Here are my off-the-cuff fantasy football reactions to several of today’s early games:

As of this afternoon, Brian Quick was only owned in 34.4% of ESPN fantasy leagues. You’ve GOT to be kidding me. His yardage low for the year is 62, he has five or more catches in three of his four games, he’s scored three touchdowns the last two weeks. Austin Davis has proven to be far more than just a caretaker at quarterback—if you still own Tom Brady, make this switch at your earliest convenience—and Quick is his favorite target. Quick’s an every-week starter, folks. Get him now, if you still can.

 

It wasn’t a great fantasy day from Cam Newton, but there’s a glimmer of hope here. He ran the ball a season-high six times. While Newton only got nine yards out of it, he’s at least giving it more of a go. If he throws for 250+ and two touchdowns a week with six or more rushes, you’ll be happy with him as your fantasy starter the rest of the way.

 

Sure didn’t feel like Jay Cutler completed 28 of 36 passes, but a 12-for-12 mark for Matt Forte certainly helped. Cutler’s final line looked OK, unless compared to what he had at halftime—which was actually better than his final total. The quiet second half meant Martellus Bennett and Brandon Marshall owners were left holding the bag. It’ll happen with Bennett—he’s still the fourth option in the passing game in Chicago—but you’ve got to give the Panthers defense playing at home some credit here. Marshall’s actually putting up fine numbers in total, buoyed by his three-touchdown Week 3 performance. Still, he’s had less than 50 yards in four of five games, so there might be some buy low opportunity here. If you’re not a Marshall owner currently, inquire about becoming one this week.

 

We knew it was Ben Tate’s job to lose in Cleveland upon his return from a knee injury, and he looked like a guy who wanted to keep it on Sunday. With 22 carries for 123 combo yards, while Terrence West and Isaiah Crowell combined for just 13 carries, I’m comfortable deploying Tate as at least an RB2 on a weekly basis until his next injury.

 

Since Jake Locker can’t stay healthy, I really don’t have a grasp on what’s going on with the Tennessee quarterback position. As such, I’m not buying into the huge passing day for the Titans on Sunday. Yes, Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter are supremely talented, but I worry about inconsistency here. I can see holding as a Wright owner, but don’t mind selling high at all here. Certainly I’d try to sell on Hunter in deeper leagues, but if he’s on your waiver wire let someone else spend their FAAB.

 

Not one target for Darren Sproles in a 34-28 Philadelphia victory? Sproles did manage 51 yards on seven carries so he wasn’t completely useless for fantasy owners, but the lack of work for him recently has me a bit concerned. He’s still a flex option for me based on matchups, but I’m going to need to see him become a bigger part of the offense again before advocating him as a must-start.

 

All Antone Smith is score touchdowns. With his overall lack of touches there’s no way I can ever rank him as anything more than a hail Mary at the flex position, but if you’d been doing that all season to this point you’d be pretty happy. The Falcons backfield provides reasonable fantasy numbers, but Steven Jackson’s still the only guy you can start based on workload.

 

Mike Glennon’s nothing special at quarterback, but Vincent Jackson owners certainly have to be happy to have him back. Here’s hoping Josh McCown isn’t given the job back if/when he’s healthy. He could be, though, which might mean this isn’t a terrible time to see if you can sell high on Jackson following his 144-yard day.

 

Arian Foster’s healthy again, and as a result got his requisite 25 touches. Against Dallas that meant a pair of touchdowns and 6.8 yards per carry. Alfred Blue will get more starts this season, I can almost guarantee that, but when Foster’s healthy you’ve got to ride him—Houston certainly does.

 

On the other side of the ball, I might be seeing what I can get for Terrence Williams this week. He’s scored four touchdowns in five games and has more than 70 yards the last two games, but he’s got just two catches in three of his last four games. That kind of touchdown dependency means he’s going to have some HUGE letdowns sooner than later.