A lopsided real-life NFL week has mercifully concluded. The morning slate was the highest-scoring slate of football we’ve had so far, while the latter was the expected snooze-fest. However, with injuries, breakouts, and busts, the Quarter-Season Carnival is in effect for strategy reevaluation.
Housekeeping:
a) Players with 0 points
Believe it or not, I don’t care too much when teams have a player who scored 0 points. Sometimes this is a towel thrown or a strategic twist on the plan. However, this season I’ve noticed more than usual 0.0 performances, namely from players who are injured or OUT. There won’t be penalties (for now), and I imagine the readers of the write-up are not the offenders of this in the first place. But please, for goodness’ sakes, check your lineup to be free of injuries. You all paid good money to play! Why not play competitively!
b) The playoff watch
New feature loading….. Check the ‘The League’ tab and scroll down. We are now introducing an interactive (of sorts) live Power Rankings table where you can see where you stand on a week to week basis. As always, the top 14 teams will make the playoffs, and with this tool you can see where you stack up. Play around with it and let me know if you have any questions.
Highest Scorer: Dez Still Caught It (142.08 points)
I keep telling you guys to watch out for Miller. While his name implies some hair-brained conspiracy, his points and consistency are not for the tin-foiled. Dez Still Caught It begins his massive point total with a confident start from current Steeler Starter, Justin Fields. Taking full advantage of his opportunity window, Fields tallied a rock-steady stat line. He completed 64.7% of his passes (he’s at 70.6% for the year so far) and ran the ball for a much-needed 55 yards and two touchdowns. This 32-point head of steam was all the momentum that Miller needed to put the wax on this victory. The rest of his lineup looks like Noah’s Ark, going two-by-two into the biblical vessel. Conner & Moss notched ~18 a pop; Diggs & McLaurin matched for 18 too; and JSN & Goedert rounded up the end with 13 points each. There’s something so delightful about symmetry, isn’t there? With this win, Miller is on a three-week win streak and trails Fisher’s DeJean by 36 points for the Boston Cream title. That Division is shaping up to be the one to watch as each week goes by.
Biggest Blowout: Bad at This vs hancocky bastards (53.14 points)
Staying with the Boston Cream Division, we unfortunately have to revisit Bad at This with his massive loss to the reigning champion, hancocky bastards. Making his second appearance (due to a loss) in the write-up this season, Matloff and his tautologically named team got their doors blown off. Normally, I highlight how the victor was able to achieve greatness, but Andie’s 130-point total was relatively explainable with big days by Kelce, Henry, Metcalf, Monty & Jayden Daniels. The usual suspects. What’s worth investigating though is the bargain-bin hunting that Bad at This is trying to do. Despite a splash play of Kyler Murray (for a mere 9.88 points), this was a McDonald’s Value Menu offering. A solid 18.8 points on Monday Night from Tony Pollard was the lone bright spot in this sea of sputter. This league only plays nine roster spots per week. So when three of them record a wimpy 10 points per, it makes for a pretty weak base to build off. Explosion is the name of the game in fantasy, and let’s just say this roster had a bad fuse. 0.1 points makes you sick with Gesicki. Calvin Austin III had fewer points than his family has people named Calvin Austin. And Singeltary put in the early wound with a 5-point total starting Thursday. The sadly-named Bad at This sits at #36 in our League Power Rankings. It may be time for a new offensive scheme over there.
Closest Call: Riley Read Option vs. The Good Guys (0.22 points)
What’s that saying? Good Guys finish 40th? That’s it, right? That’s what’s happening in this league at least. With this loss, Zane falls to last place in our power rankings. 0-4 and only 325.52 points. Funny enough – this is only the 3rd fewest points in the league (Boswell & Younghoes have fewer, but have won at least one game). The winless The Good Guys would’ve beat 18/40 teams this week. This indicates that The Good Guys weren’t cheated out of a guaranteed dub, but rather this was a coin flip – win/loss. But LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A POINT! Holy cow. Let’s parse through a few details. The Good Guys paid for this roster. Chubba Hubbard & Diontae are on a two week stretch of extremely startable performances, and Caleb Williams ought to evolve into a viable option at QB. Combine this with boom/bust options like Mooney & Michael Wilson and a Tight End who scored more than five points. Despite these best efforts, and despite zero neutralized players between these teams, RRO sealed the gap on Zane. The icing on this donut is the choice that Mr. Browning Jr. made to roster Dareke Young (0.0 points). Was this his wideout for the whole week? Or did he swap out a receiver to this lesser name when victory became certain? The world may never know, but it does make for quite the cold shoulder.
Best Find: Justin Fields (31.98) points
Despite only two of the three teams who rostered Mr. Fields winning, I still hand this coveted award to the 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft. I find the Justin Fields situation fascinating. Not only is he sandwiched smack-dab in the middle of the Russell Wilson saga, but Fields has led Pittsburgh to a 3-1 Division leading record. Perhaps it’s Arthur Smith, perhaps it’s swapping Chicago winters for Pennsylvania rivers, in any case Fields has proven himself as a premiere backup QB if not an outright starter. Fields is on a season-long track to throw for 490 passes, which would improve on his previous record by a hundred passes! No suprise on this one, but he is also clearing his career-best completion percentage by 10% (70.6% vs. 61.4%). His passer rating through a month of ball is a solid 98. Russell ‘Unlimited’ Wilson is supposedly sidelined with a calf situation, but those with curious minds HAVE to wonder ‘are the Steelers better off with Fields or Wilson?’ For me, I know I’ll be starting Fields as a fantasy asset before it’s too late.
Biggest Bust: Rome Odunze (2 points)
Speaking of highly drafted Bears who falsely inspired hope in desolate Chicago – Mr. Rome Odunze, come on down! It is slightly baffling that four teams chose the rook as a piece of the puzzle this week, but to their credit, those four teams all won in spite of Rome. The Chicago offense has been a misery (COUGH) I mean mystery through four weeks (at least to me). Are they good? Are they bad? Is Caleb ready, mature, or capable? The offense theoretically has no shortage of options either – that is, until they get pissed off or injured. The whole Chicago squad feels shaky and inconsistent to me. Enough pontification, though. Here are Odunze’s stat lines through four weeks. One reception on four targets for 11 yards (win); two receptions on five targets for 33 (loss); here’s the biggie, six receptions on 11 targets with a score for 112 (loss); and now, one reception on three targets for 10. Perhaps, these figures indicate that Rome Odunze is not an integral part to the team… yet. Take away the draft pick and his name and swap it with – I don’t know – Nelson Agholor, and I think you’d be pleasantly surprised with the guy. But he’s not Agholor, he’s Chicago’s future #1 target. There is so much more time in this season and his career that we’re far away from final declarations, but, propotionately, I will wait to use him in Fantasy.
That’s all for the write-up. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks!
