4for4 Mailbag: Week 1
Welcome to the weekly 4for4 Mailbag, where I answer your questions about all aspects of fantasy football including redraft leagues, DFS strategy, advice on handling angry football widows, and even some pop culture. Since it will be published on Thursdays throughout the season, I won’t be tackling waiver wire advice, so be sure to check out 4for4’s valuable articles on streaming and the like, to aid with your weekly roster decisions.
To submit a question for consideration, tweet me @themondaymommy or simply use the hashtag #4for4mailbag.
@slomoshenberger: Do you start Demarco Murray or Spencer Ware Week 1?
JE: I would confidently go with Ware between these two, based on matchup and potential carries. With Jamaal Charles out of the picture as a starter in Week 1, it appears that Ware will get the bulk of the workload for Kansas City with perhaps some Charles and Charcandrick West sprinkled in. The Chiefs begin the season against San Diego who, according to 4for4’s schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed (aFPA) metric, are projected to give up 27.9 points to the RB position in PPR formats, and 22.8 in standard scoring.
As far as Demarco Murray is concerned, he has to fight off rookie Derrick Henry who excelled in the preseason, with head coach Mike Mularky stating that they will find ways to get the talented young RB in the game. Tennessee will face a Vikings defense that is stingier against the run, only potentially giving up 19.9 PPR points and 15.2 standard to RBs.
@FFBallAppraiser: Do you trade Jordan Matthews at an all-time low value or hope Wentz isn’t incompetent while also have a WR1 lock?
JE: Deciding whether to abandon ship on Jordan Matthews, or any Philadelphia player, really depends on the rest of your roster and who you would potentially be getting in return. Personally, I am not a fan of Matthews so I wouldn’t have drafted him in the first place, however, since you did I will look into it further.
Glancing at the Eagles’ 2016 schedule, it appears that they have a cushy start to the season, playing three teams that are soft versus the WR position before their early bye in Week 4. This bodes well for rookie QB Carson Wentz, as he should be able to make some plays happen against Cleveland and Pittsburgh who are both among the seven weakest defenses when it comes to WRs.
My advice would be to hang on to Matthews until the Eagles’ bye week because there are three possible scenarios, none of which will really kill your team. One, Wentz is awful and you’re faced with a super low value for Matthews, which isn’t too much of a difference than now, based on expectations. Second scenario, the rookie QB shocks the world and is slinging the rock all over the field, giving you a stud WR1 to hang onto and ride to the championship. Your final and most likely outcome, Wentz is decent, not atrocious and you’re able to trade him for some good value to someone that doesn’t realize that Philadelphia’s second half of the season is littered with defenses stingy to the WR position.
@vinigarstroke: Edelman or Crabtree .5 PPR?
JE: This is a fortunate problem to have, as both of these guys are good plays this week, and all season long. In fact, I believe I have this tandem in at least one of my redraft leagues this year. According to our ranking guru John Paulson, Julian Edelman and Michael Crabtree are both projected to score 11.5 fantasy points based on a .5 PPR format, and are sitting as WR 24 and 26 respectively. In order to distinguish between the two, I would look at their individual matchups for Week 1.
Edelman will face the Cardinals secondary who have a 31.2 aFPA to WRs, the sixth-toughest in the NFL, while Crabtree lines up against a New Orleans defense that is slotted to surrender 37.3 PPR points. Throw in the fact that Jimmy Garappolo is under center versus the emerging stud Derek Carr, I’d go Crabtree.
Please don’t yell at me if you follow my advice and Edelman goes off.
@Jim B. on Facebook: I find myself missing The League. Did you watch and if so what was your favorite episode?
JE: Of course I watched the league along with every other fantasy football degenerate out there. I obviously related well to Jenny’s character, as in the old days, I was the only female in leagues for many years -- including very competitive trash talking ones with my husband.
The League was one of those groundbreaking shows that touched on not only a popular niche in our society but went about it in a hilarious yet often awkward, cringe-worthy way. It started to go downhill a bit in the last few seasons, but we all still watched and loved every second of it. As far as a favorite episode, that’s a difficult thing for me to decide. I can tell you that I wasn’t a fan of the Rafi/Dirty Randy episodes towards the end -- they were just too awkward and way out there.
In season two, I loved the “Anniversary Party” episode where Ruxin throws a party for Sophia on the same day as Jenny’s birthday. Taco steps in and spills the beans to Ruxin’s wife, Sophia, beforehand with lavish details, so Ruxin is now forced to throw a ridiculous, overblown soiree. Pete’s ex-wife shows up with her older plus one and Andre brings a younger date who gets him into social media. As punishment for using Andre’s iPad to set his lineup during the party, Andre brings Ruxin’s wedding cake into the bathroom, “forever unclean”.
One more that comes to mind is the Thanksgiving episode in the third season, where Jeff Goldblum is perfectly cast as Ruxin’s father, and Sarah Silverman plays Andre’s slutty sister. Ruxin convinces both sides of the family that he is elsewhere, having the house to himself. His father shows up to do the same and finds Ruxin frantically masturbating with his pedometer so he can win a fitness bet with the other guys. Meanwhile, Andre’s sister is in town and reminds all the guys of the sexual things she taught them in high school. The show ends with a hilariously awkward Thanksgiving meal where they accidently cook Jenny and Kevin’s daughter Ella’s class guinea pig in the turkey.
My favorite football moments on the show are all the actual drafts. They found really clever ways and locations to hold their fantasy drafts over the years, including Vegas and a funeral. Cameos by Chad Johnson, Marshawn Lynch, Antonio Gates and JJ Watt among others added to the hilarity of the show. RIP The League, you are missed.
As always thanks so much for all your submissions this week. See you all next Thursday for the 4for4 Mailbag!
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