Don't Start These 8 Players in Week 4

Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

You may have certain allegiances when drafting, set values for players in your mind that you strictly adhere to. Once we get into the season, however, you need to be flexible and willing to go "No Strings Attached" if someone isn't the right option for the week. That means you should sit Cam Newton again.

Through two active weeks, Cam's average fantasy point total sits at just an acceptable 15.0, but more concerning is the fact that this young stud sits at just 20th among quarterbacks in our Total Net Expected Points (NEP) metric. His per drop back Passing NEP rate has actually been much better than in recent years (0.13, as opposed to 0.07 in 2013), but Cam derives a lot of his value from his rushing ability. Having had offseason ankle surgery as well as struggling through a rib strain in these first few weeks, Cam's designed runs have gone down thus far, and he seems more skittish to scramble as well. Through two active weeks, he only has five rushes, after averaging that many attempts per week last season, and his Rushing NEP on a per attempt basis is less than a third of his career rate.

He goes up against a Baltimore Ravens defense that currently sits at 13th in the NFL in Adjusted Total Defensive NEP, and is also 8th against the run. Their prowess at defending the ground game will force Cam to throw even more, and I expect him to struggle with this yet again.