Week 4 recap: COVID comes to the NFL

 

Week 4 is in the books! This one was a little weird because of the COVID uncertainty. The NFL moved Titans-Steelers to Week 8 because (at this point) 18 Titans players and staff had tested positive for COVID, and the Pats-Chiefs game also had to be postponed by a day because Cam Newton got COVID. It's a sobering reminder that there is still a pandemic going on, even if we are getting sports back, but that unless the players, coaches, staff, et al take care of themselves, it can all go away very quickly. It's also a reminder to us to take the necessary precautions so that we do not have to deal with the repercussions of COVID in our everyday lives, so everybody #wearamask. 

Team Glo(ry) and Provo Go Fish have been two of the top teams of the season thus far, and they met this week to go against each other. Team Glo(ry) has also had great success this season, with Dalvin Cook living up to his billing as a top-ranked running back, even with a terrible Vikings offensive line, and rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns, scoring 26.6 points. Glo(ry) has also had surprising contributions from Joe Burrow in Cincinnati throughout the season, but Provo Go Fish had the running back from Cincinnati, Joe Mixon.  While Burrow scored 15.1 points for Glo(ry), Go Fish got 36.1 from Joe Mixon, the Cincinnati running buck, behind three touchdowns and 151 yards. Kyler Murray, despite a certain lack of real NFL success, has scored plenty of fantasy points, throwing for three touchdowns and 133 yards, enough for 23.12 fantasy points. All of this was more than enough for Provo Go Fish to push to the top score of the week with 135.92 points, and while Team Glo(ry) has been good, her 101.6 points fell a bit too short this week.

Provo Cougars Go Cougs squared off with the Reindeer Gamers, and was a weird game overall. An NFL storyline for the year has been that Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys is awesome. Like, 450 yards a game and three touchdowns kind of awesome. But his defense is about a thin as a sheet of paper, and as a result, every Dallas Cowboys game is s shootout most of which they have lost. This week was no exception, with Dak throwing for 502 yards and four touchdowns, leading to 37.28 points for the Go Cougs. Unfortunately for Go Cougs, nobody else showed up. David Montgomery and Johnathan Taylor both scored under 8 points, and they were the next highest contributors for Go Cougs. In the other corner, the awesome Lamar Jackson bounced back from his aberration of a Chiefs game, with a 25-point fantasy outing. Chris Carson continues to demonstrate that his criminally underrated every year, rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns and 22 fantasy points, and Adam Thielen, also an underrated fantasy star, produced for the previously winless Vikings, with 118 yards and a touchdown. Those three players could have nearly beat Go Cougs on their own, and the Reindeer Gamers coasted to victory, 96.92-70.28.

Links Dawg Pound had a very clear strategy at the start of this year: draft Cowboys, and then focus on big names. The Dawg Pound contains no fewer than five Cowboys (including Blake Jarwin, who is done for the year), and the roster is littered with names like Tom Brady and Adrian Peterson. You can't argue with the results of the Cowboys strategy, as they have to produce in order to win shootouts every week. CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper, two Cowboys wide receivers, combined for 41.7 fantasy points this week, and Zeke Elliott contributed 12.5 fantasy points as well. This week's opponent, John'w Winners, has been able to rely on Russell Wilson to be awesome every week leading up to this matchup. However, Russ was merely average this week, with 20.9 fantasy points in a weird slugfest with the Miami Dolphins, and then nobody else produced, with Justin Tucker, the Baltimore Ravens kicker, scoring the next-highest total of 8 points. Links Dawg Pound got his first win of the season in this matchups, 87.9-60.3.

Jerry Jeudy's Pontiac Bandits have underperformed every week this season, but have had the strange luck of playing other teams that have bad luck each week they play. While it's not a sustainable strategy, it led to a victory for the Pontiac Bandits over Oh Snap! Thanos Got Me this week. Both teams had multiple Rams players against the Giants, which leads to the weird interests of wanting one team to win, but only hoping specific players score. The Rams defense came through for the Bandits, with 12 points, whereas the WR tandem of Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods only produced 16.5 points for Snap. This led to an uncertain outcome heading into Monday night's Packers-Falcons game, with Snap 14 points behind the Bandits, who had one WR left to play. Matt Ryan of the Falcons badly underperformed for Snap, failing to score a touchdown and throwing for fewer than 300 yards, which meant that Snap fell just short, losing 81.6-87.72.

Goin' In Blind took a late flier on Aaron Rodgers during the draft, and it has paid off better than anyone could have thought. Rodgers was once again awesome, throwing four touchdowns and over 300 yards on Monday night, finishing .42 points shy of 30 fantasy points. George Kittle also exploded in his first game back from injury, accumulating 183 yards receiving and a touchdown, good for 25.1 fantasy points. I am the Goat didn't pay near as much attention as he should have leaving the postponed Steelers defense and kicker on his active roster, leaving him down two players from the offset. Pat Mahomes had a fairly pedestrian 20.24 points in a relatively easy victory against the Patriots, and no other player was able to make up the difference. Goin' In Blind blew the doors off of this game, 114.28-77.84.

Low Fat Greek Goedert played yet another game in which it seemed like the matchup would go down to the wire. Heading into the Packers-Falcons game, Sandlot Aaron it Out! was ahead by 2 points, with a Wr yet to play. Greek Goedert had Aaron Jones waiting in the wings, which portended an easy victory, but nothing is certain in fantasy football. Thankfully for her Jones got the night started off with a touchdown in the first quarter, and Aaron Jones remained a free man #FreeAaronJones throughout the game, breaking the 100 total yards mark and collecting a cool 17.1 fantasy points for Greek Goedert. Aaron it Out's WR couldn't keep pace, with a measly two points, and Greek Goedert cruised to an easy victory, 95.54 to 84.

Who would have thought that the two rookies, Team Glo(ry) and Provo Go Fish, would be 3-1 and occupy the two two spots in the league through a quarter of the season? Not I, said the cat. They, along with Goin' In Blind, all broke the 100-point mark this week, and are comfortably sit atop the standings. Links Dawg Pound got his first victory, leaving Oh Snap the lone remaining winless team of the season. Better luck this week! As always, with the craziness of the pandemic, frequently check your rosters to make sure no game has been canceled or postponed. We also have two teams on bye, the Packers and Lions, so be ready for that. As always, good luck!

Week 3 recap: It comes down to the wire!

 Usually whenever I’m writing these posts, some kind of theme emerges from the week. For example, that theme can relate to the real NFL, such as #Chiefsaregoodatfootball, and we see that as multiple Chiefs players go off for their teams. It can also relate to fantasy, and that is definitely the case this week. The theme for this week was “It ain’t over until it’s over.” We had one game decided by 1.64 points, another decided by 0.6 points, and Goin’ In Blind led the Reindeer Gamers by 40 points after the Sunday night game. While this would seem like an easy victory for Goin’ In Blind, the Reindeer Gamers had four players in the Monday night game, including Lamar Jackson. In fact, it was supposed to be an easy victory for Reindeer Gamers, not Goin’ In Blind. Unfortunately, the Ravens laid an egg on Monday night, leading to a 20-point loss for the Gamers. Crazy stuff happens in fantasy, so even when you think a loss is inevitable, there is always still some hope. Because until the sun rises on Tuesday morning, it ain’t over until it’s over.

A surprise contender this year has been Team Glo(ry), who after three weeks is the only undefeated team! With solid fantasy output each week, and good team management (who starts Joe Burrow??) she’s playing like a fantasy veteran. Her best move this week was playing the Indianapolis Colts’ defense, who were up against the putrid Jets offense. Sam Darnold is bad, every Jets receiver is injured, the Jets “star” running back is hurt, and their coach is on the hot seat. What does all this mean? Two pick sixes, three total interceptions, and seven points allowed for the Colts defense, leading to 27 fantasy points. Dalvin Cook also remembered that he’s one of the best running backs in the NFL, rushing for 181 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings’ close loss to the Titans. Oh Snap! Thanos Got Me had the unfortunate pleasure of playing Team Glo(ry), and simply couldn’t keep up. She had solid contributions across the board, with Kenny Golladay finally returning from injury and scoring his first touchdown of the season, and the New England defense sacking the Las Vegas QB in the endzone and recovering the ensuing fumble for an immediate touchdown, leading to 13 fantasy points. Still, Team Glo(ry) cruised to victory, 123.78-93.52.

I feel like I gave away this lede in the intro, but Goin’ In Blind and the Reindeer Gamers played this week. After Christian McCaffrey went down with an injury, and George Kittle remains sidelined, things were looking bleak for GIB, particularly with Lamar Jackson on the other side. However, Aaron Rodgers continues to outperform the “washed” projections from the beginning of the year, as he scored 24.52 fantasy points that belie how dominant his performance was. The Cleveland defense even showed up, with 13 fantasy points and five turnovers in their victory against the Washington Football Team. The Reindeer Gamers got solid production from Nick Chubb, as he rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns against that same Washington Football Team, good for 23 fantasy points. Everyone else, however, underperformed, with Lamar Jackson scoring less than 15 fantasy points and Dallas Goedert, who had such an encouraging first game, catching one ball for seven yards and subsequently leaving his game with an injury. Goin’ In Blind won this matchup surprisingly easily, 84.72-63.28.

I am the Goat and Low Fat Greek Goedert were one of the matchups that went down to the wire, but it was the way it went down to the wire that was truly remarkable. Low Fat Greek Goedert finished her games by Sunday night, with the entire roster performing admirably. Derrick Henry emerged as one of the premiere running backs, with 25 fantasy points, Allen Robinson finally had an actual QB throwing his way, leading to 123 yards and a touchdown, and Keenan Allen has built a great rapport with Justin Herbert, scoring 17.2 fantasy points. Low Fat Greek Goedert, as a result, led all teams with 128.1 fantasy points. I am the Goat, however, still had the Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill connection on Monday night, and that combo is scary for anyone facing it. But, with Low Fat Greek Goedert’s 56.8-point cushion, things seemed like they would be okay. Instead, Mahomes and Hill hooked up for an early score, worth ten points for I am the Goat without the yardage, and Mahomes showed why he’s the best there is. 4 passing touchdowns, a fifth rushing touchdown, nearly 400 yards passing, and no turnovers led to a 40-point night from him. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Low Fat Greek Goedert held a 0.6 point lead over I am the Goat, but the Chiefs had the ball on third down, and needed a first down to end the game. Pat Mahomes needed to either a) throw a pass of over 15 yards, b) rush for six yards, c) throw the ball five yards to Tyreek Hill, or d) hand the ball off to Tyreek Hill for six yards. Pat Mahomes took the snap, rolled to his right, saw Travis Kelce along the sideline, lofted the ball to him…and the ball fell incomplete. Low Fat Greek Goedert won the week by the skin of her teeth, 128.1-127.5, with a crushing loss for I am the Goat.

Provo Go Fish and Provo Cougars Go Cougs had a distinctly Utah feel about them. Both teams did well, one just happened to do better. Provo Cougars Go Cougs overcame the loss of Saquon fairly well, as Tyler Lockett was the beneficiary of three touchdown passes from Russell Wilson, leading to an awesome 28 fantasy points for him. Dak Prescott also showed up in that game, with nearly 500 yards passing and three touchdowns, enough for 27.48 fantasy points. Kyler Murray came through again for Provo Go Fish, however, providing 21.7 fantasy points despite three interceptions. Alvin Kamar is also seemingly the only offensive weapon on the Saints, with Michael Thomas out and Drew Brees not throwing the ball the way he used to, which lead to heavy volume for Kamara, totaling 197 yards and two touchdowns, hitting 31.7 fantasy points. That was more than enough for Provo Go Fish to beat out Provo Cougar Go Cougs, winning 115.7 to 104.18.

Jerry Jeudy’s Pontiac Bandits Took on Team John’s Winners, with neither team getting much production from their players. Cam Newton crashed back to earth fantasy-wise, only throwing for one touchdown, and interception, and 11.18 fantasy points. While Russell Wilson was awesome for Team John’s Winners, with 36.8 fantasy points, Darren Waller only caught one ball for nine yards, and the Buffalo defense scored zero points. By Monday night, the Pontiac Bandits led Team John’s Winners by 3.5 points, with Justin Tucker, Baltimore’s kicker, remaining for the Winners. That was more than enough for the Winners to win, as Tucker hit two field goals and two extra points, leading to nine fantasy points and a six-point margin of victory, 86.2-80.58.

Our final close matchup was between Sandlot Aaron It Out! And Links Dawg Pound, both of which were searching for their first victories of the season. Jared Goff provided some surprising contributions to Link’s Dawg Pound in the close loss to the Bills, with three touchdowns and over 300 yards passing. Calvin Ridley also proved that he is for real with 110 yards against Chicago and 11.7 fantasy points. This was in an attempt to overcome James Robinson’s 24.9 fantasy points from Thursday’s game, and Link’s players had him ten points ahead of Aaron it Out! Going into Monday’s game. Unfortunately, Clyde Edwards-Helaire still had his game against Baltimore, and he had more than enough yardage to clear the ten-point mark, achieving 13.4 fantasy points for SandLot Aaron it Out! It was just enough for Aaron it Out! To push past Links Dawg Pound, 102.86-101.24.

For the week, Low Fat Greek Goedert’s 128.1 points were the high mark, barely beating out I am the Goat’s 127.5. Team Glo(ry) came in third, and Provo Go Fish, Provo Cougars Go Cougs, Sandlot Aaron it Out, and Links Dawg Pound all cleared 100 points. Team Glo(ry) is the lone undefeated team in the league at 3-0, and I am the Goat and John’s Winners are in second and third. Have a good week, everyone!

Week 1 2020: Fantasy Football in the middle of a pandemic

 

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the newest season of fantasy football! I was very fearful that, given COVID and how everything else has been limited or shut down, we would not have football and therefore fantasy football. Despite my reservations about the NFL’s ability to handle a crisis in an intelligent manner, they have made it possible for us to have a season and have a distraction during these crazy times. Thanks to all for participating, and let’s get to the recaps!

The Reindeer Gamers had a seemingly indomitable season last year, scoring over 100 points several times during the year and easily sliding into the playoffs. Reindeer Gamers picked up right where he left off in this season, with Lamar Jackson blowing away the Browns with 275 yards and three touchdowns, 45 rushing yards, and 27.5 fantasy points. Adam Thielen also showed his stuff as an undisputed No. 1 wide receiver, catching two touchdowns and 6 receptions for 110 yards, culminating in 25 fantasy points. Reindeer Gamers got strong contributions across the board, which was the difference in his matchup with Links Dawg Pound. The Dawgs had Tom Brady, Zeke Elliott, and Calvin Ridley all go for over 20 points, but Philip Lindsay’s 3.5 points and Rob Gronkowski’s 1.7 points doomed the Dawg Pound. Reindeer Gamers wins 136.9-93.36.

Team Glo(ry) is a new team to the league, and was matched up against the runner-up in last year’s contest, the rebranded SandLot Aaron it Out! This was a close game, SandLot had a monstrous Thursday Night Football, with Deshaun Watson and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (CEH) scoring 40 points before most of the games started. Glo(ry) punched back on Sunday with Dalvin Cook’s two touchdowns and 20.8 fantasy points, and Mark Andrew’s two touchdowns and 17.8 fantasy points. Both teams had to wait until Monday night, though, as Glo(ry)’s QB and SandLot’s TE and RB1 were playing that night. SandLot really should have had this matchup, but James Conner was quickly injured and pulled from the game, scoring only 1.7 fantasy points, while Daniel Jones threw two touchdown for Glo(ry), scoring 17.4 points. This let Team Glo(ry) squeak out the victory by the slimmest of margins, 1.34 points, as Noah Fant On SandLot had a great game that went into Tuesday morning, but wasn’t quite enough. Team (Glo)ry scores the upset, 89.56-88.22.

Provo Cougars Go Cougs and Low Fat Greek Goedert both came in with high hopes of replicating some solid fantasy success from last year. Carson Wentz seemed destined for a great day for Greek Goedert early in his game, with 112 yeards and a TD before the end of the first quarter. Unfortunately, he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble as the game progressed, and only threw one more touchdown, leading to a letdown of 13 fantasy points. Prove Cougars also suffered from no room for Saquon Barkley to run, who did not live up to his hype as a top-five pick, only hitting 6.6 fantasy points. While Derrick Henry still left the door open for Greek Goedert to win the week, Henry struggled to gain any traction, leading to an overall weak performance from Greek Goedert’s team. Provo Cougars Go Cougs wins, 79.24-67.7.

Team John’s Winners felt really confident coming out of the draft, despite needing to autodraft due to his having to deliver babies. You know, whatever. ;-) And it turned out that confidence was well founded! Josh Jacobs crushed it in his new digs as a Las Vegas Raider, scoring three times and carrying the ball for 93 yards and 31.9 fantasy points. Russell Wilson also blew out Atlanta, with four touchdowns and over 300 yards passing, which led to another 31-point day. Oh Snap! Thanos Got Me, on the other hand, had some severe struggles, as multiple contributors like Odell Beckham Jr., Kerryon Johnson, and Devin Singletary combined for 10 total points. Matt Ryan and Robert Woods were their productive selves, but were unable to overcome the problems the rest of the team had. Team John’s Winners blew out Oh Snap! Thanos Got Me 131.98-776.

Goin’ In Blind and Provo Go Fish went at it this week to kick off their respective football seasons. Goin’ In Blind was willing to beg, steal, borrow or barter to get Christian McCaffrey at the beginning of the season, and landed the first overall pick in the draft, allowing her to draft, in her words, her “boi Christian.” He showed her faith in him was well-founded, with 25.4 fantasy points. Combined with David Johnson’s 16.9 points in his new Texans uniform, it was a strong showing for GIB’s running backs. While Provo Go Fish had one running back show up in Alvin Kamara, who scored twice and collected 18.7 fantasy points, Joe Mixon started the season off slow, with 5.1 fantasy points. That, combined with Cam Akers relative no-show in the flex spot, was too much for Kyler Murray or Juju Smith-Schuster to make up with their own solid fantasy performances. Goin’ In Blind cruises to a relatively easy victory, 120.26-97.1.

I am the Goat was an unsure participant to the league this year, but seemed off to a good start with the Pat Mahomes-Tyreek Hill connection in mid-season form during the Thursday Night game. Todd Gurley also showed he was competent in his first start with the Atlanta Falcons, and solid contributions from the rest of the team filled out the week’s total. Jerry Jeudy’s Pontiac Bandits got two superstar performances from Josh Allen, with 28.18 points and Davante Adams’ 27.6 points, but little else from the roster. Michael Thomas injured his ankle and ended with 1.7 points, while Dallas’s defense did nothing in its loss to the LA Rams. The Pontiac Bandits had a chance on Monday Night, but I am the Goat polished off the victory behind Pittsburgh’s defense and kicker on Monday Night. I am the Goat wins 87.24-83.58. 

We had quite a few high scores this week, with the Reindeer Gamer’s high score of the week leading with 136.9 points. Team John’s Winners also broke the 130-point mark, and Goin’ In Blind hit 120 points. These three lead the league based on tiebreakers, but we expect to see some striation among the league moving forward. As always, check the waiver wire, think about potential trades, and feel free to ask me any questions. Thanks for sticking with this, have a good week!

Week 13 fantasy recap: we made it!

Congratulations! The regular season is in the record books, and we have our six playoff participants! As a reminder, the top two teams, Goin’ In Blind and Low Fat Greek Goedert, will each have a bye this week, while the other four teams play in two games. The 3-6 matchup will feature the Reindeer Gamers and Better Luck Next Time (who snuck into the playoffs by the skin of his teeth), while the 4-5 matchup pits Lookin 2 Winovich against England Excessive Force. The winners of the 3-6 matchup will play Low Fat Greek Goedert, while Goin In Blind takes on the 4-5 winner in Week 15, and then the final will be played in Week 16.

For the consolation bracket, the teams are ranked 7-12, with 7 playing 8 in week 14, 9 playing 10, etc.. Whoever wins the matchup moves up to the next matchup, or in the case of the seventh-place spot, remains in place, while the loser moves down. This will go on through weeks 14-16, with the winner of the consolation bracket being the week 16 winner in the top matchup. Hopefully that makes sense, let me know if you have questions.  

I will forego the usual recaps to talk about some fascinating aspects of these playoffs:

·         In Week 9, Provo Cougar Go Cougs was at 7-2, tied for the schedule lead in the league and certainly in a prime position for a run to the playoffs. In fact, looking at the way the playoffs worked out, one more win would have guaranteed the Cougs a spot in the playoffs. As it was, the Cougs went on a four-game losing streak, finishing the season at 7-6. What’s worse, the Cougs had multiple opportunities to improve their record by filling roster spots occupied by players on bye. This was particularly true in a week 11 loss to Goin’ In Blind, who won by a margin of 17.7 points. Tyler Lockett was in the Cougs’ lineup, on bye, scoring 0 points for the team. Meanwhile, Stefon Diggs was on the bench, the only viable receiver replacement for Tyler Lockett, and scored 18.1 points. More than enough to push the Cougs to victory. While Provo Cougs can be forgiven for distractions in his life, the lesson here is to please fill your bye week spots! It’s the difference between playoff glory or consolation bracket unhappiness.

·         In Week 8, England Excessive Force sat at 3-5, nowhere close to the playoffs and seemingly irrelevant. All England Excessive Force did at that point was rack up five straight wins, including two of his  three triple-digit scores for the season. Some might attribute that streak to luck, as England Excessive Force played a generous schedule, while scoring the third-fewest points of any team and having the lowest number of points scored against him, but who’s to judge. The point is that England Excessive Force did what needed to be done to reach eight wins and make it into the playoffs!

·         Team John’s Winners was the first team out of the playoff, at 7-6 and 45 points behind the sixth spot in the playoff. Team John’s Winners had a tough regular season schedule and had a good run, with four triple-digit weekly scores and several gutsy victories. A ten point loss in Week 2 to Lookin 2 Winovich stings, as John’s Winners had the second-highest score of the week behind Lookin 2 Winovich, which was enough to keep him out of the playoff. Now he will try to become king of the consolation bracket, taking on Provo Cougar Go Cougs in the first game.

·     Forgive me for now going into a monologue about my own playoff adventure, but I thought it was too fun not to share:

Better Luck Next Time needed some serious help to get into the playoffs, and it all worked out for the path to clear and him to snag the last spot.

o   In Week 13, Better Luck Next Time had to Beat Nothin Runs Like a Deere, while either England Excessive Force or Provo Cougar Go Cougs needed to lose. Unfortunately, those teams were playing Albuquerque Cat Killas, the definite loser of the league at 1-12, and I am the Goat, a team that has had good weeks, but has struggled more than not.

o   Going into the Sunday night game, Albuquerque Cat Killas had lost, and I am the Goat was 11 points behind Provo Cougar Go Cougs with one player, James White, still to play.

o   James White had one week of ten or more points in the entire year, so it seemed unlikely that he would break out this game. Well, he in fact went off for 79 rushing yard, 98 receiving yards, and two touchdown receptions to score 29.7 points, pushing I am the Goat to 110.3, or 18.9 points ahead of Provo Cougar Go Cougs!

o   Then Monday night, Better Luck Next Time was 12.7 points behind Nothin Runs Like a Deere, with Russell Wilson still to play. Through the first half, Russell Wilson had 3.3 fantasy points, but threw for two touchdowns in the second half, getting to 16.9 fantasy points and a victory for Better Luck Next Time.

o   Additionally, Provo Cougars Go Cougs still had Tyler Lockett Monday night, so he could still technically beat I am the Goat if he scored 18.9 points on Monday night. However, he dealt with the flu the entirety of the week leading up to the game, and despite being the top receiver in Seattle, Tyler Lockett finished with zero points on three targets. I am the Goat wins, knocking out Provo Cougs and letting Better Luck Next Time sneak into the playoffs!

·         Finally, we must draw attention to our leading ladies: Goin’ In Blind took the overall spot at 10-3, while Low Fat Greek Goedert came in second at 9-4. In a potential finals matchups, Low Fat Greek Goedert triumphed in week 13, with Lamar Jackson doing Lamar things against the tough 49ers defense, scoring 22.3 fantasy points. Cooper Kupp bounced back with 12.5 points, 65 yards, and a touchdown, and Julian Edelman caught over a 100 yards from Tom Brady and another score for 16.5 fantasy points. Goin’ In Blind struggled, with George Kittle only catching two passes for 17 yards and Christian McCaffrey appearing mortal against the Washington Redskins defense, but Josh Allen had a fantastic Thanksgiving debut, rushing for a touchdown and throwing for a another for 23.5 fantasy points. Low Fat Greek Goedert won, 80.4-50.8. 

I am the Goat and Links Dawg Pound rounded into form a little too late in the season, scoring the highest Week 13 totals with 110.3 and 106.1. Team John’s Winners also got above 100 points with 103.2.

Thanks to everyone for a great regular season. On to the playoffs!

Down to the wire! Week 12 fantasy football recap

We are officially in the last week of the regular season of the fantasy football playoffs! Our resident leader has now officially locked up her spot in the playoffs (congratulations Goin' In Blind), and while Low Fat Greek Goedert, the Reindeer Gamers, and Lookin 2 Winovich seem locked into a playoff spot barring a catastrophic loss (we're talking like 20 total points scored or something), none of those teams have a firm grasp on their playoff seeding, which makes the first-week playoff bye up for grabs for all of them. Additionally, there are currently 5 teams at either 7-5 or 6-6, all of whom could sneak into the playoffs depending on how the rest of the victories shake out. All of that basically means...this week matters. A LOT. What a week for it to be, too! There are three NFL games on Thanksgiving this week, which makes it doubly important to get your lineups locked in EARLY. The first one starts at 12:30 on Thursday, so set your lineups and get ready for an exciting week!

England Excessive Force has moved back into the playoff conversation despite the lowest number of points scored over the course of the season in the entire league. He got off to a great start Thursday though, as DeAndre Hopkins caught two touchdowns and scored 21.4 fantasy points for the Texans against the Colts in a key divisional matchup.

On Sunday, Nick Chubb also showed he was worth trading for, as he erupted for 22.4 fantasy points against a still-struggling Miami team, rushing for one touchdown and getting another 164 total yards. Even Washington's defense flexed against the Detroit Lions, as their kick returner muffed a catch at the nine-yard line, recovered it, then ran it back 91 yards for a score, the punctuation of a 20-point fantasy effort by the defense. Unfortunately for Links Dawg Pound, much of his scoring is dependent on the New York Giants, and their loss on Sunday did little to provide fantasy points for his team. England Excessive Force moved into the playoff conversation with a win, 122.1-70.9.

Low Fat Greek Goedert and the Reindeer Gamers squared off for a second time this season, the first matchup of which the Reindeer Gamers won in dominating fashion, 135.3-69. His team seemed to sprint for the finish line from the get-go this week, with Chris Godwin starting off a 30.4-point week with a 71-yard touchdown reception. He scored another touchdown and caught another 100 yards throughout the game and has staked his claim as a top wide receiver in the NFL. Derrick Henry also rolled over the Jacksonville defense with two touchdowns and 195 yards, although he fumbled once to get to 27.5 fantasy points. And then Baker Mayfield remembered how to play football for what felt like the first time this season, as he threw three touchdowns int eh first half in an easy win against Miami, good for 23.6 fantasy points. With those kinds of outputs from three players, it seemed impossible for Low Fat Greek Goedert to come anywhere close to the Gamers, but Lamar Jackson made it respectable on Monday night, throwing for five touchdowns and 36.6 fantasy points. It wasn't enough though, as Reindeer Gamers won another matchup against potential playoff opponents, 128.1-96.9.

Looking 2 Winovich took on the 7-5 Provo Cougars Go Cougs, who appears to have stopped playing since his connection to the league waned. His leaving in Travis Kelce and the Kansas City kicker would at least seem to suggest something is going on. He also wasn't helped by the Cowboys, who lost a 13-9 stinker against the Patriots, with both Das and Zeke failing to reach the end zone and only mustering 19.5 points between the two of them. On the other side, Looking 2 Winovich didn't need to do much, and the Buffalo Bill tandem of Devin Singletary and John Brown hit 20.3 points. With Provo Cougars Go Cougs having a season-low 36.6 points, Looking to Winovich's 76.7 points were more than enough to secure her spot in the playoffs.

Nothin Runs Like a Deere played Albuquerque Cat Killas, who have struggled to get any traction this season. This matchup wasn't much of a contest either, as Pat Mahomes was on bye and still on the active roster. Nothin Runs Like a Deere got an unexpected performance out of DJ Moore on the Panthers, who was a big reason for Carolina pushing the Saints to overtime, scoring twice and putting up 126 yards on an otherwise stout defense, leading the team with 25.4 fantasy points. Mark Ingram also got in on the Ravens' stomping of the Rams Monday night, as he caught one of Lamar Jackson's touchdowns and rushed for 111 yards and another score, leading to a 23.6-point fantasy night. Finally, somebody had to throw DeAndre Hopkins those touchdowns, and Watson did so, putting up a 18.9 point fantasy line of his own. Nothin Runs Like a Deere overwhelmed the Albuquerque Cat Killas 91.9-72.9.

Better Luck Next Time was hanging by a thread to the hopes of the playoffs and needed a win against I Am the Goat. Neither team did very well, with Michael Thomas producing 16.1 points as the top producer for Better Luck, while the New York Jets got to 17 points for I Am the Goat. Both quarterbacks struggled in uncharacteristic performances as well, as both Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson only contributed 9.5 fantasy points apiece. In the end, Better Luck Next Time eked out a victory to still keep his playoff hopes alive, 73.3-62.1.

Goin' In Blind looked to keep her grip on the top spot in fantasy this week as she played Team John's Winners. Goin' In Blind was not distracted by the spousal matchup, as George Kittle was back in the lineup and Christian McCaffrey started as per usual. He did his normal ho-hum thing too, with two scores and 25.4 fantasy points. George Kittle also showed why he is one of the top tight ends in the country, as he caught six receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown, good for 18.9 fantasy points in San Francisco's beatdown of Green Bay. Team John's Winners finally benefited from OBJ, who got into the end zone for the first time this season and got his second-highest fantasy total of the season with 14.4 fantasy points. Will Lutz, New Orleans kicker, was the second highest scorer for the Winners, hitting a gam-winner against Carolina for 14 points. Unfortunately though, the fact that a kicker was the second-highest fantasy producer tells you all you need to know about the Winners' week. Going' In Blind locked up the top spot in the playoffs, 111.4-64.9.

For the week, the Reindeer Gamers got the top score with 128.1, with England Excessive Force surprisingly close behind with 122.1, and Goin' In Blind at 111.4. For the playoffs, we have a defacto elimination game between Better Luck Next Time and Nothin Runs Like a Deere. England Excessive Force draws a fairly easy matchup against the Albuquerque Cat Killas to get to 8-5 and a spot in the playoffs. Provo Cougars Go Cougs can hang on for a playoff spot with a victory against I Am the Goat, while Team John's Winners will face a tough uphill battle and needs a lot of chaos to even sniff at the playoffs. Meanwhile, the seeding of the top three spots will depend on whether Low Fat Greek Goedert can overcome our top seed in Goin' In Blind and if the Reindeer Gamers can definitively win against Links Dawg Pound. It will be a fascinating last week good luck to everyone!

Week 11 Fantasy Football recap..participation trophies all around!

Only two weeks left until the playoffs! Way to go for everyone still in the race, of which there are a lot of teams, and my condolences for those teams that are no longer in it. Hopefully we have still had some fun and there is still the consolation bracket to play through.

Lookin 2 Winovich played Better Luck Next Time, who has been in a bit of slump. Thursday night started out poorly, with the otherwise stout Pittsburgh defense giving the game to Cleveland and only scoring 3 points. Lookin 2 Winovich’s Buffalo Bills came on strong early Sunday, as John Brown tore it up with two touchdowns and 134 yards, good for 25.4 points. Marvin Jones also caught a pair of touchdowns with a backup quarterback, leading to 15.9 points. Even Kalen Ballage, an otherwise maligned Miami Dolphins running back, got into the endzone for a touchdown. While neither quarterback was spectacular, with Kyle Allen only reaching 5.7 points and Tom Brady scoring 8.5, the combined effort of Lookin 2 Winovich was more than enough to easily beat Better Luck Next Time. Lookin to Winovich wins 98-76.8.

Goin’ In Blind played Provo Cougars Go Cougs, who have been on their own slide entirely. Provo Cougars Go Cougs left Tyler Lockett in his starting lineup, who is currently on bye, along with the Green Bay defense. That didn’t stop the rest of his team from showing up, as Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott of the Cowboys put up 51.9 points between the two of them. On the other side, Josh Allen was at his best for Goin’ In Blind, slinging the ball for 256 yards and three touchdowns to accompany his own 56 yards rushing and a touchdown to dominate Miami and the fantasy score with 33.8 points. DJ Chark also had a bounceback performance with Nick Foles under center, catching two touchdowns and 104 yards for 22.4 points. Goin’ In Blind had no trouble with this one, 103.4-85.7.

Low Fat Greek Goedert took on the resurgent Links Dawg Pound, who have been respectable the last few weeks. Lamar Jackson continued his fantasy brilliance, throwing for 4 touchdowns, 222 yards, and rushing for another 86 to get to 33.5 points. Julian Edelman also threw his first regular-season touchdown on a trick play, which gave him four fantasy points along with his 53 yards to get to 9.9 points for Low Fat Greek Goedert. Links Dawg Pound, meanwhile, was paced by the Cleveland defense’s 17 points on Thursday night, and Michael Gallup’s 148 receiving yards, Links Dawg Pound had a chance Monday night to overtake Greek Goedert with his quarterback and a running back playing, but he fell a bit short after Philip Rivers threw four interceptions. Low Fat Greek Goedert moves on, winning 93.6-80.6.

England Excessive Force played Nothin Runs Like a Deere, who has also struggled after a strong start to the season. Deshaun Watson let Nothin Runs like a Deere down in epic fashion, only getting four points in a 41-7 beatdown by the Baltimore Ravens. Mark Ingram was part of said beat down and caught two of Lamar Jackson’s touchdowns to accompany 85 yards rushing and receving yards, enough for 20.5 fantasy points for Nothin Runs Like a Deere. Jimmy Garoppolo, however, had a fantastic game against the Arizona defense for England Excessive Force, throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns to go along with two interceptions, barely missing the 30-point mark with 29.7. Joe Mixon also got on track, scoring a touchdown and 86 yards against the Oakland Raiders, enough for 16.3 fantasy points. England Excessive Force won fairly easily, 88.5-78.4.

While I respect both of these players, Albuquerque Cat Killas and I am the Goat was a fairly putrid affair. Mason Rudolph was the starting QB for I am the Goat, and had his own four-interception game to limit his total points to 6.3. Alshon Jeffrey was also never close to playing in this game and scored zero points. It was enough to beat the Cat Killas though, who got zero points out of three positions. I am the Goat Wins 69.4-49.8.

The Reindeer Gamers and Team John’sWinners pit two 5-5 teams against each other. The Reindeer Gamers got solid production across the board, with scores of 12.2, 11.7, 10.7, 13.5, 13.4, and 16 fantasy points coming from six different positions. Team John’s Winners, unfortunately had fewer standouts, as only two players broke the ten-point barrier. The Reindeer Gamers moved ahead of Team John’s Winners in the race to the playoffs, 86-67.

We’ve had a new champion the last two weeks, with Goin’ In Blind leading the league at 9-2. Low Fat Greek Goedert kept pace, winning her own matchup and staying a game behind at 8-3. A bit of separation has begun in the league, as we now have multiple teams at 7-4, including the Reindeer Gamers and Lookin 2 Winovich. Team John’s Winners hold the final spot in the playoffs by virtue of his 23.5-point lead over Nothin Runs Like a Deere. Goin’ In Blind was the only team to break 100 points this week and had the highest score with 103.5, followed by Lookin 2 Winovich at 98 and Low Fat Greek Goedert at 93.6.

2019 Fantasy Football Fantasy Draft, and a new queen of the hill! Week 10 fantasy recap!

We’re now through Week 10 of our fantasy football league. Three weeks left until the playoffs begin, and nine teams sit within three games of each other. All of these nine teams have a chance of making the playoffs. Or at least that’s what I tell myself as I sit at 5-5, on the outer edge of that playoff bubble, still clinging to hope! 

I was thinking about the draft today, and the things I wish I had known then that would have drastically changed my fantasy performance for the season up to this point. How great would it have been to know that Russell Wilson was going to be totally awesome this season? I would guess that he would have been picked up several rounds before Round 11, when he was drafted in our league. Or how about knowing that Antonio Brown was going to play in three games this season and suddenly be out of football? That would have drastically changed his draft stock, which saw him drafted in the third round. Following this particular rabbit hole made me question whether I could draft a perfect draft, now with the insight of ten weeks of gameplay. What decisions could I have made that would have sent me seemingly hurtling toward the fantasy football championship, instead of treading water somewhere on the fringes of playoff contention? I got interested enough in this that I decided to forego the recaps for this week and run this scenario instead. The last paragraph will still give an update on the season, so if you're not interested in this amazing fantasy fantasy football team, feel free to skip to the bottom.

I made a couple of judgment calls on this particular thought experiment. On the one hand, I felt that I had to get one of the top running backs for the year for this experiment to make sense. While Alvin Kamara and  Saquon Barkley have underperformed relative to their top-four picks in the draft due to injury, having Christian McCaffrey as my first-round pick set me up nicely for the rest of the season. :-) So I drafted as if I was Goin’ In Blind, who drafted Christian McCaffrey third overall, and went from there. Each of these picks was made AFTER Goin’ In Blind’s pick in that particular round, which means they were still available at that point. At the end, I will put together a potential starting lineup and project the weekly score of this team based on the average points scored by each of those players over the course of the season thus far. Spoiler alert: this team would have dominated.

Round 1, Pick 3 : Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers (original pick: Round 1, Pick 3, Goin’ In Blind). No question who is my first pick. McCaffrey has the chance to be the first running back to win the NFL MVP award since Adrian Peterson won over a decade ago in 2006. McCaffrey has scored 224.5 points through nine weeks of play and a bye, good enough for 24.9 fantasy points a week. He has been healthy the entire year, plays for a solid team that recognizes his strengths, and scores touchdowns. Fourteen, to be exact. Talk about a 

foundational player.

Round 2, Pick 10: Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings (R3, P2, The Reindeer Gamers). While some might question the desire to pick up two running backs at the start, the dropoff between the elite running backs this season and more run-of-the-mill types is too great to ignore. Dalvin Cook was taken five picks after this, but has been the second-ranked running back in fantasy this year behind only McCaffrey. He’s been the focal point of the Vikings offense, rushing for 10 touchdowns and 199.5 fantasy points this season. He averages 20 points a game, which any of us would gladly take for an RB1 on our offense. In this dream scenario, we’ve got the two best of the season, and we’re rocking and rolling on the ground.

Round 3, Pick 3: Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (R4, P1, Nothin’ Runs Like a Deere). Mike Evans and Michael Thomas have battled it out for the top wide receiver in fantasy every week, but the value for Evans is way better, since Thomas went in the first round. Wide receivers have significantly lower totals than running backs, but Mike Evans has been the best, with 136.4 fantasy points and seven touchdowns. The one knock on him is that he is fairly inconsistent, which makes the idea of him as your every week WR1 somewhat 

questionable. His counterpart in Tampa Bay, Chris Godwin (R6, P11), might be a steadier choice here, but Evans’ ability to go off for 20 points every game would be too much to pass up here.

Round 4, Pick 10: Kenny Golladay, WR, 

Detroit Lions (R4, P12, Links Dawg Pound).

Golladay has fully embraced the number one WR role in Detroit since Golden Tate’s departure last year. That has paid off for him in fantasy, with double-digit fantasy totals in seven of his nine weeks  of play to go along with eight touchdowns, propelling him to the fifth-highest wide receiver score . Matthew Stafford’s injury outlook could be some cause for concern for his production moving forward, but he still reached 10.7 points this past Sunday against a tough Bears defense. I expect Golladay to be fine and wreak havoc in any fantasy matchups.

Round 5, Pick 3: Cooper Kupp, WR, LA Rams (R5 P11, Low Fat Greek Goedert). Going into the season, the consensus among “experts” was that Brandin Cooks, Roberts Woods, and Cooper Kupp would all be productive fantasy wide receivers, but that Cooks would likely be the top WR of the three. As a result, he went first in the fifth round, followed six picks later by Woods and Kupp a pick later. Brandin Cooks has one touchdown on the year, Woods has one 

touchdown…and Cooper Kupp has five. The highlight of the season was his 28-point explosion against the Bengals, but until this past weekend he has been a steady contributor for Low Fat Greek Goedert, good for the seventh-ranked WR season. I would have glady scooped him up in Round 5.

Round 6, Pick 10: Phillip Lindsay, RB, Denver Broncos (R7, P4, Provo Cougars Go Cougs). Not much has gone right for the Denver Broncos this year, as they hoped to compete for a playoff spot and are well out of it at this point. Lindsay and Courtland Sutton (more on him later) have been the lone bright spots, with Lindsay continuing his excellent production from last year’s rookie campaign. He is the twelfth-ranked running back, so a solid RB2, and has provided good production along the way. His 11.6-fantasy point average would be a boost to any team, and our fantasy fantasy football 

team would gladly take him on.

Round 7, Pick 3: Austin Hooper, TE, Atlanta Falcons (R9, P6, Team John’s Winners). Similar to the Broncos, the Atlanta Falcons have been extremely disappointing. This has not been Austin Hooper’s fault.  While Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs might seem like an obvious candidate for best tight end in football, Hooper lays claim to that title in fantasy, with an 11-point average on the season so far. He was a steal when Team John’s Winners picked him up, and even at round seven, two rounds earlier, he’s a steal for me. At a position in which any production seems to be enough, Hooper has put up great numbers every week that would rival any wide receiver production. He has hit seven fantasy points in every week but one, and has four weeks of ten-plus points.

Round 8, Pick 10: Devin Singletary, RB, Buffalo Bills (R9, P9, Lookin 2 Winovich). This pick might seem questionable at the moment, since Devin Singletary is currently the 42-ranked running back in fantasy and only has sixty points on the season. HOWEVER, his last two weeks have been much better, and since he came back from injury it looks like the Bills will feature him more in their offense. At this point on our team, we are looking for players who can explode at some point and help us win the league. Devin Singletary is certainly someone who can do that moving forward, so let’s get him and have him in a solid backup role.

Round 9, Pick 3: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens (R9, P11, Low Fat Greek Goedert) Here it is, the steal of the draft, people! Lamar was supposed to be an exciting quarterback that could back up your steadier, high-floor guy who isn’t going to blow you away, but will produce points for you. He was supposed to be the one that you could swap in late in the season and he would show some flashes of how good he was, but upon whom you couldn’t really rely until you had seen his body of work. Well, all he’s done since then is be the second highest-scoring player in fantasy, a player whose 702 yards and six touchdowns rushing alone would be more than Phillip Lindsay’s total production, who is a top-12 running back! Add in Jackson’s 2000 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, and you’ve got yourself a quality quarterback and running back, all in the same player. Lamar was the best value of the draft and one of the several prize jewels in our crown of 2019 fantasy football awesomeness. 

Round 10, Pick 10:  Austin Ekeler, RB, LA Chargers (R11, P7, I Am The Goat). While Melvin Gordon may be the featured running back for the Chargers at the moment, Austin Ekeler was the one who took over the lead back opportunities for the first half of the season and announced himself with 33 points in the first game against the Colts. Even with Gordon back in the lineup, Ekeler has been able to score enough points to remain relevant and has the fifth-highest running back score for the season. While we might not be starting him over McCaffrey and Cook, we could start Ekeler in the right 

matchups if we think he's going to be able to go off.

Rounds 11-16: With our current lineup being so strong, we probably wouldn't have to dip much deeper into our bench than the players we have right now. We do have some slots though, which we could have filled with the following players:

• Courtland Sutton, twelfth-ranked WR, England Excessive Force
• Josh Allen, tenth-ranked QB, Goin' In Blind
• DK Metcalf, 16th-ranked WR, The Reindeer Gamers
• Darren Waller, fourth-ranked TE, Team John's Winners
• 49ers D/ST, second-ranked defense, Low Fat Greek Goedert
• Zane Gonzalez, second-ranked kicker, Better Luck Next Time

With this roster, we would likely start the following players on non-bye weeks:

QB: Lamar Jackson, 26.4 points per game (PPG)

RB: Christian McCaffrey, 24.9 PPG

RB: Dalvin Cook, 20.0 PPG

WR: Mike Evans, 15.2 PPG

WR: Kenny Golladay, 12.9 PPG

TE: Austin Hooper, 11.0 PPG

FLEX: Austin Ekeler, 14.0 PPG

D/ST: 49ers defense, 9.9 PPG

K: Zane Gonzalez, 9.4 PPG

This team would, on average, score 145.9 fantasy points per game. For comparison's sake, the highest score we have had in our league for the entire season is 150.3 points. This roster would have been CRAZY and would have had a high chance of going undefeated this season, given the ability of every player to break out each week.

Fortunately for all of us, this team does not exist, and we still have a chance at the top spot. That particular spot has a new occupant this week, as Goin' In Blind took down Better Luck Next Time and that, combined with the Low Fat Greek Goedert loss, vaulted her into the top spot at 8-2! Congratulations! The Reindeer Gamers came in with the highest score of the week with 128.5 points, but Going' In Blind's 119.8 points, built on Christian Kirk's 31.8 points, come in second. After that there was a significant drop-off, but Links Dawg Pound got his second victory of the year with a strong 97 point showing! 

Hopefully everyone is still enjoying the game. Good luck to you all!