Week 4 Picks

The Gentleman apologizes for his shoddy picks and bad calls this last week. But, then again, he’s not here to give people good advice that might help them beat him so what can you really expect?!

GAME OF THE WEEK

One team is reeling after an upset loss to The Gentleman. The other team is riding high after a monster performance and a potential stock watch upgrade on the podcast. And they are the first and third highest projected scorers of the week. For Colin, this could be the second game in a row where Josh Allen gets outscored by a lesser QB - Jordan Love should be able to throw all over Dallas’s defense. Xavier Worthy and Chris Godwin might be back but I’m not sure if you want to start them this week. If Tucker Kraft is healthy, it’s tough to bench him against the bums in Dallas. I really don’t know who to pick in this one so I’m following the momentum. I’m a little nervous about Gibbs against Cleveland but Omarion Hampton should run all over the Giants. Pearsall or Harrison Jr. need to step up for Mark and Hunter Henry - suddenly, the #1 ranked TE in fantasy - has to have another big game.
PICK: MARK

UPSET OF THE WEEK

DANA VS ELI
Eli has the #1 WR (St. Brown) and the #1 RB (Taylor) and everyone in his starting lineup is averaging double-digit points. This is the battle of the highest and lowest scoring teams in the league with Eli averaging almost 50 points a game more than Dana so far. But we all know that the NFL is scripted and what better twist than to have the 0 - 3 Dana take down his Vegas roommate’s dreams of an undefeated season! Dana has more favorable matchups and Eli’s workhorse Jonathon Taylor is facing the Rams, who just slowed down Saquon Barkley. It’ll be up to Derrick Henry (@ KC) and Amon-Ra (vs. CLE) to carry the load and I feel like those defenses could keep them relatively quiet. The one big caveat is that I’m betting that Dana will think better of starting Jake Browning against Denver at Mile High but who knows, maybe Browning over Mahomes is just the unexpected twist that pushes this upset special over the top.
PICK: DANA

MENDO VS JOHNNY
Bijan and Garrett Wilson have tough matchups for The Gentleman but I still think this should be an easy win. Pollard/Swift/Warren are a trio of prolific songwriters but the running backs by the same names aren’t making sweet music for Johnny as they are the 17th, 23rd, and 24th ranked RBs so far. Brandon Aubrey might get a shot at a bunch of long field goals but I’m not sure that it’ll be enough.
PICK: MENDO

ANDY VS BRENDAN
I was surprised to see Andy acquire Calvin Austin (going up against the #1 pass defense in the league this week) but then I saw that Pittsburgh’s #2 receiver has more points this year than every offensive player on Andy’s roster besides Drake Maye and Justin Jefferson. I know it’s only week 3 but is there a weaker three than Isaiah Pacheco (52nd ranked RB), Calvin Ridley (73rd ranked WR), and Jameson Williams (35th ranked WR). As a Hail Mary to save the seasn, Andy has belatedly embraced Player #14’s 2024 approach of loading up on young backup RBs in hopes that someone gets hurt. Hopefully, that’s as far as Andy goes in following in the footsteps of a cancelled also-ran.
The one thing Andy has going for him is that he, the lowest projected point scorer this week, is facing the second lowest projected point scorer this week. Brendan needs Oakland vs. New Orleans to be a barn burner because I’m not sure Dak survives the Green Bay defense and Brian Thomas’s season isn’t getting any easier against SF. This one could go either way but I just tend to like Brendan’s lineup better.
PICK: BRENDAN

PLAYER #14 VS. DEREK
Sixth in points, sixth in the standings, last in your hearts, Player #14 is fulfilling his destiny as a mediocre white man. And his team has noticed as multiple players are now faking injuries so they don’t have to represent the Veep.
Derek is going back to the Geno Smith well but he’s playing against Chicago’s 30th ranked pass defense so this week should work out better than his previous stint as Sadat X starter. The key for the good guys in this one is if TreVeyon Henderson can get the starting nod of Butterfingers Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. He also needs Chris Olave to benefit from a high scoring BUF/NO game. With Bucky and JaMarr being huge question marks this week, I just think Derek needs too many things to break his way to pick him to win.
PICK: PLAYER #14

BRETT VS BERNIE
We can all celebrate that SirVocea Dennis is no longer active in our league. I mean, look at this fucking nerd.

I’m pretty sure he was the villain in The Blackening. Anyway, who the hell knows what Bernie is doing with his IPD players. I don’t know why he would have waived Brandon Jones last week when EVERYONE knew he was due for a big game. This week’s common card sounding dude is Jordan Battle. (Arguably, a hot girl name.)
As for Brett, he now has Jaxson Dart throwing to Malik Nabers, which could be an issue. Nick Chubb is losing carries each week. Tee Higgins and Devonta Smith are struggling. Still. Jalen Hurts cures a lot of issues and I think Bernie’s guy Indiana Jones could struggle against LA. I think this game will be closer than Watson predicts but after I cleaned out Bernie in poker on Monday night, I’ll pay him back by giving him the nod.
PICK: BERNIE

RAHUL VS JUSTIN
Watson has this one as a veritable pick ‘em and neither team has great matchups on paper but I’m not buying that Jacksonville has 8th best run defense. Defense and kicker will be key in this one and the Trey Benson vs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba matchup on Thursday could go a long way towards determining the winner. Both of these teams are littered with High Ceiling / Low Floor options so there’s a real chance that the projected closest game is a blowout in either direction.
PICK: RAHUL