The week of the goose egg: Week 7 Fantasy recap

Thanks to all who responded to the poll from last week. We have expanded the regular season to 13 weeks and will now have six teams in the playoffs. The No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams will have a bye the first week, and will play the winners of the 3-6 and 4-5 matchups, who will play in Week 14, in Week 15. The winners of that game will play each other in the final. Each game will be a one-week total and the season will end after Week 16.

This week, there were several results that were extremely low. There were three teams that broke 100 points, two of which were in a matchup with one another, and then the next highest point total was 84.2. While I was certainly not one complaining about the low scores, given that I had the lowest winning score of the week, it was a problem when I noticed that several of the scores could have been significantly higher if the team owners had worked on their rosters a little bit before the weekend.

Nobody wants this guy's eggs in their lineup.

Whether it was noticing that the player in question had been benched for a backup and wasn’t going to play, or realizing that the big red “O” next to the player’s name meant that they are out for the week, there were several teams that could have made their games much more competitive. They might have cruised to victory instead of barely sliding by, or even won their matchup if they had replaced players in their rosters with bench players who were ready and available to use. Instead, they had dreaded "goose eggs" in their starting lineups, which are never a good sign.

Fantasy football is supposed to be fun. As a competitive person, things are always more fun when I invest time in them. So, while fantasy football used to be this game that I maybe thought about a little bit, it’s now a full-blown hobby! I enjoy figuring out which of my players will be good, thinking about the matchups and trying to decide how to win. My record would suggest I’m not that good at it, but I enjoy the effort I put into it! :-) I would encourage everyone to try and do a little bit more research this week and see if it makes things more fun. See if there’s a player on your bench who has quietly been really good for you and could replace that second- or third-round pick who just hasn’t worked out. See if there’s a trade you could make with someone for a player you have secretly coveted #ChrisCarson4Evah. Or see if there’s someone on the waiver wire that nobody else has picked up, but would fit just perfectly in your lineup. There are lots of ways to have fun and increase your chances of winning, and the first thing I’d suggest is making sure your lineups are ready when the games roll around!

Team John’s Winners and Better Luck Next Time played a rock fight of a game. Matt Ryan left the Atlanta game early on with a high ankle sprain, leaving Team John’s Winners at 2.6 fantasy points at the quarterback position, and finished the Sunday afternoon games with 64.3 fantasy points. Better Luck Next Time was looking to cruise, being only ten points behind at that point with three players left to play, including Carson Wentz at quarterback. However, the Cowboys thrashed the Eagles and forced three turnovers from Wentz, who finished with 6.8 fantasy points. Better Luck Next Time still won the matchup, 74.8 to 64.3, but it was much closer than it appeared to be going into Sunday night.

Links’s Dawg Pound played Provo Cougar Go Cougs, who continue to do well. Jimmy Graham of Green Bay was the recipient of one of Aaron Rodgers’ five touchdowns in a win over Detroit, scoring 12.5 fantasy points, an excellent total for a tight end. Russell Wilson struggled in his home game against the Ravens, throwing for one touchdown and 241 yards on his way to 14.3 fantasy points. This was somewhat concerning for a leader in the league, as several other players also underperformed. On the other side, Link’s Rams defense scored a touchdown and forced three turnovers, leading to 22 points and giving the Dawg Pound a chance to pull the upset and win their second game. Unfortunately, Marcus Mariota was benched for Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee and Pittsburgh was on bye, so several players were unable to help Links Dawg Pound out of the immediate hole he was in. Provo Cougars Go Cougs sticks with it, winning 81.8 to 62.9.

Maybe Aaron Rodgers just smoldered the
Lions defense into submission with this stare...

I am the Goat appears to be cursed. There’s no other way around it. Just looking at total points scored, I am the Goat has enough points to have won at least two games this season. The problem is points against. I am the Goat has 762.3 points scored against him, more than 40 points more than the next closest player. For whatever reason, every team gets up to play I am the Goat, who is dealing with scores six points higher than the next closest person over the course of the season. This weird curse struck again this week, as Aaron Rodgers must have heard my criticism on this blog last week. He exploded for 43.8 fantasy points, with 429 yards, five touchdown passes and another rushing touchdown. Normally, that would be more than enough to win a matchup, no matter who you are playing. Unfortunately, Marvin Jones was on Lookin 2 Winovich’s team, and became the third player in NFL history with multiple games in which he caught four touchdowns. Marvin Jones caught 93 yards, along with those four touchdown passes, which was good for 33.3 points. Couple that with another dominant Patriots defensive performance in which they grabbed four interceptions, two fumbles, a safety, and shut out the Jets, and you have 23 fantasy points. Lookin 2 Winovich wins again, 120.5-101.7.

Nothin Runs Like a Deere needed a win to keep pace with Goin’ In Blind for a playoff spot, so this matchup was extremely opportune for both of them. The injury bug struck Goin’ In Blind early and often during the games, with Adam Thielen and Kerryon Johnson both leaving their games with injuries. When your RB1 goes out, who is really your RB2 since Christian McCaffrey is on bye, it never bodes well for your team’s prospects. Other players like George Kittle and the Chicago defense struggled, although it wasn’t George Kittle’s fault that he played in a monsoon in the game against the Redskins, who have no offense anyways, but even the 49ers didn't really have an offense with their players sliding all over the field. While Nothin Runs Like a Deere had an inactive Malcolm Brown to hurt him, Todd Gurley caught a touchdown pass for the first time this season, Deshaun Watson was still good, and the Dallas defense was opportunistic in their game against Philly. Add it all up, and Nothin Runs like a Deere got through a tough spot on their schedule, winning 84.2-62.1 against Goin’ In Blind.

Albuquerque Cat Killas has been a pretty soft team to play so far this season, and Low Fat Greek Goedert felt confident going into the matchup. While Pat Mahomes getting hurt didn’t help the Cat Killas team, the Kansas City defense shut down Denver and scored 23 fantasy points, so there was certainly a chance after the Thursday night game. Then, several of the Greek Goederts underperformed, including Marlon Mack (5.6 points), Cooper Kupp (5 points), and Tevin Coleman (6.1 points), while the Cat Killas' Latavius Murray of the Saints scored two touchdowns and 27 poinTsfantasy points. Several players were on bye and still on the Cat Killas’ active roster, so it wasn’t too worrisome for Greek Goedert, but her nerves were definitely settled when Sony Michel scored three touchdowns and 21.4 fantasy points on Monday night. Low Fat Greek Goedert just broke the triple digit mark in the victory, 100.2-76.5.

England Excessive Force, to his credit, has been extremely creative to try and overcome the issues of auto drafting at the beginning of the season. This is compounded by teams hoarding quarterbacks, keeping two or even three of them on their rosters. So the Jimmy Garoppolo start was certainly justified. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to have checked the weather in DC this week, and the rain made the 49ers rushing attack the preferred option in this game. Garoppolo’s 6 points sunk an otherwise impressive performances from Excessive Force’s receiving threats, with two receivers and the tight end all catching touchdowns and recording 65+ yards through the air, for 41 points among the three players. Jared Goff got back on track against the terrible Atlanta defense for the Reindeer Gamers, scoring 25 fantasy points, and Dalvin Cook continued doing his thing, scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 142 yards and 26.9 fantasy points. The Reindeer Gamers also were down a player in Christian Kirk, but it didn’t stop them from emerging victorious, 83.8-71.9.

There is a bit more separation in the standings as teams continue to play one another and sort themselves. Low Fat Greek Goedert and Provo Cougars Go Cougs have the top records at 6-1, with Greek Goedert recording six consecutive wins after a Week 1 setback. Nothin Runs Like a Deer and Goin’ In Blind are separated by 0.2 points in the standing with identical 5-2 records, with Nothin Runs Like a Deere edging out Goin’ In Blind. Lookin 2 Winovich was the high score of the week with 120.5, and her opponent, I am the Goat, was second with 101.7. Low Fat Greek Goedert recorded 100.2 points on the week, and nobody else was close to triple digits.

Have a good week, look over the waiver wire, and feel free to ask me any questions!