With the first quarter of the NFL season in the books, fantasy football folks generally know their strategies by now.
Expose a weak defensive line with a running-back stud. Attack an inexperienced quarterback with a vicious defense. Shoot, even make sure you have a clutch kicker if the going gets tough.
But the best strategy of all, perhaps, is to make sure your guys are actually playing this week. That last one seems to have slipped the minds of a few of our managers heading into week five.
Division 1 leader Yung Joc, as well as Lil Wayne, Method Man, Uncle Luke and MTV's own Liz Hernandez, all forget that one crucial element: Look at the schedule! So with top-notch position players rendered scoreless, we're sure to have a shakeup in the standings by next week.
Method Man will no doubt suffer as QB Carson Palmer — tied for fourth in the NFL in touchdown passes — will be sitting on the couch watching games from home just like the Wu-Tang rapper. As for Luke and Liz? Well, with his starting running back and wide receiver off, and her signal caller and halfback taking a break, they might as well look forward to next week. Thankfully the managers have a couple of days to get their lineups worked out, so they might have a whole new team on the field come Sunday.
Here's how this week's matchups break down — and don't forget to check back on Tuesday, after the dust has settled from all of this weekend's games, to check out the winners, losers and latest standings:
| Lil Wayne (2-2) vs. Tyrese "Black Ty" Gibson (3-1) | ||
| Daunte Culpepper, Miami | QB | Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia |
| Larry Johnson, Kansas City | RB | Tiki Barber, New York |
| Reggie Bush, New Orleans | RB | Thomas Jones, Chicago |
| Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis | WR | Torry Holt, St. Louis |
| Muhsin Muhammad, Chicago | WR | Matt Jones, Jacksonville |
| Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City | TE | L.J. Smith, Philadelphia |
| Atlanta Falcons | D/ST | New England Patriots |
| John Carney, New Orleans | K | Olindo Mare, Miami |
| Yung Joc (3-1) vs. Cool & Dre (2-2) | ||
| Drew Brees, New Orleans | QB | Peyton Manning, Indianapolis |
| LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego | RB | Ronnie Brown, Miami |
| Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia | RB | Ahman Green, Green Bay |
| Anquan Boldin, Arizona | WR | Steve Smith, Carolina |
| Joe Horn, New Orleans | WR | Donald Driver, Green Bay |
| Alge Crumpler, Atlanta | TE | Dallas Clark, Indianapolis |
| Seattle Seahawks | D/ST | Carolina Panthers |
| Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis | K | David Akers, Philadelphia |
| Liz Hernandez (1-3) vs. Uncle Luke (1-3) | ||
| Michael Vick, Atlanta | QB | Byron Leftwich, Jacksonville |
| Steven Jackson, St. Louis | RB | Edgerrin James, Arizona |
| Rudi Johnson, Cincinnati | RB | Warrick Dunn, Atlanta |
| Terrell Owens, Dallas | WR | Chad Johnson, Cincinnati |
| Randy Moss, Oakland | WR | Antonio Bryant, San Francisco |
| Chris Cooley, Washington | TE | Desmond Clark, Chicago |
| San Diego Chargers | D/ST | Chicago Bears |
| John Kasay, Carolina | K | Ryan Longwell, Minnesota |
| Method Man (2-2) vs. Paul Wall (2-2) | ||
| Carson Palmer, Cincinnati | QB | Drew Bledsoe, Dallas |
| Jamal Lewis, Baltimore | RB | Corey Dillon, New England |
| Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis | RB | Fred Taylor, Jacksonville |
| Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis | WR | Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona |
| Chris Chambers, Miami | WR | Roy Williams, Detroit |
| Todd Heap, Baltimore | TE | Antonio Gates, San Diego |
| New Orleans Saints | D/ST | Indianapolis Colts |
| Robbie Gould, Chicago | K | Shayne Graham, Cincinnati |
| Standings: Gridiron Gangstas | ||||
| Team | Wins | Losses | Points For | Points Against |
| Yung Joc | 3 | 1 | 361 | 308 |
| Lil Wayne | 2 | 2 | 336 | 358 |
| Method Man | 2 | 2 | 278 | 304 |
| Liz Hernandez | 1 | 3 | 298 | 310 |
| Standings: Crunchtime Zone Firing Squad | ||||
| Team | Wins | Losses | Points For | Points Against |
| Tyrese "Black Ty" Gibson | 3 | 1 | 319 | 296 |
| Cool & Dre | 2 | 2 | 297 | 258 |
| Paul Wall | 2 | 2 | 267 | 281 |
| Uncle Luke | 1 | 3 | 275 | 316 |
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