Crazy to believe we are halfway through the season!
League organizational item: The playoffs are only six weeks away, and as league manager, I have some thoughts on that if the rest of the league is willing to chime in. The playoffs, as currently constructed, will have four teams, with each playoff round using the cumulative score of two weeks to determine who advances. Greek Goedert, Goin’ In Blind, Provo Cougars, and Nothin Runs Like a Deere would be in the playoffs if the league ended today. They would be broken into two semifinal games, with the cumulative scores over two weeks determining who would advance to the final, which would also be played over two weeks. While that is the “default” playoff setting for fantasy football, as a league we can decide to do whatever we want. And since we have several “new” fantasy players, it might be fun to expand the playoff field. Here is what I propose:
1. Expand the playoff to six teams.
2. Play the games over three weeks, not four, with one-week scores determining who advances.
3. The top two teams from the regular season would get a bye for the first round of the playoffs, meaning they would automatically be in the semifinals.
4. Extend the regular season to 13 games, not the current twelve, and play the playoffs in weeks 14-16. Fantasy doesn’t typically go into Week 17 of the NFL because many “real” NFL teams have already locked up playoff spots at that point and are trying to preserve their players’ health, so many starters (and by extension fantasy starters) rest that week. That means that if the fantasy championship were held in Week 17, it could be decided by backup players, which isn’t nearly as fun.
Now, on to the recaps!
Lookin 2 Winovich appeared to be extremely confident in her star players’ reliability this week, as she elected to ignore the tight end position and left Eric Ebron, who was on bye, active. That meant she was playing with eight players from the get go. Naturally, that confidence was well-founded after Thursday night’s game, when the New England defense scored two touchdowns, snagged three interceptions, blocked a punt, recovered a fumble, and scored 28 fantasy points. I read a good article this week about how the New England defense is breaking fantasy football, and I tend to agree. Personally, I love the article because Michigan alum Chase Winovich, who recorded his first NFL touchdown on Thursday, is the article’s headline photo. J Lookin 2 Winovich played Links Dawg Pound, who assured me that he is playing and has suffered from some bad injury luck, which does justify the 1-5 start. Jamaal Williams got to 19.6 points in the Monday night game, but this matchup wasn’t even close, as Lookin 2 Winovich waltzed to victory, 117.2-67.4.
Better Luck Next Time played Provo Cougars Go Cougs in the hopes of avoiding a .500 record midway through the season. The flex spot was a question for Better Luck Next Time this week, with several potential options available. He solicited some friendly advice from a fellow league member, who suggested starting Terry McLaurin of the Washington Redskins. All “F1” McLaurin did this week was reel in four receptions for 100 yards, two touchdowns, and 22 fantasy points, which gave Better Luck Next Time a total score of 98.7 points after the early afternoon games. Provo Cougars, on the other hand, had three players in the late afternoon games and was five and a half points behind Better Luck Next Time heading into the fourth quarter of those games. Philip Lindsay of the Denver Broncos slammed the door shut on any chance of a Better Luck victory with ten fantasy points in the fourth quarter, bringing his total to 13.5 fantasy points. Alongside Russell Wilson’s 28.9 points, it was more than enough for Provo Cougars to pull away to win, 107.2 to 98.7.
Team John’s Winner’s played Albuquerque Cat Killas. John’s Winners had a lot riding on the Arizona-Atlanta game, with four starters playing in that game alone. While neither real NFL team has been particularly good, it has certainly not been because of their offenses. After a 34-33 shootout, in which Arizona prevailed, Team John’s Winners players had the following fantasy scores:
· Matt Ryan, Atl QB: 30.9 points
· David Johnson, Ari RB: 22.2 points
· Larry Fitzgerald, Ari WR: 6.9 points (pedestrian, but whatever, the is one of the best NFL receivers of all time, he can afford to relax a bit in his golden years!)
· Austin Hooper, Atl TE: 17.7 points and is the top-scoring tight end at this point in the season.
Those four players would have been more than enough to beat the Cat Killas, who suffered a pedestrian day from Patrick Mahomes and zeros in four other spots. We’ve had several players come close to doubling their opponents’ scores in a given week, but this might be the first time we’ve seen a player come close to TRIPLE the opponent score. Team John’s Winners win, 111.8-46.9.
Goin’ In Blind played I am the Goat, and was the first player to suffer significant bye week issues, with her QB, two receivers, and defense all on bye. As a result, she started Andy Dalton, which would normally be a very bad thing, particularly when Paul Richardson, a backup wide receiver, scores zero points. However, when you have Christian McCaffrey on your team, things go well for you. McCaffrey scored 17.7 points to lead several other double-digit scorers, and I am the Goat was unable to take advantage of a pedestrian 87.7 points from Goin’ In Blind. Austin Ekeler scored 2.8 points, and Aaron Rodgers has failed to live up to the high expectations of the preseason. Rodgers, who was drafted as one of the top three quarterbacks of the year, has scored more than 20 points, a benchmark fantasy total for quarterbacks, just once this season. Goin’ In Blind wins, 87.7-75.7.
Nothin Runs Like a Deere and the Reindeer Gamers- a matchup made in cervine heaven! This looked like it would be a good matchup, with both teams at 3-2 and each team having solid performances throughout the season. What happened instead was an uneven performance from both teams. Nothin Runs Like a Deere got a ton of production out of Deshaun Watson, who has been awesome the past few weeks, with 29.4 fantasy points, but only two other players scored in the double digits. Malcolm Brown, filling in for Todd Gurley on the Rams, only managed a measly four points in a breakout opportunity. Even with that lackluster performance, Nothin Runs Like a Deere destroyed the Reindeer Gamers, whose point total fell over 80 points between Weeks 5 and 6. Jared Goff only scored 1.1 fantasy points, the Eagles defense cost the Gamers a point, and Hollywood Brown was inactive for the game but remained in the Gamers’ lineup. Nothin Runs Like a Deere bid the Reindeer Gamers a deere goodbye, 83.9-56.4.
Last but not least, England Excessive Force played Low Fat Greek Goedert. England Excessive Force followed a pattern described a bit too much in this recap, leaving an inactive player as a starter! Wayne Gallman was out with a concussion and got England Excessive Force zero points. England Excessive Force did take the strategy of using whatever defense is playing the Dolphins, and that netted him twelve points in a battle of the worst teams in football. Low Fat Greek Goedert, on the other hand, suffered a bit of a scare when Amari Cooper was ruled out of the Dallas-Jets game after only getting 0.3 points. No problem though, as Lamar Jackson and James Conner were both awesome for their AFC North teams. Lamar broke 30 points and James Conner scored two touchdowns and 23.9 fantasy points. Low Fat Greek Goedert won in a laugher, 95.4-45.9.
As a league, we tied a weekly low of triple-digit totals, with Lookin 2 Winovich scoring the most points with 117.2. Team John’s Winners came in second with 111.8, and Provo Cougar Go Cougs got 107.2. Nobody else broke 100 points. For the season, Low Fat Greek Goedert remains in first place with a 5-1 record and 618.2 points over six weeks. Provo Cougars Go Cougs is in second at 5-1 and 611.2 points, and Goin’ In Blind is third at 5-1 and 607.3 points. Nothin Runs Like a Deere would also be in playoffs if they were held today at 4-2, and then 5 other teams are at 3-3. It is still anyone’s game, so please stay active on the waiver wire and trade market! Good luck, please let me know if you have any questions!
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