Ray Rice has been battling a knee injury, but it didn’t appear to bother him on Sunday, as he gained 133 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns. Willis McGahee failed to punch it in from close early in the game, so the Ravens used Rice around the goal line and he rewarded them with two scores. He’s back in ‘must-start’ territory going forward. Anquan Boldin (1-8) was very quiet and Joe Flacco (198 yards) didn’t throw for a TD, but he snuck one in early on. On the other side of the ball, Brandon Lloyd (5-135-1) — this year’s Miles Austin? — and Jabar Gaffney (9-87) helped Kyle Orton (314 yards, 2 TD) to another good fantasy line.

Another guy who is oscillating in and out of ‘stud’ territory is Maurice Jones-Drew, who only gained 84 yards in a great matchup against a terrible Bills’ rush defense. It’s important to note that rookie Deji Karim (15 carries, 70 yards) was the Jags’ RB2 this week. Marcedes Lewis (4-54-2) and Mike Sims-Walker (4-46-1) led the Jags in receiving. For the Bills, Steve Johnson (5-46-2) caught a TD for the third straight game.

For the Bucs, I’ve seen some owners considering cutting rookie Mike Williams (7-99-1), but his performance in a tough matchup proves that he’s absolutely worth holding onto. The Tampa Bay RBBC is getting ugly with Carnell Williams (11 touches, 33 yards), Earnest Graham (3 carries, 65 yards, TD), LeGarrette Blount (4 carries, 3 yards) and Kareem Huggins (1 carry, 4 yards) all getting some work. For the Bengals, Terrell Owens (7-102-1) had another big game while Chad Ochocinco (3-20) was once again quiet.

The Sunday morning news about Peyton Hillis (14 touches, 77 yards, TD) was that his injury could be related to a major leg injury that he had while in college and the Browns did try to limit his touches, getting Jerome Harrison involved (6 carries, 6 yards) with no success. Jake Delhomme relieved Seneca Wallace and threw two interceptions. If Delhomme is back under center in future weeks, the Browns are a team to target when trying to decide which fantasy defense to start.

The Lions lit up the Rams to the tune of 44 points, and Shaun Hill (227 yard, 3 TD) spread the ball around nicely. Calvin Johnson (4-54-1) left the game with a shoulder injury, but the team doesn’t seem too concerned about it at this point. Brandon Pettigrew (4-26-1) had his fourth straight good game. The Rams also lost Mark Clayton (1-6), who has a season-ending knee injury. Look for Danny Amendola (12-96) and Brandon Gibson (2-34) to get most of his targets. Laurent Robinson (1-11) could also be a factor.

In the much-discussed KC backfield, Jamaal Charles (19 touches, 101 yards) out-touched Thomas Jones (8 carries, 19 yards), who was dreadful against a sketchy Colts’ rush defense. Dwayne Bowe (2-33) had a couple of drops, including a long one that would have been a TD. The big news for the Colts is that Joseph Addai (22 touches, 89 yards) left the game with a shoulder injury. Mike Hart (12 touches, 55 yards, TD) was the Colts’ RB2 today, but if Donald Brown can get healthy, he’ll be involved.

The Packers’ offense was dreadful in the second half and overtime, and Aaron Rodgers (293 yards, TD, INT) may have suffered a concussion. Jermichael Finley and Donald Lee were also injured, so look for Andrew Quarless (4-51) will get the starting nod if both Finley and Lee are out for Week 6. Greg Jennings (2-22, five targets) continued his spotty play. It’s time to start benching him if there are other good options available. Brandon Jackson busted a 71-yard run early on, and finished with 140 yards on 15 touches. John Kuhn had 17 yards on five touches. For the Redskins, Ryan Torain (20 touches, 67 yards) is the clear RB1, but he didn’t look terribly good against the Packers.

Matt Forte (24 touches, 188 yards, 2 TD) destroyed the Panthers’ rush defense, but the Chicago passing attack was absolutely dreadful with Todd Collins (32 yards, 4 INT) under center. DeAngelo Williams (15 touches, 59 yards) got off to a good start, but once Carolina fell behind, the writing was on the wall for Williams.

Eli Manning (297 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) had a nice game, with special thanks to Hakeem Nicks (12-130-2) who is entering ‘must-start’ territory, if he’s not already there. Steve Smith 2.0 (6-89-1) also posted a good line. Andre Johnson (5-95) played on his sore ankle, but Matt Schaub (196 yards, INT) was pretty awful even though the Texans trailed for the entire game. Give the Giants DT a look as a fantasy defense. They have played very well the last two weeks against a couple of good offenses.

The Saints weren’t particularly sharp in their loss to the Cardinals , but Drew Brees (294 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT) still had a decent fantasy day thanks to a late TD pass to Robert Meachem (4-72-1). Lance Moore (1-8) was very quiet so it looks like the Saints are back to a rotation at fantasy WR2. Ladell Betts (44 yards) and Chris Ivory (39 yards) each had 10 carries, but Betts had 5-26 in the passing game and got all three carries inside the Cards’ 5-yard line, so he’s the goal line back too with Pierre Thomas out. Thomas appears to be on the verge of returning, but if his ankle injury keeps him out any longer, Betts appears to be the NO back to own. There isn’t much to discuss with regard to the Cardinals, other than the fact that Beanie Wells‘ workload (21 touches, 40 yards) dwarfed that of Tim Hightower (4 carries, 6 yards), so maybe we’ve seen a sea change in the Arizona backfield. The Cardinals DT scored three defensive touchdowns in a terrible matchup, so if you’re playing Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW) keep them in mind when they have good matchups at home.

After a surprisingly quiet (2-20) outing against Houston, Miles Austin bounced back in a big way against the Titans with 9-166-1, giving him 9+ catches in three of four games on the season. Roy Williams (6-87-1) also continued his fine play. Despite all of the fantasy fatigue that owners must have, Williams is looking like a must-pickup in 12-team leagues. With regard to the running game, the report out of Dallas this week was that the Cowboys were determined to get Felix Jones (19 touches, 126 yards) more involved in the offense. As result, Marion Barber‘s touches (6 carries, 19 yards) were way down. Jones looks like the DAL RB to own going forward. Chris Johnson (19 carries, 131 yards, 2 TD) quieted all the doubters with a big day against a pretty solid Dallas rush defense. There was one reader on our Q&A who even considered benching him this week. Let’s hope he came to his senses. Kenny Britt (4-86-1) continues to emerge as Vince Young’s go-to guy in the passing game, and should be owned in all leagues at this point.

I think it’s safe to say that Malcom Floyd (8-213-1) came to play on Sunday. Like a lot of fantasy owners, I was worried that he might draw regular coverage from Nnamdi Asomugha, but that wasn’t the case and Floyd took advantage. The running game saw Mike Tolbert (11 carries, 12 yards, TD) and Ryan Mathews (9 carries, 59 yards) split the work, but Mathews was far more productive. Tolbert appears to be the Chargers’ goal line back, at least for the time being. For the Raiders, Michael Bush (29 touches, 135 yards, TD) had a predictably heavy workload, and he was pretty productive. Darren McFadden owners might be nervous, but given how great McFadden was before the injury, I’d expect a 60/40 (McFadden/Bush) split when DMC comes back. Jason Campbell (159 yards, TD) was decent filling in for Bruce Gradkowski, who aggravated his shoulder injury. Zach Miller (6-62-1) was the only Raider receiver worth his salt in Week 5.

Updated 10/10/10

Below are my rankings for Week 5. I’m participating in a study as part of Fantasy Pros, where they keep track of the accuracy of many of the top fantasy ‘experts’ around the country. As of Week 4, I’m ranked #2 out of 39 experts that post their rankings at the site. If you utilize my advice on the Q&A, please take a moment to sign up at Fantasy Pros (it’s free) and rate me as an expert.

These rankings are for a standard (non-PPR) scoring system. I’ll update these rankings as the week goes on, so be sure to check back.

Quarterbacks

1. Aaron Rodgers (GB @ WAS)
2. Peyton Manning (IND vs. KC)
3. Philip Rivers (SD @ OAK)
4. Drew Brees (NO @ ARI)
5. Tony Romo (DAL vs. TEN)
6. Eli Manning (NYG @ HOU)
7. Matt Ryan (ATL @ CLE)
8. Joe Flacco (BAL vs. DEN)
9. Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF vs. JAC)
10. Kyle Orton (DEN @ BAL)
11. Matt Schaub (HOU vs. NYG)
12. Shaun Hill (DET vs. STL)
13. Donovan McNabb (WAS vs. GB)
14. Sam Bradford (STL @ DET)
15. Brett Favre (MIN @ NYJ)
16. Carson Palmer (CIN vs. TB)
17. Bruce Gradkowski (OAK vs. SD)
18. David Garrard (JAC @ BUF)
19. Mark Sanchez (NYJ vs. MIN)
20. Matt Cassel (KC @ IND)
21. Vince Young (TEN @ DAL)
22. Kevin Kolb (PHI @ SF)
23. Alex Smith (SF vs. PHI)
24. Josh Freeman (TB @ CIN)
25. Max Hall (ARI vs. NO)

Running Backs

1. Frank Gore (SF vs. PHI)
2. Maurice Jones-Drew (JAC @ BUF)
3. Arian Foster (HOU vs. NYG)
4. Adrian Peterson (MIN @ NYJ)
5. Chris Johnson (TEN @ DAL)
6. Steven Jackson (STL @ DET)
7. Jahvid Best (DET vs. STL)
8. Michael Turner (ATL @ CLE)
9. Cedric Benson (CIN vs. TB)
10. LeSean McCoy (PHI @ SF)
11. Jamaal Charles (KC @ IND)
12. LaDainian Tomlinson (NYJ vs. MIN)
13. Michael Bush (OAK vs. SD)
14. Ray Rice (BAL vs. DEN)
15. Ryan Mathews (SD @ OAK)
16. Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG @ HOU)
17. Matt Forte (CHI @ CAR)
18. Ryan Torain (WAS vs. GB)
19. DeAngelo Williams (CAR vs. CHI)
20. Peyton Hillis (CLE vs. ATL)
21. Joseph Addai (IND vs. KC)
22. Mike Tolbert (SD @ OAK)
23. Fred Jackson (BUF vs. JAC)
24. Thomas Jones (KC @ IND)
25. Felix Jones (DAL vs. TEN)
26. C.J. Spiller (BUF vs. JAC)
27. Tim Hightower (ARI vs. NO)
28. Correll Buckhalter (DEN @ BAL)
29. Christopher Ivory (NO @ ARI)
30. Brandon Jackson (GB @ WAS)
31. Chris “Beanie” Wells (ARI vs. NO)
32. Shonn Greene (NYJ vs. MIN)
33. Jonathan Stewart (CAR vs. CHI)
34. Jason Snelling (ATL @ CLE)
35. Carnell “Cadillac” Williams (TB @ CIN)
36. Marion Barber (DAL vs. TEN)
37. John Kuhn (GB @ WAS)
38. Willis McGahee (BAL vs. DEN)
39. Ladell Betts (NO @ ARI)
40. Brandon Jacobs (NYG @ HOU)
41. Laurence Maroney (DEN @ BAL)
42. LeGarrette Blount (TB @ CIN)
43. Mike Bell (PHI @ SF)
44. Jerome Harrison (CLE vs. ATL)
45. Donald Brown (IND vs. KC)
46. Chester Taylor (CHI @ CAR)
47. Derrick Ward (HOU vs. NYG)
48. Mike Goodson (CAR vs. CHI)
49. Kenneth Darby (STL @ DET)
50. Earnest Graham (TB @ CIN)

Wide Receivers

1. Roddy White (ATL @ CLE)
2. Reggie Wayne (IND vs. KC)
3. Andre Johnson (HOU vs. NYG)
4. Miles Austin (DAL vs. TEN)
5. Hakeem Nicks (NYG @ HOU)
6. Randy Moss (MIN @ NYJ)
7. Calvin Johnson (DET vs. STL)
8. Larry Fitzgerald (ARI vs. NO)
9. Mark Clayton (STL @ DET)
10. Terrell Owens (CIN vs. TB)
11. Anquan Boldin (BAL vs. DEN)
12. Greg Jennings (GB @ WAS)
13. Chad Ochocinco (CIN vs. TB)
14. Donald Driver (GB @ WAS)
15. DeSean Jackson (PHI @ SF)
16. Santana Moss (WAS vs. GB)
17. Steve Smith (NYG @ HOU)
18. Marques Colston (NO @ ARI)
19. Malcolm Floyd (SD @ OAK)
20. Mike Williams (TB @ CIN)
21. Percy Harvin (MIN @ NYJ)
22. Derrick Mason (BAL vs. DEN)
23. Lance Moore (NO @ ARI)
24. Pierre Garcon (IND vs. KC)
25. Kevin Walter (HOU vs. NYG)
26. Dwayne Bowe (KC @ IND)
27. Brandon Lloyd (DEN @ BAL)
28. Nate Washington (TEN @ DAL)
29. Mike Thomas (JAC @ BUF)
30. Santonio Holmes (NYJ vs. MIN)
31. Steve Johnson (BUF vs. JAC)
32. Louis Murphy (OAK vs. SD)
33. Dez Bryant (DAL vs. TEN)
34. Michael Crabtree (SF vs. PHI)
35. Eddie Royal (DEN @ BAL)
36. Kenny Britt (TEN @ DAL)
37. Jeremy Maclin (PHI @ SF)
38. Austin Collie (IND vs. KC)
39. Roy Williams (DAL vs. TEN)
40. Mike Sims-Walker (JAC @ BUF)
41. Johnny Knox (CHI @ CAR)
42. Lee Evans (BUF vs. JAC)
43. Jabar Gaffney (DEN @ BAL)
44. Danny Amendola (STL @ DET)
45. Mario Manningham (NYG @ HOU)
46. Josh Cribbs (CLE vs. ATL)
47. David Gettis (CAR vs. CHI)
48. Braylon Edwards (NYJ vs. MIN)
49. T.J. Houshmandzadeh (BAL vs. DEN)
50. Brandon LaFell (CAR vs. CHI)
51. Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE vs. ATL)
52. Harry Douglas (ATL @ CLE)
53. Legedu Naanee (SD @ OAK)
54. Darrius Heyward-Bey (OAK vs. SD)
55. Josh Morgan (SF vs. PHI)
56. Devery Henderson (NO @ ARI)
57. Blair White (IND vs. KC)
58. Stephen Williams (ARI vs. NO)
59. Dexter McCluster (KC @ IND)
60. Brandon Gibson (STL @ DET)

Tight Ends

1. Antonio Gates (SD @ OAK)
2. Jermichael Finley (GB @ WAS)
3. Dallas Clark (IND vs. KC)
4. Dustin Keller (NYJ vs. MIN)
5. Zach Miller (OAK vs. SD)
6. Vernon Davis (SF vs. PHI)
7. Chris Cooley (WAS vs. GB)
8. Visanthe Shiancoe (MIN @ NYJ)
9. Brandon Pettigrew (DET vs. STL)
10. Jason Witten (DAL vs. TEN)
11. Brent Celek (PHI @ SF)
12. Kellen Winslow (TB @ CIN)
13. Tony Gonzalez (ATL @ CLE)
14. Jeremy Shockey (NO @ ARI)
15. Tony Moeaki (KC @ IND)
16. Greg Olsen (CHI @ CAR)
17. Marcedes Lewis (JAC @ BUF)
18. Benjamin Watson (CLE vs. ATL)
19. Todd Heap (BAL vs. DEN)
20. Kevin Boss (NYG @ HOU)

Defense

1. New Orleans Saints (NO @ ARI)
2. Chicago Bears (CHI @ CAR)
3. San Diego Chargers (SD @ OAK)
4. New York Jets (NYJ vs. MIN)
5. Philadelphia Eagles (PHI @ SF)
6. Carolina Panthers (CAR vs. CHI)
7. Baltimore Ravens (BAL vs. DEN)
8. Cincinnati Bengals (CIN vs. TB)
9. San Francisco 49ers (SF vs. PHI)
10. Green Bay Packers (GB @ WAS)
11. St. Louis Rams (STL @ DET)
12. Atlanta Falcons (ATL @ CLE)
13. Dallas Cowboys (DAL vs. TEN)
14. Indianapolis Colts (IND vs. KC)
15. Buffalo Bills (BUF vs. JAC)
16. Detroit Lions (DET vs. STL)
17. Houston Texans (HOU vs. NYG)
18. New York Giants (NYG @ HOU)
19. Minnesota Vikings (MIN @ NYJ)
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (JAC @ BUF)

Draft weekly fantasy teams! Don’t wait until the end of the season – start drafting today. Win MONEY now!

Updated 10/7/10 with the news that Jay Cutler would miss Week 5.

The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Let’s see how my Week 4 picks fared:

#1 Falcons: 14 PA (4) + 1 SK + 2 INT + 1 FR = 8 fantasy points
#2 Chargers: 10 PA (6) + 9 SK + 2 INT + 1 INT TD + 1 FR = 24 fp
#3 Colts: 31 PA = zero fp

Well, it was something of a mixed back this week with one solid performance (ATL), one monster performance (SD) and one dreadful performance (IND). At least the Colts weren’t the top pick. They really laid an egg in Jacksonville.

For the season, my top pick is averaging 7.5 ffpg, my second pic is averaging 11.8 and my third pick is averaging 6.3. On the whole, DTBWW is averaging 8.5 ffpg, which equates to DT8 numbers. I’d like to do better, but that’s not bad.

Let’s take a look at my Week 5 picks, keeping in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense has to be available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues.

I’d take the Bears (@ CAR) and 49ers (vs. Vick-less PHI) over the teams below, but they are owned in about 60% of ESPN leagues, so they’re not eligible. The Bengals at home versus the Bucs also looks like a nice play.

Pick #1: San Diego Chargers (@ OAK)
After a rough outing against the Chiefs, the Chargers DT has looked pretty good against the Jaguars, Seahawks and Cardinals the last three weeks. Meanwhile, opposing DTs have scored an average of 8.3 fantasy points against the Raiders, so this looks like a good matchup.

Pick #1a: Carolina Panthers (vs. CHI)
I originally wrote this when it looked like Jay Cutler was going to play, but now that he’s been ruled out, I really like the Panthers at home against Todd Collins.

Pick #2: St. Louis Rams (@ DET)
The Rams DT is currently the #10 fantasy defense, and the good times should continue in Detroit. The Lions have given up an average of 8.8 fp to opposing defenses over the first four games.

Pick #3: Atlanta Falcons (@ CLE)
The Falcons have averaged 7.5 fantasy points on the season and the Browns have historically been a good matchup for opposing defenses (though they’ve been respectable thus far this season).

Bonus picks: IND (vs. KC), BUF (vs. JAX)

Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network writes that second-year Brandon Tate is poised to become a big contributor in the Pats’ offense:

And BrandonTate will be the deep threat for the Pats, and he is really an explosive talented player who will become a major contribuator now

I did one of these “what can we expect” posts for Bruce Gradkowski, so let’s take a closer look at Tate and try to estimate what kind of numbers he’ll put up the rest of the way.

After four games, Tate is 4th on the Pats in targets (14), but of all the team’s receivers, he figures to see the biggest boost in snaps since he’ll be replacing Randy Moss in the starting lineup. Let’s say that, in addition to his current 3.5 targets per game, he gets two-thirds of Moss’s targets (5.5 * 0.67). That’s about 7.2 per game. He’s currently converting 79% of his targets into receptions, which is unlikely to continue since he’ll probably be running deeper routes. Let’s say he converts at 60% and averages, say, 14.0 ypc (he’s currently averaging 12.3 ypc). That works out to 4.3 catches for 60 yards per game. So in a PPR league, he’s already at 10.3 points, and I’ve been pretty conservative in my estimates. And we haven’t even accounted for touchdowns or his explosive return game yet.

I asked our NFL guru, Anthony Stalter, what he thinks of Tate and this is what he said:

he’s lean, but has good size…good quickness, but not overly fast…he’s not that great of a route-runner at this point in his career and relies too much on athletic ability…he can be elusive, but like I said – he’s more quick than fast…soft hands, good body control…Davone Bess is a good comparison, although I think Tate may be faster straight-line.

Projecting out 4.3 catches for 60 yards and let’s say 0.3 TD per game, and Tate looks like a 69-960-5 player over a full 16-game season. Last season, those were WR22-type numbers in PPR leagues.

In other words, pick him up.

The Boston Herald is reporting that a Moss-to-Minnesota deal could be finalized by Wednesday.

Wow, this one sure came out of nowhere. Though I suppose we should have seen the writing on the wall given Randy Moss’s preseason griping about the fact that he doesn’t have a long-term contract. While a move away from Tom Brady and the Pats’ pass-happy offense might seem like a hit to Randy’s stock, it isn’t. He was targeted a total of four times in the last two weeks and his goose egg in Week 4 is alarming. In fact, he is #41 amongst WRs in total targets (22, or 5.5 per game), and even with his 3:1 completion to TD ratio, that’s not enough work to justify his first or second round ADP. As a Packer fan, I cringe at the thought of a happy and motivated Moss back in the purple and gold, but as a fantasy owner (in two leagues), I’m happy he’s getting a change of scenery. I’d expect him to get all of Sidney Rice’s targets (7.7 per game, maybe more) as long as Rice as out.

For the Vikings, this is a big bump for the entire offense, save for Visanthe Shiancoe, who probably won’t enjoy quite as many looks now that Brett Favre can chuck it downfield with more confidence. Farve obviously gets a bump, Percy Harvin should have more room to roam, and there should be one less man in the box trying to stop Adrian Peterson.

For the Patriots, I’d expect Brandon Tate and Aaron Hernandez to pick up most of the slack, but Danny Woodhead, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski should get a bit of extra work as well. The Patriots are getting less vertical with this move, so it’s going to hurt Tom Brady a little because he’s going to have one less weapon in his arsenal. And it was one of his big weapons, for sure. This could mean the running game will be featured more, as BenJarvus Green-Ellis seems to be coming into his own.

Wondering who to add/drop or whether or not a trade is fair?

I’m here to help.

After checking out our Waiver Wire Watch, you can post your questions here, and unless you say differently, I’m assuming your league has a standard (non-PPR) scoring system.

If you are wondering who to start in a standard scoring league, please wait until Friday when I’ll release my official Week 5 rankings.

And if you’re a regular visitor, please take a moment to rate my advice at Fantasy Pros (under Member Rating). Special thanks to “DaKid” for commenting on FantasyPros last week.