BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK
I waffled on this decision a bit, as there wasn’t one really amazing move this week. In the end I decided to forgo my benching of Eddie Lacy (though I did feel good about that) and instead focus on #Omaha’s play of Victor Cruz. Cruz had thus far had a pretty lackluster season, with a total of 8.4 points through two games. Despite this, Hayden trusted his guy and kept him in the lineup, which worked out to the tune of 16.7 points this week. Had #Omaha started anyone else in Cruz’s WR2 space, they would have gone home with a loss. Cruz saved their bacon, even though no one would have guessed it coming in. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK Though he may have basked in the glory of BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK last week, Team Kanne cannot escape some criticism this week. Despite the fact that it did not directly cause a loss, the fact that Team Kanne played Arian Foster in Week Three is pretty bad. Foster was announced inactive several hours before the game, unlike his counterpart in Baltimore, Bernard Pierce. That was a much closer call, but Foster was obvious. There’s really no excuse for TK to have ONE active, uninjured runningback on his roster. Time to get it together. Power Rankings: #1 the mullynation (2-1): +1 I think it’s finally time for the mullynation to claim the top spot. This is the only team to score at least 100 in the first three weeks, and she’s been a top-4 scorer each week. Despite getting hit by the RB injury bug rather hard in the last two weeks, the mullynation shook off any concerns and had another solid outing, despite Jimmy Graham posting a surprisingly pedestrian day against the Vikings. With Ben Tate already upgraded from Out to Questionable, and with Khiry Robinson getting tons of touches, the mullynation may quickly be regaining her strong running attack. Kelvin Benjamin looks like the real deal, and Brandin Cooks lead the Saints in targets, catches, and yards. With few assets lost to the Bye week in Week Four, look to the mullynation to keep the #1 spot for next week. #2 Turn Down for Watt (2-1) +1 Week Two is but a distant memory now after a strong showing by TDfW in Week Three. The Quest for Three is back on course, and with a depleted #Omaha! (due to byes)coming to town, this team is ready to go. A trade for Dez Bryant went through last night, so now TDfW turned a deep RB squad into a second elite WR. Eddie Lacy has had an absymal start to the season, though that may be due to the fact that he faced three consecutive elite defenses: Seahawks, Jets, and Lions. With a soft schedule coming up (including the hapless Bears this week), hopefully he can figure his issues out. If he can, pairing him with the surprising Rashad Jennings could be a great duo. #3 Staff Infection (2-1) -2 Staff Infection was the sole 2-0 team, but after a rough showing in Week Three, they’ve slipped just a bit in the rankings. SI looked very mortal against #Omaha! especially in the WR department. Though I can’t fault Gentry for starting Demaryius and VJax, it’s interesting how handily they were both outperformed by DeAndre Hopkins and Jeremy Maclin. Perhaps it’s time to sit the big names, and go with the hot hands? Something needs to change. When your three starting RBs put up 15.7, 17.4, and 13.2, you really shouldn’t lose to someone who scores a total of 76.9 points. Gentry somehow always ends up with the fewest points against (230, with second fewest in the league at 255), though this week #Omaha just couldn’t quite drop down low enough for him. Losing Gio, Demaryius, and Cameron (who is finally healthy) to byes this week hurts, and it wouldn’t shock me to see SI drop another spot in the ranking next week. This is a good team though. #4 JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (1-2) +6 Maybe after grossly overreacting to Team Kanne’s output last week I should exercise more discre- Nope. JO makes the huge jump up from #10 to #4,validating my original feelings about this squad. This team is seriously underrated, and they showed how good they can be this week. After being the only 0-2 team going into this week, JO earned the biggest jump by posting the high score for the week. Buoyed by Julio and Foles’ stellar outputs, JO still had solid contributions throughout (except Frank Gore’s 1 point). Still though, if JO wants to go any higher than #4, he’s going to have to show it more than once every three weeks. Maybe I’ll regret this high ranking next week (like I do with Team Kanne), but for now, this team looks deep and legit #5 Poppin Mollies on the reg (2-1) +2 You can’t argue with results. PMotr is getting the job done, scoring the third-most points through three weeks, despite some RB difficulties. I think it’s fair to say that Andre Ellington isn’t exactly what we all thought he would be thus far, and Doug Martin has been an absolute disaster with a $51 pricetag. Still, PMotr is scoring with Julius Thomas and Marshawn Lynch, who I seriously owe an apology to. I thought Lynch was going to head into a downturn this season (and he still may), but this far, he’s been absolutely fantastic. PMotr will go as Lynch goes, as Martin, Ellington, Asiata, and Joique Bell are not exactly the most proven commodities. Unfortunately for Dan, he faces off this week against the #1 team without Lynch. This may be a difference-maker. #6 302 Cadets (1-2) +2 After losing their bell-cow, Jamaal Charles, 302 Cadets performed quite admirably in Week Three. Unfortunately, they were snake-bitten by the late announcement that Bernard Pierce was not playing, and earned a thirteen point loss. Don’t feel too bad though, as the highest scoring bench player, Hakeem Nicks, had eleven, so this week just wasn’t meant to be. Still, putting up 97 in a rough fantasy week (so many low scores!) without any FLEX help is pretty solid. Losing Dez Bryant to trade definitely hurts, but gaining Bradshaw (the #6 RB in fantasy) and Shane Vereen (a mercurial play, but definitely a solid bye-week fill-in) definitely help out the bleak RB situation with the cadets. Chris Ivory and Stevan Ridley will no longer have to carry the load, which is undoubtedly a good thing. Grabbing Eddie Royal (who leads the Chargers in targets) is also a good thing. The Cadets need some upside, and the sooner Charles comes back, the better. #7 #Omaha! (2-1) -2 Despite earning a win over SI in Week Three, neither team looked particularly impressive, posting 76.9 points and 73.9 points. SI dropped two spots, and so did #Omaha. Unfortunately, there’s not a ton to get excited about from Week Three. Cruz saved the day with a surprising performance, but that can’t cover up Montee Ball (2.4), Spiller (6.2), and Cobb (2.9) in most weeks. On the flip side, I think most weeks Cruz won’t have to cover for those guys. The only one I’m hesitant is Ball, who I’ve been kind of negative about all year. After Knowshon was run out of Denver this offseason, everyone talked about how Knowshon benefitted from the system and offensive line in Denver, and how Montee was actually the “more talented” back. Well now Knowshon is gone, and people are starting to make excuses about Ball’s lack of production, despite having the same system and offensive line. What happened? #8 Ray Rice is an asshole (1-2) -2 After a decent showing in Week One and a great showing in Week Two, RRiaa slipped a bit this week to finish with the second-fewest points. Much like 302 Cadets and PMotr, this team is built around it’s elite RB talent, namely LeSean McCoy. In Week One, McCoy was decent. In Week Two, he was better. In Week Three, he was abysmal. It’s no surprise that RRiaa follows that exact pattern. Unfortunately for RRiaa, McCoy faces off against San Francisco, then Washington in consecutive weeks, meaning he may be closer to this week’s output than Week Two’s output. Losing Pitta is a bummer, but Bennett has been fantastic. Also, AlfMo goes against a weak NYG defense this week, and Matt Ryan goes against the Vikings. That should cover up losing Wilson nicely. #9 Please Take a Seat (1-1): --- I’ll admit I had never noticed how deep of a WR squad PTaS boasts. With BMarsh, Mike Wallace, Patterson, Sanders, DJax, and Golden Tate, this team is loaded at WR. My only suggestion would be to parlay some of that unused talent into a better RB situation. TRich, Bush, Gerhart, Blount, and Forsett could definitely use an upgrade. PTaS has also been seriously hurt by A-Aron Rodger’s lackluster start, though I’ll admit I’ve really enjoyed that part. This really wasn’t a great week for PTaS, joining TDfW as the only team to score under 70 points in any week (though TDfW scored 16 fewer points, for comparison). Interestingly, just one week after PTaS was boosted by Brandon Marshall’s three TDs and Antonio Gates’ three TDs, they both posted only a single reception. Consistency wins games in fantasy, and it’s tough to know what to expect from this team. #10 Team Kanne (1-2) -6 In a funny turn of events, Team Kanne and JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO swap spots from Week Two to Week Three. I shouldn’t have been fooled by that 160+ explosion last week. This team is really rough. The fact that there are still four QBs on this squad is almost as embarrassing as the fact that TK’s only healthy, available RB is Knile Davis, who is going to lose his touches upon Charles’ return. The RB situation here is worse than any other unit in the Just Win, Maybe League, and TK is going to lose a whole lot of games if he can’t get some more RBs. Arian Foster is made of glass and has been nursing a hamstring for two months, and Adrian Peterson is likely done for the year. Make some trades Kanne. Do something to right this sinking ship. I have a feeling TK will be at #10 for a while, unlike JO and PTaS before them. Predictions (Winners underlined): #Omaha! (2-1, +274/-270 ) @ Discount Double Check Rodg4Life (2-1, +297/-289) Please Take a Seat (1-2, +246/-277) @ 302 Cadets (1-2, +278/-300) Ray Rice is an asshole (1-2, +279/-338) @ Staff Infection (2-1, +294/-230) JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (1-2, +286/-292) @ Team Kanne (1-2, +325/-374) the mullynation (2-1, +355/-328) @ Poppin Mollies on the reg (2-1, +319/-255 ) Last Week’s Picks: (4-1) Overall record: (10-5)
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BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK
There is no way that this could go to anything other than Team Kanne for starting Knile Davis. In truth, I think it was an awful move playing a backup like Davis, but you can't argue with results. Getting 20 points from your RB2 is a great week, and if he started the game as a backup, that's absolutely crazy. I don't know if Kanne was just lucky or good, but whatever it was, he sure looks brilliant with that move. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK I will totally acknowledge my awful Week 2 showing, but I can't really give this to myself for any of my moves, since my bench also sucked. My team was universally bad, and I had absolutely no chance of winning with any lineup. No, the worst move of the week goes to PMotr, with Daniel choosing to start the injured Doug Martin (0 points) over Sammy Watkins (17 points) in his flex spot. Since PMotr barely lost by ten to TS, this obviously was the difference. Power Rankings: #1 Staff Infection (2-0): +2 Though I don’t believe that SI is better than the mullynation at baseline, the mullynation has gotten ravaged by RB injuries in the last two weeks. Thus, even though SI is just the third highest-scoring team, I’ll give him the top spot because his team core is intact. Other than Demaryius Thomas’ somewhat slow start, and VJax’s maddening flashes of brilliance, then pedestrian production, this has been a solid team. Gio is losing some touches to Jeremy Hill, but that really didn’t slow him down much this past week, and he definitely covered for an average day from Bell. #2 the mullynation (1-1): --- This past week saw the second highest score lost to the highest score, just another episode of bad luck in a long string of mullynation bad luck. Furthermore, Week 2 saw her lose Knowshon Moreno and Mark Ingram to month-long injuries after a promising start to both their seasons. This was after she lost Ben Tate to a month-long injury last week. Despite this, Andrew Luck (#1 ranked QB), Demarco Murray (#1 ranked RB), Calvin Johnson (#1 ranked WR), and Jimmy Graham (#3 ranked TE) are playing phenomenally. That’s not even mentioning the #1 ranked Houston Texans or the #2 ranked Dan Bailey. Sure the depth has taken a hit with the injuries, but you could do a whole lot worse than Hyde, Benjamin, Cooks. Even with the bad luck, this team certainly can score this year. #3 Discount Double Check Rodg4Life (1-1): -2 I am prepared for the outrage, so feel free to berate me. I am, after all, a biased human being. Discount Double Check Rodg4Life (formerly Turn Down for Watt) drops only two spots after an embarrassing loss to PTaS. Yes, this team scored 53 points. Yes, AJ Green got injured. Yes, JJ Watt tied for my third highest-scoring player with 6.1 points. All these things are true...BUT I seriously think this is just a hurricane of unfortunate circumstances. We know Eddie Lacy isn’t some scrub. We know Gronkowski isn’t going to put up 3.2 points most weeks. We know the Seahawks defense isn’t going to lose points in most weeks. In fact, AJ Green, the Seahawks defense, and Blair Walsh combined for -3 points for me. Honestly, how often is a week going to happen like this last week? The only person with a decent outing was Cam, but I’m confident next week is looking up. This is still a good team, though it certainly didn’t look like it in Week 2. #4 Team Kanne (1-1): +5 Good gravy. I did not see an explosion like that coming. TK managed to drop 162.2 points this week, an incredible output. All of this was made possible by the fact that Kanne started Knile Davis, a move that honestly makes Kanne look clairvoyant. Davis’ 20.5 points just piled on in the win, and even though the mullynation scored the second most points, it wasn’t even that close. It can’t be ignored though that in the last week, Kanne has lost the best player on his team, Adrian Peterson. Though Knile will fill in well for Charles for the next four weeks, the loss of AD is still going to hurt. #5 #Omaha (1-1): +2 I was all ready to put Team Spence at #5 and #Omaha at #6, but after some review, I just couldn’t do it. #Omaha is boasting Peyton Manning, and underwhelming-but-solid RB corps, Randall Cobb, Victor Cruz (who has been admittedly mediocre, and Jason Witten. I think that trumps Team Spence at this point, but really I could be wrong. This is a pretty decent team, definitely a step up from Hayden’s previous teams. Not great WR depth, as evidenced by Anquan, Markus Wheaton, and Cecil Shorts III as the bench WRs, but I think the RB corps (along with Peyton obviously) have a chance to catapult Hayden into top team territory if they improve. #6 Team Spence (1-1): -1 As stated with #Omaha, I think these teams are really close in talent. AlfMo has outshone Lesean, who had a poor rushing game (but got a TD). The loss of Mathews hurts a bit, but hopefully Jeremy Hill can step up and plug a hole. Also, Larry Fitzgerald is just not looking particularly impressive this year. Maybe age has finally caught up to him, but TS needs Alshon to hurry back to get Fitz out of the starting lineup. Edelman had a big day against the Vikings (so what else is new with the Patriots), but I don’t think he’s going to be a weekly consistent play with the way Brady is looking. Gronk is the go-to-guy in the redzone, and the RBs have looked impressive in back-to-back weeks. Edelman goes as Brady goes. I think this team has more upside than #Omaha, but #Omaha may have more consistent production. #7 Poppin Mollies on the reg (1-1): -3 PMotr is another team that is feeling the injuries at the RB position, like the mullynation. With Marshawn, Andre Ellington, and Doug Martin all questionable and with very limited touches, PMotr’s lineup is relying on Matt Asiata and Joique Bell. Not a super desirable combination. Marshawn touched the ball a total of ten times in Week 2, and if not for a receiving touchdown, he would have had a pretty uninspired week. When you realize that his WRs in Week 2 were Michael Floyd (1.9 points) and Dwayne Bowe (4 points) with Andy Dalton as the starting QB, this team may not look quite as intimidating as it did after Week 1. Some savvy waiver moves would help. #8 302 Cadets (1-1): -2 The Cadets find their place here at #8. After the narrowest victory margin in Week 1, 302 Cadets had a poor Week 2 with the second lowest point total. Brees was once again average, and Jamaal Charles got injured after earning a palty 1.5 points. Donnie Avery was once again in the starting lineup, and unsurprisingly, didn’t do a whole lot. Luckily for Derek, Darren Sproles has decided his career needed a resurgence, and he’s been putting up great numbers. Not sure that’s going to be enough for losing Charles. Also, can we talk about how Derek is rostering two kickers? #9 Please Take a Seat (1-1): +1 Call me biased. Call me a cynic. Call me unfair. I really don’t care that this team just kicked the crap out of mine; they’re simply not that good. I’m sticking to my guns. It took 27 from Aaron Rodgers and 33 from the Patriots defense for this team to break barely break 100 points. I think this week was an aberration for both my team and Chris’, and I think that will play out more obviously over the rest of the season. This big win was more due to my team sucking wind than Chris’ showing big potential. I am ready to eat my words though, and I’m wearing my new team name with shame. Thanks for that, Chris. #10 The Jim Irsay Affliction Tees (0-2): -2 With only one team currently winless, and not by some crazy circumstances, TJIAT occupies our final spot on the Power Rankings. After disappointing days from Wayne, Colston, and Forte, TJIAT just couldn’t get the job done against a #Omaha squad that posted a respectable outing. I just really didn’t see this coming. TJIAT is definitely WR-heavy, but when guys like Keenan Allen, Colston, and Wayne are posting tiny point totals, the team is going to run into trouble. Predictions (Winners underlined): 302 Cadets (1-1, +181/-191 ) @ Discount Double Check Rodg4Life (1-1, +188/-191) the mullynation (1-1, +252/-259) @ Please Take a Seat (1-1, +177/-173) Team Spence (1-1, +206/-219 ) @ The Jim Irsay Affiction Tees (0-2, +167/-220) Staff Infection (2-0, +220/-154 ) @ #Omaha (1-1, +198/-196) Poppin Mollies on the reg (1-1, +212/-180 ) @ Team Kanne (1-1, +251/-267) Last Week’s Picks: (2-3) Overall record: (6-4) Hey everyone. I've decided I'm actually not going to follow the same format of last week's post, doing a speculative look-forward on the matchups. I think there's potential for this to be unfair, because if I rip someone for playing a guy who is injured or something, they might change their lineup. Your lineup decisions should be your own, that way when I rip you for them in the next week's Wrap-Up, you can fully take all the responsibility! Isn't that more fun?
Instead, I'm going to do weekly Power Rankings, which will have a short blurb about how the team fared in the last week. I'm also going to do a "Best Move of the Week" and "Worst Move of the Week" bit, and some very short predictions for each upcoming match. If you're keeping track, I was 4-1 last week (damn you Gentry). So let's jump in! BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK This goes to Gentry Bain for playing the 49ers defense (21 points) against the Dallas Cowboys. I had my doubts about the Niners D, and I still do, especially facing a potent offense like Dallas. San Fran's defense, on paper, is significantly worse than the defense that they've had in the last couple years, but it didn't look that way against the Cowboys. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK This goes to Alex Spence, for not playing Matt Ryan (31.4 points) against the Saints, instead playing Russell Wilson versus Green Bay. I'm not saying Wilson is bad (man I feel like I've said this so many times already this year), but even at his best, which was this past week, he's not an elite fantasy option. Everyone knew Matty Ice was going to come out guns blazing against the Saints in a high-flying offensive explosion, and he did exactly that. Honorable mention: 302 Cadets playing Stevan Ridley over Chris Ivory and Darren Sproles. Power Rankings: #1 Turn Down for Watt (1-0): --- How could it be any other team? TDfW started off the Quest for Three with a bang, scoring the most points of any team in Week 1, and just narrowly missing the 50 point victory margin. Even without Lacy, this team scored some big points. With Vereen and Jennings showing why they can be fantasy football impact players, this team barely missed Lacy at all. #2 the mullynation (1-0): +1 What concerns me most about the mullynation is the depth. This is a team that scored 119.2 points in week 1, yet she still had Carlos Hyde (11), Kelvin Benjamin (15.2), Brandin Cooks (15.5), and Knowshon Moreno (19.4) on the bench. That’s absurd. When, not if, Josh Gordon is reinstated, we’re all going to be in even more trouble. #3 Staff Infection (1-0): +1 SI also had a very impressive Week 1 showing, dropping 120 points on Chris while missing ~57 points in Hopkins, White, Maclin, Miller, and Williams. The problem is, Miller is trending down, and he’s the only good bench RB. Don’t get me wrong, SI has depth, but it’s pretty WR-focused. Watch his bench score a lot every week, but they can’t all get in the lineup. #4 Poppin Mollies on the reg (1-0): +4 PMotr surprised me this week. Even though I did pick him to win by a slim margin in my predictions last week, I felt then and still feel now that Evan has the better squad. Maybe I’m just delusional, or maybe I’m just not giving PMotr the respect it deserves. Whichever it is, they got the job done against Evan’s team which frankly didn’t show up. A team with Foles, Forte, Julio, and Keenan shouldn’t be beaten by 42, but PMotr managed to do it. Gotta give Dan the props. #5 Team Spence (0-1): +1 Spence’s team is the only losing team to be ranked above a winning team. I think Spence has a pretty solid squad, and best of all, this team was basically untouched by injury. Alshon reportedly is doing fine and will be back in action, and really that’s his only injury. Compare that to my team, with Newton, Lacy, AJ Green, and Gronk. Those red Q’s haunt my nightmares, but Team Spence is sitting pretty. They had a decent showing against the mullynation in Week 1, but that team is better than they scored. Fitz isn’t going to get 2.2 very often. #6 302 Cadets (1-0): -1 The first five names on Derek’s team tell you everything you need to know about how they went this week. With Brees being mortal, Charles and Ridley looking awful, and Donnie Avery looking better than Dez Bryant, you know this team was in trouble. Still though, big days from Brown and Davis saved Derek’s bacon, along with a sub-par showing from #Omaha. It’s not like I didn’t see it coming, as this was what I picked, but even in winning, the Cadets looked troubling. #7 #Omaha (0-1): --- On the flip side, #Omaha had pretty consistent production. Peyton was Peyton, and besides Witten laying an egg, Cruz looking sluggish, and Stacy being overwhelmed by the legendary Vikings’ defense, his team was actually pretty great. If he could get average days from those three, #Omaha leaves with a W in Week 1, but you have to give credit to the team that actually did show up. Derek gets the win, and narrowly stays ahead of Hayden in the Power Rankings, too. #8 The Jim Irsay Affliction Tees (0-1): -6 Color me shocked. This is a team that I ranked at #2 last week, and they fall to #8 here after scoring the fewest points this week. After a brutal beatdown by PMotr, TJIAT limps into the #8 spot willingly. What do you call a stud that doesn’t show up on Sunday? Is he still a stud? Forte and Olsen were the only Tees that lived up to their billing, and looking at Evan’s bench is a little grim. All the sudden this team doesn’t seem so deep. #9 Team Kanne (0-1): --- Team Kanne has a respectable starting lineup. Not great, but certainly respectable. The thing is, injuries happen (trust me I know already), and TK is paper-thin. With Knile Davis holding down the RB3 spot, and with Andre Johnson’s injury possibly thrusting either Kendall Wright or Stevie Johnson into a starting role, there’s no reason Kanne should have to play these guys in Week 2. Maybe Week 10 when studs are on a bye and you have a couple injuries, but out of the gate? This is trouble. #10 Please Take a Seat (0-1): --- The thing that kept Team Kanne out of the #10 spot was the fact that even I can recognize underperformers. The interesting thing about PTaS is, other than A-a-ron Rodgers, there aren’t any glaring “Wow he was really really bad this week” moments on this squad. Sure, Bush only got 6.4 points, but my expectation would probably be around 10. A four point gap shouldn’t be the end of the world. T-Rich actually did better than I would have guessed, as did Patterson and Sanders, and Marshall was perfectly fine. PTaS’ defense scored 5 points, while the kicker scored 10. This actually wasn’t a terrible week for the team, yet they scored 74. That just means the team is terrible, I think. Predictions (Winners underlined): Turn Down for Watt (1-0, +135/-88) @ Please Take a Seat (0-1, +74/-121) The Jim Irsay Affliction Tees (0-1, +72/-114) @ #Omaha (0-1, +91/-102) Team Kanne (0-1, +88/-135) @ the mullynation (1-0, +119/-98) 302 Cadets (1-0, +102/-91) @ Staff Infection (1-0, +121/-74) Poppin Mollies on the reg (1-0, +114/-72) @ Team Spence (0-1, +98/-119) Last Week's Picks: (4-1) Overall Record: (4-1) Game 1: Team Kanne @ Turn Down For Watt Three difference makers: Colin Kaepernick (Steve) – The Niners have an excellent chance to toast an abysmal defense in Dallas, and I think, though Kaep is streaky and mistake-prone, he also has the ability to dominate games. I see Kaep posting 22+ points. Adrian Peterson (Steve) – Though I love Peterson as much as anyone, I think he’ll fall quite a bit short of the 22.6 point projection. St. Louis boasts the league’s best defensive line, and their linebacker corps is no joke either. Peterson may get his 100 yards and a TD, but he won’t get 22 points, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him post an 80 yard, no TD game. Rob Gronkowski (Andrew) – In his first game back from injury, Gronk will need to prove that he belongs with Jimmy Graham as the only two truly elite TEs in football. On top of that motivation, he’s going against a Dolphins defense that is more than weak at defending TEs. For a guy with 42 TDs in 50 career games, Gronk is always a threat to post a multiple-TD game. ESPN projection: Steve (117) over Andrew (114) My projection: Both teams have major contributors that are going against some stiff defenses. Low scoring match with Gronkowski pushing me past Kaep’s explosion. Andrew (106) over Steve (98) Game 2: #Omaha! @ 302 Cadets Three difference makers: CJ Spiller (Hayden) – Hayden’s only chance this week is to absolutely dominate at the flex position (and RB2), as Derek’s team looks pretty solid in terms of matchups. If Spiller can go nuts against the Bears, which everyone else seemed to do last year, he could make up some huge ground compared with Derek’s Donnie Avery play. Drew Brees (Derek) – Brees is facing the Falcons, a hated rival and the 29th ranked passing defense. Though it’s in Atlanta, the Falcons are coming off a terrible season, and I think Brees has the firepower to put up some big points. The ESPN projection of 25 seems doable, at least. Jamaal Charles (Derek) – Charles has the benefit of an excellent matchup, facing off against the 29th ranked Titans. Amazingly, he’s also projected for 25 points, and though I don’t think he’ll quite get there, I think there’s little chance he dips below 20. I’d guess 2 TDs, 80 yards rushing, and 35 yards receiving. ESPN projection: 302 Cadets over #Omaha!, 138 to 112 My projection: I don’t see Avery or Ridley contributing much, but Derek will survive. Hayden’s team is good but can’t keep up. Derek (122) over Hayden (118) Game 3: The Jim Irsay Affliction Tees @ Elementary, my dear Watkins Three difference makers: Wes Welker (Dan) – The play of Welker is simply unpredictable at this time. Peyton is so adept at making his WRs valuable, but it’s tough to know the level of health that Welker is at. If he’s good to go, then he’s an easy play and will do pretty well against Indy. If not, Evan could open up a 10+ point advantage here. Frank Gore (Evan) – Evan has Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree going against Dallas this week, both of which will likely contribute well. This week is important though, as we’ll get a look at Gore’s workload. Is this the year that Gore finally slows down? Is Harbaugh going to phase him out of the offense? Doug Martin (Dan) – Martin is slotted in as Dan’s flex play this week, squaring off against Crabtree. I think Crabtree will end up with a TD, so it’s important for Dan that he has good production from Martin. Even though he’s squaring off against the vaunted Panthers defense, I think the ESPN projection of 7.8 points is weak. I don’t think he’ll keep up with Crabtree’s 14+ points, but I could see 11. If he lays an egg though, Evan will win this week, mark my words. ESPN projection: Evan (123) over Dan (114) My projection: I think Wes ends up having a big day, along with Marshawn Lynch, and those two pull off the upset for Daniel. Closest match of the week, and Andre Ellington’s 2 TDs on Monday night seal the deal. Dan (122) over Evan (120) Game 4: Littlefinger – TheEntrepreneur @ Hakuna Ngata Three difference makers: Matthew Stafford (Gentry) – Stafford has the dubious honor to face off with Chris’ Aaron Rodgers in the first fantasy matchup, but Rodgers is going against Seattle. Gentry can have a mediocre day from Stafford and possibly still stay ahead of Chris’ QB production. Unfortunately, I think Stafford is a victim of the Giant’s stellar secondary, with their new acquisitions of DRC and Walter Thurmond III. Stafford has the opportunity to give Gentry a big boost, but I don’t think he gets it done. Emmanuel Sanders (Chris) – What role is Sanders going to play in Denver? As I noted in Wes Welker’s writeup, Sanders is equally important. If Sanders is plugged in as Peyton’s #2, he’ll no doubt be fantasy relevant. I personally think Sanders gets the nod eventually, but not this week. Giovanni Bernard (Gentry) – As I extensively noted in the Draft in Review, I am not jumping on the Gio hype train. I think his carries are going to be limited, and even though he will make the most of his touches, his projection of 17 seems too high for my taste. On top of that, he’s facing the Ravens. These aren’t the Ravens of old, but they’re still stingy against the run. I see 12 points here, which will still be better than Chris’ counterpart, Trent Richardson. ESPN projection: Gentry (112) over Chris (108) My projection: After disappointing showings from the 49ers, Jordan Cameron, Chris Johnson, Gio, and Stafford, Gentry loses despite having a superior team. The matchups are not in his favor this week. Chris (106) over Gentry (99) Game 5: the mullynation @ Team Spence Three difference makers: Andrew Luck ( Allyssa) – Luck is facing Peyton Manning in week 1. That’s bad news for Luck, but excellent news for Allyssa. I think Peyton is going to put on a clinic, and Luck will be playing catch-up. I would bet handily that he beats his projection of 18, despite a pretty solid defense in Denver. Jimmy Graham ( Allyssa) – I have a feeling I’m going to be picking Graham in many weeks this season. He’s such an elite weapon, and given relatively pedestrian numbers at the TE position (like Alex’s Dennis Pitta), this gives Allyssa an enormous advantage each week. Facing off against the weak Falcons in a critical divisional matchup is just icing on the cake. I don’t think he’ll get 21, but 18 is still going to help a lot. LeSean McCoy (Alex) – How could I not pick the guy projected for 27 points? Clearly ESPN sees a somewhat-ridiculously monster day for McCoy, which skews the overall projection. While I do think McCoy gets a TD, but it’s just the one. The Jaguars have a new-look defense that has been inspired by Gus Bradley’s history in Seattle. I see the Jaguars losing a close game, with McCoy having a tidy 19 points. Not quite 27, but hey. ESPN projection: Allyssa (125) over Alex (124) My projection: I think Luck’s big day, combined with a little too much enthusiasm for Shady McCoy, will turn this into a wider gap than expected. Allyssa (118) over Alex (109) |
By: Hayden HansonMr. Hayden Hanson (Editor in Chief) is an Accountant-extraordinaire, as well as an aspiring writer. He has written several moderately-successful self-help books, the most famous of which is "What Do You Mean You Can Smell My BO?" Gustav Travers of the New York Times praised the book as "A vulnerable, courageous look into the mind of a man who has literally no sense that other people exist. And also no sense of smell. Nope, he definitely doesn't have that either. Just musk, like a hog that's gotten into the cabbage." Archives
September 2019
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