Start 'Em
QUARTERBACK
JAKE DELHOMMEPanthers VS. Saints Delhomme threw for a season-high 272 yards and his firsttouchdown of the season in Week 3 against the Bucs. Steve Smith is back from ahamstring injury and will join Keyshawn Johnson to give Delhomme a fullcomplement of receivers. Now he faces his former team, against whom he's throwna scoring pass in four straight games.
BYRON LEFTWICHJaguars AT Redskins With his favorite receiver, Matt Jones, hampered by a groininjury, Leftwich was uncharacteristically rattled by the Colts (107 yards, twopicks). But with a resurgent ground game, he should have plenty of chances toexploit a defense that's yielded two scoring passes in each of the last twoweeks.
CHAD PENNINGTONJets VS. Colts Pennington, quickly becoming the feel-good story of 2006,followed up two 300-yard outings with a gutsy 183-yard, one-touchdownperformance against an underrated Bills secondary. Meanwhile, the Indianapolisdefense is allowing an average of two touchdown passes per game. (Houston'sDavid Carr had three.)
DREW BLEDSOECowboys AT Titans Historically, Bledsoe hasn't done well after bye weeks (193yards per game, three touchdowns, three interceptions in his last four), butnone of his previous games came against a defense as porous as the Titans'.Regardless of Terrell Owens's availability, this promises to be a big day forBledsoe and Big D.
SUPER SLEEPER
CHARLIE FRYE
QB BROWNS VS.Raiders
Threequarterbacks who might otherwise be considered starters have byes in Week 4, soit's time to begin working the waiver wires. Owners scrounging for a sub shouldnot overlook Frye, who's kept the lowly Browns competitive with ado-it-yourself approach. The athletic, second-year signal-caller has had a handin 83% of Cleveland's touchdowns, running for one in each of the first threegames. (Remember, being selfish--in fantasy sports, at least--is a good thing.)Legs-wise, Frye is no Michael Vick, but he'll be the Browns' best threat on theground in the red zone this week if running back Reuben Droughns sits out asecond game with a shoulder injury. As a passer Frye has grown more comfortableevery game with wide receiver Braylon Edwards and tight end Kellen Winslow. InWeek 3 Frye had a more-than-respectable 298 passing yards against a solidRavens secondary.
RUNNING BACK
FRANK GORE 49ersAT Chiefs In 2005 quarterback Alex Smith's ineptitude left Gore chipping awayat stacked lines, but now teams have to respect San Francisco's passing game.As a result the 49ers suddenly have an explosive ground attack. (Just make sureGore's strained abdomen isn't serious.) And Kansas City hasn't yet held a teamunder 115 yards rushing.
THOMAS JONESBears VS. Seahawks Sure, Jones has his work cut out for him against Seattle,third in the league against the run. But little things add up in his favor:Cedric Benson, once a threat for playing time, has all but disappeared; he hadno touches in Week 3. And TE Desmond Clark's injury elevates Jones's chancesfor a red-zone look.
DOMINIC RHODESColts VS. Jets Although he has struggled, Rhodes hasn't lost any ground toJoseph Addai; in fact, he outcarried Addai five-to-one in Sunday's importantwin over Jacksonville. Even at 2.6 yards per carry, it'll probably take an Indyloss for Rhodes to be shunted aside, and he has a chance to bust loose againstthe Jets' 25th-ranked run defense.
JULIUS JONESCowboys AT Titans Marion Barber siphoned off valuable carries in Week 2,costing Jones 39 yards and a TD. But that's to be expected in a time-share. Awise owner will hang tough, using Jones when there's plenty of yardage to behad--such as against the Titans, who allowed two Chargers to run for 70-plusyards each.
TIGHT END
KELLEN WINSLOWBrowns AT Raiders It's all coming together for Winslow, who fancies himself oneof the NFL's elite tight ends and may well be, in view of his seven-catch,92-yard game in Week 3. Oakland's had trouble with pass coverage, allowingtouchdowns in each of the first two games to tight ends who undoubtedly areamong the elite, Antonio Gates and Todd Heap.
RANDY MCMICHAELDolphins AT Texans McMichael has been relegated to serving as an extraoffensive lineman in order to provide maximum protection for Daunte Culpepper.However, this week he'll get his best chance of the season to run some routesand snag some balls against a Texans squad that has put no pressure on opposingpassers.
WIDE RECEIVER
TERRY GLENNCowboys AT Titans With or without an injured T.O. lining up across from him,Glenn is having a fantastic season, having snared 10 passes for 175 yards and atouchdown. Through three weeks Tennessee has allowed 50 or more yards to sixreceivers, including 153 to Laveranues Coles. Look for similar numbers from theCowboys' top threat.
BRAYLON EDWARDSBrowns AT Raiders Edwards is finally making his mark on the NFL, coming off afive-catch, 116-yard, one-touchdown performance against Baltimore. The Oaklanddefense is ranked second against the pass and 31st against the run--but that'sonly because the Raiders have faced primarily rushing teams (San Diego andBaltimore).
REGGIE BROWNEagles VS. Packers Who'd have thought that Philadelphia would have the NFL'sbest passing attack? With Donte' Stallworth sidelined against the Niners, Brownhauled in five receptions for 106 yards. The Packers let Jon Kitna throw for342 yards last week, which projects to roughly 750 yards (give or take a fewdozen) for Donovan McNabb in this mismatch.
LAVERANUES COLESJets VS. Colts This is a classic example of playing the hot hand: Coles has hadthree straight big games, racking up 24 catches for 331 yards and a score. Indygave up passing touchdowns in each of its first three games and might have abackup (Marlin Jackson, who replaced the injured Nick Harper against the Jags)at corner.
KICKER
OLINDO MAREDolphins AT Texans Houston's defense can't seem to stop anybody; Miami'soffense isn't moving the ball. Plus, David Carr and Daunte Culpepper have beensacked a combined 25 times over three games. That adds up to a mess of agame--unless Culpepper finds his form against a secondary that allows 320.7passing yards a game. Even if he doesn't, the Dolphins should be in kickingrange plenty of times.
DEFENSE
BROWNS AT RaidersThree words that fantasy owners are unlikely to hear again in 2006: StartCleveland's D. Low opponent point totals are heavily rewarded in most leagues,and Oakland's inept offense is averaging a mere 3.0 per game. With theinexperienced Andrew Walter now taking snaps for the Raiders, Browns defendersare salivating.
DAVID SABINO THE PERFECT TEAM: WEEK 4
QB CARSON PALMER vs. Patriots His flashy WRs shouldriddle soft DBs
RB BRIAN WESTBROOK vs. Packers Scored at least one TDin every game
RB RONNIE BROWN at Texans Will top 100 yards for thefirst time in '06
WR DONALD DRIVER at Eagles Runs free in a banged-upsecondary
WR MARVIN HARRISON at Jets Old pro has five career TDsagainst N.Y.
TE TONY GONZALEZ vs. 49ers Fool me once, shame on you...
K NEIL RACKERS at Falcons Facing a bend-don't-breakdefense
D BEARS vs. Seahawks Chicago unloads on Seattle'sbanged-up O-line
SIX PHOTOS
BRAD SCHLOSS/ICON SMI (FRYE); BOB ROSATO (DELHOMME); DAVID BERGMAN (PENNINGTON); PETER READ MILLER (GORE); DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES (RHODES); DEHOOG/TDP (WINSLOW)
THREE PHOTOS
KEVIN C. COX/WIREIMAGE.COM (GLENN); AL TIELEMANS (BROWN); RICHARD C. LEWIS/WIREIMAGE.COM (MARE)