BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK
There weren't any glaringly obvious Best Move of the Week candidates this past week, so I'm going outside the box on this one. The starters chosen in every matchup almost universally played better than bench players, and there was no bold or risky call that paid off. Guys that were supposed to score scored. Almost embarrassingly, I'm forced to dig a little deep and once again mention a defense. We're going to look at the Miami D/ST, the first waiver claim of the week by Ray Rice is an asshole. Miami absolutely obliterated the Jaguars, earning RRiaa an absurd 33 points. Though RRiaa won by over 27 points, there's no doubt that choosing the right D/ST played a huge role in the win. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK In Weeks Six and Seven, Tom Brady has looked like the Tom Brady we've known for the last decade. In Week Eight, he continued his dominance, earning 32.2 points against Chicago. Unfortunately for our "Best Move of the Week" earner, RRiaa, he also chose to leave Mr. Brady on his bench in favor of Russell Wilson and his 11.8 points. As previously mentioned, there wasn't really any impact on the final score with either of these moves, but the fact remains that RRiaa could have scored another 21+ points if he had rolled with the hot hand against the second-worst passing defense in the league. Honorable Mention: TK playing Paul Posluszny. Power Rankings: #1 the mullynation (6-2) --- The #1 overall spot remains in the clutches of the mullynation for another week. This is a team that is 1.2 points away from being the highest-scoring team for three straight weeks. the mullynation has now scored 976 points on the season, 92 points more than second place. This week was a dominating performance by the entire team, with SIX mullynation players earning at least 19.8 points. That makes scoring 156 points pretty straightforward, actually. In the battle of husband vs. wife, it would seem like wife had some more ammo in this case. Murray put up 20+ points without a touchdown. Luck continued his MVP campaign with the help of TY Hilton, and Mark Ingram picked up right where he left off now that he is healthy again. Calvin Johnson is reportedly coming back this week, and Jimmy Graham is apparently healthy enough after earning 12 points this week. It would appear that the mullynation has survived the worst of the injuries, and at 6-2, another win guarantees a playoff berth. Facing the underdog RRiaa (2-6) this week could be enough. We'll just have to see what happens. #2 Staff Infection (6-2) --- SI rode Jeremy Maclin to the tune of 31.4 points, overcoming some average days from Lamar Miller, Gio Bernard, and Demaryius Thomas. Jordan Cameron continues his year of mediocrity (wait was that me who predicted that?) and is basically droppable at this time, even without considering the fact that he'll likely miss the next two weeks. Still though, SI got the job done yet again against a surprising TK. SI is gearing up for a Top 2 seed, with TDfW and GMMBP as its two main competitors. Given the mullynation is in the other division, there's no competition there. SI faces off against TDfW in Week Nine, then GMMBP in Week Ten, with both teams having major Bye problems in those weeks. The next two weeks are going to be pivotal in securing a top 2 seed and the first-round playoff bye, but we'll just have to see what happens. #3 Turn Down for Watt (5-3) --- TDfW walked into a veritable buzzsaw this week, and that buzzsaw was in the form of his wife. No one was going to catch the mullynation in Week Eight, but TDfW was the lamb that was brought to the slaughter. I pulled the trigger and made a move for LeSean McCoy by sending the newly-acquired Chris Ivory and AJ Green to RRiaa. Sure, that may be overpaying, but the gamble is going to come down to AJ's health. I'm betting he won't be the same guy as he used to be, and RRiaa is betting he'll be close enough. Ivory has been solid this year, no doubt, but he's not a guy who can take over a game and score 25+. McCoy hasn't shown that this year, but don't forget that last year he AVERAGED 17 points per game behind his stud offensive line. That offensive line has been rocked by injuries and suspensions, but the two most critical pieces are both now returning in Week Nine. I'm gambling Shady starts to resemble his old self. We'll just have to see what happens. #4 Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (5-3) --- GMMBP continues his remarkable five game winning streak, beating PMotr handily in Week Eight. All things have been pointing up for GMMBP recently, though there is some mild concern on the horizon regarding the RB corps. GMMBP (or should I say "Please Take a Seat") originally had such issues (and reached the #10 seed) due to major issues at RB, but since Justin Forsett and Brandon Oliver filled in, things have improved drastically. The only issue is the recent increased usage of Lorenzo Taliaferro (19.2 points compared to Forsett's 8.8), and the return of Ryan Mathews approaching. It seems possible that GMMBP will make the playoffs but have issues with RB stability at that point. We'll just have to see what happens. #5 302 Cadets (4-4) --- The Cadets posted a healthy total this past week, nearly reaching 140 points. Drew Brees looked like himself again, Charles found the endzone twice, and Brown certainly benefitted from Big Ben's career day. Further, 302 got solid production from Bradshaw, and even Andre Holmes contributed 13 points. Bernard Pierce is a concern, being a healthy scratch from the Ravens' game. It's questionable how much value he has going forward, but it's also not really clear if 302 really needs him for anything. The core of Brees, Charles, and Brown is one of the best in Just Win, Maybe, though some WR depth could still help. Don't forget Odell Beckham Jr. is coming back from Bye this week, so we'll just have to see what happens. #6 Tucker and Duds vs. Evil (3-5) +1 Tucker and Duds vs. Evil is the newest team name in Just Win, Maybe, with Evan evidently figuring that Julio Jones is no longer worthy of the team namesake. After weeks of 5.2 and 5.6, Julio scored 6.1 in Week Eight. Week after week I've defended him (and Brandon Marshall too), but it's becoming more and more clear that Atlanta's significant offensive line issues are limiting Julio's value. It's not a question of his talent, but his opportunity. Fantasy usually isn't won with the most talented team. Forte, on the other hand, continues to play like an MVP candidate, and Golden Tate has flourished in Calvin Johnson's absence. On that note though, with Calvin returning this week, is TaDvE losing its most productive WR? Things could get thin at WR, a position that wouldn't seem to be an issue on paper. We'll just have to see what happens. #7 Ray Rice is an asshole (2-6) +3 The #10 spot is honestly turning into an almost ridiculous predictor of success for the next week. RRiaa put together easily its best week of the year while facing off against its main rival, #Omaha. This team has now officially climbed out of our last place record-wise, tying #Omaha in record but narrowly winning in the tiebreaker: points scored. For both of these teams the playoffs are still a possibility, and I don't think I need to remind everyone that FIVE teams were 7-6 last year, with four of them making the playoffs (including myself, your eventual champion). Regardless of how it turns out, this was a big week for RRiaa. Instead of slipping into last place by two games and kissing the playoffs goodbye, RRiaa got the job done with a nice total of 133 points. This was a balanced team effort (except for Julian Edelman's 1.4 point stinker), headlined by Dolphins D/ST scoring 33 points. The total could have easily been higher too, as mentioned earlier regarding Tom Brady. Trading LeSean McCoy may have stung emotionally, but getting Chris Ivory and AJ Green is solid value. Ivory outscored McCoy this week, and when Green returns, his presence will lock up a nice WR corps. This next week takes RRiaa on the road to the mullynation, a stiff test. The reality is that for RRiaa to make the playoffs, the next five weeks are going to need to be 5-0 or at least 4-1. It isn't the best time to play the mullynation, but we'll just have to see what happens. #8 Poppin Mollies on the reg (4-4) -2 PMotr was our low-man-on-the-totem-pole this week, with a score of just 88.3. It was the only team to not break 100, and it would have been a 50+ point victory had Sammy Watkins not caught a garbage time TD when the Bills were already leading by 20+. Sammy saved PMotr from temporarily becoming the Butt Pirates or Little Daniel's Shower Time, and for that, Dan should be pleased. Still though, this is a team that I have a hard time figuring out. Two weeks ago they looked really rough. Last week they looked solid (+2 in the rankings), and then this week they looked awful again (-2 in the rankings). I'm embarrassing myself trying to rank them. Lynch has finally started to show what I thought we would see at the beginning of the year. 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. I wrote that after Week Three, and I think it's worth recalling. As Lynch has seemingly hit his downturn, PMotr is left grasping for RB consistency. The pickup of Denard Robinson may ease that issue, as the playoffs are obviously a very real possibility despite the #8 ranking. We'll just have to see what happens. #9 Team Kanne (3-5) -1 TK is a frustrating case. This is a team that has ridiculous potential and has scored big points a couple times, but it's just not a common thing. Arian Foster may end up being the only RB who you could argue is BETTER than Demarco Murray right now, at least on a per-game basis. He's playing lights-out and giving TK a chance to win almost every week. Jay Cutler scored back in his usual wheelhouse, totaling 21.7 points. TK got solid production from Greg Jennings, Delanie Walker, the Lions D/ST, and Adam Vinatieri, but really the team was done in by Antone Smith and Paul Posluszny. After scoring just 0.9 points last week, Antone Smith perhaps wasn't the safest play this week, but it's tough to count on Knile Davis or Alfred Blue, since both are backups. Then again, so is Smith. Smith had three carries for five yards before injuring his neck and leaving the game. That, along with Paul Posluszny's zero points (that's what happens when a player is on IR), cost TK the upset victory over SI. Had TK played a decent defensive player and either Blue or Davis at RB2, he would have won. Hopefully this is the last time we see a player starting for TK who is not playing for the week, but we'll just have to see what happens. #10 #Omaha! (2-6): -1 Despite breaking 100 points, #Omaha! still scored the second-fewest of the week. The RB position is officially a major issue, with only one #Omaha! RB scoring at least 7 points since Week Three, when Zac Stacy scored 12.1. Week Four: CJ Spiller (6.4), Bobby Rainey (1.8) Week Five: Zac Stacy (5.8), CJ Spiller (3.3) Week Six: Andre Williams (5.9), Doug Martin (4.8), CJ Spiller (-0.1) Week Seven: Andre Williams (5.1), Isaiah Crowell (2.3) Week Eight: Ronnie Hillman (13.8), Doug Martin (2.6), Isaiah Crowell (0.9) That means that #Omaha! has been earning 4.38 fantasy points per RB start over the last five weeks. Week Eight actually improved that number quite a bit! If we look at just Weeks Four through Seven, that average drops to 3.92 per RB start. Needless to say, this is a team in dire need of RB help. Waiver claims, trades, whatever. Something needs to help this RB corps. Montee Ball returning might actually be bad news. He did very little in the early season before getting injured, and his presence may split the RB focus from just Hillman to Hillman/Ball, making neither one a good RB1. Still though, the blessing of the #10 spot hasn't failed yet, and #Omaha! has a crucial matchup with his brother GMMBP in Week Nine. GMMBP won the first round, but can #Omaha! settle the score and make a push for the playoffs? We'll just have to see what happens. Predictions (Winners underlined): Staff Infection (6-2, +884/-753) @ Turn Down for Watt (5-3, +829/-803) Ray Rice is an asshole (2-6, +724/-859) @ the mullynation (6-2, +976/-877) Poppin Mollies on the reg (4-4, +782/-748) @ Tucker and Duds vs. Evil (3-5, +799/-855) Team Kanne (3-5, +815/-829) @ 302 Cadets (4-4, +852/-795) Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (5-3, +742/-749) @ #Omaha! (2-6, +709/-845) Last Week’s Picks: (5-0) Overall record: (24-16)
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Your commissioner, who loves you all very much, thought it would be interesting to check in at the halfway point of the season and see how the stats look for each team. I guess I was just in the mood to use Excel. I made Excel sheets for each week of the season, breaking down how each team scored their points. I ended up with seven large tables on seven sheets. I took those data and made the following chart, which shows the total number of points each team has scored, the number of points scored by each position, and the percentage each position represents. Obviously the FLEX position is tough to handle, since it could be either RB or WR. I didn't want to group FLEX in with either RB or WR depending on the week, since it could make a weak group of 3 RBs look like a strong RB corps, and likewise for WRs. You all will just have to keep that in consideration. Also, these data are potentially not super useful since there have been so many injuries, trades, teams changing, etc. For example, just because Derek has easily the highest-scoring WR corps overall (thanks to Antonio Brown), that doesn't mean that Andre Holmes is a dynamite WR2 right now. It just means Antonio Brown is that good. Some of the data are surprising, so I just thought it'd be fun to check it out. I also assembled pie graphs for each of you showing the aforementioned percentages in a more visual representation. That's below. And lastly, I made a bunch of bar graphs by position, showing how we each stack up at that specific position. For example, take a look at the IDP graph, also known as the "Look How Good JJ Watt Is Graph." For the IDP position, my team has scored 60 points, with the next closest being Evan at 36. Hopefully you guys find this information interesting/fun/helpful/whatever. I'm not really sure how useful any of it is, but I just got the idea when I was doing this week's write-up and comparing Hayden and Chris' teams. I wanted to see how big their QB percentages would be, and wouldn't you know it, but they're the two largest. I'll probably do another set of graphs when we get to the end of the regular season.
BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK
After earning "Worst Move of the Week" honors last week, PMotr rebounded nicely and has earned our "Best Move of the Week." PMotr opted to play Sammy Watkins against our beloved Minnesota Vikings, choosing him over the comparable Michael Floyd. Sammy went off with 120+ yards and 2 TDs, including the game winner, to the tune of 24.2 points. That was PMotr's highest scoring player by almost eight full points (Carson Palmer at 16.5 was next). Michael Floyd, on the other hand, earned 10.7 points on the bench. Considering PMotr only won by eight points over #Omaha, Sammy was the difference maker. Good call, Dan. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK We're going to feature the PMotr - #Omaha matchup again, but this time it's #Omaha's turn for some recognition. Hayden chose to bench Ronnie Hillman in favor of RB2 Andre Williams (eh), FLEX Anquan Boldin (...), and RB1 Isaiah Crowell (what?). Andre Williams has been a disappointment thus far, especially coming off that abysmal NYG - PHI Monday night game last week. Anquan is always all over the place, and with the exception of last week's 15 points, he hadn't broken double digits all season. I know Crowell scored a TD last week, but he was also sizeably out-touched by Ben Tate and is a backup. Hillman, on the contrary, ran for over 100 yards in his first game last week, and there was no indication that he wasn't going to keep his starting job this week. Hillman was just as competent as he looked last week, and he earned 22.3 points on the bench. Williams (5.1), Boldin (5.0), and Crowell (2.3) didn't fare as well, and it cost #Omaha their third victory. Power Rankings: #1 the mullynation (5-2) --- This was an odd week for fantasy football in general. A lot of studs fell flat, and teams scored low. Though many projections topped 120, no one really came all that close to reaching their projection. the mullynation scored 108.9 points, good for second place to SI (110.1), and also good enough to keep the status quo at the top of our rankings. Even with Jimmy Graham dropping a big old zero, the mullynation won a close match with the up-and-coming Cadets. Luck and Murray dazzled as usual, Kelvin maintained his status as the #8 WR in fantasy football, and TY Hilton has emerged as the #10 WR in fantasy football. Who would have thought that the mullynation could lose Megatron and Graham and still keep winning? Honestly I didn't. The injuries are being covered just fine. Notable Underperformers (People I expected significant points from who didn't live up): Ben Tate (3.4) Brian Quick (3.3) Jimmy Graham (0.0) #2 Staff Infection (5-2) --- SI is looking like a fearsome team even if Le'Veon Bell doesn't like rushing for TDs. Who cares? Despite one sole rushing TD on the season (Week One), after Bell's fantastic performance last night, he has jumped up into the #4 RB spot for the year. Gio Bernard had a really rough day, but Bell and DT definitely picked up the slack. Lamar Miller is scoring nicely, being the only viable option on the ground in MIA. Jordan Cameron though... How many times are we going to have to go through this Gentry? The guy is a mirage. Just wait. Notable Underperformers: Gio Bernard (1.6) Jordan Cameron (0.5) Zac Stacy (0.0) #3 Turn Down for Watt (5-2) --- In a week where teams were on the down-turn, TDfW did about as well as I would have hoped. The Seahawks Defense was my most disappointing play, which is starting to get on my nerves. There was decent, pretty uniform production from everyone else. No one on TDfW broke 20 points, and the defense scored in the negatives, but the team still almost got to triple digits. I'll take that as a win in this weird week. And to all you nay-sayers, don't forget that AJ Green and Rashad Jennings have been getting cozy sitting injured on my bench, but TDfW is still chugging along and getting wins. Odell Beckham Jr. has certainly filled in nicely for Green, and Tre Mason might be my new fill-in RB. Once Jennings and Green are back, hopefully soon, TDfW is going to be back in the discussion for best team. Notable Underperformers: Seahawks Defense (-1) #4 Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (4-3) --- The name lives for another week. Chris, you should really send Derek a fruit basket. GMMBP is looking legit after being one of only four teams to crack 100 this week, albeit barely. Rodgers was his usual self, dissecting the Panthers defense en route to 24.3 points, while the rest of the scoring was more modest. This has been GMMBP's M.O. for wins this year. Rodgers does great, and everyone else tries not to shit the bed. GMMBP's highest scoring non-Rodgers starter tipped the scales at 14 points (Shaun Suisham), but it was enough. Reggie Wayne had a measly 1.5 points, and after three straight rough weeks (and with GMMBP's depth at WR), he may be approaching droppable-status. Then again, CPatt hit that four weeks ago yet he's still rostered on GMMBP. Mike Wallace has been a great find this year, and Vereen finally played a game that shows his talent, even if he was benched. Notable Underperformers: Reggie Wayne (1.5) Reggie Bush (3.2) Michael Crabtree (2.7) #5 302 Cadets (3-4) +1 "Get some consistency, 302, and you'll be a lock for the top 5." That's what I said last week, and 302, you're on your way. 302 finally strung together two consecutive 100-point outings, the first time they've done that this year. Though 101 points is an okay-not-great total in most weeks, this week it's a great total given the overall low scores. Charles and Bradshaw are playing like a great RB tandem, posting 16.7 and 19.1 respectively. Antonio Brown is a frightening talent at WR, and even though he couldn't quite get the points needed on Monday night to earn 302 the win, 13.1 isn't a bad night. As a side-note, 302 may be upset that Antonio Brown's toe-dragging TD was reversed. I sympathize. However, that was a 16 yard TD reception, worth 7.6 points. After it was reversed, Brown caught a 15 yard pass but did not score, earning 1.5 points. He ended up the game with 13.1, and 302 lost by 6.6 points to the mullynation. Thus, even if Brown's TD hadn't been reversed, it still wouldn't have been enough to win, or even tie. 302 would have instead lost by 0.5 (and 302 had home-field advantage, so there's no point arguing that issue). It just wasn't in the cards this week, Derek. Notable Underperformers: Vernon Davis (2.1) Eddie Royal (2.0) #6 Poppin Mollies on the reg (4-3) +2 PMotr posted a respectable 98.5 points this week, and he has Sammy Watkins to thank. Watkins was usually good for about 5 points a week, but this week he exploded for 24.2, helping PMotr past #Omaha by 8.5 points. Palmer was solid, as was Ellington, and Joique Bell looked competent in his return. Lynch, Steve Smith, and JT were surprisingly the players holding PMotr back. Those are the three guys that have been carrying PMotr, but this week, they didn't really show up. Losing Asiata (who is being phased out) hurts the RB depth a bit, and James White is not exactly someone you want to rely on. Notable Underperformers: Marshawn Lynch (7.1) Steve Smith (6.7) Julius Thomas (2.7) Matt Asiata (3.7) #7 JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (3-4) -2 "Julio scored a season-low 5.2 points, which I don't anticipate happening again." And boy was I right! Julio followed up last week's rough performance by scoring 5.6 points this week! That's the improvement I was counting on. Way to go Julio. Way to make me look smart. Forte and Olsen are playing like studs, and Romo has been as good as he ever has been. That's a nice core right there. You'd think that you should automatically add Julio and BMarsh into that team core, but really they're not playing like it. Julio is hurt by the Falcon's joke of an offensive line, and Marshall is getting frustrated at Jay Cutler's play. On top of that, Frank Gore has now scored a total of 5.8 points in the last two weeks, and Fred Jackson is down for at least four with an injury. All the sudden, the team that looked really solid on paper isn't quite as solid. Since this is the Power Rankings, not the How Many Points Did Your Team Score This Week Rankings, I'm moving JO down a tad. I think the RB inconsistency is going to hurt going forward, and and if those big-name WRs can't fix it, then who could? Notable Underperformers: Frank Gore (2.0) Fred Jackson (2.8) Julio Jones (5.6) Steven Jackson (2.5) #8 Team Kanne (3-4) -1 TK performed pretty well this week outside of Jay Cutler, Antone Smith, and Delanie Walker. Smith isn't too much of a surprise; he's an obvious boom-or-bust guy, and this week he happened to bust. Cutler and Walker are more surprising, given how well they both have played this year. Arian Foster played really well against the Steelers, Andre Johnson was serviceable, Kendall Wright looked legit, and Greg Jennings was decent. TK is still in the unenviable situation of having to start Smith on a weekly basis, but given his nice waiver position, hopefully he can find a decent fill-in RB2. There have been so many injuries and underperforming stars, meaning there's a lot of value left to be claimed. If TK can solidify that spot (like previously grabbing Branden Oliver, Justin Forsett, Jerick McKinnon, or Ronnie Hillman, for example), this team could make a big jump up the standings. Notable Underperformers: Antone Smith (0.9) Jay Cutler (3.9) Delanie Walker (1.7) #9 #Omaha! (2-5) +1 The tenth position struck again! #Omaha was dropped to #10 after scoring 78.3 points and 69.9 points in Weeks Five and Six, but once again, the ten seed turned in a respectable performance. #Omaha scored 90.5 points in a tough loss to PMotr, losing by eight. The good news (and tough news) is that #Omaha easily could have won this game, had Ronnie Hillman supplanted either Crowell, Williams, or Boldin, as I outlined earlier. I still think that this team has a long way to go, especially in the RB department, but if Hillman can offer some production from that Denver backfield, that will go a long way. Losing CJ Spiller, while not exactly a stud this year, still hurts a bit in regards to options. Trading Zac Stacy for Terrance Williams might prove to be a great move, just by the fact that Stacy is basically now a non-factor. Peyton is playing as well as he ever has, but unfortunately one guy isn't enough to carry this team right now. The similarities between the two Hansons' teams are striking, but while one is trending up, the other is trending down. Both have undeniably elite QBs (Manning / Rodgers). Both are heavily relying on free agent RBs (Hillman & Williams / Oliver & Forsett & Vereen). Both have one really talented pass catcher (Cobb / Gates), but the rest aren't being super productive, at least not enough to carry a team. For GMMBP, this technique has started to work. For #Omaha, results are pending. Notable Underperformers: Andre Williams (5.1) Jason Witten (2.7) #10 Ray Rice is an asshole (1-6): -1 RRiaa can't really catch a break. Last week they posted a respectable total and the WR corps looked solid. An RB tandem of McCoy and Morris, while not great, really isn't all that bad! Martellus Bennett has certainly slowed down from his early season production, but he's pretty good too! The only thing missing last week was elite QB play, and Russell Wilson followed that up by delivering 37.1 points this week...on RRiaa's bench. RRiaa made the savvy pickup of Tom Brady, who had a great day. No doubt. 22.4 points from a free agent pickup is a nice get, but leaving 15 more QB points on the bench is just a tough break. Furthermore, that solid WR corps from last week? Sanu, Jeffery, and Edelman totalled 11.5 points this week after each breaking double digits last week. Alfred was a no-show, and Jeremy Hill did nothing (which isn't too surprising, but hey). This was a rough week for RRiaa. Shake it off, Alex. These guys are better than 1-6. Notable Underperformers: Alfred Morris (5.7) Jeremy Hill (1.5) Alshon Jeffery (0.9) Predictions (Winners underlined): Turn Down for Watt (5-2, +718/-648) @ the mullynation (5-2, +821/-766) 302 Cadets (3-4, +713/-682) @ JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (3-4, +689/-716) Staff Infection (5-2, +764/-648) @ Team Kanne (3-4, +708/-708) #Omaha! (2-5, +603/-712) @ Ray Rice is an asshole (1-6, +592/-753 ) Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (4-3, +623/-662) @ Poppin Mollies on the reg (4-3, +695/-629) Last Week’s Picks: (4-1) Overall record: (19-16) BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK
As I mentioned in last week's "Best Move of the Week," benching studs is tough to do. Calvin Johnson certainly qualifies. After two straight weeks of Calvin playing (and posting less than 1 point each week), and with his status for this past weekend in doubt, the mullynation had an issue. The fact that the WR replacing him (TY Hilton) played on Thursday night made the decision even more difficult. At that point, Calvin hadn't been ruled out for Sunday. Still though, the mullynation went with her gut and benched Calvin for the week, giving his spot to Hilton. Hilton went off for 28 points, and the mullynation earned an unexpected victory over SI even with much of her team on bye. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK Alright, I'll rip myself for the first real time. I earned the "Worst Move of the Week" by benching Cam Newton in Week Six. I got caught up in the Eli hype, and for one brief moment, I forgot this was Eli Manning I was dealing with. When Cam is fully healthy, he's a Top 5 fantasy QB because of his rushing ability. He certainly showed that (for the first time this season) this past week, posting 34 points on my bench. Meanwhile, in the first game of the year I trust Eli and put him in my lineup, he scores 4 points on one of the worst offensive displays since that one NYG/MIN Monday night game. It ended up not mattering since I won my matchup, but if I would have trusted my guy I would have scored 123, not 93. We have another week with two awards! The other "Worst Move of the Week" goes to my opponent this week, PMotr. He played the Bengals defense, and for the second straight week, they earned negative points. They lost PMotr four points, and considering the team only lost to TDfW by 10.7, it doesn't take a genius to see that a measly 7 points from another defense would have been the difference in an L and a W. There were 16 defenses that scored at least 7 this week, eight of them unowned. Power Rankings: #1 the mullynation (4-2) +1 This was a victory that I really didn't see coming. Megatron is injured, her four Saints players are on bye, her stud RB Murray is facing Seattle, and on top of that, her QB, WR3, and TE have to play on a short week on Thursday Night Football? Oh wait, and she's playing the #1 team? What a recipe for success. Nonetheless, the studs came to play, with the mullynation boasting point totals of 19.8, 20.6, 24.6, and 28.3. No one was going to outscore her this week, with her grabbing her first Highest Score of the Week honors. Interestingly, even though she's the highest scoring team this season (beating second place by 58 points), this is the first time she's won the week. That speaks volumes to the team's consistency. #2 Staff Infection (4-2) -1 SI actually turned in a very impressive week despite losing to the mullynation, and he would have made the 12 point loss more interesting had Jeremy Maclin decided not to score only 1.6 points. Even though Stafford doesn't quite look himself without Calvin out there, and Le'Veon Bell hasn't found the endzone since Week One, SI still knows how to roll up the points. Moreno went and tore his ACL, so Lamar Miller was gifted some job security. If Maclin can avoid laying eggs like on Sunday, who knows how high SI can score? #3 Turn Down for Watt (4-2) --- I'll admit it; TDfW got pretty lucky this past week. TDfW earned its fourth victory, but it was over one of the two teams who scored less than it this past week (PMotr and #Omaha). Still, I take solace in the fact that I've dumped Eli Manning in favor of Cam Newton, and had TDfW stuck with Cam, it would have posted a nice 120+ total. TDfW isn't going to make that mistake again. The starters looked surprisingly mortal this past week, with only JJ Watt, Jordy Nelson, and Gronkowski turning in solid performances. Can we talk about JJ Watt though? This guy is a freak of nature. Scoring 18 points as a defensive player in our league is absurd. Like really. He was TDfW's highest-scoring player this past week, likely the only time that will happen to any team all year. JJ carried the team to victory, albeit a weak one. Still though, lots of fantasy football is luck, and I'll take every win I can get. TDfW needs a good performance this week. #4 Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (3-3) +2 After being christened with its new name, GMMBP has made an impressive run up to our #4 spot! In the last two weeks (the time with the new name), there are only three teams that have scored at least 100 points in both weeks. Those teams? the mullynation, SI, and GIN MAKES ME BUM PUCKER. What an underdog story. GMMBP has also done some savvy waiver-picking, boosting his roster. He takes on TK in Week Seven, and I see no reason to stop the hype train. It'll take some mettle to climb higher, but if we see a repeat of Week Six (TDfW scoring 93, GMMBP scoring 108) there's no way GMMBP doesn't crack the top 3. #5 JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (3-3) -1 Like TDfW, JO had a bit of a down week. Julio scored a season-low 5.2 points, which I don't anticipate happening again. JO dropping one spot in the rankings has more to do with GMMBP moving up, rather than JO moving down. After all, GMMBP did just beat JO by 13. As we've seen all season, JO can score huge points in some weeks, but it's not a consistent thing. I expect a bounce-back though! I'm picking JO over SI as my upset special for Week Seven, so I apologize Evan. I've gone an unbelievable 1-9 in my picks in the last two weeks after starting 14-6. Perhaps my faith in your team is dooming you. #6 302 Cadets (3-3) +1 Is there a QB controversy brewing in the cadets' barracks? After riding Drew Brees to mixed success in the first five weeks, 302 swapped in Joe Flacco during Brees' bye week. Flacco proceeded to do okay I guess, only throwing 4 TDs in the FIRST QUARTER en route to 32 points. That's a measly 12 points better than any game Brees has played all season. With Flacco facing ATL's joke of a defense and Brees facing DET's surprising #1-ranked defense, will this be another week with Joe at the helm? 302 also gets Jamaal Charles back from his bye, so his 114 point total (with fill-in QB and fill-in RB) looks even more impressive. Unfortunately 302 squares off with the mullynation this week, so we'll have to wait and see if 302 can break .500 for the first time since Week Three. This team is a yo-yo. Point totals in the first six weeks are as follows: Week One: 101.6 Week Two: 80.0 Week Three: 97.3 Week Four: 139.2 Week Five: 82.4 Week Six: 114.2 Get some consistency, 302, and you'll be a lock for the top 5. #7 Team Kanne (3-3) +2 TK is an interesting team. Cutler and Foster are playing as well as they ever have, and are carrying TK. This week, Andre Johnson decided to show up for the first time this season, to the tune of 14 points. Also, TK's waiver pickup of Antone Smith actually worked out nicely with 13 points. Like TK, Smith is a head-scratcher. On just 23 touches this year, Smith has somehow scored 5 touchdowns and is the ninth highest-scoring RB. I can't imagine he can keep it up, but I was also saying that three weeks ago. Maybe this pickup will solidify TK's RB position, allowing him to fly up the standings. Whatever happens next doesn't change the fact that he just scored 121 points on #Omaha, earning our third 50+ victory. It doesn't appear that Kanne has told Hayden what his name-change will be yet, since it hasn't happened. We're all waiting with baited breath, Kanne. We've had two good ones so far. #8 Poppin Mollies on the reg (3-3) -3 PMotr posted its lowest point total of the year with 82.3 points this week, losing to TDfW. The Roethlisberger/Cousins carousel has momentarily halted, with PMotr opting for Carson Palmer instead. Lynch looked mortal for the first time, Ellington still hasn't had a good rushing game, Asiata is looking like his workload is heading downwards, and PMotr just traded Doug Martin and Wes Welker for Victor Cruz and Knowshon Moreno, both of which are now on IR. Oh and the Bengals defense scored negative points (-4) for the second week in a row. This was not a kind week for PMotr. A middling defensive performance would have assured victory, but the Bengals just weren't up for it. The good news is that Steve Smith Sr, Julius Thomas, and Stephen Gostkowski are looking incredible. PMotr faces off with #Omaha this week, so maybe they can right the ship. #9 Ray Rice is an asshole (1-5) +1 RRiaa had a heart-breaking loss this week. He was so ready to prove me wrong, prove that his 1-4 record was a fluke, that he didn't deserve the #10 seed! RRiaa earned a very respectable 110 points this week, facing a 302 team without Jamaal Charles and Drew Brees who had scored only 82 points in Week Five. The stage was set for the upset...but then Joe Flacco happened. Flacco's 32 points made the game close, otherwise RRiaa would have ran away with it. When the dust settled, RRiaa fell four points short of the upset, but they still move ahead of #Omaha for the effort. Shady finally looked something like the Shady we knew last year, even if he couldn't find the endzone. The WR corps was solid, with Sanu, Jeffery, and Edelman scoring 18, 14, and 10 points respectively. On top of that, the bench had a great day. You just need some luck on your side, Alex! #10 #Omaha! (2-4): -2 Another week, another #10 seed. Chris, Evan, Kanne, and Spence have occupied this spot before, but now it's Hayden's turn. Chris is #4, Evan is #5, Kanne is the third-highest scoring team, and Spence just posted his highest total yet and is figuring stuff out. Hayden, you're next. The #10 spot is an embarrassment, but it also appears to have some sort of magical healing powers. You have nowhere to go but up. This week was not the best for #Omaha, in fact it was by far the worst yet for #Omaha. Failing to break 70 is going to earn #Omaha a new name this week. Things aren't so grim though. #Omaha just traded Cruz for Martin before Cruz went on IR, and also he has a grudge match with PMotr, Martin's former owner. If we say that SI and the mullynation squared off in last week's heavyweight matchup, consider this Week Seven's lightweight matchup. May the best man win. Predictions (Winners underlined): Ray Rice is an asshole (1-5, +526/-660 ) @ Turn Down for Watt (4-2, +625/-580) JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (3-3, +596/-605) @ Staff Infection (4-2, +654/-555) the mullynation (4-2, +712/-665) @ 302 Cadets (3-3, +612/-573) Poppin Mollies on the reg (3-3, +597/-539) @ #Omaha! (2-4, +514/-614) Team Kanne (3-3, +634/-605) @ Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (3-3, +520/-588) Last Week’s Picks: (1-4) Why am I even doing this again? Overall record: (15-15) BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK
Despite a losing effort, I'm going to acknowledge Hayden's ballsy move here. This guy benched Montee Ball, his two-year keeper. I know it's easy to look at his slow start and say, "Well yeah this guy deserves to be benched," but actually doing it is a different story. Look at RRiaa, who has continued to put Shady McCoy in his starting lineup despite his pathetic scoring. Benching studs is hard, but Hayden absolutely made the right call this week. Ball's 1.8 points clearly reflects that. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK No one had a really egregious "Worst Move" this week, and since I did two last week, I'm going to take it easier this week. I'll instead highlight three moves that just didn't work out, despite making sense at the time. First, the mullynation playing Calvin Johnson instead of Ben Tate. Tate was coming off an injury, and rumors swirled about Crowell and West cutting into his touches when he did come back. Calvin is Calvin, and it's pretty hard to ever justify benching Calvin when he's going to play. Going by that line of reasoning, the mullynation rolled the dice on Calvin and benched Tate. It didn't work, and Tate's 12 bench points would have easily earned her the win this week over JO, had she played him. Second, PMotr playing the Bengals defense against the Patriots. After consecutive -9 and -10 point showings from the Panthers in Weeks Three and Four, respectively, we have upped the ante in Week Five. The Bengals boast a fearsome defense, and Brady & Co were reduced to rubble last week by the Chiefs. Who would bet against the Bengals in this match (besides me, which Gentry can corroborate)? This seemed like a fine move, but then BAM negative eleven points. Whoops. Third, 302 playing Larry Donnell against the Falcons. The Falcons are pretty good against TEs, but who would have suspected ZERO points from the same man who became a fantasy darling last week? Perhaps Donnell just was overwhelmed by the Falcons, or perhaps he's not quite the elite TE we thought he was shaping out to be. Next week will help us figure out which. Power Rankings: #1 Staff Infection (4-1) +2 In the heavyweight matchup of last week's #2 vs #3, TDfW came up just a bit short against SI. If only Demaryius Thomas simply not scored 34 points! Then TDfW would have had a better chance. That's the only slight about this week: any team with a player who scores 34 should win handily, and it was damn close this week. The rest of SI was a mix of impressive and mediocre, with Jordan Cameron continuing to mire in obscurity (who called that one again?). Maclin is looking like a legitimate WR1, and perhaps Vincent Jackson is going to have some semblance of value with Mike Glennon at the helm? There aren't going to be many weeks where Stafford and Gio score seven points, so TDfW was fortunate in that respect. However, whatever good fortune caused their lackluster weeks, it was all lost with Demaryius' record-settling performance. 226 yards and 2 TDs is nothing to sneeze at. SI earned this spot. #2 the mullynation (3-2) -1 Even in a loss, the mullynation yet again continued the 100+ points, Top 4 scorer streak. This is a team that posted 112 points (losing by just four) despite Calvin Johnson earning less than one point. With news that Jimmy Graham's injury is minor, and with the impressive return of Ben Tate, at least some injury news is bright for the mullynation. On top of that, Brian Quick is looking legit. Quick's connection with Austin Davis is paying nice dividends, and it has catapulted him into the top 10 WRs on a points-per-game basis. Calvin Johnson's injury is certainly nothing to smile about, but with Quick, Kelvin Benjamin, Brandin Cooks, and TY Hilton waiting in the wings, a couple Megatron-less weeks won't kill the mullynation's dreams. An interesting note, with seconds remaining in the game and the Panthers in the red zone, Cam Newton threw for Kelvin Benjamin in the end zone. The throw was too high and went over Benjamin's head. A play later, Cam threw to Greg Olsen in the end zone, scoring the touchdown. Given the fact that JO was starting Olsen, and the final margin of victory was only four points, that sequence earned the victory for JO. #3 Turn Down for Watt (3-2) -1 After a tense Week Five loss to the dreaded Staff Infection, TDfW slides one step down the power rankings. Despite the losing effort, this was one of the most evenly-distributed team performances of the year. Eddie Lacy shook off four weeks of rust (unfortunately against the Purple) and posted an impressive performance. The receiving corps also showed up, each showing solid production. Cam had a good week. Gronk had a good week. The Seahawks defense had a good week. Oh wait no. They didn't. TDfW and SI entered Monday night's game tied, with the Seahawks defense going against SI's Steven Hauschka. The defense couldn't get the job done, and SI escaped with his victory. Still, this team is not reliant on any one member, meaning its less likely to under-perform in any given week. SI has an annual talent for having the least points-against, and even with their win, at least TDfW posted some points on them. #4 JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (3-2) +1 JO earned its victory this week on the back of two unlikely heroes: the San Diego Chargers' defense, and TE Greg Olsen. Those two combined for 40+ points, which will likely earn a victory for any team in any week. Though it certainly wasn't a decisive victory over the mullynation in Week Five, it did do the job. Still though, besides Matt Forte and Frank Gore, not a single member of JO met their ESPN projection. I'm not splitting hairs here either; they missed their projections by a decent margin. This discrepancy is most obvious with the seemingly stacked WR corps of Keenan Allen, Julio Jones, and Brandon Marshall. Those three combined for 17.7 points, and Marshall especially looked not himself. If Marshall continues to be hampered by his injury, Golden Tate may start seeing the lineup. He looked incredibly impressive this week sitting on the bench. JO is a team with talent and the ability to score big points each week, but as we've seen this season, this team has not been consistent. Consistency is key in fantasy football, and JO's ranking reflects this inability to know what to expect every week. #5 Poppin Mollies on the reg (3-2) +1 Julius Thomas may have earned Asshole-of-the-Week awards for chop blocking and injuring Calais Campbell, but his 18 points once again is carrying PMotr to victory. On a different note, it's nice to see Andre Ellington do something this season! This is a guy with all the hype in the world who couldn't live up last year, and hadn't so far this year. I'm happy for him, and I'm sure PMotr is as well. This team can't go much higher though, as the WR corps COMBINED for 2.4 points, a shocking total. There's nothing wrong with having nice RBs, but this neglect may come back to bite PMotr eventually. There needs to be more balance here. #6 Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (2-3) +4 Taking a page right out of the JO playbook, GMMBP rode to victory this week on the back of TE Antonio Gates (18 points) and the Patriots defense (18 points). Of course, Aaron Rodger's 18 points helped also, but that's more expected. At least for one week, GMMBP earned more points from its recent WR swap than JO did. Despite this, a paltry 1.6 points from Crabtree leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Shipping off Brandon Marshall and Golden Tate for Reggie Wayne and Michael Crabtree is a bold call, and for GMMBP to come out ahead, Crabtree is going to need to post at least consistent WR3 numbers. Emmanuel Sanders looked more impressive than his 10 point statline represents, appearing to have great chemistry with Peyton this week. GMMBP may be in for a rough couple weeks though if Reggie Bush has to miss much time. This is a team bereft of RB talent, a fact I'm choosing to ignore for this week's rankings. I just wanted to make sure they leap-frogged their brotherly counterpart, #Omaha, after a nice beatdown. #7 302 Cadets (2-3) -4 The cadets got their best production from the Eagles defense (21 points), so the string of defensive success continues. Other than that, and the two Patriots RBs sitting on the bench, things were somewhat grim for the cadets in Week Five. With a point total of 82 (even with 21 from the DST!), this was clearly not the cadets' week. Jamaal Charles ran for a decent average, but not finding the endzone cost him. This team is built around Brees, Charles, and Brown, and none of them were their normal selves this week. In fact, Brees hasn't been himself this whole season. With only a single 20+ point game (and it was 20.2), Brees is hardly living up to his $36 pricetag. Larry Donnell is one week removed from being a fantasy hero, but his embarrassing goose-egg in Week Five turned him quickly back into a goat. Much like JO, this is a team with high highs and low lows. Until we see some consistency, it's hard to justify moving and keeping 302 up the ranks. #8 #Omaha! (2-3) -1 "Despite a meager ESPN projection of 90, I see #Omaha certainly breaking 100 and grabbing the W." That's what I wrote last week. Man was I wrong. You did this to me #Omaha! You did this! After losing in disappointing fashion to the surprising #10 seed, his brother, #Omaha is probably going to be in for a bad week in terms of bragging rights. Hopefully #Omaha can right the ship before their anticipated rematch in Week 9 (coincidentally when TDfW and SI clash once again, this time for a Taco Bell side-bet). Like SI, #Omaha had one member of the 30+ club but couldn't seal the victory. Unlike SI, #Omaha had only one member of the team score in double figures. That's a rough showing. Montee Ball is supposedly going to be out for some time, so it may just go down from here. #9 Team Kanne (2-3) -1 In back-to-back weeks Team Kanne has posted 94 points, last week being a defeat and this week being a victory. The drop from #8 to #9 more has to do with the manager of TK than the team, though the team is not super skilled to start with. The potential is there, but to reach it, Steve is going to need to participate, something he is hesitant to do. He once again played Knile Davis as his RB2, earning just 0.6 points. Worse still, he started Eric Decker, who was inactive this week. If you're counting at home, this is the second time TK has started an inactive player this season. Unless Steve starts paying attention, the bye weeks are going to start spelling easy victories for his opponents. Hopefully he does start paying attention, otherwise we may need to call in an emergency replacement. #10 Ray Rice is an asshole (1-4): -1 And with RRiaa, we have our newest #10 seed. It may be a short stay down here though, as RRiaa faces a 302 squad in Week Six that is missing both Drew Brees and Jamaal Charles. In Week Five though, RRiaa looked rather toothless. Edelman and Hurns handicapped the WR corps while Bennett's 2 points brought him back down to earth after his surprising start. McCoy posted yet another bad week, making it harder and harder for RRiaa to move forward. At some point, it may be time to utilize what value his name still has. He's looking timid and indecisive behind his abysmal offensive line, and on the one run this week where he looked like the old Shady, he promptly fumbled. Still though, the last four teams to be named the #10 seed (well three, since Team Kanne was #10 twice), have posted a 3-1 record in the following weeks, and the only loss scored 94 points. So what the hell do I know? Predictions (Winners underlined): Turn Down for Watt (3-2, +532/-499) @ Poppin Mollies on the reg (3-2, +515/-447) Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (2-3, +411/-493) @ JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (3-2, +501/-497) 302 Cadets (2-3, +498/-464) @ Ray Rice is an asshole (1-4, +416/-546 ) #Omaha! (2-3, +444/-494) @ Team Kanne (2-3, +512/-535) Staff Infection (4-1, +529/-419) @ the mullynation (3-2, +576/-540) Last Week’s Picks: (0-5) OUCH Overall record: (14-11) We're going to start this Wrap-Up with a friendly reminder from your commissioner to use the Trading Block feature. So far Gentry and I are the only ones to use the feature, and it definitely helps facilitate any trading. I know people overvalue their draftees, and it can be hard to work out trades sometimes, but I think trades definitely factor in some more excitement and another element of salesmanship and strategy. So far there have been four trades in our league, and I've been involved in all of them. I'd encourage you guys to join me! Furthermore, if you do work out a trade amongst yourselves, just shoot me a text and I'll push it through using the League Manager tool. Waiting days for the roster to be changed is absolute nonsense. If you agree with another team on a trade, I don't see why you shouldn't have that swap done immediately. Unless there's obvious collusion (for example Hayden trading Peyton Manning to his brother for Legarrette Blount), the trade will go through. I'm not here to veto an unbalanced trade unless it's cheating.
BEST MOVE OF THE WEEK Evan earns his first award here. JO grabbed the Chargers Defense off waivers last week, choosing to play them against the hapless Jaguars. JO narrowly defeated TK, with a slim margin of 4.8 points. Choosing to grab the Chargers instead of another defense could have proved to be the difference for JO this week, as they posted a healthy 13 points. Good call. WORST MOVE OF THE WEEK We have our first tie for worst move of the week. First, we'll address the lopsided trade of Jordy Nelson. I understand the desperate need for RBs on Team Kanne, and frankly the next five weeks are going to be pivotal in deciding playoff implications, but being willing to drop Jordy for limited (and temporary) RB help is tough to understand. Maybe it's that he's white. Maybe it's that he had only 5.9 points in Week Three. Maybe it's because Kanne really doesn't like Packers. Whatever. I don't know. All I know is that if Kanne had demanded Rashad Jennings for Jordy, I likely would have made that deal. That would be pretty fair value. He didn't ask for more, so why would I just offer it? Our second problem was the playing of Carolina's defense by RRiaa. I don't know about you all, but if a defense loses nine points and looks so absolutely helpless in giving up 37 points to Pittsburgh, I'd drop them. You know what I wouldn't do? I wouldn't keep them on my team and play them against a solid Baltimore team in the next week. That matchup resulted in another 38 points given up, again without a turnover. That kind of production earns a lovely negative ten points. That's right: double digit negative points. In back-to-back weeks, RRiaa has a healthy -19 points from the defense position. Over the same two weeks, 302 has 34 points. There was no reason to keep the Panthers defense rostered. Power Rankings: #1 the mullynation (3-1): --- Once again, the mullynation scores over 100 points, and once again, she maintains her Top-4 scoring status. This is a consistent team, without obvious boom-or-bust issues. With Luck (and Rivers) continuing to do some serious work, Graham still showing he's the best TE in the game, Murray putting up ridiculous RB1 numbers, and Kelvin Benjamin emerging as a legit WR1 on any other team, the mullynation is stacked with upper echelon studs. Did I mention that she posted 110 points with Calvin Johnson having the worst game of his career? Did I also mention that she finally gets Ben Tate (her original RB2) back this week to bolster her FLEX position? Oh and did I mention that she still has Josh Gordon patiently waiting for his playoff emergence? This is the team to beat right now, week in and week out. There's a reason this is the highest-scoring team, clearing second place by over 10%. #2 Turn Down for Watt (3-1) --- Even with Cam Newton continuing to be maligned by his ribs, TDfW is putting up consistent points on a weekly basis. Other than that absolutely ridiculous 53 point display in Week Two, TDfW has posted 135, 110, and 123 points, respectively. After trading some RB talent for Dez Bryant and Jordy Nelson this past week (to join with AJ Green), the WR corps is now arguably the best in Just Win, Maybe. Maybe it's not so arguable, maybe that's just a fact. Percy Harvin, AKA the guy who really isn't going to see the lineup ever again, was just traded for Bishop Sankey, who has a chance to be the guy in Tennessee. It's not like he's going to see the FLEX spot over any of those three WRs, but without him, the RB depth is definitely lacking. Losing Harvin isn't great, but what value does he have on the bench? Lacy has completed the toughest portion of his schedule, and Jennings continues to impress and silence his doubters. Jennings is facing the putrid Atlanta run defense this week, and is likely going to yield another nice total. JJ Watt continues to prove that he is not in fact a human, and his ridiculous 12 point outing was just icing on the cake. #3 Staff Infection (3-1) --- Staff Infection earned the second-most points of the week despite Gio and Demaryius sitting idly on his bench. That's pretty impressive. Stafford had a fantastic outing, his best since Week One. LeVeon Bell showed he's only slightly mortal, but Lamar Miller of all people helped carry the load. The only issue this week was that the FLEX position, WR1, WR2, and TE all combined for less than 30 points, though Maclin likely won't stay down for long. SI was helped by stellar output from his Niners defense and his kicker, much like TDfW. Getting points at those positions is just so valuable, since it can give a 20+ advantage over an average D + kicker output. That certainly held true in this case, as SI's opponent netted a total of 5 points from the two positions. With a face-off against full-strength TDfW in Week Five, one of these two is likely to move down in the Power Rankings next week. ESPN projects a SI victory by 8, though FantasyPros gives SI only a 2 point victory. This will be an interesting week, and I have no doubt that SI could go to 4-1. #4 302 Cadets (2-2) +2 Jamaal Charles is back everyone. For the sake of the Cadets, that's a very good thing. An RB corps of Charles and Bradshaw is suddenly an obvious strength, and Chris Ivory in the FLEX isn't too bad either. 302 fared just fine without Dez Bryant this week, posting the high score. Of the 2-2 teams, I think this is the team to beat. The cadets got absurd (likely unsustainable, but whatever) production from the WR1, WR2, and TE slot (unlike SI), posting a ridiculous 25.8, 22.5, and 23.4 spread. That's enough for a win in virtually any week. Antonio Brown is playing like a man possessed, posting fantastic numbers no matter the opponent. If he keeps it up, the loss of Dez will hardly be noticed. This is a team on the way up the charts, though it may have just hit its highest point total of the year. #5 JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (2-2) -1 As I've said a bunch of times before, for some reason I really believe in this team. JO was fortunate this week to have the opponent it had, earning a victory with only 99 points. Any time you can win a game without scoring in the triple digits, you're fortunate. Foles had a really rough outing this week, but I see a huge bounce-back against St. Louis. Perhaps JO is better served by going with Romo, the new pickup this week. Still, it's going to take a lot to get past the mullynation in Week Five, and the 25 point projected deficit reflects just how friendly the mullynation's matchups are this week. Though Gore is getting older and will likely lose time to Carlos Hyde over the course of the year, he's definitely still capable of a studly fantasy day, as shown this week with his 100+ yard, 23.4 point outing. The bench may not be the deepest, but as long as Gore can keep churning, this is a nice starting lineup. #6 Poppin Mollies on the reg (2-2) -1 In Week Four, 53.9 of PMotr's 96.1 points came from two sources: the unlikely Matt Asiata and Steve Smith Sr. Smith is showing no signs of aging, and may in fact be as good as he has ever been. Though I wouldn't bet on Smith ending the year as the #4 fantasy WR, he certainly is productive now. Asiata may be in trouble going forward with McKinnon showing serious flashes of talent, but like Smith, he certainly is productive now. PMotr couldn't quite sneak past the mullynation without help from Lynch, Julius Thomas, or Floyd. A seriously unfortunate bye week left PMotr crippled, but he did get decent production from the replacements. The depth is decent, and proved that this week. It just simply wasn't enough to get the victory. That's not a huge concern, and the slight drop in ranking is more due to 302 jumping up than PMotr moving down. #7 #Omaha! (2-2) --- A somewhat weak WR situation was just remedied tonight with the addition of the dynamic Percy Harvin. Though Harvin has disappointed thus far, trading the Bishop Sankey lottery ticket is likely a smart move for #Omaha. No longer relying on Cecil Shorts III as a WR3, #Omaha is ready for the bye weeks ahead. This past week, an awful 13.4 combined points from QB, RB1, RB2, and FLEX doomed #Omaha against TDfW. That's tough to rebound from. Luckily, those positions are usually solid, with Manning, Ball, Stacy, and Spiller. The Broncos bye week definitely hurt #Omaha this week, forcing Hayden to swap Manning for Brady's 2.4 points. It's unclear why Brady is still on anyone's team. Actually it's probably pretty clear: it's just his name value. Now that Manning is through his bye, it's time to cut ties to that anchor. #Omaha faces his brother this week in yet another enticing matchup. Despite a meager ESPN projection of 90, I see #Omaha certainly breaking 100 and grabbing the W. #8 Team Kanne (1-3) +2 Though this team is simply bad, it really does have some decent potential. Cutler is proving a solid QB and Delanie Walker has been a really nice surprise. Though there's no doubt TK overpaid to shore up the RB position by cutting loose Jordy Nelson, there's little question that the his RBs needed a dramatic upgrade. Securing the "Questionable" Arian Foster's backup is nice, considering he will likely miss at least a couple more games this year from the hamstring. Donald Brown somehow did very little with a juicy Jacksonville matchup, which isn't a fantastic sign. Another issue is the fact that Jamaal Charles finally resembled Jamaal Charles this week. Look for Knile Davis to lose all value, but the hope is that TK can get 4+ decent games out of Brown before Mathews comes back. In that time, TK really needs to play the waiver wire and find some more RB help. Putting up 94.9 points with this lineup is great, but losing to a score of 99.7 stings. #9 Ray Rice is an asshole (1-3) -1 Lesean McCoy is not himself. After posting a legendarily bad 19 attempt, 22 yard showing in Week Three, he barely improved with a 10 attempt, 17 yard showing in Week Four. Something is wrong in Philly, and any team that has hitched their wagon to Shady is suffering. Interestingly, RRiaa actually had a pretty good week in Week Four, but the aforementioned blunder to continue to play the Panthers defense was costly. Well actually there was really nothing to be done to overcome SI's 116 points (40 point victory), but any time your defense loses ten points, that's a serious issue. A nice defensive showing (18 points) and an average showing by Shady (12 points) would have made this a tie. Two simple problems that doomed RRiaa to a rough point total. Week Five shows a matchup with TK, with both teams at full strength. This could be a battle to avoid the #10 spot next week. #10 Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (1-3): -1 GMMBP takes a slight tumble this week, but it's an important fall down to the final place on our rankings. I doubt Chris would argue this, with a paltry 63.1 point total. This was achieved almost completely by Aaron Rodgers, who posted an impressive 28.9 total. Other than Rodgers though, no starter scored 8 points! Yeah Brandon Marshall is usually good for at least ten, but starting Patterson, Mike Wallace, Reggie Bush, and LeGarrette Blount is not a recipe for success. The team did have a down week, no one would doubt that, but at its core, there's not a ton of talent. Interestingly, PTaS is projected to actually beat #Omaha this coming week, but until then, wear the new name "Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker" with pride. Good choice, Derek. Predictions (Winners underlined): #Omaha! (2-2, +365/-392) @ Gin Makes Me Bum Pucker (1-3, +309/-415) Poppin Mollies on the reg (2-2, +415/-365) @ 302 Cadets (2-2, +415/-364) Turn Down for Watt (3-1, +419/-380) @ Staff Infection (3-1, +410/-306) JULIOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (2-2, +385/-386) @ the mullynation (3-1, +465/-423) Team Kanne (1-3, +419/-474) @ Ray Rice is an asshole (1-3, +355/-452 ) Last Week’s Picks: (4-1) Overall record: (14-6) |
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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