Week 4 Name Calling

Name Calling Is Our Weekly Feature where we help you figure out which name to call for that flex position, #3 wideout spot, or any other lineup conundrum you may be faced with. Our goal is to help you decide on borderline starters by revealing who will hit pay dirt and who will implode. None of this "start Peyton Manning" or "sit Derek Hagan" nonsense. No loving, hating, flaming, or video gaming either. Just a bit of name calling is all. If there is any doubt about the credibility and accuracy if this little name calling start 'em sit 'em feature here, let my week four performance remove it. Not one of my predictions was wrong last week. It was a heroic, epic feat from which I hope all you readers benefited. It brought my overall record to a shiny 50% average. (Moving on now before you figure out what is really going on here...) Now that we are two weeks into the ugly bye week period, this segment is a bit harder to do. Less choices means less chance for success. Or I guess less chance for failure. That actually makes me feel a little better about my crappy predictions for week five. Who You Gonna Call Steve Slaton - There is only one thing that has hindered Steve Slaton's production this year, Chris Taylor stealing carries. Guess who is out with a quad injury this week? Taylor. The rookie will put up huge numbers against the Colts run defense that is the second-worst in football. Chad Pennington - Miami's week five opponent, the San Diego Chargers, has only failed once all year to yield a 275 yard quarterback—the exception came in week one against Carolina's Jake Delhomme who tossed 247 and one. This includes massive three-touchdown games by Brett Favre and Jay Cutler and even a nice little 277 and one performance by sophomore JaMarcus Russell. Pennington should be the next beneficiary of the struggling San Diego pass defense, especially with the return of the Bolts' Stephen Cooper who will shore up the front seven forcing the Fins to rely more on the passing game. T.J. Houshmandzadeh - This is the week the Bengals passing game looks good again. Carson Palmer has been looking good in practice and will be back on Sunday and Cincinnati will need him on Sunday against the Cowboys. Cincy will be surely be playing from behind quite a bit of the time, forcing them to air it out, and when the Bengals air it out, the only person I have confidence in performing right now is Housh. While Ocho Cinco and the rest of the offense has looked bad all year, TJ has at least shown flashes of his studly self. That self will emerge this weekend. Earnest Graham - Graham has actually looked very solid all season despite less-than-brilliant numbers. His stats have been deflated by his week three matchup at Chicago and their top notch run defense. He'll quietly perform again this week against the Broncos. Denver has been dominated by running backs all year. The Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden timeshare, Reggie Bush, and Larry Johnson have all killed them. The run D only doesn't look horrible on paper because a chunk of Bush's dominance came through the air and Oakland rolled through them with a time share that spread the stats around. See between the lines. Graham will add his name to the list week 5 and Warrick Dunn might not be a bad bye week or flex option either. On Speed Dial (Names you should always, always call, using discretion of course. I don't want idiots saying I told them to start some dude over LDT): RB's against Detroit, WR's against St. Louis, QB's against New York (Jets) Who You Not Gonna Call Clinton Portis - In the hyped match up of the week, the Skins play the Eagles. Philly has shut down Steven Jackson, Matt Forte, and Willie Parker and even held Marion Barber to 68 yards so far in 2008. Hopefully you have a better option so you don't have to see Portis be the next victim while in your starting line up. Julius Jones - With the Seahawks getting Bobby Engram and Deion Branch back this week I'd be surprised to see Seattle run the ball as much as they have so far in 2008 (101 rushes to 47 passes.) While this doesn't necessarily make Hasselbeck a solid start again because it would be naive to think that that passing game would return right away to the high powered air attack of the past, it hurts JuJo and the Seattle running backs. None of them has the talent to dominate with limited touches, so the decrease in opportunities will keep any member of the backfield from making a significant fantasy impact. Steve Breaston - Everyone is going bonkers for this guy, and it is undeserving, at least for this week. Yes, Anquan Boldin will not play on Sunday after the gruesome hit he received against the Jets last weekend and yes, Breaston will slide up into the starting line up in his absence. But no, he will not put up big numbers against the Buffalo Bills pass defense that is sixth in the league. Not On Speed Dial (Names you should always, always caller ID check and ignore, once again, using discretion of course. I don't want idiots saying I told them to sit Randy Moss) - RB's against Tennessee, Kyle Orton, Atlanta WR's, QB's against Pittsburgh