Week 5 - MOTW

David Kim is slacking at work and needs something to read so here we go!

MOTW
6. Berries 'n Kareem vs. 7. The Glory Hogans
While there is a rare 1 v 2 match up and even a 3 v 4 match up, both David and Cho got covered last week. Additionally, those two teams (along with Mike [who by the way, auto-drafted, meaning 8 people are performing worse than a guy who didn't care enough to be at the draft]) should be featured in future MOTWs. So let's give some love to a matchup between 2 2-2 teams that are jockeying for playoff position. While it's too early to say that a loss in week 5 would be catastrophic for either team, a win here provides a .500 road to the playoffs while a loss creates a 2 win deficit that must be overcome with a slew of bye weeks yet to come. Jung and Paul have both had trouble maintaining consistent success and making the playoffs but this could be a good week to start a new trend.

Jung's Top 3:
1. Brady (QB) - 36
2. Lynch (RB) - 18
3. Bryant (K) - 14
Brady has always loved destroying the Colts and with a newfound resurgence after a 1-2 start, along with the return of Edelman, the further incorporation of Josh Gordon into their offense, and a young Colts defense who have not faced Belichick yet, I see Brady going off. The only thing limiting his performance may be that due to the blowout, he doesn't need to play half of the 4th quarter. Reich has proven himself to be an idiotic coach (why would you hand a division rival a win instead of taking the half win with the tie?) and I'm sure he will be outsmarted by the duo across the field. Lynch has Gruden's trust and as the Raiders try to play football from the 90s, Lynch will continue to benefit. A kicker being one of your top 3 scorers usually signals a poor week from the rest of your team and that could be the case for Jung. Adams will be covered by Slay, Hunt faces a tough Jaguars defense, and Fuller will face a stingier than expected Cowboys secondary. Bryant will be in a high scoring game against the Steelers who can't seem to stop anything. Fast-paced, with tons of red zone opportunities should allow the ever-reliable Bryant to break out with a massive game.

Paul's Top 3:
1. Juju SS (WR) - 26
2. Coleman (RB) - 21
3. Luck (QB) - 21
I just realized that Smith-Schuster actually stands for Super-Saiyan. Evidenced by his Rasengan celebration earlier this season, Juju is very aware of the anime world. So much so, he probably is from the anime world. That's the only way to explain his other-worldly start to the season... or the fact that AB is getting triple teamed on every pass play. Nonetheless, expect him to have a great game against an Atlanta team that lost it's best corner, best safety, and best linebacker. If this game doesn't post at least 100 combined points from the two teams, I will be highly disappointed. The current over/under is 57.5 meaning a 31-28 score would win that bet. You're telling me that these two defenses are limiting each other to 4 TDs? I expect the cover to occur before the end of the 3rd quarter. (Sorry, I got distracted by gambling). Coleman is another beneficiary of this matchup. Freeman may return but he's going to get the lion's share of pass targets. With Julio and Ridley taking all the attention, Coleman should break a bunch of big plays from the backfield. Luck will get his share of opportunities against the Patriots, but with no Hilton or Doyle, I dont' think Hines, Ebron, and Grant are enough for him to put up a big line, even when playing from behind. Expect a lot of frustrating 3 and outs.

X-Factor: Hunt (RB, Jung) vs. OBJ (WR, Paul)
Both of these guys could be held to less than 6 points or explode for 20+. Hunt goes against a stingy defense BUT there are two factors working in his favor: 1. The Jags are marginally easier to run on than to pass on and 2. Mahomes is not a human being so if anyone can find a chink in the Jags armor, it's going to be him (BTW, Mahomes is my new favorite player in the NFL. It's nice to have one since Manning retired [actually, since his arm turned into a noodle in 2015]. I think a combination of Julio, OBJ, Zeke, and Tyreek Hill had filled the void since them but this is official). OBJ has struggled because Eli has struggled because the O-line has struggled. However, after his outburst on the sidelines last week, expect the Giants to dial up his number. A lot. Expect 12+ targets. The result will depend on how many of those he ends up catching.

Winner: Paul
This one is close but I just like Paul's match ups slightly more than Jung's. He's got a few more guys that could blow up and Edelman should mitigate some of the Brady damage. Additionally, he's still got guys like Lindsay, Hines, and Lewis that he may want to consider over Cook for a higher floor AND ceiling.

Good luck to all!

Simon Kim