Week 8 - MOLW and MOTW

One piece of news: I will be changing the time for trade review from 2 days to 1 day. I believe this will help people who are trying to trade facilitate the trade more quickly and not hold up players while waiting for confirmation. As a reminder, I will be letting basically any trade go through since the agreement between two teams on what looks to be an uneven trade could be due to different valuations by the different managers. Unless there is obvious collusion (which will then be investigated), expect all trades to be allowed.

On to our ridiculous MOLW

MOLW:

Jung vs. Biggie

It all came down to Monday night where Jung just needed 5.7 points from Jimmy Graham. He got oh so close with 5.6 points but the most ridiculous part of that was when Jung was down .52 points, Jimmy caught the ball and proceeded to gain.... 0 yards. Afterwards, he didn't see the field again. However, losing on Monday night was probably better than the alternative: Biggie actually got a stat correction and New England got credit for a blocked kick that earned him an extra 2 points. Imagine going up by a point on Monday night, only to lose it to a stat correction later in the week.

MOTW
1. Microgement vs. 2. BEST TEAM
Was there any other choice? The top 2 teams face off to stay at 1 loss. Both teams have proven they belong here and want to get one step closer (as well as create a cushion) to the bye. Who will reign supreme?

Studs: Wilson vs. Brown

I'm pretty sure any week Dan is in the MOTW, Russell will be his stud but this week should present a great opportunity. A weakened SF defense is exactly what Russell is probably looking to destroy as a bounce back game from last week's loss. Expect 3+ TDs. AJ Brown is entering the elite conversation as any game he plays, he becomes a target monster. Against a Cincy defense that got torn apart by Baker Mayfield, expect a monstrous outing.

Duds: KC offense vs. Carr

KC's offense doesn't suffer from a lack of talent. Instead, they might have too much. As we saw in last week's win over the Broncos, their own success could be the biggest limitation. Expect this game to be over at halftime, limiting the opportunities for Kelce and Hill. Carr faces a pesky defense that can get at the QB. Carr doesn't fare well under pressure and this could be a sub-20 point game for him.

X-Factors: Jefferson vs. Tucker

Justin Jefferson will get involved early and often as the Vikings try to keep up with the Rodgers-led Packers offense. He's become a favorite of Cousins and while the Packers secondary isn't awful, the sheer volume of targets could make for a huge day. Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh is always a bloodbath, usually being decided by the slimmest of margins. I could see a FG battle brewing and see Tucker coming out with 15+ points.

Key Players on Bye:

Dan - Fuller: Losing his WR2/3 will hurt. We'll see if it's the deciding factor.
Mike - None

Winner: Mike

I think the explosivity doesn't show up for Dan's team this week and when push comes to shove, Mike has a more talented fantasy roster. Wilson is the only piece of Dan's team that scares me but top to bottom, I'll have to pick the team with more opportunities for big games.

Good luck to all!

Week 7 - Power Rankings

 For those who thought I forgot to post yesterday, I did not. But when I looked at the matchups and saw no MOTW potential and realized the game on Thursday was Eagles v. Giants, I knew I could wait until later to post an article.

So instead of a MOTW this week, let's break down the league into tiers of teams (Teams listed in a tier are not ranked. They are listed in order of their actual rank)

True Contenders (No major weaknesses, championship potential)

2. BEST TEAM

With the return of AJ Brown and Nick Chubb to return shortly, Mike's team looks ready to go on a monster run. After this week, Henry, Thielen, Brown, and Ben will all have their byes behind them so the impact of missing players should be minimal. The one area he may look to improve is TE but other than that, he just needs his players to stay healthy.

4. Fe-Brees

With 4 of the top 30 wide receivers, 2 top 15 RBs, and 2 QBs that could both finish in the top 8, Jon has a wealth of options at his skill positions. Similar to Mike, his TE situation could be a little bit better and he should be scouring the waiver wire for defenses more often, but if his team can stay healthy, he may be the favorite to win it all.

Playoff Threats (One major hole or a few minor holes, may need a little luck to win it all)

1. Microgement

No disrespect to last year's champ and the runaway leader this year both in wins and PF, but a lot of his run has been fueled by some ridiculous boom performances (Justin Jefferson, Will Fuller, Russell Wilson). The problem with this is, most players will regress to a more normal mean. This is why Jefferson and Fuller aren't regarded as top 10 wide receivers. However, if Russell can keep this up, maybe none of this matters. This reminds me of Brady in '07 or Manning in '13 where they could literally carry a mediocre team by scoring 40 points a week. Not to say that Dan's team is mediocre: he still has plenty of top end talent in Tyreek and Kelce and the other players are no slouches either. But his backfield is a huge area of concern with no true RB1s. If he can keep his magic touch on roster moves for 10 more weeks, maybe he repeats as champ.

5. Jon Sucks

Eric's shakiest pieces are at WR3 and RB2, with an additional question at the man under center. Wentz has performed admirably and has had some great weeks but you wonder if a QB, who has had injury issues in the past, who is playing under pressure on almost every play will even make it through the season. Moore, Claypool, and Fulgham are all interesting options but none of them exude must-start vibes. At RB, Montgomery and Robinson are definitely getting the opportunities to be a high-end RB2 but we'll see if they can do more with the touches they're given.

Dark Horses (Underperforming or unlucky teams with a better outlook ahead)

6. The Glory Hogans

Paul's team has been one of the most consistent teams in the league, scoring over 100 points in every matchup so far. He has a question mark at WR3 and QB (Is Drew Brees even a startable fantasy QB anymore?) but his RB depth and elite TE help to make these questions moot. His team got hammered by byes (Brees, Kamara, Carson, Jackson last week, Gaskin, Brown this week) but that should just make the latter half of the season that much easier. We'll see if he can upgrade his team by dealing one of his RBs or just rides it out with the current squad.

9. David Y Team

David's been a little bit unlucky: injury to McCaffrey, Mahomes being ridiculous on Monday night. However, he does rank in the top half in the league in scoring and when he gets CMC back, should be able to climb out of the hole he's currently in. His RB2 spot was a question mark but RoJo has taken a stronghold in the backfield of an offense that's getting stronger every week. As long as he can prevent getting 7 losses before his team gets back to full strength, I can see David paving a way into the playoffs.

11. #ridethewave

Yes, we all know that Chris has been relatively MIA. However, if he plays a healthy player, even if we believe it's the wrong choice, we have to respect the manager's decision. Chris has dug himself in quite the hole but he's got 2 great, top 20 receivers (and a 3rd who is quite underrated), a decent backfield if Ekeler returns soon, and ARod leading the way with an MVP caliber season. The real question for Chris's team is whether or not he actually plays the stars needed to win.

Outside Looking In (Need major roster renovations or certain players to blow up)

7. Jacked Up!

Cho's position here isn't entirely his fault. Losing your first round pick for the season will hurt anyone's chances, especially when they were supposed to carry your backfield. Additionally, Mike Davis has been a solid fill in but his time as a bellcow back are about to end and Cho hasn't been able to find a suitable replacement. His receivers are talented but have had down years due to various circumstances, and Stafford has been very disappointing, not cracking 30 points in a game this year. I will never count a manager out who has won the league before but the climb into the playoffs is much steeper for Cho than some of the teams below him in the standings.

8. 초록불

How Biggie is 3-3 is beyond me. He only has more points than Chris and David K. His draft didn't pan out so great but it's not like he picked bad players: Julio has been injured and couldn't find the end zone (until he was traded), Juju has had his spotlight taken away from him, Bell's situation has been in flux, and Gallup has been forgotten as he has been overtaken by Lamb. Looking at previous seasons, Biggie is always active on the waiver wire so don't expect him to go away quietly without a fight.

10. Wizzeak!

Jung has had two of the most impressive stars in the league in Hopkins and Zeke but with little behind that to support him, especially melting Matty Ice, he's fallen to 2-4. Will trading Hopkins for more depth and more risk be the answer? While KC looks like a RBBC for now, someone with Bell's skillset could replicate what Hunt is doing in Cleveland and vault him into the top 20, even without being the bellcow. Parker is no Hopkins but he's a solid WR3 with WR2 potential and we'll see how the change to Tua at QB affects his prospects going forward. If Ryan can keep up last week's performance and Zeke can stop fumbling away the ball, he could find his way into the playoffs. 5 of his next 6 games are against teams that are not in the top 4 at the moment.

David Kim (David Kim)

12. DK & Pony Show

What is there to say about David's team? His team actually isn't as bad as his record and points would show. Evans has been a TD machine, Newton and Brady have shown QB1 flashes, and CEH and Kareem Hunt have been top 24 RBs. But so many points are wasted on the bench as David continues to choose the wrong players. Some decisions are easier to criticize in hindsight but others seem less defensible even in the moment. But the real question is, based on his luck in matchups this year, would playing the right choices change anything? His aggregated opponent stats would rank as the 2nd best team in the league with 782 points. I never say a team is out of the playoffs until they get 7 losses but it's hard for me to see David make his way back this year.

Good luck to all!

Week 6 - MOLW and MOTW

Sorry for missing the week 5 post. I could come up with an excuse but I'll get ridiculed either way by David Kim so I'll just leave it at that.

First, let's recap 2 of the matchups of last week that went down to the wire on Monday night:

Jon vs. Dan

In what should have been the matchup of the week, had I not forgotten, Jon and Dan were fighting for first place in a tightly contested matchup. Dan took just under a 30 point lead into Monday night but Jon still had Josh Allen to get him the win. It didn't start off great with a interception on the first drive but after his 2nd TD to Yeldon in the 4th quarter while staring at a large deficit, a garbage time comeback seemed possible. After a Titans score, the Bills would get the ball back but Josh Allen wouldn't see the field again. Thanks to a Andre Roberts fumble, Jon's hope dissipated with about 5 minutes left in the game.

David K. vs. Mike

David is still looking for that elusive win and he took a double digit lead going into Monday night but Mike still had Derrick Henry left to play. It didn't look good for David. But the game started and Henry was having a hard time moving the ball. At the half, he had 24 yards and a TD, averaging less than 2.5 yards per carry. It wasn't likely but David could still hold onto the hope that the Titans could keep him at bay. Of course, that hope only lasted until the 4th quarter when Derrick Henry got carry after carry to ice the game, culminating in a TD to seal the deal. David continues to look for his first win.

MOTW
8. The Glory Hogans vs. 9. David Y Team
Both teams are 2-3 and have faced a bit of bad luck up to this point. Paul has had the most points scored against him so far this season and David has had to deal with the loss of CMC and the ridiculous Mahomes game on Monday night. Who gets back to .500 and, most likely, back into the playoff picture?

Studs: Ridley vs. Lamar

Ridley gets to pick on a Vikings defense that can't stop anybody. With the Vikings offense putting up points as well, expect Ryan to throw early and often to Ridley to stay in the game, especially if Julio doesn't play again this week. Lamar gets to face a Philly defense that's reeling from injuries. The one concern is that this game may be a blowout as Philly can't move the ball as the Ravens defense pours through their decimated offensive line, but I think 3 quarters of Lamar is enough to put up 30 points.

Duds: Samuel vs. Singletary

Samuel suffers from the problem of "who is going to throw me the ball?" There's 3 QBs on the SF roster and it's entirely possible that none of them are NFL starting caliber QBs. Also keep in mind that he may see some Jalen Ramsey and that Donald will make it hell for Jimmy G, Mullens, or Beathard. Singletary gets a decent matchup against a Chiefs defense that can be run on, but I just can't see the Bills running much in a game that should decided by balls thrown in the air. Additionally, the return on Zach Moss isn't going to increase the number of touches he gets.

X-Factors: Somebody not on the roster yet vs. Indy

As noted below, Paul has a ridiculous number of players on bye. He'll have to make a saavy pickup or two and that could be what propels him to victory this week. As for David, Indy has sneakily been the top fantasy defense, relying on forcing turnovers and controlling the line of scrimmage. While they won't be scoring touchdowns at the current rate, they get a relatively easy matchup against Joe Burrow and the Bengals where they should be able to score double digit points.

Key Players on Bye:

Paul - Brees, Carson, Kamara, Jackson - How Paul will find a QB and a defense without dropping any of his bye week players will be an interesting challenge. I've also never seen someone missing their RB1, RB2, and RB3 in a given week without injuries playing a factor.
David -None

Winner: David

Paul is missing too much top tier talent and the backfield advantage, even without CMC, has to swing in his favor. The QB gap should be sizable too, as Paul will be starting somebody off the scrap heap. Paul does have a few studs that may give him hope in pulling off the upset but in the end, he'll be looking at 2-4 and focusing on week 7.

Good luck to all!

Week 4 - COVID Hits

And there it is. Only took us 4 weeks for COVID to alter our fantasy football landscape. The Steelers and the Titans may have to take an impromptu bye week this week, affecting many matchups this week, especially since many teams are dealing with the rash of injuries that has ravaged the league.

Since the most obvious MOTW this week includes my team, and I don't write about my team unless it's the playoffs, let's look into the impacts this Steelers Titans bye week has on the season.

Teams with Players who actually matter:

- Jon Lee: James Conner (RB2 on depth chart)

In a big week for Jon as he fights to keep his place atop the charts, he will be without his starting RB. The good news is, he has a solid backup in Antonio Gibson and if Pittsburgh makes up this game, it's one less bye week to worry about in the future. Even if he loses this week, his team has performed well and being at .500 through four games won't derail his chances at the playoffs.

Impact: 5 (out of 10)

Panic: 1 (out of 10)

- Biggie: Juju (WR2 on depth chart)

Losing Juju hurts but he's got a more than serviceable backup in Preston Williams who should be involved in a shootout against Russell "75 TD season" Wilson. This may be a hot take but with the Steelers Titans matchup being a potential ground and pound game, Williams may have been the better play this week anyways.

Impact: 3

Panic: 1

- Mike: Derrick Henry (RB1 on depth chart), A.J. Brown (WR3/4 on depth chart), Rapist (QB2 on depth chart)

Poor Mike. Although he probably would not have played the rapist, he does lose 2 key position players in a matchup to fight for the right to stay in the top half of the standings. With a weaker PF, every win will matter a lot more to Mike. The good news at WR is that Mike has been operating without AJ Brown anyways and his depth is legitimately 6 WRs deep. RB is slightly dicier where he replaces a top 5 back in Henry with Darrell Henderson. At least Henderson is trending upwards.

Impact: 8

Panic: 3

- Cho: Dionte Johnson (WR4 on depth chart), Jonnu Smith (TE1 on depth chart)

Cho is looking to crawl out of the cellar back to .500 this week but he'll have to do it without his star TE, who is having a breakout season. The good news is, TE is one of the more volatile, lower point producing positions unless you have an elite option. And you could do worse than Gronk as your fill-in. Nonetheless, when you're in the bottom half, every missing option feels twice as impactful.

Impact: 2

Panic: 3

It looks like this issue happening early in the year won't disturb too many teams and instead it will vault the trade value of some options who have had their bye weeks early. Let's hope this is an aberration and that other teams and players are more cautious going forward so we can continue our season.

Good luck to all!