Welcome back to the funbox. We’ll tally the results from last week’s picks and start determining who is the premiere prognosticator at the end. But First, here’s our picks for week 4 where those pesky bye weeks up the ante on your fantasy decisions.

QUARTERBACKS
BEER BARON - Philip Rivers. Rivers was a constant fantasy disappointment for me the past two years, and thus, I decided to avoid him at all costs this year.  My bad.  He’s been a top-tier QB so far, and now that he’s had nearly a year to develop a strong rapport with his deep threat Chris Chambers, he is finally paying dividends for fantasy owners.  Count for that trend to continue this week against an Oakland Raiders team that is almost as bad as the new 90210 series. Key word: almost.
Honorable Mention – Aaron Rodgers 

RAPTOR - Carson Palmer.  Palmer started off the season slowly but the Bengals O seemed to come alive last week against the stiff pass rush of the Giants.  Chad can only play better and they can always administer a healthy dose of Antonio Chatman if he doesn’t.  Plus, this week they get the Browns.  The Browns D is atrocious.  They should be renamed ‘The Altar Boys’ because they get abused every Sunday.
Honourable Mention - Trent Edwards

GIZMO - Jay Cutler.  Matt Ryan had no problem throwing for almost 200 yards in only 18 pass attempts last week vs KC. Cutler is averaging 36 attempts/game. What does that add up to? Yet another stellar outing for this fantasy stud. Yes, I picked him last week, but change just for the sake of change is like making ketchup green, no one’s gonna buy it.
Honorable Mention: Phillip Rivers

RUNNING BACKS
BEER BARON - Reggie Bush.  Bush is essentially a pseudo-WR, an avant-garde football commodity, one that is more likely to notch 100 yards receiving than rushing.  With Colston and now Shockey out, he is essentially the face of the Saints offence and will get more looks over the next month than his girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s rather rugged backside.  Count on Bush to bail out the Saints Wall Street-styles this weekend in what should be a tight matchup against the Niners and keep them in early competition for the NFC South title.
Honorable Mention: Marshawn Lynch

RAPTOR - Marshawn Lynch.  Lynch had a good game last week but should put up a veritable monster line this week.  The Bills have the privilege of going to St Louis and beating up on the Rams.  You know they are going to go up early and just pound the rock all day long.  Invest in Marshawn “Merrill” Lynch this weekend and expect big returns. 
Honourable Mention - Frank Gore

GIZMO - LaDainian Tomlinson.  Turf toe can be nagging injury, but LT appears to be on the mend and he can only improve on his respectable numbers from the first three games. The match up with Oakland is quite favorable and San Diego should be playing with the lead meaning plenty of touches for LT.
Honorable Mention: Reggie Bush

WIDE RECEIVERS
BEER BARON – Santana Moss . Check this:  Dating back to last year, Moss has caught a touchdown in his last six games. Impressive huh?  Now check this: Last year in two games against the Cowboys, Santana caught 17 passes for 236 yards and two TDs.  Conclusion:  Start Moss without hesitation this week.  
Final thought – It’s fathomable to believe that Santana will crush Randy in the Battle of the Moss’s this year.  Who would have guessed that heading into the season?
Honorable Mention:  Tie between Larry Fitzgerland and Anquan Boldin (the two are pretty much interchangeable).

RAPTOR - Lee Evans.  A corked bat.  Bob Essensa.  That desperate girl that just got dumped by her boyfriend.  The Rams.  What do these things have in common?  They’re all great slumpbusters.  If you’re a Raptor Reader you’ll know I predicted Lee Evan’s weak game last week.  This week he gets to go against St Louis and you can bet he’s going to put big points on the board. 
Honourable Mention - Brandon Marshell 

GIZMO - T.J. Houshmandzadeh.  Does anyone else remember what happened last year during the first meeting of these two teams? Sure, that much scoring doesn’t usually happen anywhere outside of the Geezer’s bedroom, but these two divisional rivals should still put up plenty of points. Cinci’s offense finally broke out last week and Palmer should have much more time in the pocket compared to last week vs the Giants. Chad is still nursing a sore shoulder so the majority of looks should go TJ’s way. All this should yield big points for the man we call Housh.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Marshall

TIGHT ENDS
BEER BARON – Kellen Winslow.  The Browns and Bengals need each other this week.  Both offences, loaded with superstars, have been anaemic so far, and this is the game where the studs on both teams finally get a shot at coming through for their fantasy owners.  On the Browns side, it’s unclear who will start and finish the game at QB, but I believe that Kellen Winslow comes through and delivers after Romeo Crennel threatens to devour him if he doesn’t score.
Honorable Mention:  Jason Witten 

RAPTOR - Kellen Winslow.  Winslow is a rare talent.  He may not be the best all-around tight end but he is the most gifted.  If you’re thinking that all those surgeries caught up with him you are dead wrong.  The Browns finally get a weak defense after a grueling schedule and things will turn around.  The Soldier will go to war this weekend and the spoils will be plentiful.
Honourable Mention - Tony Gonzalez 

GIZMO - Antonio Gates.  Surprise fantasy stud, Phillip Rivers, should be able to exploit a mediocre Raiders defense, and even though Gates isn’t getting the ball as often as well all expect, he is still the go to red line target and has now scored in two of the three games so far this season. He may not go off for big yardage but is a safe bet to score and bring in some decent numbers.
Honorable Mention: Tony Gonzalez 

SLEEPERS
BEER BARON – Dwayne Bowe.  On the surface, the decision to go with Dwayne Bowe (or any Kansas City Chief) may seem as popular as Stephane Dion these days.  However, I think Bowe is a solid WR 2/3 this Sunday for three reasons. 1) He faces the Denver Pass D who have been torn apart the past two weeks. 2) He’s got his boy Huard back, a significant upgrade from Thigpen which says a lot about the KC QB situation  3) Bowe actually leads the NFL in looks so far this year, and it’s only a matter of time before he translates those looks into big plays. 

RAPTOR - Chris Perry.  Perry’s first game as a feature back was brutal - He fumbled a couple times and netted negative fantasy points.  However, since then he seems to have turned things around and he should feast on the Browns this weekend.  He’s quite possibly the NFL’s second most brittle man, (after Ahman Green,) so you should get as much as you can out of him before one of his body parts go on the fritz.  Word is that he had his fractured ulna healed on Monday night with a synthetic substance 10 times harder than his actual bone.  He should be good to go for the weekend once the paper mache is dry.   

GIZMO - Jonathan Stewart.  Larry Johnson was able to have his most successful day on the ground in some time despite the fact that Tyler Thigpen started the game 2/12 for 12 yards and two interceptions. Atlanta stacked the box and there were still more holes in their defense than the ozone layer. Jonathan Stewart has been getting his fair share of carries and more importantly, he’s the goal line back, so bank on at least a score and some decent yards from his rookie. 

DUDS
BEER BARON - Matt Forte. Forte has been heralded as an early candidate for Rookie of the Year honours. However, this week he faces Philly, a team that bruised and battered Big Ben, a top 5 QB, and sent Willie Parker to the injury report for the next two weeks.  Here’s the scary part:  If the Bears can’t run, how the hell are they going to move the ball?  Kyle Orton may drink to enhance his party experience every weekend, but he may be hitting the bottle this weekend to forget about the impending torture he’s going to face against Jim Johnson’s unit this Sunday. 

RAPTOR - Donovan McNabb.  McNabb has looked good this season, but tell me which of these things McNabb has headed into this week.  A clean bill of health.  A healthy Westbrook.  A healthy Reggie Brown.  A healthy Kevin Curtis.  An easy matchup.  LJ Smith.  Etc.  Things are not looking good for the original Chunky soup model. 

GIZMO - Rashard Mendenhall. With Fast Willie out and Big Ben battered and bruised, it looks like the perfect opportunity for the hyped up rookie to make his big debut. Unfortunately this debut comes against the Baltimore Ravens and their league-leading defense. Hold off on jumping on the Mendenhall bandwagon for at least another week and keep him on the bench until they face a better match up. Prepare for him to get ozoned.

WAIVER PICKUPS OF THE WEEK
A new section of the funbox where you can look to find that fantasy stud you have been dreaming of or someone to fill in for a week when half your team happens to be on byes.

BEER BARON – Lance Moore.  The Saints injury woes were mentioned above, and while Bush will be the centerpiece, this dude by the name of Lance Moore could be a nice pickup. He caught 7 passes for 78 yards last week, and it seems he’s a favourite of Drew Brees. I wouldn’t say picking up Moore would be like buying Google in 2003, but he should provide a decent return over the next month, especially for those owners whose wideouts are subject to bye weeks. 

RAPTOR - James Hardy.  I know what you’re thinking - A guy that has caught 2 passes for 12 yards this season?  Is the Raptor off his rocker? Negative. With Rocoe Parrish out for indefinite future, can you guess which 6′7 wide receiver is going to be seeing more playing time?  Plus this week he gets to run routes against a defense as flaccid as John McCain’s cane. 

GIZMO - Brandon Lloyd  If Steve Slaton is available, I would grab him regardless, but if you are in need of a WR to fill some roster spots left from bye weeks, I’d invest in Brandon Lloyd. The man undoubtedly has some of the sickest hands in the league as is evident from the many highlight reel catches he has made, (eg. #2 on sportscentre top 10 last night) but has never had a premiere QB to throw him the ball. Now, I am not saying Kyle Orton is said QB, but Lloyd will still get his fair share of looks and being a serious deep threat, he should put up numbers similar to Bernard Berrian’s from last year. 

THE GEEZER’S PICK OP THE WEEK

Tony Gonzalez plays the Broncos and their league worst pass defence this week. Last season, Denver gave up the second most fantasy points to Tight ends and despite not giving up a touchdown to one this season, they have allowed 18 catches for 211 yards this season. I expect Kansas will be playing from behind most of the game, so there should be lots of opportunity for Gonzalez to get the ball and he should have a good game regardless if he scores or not.