Hello, one and all!
This is your reminder to set your lineup with any Brownies or Steelers you want to play tonight. Otherwise, get to thinking about who you want to play in Week 3 for the second divisional game of the league! Without further adieu, here is the writeup for week 2:
Highest Scorer:
Joc Pederson’s Pearls (160.72): Yet again, Andie is showing herself to be a savvy contender in this league. The roster that was put together is truly a thing of beauty. Capitalizing on several high-scoring games, Jalen Hurts, Aaron Jones and the Sun-God himself Amon Ra St. Brown totaled over 100 points between them! It may be time that we start considering St. Brown amongst the elite wideouts in the league. He has scored seven touchdowns in his last six games and shows no signs of slowing down. Only two players failed to account for double-digit points for the Pearls and minimizing those misses is a recipe for success.160 looks like the number to hit if you want to top the league, and while you may use some elite players, it’s likely worth it.
Biggest Blowout
Joc Pederson’s Pearls vs Bob Barker’s House of Pain (85.72): I was extremely tempted to choose another matchup despite this being the clear blowout of the week. However, a Matt Ryan 1.8-point total is, in plain English, pathetic. Reviewing the roster that Bob Barker put together is like looking at a pile of expired produce. Running backs Etienne and Jacobs are two of the more recent 1st round running backs and have yet to produce on expected levels. Despite this, Deandre Carter was a surprising 8.5 points for a squad that wasn’t exactly shiny. Garret may be playing the long game though – aside from those running backs, no other A-listers appear on his roster. Storing up for the right time is a strategy that could pay dividends; time will tell.
Honorable mention: Southport Corridor Strawberry Samoyedes and End Zones Jones for playing empty rosters.
Closest Match:
Skid Marks vs Women in S.P.O.R.T.S (7.78): This one came down to the wire. After the afternoon slate, Brooke had a lead by 20-odd points. Aaron Jones just needed to not go off. One catching touchdown later, it was over. The Women in S.P.O.R.T.S had to sit through the remainder of the Packers game feeling like the Bears hopelessly tilting at their betters. 7.78 is not an insurmountable feat but in this league’s scoring, it’s enough to squash hopes of victory. A win was not always assured for the Skid Marks though! An underperformance from Burrow and Kelce probably had him sweating. Yet, you’ll always wait for that last game to give up hope.
Biggest Bust
Julio Jones (0 points): We should be better at this. Three teams played Julio this week despite him being ruled out. I know all these teams and we’re all smarter than that! A 0 bust is just a gutshot to hopes of succeeding. Julio had one of his best athletic weeks in years during his debut in Buccaneer red. This inspired hope that #11 could bounce back to his prime! Yet, Julio showed his stripes when a late occurring injury ruled him outta here. I’m hopeful that he can turn this season into something beyond a 17-week ring chase, but if there’s one thing we know to be true about Falcons and their alums, it’s unpredictability.
Honorable mention: the Entire Running Back Room of the NFL
Best Find
Too many players (lots):Wowie wowie. So many players erupted for fantasy this week. Going down the positional players, we’ll start with the water-drinking mammal that he is – the face of the 2-0 Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa. My goodness did he put on a show? Perhaps, he is the captain of the fastest team in the NFL. Sure. Did he benefit from broken coverage and an injured secondary? Absolutely. Did he deserve to win the game? In no uncertain words – no. Less than two points shy of a 40 burger, the man balled out. Moving forward, I cannot sing the praises of Amon Ra St. Brown enough. If you watched him on Hard Knocks you probably were ahead of the curve on this one. The second-year receiver can simply make it happen. Perhaps this will be hyperbole in a month or so, but for now, the King stays King. Stefon Diggs, come on down! In a GM move that is increasingly becoming one of the smartest decisions in the modern sports era, Diggs has continued to elevate the Bills’ level of play. The man absolutely obliterated the gridiron with 12-148-3. That sounds like me playing Madden with Jerry Rice. Hats off to you for getting out of Minnesota (which only aquired the superbly talented Justin Jefferson [when the Vikes nab a championship, I’ll eat my hat]). #6 in the NFL 2021 Draft: Mr. Jaylen Waddle. the utter madman sprinted left, right, up, and down on the turf to the tone of 11 of 19 for 171 and two scores. Not a soul played Tyreek Hill and I won’t even look up what his fantasy scoring would’ve been. To round us out, I’ll give a nod to why am I still doing this for rostering the Bucs D. Earning this team a gigantic 25 points was not enough to salvage an otherwise disappointing day.
Honorable mention: Carson Wentz and Joe Flacco for somehow remaining to be relevant
Weekly Oddity
An overarching oddity that must be stated is the absolute ineptitude of three teams that most everyone was high on: the Colts, the Bengals, and the Broncos. These teams had high expectations across the board. All three starting running backs were drafted in the first two rounds, at least five wide receivers were drafted to be alphas, and 2/3 QBs were thought to be elite! Well, what has happened? Through two weeks, they’ve notched 1 win. Pretty disappointing for the three teams considering their history.
One team rostered an entire squad of J names. Was it on purpose? The world may never know.
Have a great rest of your week, and best of luck!
