I hate the bad performances. I know these guys are trying, and I know we use them in fantasy with the best of intentions, but DUDE I AM 0-3 AND YOU WERE ON THE FIELD BUT ONLY A DECOY AND sorry, I got heated.
No player goes out there with the intention of being on this list. Which makes it even sadder when they are. Sorry, friends. This hurts me more than it does you:
Worst quarterbacks in Week 4
Nick Foles, PHI (194 passing yards, 2 interceptions, 1 rushing yard, 3 fantasy points)
What an odd game, with Philadelphia scoring 21 points and none of them coming on offense. The Eagles' offense could have stayed in Philadelphia for the week and not much would have changed. Foles now has a Week 1 game against Jacksonville when he looked really bad for a half before righting himself, a Week 2 game against Indianapolis where the vast majority of his production came because Darren Sproles got crazy yards after the catch, and Sunday's game that was pointless. For a theoretically upper-tier quarterback, he has only one actually good game on his resume this season.
Next game: The Eagles host a rested St. Louis Rams team in Week 5, a team with a fairly strong defense. If I have Foles, I'm hoping someone doesn't look closely at his production and thinks they're buying low, and trade him for something. I just don't trust him.
Kirk Cousins, WAS (257 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 4 interceptions, 12 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost, 5 fantasy points)
Even when he's been productive, I've never been remotely impressed by Cousins' quarterbacking, chalking up his good games to the fact that he has Alfred Morris and DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon and a cast of thousands in Washington. He's not better than Robert Griffin III, and he's not the future of anything. Even saying that, he will have some games like his good ones. Those offensive pieces are still there. But those turnovers aren't going to go away.
Next game: Washington hosts Seattle next Monday night. Stay away. Stay far away.
Geno Smith, NYJ (209 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 4 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost, 8 fantasy points)
Two weeks ago, Smith had a rushing touchdown and a decent fantasy day, and I wondered if he was on an upswing. Since then, he has two passing touchdowns against three interceptions, a total of 24 rushing yards, a lost fumble and two more losses, and my diehard New York Jets-fan brother spent much of Sunday texting me about how much he wished his team would go to Michael Vick. Oops.
Next game: The Jets travel across the country for an afternoon game at San Diego next Sunday. You can't use Smith. I'd avoid Alex Smith, too, just to keep the name out of your mouth.
Worst running backs in Week 4
LeSean McCoy, PHI (17 rushing yards, 1 fantasy points)
That's now consecutive terrible games for McCoy, coming not-coincidentally right as the Eagles' offensive line is losing players right and left. And that's a big problem for the stud running back, because no running back can do his thing without some help, not even a stud like McCoy. In his last two weeks, he has 39 yards on 29 carries, and he's probably wrecked some fantasy games in the meantime.
Next game: The Eagles host the Rams next Sunday. Keep an eye on the O-line news, but frankly, you probably don't have a choice. You have to use McCoy, and you'll sink or swim with him.
Arian Foster, HOU (6 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards, 5 fantasy points)
It's always mean to put obviously injured guys in the Worst Of list, but since everyone spent all week saying "If Foster plays, you have to use him," he has to then be included here for his struggles. Foster was clearly below full strength running, but his ability to help Ryan Fitzpatrick with short passes salvaged some value. Behind him, against an above-average Buffalo Bills run defense, backup Alfred Blue didn't help either, with 9 rushing yards on nine carries.
Next game: Every day that passes should improve Foster's health, so next week, against Dallas, he ought to be fine, and a must-start. Ought to be.
Joique Bell, DET (32 rushing yards, 7 receiving yards, 3 fantasy points)
Reggie Bush, DET (46 rushing yards, 19 receiving yards, 5 fantasy points)
These two are tied together for obvious reasons. Their struggles Sunday aren't any great shock, since the Jets do really well against opposing running backs, but the two backs now have eight player-games on the season, and only two of those have provided double-digit fantasy points. Heck, only three of them have provided more than five. For all the talk about which one is better than the other, the real answer right now might be that neither is as good as we thought they'd be.
Next game: The Detroit Lions host the Bills next week. As mentioned above, the Bills are no slouch against running backs, either. They aren't the Jets, but still, stock in Bush and Bell is falling a bit.
Worst wide receivers in Week 4
Calvin Johnson, DET (12 receiving yards, 1 fantasy point)
Another one of those "If he plays, you use him" guys who obviously didn't pan out, Johnson was limited in practice all week with an ankle injury, but once he was on the field, especially against a Jets secondary that is friendly to receivers, it's hard to imagine anyone justifying benching him. And then he was only targeted twice, clearly only a decoy in the Lions' game plan. Frustrating for fantasy to be sure, but no real way around it.
Next game: With another week to heal his ankle, Johnson ought to be (a) on the field Sunday, and (b) in every single fantasy lineup.
Pierre Garcon, WAS (28 receiving yards, 2 fantasy points)
DeSean Jackson, WAS (9 receiving yards, 0 fantasy points)
Okay, here's where I feel like I was wrong about Kirk Cousins. Because interceptions and fumbles seemed like part of his identity, but so did occasional big plays to big names, and those were entirely absent from the Thursday night shellacking at the hands of the New York Giants. The leading receivers for Washington in the game -- by a lot -- were a backup running back and a fill-in tight end. In the long run, Garcon and Jackson will likely be fine, but Cousins is going to have to do some more to help them.
Next game: Washington. Seattle. Monday night. Nope.
Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN (38 receiving yards, 3 fantasy points)
If you had told me the Minnesota Vikings would put up 41 points Sunday, I would have been much higher on Patterson entering the week. After all, he's obviously the best offensive weapon Minnesota has, with the possibly-we'll-see exception of Teddy Bridgewater. Yet the team did score all those points, with the yardage going to Jarius Wright, Greg Jennings, Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata, and the scores going to Bridgewater and Asiata. Patterson was only targeted four times in the game. It makes me nervous.
Next game: The Vikings travel to Green Bay for a short-week Thursday game. Like I said, Patterson makes me nervous. I'm not using him unless forced.
Worst tight ends in Week 4
Vernon Davis, SF (8 receiving yards, 0 fantasy points)
Davis left Sunday's game with what was later described as back spasms. He entered it with an ankle injury. In between, two catches, three targets, 8 yards. He's tentatively expected back on the field for Week 5, but with only Mychal Rivera and Charles Clay on a bye, the reports on Davis need to be really good for fantasy owners to trust him.
Next game: The San Francisco 49ers host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. A healthy Davis is a must-start Davis. I have no idea what this Davis is.
Zach Ertz, PHI (43 receiving yards, 1 fumble lost, 2 fantasy points)
Ertz had 21 combined fantasy points in Weeks 1 and 2, and now has three combined fantasy points in Weeks 3 and 4. That's a disturbing trend for a tight end who looked like he was becoming a surefire starter early on. The points scored by the Eagles' defense/special teams kept the ball out of the offense's hands for much of Sunday's game, but even considering that, Ertz's struggles are bothersome.
Next game: Against the Rams in Week 4, Ertz likely falls all the way out of TE1 consideration, but he's still a strong TE2 or injury fill-in.
Charles Clay, MIA (32 receiving yards, 3 fantasy points)
Once more, and with feeling. Clay was good last year. He's now alternated two- and three-point fantasy games this season. There were always reasons -- Mike Wallace is getting his looks, or the offense as a whole struggled, or, I don't know, stars not being aligned -- but if Miami is going to score 38 points against the Oakland Raiders, and Clay can't offer fantasy help then, it just ain't happening.
Next game: After a Week 5 bye, the Miami Dolphins play the Green Bay Packers in Week 6. If Clay is still on your roster by that time, you've made a boo-boo, my friend.
Worst defense/special teams in Week 4
Atlanta Falcons (41 points allowed, -10 fantasy points)
I looked past this line when I first started marking the worst of the week, because what the heck kind of defense reaches negative double-digit points? I just missed it at first. But the Falcons' defense, who put up 28 fantasy points on that Thursday game in Week 3 against Tampa Bay, now has negative-17 points on Sundays. Maybe they need a MAC-style schedule.
Carolina Panthers (38 points allowed, -8 fantasy points)
Y'all, what happened? The Panthers' defense was the second-best in the league after Week 2, and have been the flat worst unit over the last two weeks It's not like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens -- the culprits -- are any great shakes on offense. This is baffling. But the takeaway here is that the Panthers are no longer a must-start unit. Oh, and stop drafting defenses early.