Week 9 Matchups and Predictions

We're down to the final 5 Weeks of the regular season and we're finally beginning to see a little bit of separation on both sides of the spectrum. There's a couple teams who's points and record look good enough to consider them near locks to make the playoffs (Leland, Eugene, Matt) and on flip side there's two teams that sadly look like the end is near (Dad and Ryan). The rest of us are in limbo and as cliché as it sounds, it still bears repeating,,every week from here on is basically a must win situation. Margin for error is slim and all it takes is one loss to significantly derail a playoff push. Here's this weeks matchups and predictions.


Trump 2020 (4-4) vs
Rigmas Forever (4-4)

Yahoo Says: I win
I say: Mike wins. I'm never going to pick my team when it's less than 100% whether it by byes or injuries, especially when I'm facing a really good team who's at full strength. This week, no T.Y. Hilton for me and Sony Michel's status is still up in the air. Sony missing another game would totally screw me because I have no viable sub in for him. I COULD be proactive and conservative and just play Doug Martin tomorrow, but the risk of a 3-5 point play scares me too much. I'd rather gamble that he plays, but regardless, I don't have confidence in my team to pull off a must win. My only hope is it's a shootout and my team scores a ton of points.

Channel 4 News Team (4-4) vs
Underdawg (2-6)

Yahoo Says: Albert Wins
I Say: Albert Wins. Albert's not a huge favorite, but that's because he'll be without Beckham and Joe Mixon. This could very well be a trap game, but Dad's team is without Barkley, which is a HUGE blow and he just doesn't have inspiring choices rounding out his roster. It might not be high scoring, but Albert should win.

Shock The Monkey (5-3) vs
Scott's Tots (3-5)

Yahoo Says: Kenny wins
I Say: Kenny wins. I'm seriously confused how Kenny's not a bigger favorite, because this looks like a BLOODBATH. Mark's got multiple guys on byes and hurt and his depth is sorely lacking. Royce Freeman isn't even a lock to play this week and there's literally nothing but scraps left on the waivers as far as RB's go. Even the one Mark has to use, Chris Ivory isn't really that great of an option. Kenny SHOULD easily win this week, but you know how that goes...

No Soup For You (5-3) vs
I Am Queens Blvd (4-4)

Yahoo Says: Leland Wins
I Say: Leland Wins. Man Leland is the LAST TEAM I'd wanna face right now and though Drew could really use the win, he's a 25 point underdog and he's having to go home run heavy on a ton of plays this week. I sense yet another blowout from Leland with tons of points being scored on his end.

Light's Broken Bots (5-3) vs
Hoosier Daddy (2-6)

Yahoo Says: Matt Wins
I Say: Matt Wins. Matt's blessed with a relatively easy matchup and as long as he has Mahomes/Thielen and also as long as Dalvin Cook is out so Latavius Murray can be the starting RB he should easily pick up win #6. Ryan's also in rebuild mode so I just don't see him competing with Matt this week.

Rocket Man (5-3) vs
SCLSU MudDogs (5-3)

Yahoo Says: Eugene Wins
I Say: Eugene wins. The most mystifying win streak I've ever witnessed. Alex is even't projected to hit 80 points this week with no Andrew Luck. Leland is a 20 point favorite even without Marlon Mack and A.J. Green. Surely...surely Alex finally loses...right? RIGHT?!?!!

Week 8 Overview: Leland Keeps Dominating

 

There's a reason every year at the beginning of the season, I always feel like Leland is a good bet to at the very least make the Wane McGarity Bowl. He knows what he's doing. He's a two time champion and though the past couple of seasons he's had some bad luck injury wise go his way, I've always felt like it was just a matter time before everything would just click and all of a sudden after an 0-3 start..it has more than just "clicked"..Leland's been a rocket ship to the top. He's not only won 5 matchups in a row, he's scoring at a SUPER high pace and leads the league in scoring. That's with him trading away the guy who was supposed to be the cornerstone of his team, David Johnson for what seemed at the time a lowball offer of Tyler Boyd. Nope..Boyd has been brilliant this year and Leland's deep team has even carried him through a bye week where he had no James Connor or Aaron Rodgers (he scored over 160 that week). He just made another shrewd trade as Ryan is playing for the future now, by trading for Zeke Elliott. Could this finally be the year Leland reclaims his place on top of the league for what would be a record 3rd time? Only time will tell, but it's looking damn good to me.

The Results

Scott's Tots (3-5)                                    147.10

Rigmas Forever (4-4)                               99.06

SCLSU MudDogs (5-3)                              96.56

I Am Queens Blvd (4-4)                              93.20

Light's Broken Bots (5-3)                           105.42

Underdawg (2-6)                                        105.10

Channel 4 News Team (4-4)                      132.46

Shock The Monkey (5-3)                             80.50

Rocket Man (5-3)                                       149.82

Hoosier Daddy (2-6)                                    94.38

No Soup For You (5-3)                               146.24

Trump 2020 (4-4)                                           93.10

Top 5 Scorers 

James Connor (No Soup For You)                   35.70 Pts

Patrick Mahomes (Light's Broken Bots)          30.52 Pts

Todd Gurley (I Am Queens Blvd)                   30.50 Pts

Cam Newton (Rigmas Forever)                      29.96 Pts

Jared Goff (Underdawg)                                 29.50 Pts

Top 5 Scorers (Non QB)

James Connor (No Soup For You)                    35.70 Pts

Todd Gurley (I Am Queens Blvd)                    30.50 Pts

Marlon Mack (Rocket Man)                             27.90 Pts

Joe Mixon (Channel 4 News Team)                 27.30 Pts

Marvin Jones Jr. (Rocket Man)                       27.20 Pts

Top 5 Duds

T.Y. Hilton (Rigmas Forever)                           3.9 Pts

Drew Brees (I Am Queens Blvd)                      8.3 Pts

Tyreek Hill  (Shock The Monkey)                    8.5 Pts

Alshon Jeffrey (Shock The Monkey)                5.5 Pts

Kenjon Barner (Underdawg)                              .4 Pts

Highest Scoring Team

Rocket Man (149.82 Pts)

Lowest Scoring Team

Shock The Monkey (80.50 Pts)

Biggest Blowout

55.44 Pts (Rocket Man vs Hoosier Daddy)

Closest Game

.32 Points (Light's Broken Bots vs Underdawg)

Week 8 Notes: I'm not really too upset that I lost (I mean I ran into a buzzsaw this week, Kenny had 11 TD's by halftime in the first wave of games, there's just nothing you can do when a team is THAT much on fire) but I am upset and disappointed that my team didn't score points this week. T.Y. Hilton was the biggest disappointment in what was a shootout game with tons of points scored. He managed 1 measly catch for 34 yards. That's it. Unacceptable period. After starting off the season strong points wise, my team has taken a nose dive in that area and I've slipped big time. I need points to stay alive in case my record can't carry me to a playoff spot and I'm really feeling down on my team. A combinations of guys hurt, and having byes when my opponents are full strength (its happened every week the last 3 weeks and keeps happening until week 10) is just absolutely killing my chances at winning every week. If Sony Michel misses again, I'll be down him and T.Y this week while not only does Mike get a full team at his disposal, he naturally gets Cooper Kupp back in time to face me. Can't write this kind of luck folks...only me. For Kenny, after weeks of frustration, he finally got a full squad and this is what it can do. His guys just went absolutely bonkers and he got a much needed win and points boost. He actually made a trade with his opponent Mark to grab Golden Tate and a higher waiver claim. Risky, but a nice move in the long run. I talked about Leland at the beginning and damn I mean there's really not much more to say. Mike was depleted and this was about expected as expected can be. Leland just has too much scoring power to deal with regularly much less with key guys on bye. Leland has put up crazy points the last three weeks and now he gets another pretty easy matchup with Drew's team up next. For Mike, after a slow start, then a nice rebound, he's back to slumping again with a 2nd loss in a row. He's now barely holding on to that last playoff spot by mere points. He's got a "tough on paper" matchup against me, but considering that my team's bark is worse than it's bite, it's definitely a matchup he can win, especially at full strength. Alex Alex Alex...ok so this winning streak has been fun and cute, but it's time to get serious and start taking Alex as a serious threat regardless of what his roster looks like. That's 4 straight wins where Alex has been the heavy underdog. LeSean McCoy scored just enough to pull off he upset against Drew. What did Drew in? How about Todd Gurley deciding NOT to score at the end of the Rams-Packers game. Man that's gotta sting bad. Drew also lost Will Fuller for the season and it doesn't get any easier for him when it he has to take on Leland next. He keeps proving me wrong but this week..THIS week has to be the week it comes to an end. No Andrew Luck and he's facing another team that's been on fire recently in Eugene. I'd seriously be surprised if he won this week (more surprised than the previous 4 times I' said I'd be surprised). Speaking of bad beats, Dad lost by a mere .32 points to Matt and this one can be blamed on me. Dad needed a RB and was going to start Devontae Booker but I sold him on the fact that Kenjon Barner was going to be the "2 down back) of the Patriots and that he would probably get a lot of touches in the 2nd half of what was perceived to be a blowout. That BACKFIRED BIG TIME. Not was Devontae Booker more than serviceable (double digit points) but the Patriots decided to get cute and let wide receiver CORDARRELLE PATTERSON get the ground work with 10 touches for 38 yards. Barner got a mere 2 carries. Unbelievable. I'm sorry Dad, that one's on me. I basically killed Dad's season and he'll take on Albert next, while Matt squeaks by and basically wins on the shoulders of Patrick Mahomes and Adam Thiren once again. Matt is definitely a dark horse championship contender and he gets another cush matchup against Ryan next week. Ryan is in rebuild mode already as he made a trade to get James Connor as a 12th round keeper prospect. Injuries have basically killed Ryan's season and he really hasn't been that competitive this season. Eugene easily beat him, and this is a year where we could see a brother vs brother finals as Eugene has basically been just as good as Leland's. They both have the same record, but Eugene has slightly more points. Eugene should be able to keep the momentum going against Alex next week. And finally, man a few weeks ago Mark was on top of the league and then I gave him the seal of approval (i.e. The KISS OF DEATH) and his team has plummeted since that 4-0 start. He's lost 3 of his last four, his team has seemed to regress and now he plays a suddenly rejuvenated team in Kenny, with a TON of injuries and byes. I'm not seeing how he wins this week. That's what makes each week in the league so damn crucial...it's so easy to go from #1 seed to on the brink of being outside of the playoffs. Albert's team continues to be a frustrating Jekyll and Hyde type team. One week he's putting up 75 the next 132..there's zero consistency and you literally never know what you're going to get week to week. It feels like he has the pieces, they just all have to click at the same time and it's easier said than done. Although he won't have Joe Mixon or A.J. Green this week, he should still have a solid chance to win since he's playing my Dad's struggling underachieving team.

Thursday Night Overview: Unexpected Points Bonanza

 

I did not expect this weeks Thursday Night game of Dolphins-Texans to be exciting in the least. You had a banged up Deshaun Watson going against a super depleted offense of the Miami Dolphins. Felt like it was destined to be a 13-7 type game. Boy was I WRONG. Basically if you started someone in this game, you got a nice start to your fantasy weekend. Lets ironically start with the biggest non play and the guy who scored the most points this week. So Kenny was pretty sure he was starting Dashaun Watson all the way up to near game time when he decided he wanted a safer play and switched Andy Dalton out for him. Well..Watson ended up with 5 TD passes and nearly 36 points. It's too early to call this is a mistake since Dalton hasn't played yet (and he has a great matchup against Tampa Bay) but as of now, Kenny's pretty pissed he decided to bench Watson. It was understandable, but it sucks seeing so many points on your bench. So who got in on all the fun? Well Drew got nearly 21 points from Will Fuller but it came with a big price. Fuller ended up tearing his ACL in the 4th quarter ending his season. Another huge injury blow to Drew, who's already without Dalvin Cook. Dad went to bed really pissed off as going into the 4th quarter he had basically 8 yards on two catches. Hopkins then went BONKERS getting 2 late TD's and ending up with 23 points.  Dad's still an underdog (how appropriate) but that performance helped narrow the gap. Albert benefited from a great Kenyon Drake game. You never know what kind of game with him considering the Dolphins insist on keeping Frank Gore a big part of the game plan. He delivered though with 2 TD's, and 22.5 points. Albert really needs a win this week and this will help him keep his edge against Mark. Eugene keeps getting high productions from unlikely players. Playing without Melvin Gordon for a 2nd straight week, it looks like once again it won't matter as Lamar Miller all of sudden has been a nice RB play again as he scored a TD and had a little over 19 points, while  Danny Amendola scored a TD, but not in the way you would've have thought. He threw a TD pass to Kenyon Drake and had nearly 13 points. Not too bad for a couple of spot starts and since he's facing Ryan's struggling team, I don't see how Eugene loses this week with that start. The only one who played someone and not really get much was Mike, who's team is decimated with byes and injuries this week. He threw up a hail mary play with Jakeem Grant and it didn't really work out. Pretty much seals the deal that Leland is going to win this matchup with ease.

Week 8 Matchups and Predictions

We just keeping flying by as the race to playoffs gets tighter and tigher. Here's this weeks matchups and predictions.



Rigmas Forever (4-3) vs
Scott's Tots (2-5)

Yahoo Says: Kenny Wins
I Say: Kenny wins. I might have had a little bit more confidence had I not lost Sony Michel, but once again this is a week where bye/injuries leave me shorthanded and my opponent is full strength. Just not seeing it as I just believe Kenny's got to snap out of his losing streak somehow and why not against me?

Light's Broken Bots (4-3) vs
Underdawg (2-5)

Yahoo Says: Matt wins
I Say: Matt wins. Juju's back, Latavius Murray is still the Vikings main back, possible Gronk plays and oh yeah THIELEN/MAHOMES. Just too much potential fire power here for my Dad's struggling team to overcome.

Shock The Monkey (5-2) vs
Channel 4 News Team (3-4)

Yahoo Says: Albert Wins.
I Say: Albert Wins. This is definitely an interesting matchup. Mark losing opens the flood gates for the rest of to compete for those two bye spots and he will be without Matt Ryan this week. Albert's team always looks good on paper, but has been prone to disappointment recently. He did make a trade to bolster his WR group and I'll give him the narrow edge this week to get the W and get back to .500.


Rocket Man (4-3) vs
Hoosier Daddy (2-5)

Yahoo Says: Eugene wins
I say: Eugene wins. No Melvin Gordon and No Falcons. There's also a possibility of no Matt Breida so that COULD swing things, but Ryan's team is playing so bad recently I just can't pick him, especially since he himself is without his best player, Zeke, who's on bye.

I Am Queens Blvd (4-3) vs
SCLSU MudDogs (4-3)

Yahoo Says: Drew wins
I Say: Drew wins....hhahahaha I know I know, but...it HAS to end some week right?? Right? Every time I've doubted Alex, his team has proved me wrong. Can he knock out the team with TODD F'N GURLEY next? It's definitely possible, I just think Drew's the guy that stops the madness.

No Soup For You (4-3) vs
Trump 2020 (4-3)

Yahoo Says: Leland wins
I Say: Leland wins. Yeah..this is the wrong week to play Leland for Mike. I feel almost like Leland and Alex are in cahoots. Alex delivers a demoralizing loss and Leland follows it up with a GIGANTIC ASS KICKING. That's the pattern that's happened to me and Kenny and as a whopping 30+ favorite it just may be Mike's fate as well.

Week 7 Overview: A Pyrrhic Victory

 

It's always funny what random things stick with you, just embedded in the back of your mind somewhere. The term "Pyrrhic Victory" has always stuck with me ever since I watched that Samuel L Jackson Classic "187" (You know what I"m talking about Drew) and it's the first thing I thought about after last night's game ended. If you've never seen the movie, it's basically about a teacher so dedicated to try make a difference that he ultimately sacrifices his life to prove a point. Towards the end of the movie, Rita, one of the students that he actually reaches, makes a speech at their High School Graduation and she brings up a story about how Mr. Garfield (Sammy Jackson's character) told her to find out the meaning of a Pyrrhic Victory..and she did...a Pyrrhic Victory is "A Victory achieved at a much greater cost". Welp bottom line is, that's exactly what my victory was against Mark this week. Yes, I'm grateful I survived, but it came at a HUGE cost. Just when I thought I had figured out my RB woes after busting on Jordan Howard but hitting on Sony Michel, Sony gets hurt early in the game against the Bears. So I take yet another hit in depth (after losing T.Y. Hilton for 2 and a half weeks) and this one is at a pretty dire position. The somewhat good news is, it doesn't look like it'll cost Sony the season, however he's for sure going to miss probably best case scenario 2 weeks and in a league where every game matters...every point counts..this is a CRUCIAL blow to my playoff hopes. I can't afford to lose a guy like Sony for a half a game much less more than 1. A Pyrrhic Victory...A victory achieved at a much greater cost.

The Results

Rigmas Forever (4-3)                        107.16

Shock The Monkey (5-2)                    94.16

I Am Queens Blvd (4-3)                    98.80

Hoosier Daddy (2-5)                          96.22

Rocket Man (4-3)                              108.08

Underdawg (2-5)                                74.28

Light's Broken Bots (4-3)                 137.02

Channel 4 News Team (3-4)            105.14

No Soup For You (4-3)                   159.38

Scott's Tots (2-5)                               85.22

SCLSU MudDogs (4-3)                   94.84

Trump 2020 (4-3)                            74.94

Top 5 Scorers

Patrick Mahomes (Light's Broken Bots)           37.32 Pts

Kareem Hunt (No Soup For You)                     34.60 Pts

Mitchell Trubisky (Hoosier Daddy)                  34.42 Pts

Marlon Mack (Rocket Man)                              30.90 Pts

Todd Gurley (I Am Queens Blvd)                     28.60 Pts

Top 5 Duds

Jermaine Kearse (Trump 2020)                          0 Pts

Ezekiel Elliott (Hoosier Daddy)                        5.20 Pts

Allen Robinson (Hoosier Daddy)                        .90 Pts

Andy Dalton (Scott's Tots)                                9.42 Pts

Joe Mixon (Channel 4 News Team)                  6.60 Pts

Notable Injuries

Sony Michel (Rigmas Forever)

LeSean McCoy (SCLSU MudDogs)

Bilal Powell (SCLSU MudDogs)

Melvin Gordon (Rocket Man)

Rob Gronkowski (Light's Broken Bots)

Highest Scoring Team

No Soup For You (159.38 Pts)

Lowest Scoring Team

Underdawg (74.28 Pts)

Biggest Blowout

74.16 Points (No Soup For You vs Scott's Tots) Well..at least it takes me OFF this record

Closest Game

2.58 Points (I Am Queens Blvd vs Hoosier Daddy)

Week 7 Notes: Well, like I stated in the overview, I won...but it came with a heavy price. This is one of the rare times I can say luck was on my side (well..besides the whole losing Sony Michel thing) as my guys started off ridiculously slow but luckily turned it around and somehow I was able to survive the Sunday Night/Monday Night combo of Tyreek Hill/Travis Kelce/Matt Ryan and pull off the minor upset (yes, I was the favorite, but it's my blog and if I wanna deem it upset I will dammitt!). Relieved I won, but worried about the ramifications of the Michel injury. I have to face Kenny's team next and his team is way better than his record indicates. For Mark, a rare miss, a combination of lackluster performances from David Johnson and his Lions players did him in. His team is still loaded with high scoring talent and though he will be without Matt Ryan next week against Albert. I was too busy paying to attention to my matchup to even notice that Ryan was making a Monday Night Miracle comeback against Drew. Sterling Shepard went OFF and Ryan NEARLY pulled off the win by fell 2 points short. Of all people he started (even Mitch Tribusky went OFF) it Zeke who let him down the most. If Zeke just has an average game, Ryan wins. Ryan now has last 4 straight weeks on Monday Night. Crazy. Drew continues to survive despite no Dalvin Cook and Todd Gurley has a HUGE part in that. Drew's opponent next week...ALEX (and we'll get to that in a second), while Ryan's season is officially on life support and it doesn't get any easier as he takes on Eugene next. Alex...I mean..jeez..what more can you say. It's unexplainable really. The guy just keeps winning despite every obstacle thrown his way. This week he took out Mike, who's team was ON FIRE before this. Once again "Fantasy Defense" reared it's ugly head as Mike's team scores 20 points less than it's projection (same EXACT thing happened to me and Kenny) and Alex's team just meets it's projections to get the win. That's because Alex lost BOTH OF HIS STARTING RB'S in this matchup in LeSean McCoy and Bilal Powell. Unbelievable. Drew...beware, it LOOKS like a cake matchup..but it's JUST A TRAP. For Mike, not only a huge letdown (had he won, he would've been 1st in the league over Mark via points) but Mike loses major ground because of his team's underscoring. He still has a healthy lead over me, but that could dwindle a little more next week as he takes on the team that's taken over the "red hot" crown in Leland next. So this is why I'm always so high on Leland's teams. The guy starts out 0-3 and just like he's on a 4 game winning streak and scoring points by the BUNCHES. This is his 2nd straight 150+ game and second straight 70+ point win. His team is firing on ALL CYLINDERS and the scary thing? This week he easily scores almost 160 WITHOUT JAMES CONNOR OR AARON RODGERS. Leland is BACK folks. This team is seriously loaded and it's only a matter of time before Leland takes the #1 seed. For Kenny, it's been one of those seasons. His guys underperformed, but it wouldn't have mattered anyways because Leland's team just went bonkers scoring wise. Kenny leads the league in points against and it's gotta be frustrating because he has a great team. His 2-5 record is very deceiving and thankfully with the 6th seed being determined by points and not record, he's still in the playoff race. He takes me on next, and I'm not feeling all too confident about it. Leland faces a thin Mike Posey team as byes have decimated his team for next week. Leland is a whopping 33 point favorite as of today. Well Dad's "best shot" at being a championship team is slowly fading away as his team has spiraled downward and is on a 3 game losing streak. There's only so much Saquon Barkley and DeAndre Hopkins can do as the rest of Dad's team has just been a MASSIVE disappointment. It's not going to get any easier next against Matt. There was a little drama for Eugene as Melvin Gordon was a late scratch from the London game but it didn't matter as Marlon Mack went OFF with nearly 31 points. The rest of the his team was pretty solid and he easily dispatches of Dad. He gets Ryan's struggling team next. And finally, just how much of an advantage is owning Patrick Mahomes and Adam Thielen? You can get away with playing something called a "Damion Ratley" and still put up 137 points and win by 30+ points. Matt's team is interesting case as he has basically survived on bit players getting bigger roles due to injury (Latavius Murray and earlier this year Gio Bernard) along with top tier talent like Thielen, Mahomes, and Juju Smith Schuster (who was on bye). He's been able to survive his 1st round bust pick in Gronk, while Kerryon Johnson has been a pleasant surprise. As long as Mahomes and Theilen stay healthy, Matt will ALWAYS have a shot to win, the wild card will be the rest of the supporting cast. Is it sustainable all season?! We'll have to see. This was a better performance from Albert (though admittedly Albert got some stat padding garbage Beckham points in the last minute of last night's game) but Albert's got a weird team where he's got a lot of guys that are equal in talent and he just has throw a dart and pick the right ones to plug in his lineup. Joe Mixon was disappointing this week and Stefon Diggs has been disappointing for weeks now. At least Beckham showed some life. He'll have a challenge against Mark next week while Matt takes on my Dad.

Thursday Night Overview: When The Stench Of Being On My Team Goes Away

 

As if I didn't need to be consistently reminded just how bad my luck is, a newish trend this season is how players seem to have great games the second I either drop or trade them. Just this past week alone, Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, Cameron Brate, and Vance McDonald all had great games the second after I traded or cut them. I had to let go of Nick Chubb earlier in the season..he proceeds to take of the RB duties after the Browns trade Carlos Hyde. I spot start Alex Smith..single digit game, week after, 20+ pts. I spot start Blake Bortles,,single digit game..next game goes off etc. It's happened all year. So naturally, when I shipped off Emmanuel  Sanders in a deal to Leland and basically knew he was going to go off and as unshocking as something can be he did. He even threw a TD PASS to kind of really stick to me then caught a wide open 60 yard TD. He wasn't needed much after that, but he put up a little over 25 points..I'll be lucky if Keenan Allen gets HALF of that. Just another trademark shortsighted trade by yours truly that will probably bite me in the ass. So yeah..last night's game was ABSOLUTE dogshit as the Broncos just ANNHILATED the Cardinals 45-10. The Cardinals just look so shitty, but I had to watch to make sure David Johnson wasn't going to get cheap garbage points. Luckily for me, he was held under 10 points. Look, am I happy about that..of course, but it's one play and Mark's got a pretty loaded team offensively so it's not like he can't overcome a 8.5 point play and still win. Hell, when I lost to Albert, Joe Mixon AND Michael Crabtree were both bla, and Albert STILL got blowout of the week over me. I'm not going to overreact to a Thursday Night disappointment. Kenny's fighting for his season and Leland's Sanders play didn't help matters, but at least Phillip Lindsay helped soften the blow with a nice 16 point performance of his own. If Royce Freeman's ankle sprain causes him to miss games, Lindsay's going to have some monster game, because every time that guy seems to touch the ball, he does something positive with it. Ryan is also fighting for his playoff life and last night didn't help matters much..sure Christian Kirk wasn't great for Drew, but neither was Demaryius Thomas. Ryan's going to need underperformances from Drew's guys and also overperformances from his own guys to beat Drew and though Drew's Thursday Night play did his part, Ryan couldn't take advantage of it.

Week 7 Matchups and Predictions

Well..there's no more bullshitting about games not "meaning much" anymore. This is week 7 and with everyone more or less bunched up, every week from this point on is crucial..not only wins wise, but points wise. Honestly the only team that can really afford to take a loss is Mark, who has a 2 game lead on most of the league. A loss wouldn't kill Mike too much either, but the rest of us, a loss at this point of the game is a crucial blow to the end game of making the playoffs. Here's this weeks Matchups and Predictions

Shock The Monkey (5-1) vs
Rigmas Forever (3-3)

Yahoo Says: I win
I say: Mark wins. Please..you're delusional if you really think I'm picking myself (don't give any fucks what Yahoo says, I'm barely like a 2 point favorite anyways) after the way my team has pathetically played the last two weeks. Yes, getting Kamara, Michael Thomas and hopefully T.Y Hilton back will help make me at least be competitive. But there's no way I'm picking myself to beat a guy who's won 13 of his last 14 weeks and who's top players have juicy shootout inducing matchups. I can see this being high scoring, but me inevitably coming up short yet again. Under .500 here we come...yipeeeeeee

I Am Queens Blvd (3-3) vs
Hoosier Daddy (2-4)

Yahoo Says: Drew Wins
I Say: Drew wins. After last Thursday, I thought for sure Drew was looking at being 2-4 and having his season fade away, but alas, his team has been given new life, as he not only pulled off the victory but should be getting Dalvin Cook back this week as well. And he's got a very beatable opponent in Ryan, who's lost 3 straight and is in the need of tight end with Jimmy Graham on bye. Although, this is definitely a must win for Ryan, I think Drew takes it to go to 4-3.

Rocket Man (3-3) vs
Underdawg (2-4)

Yahoo Says: Eugene wins
I Say: Eugene wins. Eugene was on an inexplicable 3 game skid before righting the ship last week and I have no doubt he'll add to that win total this week against Dad. Dad losing Devonta Freeman for the season and unpredictability of his wide receivers has really been the reason for his 2-4 record. Like Ryan, this is really a must win for Dad, but I just don't think he'll have enough firepower to take Eugene down. (hey Eugene...you're welcome)

Light's Broken Bots (3-3) vs
Channel 4 News Team (3-3)

Yahoo Says: Albert wins
I Say: Albert wins. Despite 3 of his last 4 weeks being low scoring, I'll go with Albert here, as the lack of JuJu Smith Schuster will be a huge loss for Matt. Both teams have less than desirable players going, but Albert's team looks a tad more at full strength so slight edge to him.


No Soup For You (3-3) vs
Scott's Tots (2-4)

Yahoo Says: Leland Wins
I Say: Leland wins. I actually initially was picking Kenny, but looking at this matchup a little more in detail..I'm actually giving the edge to Leland though I really do think Kenny's due for a win. On paper though, it seems to me that Leland's players have the better matchups and Leland's team has been on fire winning 3 straight after an 0-3 start. I think he'll end up making it 4 straight after this week.

Trump 2020 (4-2) vs
SCLSU MudDogs (3-3)

Yahoo Says: Mike wins
I Say: Mike wins. Well....here we go again...Alex has overcome the odds two weeks in a row, but here's his toughest test to date as Mike's riding a 4 game winning streak and overall this season has been excellent in all 6 games. It helps Alex that Mike will be without both Devante Adams and Cooper Kupp, I still think he should have enough players to overcome that deficit and beat Alex for win #5.

Week 6 Recap: Unpredictablity Strikes AGAIN

 

So we got our cable and internet back, which means I can go ahead and do the blog post for the Week 6 recap. So once again, Alex's team proves just how unpredictable fantasy football is and how it just never seems to make any sense. Through no fault of his own, Alex's team has been absolutely ravaged by not only injuries, but the Le'Veon Bell holdout. You honestly look at his team and there's no way you'd predict it to be nothing but a 2-3 win team at BEST. A washed up McCoy, an Andrew Luck throwing to nobodies and the list goes on..but somehow despite being a 20+ point underdog the past two weeks, he's not only won..but EASILY won. I definitely give Alex a TON of credit for staying upbeat and playing on and picking the right players as best as he can with what he has...lord knows I wouldn't be able to. That's the beauty/frustration of this game. Nothing matters...stats..talent..it's all about being in the right place at the time and luck. It's why no one should take matchups for granted and assume anything. So congrats Alex on this two game winning streak..(now please start losing) Onto this week's recap

The Results

No Soup For You (3-3)             155.90

Rigmas Forever (3-3)                  84.50

I Am Queens Blvd (3-3)           106.80

Underdawg (2-4)                        97.08

Rocket Man (3-3)                      107.20

Channel 4 News Team (3-3)       80.52

SCLSU MudDogs (3-3)             102.14

Scott's Tots (2-4)                         79.98

Trump 2020 (4-2)                      111.98

Hoosier Daddy (2-4)                  100.86

Shock The Monkey (5-1)           127.46

Light's Broken Bots (3-3)          117.58

Top 5 Scorers

Jameis Winston (I Am Queens Blvd)            35.90 Pts

Tyreek Hill (Shock The Monkey)                 35.70 Pts

Todd Gurley (I Am Queens Blvd)                35.50 Pts

Melvin Gordon (Rocket Man)                      34.00 Pts

Saquon Barkley (Underdawg)                      33.40 Pts

Top 5 Duds

Deshaun Watson (Scott's Tots)                          7.28 Pts

Alfred Morris (Light's Broken Bots)                 0 Pts

Jordan Howard (Rigmas Forever)                     4.90 Pts

Odell Beckham Jr. (Channel 4 News Team)     7.40 Pts

Stefon Diggs (Channel 4 News Team)              5.70 Pts

Notable Injuries

Cooper Kupp (Trump 2020)

Highest Scoring Team

No Soup For You (155.90 Pts)

Lowest Scoring Team

Scott's Tots (79.98 Pts)

Biggest Blowout

71.40 Pts (No Soup For You vs Rigmas Forever) Seriously was there any doubt this was gonna happen?

Closest Game

9.88 (Shock The Monkey vs Light's Broken Bots)

Week 6 Notes: I get a lot of things wrong (a LOT..because I suck at this stuff, predictions, talent eval, matchups everything, I'm terrible at this game as a whole) but there's ONE thing I don't get wrong...my crap luck. No..there's no "Alex Underdog" story for me..there never is..I'm supposed to get my ass kicked and not only do I, but I do it in the most pathetically laughably way possible. Chalk up another negative record for me as I now own Biggest Blowout and Lowest Points of the season. 1 more loss and I'll tie longest losing streak (and I'll break it when I lose to Kenny...trust me). It sucks knowing how shitty you are at this game. But whatever..I'm used to it. I stupidly switched out Emmanuel Sanders because of weather concerns, and it bit me in the ass. Would've still lost by 50, but points matter and guess what? Surprise, surprise, if the playoffs started today..i'd be OUT. What a shock eh? The shittiest person in the league not making the playoffs...sometimes things DO make sense. I play Mark next week and he'll beat me no doubt. Leland, meanwhile is on a roll after starting 0-3. Ever since he got rid of David Johnson he's been on a roll and has not only won 3 in a row, but finds himself 3rd place as well. He's got a tough matchup against Kenny, but it's winnable. If there's anyone that's close the me in the shitty luck spectrum it's Kenny and surprisingly his team got blown out by none other than Alex. Although Alex's guys played better than they did when Alex beat me (he got over 100 pts this week) it was against Alex's "fantasy defense" that helped him secure the win. Kenny couldn't even muster 80 points and to say this was a HUGE loss is an understatement as Kenny now finds himself 2-4 and facing Leland next week. It'll definitely be a MUST win. For Alex, I talked about it at the beginning of the post and there's just nothing you can say but tip your hat to him and his team. He's defying the odds, winning back to back weeks as a 20 point underdog. I don't know how sustainable it is, but he's got yet another tough test with a team that's just killing it right now in Mike. Speaking of Mike, don't let the score fool you, this wasn't decided until basically the 2nd to last drive of the game when Devante Adams scored a TD and then picked up a couple more catches on the final drive to bump up Mike's lead to 11 against Ryan. That's now 4 wins a row for Mike. who so far is having his best season ever in our league. Next week, his team is gutted thanks to byes (and Cooper Kupp being out) but at least he has a chance to win as he plays Alex next. For Ryan..man his Monday Night luck is AWFUL..that's 3 straight weeks where Monday Night has determined who wins or loses and both teams have someone going and that's 3 weeks Ryan has been on the losing end. It's really not helping that Fournette has missed most of the season and at 2-4 and last place he really needs to pick up a win. He'll take on Drew next week. So despite the Saquon Barkley Thursday night blowup play, Drew survived with Todd Gurley doing what he does best, carry his team with a 3 TD performance as Drew picked up his 3rd win which puts him right back in the playoff picture. His Jameis Winston spot start couldn't have gone any better as he ended up with nearly 36 fantasy points and was the #1 scorer of the week. If he can get Dalvin Cook back, there's no doubt Drew still has a playoff caliber roster with championship aspirations. For Dad...brutal loss as his WR core outside of Doug Baldwin and Hopkins did absolutely nothing with Amari Cooper and Corey Davis didn't even combine for 3 points. I said at the beginning of the season those receivers were going to be wild cards and I also think Dad wishes he would've kept Devante Adams instead of Devonta Freeman who's basically out for the season now. Drew will look to build momentum off his win against Ryan next week, while Dad really needs to get a win against Eugene who ended up bouncing back in a huge way in an easy win against Albert this week. After going on 3 game losing streak of his own, Eugene was able to survive Matt Stafford's bye as Sam Darnold put up a respectable 20 points, while Melvin Gordon continues to be awesome with a 34 point performance. Honestly the rest of his team was pretty disappointing but because Albert's was even worse, it was an easy win. After a nice win last week, Albert's team once again reverted back to the low scoring squad he was the previous two weeks before last week. This time though it was just a rare Beckham/Diggs bomb of a week. He'll look to bounce back against Matt next week. And finally, in our closest matchup of the week, Mark SURVIVES Matt and goes to 5-1. Mark had his Lion players on bye and still put up nearly 128 points. His scoring has picked up big time these last couple weeks and he continues to have one of the more well rounded teams in the league. After being a skeptic the first 3 weeks, I'm definitely a believer now and Mark's basically 2 wins away from securing a playoff berth already.  For Matt, kudos on the Latavius Murray spot start. Also Matt's ALWAYS going to be competitive thanks to Pat Mahomes and Adam Thielen who were brilliant again this week. I really thought Matt was going to pull off the win, but the 49ers completely scripted out Alfred Morris (he played 1 snap) which killed Matt's chance at a win. Matt gets Albert next week, while Mark gets win #6 against me next week.