I didn't even realized I missed last week's post until halfway through the Bengals Jags game. For some reason, this year's season seems to be flying by and we're already a quarter of the way through the NFL season (I guess a little less than a quarter since we play 17 weeks now).
I would try to make up for last week's miss but let's just move on and look forward to the MOTW
MOTW
11. Justice Beaver (Dan) vs. 12. Trey Lance Refrigeration (Eric)
The sight of these two FPI juggernauts as the 2 teams fighting to avoid being the laughingstock of the league seems surreal. But I guess everything in 2021 seems not quite normal. Let's see what brought each of these teams to this point and who is going to avoid being in the cellar going into week 6 (if Eric wins, he would be ahead of Dan in the standings even though they're both 1-3 thanks to being ahead in PF at the moment).
Dan: Usually, Dan's strategy has revolved around having a great QB and a great TE and looking for some flyers at the other positions. He did take a flyer on Pitts, who was supposed to be a top 4 TE, in the 4th round, but didn't pick up a QB until the 10th round. With Pitts not living up to expectations and the QB he waited on (Trevor Lawrence) not being able to take on the expectations that have dogged him from day 1 at Clemson, the bookends of Dan's lineup was not carrying the weight needed to lead his team to victories. He did get his first victory last week thanks to picking up the greatest rushing QB in the league named... Sam Darnold? If Darnold can consistently produce 20+ point outings, it may be enough to support his monster backfield and WRs, who are sure to regress to the mean (Diggs and Tee have been disappointing and injured, respectively).
Eric: His drafted started off great, nabbing two RBs that could both finish in the top 12. But it all kind of went downhill when he started drafting his WRs. ARob is living through Nagy hell (as are all Bears fans), Aiyuk somehow became forgotten after an incredible rookie season, Jeudy got hit with the injury bug after a promising week 1, and Pittman has been getting looks but not producing. His bench is pretty thin outside of his main starters but he has enough top level talent to compete most weeks. Maybe he considers trading a star into 2-3 usable players.
STUDS: Henry vs. Diggs
These two guys are about to go off this week. I don't just mean 100 yards and a TD. I'm talking 25+ for both of them. Henry goes against the Jags where he should get 30+ touches because the game will be in hand by halftime. With Brown and Julio still on the mend, I expect to see them trust Henry in the backfield for a game they should win. Diggs is going to be involved in a shootout on primetime and there's nothing he likes more than showing he belongs in the "elite" conversation. Expect him to hang one of his top 3 performances of the year against KC.
DUDS: Pittman vs. JuJu
Pittman is most likely going to be taken out of the game by Humphrey and with the Colts o-line banged up, I can't see him getting a lot of time to get downfield, even if he gets by the coverage. Juju's bust won't really be his fault but more due to the fact that the rapist can't seem to throw anymore. Combine that with an underrated Broncos defense that's been making life living hell for QBs and it makes it hard to see a big day for any of the Steelers receivers.
Winner: Eric
I think Eric staves off the 0-5 start thanks to his backfield in what will end up being a close matchup. Henry and CEH are just enough to edge Saquon and Robinson, leaving Lamar to be the best of the rest. Lamar should perform well enough against Indy to lead Eric to victory.
Good luck to all!
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