secondary that kept getting burned by Brian Hoyer, who, by the looks of their film, told his receivers in the huddle "F-it, let's just play 500." And it worked. If I were to play a game of 500, I wouldn't want to play against Benjamin. But I would want him on my fantasy team. He's a more than capable receiver, not just a guy who can win jump balls. He'll get his.
@TheSackSBN I know I'm borderline insane but am I crazy enough to say Cousins or Bortles are the better start over Tom Brady? thx
— Mark Harmon (@rayguy3) September 24, 2014 If this was in 2010 or 2011 you’d be crazy, because Tom Brady was still a consensus QB1 and Kirk Cousins and Blake Bortles weren’t even in the NFL. You’d have to go to be in some crazy keeper league to even have them as options.
It's 2014 though, and the fact of the matter is, Brady hasn't been a serviceable quarterback at all. Brady ranked 13th in fantasy points in 2013, and he's been even worse over the first three weeks of 2014. He's sitting at 27th overall, behind Derek Carr and Austin Davis, and he has one more point than Josh McCown, who didn't finish his Week 3 game.
@TheSackSBN Jordan Matthews or Owen Daniels in flex? (PPR)
— Jesse U (@jetnee) September 24, 2014 Easily Matthews. I'd temper your expectations despite his breakout game versus Washington, since Chip Kelly was attacking a clear weakness (Brandon Meriweather) they had in defending seam routes. Not every team has to use Meriweather in coverage. The San Francisco 49ers will pose a stiffer challenge despite their own struggles.
What it basically comes down to is a rising talent on the NFL’s hottest offense versus a player on the decline amid an offense that is tepid on its best day. Easy call.
@TheSackSBN PPR league I need 2 of these: Edelman, Cobb and Maclin?
— Matt Kearns (@mkearns7) September 24, 2014 I think Cobb outscores your current stable over the course of the season, but he's been freezing cold since his encouraging debut. The Chicago Bears have quietly held opposing receivers in check, albeit none are near the caliber they will face versus the Green Bay Packers. But this is less about the Bears and more about the sputtering Packers offense. Until it kicks in gear, and it will, I'd continue with Julian Edelman and Jeremy Maclin, especially in a PPR league. Both are safe bets to rack up the targets in the meantime.
@TheSackSBN Already have Cam& Cutler but a Bears fan is shopping A Rodgers. Should I give up Z Stacy for him & flip a QB for RB trade after?
— Randy Randerson (@KrownCity) September 24, 2014 Hopefully you will have done this trade by the time you read this post. This is the perfect time to buy low on the Packers offense (well, except Jordy Nelson who didn't get the memo that the team was apparently supposed to sputter out of the gate) , and dealing Zac Stacy for Aaron Rodgers is a steal. We know what Rodgers is capable of, and Stacy, despite being a fine running back, is only going to go as far as Brian Schottenheimer, Austin Davis and maybe Shaun Hill take him. That should frighten us all.
As for your quarterback, I’d rather have Cutler, but Rodgers gives you the freedom to part with any signal caller you want. Cutler has the higher value at the moment, and if you find a team that’s deep at running back, but awful at quarterback, you should do a fine job of filling your lineup’s void.
Hey, guys, thank you for reading this week’s edition of The Sack. If you would like to be in next week’s The Sack, please post your fantasy questions in the comments or tweet me at @TheSackSBN. Be sure to also visit SB Nation’s Fantasy War Room so I can pull questions from there as well.
