Another week, another batch of contenders gone. Three cheers to our fallen comrades: The Scorebox Munchers, Krusty Krab Pizzas, Tight Ends Only, and the regular season dominator: Skid Marks.
The remaining teams will square off: The Good Guys (2 seed) v Judge Jeudy (14 seed) & Adam Schefter’s Sources (3 seed) v Dez Still Caught It (7 seed). Only one team will go home empty handed as the payouts are 3rd: $35; 2nd: $75; 1st: $350.
Anyway, here’s the writeup – enjoy.
Highest Scorer:
Dez Still Caught It (157.4): It’ would seem that boasting a high point total in this stage of the game would be difficult. With COVID deactivations, a league-wide defensive resurgence, and disappointing star power, points are generally down; that’s also not to mention the dwindling player pool that teams have to choose from. But this didn’t stop Miller from staying true to his roots. A Cowboy fan by team name, he lived and died by the McCarthy. ‘Dez Still Caught It’ rostered 4/9 positions as Dallas ‘Boys. Those players alone accounted for roughly 90 of his total points scored. Miller was hoisted to a breezy victory on the spurs of the NFC East champs, as well as the beneficiary of Joe Burrow’s historic game – Joe Mixon. This roster, like many in the matchups, were chock full of star players. Time will tell if Miller will be able to as competitive next week against the Sources.
Biggest Blowout:
Everyone except Sources v Munchers: 49, 50.36, 51.16. Those were the margins of victories among 3/4 matchups. Where to even start. No one can truly be blamed. Look at the rosters without the scores, and you might even hedge against the winners. But in each of these tussles, there were clear mismatches. In Skid Marks V Dez, the main mismatch was a stellar Dak and Dan Quinn Defense performance against a surprise flop Herbert and Saints D outing. For the Tight Ends and The Good Guys, Charlie was bested by the powerful trio of AB, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Adams. The Tight Ends Only philosophy bore out with an Everett gain over Gronk, but true gooses in James Robinson, Tyler Johnson, and the Seahawks spelled defeat for this scrappy team. Lastly, Rob’s Pizzas were outmatched by Justin Jackson (the ball carrier). Being a Wildcat himself, he should’ve known better than to play former Offensive Rookie of the Year Saquon Barkley over backup-RB committee leader Justin Jackson. There was that and the fact that Joe Burrow basically doubled Kyler Murray’s very good 21.9. To the teams that lost, don’t worry too much as there was little you could do to stop these teams.
Closest Matchup:
Adam Schefter’s Sources v The Scorebox Munchers (7.48): The remaining undiscussed matchup takes to the Bashful and Happy divisional winners. Jake’s team must’ve winced at a Kittle performance that left a lot wanting, while he weathered the Herbert bust. Even his defense actively hurt his team, taking 5 away. Things didn’t look good for the 3rd seed. However, Connor’s squad wasn’t all peaches. Through discussion with the league office, there were many attempts to roster already played Footballers. However, your eagle-eyed Commish caught them before they went to turf. Connor’s final roster sported an overall strong, if not burly, lineup. However, Gronk heard that elite tight ends had the day off, so he busted. And AJ Green remembered his age. The matchup came within single digits, and Adam Schefter’s Sources prevailed with a victory to take him to the semis.
Biggest Find:
Justin Jackson (34.2): When it was announced that Ekeler was out, I was disappointed because I had him in other leagues. But I didn’t bother to pick up Jackson because I watched enough Charger’s football. That team drafted Larry Roundtree this year and Josh Kelley last year. They were going to go by committee. Either that or it’s Airmail city and Herbert throws for 400 yards. Well, don’t trust my instincts because the offense ran through number 22 on Sunday. Jackson gave NU alums flashbacks to scenes on Ryan Field where The Ball Carrier could rip off six or seven at will. Granted it was the Texans, but that didn’t matter for Judge Jeudy as they benefitted from a hefty point total. It was about time that the rest of the NFL see what a talent Justin Jackson is. He is the all-time rushing leader at his alma mater, Northwestern, with 5,440 yards. Second in rushing yards? 4,485. This find for Judge Jeudy is doubly important as this will likely be Jackson’s best game due to Ekeler’s return. Next week, David’s team will need to roster a homerun hitter to remain in contention.
Biggest Bust:
James Robinson (1): This is a really unfortunate bust. James Robinson tore his Achilles in the first quarter. He rushed 3 times for 10 yards. There’s really no one to blame here. Just a freak thing in a meaningless game. No one truly cared about a game between two divisional last place teams, but Football is a merciless game that will exact its toll on a whim. Charlie probably expected a 20-30 point game out of Robinson against the league’s worst run defense in the Jets, but instead he got 1. A couple James Robinson facts: this year he is 9th in the league with 8 touchdowns; 11th in the league with 4.7 yards per carry; and somehow 21st in attempts with 164. He is a good running back who was never given the keys to the kingdom, despite these objective measurements. He is a 23 year old undrafted free agent on a team with no serious financial commitment to him. They just spent 1st round draft capital on Travis Etienne and are trying to build around Lawrence. Achilles tears and Running Backs rarely go hand in hand. The only recent example of this working would be D’Onta Foreman, but even he is backup for the Titans. The Rams’ Cam Akers is slotted to come back for the playoffs after a pre-season Achilles tear, so there may be hope after all. In any case, I hope this isn’t the last relevant mention of Robinson because he deserves better.
Weekly Oddities:
1) Connor’s team rostered Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs who scored the exact same: 21.5. Connor wishes AJ green could’ve done the same.
2) Adam Schefter’s Sources will face off against Dez Still Caught It in the semis. This is Eagles fan v Cowboys fan. This may seem only nominally important, until you realize that Jake’s team has not rostered a single Cowboy to this point. Talk about commitment (or hatred).
3) The matchup for Judge Jeudy and Krusty Krab Pizzas ended in non-decimaled number for both teams. I have no idea how the math can workout like that. Craziness.
4) The remaining teams comprise 3 Division winners and then Judge Jeudy as the 14th seed. Last week, I said don’t break out your fairy tales for a Cinderella Story quite yet, but it may be time to make sure you know where it is (just in case).
Hope you enjoyed the writeup! No TNF or Saturday games this week, but feel free to get your lineups to me early.
Have a great week!
