Hello all, here is the weekly writeup. Let me know if you have any questions! Congrats to Skid Marks for putting up the most points through 7 weeks and earning the $35 prize. First team to put up 900 points thus far with Freak of Nature lurking close behind.
Highest Scorer:
Deshaun in the Wind: This one is a long time coming. This team has not performed with flying colors throughout the year, even playing multiple 0 point starters over the last 7 weeks. This week however, Luke’s squad finally put everything together, tallying 159.52 when most teams struggled to cross 100. There are a few blue chippers that Luke put out, namely RB two on the year, Swift; WR one on the season, Kupp; and TE one going forward(?), Pitts. Yet the genius of Deshaun in the Wind‘s roster was striking right with some more volatile players. The hot and cold Carr, Brown, and Conner all did right by this team so that they could prevail over the ever-beat up Fatal Flom’s. Luke even sustained a -6 misplay by the Raven’s defense. Time will tell if this win was an aberration or a sign of things to change for Deshaun in the Wind.
Biggest Blowout
What’s in a Name? v why am i doing this (49.8) & Min’s Mannshaft v Adam Schefter’s Sources (49.92): In nearly identical numerical blowouts, What’s in a Name? and Min’s Mannshaft blew out their opponents by roughly 50 points. While not totally unforeseeable, these wins aimed to weaken two division leaders in Sarah and Jake. The two question asking teams started off poorly, with why am i doing this missing on nearly every position with the exception of Jonathan Taylor and the Patriots defense. No one else on her squad even mustered double digit points. Matt’s team on the other hand didn’t have victory in tow until Gesicki and Elijah Mitchell performed well. But it was Kamara’s 33 point showboat that ensured Matt blew Sarah out of the water. Min’s upset on Jake, however, was a little more predictable, with team-carrying starts across the board. This week, Min’s team looked like a squad that you’d draft exclusively in the top 3 rounds of fantasy. Jake and his Sources made it an easy victory though, playing the abysmal Jets defense, Droppy Anderson, and someone named Quez Watkins.
Closest Match:
Jewish McCaffreys vs Dak Me Goff: While this margin of victory (7.06) wasn’t the closest we’ve seen, the head to head positional matchups were very interesting. The teams neutralized on both kicker and defense, while the running backs favored McCaffreys by just .5 points, despite there being four different backs. Even the 0 point showing of Amon-Ra St. Brown was cushioned by the 3.6 underwhelming performance of Tim Patrick. With the tight ends, roughly equal, it’s clear that it was the QB position that made all the difference. Rodgers edged Tannehill out, despite both playing well, and the rest is history. Definitely one of the more interesting player by player matchups we’ve seen.
Biggest Bust
The Darrels and the Defenses: Last week, the Darrels (Henderson and Williams) were fantasy gold. This week, they were more fantasy and less precious metal. There wasn’t any unanimous play that busted this week compared to others, but a Darrel was nonetheless deployed seven times. What’s more though, is that three defenses netted negative totals: Eagles (-2), Ravens (-6), and Jets (-11). While it is nigh unfathomable to me that someone would willingly roster the Jets, two teams did and it subtracted double digit points from their total. That being said, even if these defenses just put up 0s, none of the teams would have secured victory. So maybe it was always meant to be.
Best Find
Damien Harris: Speaking of the Jets defense, enter Damien Harris. Two teams saw the light and remembered how much Belichick hates Gang Green. Harris was PFF’s fourth ranked RB on the week, and averaged 7.6 YPC for 106 total yards. It was a revelation for a Pats offense that lacked an explosive facet to the scheme. As discussed above, Matloff’s play of Harris didn’t exactly win him the matchup, but it seems that if The Krusty Krab Pizzas played nearly any other RB, they might’ve spelled defeat. Harris is top 10 in carries, yards, and touchdowns this year, making him a viable option long term.
Weekly Oddity
This week I spot two oddities and those are slight to begin with. The first oddity lay in Dak Me Goff‘s roster that has an odd obsession with the number one. Ricky-Seales Jones scored 11.1, the cards scored 11, and his overall team tallied 111 points.
Secondarily, in the thrilling Dopey Division, we are tied up at 4-3 and 2-2 in the division. If you want to secure a playoff spot among those stalwarts, better hope that your rosters are top heavy with point racking players.
Thanks, hope you enjoyed this, and I’ll send a reminder on Thursday!
