Fantasy Football: New York Giants start/sit for Week 4

Eli Manning: Sit him

For this week, a simple "too long, didn't read" summary would be "the Bills defense is really, really good." Some beat reporters have noted that the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills defenses are similar. They are very strong against the run and very weak against the pass. However, the latter is simply not true for either team. Because of Bill Belichick abandoning the run against the Bills in week two, the Bills secondary has been apart of almost 60 plays against a top passing offense. When you use yards per attempt, the Bills defense actually grades out to be a top 5 passing defense. Pundits look at the raw yardage numbers for the Giants but they grade out to be league average as well.

It hasn't been a pretty year for QBs thanks to injuries and the surprising poor play of Andrew Luck, but there should be better options to stream from the waiver wire.

Rashad Jennings/Andre Williams: Sit them

Dan Graziano has implied of the Giants losing favor in Jennings in favor of Andre Williams. Whether or not the rumor ends up being true, neither of these running backs should be started at all. Jennings has looked absolutely mediocre this season. Andre Williams looks more of the same as well but managed a couple of large runs that boost his YPC. Williams also seems to be the preferred goal line back which makes him an interesting stash if these rumors are true. Jennings on the other hand is closer to being a drop candidate than someone to start. The Bills defense is only going to make the production from these two look even worse.

Shane Vereen: Sit him

If you caught any of the earlier editions of these, they you noticed how big a fan I am of Vereen in PPR formats. While he posted solid flex numbers for the first two weeks, Vereen completely dropped the ball (literally and figuratively) in week three. The talent is there but the Giants don't seem to want to feature any running back as they all have equal snap percentages. Vereen is still worth owning in a PPR league as I believe the Giants will look for him to play more snaps but until then, I would bench Vereen against the Bills to be safe.

Reuben Randle: Sit him

Randle surprised most Giants fans by showing signs of life against the Washington Redskins. In fact, Randle had a great game in week three. At this stage in his career though, Randle has been a doppelganger of the player (and number) he replaced in Mario Manningham. He can be great one week and an absolute zero in the other. While he'll always have the best opportunities because of all the attention Odell Beckham receives, there's a lot of risk to rely on Randle.

Larry Donnell: Sit him

There's more talk about Donnell being benched than him doing a good job. His asset is supposed to come in receiving but he hasn't shown any of that at all this season. Daniel Fells might actually be an interesting player to watch if the Giants decide to feature him more if you're that desperate at tight end. What was supposed to be a solid starter with Donnell turned quickly into free agent fodder.

Giants defense: Start them

Interestingly, Steve Spagnuolo's defense is doing Perry Fewell better than ever did. Despite letting up the fourth most yards in the league, the defense has only given up the 16th most points. This was against top rushing offenses such as the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. The defense didn't let up too many points against the Atlanta Falcons either even if they weren't clutch about it.

The premier Giants pass rusher is a thing of the past with only three sacks so far this season but the turnovers generated so far have been instrumental in keeping the Giants in these games. With top weapons for the Bills such as LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins not playing, the Giants defense should have a solid floor in week four.