Week 2 Matchups and Predictions

The thing about NFL weeks starting on Thursday is that it gives you little time to actually celebrate a victory the previous week. Before you know it, it's ready to gear up for the next week. So here we are, Week 2 already. Here are this week's matchups and predictions.


Bay Area Tanners (1-0) vs
Bigger Balls (1-0)

All Time Record
Mayra Leads Series 3-2

Key Players

Bay Area Tanners: Eli Manning (Saints) Mike Evans (Cardinals) DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs) Michael Floyd (Bucs) LeSean McCoy (Jets) Spencer Ware (Texans)

Bigger Balls: Matt Ryan (Raiders) Antonio Brown (Bengals) Amari Cooper (Falcons) DeSean Jackson (Cowboys) Lamar Miller (Chiefs) Matt Forte (Bills)

Wild Cards

Bay Area Tanners: The Spencer Ware/Jamaal Charles Situation. Hail Mary Play at Tight End. Tough Matchups for Mike Evans and LeSean McCoy.

Bigger Balls: Matt Ryan on The Road.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Mayra wins 102-100
I Say: Mayra wins. So after winning Week 1, I have to go against the team that scored the most points in the league last week and honestly, this week could be more of the same. Besides Matt Ryan being worse on the road than home (and even then, he's playing the shitty Raiders D this week) there is literally no bad matchup for Mayra's team this week. Add to the fact that she has the better overall team and I'm preparing myself for the L. I still don't even know if Spencer Ware is going to officially be the starter this week because as of this writing, Jamaal Charles hasn't been ruled out. I haven't decided on playing Arian Foster or Rashad Jennings and that just has all the signs of benching the wrong guy. Horrible matchups for LeSean McCoy and Mike Evans and a shot in the dark tight end in Dennis Pitta have my confidence this week pretty low.

BigBadBob (0-1)  vs
Woe Is You (0-1)

All Time Record
Dad Leads Series 5-1 (Last Played, 2013 3rd Place Game)

Key Players

BigBadBob: Cam Newton (49ers) Brandon Marshall (Bills) Golden Tate (Titans) Emmanuel Sanders (Colts) Jeremy Langford (Eagles) Greg Olsen (49ers)

Woe Is You: Odell Beckham Jr. (Saints) CJ Anderson (Colts) Jordan Reed (Cowboys) Eric Decker (Bills)

Wild Cards

BigBadBob: Rawls or Gore? Repeat performance from Willie Snead? Emmanuel Sanders QB Situation.

Woe Is You: Phillip Dorsett replacing Keenan Allen Production. Derek Carr performance.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Dad wins 105-100
I Say: Dad wins. Dad was Posey's last ever opponent before his two year hiatus. One of these two teams is going to be in a 0-2 hole. Giving the edge to Dad here, as that Keenan Allen injury was a serious blow to Mike. I think Dad has the overall better plays this week.

Channel 4 News Team (1-0) vs
SCLSU MudDogs (0-1)

All Time Record
Series is Tied 1-1

Key Players

Channel 4 News Team: Andrew Luck (Broncos) A.J. Green (Steelers) T.Y. Hilton (Broncos) Doug Baldwin (Rams) Doug Martin (Cardinals)

SCLSU MudDogs: Drew Brees (Giants) Julian Edelman (Dolphins) Larry Fitzgerald (Bucs) Carlos Hyde (Panters)

Wild Cards

Channel 4 News Team: Tough Matchups for Luck/Hilton/Martin.  Is Will Fuller legit?

SCLSU MudDogs: Tough Matchup for Carlos Hyde. Theo Riddick 1 week wonder? Travis Benjamin step up with Keenan Allen out?

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Alex wins 100-97
I Say: Albert wins. Alex is coming off an unbelievable week 1 yet still ended up getting the loss because he played against Mayra's #1 scoring team. It doesn't get any easier this week as he plays against the team that scored the 3rd most points this week in Albert. Yahoo has him winning, but I'm going to give the tiny edge to Albert here. Both guys have key guys having difficult matchups, but I feel Alex has more "prove it" players in Riddick, Benjamin, and Lockett. I definitely think it'll be close, but slight edge to Albert this week.

Hoosier Daddy (1-0) vs
Belfast Bruiser (0-1)

All Time Record
Drew Leads Series 7-1

Key Players

Hoosier Daddy: Ben Roethlisberger (Bengals) Sammy Watkins* (Jets) Ezekiel Elliott (Redskins) Deangelo Williams (Bengals) Mark Ingram (Giants)

Belfast Bruiser: Donte Moncrief (Broncos) Allen Robinson (Chargers) Adrian Peterson (Packers) Eddie Lacy (Vikings)

Wild Cards

Hoosier Daddy: Sammy Watkins health. Bounce back game from Zeke. Wide Receiver Production overall. Celek as Ertz Replacement.

Belfast Bruiser: Bounce back games from Cousins/Peterson/Lacy/Allen Robinson. Tajae Sharpe production. Tough Matchup for Donte Moncrief. Tight End Situation.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Ryan wins 103-100
I Say: Drew wins. This is super tough because both teams have tons of question marks. I just don't think Drew's guys will play THAT awful like they did last week when he scored the worst in the league. Ryan has more boom or busts type in Watkins, Steve Smith, and Brent Celek, where they COULD be great...but they could also score 0-4 points a piece. Drew's guys seem to have a safer floor. Also, Ryan won with half his team's scoring coming from Big Ben/DeAngelo Williams. The rest of team was awful last week and he was lucky he played the 2nd lowest scoring team in Mark. Out of all the winners, he scored the least points. He can definitely win, but I'm not expecting Big Ben and DeAngelo to do exactly what they did against a better defense in the Bengals so he needs other guys to step up. Slight edge to Drew here.

Shock The Monkey (0-1) vs
Light's Broken Bots (0-1)

All Time Record
Series is tied 2-2

Key Players

Shock The Monkey: Carson Palmer (Bucs) Dez Bryant (Redskins) Alshon Jeffrey (Eagles) Jarvis Landry (Patriots) Latavius Murray (Falcons) DeMarco Murray (Lions) Danny Woodhead (Jaguars)

Light's Broken Bots: Russell Wilson* (Rams) Jordy Nelson (Vikings) Kelvin Benjamin (49ers) Rob Gronkowski* (Dolphins)

Wild Cards

Shock The Monkey: Dez bounceback? Tight End Production

Light's Broken Bots: Charles officially out again? Wilson and Gronk's health. RB Production. Corey Coleman now with Josh McCown.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Mark wins 104-94
I Say: Mark wins. Mark's team reared its ugly head last week by scoring the 2nd lowest points in the league, but his team gets its a chance to redeem themselves taking on Matt's injury/suspension riddled team. Matt's got too many question marks this week that there's a reason this is the matchup with the 2nd biggest projected margin of victory. Even if Russell Wilson and Gronk play, how effective will they be? I think Mark has a good enough week to get by Matt this week.

No Soup For You (1-0) vs
Rocket Man (1-0)

All Time Record
Series is tied 2-2

Key Players

No Soup For You: Matthew Stafford (Titans) Brandin Cooks (Giants) Demaryius Thomas (Colts) Randall Cobb (Vikings) Todd Gurley (Seahawks) David Johnson (Bucs)

Rocket Man: Aaron Rodgers (Vikings) Julio Jones (Raiders) Jeremy Maclin (Texans) Jordan Matthews (Bears) Travis Kelce (Texans)

Wild Cards

No Soup For You: Demaryius Thomas health. Tough Matchup for Todd Gurley.

Rocket Man: Running back production. Victor Cruz really back?

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Leland wins 107-96
I Say: Leland wins. We're getting the brother against brother matchup really early. Last time we saw these was in the 2nd round of the playoffs last year which Leland easily took en route to his 2nd championship. How can you pick against this team? Even with mediocre games from Demaryius Thomas, Randall Cobb, and Todd Gurley he still put up 120 points. He's got too many weapons, and what hurts too is Aaron Rodgers needs Randall Cobb to help in his production. Just think Leland's team is too strong this week.

Week 1 Results: Football Back In Full Force

 

Well, Week 1 has ended and though it's been 9 months since fantasy football has been relevant for us, it didn't take too long to remember the agony, frustration, elation, injuries, touchdowns, points scored, vultures etc. Yes folks, Fantasy Football is back in full force, and as shown in Week 1,  it didn't take long for some teams to go through those wide range of emotions in the matter of a couple hours. We had breakthrough performances, we had big stars come out small, big stars reaffirm their dominance, and yes the dreaded season killing injury bug reared its ugly head. It's a rollercoaster and a marathon and it's only just begun. Here's what happened in Week One of Year 7 of The Wane McGarity Bowl.

Bay Area Tanners (1-0)              117.28

BigBadBob (0-1)                        104.16

Well, it's always great to start the season off with a victory and though the score might not reflect it, this was really a back and forth affair that was close until the end of the afternoon games. Thankfully, I had this in the bag with 2 players to spare and those two players (Michael Floyd and Martellus Bennett) barely combined for a little over 10 points. Dad had already used up 3 guys who basically got their projections and right away on Sunday, he got the first two TD's of the day with Jeremy Langford and Willie Snead. It wasn't looking good at all for a little while, with my guys not doing dick (my team is always a slow starter, no matter what combination of players I have) until Hopkins and McCoy scored TD's within seconds of each other. Hopkins didn't have the greatest of games, and was overshadowed by rookie teammate Will Fuller, but hopefully the emergence of Fuller is legit and that'll open up things for Hopkins. McCoy didn't have the greatest of games either, but he still managed a TD and I'll take his 15 fantasy points anyday. My two biggest fears though were Mike Evans and Spencer Ware. Evans was my 1st round draft pick and already he had a super tough matchup against Desmond Trufant and the Falcons. He wasn't doing shit for the longest time, before finally waking up and scoring a nice long TD and finishing with 99 yards and a score. Spencer Ware was a gamble only because of rumblings that Charcandrick West was the real #2 RB behind Charles and that Ware might not get the big workload everyone expected. Well, despite starting out down 21-3, that was DEAD WRONG. Ware was a BEAST...in the rushing and PASSING game. Dude is legit, with 7 catches for 129 and nearly 200 total yards and a score. My only worry is, when Jamaal Charles comes back, it's back to a lesser role, but if somehow Charles misses again, and Ware performs like this again, I can't see Ware NOT having a significant workload even with Charles being back. We'll see what happens there. As great as Ware was, for Dad it was Willie Snead keeping him in the game. Along with the TD Snead scored, he had 9 catches for 172 yards. Brees is a passing machine, and Dad might have gotten a steal here in Snead. Wouldn't be surprised if Snead has a few more games like this throughout the season and that's a nice luxury to have as a flex play. Unfortunately Snead easily outscored Dad's 3 receivers (Emmanuel Sanders, Brandon Marshall, and Golden Tate) COMBINED. Marshall had a terrible game with only 32 yards. For all the points Detroit put up, Dad has to be disappointed that Golden Tate only had 7 catches for 41 yards. I think both just had a bad game, and it's not indicative on what will happen for the season. Outside of Snead and Newton, everyone basically under achieved for Dad (Langford scored a TD, but didn't have much yardage). For me, Eli was Eli, he threw a mind boggling STUPID pick, but still managed 3 TD's scores for a respectable finish. Eli's not fun to own, but as long as he puts up stats I'm happy. Rashad Jennings was boring as fuck, and thanks to some late runs managed to have a mediocre 75 yard rushing yards. As long as Ware is doing his thing, and now that Arian Foster got his bad matchup out of the way against Seattle, Jennings might be the odd man out for me. Michael Floyd had 61 yards off 3 receptions. His upside will keep him in my lineup as the Cardinals are going to put up points. The one glaring thing I'm worried about is my Tight End Situation. I was nervous about it after the draft, and am even more worried about it now. Even with Gronk out, Martellus Bennett did nothing on the offensive side (to be fair, he spent a TON of time blocking). I can't trust him as my tight end if he's going to be a blocker the majority of the time. I have to hope Vance McDonald is decent, otherwise I'm super fucked at this position. I'll take the win, but still feel like I have a lot of questions on my roster. It doesn't get easier for me as I take on Mayra next week. Dad will take on Mike in week 2.

Game MVP

Spencer Ware (Bay Area Tanners)

70 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD, 7 Receptions 129 Receiving Yards, 29.4 Points

 

Rocket Man (1-0)                    114.46

Light's Broken Bots (0-1)        100.32

Man the hits just coming for Matt. It seems like injuries ALWAYS follow his team. So Matt was already going without Jamaal Charles and Gronk and despite the great start from Kelvin Benjamin, Matt's team just couldn't get it together. Add Russell Wilson to the injury list as he rolled his ankle yesterday and was downright AWFUL. A late game winning TD saved his day from being a single digit nightmare, but still you don't draft a QB early to have him score under 14 points. Wilson says the injury isn't serious but it's still worth monitoring and if he were to miss, Matt has no real backup because Brady is suspended. Jordy Nelson got a TD that saved his day, but he only got 32 receiving yards. I'm sure he'll be fine going forward, just getting eased back into action. I don't know how much Corey Coleman can be trusted, but he had 2 catches for 69 yards. Unless he gets a TD, he's a big time hail mary play every week and now news is out that RGIII is out for a while so who knows what happens with Josh McCown as the QB. Allen Hurns was OK, with 75 yards, what you expect from a WR3. This score could've been much more worse because like Jordy, Jeremy Hill was awful, but saved his day with a TD and Isaish Crowell had 62 and a score. Still don't like trusting them as my RB combo. At least Matt seems to have a solid replacement for Gronk in Dwayne Allen. Allen had 53 and a score and I figure the Colts will be passing a LOT so he should be involved most weeks just in case Gronk misses more time. The only downside there are a TON of guys to feed in that offense (Hilton, Moncrief, Dorsett, and even another Tight End in Jack Boyle, who had 2 TD's of his own). It wasn't a bad effort, Matt did score 100 points, just hard to win with so many things going against you. For Eugene, Melvin Gordon actually came through for him with his first 2 TD's of his career. Danny Woodhead did still outsnap him and now with Keenan Allen out for the season, it may mean even more Woodhead, but for this week he'll reap the benefits. Duke Johnson was non existent and Eugene's flex is a little shaky with Rishard Matthews not doing much of note. Luckily, his receiving trio came up huge and along with Aaron Rodgers was the main reason Eugene got the W. Rodgers didn't even throw for 200 yards but 2 Passing TD's and a rush TD made up for it. Julio Jones was quiet for a half before finally getting a TD and ending up with 66 yards. Even in a difficult matchup, Jeremy Maclin managed 5 for 63 and a score (Eugene's tight end, Travis Kelce, chipped in with 6 for 74 too) and most surprising Jordan Matthews showed he had great chemistry with Carson Wentz and ended up with 7 receptions for 114 and a score. That receiving Trio and Rodgers can definitely help make up for the weakness at Wide Receiver and it's another great start to the season for Eugene but his brother's superteam lurks next, which will be a super tough matchup. For Matt, he'll get Mark next, which honestly is a blessing, since both teams have so many questions and problems, Matt might be able to sneak out a win there.

Game MVP

Aaron Rodgers (Rocket Man)

199 Passing Yards, 2 Passing TD's, 16 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD, 25.56 Points

Hoosier Daddy (1-0)                105.90
Shock The Monkey (0-1)           78.20

It wasn't pretty, but Ryan manages to easily take Week 1 against Mark. Ryan did get a little lucky that he played one of only two teams that didn't break 100 (hell Mark didn't even break 80) but a win is a win and Ryan gets to start the season undefeated. His Steelers combo of DeAngelo Williams and Big Ben were HUGE (combined for 57.4 of Ryan's 105.90 Points) and helped finish up the job. Outside of them though, huge disappointments all around. Sammy Watkins was terrible, John Brown was even worse. Zeke Elliott scored a TD, which saved his day, but he debut was pretty mediocre as he only got 51 yards on 20 carries. The big news too is Devonta Freeman won't be the lead back in Atlanta. Looks like a full blown time share and though Ryan owns Tevin Coleman too, it's going to be tough to decide which guy to go with. For two more weeks, Ryan can bench both, but once Deangelo Williams loses his job to Le'veon Bell, he'll probably have to make that decision. For Mark, I said it was the ultimate boom or bust team and boy did it BUST this week. 2nd lowest score in the league this week. Dez was really bad with 1 catch for 8 yards, and Mark's tight end, Gary Barnidge, was blanked. Not that it matters, but Mark also made the head scratching decision of starting Darren Sproles over Danny Woodhead. I doubt he makes that mistake again but it was Woodhead-20.5 points, Sproles 4.6. Both Murray's scored, but I'd be a little concerned about DeMarco as both of his TD's came from receiving, he only had 42 yards rushing, while Latavius Murray has to worry about rookies Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington eating into his workload. Jarvis Landry had a mediocre game but he'll bounce back and at least Alshon Jeffrey had a good game with 100 yards. Blake Bortles had the yards with 320 but only threw 1 TD pass which was a tad disappointing.  Like I said in my draft review, this team is going to be really hard to judge, because I have feeling we'll see games like that, and then weeks were Mark scores among the highest of the leagues. Gonna be tough to predict. Mark gets Matt next week, while Ryan takes on the team that scored the least points this week in Drew.

Game MVP

DeAngelo Williams (Hoosier Daddy)

143 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TD's, 6 Receptions, 28 Receiving Yards, 32.10 Points

 

Bigger Balls (1-0)              137.46

SCLSU MudDogs (0-1)    131.22

Wow...surprisingly the most competitive and high scoring matchup of the week. Looking at Alex's roster, I doubt anyone but Alex gave himself a chance in hell of beating Mayra this week, but not only did he come close, he scored the 2nd most points in the league this week...just sucks for him that he played against the team that scored the most points this week. Yes...Alex would've even beaten Leland's all star studded team this week (what a trap game THAT WOULD'VE BEEN). Alex kept no keepers, and started off fresh. If anyone had any kind of competitive disadvantage (which would have been admittedly self induced since it's Alex's decision not to keep anyone) it was Alex, as the rest of us kept 2 guys, yet Alex was going nose to nose with the highest scoring team in the league. Proof that Football (ESPECIALLY Fantasy Football) is wildly unpredictable and to not just give up, play the game and just go with the flow, just like Eugene did with his "crappy looking team on paper" from last year. Will this be a consistent thing? Who knows, but the bottom line is, in a weekly head to head league, all it takes it one week to have it all come together. And Alex came real close to pulling off a major upset. Kudos for the effort. Both teams played pretty flawless and unfortunately all it takes is one team to proverbial "blink" to lose a tight contest. Tavon Austin wasn't able to get the job done unfortunately. That, combined with Tyler Lockett and Delanie Walker's bad games sunk Alex's upset chances. Oh..that and Antonio Brown proving once again he's the best fantasy football player in the WORLD, going for 8 catches for 126 yards and two TD's. That guy is totally on another level, on his own and it's not even close. On Alex's side, Drew Brees had a typical Drew Breesy game with over 400 yards and 4 TD's. If this defense is going to blow bad again (sure looks like it is), Brees is in for a MONSTER season. Also, apologies to Larry Fitzgerald for claiming he was on the decline. Fuckkkkk me, lol. Fitzgerald was amazing with 81 yards and two scores. Julian Edelman wasn't terrific, but he still Jimmy G's go to guy and as long as the targets are there, he'll be fine until Brady gets back. How about Theo Riddick?? Shit, two scores and over 100 total yards? It seems a little fluky, but even half that production for two more games until Le'Veon Bell gets back would be great for Alex. Carlos Hyde once again dominated a Monday Night Opening (ironically like he did for Mayra last year) with 88 yards and two scores. Hopefully for Alex's sake, it doesn't end up being the best game of the season like it was for Mayra before he completely unraveled and busted and got hurt. Well, it was a scare, but Mayra showed she definitely has the kind of team that can outscore anyone. Outside of Brown being god-like, Matt Ryan had a great game with over 330 yards passing and two scores. He's teased us before, but he's fully capable of putting up these kind of games on a weekly basis. Amari Cooper was a beast with 137 yards receiving and DeSean Jackson, usually a low catch boom or bust type player, actually caught 6 balls for 102 yards. Lamar Miller didn't score, but got a hefty workload and made the most of it with with 106 yards on 28 carries. Just a matter of time before he adds TD's to those stat lines. Matt Forte is in the Arian Foster spot where you plug him in, hope he performs and, cross your fingers he stays healthy. There was supposed to be a timeshare with Bilal Powell but that wasn't the case as Forte DOMINATED the work. He had 155 total yards. As long as healthy (big IF), he's a great #2 guy to have. Julius Thomas had 64 and a score as I think considering the TE landscape, he's going to be one of the better ones to own. The only disappointing play was Gio Bernard, but luckily he wasn't needed in this matchup. Bitter loss for Alex who next plays Albert in Week 2, while it's an early battle of undefeateds as Mayra plays me next week.

Game MVP

Antonio Brown (Bigger Balls)

8 Receptions, 126 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving TD's, 28.6 Points

 

Channel 4 News Team (1-0)   129.50

Belfast Bruiser (0-1)                  73.86

From the tightest contested to matchup, to the biggest blowout, Drew's team got just STOMPED by Albert this week in a match that was never close. After a super disappointing 2015, Andrew Luck MORE than made up for it in his season debut. 385 yards, 4 TD's and zero turnovers for nearly 40 points in what was the best single fantasy performance of the week. The Colts look AWFUL and if Luck can stay healthy he's going to put up some MONSTER games like this. Also, A.J. Green....total BEAST, 180 yards (against  "Revis Island") and a score. Also, Doug Baldwin's trying to prove he's not a one year wonder and he's got a case so far with a 9 catch, 92 yard, 1 TD performance. Doug Martin, LaGarrette Blount, and T.Y. Hilton weren't great but all managed double digit efforts. The only disappointing plays for Albert were Antonio Gates (though now with Keenan Allen out, he might be in line to get more targets) and Vincent Jackson (V-Jax was awful, but because Albert has a potential fantasy star in the making on his bench in Texans rookie Will Fuller, V-Jax probably won't be sniffing Albert's lineup again). Overall great performace, and like I said in my draft results, Albert's a team you have to consider a favorite to have a shot to win it all. For Drew....deflating debut as he scored the least points in the entire league. He seemed to have a combination of guys who just had off games who will bounce back (Eddie Lacy, Allen Robinson) to guys who you might have to be legit worried about (Kirk Cousins, Adrian Peterson, Coby Fleener). Peterson is just alarming because with running backs you just never know when it's over, and though it's still week 1, it's a little concerning how little Peterson did. At least Donte Moncrief looked good, but I worry about consistent production only because there are a TON of guys to feed in that offense. Also Tajae Sharpe looks like a solid week to week play as he's the clear #1 receiver for the Titans. Ryan Mathews also had a great game with 77 and a score. I don't think Drew's team will be this bad again, but there are concerns. He'll take on Ryan next week, while Albert plays Alex.

Game MVP

Andrew Luck (Channel 4 News Teams)

385 Passing Yards, 4 Passing TD's, 21 Rushing Yards, 39.5 Points

 

No Soup For You (1-0)                  125.60

Woe Is You (0-1)                            110.56

So Leland survives an early Thursday scare and ends up taking this pretty easily but for Mike he not only loses but loses big because Keenan Allen tore his ACL in the first half of the first game of the season and is out for the season. Crushing blow to Mike's squad, as Allen was having a great game before the injury. Going to be tough to replace that production. Mike put up points, Derek Carr and Stefon Diggs did great along with of course the CJ Anderson Thursday play. Eric Decker did score a TD, but barely had over 10 points for the week, and both Odell Beckham and Jordan Reed scored under 10 points a piece. Leland's team reminds me of Mayra's team from two seasons ago where you just gotta be firing on all cylinders to be able to beat him. He's got too much talent, that even with bad plays (Randall Cobb, Demaryius Thomas and Todd Gurley) the rest of his team can more than make up their low scoring efforts. Led by Brandin Cooks (who had an AMAZING 98 YARD TD, and ended up with 143 yards and two total TD's), the rest of Leland's team was pretty solid. David Johnson had 132 total yards and a score, Matt Stafford had 340 passing yards and 3 scores, and even at his "weak" Tight End position, Eric Ebron had 46 and a score. Marvin Jones was kind of bla, but still managed a little over 10 points. The only minor thing I'd worry about here is Demaryius Thomas and Todd Gurley's offensive situations. They aren't the greatest, and I'm sure they will still be good fantasy players, but they might not live up to expectations. The good thing is, if they don't, Leland has enough talent around them that it won't matter much. He takes on his brother Eugene in a brother vs brother undefeated matchup, while Mike takes on my Dad in a matchup where the loser will go 0-2. 

Game MVP

Brandin Cooks (No Soup For You)

6 Receptions, 143 Receiving Yards, Two Receiving TD's, 11 rushing Yards, 30.40 Points

 

 

 

Thursday Night Overview: Football is officially BACK

 

Well, last night FINALLY marked the return of REAL NFL Football and what a game it was. Your typical down to the wire affair featuring last year's Super Bowl teams in the Panthers and Broncos. For Mike, Leland, Matt, and Dad it marked their official start of the Fantasy Football season as they had players go in last night's game. So how did they do? We'll start with Mike who had the star of the game in CJ Anderson. Anderson DEMOLISHED the Panthers defense with some nice runs and a couple scores and finished with nearly 28 points. Of course selfishly I ask, WHERE WAS THIS CJ ANDERSON LAST YEAR?!!? I don't think in the 7 games he was on my roster he got me 28 points COMBINED. Anyways, this is exactly the performance Mike needed if he wants to take down Leland in week one. You need these monster performances to compete with his squad and now it puts Mike in the driver's seat, though Leland has the squad that can overcome this deficit. Although yes, it's only one game, it also should solidify CJ Anderson's status as an RB #1. If he can do this damage to Carolina, he certainly should be able to do this to lesser D's and it's obvious the Broncos are definitely going to be a run first team. Mike's other play was Jonathan Stewart who finished with a measly 64 rushing yards. Stewart isn't a bad RB at all, but these kind of games will happen more often than not, which means CJ Anderson's going to have to do the major lifting. Stewart loses goal line carries to Cam Newton (which happened last night) and even Mike Tolbert, so his ceiling is very limited. Luckily the CJ Anderson made up for Stewart's mediocre game. Back the Broncos, and Leland can't be happy with his 2nd rd pick. People were worried about the QB play hurting Demaryius Thomas and at least for 1 game they were proven right. Thomas didn't even reach 50 yards, and though I wouldn't panic yet, it was a great D they were playing against, I do expect Demaryius to really have to work for his yardage and points. He might be more of a low end WR2/High End WR3 but Leland's depth can afford that as he still has Randall Cobb and Brandin Cooks as his other receivers. Cooks was already in a better situation than DT and I expect Randall Cobb to outperform Thomas as well. Leland's in a deep hole, but again, with the roster he has, it's definitely not the end of the world. The other Broncos wide receiver, Emmanuel Sanders, didn't do too much for Dad either. He, too was held to less than 50 yards and unlike Leland, Dad can't afford for Sanders to not perform at at least WR3 status. It's just one game though, so we'll see how the offense plays against the Colts Shitty D next week. Might be singing a new tune. Speaking of Dad, he should be content, not super excited, but content with his guys performances. Cam got his, even though the numbers looked a little ugly, those rushing stats always bail him out. Greg Olsen barely missed his projection and it's obvious Cam still loves to throw to him and Kelvin Benjamin (feels like those two are the only ones who exist on that team) and he's primed to have another great season. Even Emmanuel Sanders projection wasn't that high to begin with and he almost met it so Dad's definitely still in this week's matchup with me. How about Matt? I count him out, say he's team got a lot of obstacles to overcome, and his first player of the season, Kelvin Benjamin exceeds expectations. When all you hear is how Kelvin is having a terrible offseason, looks sluggish, being outplayed by Devin Funchess, and would be on a limited snap count week 1, you can only think negative things about the guy. You go with what you read about from guys closest to the team. Obviously they were wrong, because Kelvin Benjamin looked great last night. 91 yards and a score. Cam was targeting him all night and he looked unstoppable. This is the kind of production Matt needs to keep his team afloat until his team gets it all together. A Jordy/Benjamin/Gordon trio with Gronk at TE could be a super dangerous receiving group if it all goes to plan. Now he has to worry about Gronk possibly not playing (Sunday night play too) but if he does, he's gotta chance at stealing week #1 against Eugene. It was a great, thrilling start to season and for the rest of us the season starts Sunday! Should be an interesting ride to say the least!

Week 1 Matchups and Predictions

After MONTHS AND MONTHS of waiting we are finally here! Tomorrow officially kicks off not only the 2016 season but also the 7th season of the Wane McGarity Bowl. It's time to look at the matchups and predictions for Week 1. Let's get to it!

Bay Area Tanners (0-0) vs
BigBadBob (0-0)

Matchup Stats
Series is tied 3-3

Key Players 

Bay Area Tanners: Eli Manning (Cowboys) Mike Evans (Falcons) DeAndre Hopkins (Bears) Michael Floyd (Patriots) LeSean McCoy (Ravens) Spencer Ware (Chargers)

BigBadBob: Cam Newton (Broncos) Brandon Marshall (Bengals) Golden Tate (Colts) Emmanuel Sanders (Panthers) Greg Olsen (Broncos)

Wild Cards

Bay Area Tanners: RB#2 situation with Foster/Jennings. Tight End Play. Spencer Ware's workload

BigBadBob: Tough matchup for Cam. Langford/Gore good enough?

Predictions
Yahoo Says: I win 102-99
I Say: I win. Ah, starting off the season with the Father/Son matchup. Our series is tied and the last time we played each other we were both 3-0 so this should be an intersting start to the season. It's week 1, no one knows anything at this point so I gotta believe in my team off the bat and say that I take the win. I'll have to survive Dad's initial onslaught (3 guys on Thursday) but I'll give my team the slight edge. It's definitely going to be close though.

Bigger Balls (0-0) vs
SCLSU MudDogs (0-0)

Matchup Stats
Mayra Leads Series 2-0

Key Players 

Bigger Balls: Antonio Brown (Redskins) Amari Cooper (Saints) Lamar Miller (Bears) Matt Forte (Bengals)

SCLSU MudDogs: Drew Brees (Raiders) Julian Edelman (Cardinals) Larry Fitzgerald (Patriots) Carlos Hyde (Rams) Delanie Walker (Vikings)

Wild Cards

Bigger Balls: Matt Ryan at QB

SCLSU MudDogs: Theo Riddick RB#2. Boom or bust production from Lockett/Austin

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Mayra wins 106-98
I Say: Mayra wins. I was pretty down on Alex's team in the draft grade so let's see if team can shut me up and prove me wrong. He's got a tough task though going against a solid team in Mayra. Mayra seems to have the better overall roster going into to Week 1 so I'll go with her.

Channel 4 News Team (0-0) vs
Belfast Bruiser (0-0)

Matchup Stats
Albert Leads Series 6-3

Key Players

Channel 4 News Team: Andrew Luck (Lions) A.J. Green (Jets) T.Y. Hilton (Lions) Doug Baldwin (Dolphins) Doug Martin (Falcons)

Belfast Bruiser: Donte Moncrief (Lions), Allen Robinson (Packers), Adrian Peterson (Titans) Eddie Lacy (Jaguars)

Wild Cards

Channel 4 News Team: Can Still Gates still produce? LaGarrette Blount's role in Pats backfield. V-Jax still relevant?

Belfast Bruiser: Kirk Cousins at QB. Is Dante Moncrief worth the hype? Fleener/Brees chemistry. Wheaton take advantage of being the #2 receiver? Ryan Mathews role.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Albert wins 103-101
I Say: Albert wins. Despite Drew missing a year, these two guys have faced off a whopping 9 times, with Albert leading the series 6-3. This should be a great matchup as both teams have great rosters, and the interesting thing is Albert having Andrew Luck, which ties into his own receiver (Hilton) and his opponents (Moncrief). I'll go with Yahoo and give the slight tiny edge to Albert on this one.

Hoosier Daddy (0-0) vs
Shock The Monkey (0-0)

Matchup Stats
Ryan Leads Series 3-1

Key Players

Hoosier Daddy: Ben Roethlisberger (Redskins) Sammy Watkins (Ravens) John Brown (Patriots) Ezekiel Elliott (Giants) DeAngelo Williams (Redskins) Devonta Freeman (Bucs)

Shock The Monkey: Blake Bortles (Packers) Dez Bryant (Giants) Alshon Jeffrey (Texans) Jarvis Landry (Seahawks) Latavius Murray (Saints) DeMarco Murray (Vikings)

Wild Cards

Hoosier Daddy: Deangelo over Ingram. John Brown's health. Zeke's debut. Tight End Play.

Shock The Monkey: Landry tough matchup. Overall unpredictability of main guys.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Ryan wins 111-103
I Say: Ryan wins. This could easily be reversed if Mark's guys all come to play, but that of course is a big IF. I think Ryan has the most stable team, though there's a ton of pressure for Ezekiel Elliott to have a huge game to justify his draft position. Also we have RB controversy off the bat as Ryan's already benching his 2nd round pick Mark Ingram because of the depth he has. With all the factors involved, this could be the most interesting matchup of the week.

Rocket Man (0-0) vs
Light's Broken Bots (0-0)

Matchup Stats
Series is Tied 2-2

Key Players

Rocket Man: Aaron Rodgers (Jaguars) Julio Jones (Bucs) Jeremy Maclin (Chargers) Jordan Matthews (Browns) Travis Kelce (Chargers)

Light's Broken Bots: Russell Wilson (Dolphins) Kelvin Benjamin (Broncos) Rob Gronkowski (Cardinals) Jordy Nelson (Jaguars)

Wild Cards

Rocket Man: RB Production

Light's Broken Bots: Charles Doubtful. Benjamin on Snap Counts plus difficult matchup. Jordy's first game back. RB Production. Rookie Receiver Coleman's production. Garappolo/Gronk Chemistry.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Eugene wins 106-95
I Say: Eugene wins. If anyone knows how to respond with their backs against the wall it's Matt, so I'll definitely never count him out. I just think with so many question marks week 1, I'd have to see how Matt's team plays out before changing my mind on his squad. It doesn't help either that his 2nd best player (Jordy) is dependent on Eugene's QB so Rodgers will negate some of those Jordy points. Just going to go with the more stable team this week an say Eugene picks up the victory.

No Soup For You (0-0)
Woe Is You (0-0)

Matchup Stats
Series is tied 3-3 (Last Played Week 4, 2013)

Key Players

No Soup For You: Matthew Stafford (Colts) Brandin Cooks (Raiders) Demaryius Thomas (Panthers) Randall Cobb (Jaguars) Todd Gurley (49ers) David Johnson (Patriots) Marvin Jones (Colts)

Woe Is You: Derek Carr (Saints) Odell Beckham Jr. (Cowboys) Keenan Allen (Chiefs) C.J. Anderson (Panthers) Jordan Reed (Steelers) Eric Decker (Bengals)

Wild Cards

No Soup For You: Tight End Play

Woe Is You: Difficult matchups for running backs (Anderson/Stewart). Diggs production with new QB.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Leland wins 106-104
I Say: Leland wins. Welcome back Posey, in your first week you have to face off against the heavy favorite to repeat as champion, although honestly if anyone  can beat Leland in Week 1, it's Mike. I gave him the 2nd highest grade of the draft behind Leland, and Leland is only a 2 point favorite. We get a heavyweight fight in week 1 and it should be really good. Let's see what Leland's team is made of, even losing against a talented team like Posey's would be a disappointment.

Draft Results and Grades!

Another year of the draft and another year of surprises. To say it was interesting would be an understatement of epic proportions! So now that it's all said and done, it's time to evaluate the draft! Remember my yearly disclaimer. These are strictly my opinions and don't mean jackshit. Remember I said Eugene was going to have the worst season ever last year, and Kenny was a shoo in to win it all...that didn't work out so well, so don't take this seriously or personally. Onto the grades!

Matt (Light's Broken Bots) 

QB: Russell Wilson, Tom Brady

WR: Kelvin Benjamin, Allen Hurns, Corey Coleman, Jordy Nelson,  Josh Gordon

RB: Jamaal Charles, Jeremy Hill, Isaiah Crowell, Chris Johnson, James Starks

TE: Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen

Overview: Well right off the bat, Matt shocked everyone going Gronk #1. The overall thought was Matt released Odell Beckham to redraft him, and he swerved us all by taking Gronk. I get the reasoning, Gronk is the best tight end and Matt was already keeping two receivers in Jordy and Josh Gordon, but I still think with Beckham and even an unproven Ezekiel Elliott there (Matt needed a RB Too) those would been better options at #1. Especially with Gronk having no Brady for a quarter of the fantasy season. I feel like Matt's team has a  lot of obstacles to overcome. I almost feel like this team is going to be a scary team to play at the end of the season, when everyone is off suspensions and fully healed, but things really have to fall into place at the beginning of the season for Matt to be in playoff contention. Lots of what if's and question marks. Jamaal Charles was already looking like he was going to be in a timeshare, now it's looking he'll at least be out one week, and without a Spencer Ware handcuff, Matt's running backs are pretty weak (not a big Jeremy Hill fan, especially in PPR, where Gio Bernard is the receiving back). So off the bat no Charles and No Gordon. Also, Tom Brady is great flier pick, but when you have Russell Wilson, it's kind of a luxury pick. Brady will probably be at best a bye week fill in (especially if you take Russell Wilson with pick #30, you can't pick a QB that high and start alternating with another QB week to week, that's the whole purpose of taking a QB in the 3rd round, stability). Maybe Matt can flip either two to a team who needs QB help later in the season. Typically, teams draft Brady with the intention of him being their starter after the 4 game suspension and they draft a 4 week fill in (a Winston/Cousins/Stafford type) later in he draft. Either the Wilson pick or the Brady pick could've been used for more depth at the WR and RB position (really the RB position, Crowell and Chris Johnson are timeshare backs and James Starks needs Eddie Lacy to suck to be relevant again). Matt's got two receivers coming off torn ACL injuries in Jordy and Kelvin Benjamin and another in Josh Gordon who's suspended 4 games. Benjamin has reportedly looked bad in camp and preseason and Devin Funchess is playing his way into his spot. Not good. Corey Coleman is an interesting flyer, just have to see how much the Browns offense passes and Dwayne Allen is great bye week fill in for Gronk. Overall, this is a pretty high risk high reward team all around. It's either going to work and be a dangerous team or totally bomb out and be a league dweller. I really don't think there's any middle ground with this.

Overall Grade: C, it was a good keeper start, just felt it fizzled a little bit after that with a ton of high risk picks. Hopefully the Jordy of old, a fresh Kelvin Benjamin and Russell Wilson can carry this team to a decent record before Josh Gordon comes back and Jamaal Charles gets completely healthy.

Ryan (Hoosier Daddy) 

QB: Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers
WR: Sammy Watkins, John Brown, Michael Crabtree, Chris Hogan, Sammie Coates
RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Mark Ingram, Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman, Christine Michael, DeAngelo Williams
TE: Zach Ertz

Overview: Yahoo gave Ryan the best grade of the draft, and while I personally wouldn't go that far, he did a pretty good job overall. With Matt picking Gronk, it gave Ryan a shot at a couple of guys he originally thought he had no shot of. Originally, the plan was to go Le'veon Bell(thus the Deangelo Williams keeper) but once Matt dropped Beckham, Zeke Elliott seemed to be the player of choice. Matt threw yet another wrench into Ryan's plans by not selected Beckham after all. So now Ryan had to chose, the hot new rookie or a Top 3 Wide Receiver? He stuck to his guns with Elliott and now has to hope he can live up to the enormous hype he has on him. Elliott will lead a 3 headed RB squad that includes Mark Ingram (slipped to where it was fine to draft him) and Devonta Freeman (Ryan's 9th round keeper). Kudos to Ryan for snatching up Tevin Coleman too. If Freeman ends up losing his job to Coleman, Ryan can just plug him in. I also like the Christine Michael flier as he's been reported to be doing very well and could cut into Thomas Rawls work as the season goes on. The only nitpick is that it kind of made the Deangelo pick a little worthless. With how Ryan is set up, he won't even use him for a game now as he has 3 RB's ahead of him. To me he needs to trade him ASAP to Alex for SOME value, otherwise that was a wasted keep. The only reason Ryan maybe should've thought about Beckham is because he's unhappy with his receivers. Sammy Watkins is his #1 and though I know the talent is there, this isn't a pass heavy offense and Watkins is a bit injury prone. Watkins is fine as #2, but to be the best receiver on your roster is very risky. John Brown has had concussion problems all summer, but seems to be cleared up but again, he's a guy I'd like as a #3 instead of a #2. Crabtree is a solid if not boring #3, he's not flashy, but he put it up some good numbers last season in Oakland and it wouldn't be a surprise if he did it again this year. The depth after that is pure fliers, as you gotta hope somehow Chris Hogan finds his way into a spot on the field when Tom Brady gets back, and that Sammie Coates can get on the field period as I believe he's buried on the depth chart at the moment. Year after year people think Zach Ertz is going to finally live up to his expectations. Hasn't happened yet, and with a new QB in Carson Wentz will see if they can click and have chemistry together. Big Ben is fine as a QB and Philip Rivers is a great option as a bye week fill in or even starter (Ben's missed some games the past couple seasons)

Overall Grade: B, solid B here. Knocking a little points off with Williams possibly being a worthless keeper, but Ryan did really good this year (of course I thought that last year too, so did Yahoo, he won best draft last year too). Great running back depth, good QB, and the receiver core isn't as terrible as it might look, just risky. If it all comes together Ryan could be looking at the very least at a playoff berth.

Mike (Woe Is You)
QB: Derek Carr, Andy Dalton
WR: Odell Beckham, Keenan Allen, Eric Decker, Stefon Diggs, Phillip Dorsett, Nelson Agholor
RB: C.J. Anderson, Jonathan Stewart, Charles Sims, DeAndre Washington, Devontae Booker
TE: Jordan Reed

Overview: So Mike Posey comes back after a two year hiatus and the first thing he gets is Odell Beckham dropped on his lap. Excellent value there and he's got arguably the best receiving core in the league with Beckham and his keepers Keenan Allen and Eric Decker. I wasn't a Stefon Diggs fan before the Bridgewater injury, so him being hurt doesn't change my opinion of him, they are still too much of a run dominant team for me to trust him. Dorsett's an interesting flier, everyone's high on Moncrief and Hilton, the Colts did draft Dorsett high for a reason though. The Agholor pick is a dart throw and I expect him to be the first cut if Posey needs a new player. So for running backs Mike started off with C.J. Anderson. Me and ol' C.J. don't have the best of relationships, but once again, people are high on him and with what running backs were left on the board, he made the most sense. He also made a super smart pickup late in the draft with C.J. Anderson's backup Devontae Booker. If C.J. falters like the fucker that he is, Booker's next in line. I like the DeAndre Washington pick too, Latavius Murray's backup in case something happens to him. Jonathan Stewart is who he is...a solid yet unspectacular back who has a good floor but really little upside. He's fine though as a RB #2. Charles Sims could be a bye week fill in, especially in PPR leagues. Mike also picked up the 2nd best tight end in Jordan Reed. IF(and that's a big IF) he stays healthy it wouldn't be surprising at all if he outscored Gronk this year. Great move there. The QB's...meh..Carr's ok, I know Mark used him last year as his starter, but I'd be a little worried there and Andy Dalton as a backup, eh compared to the rest of the league, Mike's QB combo might be one of the weaker of the leagues, but as long as Carr plays average, I think the rest of Mike's squad can provide the bulk of the scoring.

Overall Grade: B+. It didn't take long for Mike to get back into the groove of our league. Great receiving core, and tight end, a running back with nice upside and even if QB play is a little underwhelming, it's a position where it doesn't take a lot to put it nice games. I definitely think on paper, Mike's got a championship caliber team and it would be ironic if he won a title taking Kenny's spot.

Alex (SCLSU MudDogs)
QB: Drew Brees, Tony Romo
WR: Julian Edelman, Larry Fitzgerald, Tyler Lockett, Tavon Austin, Travis Benjamin, Torrey Smith
RB: Le'Veon Bell, Carlos Hyde, Theo Riddick, Bilal Powell
TE: Delanie Walker, Jimmy Graham

Overview: Well Alex decided to start fresh and after Matt shocked the world with Gronk, it would be Alex who shocked the world with Le'Veon Bell at pick #4. I really felt that if Bell didn't go to Ryan at #2, he'd end up slipping to the 2nd round because of that 3 game suspension he has. It's really hard to use a first round pick on a guy that won't be able to help right away. Alex is going it for it though, and it's really essential he starts off at least with a win or two before Bell gets back. An 0-3 start before Bell comes back and even with Bell, it'll be hard to get back in the race. When you draft Bell, you MUST have some kind of insurance for those first three weeks...Theo Riddick and Bilal Powell aren't it. I think Alex waited way too long to get RB depth (10th and 14th round) and the lack of depth shows. Hyde is fine where he went, he definitely has upside in Chip Kelly's new system, it's just going to be so hard to have depend on Riddick or Powell (both not traditional running backs, just 3rd down pass catchers) as your RB #2 for 3 weeks. As far are the receivers go, Edelman will be without Brady for 4 weeks so hopefully he has chemistry with Jimmy Garoppolo because that's Alex's WR #1. Larry Fitzgerald to me is more of a solid WR #3 at this point of his career as he has younger guys like Michael Floyd and John Brown fighting for targets. I think he's still useful, but he's vereen towards the Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith portion of his career, solid, but not a receiver who can carry your squad. This is where I think Alex could've gotten a little bit of running back depth instead of going for Tyler Lockett (boom or bust wide receiver) and Tavon Austin (even more boom or bust than Lockett). I actually love the Benjamin pick and can easily see him being better than Lockett and Austin. He could've still had him there and used that 7th pick and a better RB selection. I think as the season goes on, he ends up using Benjamin over both. Torrey Smith as a bye week fill in and 13th round isn't bad. Delaine Walker is a solid tight end, and Jimmy Graham has the pedigree that taking a flier on him in the 11th round certainly doesn't hurt. Of course Alex goes with Ol' Faithful in Drew Brees. I don't know, he possibly could've waited a round, but he wanted his guy and he got him. The Romo pick kinda is a head scratcher because Brees bye week is in week 5 and Romo's expected to miss 6-10 weeks and most say it's more in the later range. If anything, worse case scenario is at the very least if Bell proves that he is indeed a big time talent, he's got a great keeper prospect for next year.

Grade: C-, this factors in the curious case of not keeping Brandon Marshall as a round 5 keeper, plus the risk of taking Bell in the 1st round without adequate backups. Hyde's really going to have to pick up the running back slack for 3 weeks, Edelman's going to need to have some great chemistry with Garoppolo for 4 weeks, and Brees is going to have to perform at usual elite level for this to work early. We'll see, maybe Alex will have the Eugene team this year, low expectations that he greatly exceeds.

 
Mayra (Bigger Balls)
QB: Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott
WR: Antonio Brown, Amari Cooper, DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace, Dorial Green Beckham
RB: Lamar Miller, Matt Forte, Gio Bernard, T.J. Yeldon,  Jay Ajayi
TE: Julius Thomas, Jason Witten 

Overview: So Mayra started with the best player in fantasy football in Antonio Brown and possibly a top 5 running back in Lamar Miller. Those two already put her in prime position to compete. She did a pretty good job rounding out the rest of her roster. I really like Amari Cooper as a compliment to Brown, and though DeSean Jackson is one of those home run boom or bust threats, he's shown enough that he's a trustable #3 receiving. He's fine where he is. The bye week receiver depth is a little thin, but Mike Wallace has had nice chemistry with Joe Flacco through camp and this is exactly the type of offense that suits his skills. Green Beckham is probably waiver wire fodder. After a certain point (to me Eddie Lacy) all the running backs come with some kind of question mark. Matt Forte is a year older and I don't think he'll be the dominant bell cow he once was, but as a RB#2 and in a PPR league he's fine as a RB#2.  Bernard is also a good flex play in a PPR league, I like him better in this kind of league and his draft position than Jeremy Hill (who proved last year, that he was way too TD dependent for scoring). Not a fan of Yeldon, he did nothing as the workhorse last year and now Chris Ivory is in the mix and he's the better back. I could see Yeldon getting cut after a few weeks. For where she drafted him, Jay Ajayi is a perfectly fine back to take a flier on because of Arian Foster's injury history. If he goes down, Ajayi would step in and he could provide a valuable bye week fill in if that happens. I wanted Julius Thomas, so I was pissed Mayra scooped him up. I think for the round he was drafted in, he provides good value, especially when tight end was getting pretty thin. Witten as a bye week back up is solid too, because I can see Dak Prescott using him as a safety valve like most Cowboys backup QB's do. Speaking of Prescott, I'm on the side of "he's worth the flier". Is he gonna be Cam Newton week 1? Of course not, but he's worth a look to see how he handles regular season play. If he doesn't pan out, well there are still some decent QB fill in options for bye weeks, there always. On the chance he explodes, you got yourself a multifaceted starter who could be a difference maker. Gotta be willing to take risks to get rewards. Matt Ryan seems to be overrated every year, it always seems like he has the talent and the weapons (like Julio Jones) to be super elite, but he always underwhelms. That's why I think the shot at Dak makes sense. 

Overall Grade: B. It's very well constructed team. Again, Matt Ryan doesn't have to be all world, just average and he can definitely do that. I like the Dak flier, I think the starters can compete with anyone in the league, the only weakness seems to be WR and RB bye week depth especially the RB position. That can be fixed with waiver wire claims though later in the season.

Albert (Channel 4 News Team)
QB: Andrew Luck, Brock Osweiler
WR: A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton, Doug Baldwin, Vincent Jackson, Will Fuller, Terrelle Pryor
RB: Doug Martin, Derrick Henry, LeGarrette Blount, Justin Forsett
TE: Antonio Gates, Tyler Eifert

Overview: When I look at this team...it really looks like like a sneaky good team to me. I think it's easy to dismiss at first but looking at it a little harder and it's definitely got some potential to make some noise. Albert had already kept Doug Martin and Antonio Gates and Martin was great value in the 5th round, but Gates was a head scratcher...until now. The drafting of Tyler Eifert makes perfect sense. Albert used a 13th rounder on Gates to fill in tight end (which he can easily do) until Eifert comes back in probably 6 weeks, then you get a top 5 tight end back into the mix. Great move here. It seemed like things just fell into place as most of these picks make perfect sense. I love the receiving  trio of A.J. Green (he got to keep him anyways) T.Y. Hilton (could regain his elite form with Luck back) and Doug Baldwin (he's not going to repeat what he did last season, and honestly I'd rather have a guy like Randall Cobb who was still there, but as a WR #3 this is more than fine). The bench depth is thin though, I don't know how much V-Jax has left in the tank, and Will Fuller and Terrelle Pryor are total lawn dart throws (especially Fuller), but maybe one of them will breakout. I like the upside Henry pick. Is he ready to fully be a RB#2? Maybe not, but I think he can contribute and if anything, he's a intriguing keeper prospect where he was drafted. Again the RB depth is bit of a question mark, the Patriots backfield is ALWAYS clusterfuck so Blount is hard to trust week to week and maybe Henry is more of a flex play to start the season, so there's no 100% RB 2 on this roster as of now. Justin Forsett is total waiver wire fodder, don't think Albert keeps him long. At QB, Andrew Luck is definitely a great pickup. If he can stay healthy, he can revert back to being in the QB1 conversation like he was before last season when he was taken 3rd overall in our fantasy football draft. The problem is, if Luck goes down, next up is Brock Osweiler, not the best of fantasy backup QB's. 

Overall Grade: B. Basically all the starter picks make sense, and even if Henry "isn't completely ready", with DeMarco Murray's injury history and Henry's talent it's not crazy to think that sooner than later it could be Henry's backfield. In case that doesn't happen though, lack of solid depth behind Henry and Martin, and behind the receivers Luck, knock the grade down a little bit. This is still a great team, and could be a darkhorse championship contender.

Drew (Belfast Bruiser)
QB: Kirk Cousins, Robert Griffin III
WR: Donte Moncrief, Allen Robinson, Tajae Sharpe, Markus Wheaton, Kenny Stills
RB: Adrian Peterson, Eddie Lacy, Ryan Mathews, Ameer Abdullah, Jerick McKinnon
TE: Coby Fleener, Clive Walford

Overview: Well Drew already had Adrian Peterson and Allen Robinson in the fold so that's already a top notch start. So Drew adds this year's most hyped up receiver in Donte Moncrief to the mix as his WR #2. This could either be a great move or a Davonte Adams type move that torpedoed Kenny's season last year. I think Markus Wheaton can be a serviceable #3 but really the guy who can end up becoming a huge breakout fantasy star is Tajae Sharpe. He's had rave reviews all preseason, and I really wanted but Drew sniped him one pick before me (because of course he did). Kenny Stills is also not too bad as a bye week fill in, but overall besides Allen Robinson, there's a lot of questions about Drew's receiving corps as a whole. As far as RB's go, I believe Drew has the 2nd best 1-2 punch in the league (behind Leland of course) with Peterson and Eddie Lacy. Lacy was one of the few running backs I felt comfortable drafting and I think he will indeed bounce back from his dreadful season from last year. I think Ryan Mathews is solid value where he was drafted, he's always a health concern, but as a flex/RB 3/bye week fill in, he's a good guy to have that you can fill in with needed. I'm not big on the Detroit rushing game, so Abdullah doesn't excite me and Jerick McKinnon is strictly a handcuff pick who provides zero value when Peterson is healthy (although an intriguing keeper prospect should Adrian Peterson leave after this year). I was interested in Fleener, considering he's going to a team that made BEN WATSON relevant, but reports are he hasn't found his groove yet, so it scared me off. Still, with what was left, I'm sure he'll be an adequate play in a thin position. I don't know much about Clive Walford besides the fact he plays in Oakland. He'd probably be one of those "first roster cuts" if need be. The QB situation...I'm not sold on completely on Kirk Cousins as a season long starter. On paper, it seems like Drew's with Mike as far as having lower level starting QB's. Also, he backed him up with RGIII, I don't think that lasts long. 

Overall Grade: B-. Awesome running back starters and a nice backup in Ryan Mathews so actual depth is a plus. I think I can't go higher than a B- though because although the upside is there in Sharpe and Moncrief, they have to show they can perform to justify their positions on Drew's team (especially in the case of Moncrief becauase Drew nabbed him at #31). Fleener needs to also find his chemistry with Brees for that to work, and not a big fan of the QB situation here. Still the upside makes this team a definite playoff contender.

Dad (BigBadBob)
QB: Cam Newton, Tyrod Taylor
WR: Brandon Marshall, Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders, Willie Snead, Mohamed Sanu, Pierre Garcon
RB: Thomas Rawls, Jeremy Langford, Frank Gore, Alfred Morris
TE: Greg Olsen, Jared Cook

Overview: So Dad kept Cam Newton and Jeremy Langford and thanks to the craziness was able to add Brandon Marshall to the mix at was essentially pick #6 of the 1st round. He was the best on the board so definitely a good move there. I feel like Dad's receiving core is the most safe but unspectacular group of the league. Tate and Sanders aren't bad but you basically know what you get from them. I don't see them having any kind of upside to outperform their draft stock and that's ok...sometimes you just want solid production week in and week out. Willie Snead isn't a bad flex/fill in play in that high octane Saints offense. Sanu is also nice depth as he's the defacto #2 and he was decent with the Bengals and should have a solid role in Atlanta. Again, as a bye week fill in, good enough. Pierre Garcon is waiver fodder and probably will the first to be cut from Dad's team. So Dad reunited his backfield by drafting Thomas Rawls in the 2nd round. Honestly I think he reached there, and would've much rather drafted Eddie Lacy, Mark Ingram or taking a shot at another receiver like T.Y. Hilton or Amari Cooper, but Dad likes Rawls and he probably wouldn't have been there when Dad picked at #32 so it's not the worst pick in the world. Gotta go with the guy you like. Rawls and Langford both have question marks themselves as their sample size of playing is relatively small. Rawls is also coming off a serious injury and Christine Michael has somewhat worked himself into the backfield in Seattle.  Not a fan of Dad's other running backs. Gore just seems old and slow, but as long as you only have to rely on him from a couple games or a flex play, it's ok. Alfred Morris though, probably waiver wire fodder and will only be relevant if Zeke gets hurt before Darren McFadden comes back. Dad took probably the safest and most reliable tight end (never gets hurt) in Greg Olsen so he has the Newton/Olsen double dip. Cook is a nice upside bye week fill in as it seems he might live it to his potential with a QB that can throw to him like Aaron Rodgers. They developed quite the chemistry together, but with Olsen in tow, hopefully Dad will only have to use him as a bye week fill in. Of course Cam in the 9th was a steal, but Dad reached wayyyyy to high for Tyrod Taylor. Spencer Ware was still there (and he would've been a great depth rb pick) and QB's like Matt Stafford, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Jameis Winston all seemed like better picks that you can get later, instead of using up a 7th round pick for a backup QB.

Overall Grade: C+....here's where Dad gets mad as usual with his "low grade". I love Brandon Marshall, Cam, and Greg Olsen, but with not one but two question marks at running back and not great depth behind them in case it doesn't work, and a receiving core that I like but doesn't "pop" I think Dad's roster is constructed as a middle pack team that will be in the mix, but ceiling might be as a 5th or 6th finish. (cue Dad making me feel bad...it's a yearly tradition).

Me (Bay Area Tanners)
QB: Eli Manning, Jameis Winston
WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, Michael Floyd, Devante Parker, Kamar Aiken
RB: LeSean McCoy, Arian Foster, Rashad Jennings, Spencer Ware, Buck Allen, C.J. Spiller
TE: Marteullus Bennett 

Overview: Look I'm not exactly "thrilled" 100% with my team, but damn I think Yahoo unfairly slammed my team to the extreme. 3 win projection?! It's not THAT bad..in fact (and I'm the hardest grader on myself than anyone) it's not bad at all to me. For starters I kept DeAndre Hopkins and Devante Parker. Parker is looking like a long term project but at the 13th round, he doesn't hurt at all. My receiving core has to be among the best in the league with adding Mike Evans and Michael Floyd. Evans has WR1 potential with Hopkins too and Michael Floyd would be a great WR2 and he's my 3. I'll admit behind them is a little thin, I need Parker really to breakout to the potential people saw in him when he projected as a top 60 pick just two weeks ago. Kamar Aiken also isn't a bad bye week fill in, but I gotta hope that's all he's going to be. I can't rely on him more than that. So running backs....I think LeSean McCoy is poised for a great season and I knew I needed a running back in round 2 before they get REALLY bad and to me he was the best available. I've put my trust in McCoy before and it's worked out (2 Finals including one win with him as my leading back). After that...admittedly a little shaky. I got Arian Foster for what I felt was good value. Health will be key, but as RB2 and with the rest of my roster, I can live with him there. I already regret the Jennings pick. Maybe I should've gone for a big gamble with Derrick Henry or take my Tight End there. I think because he's full workhorse I expect he'll be fine, but I think I whiffed there. If I whiffed there though, I think I made up for it with Spencer Ware. At pick #81, I felt this could be a great steal and right off the bat I get his services in week 1 because of Jamaal Charles injury. He could at the very least become my week to week flex play with the upside of taking over RB2 duties from Foster. Really like that pick. Buck Allen is a stash pick as Baltimore's backfield is just so crowded, Allen to me has the best upside because of his pass catching abilities. C.J. Spiller in the last round? If he's really going to be involved in the New Orleans offense it's a great value pick in the last round...if not, easy drop. No harm there to me. I waited wayyyy to long for tight end. I didn't want to get the top three guys, so I was willing to wait, and I was targeting Julius Thomas, but Mayra snagged him a few picks before I picked and it made me go with Martellus Bennett who will be far from reliable and will probably be TD dependent. I don't have a backup for him so it's my weakest position by far. The only silver lining is TE is generally a weak position in  general so it's not a huge problem to be weak there. I was going to keep Eli in the 9th, but changed my mind. I still got him in the 8th and I'm totally fine with that considering QB's outside of Cam and Rodgers are basically all around the same to me. I backed him up with Jameis who I hope to have a nice sophomore season. 

Overall Grade: B. A top notch receiving core, a high end #1 running back, a high scoring QB, a potential sleeper in Spencer Ware are in my favor. Older running backs behind McCoy, a low end tight end and thin receiver depth are my downfall. I'd give myself a solid B...nothing more...nothing less.

Mark (Shock The Monkey)
QB: Carson Palmer, Blake Bortles
WR: Dez Bryant, Alshon Jeffrey, Jarvis Landry, Kevin White, Brandon Lafell, Ted Ginn Jr.
RB: Latavius Murray, DeMarco Murray, Danny Woodhead, Darren Sproles
TE: Gary Barndige, Jordan Cameron

Overview: Looking at Mark's team and it's one of the most volatile teams in the league. It could be a championship team or can blow up completely and totally disappoint. It's a wild card team that at this moment is really hard to value because the talent is there, but it's just soooo dependent on outside factors. We'll start with Mark's keepers, can't get safer than Jarvis Landry and as a WR #3, that shows how deep Mark's receivers are. The question marks come from his 2nd Keeper and 1st round pick. Alshon Jeffrey and Dez Bryant. All the talent in the world...enough to be elite top 5 types...but both have HUGE question marks that might derail their seasons. Jeffrey simply can't stay healthy. When he's in, he's one the best of the league, but he spends a lot of the season hurt, questionable, and he's a very tricky play. Dez, himself is coming off a couple of injuries from last year and now will once again be without Tony Romo for a least 6 games (as many as 10). The big question mark here is his play with rookie Dak Prescott. Dak is no shitty QB like Kellen Moore, Matt Cassell etc...but he's still a rookie and no one knows how he will react to real NFL games. Mark's team goes as his receivers go as they are the best guys on his roster. If Jeffrey and Dez suck..this is a lotto bound team...if they reach their potential...this is a championship contending team. Mark's receiving depth is just as questionable, Kevin White missed all his rookie season last year, Brandon Lafell is a new system and though he's the #2 with the Bengals, he failed to shine in a prominent role last year in New England, and Ted Ginn won't repeat the kind of season he had last year, especially with the emergence of Devin Funchess and the return of Kelvin Benjamin. The running backs are just as volatile. Latavius Murray is the lead back in Oakland but for all the talent he has, he really hasn't put together a terrific fantasy season. He accumulates his stats in bulk, yards per carry aren't great, and he doesn't score many TD's. It seems like he's the starter defacto and he really needs to take advantage of this situation and lock down the job. He's got the ability that's for sure. DeMarco Murray has looked a lot better with the Titans than he did in Philly last year, but again, he's got a promising young rookie breathing down his neck. Hopefully the competitiveness inspires him to perform as the Murray of old, but if he starts struggling, the Titans won't think twice about giving Henry more of the workload. I like Danny Woodhead as a PPR back and to me his floor is a flex play because he's strictly a catching down back. If Melvin Gordon bounces back from a lousy rookie season, it'll eat into Woodhead's playing time. Darren Sproles is basically a desparation bye week play/waiver wire fodder. Have a feeling he won't last long. Mark's going back to the well with Gary Barnidge and you have to wonder if he was a one year wonder last year. Still, in a thin position, Barnidge isn't a bad start. Jordan Cameron is waiver fodder, he won't last long at all. Then there's the QB situation. To me Palmer/Bortles will be a week to week question you might have to legit ask. Both have high scoring offenses, though Palmer has looked pretty bad in preseason, it's preseason he knows how to play the game. Both guys though are capable of producing shoot out numbers which is great to have.

Overall Grade: B. If everything plays out perfectly, this is an A+ team as based on pure talent, Mark is covered everywhere with no real starting position lacking a talented player...but that's asking for quite a lot. Still at it's face value, I'm comfortable giving this team a B. Definitely a team I'd initially be scared of playing. Will it live up to the hype?

Eugene (Rocket Man)
QB:Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Garoppolo
WR: Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews, Julio Jones, Rishard Matthews, Laquon Treadwell, Victor Cruz
RB: Melvin Gordon, Duke Johnson Jr., Matt Jones, Kenneth Dixon
TE: Travis Kelce, Virgil Green

Overview: So a year after drafting half his team super late and surviving, it's back to normal for Eugene. He kept his cornerstones in Aaron Rodgers and Julio Jones and you can't go wrong with that start at all.  Eugene ended up going two more wide receivers in Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews. I really like Maclin, he was great last year and I have no doubt he'll be great again. Jordan Matthews is a bit of a question mark now with Carson Wentz as the Eagles QB. He's definitely got the talent, and as a WR3 he won't have to be super amazing to have an impact. I can't see the Titans being pass happy and with Tajae Sharpe getting all the praise, seems like Rishard Matthews seems to be the forgotten man. He's the one that could be the real main receiving threat for Tennessee  as he's got the experience behind him and as a bye week play, I think he can be decent. I think Laquon Treadwell won't be a factor at all and unless you're going to be patient with him and just stash him as a potential keeper for next year, he might be one of the first to go if Eugene needs to pick up someone off waivers. Victor Cruz is total waiver wire fodder and probably will be dropped before Treadwell. Here's the biggest question mark..the running backs. Because Eugene waited until round 5 to draft a running back...the group is pretty bad...probably the weakest group in the league (Matt should have a healthy Charles back sometime this season and Alex will get Le'Veon Bell back). Melvin Gordon as a RB#1 is quite the risk considering his season last year and the Cleveland backfield gives me headaches. Matt Jones seems like a complete bust and Kenneth Dixon is in a clusterfuck situation in Baltimore. This is a super glaring weakness that's hard to ignore. At tight end, Travis Kelce is more than serviceable, even though in round 6 there were some decent running backs still available. Kelce has the tools, they just under utilize him in Kansas City. My dad was frustrated as hell owning him. Virgil Green is an interesting flier and worth a speculative pick. With Aaron Rodgers having his bye early, Eugene went ahead and drafted Jimmy Garoppolo as his week 4 bye week fill in. If Rodgers get hurt though, he's got no real option as a backup as Brady will be back after 4 games.

Overall Grade: C+. Aaron Rodgers and the Receiving core are gonna be a force to reckon with but that Running back situation is scary bad. I did say that last year too with Dion Lewis and Chris Johnson and that blew up in my face, but just strictly before the season starts, on paper, it just looks like a running back nightmare. If anyone can make it work though...it's Eugene, as he proved last year!

Leland (No Soup For You)
QB: Matthew Stafford
WR: Brandin Cooks, Demaryius Thomas, Randall Cobb, Marvin Jones. Jr, Sterling Shepard, Devin Funchess, Michael Thomas
RB: Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Chris Ivory, James White
TE: Eric Ebron, Jesse James

Overview: And ladies and gentleman this is your team to beat. The expectations will be high and rightfully so. Leland's great roster skills afforded him two top 3 running backs in Todd Gurley and David Johnson in rounds 6 and 14. It allowed him to construct as near a perfect team you can in a 12 team league. The wide receiver depth is down right NASTY. You have a little bit of everything. Young stars with a track record like Brandin Cooks, the supposed veteran who's lost his step and has a crappy QB situation in Demaryius Thomas, the obvious bounce back candidate in Randall Cobb, the underrated PPR machine in Marvin Jones, the poised breakout 2nd year player in Devin Funchess, and rookie prospects in Sterling Shepard and Michael Thomas. Just wow. No one is even close to this depth. It's such a deep group, it might even cause a problem in the long run figuring out who the hell to start and sit. I can see trades happening in the forseeable future. Chris Ivory backing up Gurley and Johnson is fine. He's going to be not only the better back of him and Yeldon but the goal line back. James White probably won't be a factor on this team, but he's an ok flier pick. The only weakness that keeps this from being absolutely perfect is tight end. He waited too long and now has an injury prone Eric Ebron and a rookie in Jesse James to chose from. If that's your biggest problem though, I think you live with it. Leland's also gonna ride with Matthew Stafford and I actually think that he'll surprise people who might think he's done without Calvin. They have a deep receiving group and their running game sucks. Stafford's going to throw a shit ton. He's fine as a starter.

Overall Grade: A+. How can't it be? Keepers factored in, even with the tight end situation, it's the best piece of roster management I've seen. Things always don't play out how they should, but it's going to be a difficult task to take this team down.


And we're done!! Tomorrow will be the first edition of Matchups and Predictions!