Fantasy Football Week 4 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Lineup Advice and Projections

Looking back at my Week 3 Start Em, Sit Em post as I begin Week 4’s, and it was a pretty solid week.

The definite hits: Derrick Mason (start), Brent Celek (start), Denver D (start), Carson Palmer (sit), Ben Watson (sit), Donnie Avery (sit).

The definite misses: Trent Edwards (start), Dallas D (sit).

The ones I predicted relatively well but touchdowns (or lack thereof) skewed value: Steve Slaton (start), Cedric Benson (sit).

All in all, a pretty solid week, and hopefully most of the 157 comments on that post led to sound fantasy decision making for everyone.

And now, it’s time to do it all over again.

As we pointed out in our recently posted NFL Week 4 TV schedule, odds, and picks post, the following teams all have byes this weekend: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles. Obviously keep that in mind when you’re setting your lineups.

And remember: I’m trying to avoid the obvious choices here and instead pinpoint guys that folks might be on the fence about. And as we do every week, I will do my absolute best to answer every question that comes through in the comment section.

[Editor's Note: At some point in the not-to-distant future, MSF will be holding special, "members-only" Sunday morning live chats to help you out with all of your last minute fantasy football decision making. We are going to be hosting these sessions at our new MSF community at Explodium.com.

I'll be writing a post at some point soon telling you about Explodium, but it's pretty badass. When you click on the link, you do have to sign up, but it's free...and trust me, the benefits are there well beyond our Sunday morning fantasy help.]

Now, onto the Week 4 start ‘em, sit ‘em picks:

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Jared Allen and Brandon Marshall Deliver Some Entertaining NFL Preseason Goodies

A couple of Friday morning quick-hitters for you.

First off all, something that made me laugh out loud this morning while the morning SportsCenter was running in the background as I got ready for work. In case you didn’t hear the latest world-stopping controversy out of Minnesota, there were reports that surfaced yesterday about a “schism” in the Vikings locker room regarding the players’ support for Brett Favre.

While Brett Favre played his I’m-just-a-simpleton-from-Mississippi card and explained that he didn’t know what “schism” meant, his new teammate Jared Allen was much more hilariously eloquent in describing how big, complicated, six-letter words are so foreign to NFL locker rooms:

Jared Allen’s comments on “schism”, via The Big Lead:

“I don’t think anyone on this team knows what schism means let alone use it in a sentence form. At first I thought schism was an STD, and I was like WOAH we practice abstinence here!”

The video of him delivering the line was even funnier. He had just gotten done at practice, was all sweaty, half out of breath, and looked directly into the camera when he delivered the line. I wonder how long he’d been saving it, or how many of his teammates he tested it out on before running over to to officially deliver it to the world.

I don’t really care one way or the other; it’s the funniest (and certainly the most ironic) line from an NFL player we’ll hear all year.

(And here’s an early nominee for funniest message board post discussing this situation, from BoxDen.com: “hes #69 for a reason abstinence my ass”)

And for anyone else who is still wondering what a “schism” actually is, here is the dictionary definition…and then here is a video that defines it even better in lovely, melodic tones as only Tool can deliver:

And speaking of weird videos, did you all see Brandon Marshall at Broncos practice yesterday? Kudos to whoever described him as acting like an ass clown, because that’s about the most apt way to describe it that I can think of:

Video: Brandon Marshall Acting Like an Ass Clown at Practice

Acting like a petulant child is definitely the way to go when you want to get traded and get a new contract. Umm…not. (Actually, this is the NFL we’re talking about, so maybe Marshall is onto something.)

Marshall was, of course, in full damage control mode this morning, but there is a good chance that this video will stick with him for the rest of his career, kinda like TO doing push-ups in his driveway. (And TO’s only gotten two fat new contracts since that display…so take that Brandon Marshall! Wait a minute…)

I wonder what Josh McDaniels is thinking right about now. What’s the over-under on how many games the Broncos win this year? 3.5? I might be tempted to take the under.

Update: Now we know exactly what Josh McDaniels is thinking: Eff you Brandon Marshall.

Via ProFootbalTalk, the Broncos have suspended Brandon Marshall for “conduct detrimental to the team” (i.e. acting like an ass clown).

Enjoy your Friday everyone.  I’ll Be back later if anything hot comes up and will definitely have a link post up this afternoon.

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* – Jared Allen photo credit: Tom Olmscheid via USAToday.com

“Internet Reports” Suggesting Browns May Be Targeting Trade for Brandon Marshall

According to “internet reports”, the Cleveland Browns are targeting WR Brandon Marshall in a trade with the Denver Broncos. The website reporting the rumor, which I will not name so as not to given them their 15 minutes, has said that the package would include KR/ST Stud/WR/Complete Badass Josh Cribbs plus one or more draft picks.

To view the complete report on the Brandon Marshall-to-the-Browns rumor, hop on over to the good folks at Pro Football Talk.

(For the record, hopefully you understood the sarcasm of the first paragraph. Pro Football Talk is decidedly NOT a blog that typically receives such treatment anymore (but we are!), although they did at one time. Now, they are striking deals with NBC and basically encroaching more and more on the NFL universe every single day — and I mean that as positively as possible. Congrats to Florio for the recent announcement of the deal with NBC. We are quite pleased that “suitable nodes” will no longer be part of the PFT lexicon.)

Now, back to this Brandon Marshall-to-the-Browns trade rumor.

I believe that Florio is hearing such whispers, I just don’t believe that the rumor will ever come to fruition, nor that it should.

First, I just don’t see Brandon Marshall being a “Mangini guy.” Granted, I only have peripheral knowledge of what a “Mangini guy” is from what we’ve seen through the press, which of course is very little because Mangini is decidedly a “Belichick guy.” However, what I believe that we have learned is that Eric Mangini is a coach who values character, loathes distractions, and employs a system that demands cerebral players and desires versatile players.

We also know the following about the Browns: they are thin on experience and proven play-making ability at the WR position and are still embroiled in a contract spat with the Cribbs.

Still, I just can’t see this being a move that Eric Mangini and George Kokinis would want to make.

Based solely on reputation and my own admittedly subjective opinion, Joshua Cribbs is cut from a higher cloth of character than Brandon Marshall. Additionally, Cribbs has played multiple positions in the NFL and was a QB in college. Just based on the diversity of his experience alone, I think it’s reasonable to assume that Cribbs is a more cerebral player overall than Brandon Marshall. And while Marshall may know receiving better, Cribbs clearly has versatility in his corner.

As for distractions, yeah Cribbs has gone public with his desire for a reworked contract, but he also participated in camp most of the way through the squabble. Marshall, on the other hand, has unresolved (though disputed, by him) issues with domestic violence that were recently chronicled on Outside the Lines. And Marshall is clearly not as amenable as Cribbs. Something set Marshall off and he, essentially, “took his ball and went home.” Marshall recently cleared out his locker so serious was he about geting out of Denver, with Jay Cutler’s departure ostensibly being part of the reason.

Update: Just caught this recent post on PFT regarding a statement by Brandon Marshall at his website.  The post by Marshall purports to explain some of his reasoning for leaving.  Aaron Wilson explains why the Broncos may have a hard time trading Marshall, and none of them should make the Browns overly excited about getting him.

But what about from a purely football standpoint?

Brandon Marshall is clearly a much better WR than Joshua Cribbs, and would give the Browns either a potent 1-2 punch of Marshall and Braylon Edwards, or as PFT suggests, would put Edwards “in play” for a trade to another team. Either of those options is intriguing, especially if the current accord between Mangini and Edwards is on a rocky foundation. (I don’t know either way, but Edwards certainly had a tense relationship with the Browns and the city last year.)

However, how much of a loss would Joshua Cribbs be on special teams and as a versatile offensive weapon? I think the Browns would lose a lot. Cribbs provides difference-making ability every time he lines up for a punt or kick-off. He consistently makes big yardage-saving tackles and is a threat to break a big return every time he touches the ball.

I think that the impact of Brandon Marshall — a terrifically talented receiver — on offense is equivalent to the impact of Joshua Cribbs on special teams. And while I don’t believe offense and special teams are necessarily equals, I do believe they impact NFL games in a similar enough manner that the character and intangibles (not to mention future contract cap-friendliness) of Joshua Cribbs should win out here.

Forget the draft pick, especially if its a first-day pick. I definitely would not do that deal, not with how valuable draft picks are. And the truth is that I, personally, would not trade Joshua Cribbs straight up for Brandon Marshall. Yes, Marshall is a great WR and would instantly help Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, but the Browns have a new coach and should be building for the long haul. Joshua Cribbs is the kind of underrated yet impactful player who can be had for a reasonable contract and become a cornerstone — in both talent AND character — into the next decade.

Brandon Marshall? I’m not so sure. Lots of talent, but will he help to define the new era of football under Eric Mangini or undermine it? I don’t have the answers to those questions, and am basing them solely off of my personal impressions of Brandon Marshall through what I’ve read in the media, but I’ll tell you this: I have no such fears or conceptions about Joshua Cribbs.

If I were the Browns I would send a clear message that the new regime is making a commitment to character and leadership. Brandon Marshall may possess these attributes in addition to his talent, but Joshua Cribbs does possess these attributes in addition to his talent.

Thus, the Browns should trust and hang onto what they know: keep Cribbs. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Now, Michael Vick on the other hand…hmm, that’s mighty intriguing, don’t you think?