Sorry for no write up in Week 12. Hilary was battling COVID, the whole family was sick, and I was working solo at work and had to deal with resignations and a termination all while trying to prepare for Thanksgiving. I hope you all had had a great time with family and friends and football this holiday. I’m grateful to be connected with all of you guys still despite us being apart for so many years. We are all feeling better by the way and getting back to normal.
Week 12 Recap:
Division 1:
Mike (7-5) 158.9 vs. Chase (7-5) 114.8
Mike Grote’s team exploded. Critical matchup in D1, fighting and clawing for a playoff spot. And Mike’s team delivered. Mainly due to Josh Jacobs ridiculous 52.3 point explosion. Absolutely killer. A big portion of his points came in OT when he ripped off an 86 yard game winning walk off run for a touchdown. Mike also had solid games from Tee Higgins who had 7 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown (23.9) and Chris Godwin who had 12 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown (26.0) and Dalton Schultz who caught 2 touchdowns for 17.1 fantasy points. Chase didn’t have a bad week per se, but he just couldn’t compete with Josh Jacobs. He got Amon-Ra St. Brown’s big game on Thanksgiving with 9 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown (26.4) and decent days from Carr (20.8), Foreman (14.3), Kelce (13.7), and Hopkins (16.7). Mike gets the critical victory, but Chase remains ahead of him in the standings with more points for.
Joe (4-8) 107.5 vs. Tommy (8-4) 79.8
Tommy faced his easiest opponent in the division and lost! This was Tommy’s gimme game before facing two hungry and upcoming teams fighting for their playoff spots in Mike and Chase to close out the regular season. Joe got to play the role of spoiler and got the upset. Joe didn’t have anyone go off he was just solid. With Geno Smith getting 22.2, Samaje Perine getting 17.3, Adam Thielen 16.6, and SF D/ST getting 15 and Justin Tucker getting 14. On Tommy’s side his team just shit the bed. Burrow got 18, Derrick Henry only got 13.2, Tyreek got 12, DK Metcalf got 14.5 and his peripherals underperformed with a combination of 13.1. Tommy also started inactive Leonard Fournette. Don’t think it would’ve mattered, but Points For can impact standings and playoff seeding, so it’ll be something to watch over the next couple of weeks. I imagine Tommy was either in the Titans booth sipping champagne or out in the woods slaughtering deer instead of setting his lineup, which is understandable. There is more to life than pretend football.
Division 2:
JD (10-2) 143.9 vs. Kenny (5-7) 79.3
Congratulations to JD who has almost locked in a bye week in the playoffs. The only thing standing in his way is Tommy since JD beat Brad head to head. If Tommy and Brad both go 2-0 and JD loses both games then it might come down to head to head and since they’ve played an equal amount of games against one another, Tommy 2-0 would be 1 seed, JD 1-1 would be 2 seed, and Brad 0-2 would be 3 seed. So unless I’m not calculating something right JD has earned a bye. If he wins one more or Tommy or Brad loses one more then it’s 100%. JD crushes Kenny by 64.6 points. JD had a complete victory this week. Everybody scored between 8.7 to 25.9. 8/9 scored in double digits. He made all the right start/sit decisions. He crushed it and dominated. On Kenny’s side this makes his playoff hopes very very slim. ESPN has him at a 4% chance of making the playoffs. It’s not 0, but it would require a crazy amount of stuff to happen to get him in as the 6th seed. Kenny had 5/9 starters score in single digits including his kicker getting -1 point. His matchups were good on paper, but not in fantasy reality.
Katon (2-10) 88.8 vs. Jen (6-6) 104.5
Jen is staying alive! Her trio of Running Backs outperformed Katon’s trio of Running Backs. She had James Conner rush for over 100 yards and catch a receiving touchdown for 22.5 points, Kenneth Walker scored two touchdowns for 16.4 points, and Aaron Jones did his thing with a receiving touchdown and 17.4 points. Her Rb’s combined for 56.3. For Katon he had Alvin Kamara fumble it twice for 4 points, David Montgomery got 12.8, and Zeke Elliot did his thing on Thanksgiving with a solid 16. His Rbs combined for 32.8. So Jen’s Rb’s outscored Katon’s Rbs by 23.5. Jen won the game by 15.7. Twas the difference. Jen still has to battle Kenny and JD to close out the regular season looking at the standings she most likely will need to win both games and get some help in order to make it due to her lower points for.
Division 3:
Moose (7-5) 102.5 vs. Brad (8-4) 137.3
Revenge! Brad gets his Week 1 Revenge against Moose. Of course Moose’s team has been wrecked by injuries as of late. But Brad gets the win and clinches a playoff spot. He currently sits in 1st in Division 3 and #1 in Points Scored. Brad got 32.7 from Jalen hurts who rushed for 157 yards against the Packers. He got 22.7 from Nick Chubb who scored the game winning touchdown in OT to beat the Bucs. And Justin Jefferson did his thing on Thanksgiving catching 9 balls for 139 yards and a touchdown (27.8) points. Brad changed out his tight end at the last minute and made the wrong choice, but overall solid day. On Moose’s side he got his normal 29.8 from Josh Allen. Barkley did ok with 13.2 and Stevenson did his thing with 15.7. His peripherals combined for 28.8, which is decent. Wr 2 Curtis Samuel only got 1.3 and his flex Dameon Pierce only got 3.1. I was sure Moose was going to put in Rashad White after Fournette was ruled out, but he didn’t. I saw Moose posting pictures of the Grand Canyon on Instagram, so again I completely understand that there is more to life than our pretend football hobby. As Ron Swanson says, “Crying is only okay in two places. Funerals and the grand canyon.” Moose still has a high percentage chance of making the playoffs with his high points for. ESPN has him at an 96% chance.
Scotty (3-9) 98.7 vs. Trey (5-7) 137.8
Trey is like the night in Monty Python’s The Holy Grail. “I’m not dead yet!” With his victory over Scotty he now faces the two leaders of the division in Moose (7-5) and then Brad (8-4). Both of which have scored almost 250+ more points for on the season. Trey’s victory over Scotty was due to Miles Sanders rushing for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns against Green Bay (32.5), Christian Watson catching 4 balls for 110 yards and a touchdown against Philly (24.0) and Lamar Jackson doing decent against Jacksonville with 89 yards rushing and 22.9 fantasy points. Trey did lose Travis Etienne Jr. early in the Baltimore game due to a foot injury, but word from Jacksonville is that he could have gone back in but they were being extra cautious. Scotty got 28.6 from Justin Herbert which is awesome. But he also started Joe Mixon who was inactive due to a concussion, which of course was not awesome. Hopefully Scotty gets that lineup set this week and he looks to play spoiler to Brad and Moose.
Week 13 Preview:
Division 1:
Mike (7-5) vs. Joe (4-8)
Joe is eliminated from the playoffs, but he’s out to play spoiler against his division. Mike has been holding on to a thread for weeks and finds himself on the cusp of a playoff berth. Standing in his way is Joe’s #7 Qb Geno Smith against LA Rams who are playing all backups on offense and won’t have Aaron Donald on defense. #8 Rb Tony Pollard against Indy on Sunday Night Football. Joe is hoping to have Ja’Marr Chase back in his lineup against KC. And #2 Tight End Mark Andrews faces Denver. For Mike he has Dak Prescott against Indy in that SNF game. #22 Rb Najee Harris has a great matchup against Atlanta if he plays. Last week he sustained a abdomen injury and is questionable for this week. Mike also has Running Back Number Fucking 1 Josh Jacobs. Brad was wrong in his draft grades. DEAD WRONG. Jacobs is also questionable with a calf injury. They’ll monitor this week, but I’m sure they’ll deploy him against a beatable LA Chargers defense. Mike will also have #11 Wr Tee Higgins in a potential shootout with Kansas City and Chris Godwin against the Saints. Saints Defense has looked better and always plays well against the Bucs. But Godwin has scored in back to back games and looks matchup proof as Brady’s go-to receiver. Should be a great game. Good luck gentleman!
Tommy (8-4) vs. Chase (7-5)
Let’s Gooooooooooo. Tommy can clinch the division with a victory since he would be 2 games up on Chase with only 1 game to go after this week. If Mike wins out he could tie Tommy’s record at 9-5, but Tommy has scored 211.4 more points than Mike and they would have split their record against each other. If Chase wins then things get interesting. Chase and Tommy would both be 8-5 and if Mike wins he too would be 8-5. In that scenario if Mike beats Tommy in Week 14 and Chase loses to Joe then Mike could win the division. If Chase beats Joe he would be 9-5 and meaning if Tommy beats Mike Tommy would be Division 1 winner and if Mike beat Tommy Chase would be division winner. Division 1 is the only division with 3 teams that have a chance to win the division. So exciting! Any who, we can do what if’s all day long, let’s focus on this week. Tommy has Qb 4. Joe Burrow vs. Kansas City in a potential shootout. Chase has rub a dub tug Deshaun “Rape-y fuck twat” Watson in his first NFL game in 700 days against his former team in Houston. The creepy piece of shit who allegedly forced women to give him hand jobs while he was getting massages will need to shake off some rust and I’m sure a shit ton of boo’s as he squares off against Houston’s #5 ranked OPRK. We’ll see if the pile of human garbage can perform and be the answer at Qb, a position that has plagued Chase this season. Tommy also has #2 Rb Derrick Henry against Philly. Teams were running pretty good against Philly which motivated them to sign Suh and Linval Joseph at DT to try and shore that up. Tommy is hoping to have #17 Rb Leonard Fournette back on MNF against the Saints. We’ll see if his hip pointer keeps him out another week and/or if Rashad White continues to be the lead back for the Bucs. Chase has #11 Dalvin Cook against the Jets who have been decent against the Run (#10 OPRK) and Gus “the Bus” Edwards in a tough matchup against Denver. D’Onta Foreman was able to rush for over 100 yards against Denver, so we’ll see if Edwards continues to lead the Baltimore backfield and can replicate that success. Tommy’s #4 Wr Tyreek Hill faces San Francisco. Mike McDaniel returns to his previous employer trying to keep Miami surging in the AFC. #19 Wr DK Metcalf gets the Rams. Last season against the Rams he had one great game (5-98-2) and one stinker game (6-52-0). Of course last season the Rams won the Super Bowl and this season they suck, but Jalen Ramsey should be active. Chase has the two most fun names to say in Fantasy at WR with #12 Amon-Ra St. Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Sun God faces Jacksonville and JuJu is in a potential shootout with a pretty good Cincy defense. This game has huge implications. Enjoy it this Sunday and Monday fellas.
Division 2:
JD (10-2) vs. Jen (6-6)
Two teams with the longest win streaks in the league as JD has won 7 straight and Jen has won 3 straight. JD can clinch the 1 seed and a bye with the victory. Jen can keep her playoff hopes alive with the victory. Both with high stakes. JD will have #1 Qb Patrick Mahomes in a revenge game against Cincinnati. The Bengals eliminated the Chiefs 27-24 in OT of the AFC Championship game last season. JD also has #3 Rb Austin Ekeler against the Raiders. Ekeler underwhelmed in Week 1 with only 9.2 fantasy points against the Raiders, but I don’t believe he’ll be repeating that performance. Jd will also be starting newly acquired Zonovan Knight. An undrafted rookie has hopes of starting for the Jets this week with James Robinson underperforming in practice and Michael Carter hobbled by an ankle injury. JD dropped $31 for Zonovan to start him at Rb2 this week. He also has another Jet in Wr#21 Garret Wilson. With Mike White at Qb Wilson exploded last week. This week he gets a Vikings defense ranked #26 in OPRK against Fantasy Receivers. Jd will also have #8 Wr CeeDee Lamb who will have to navigate a solid Colts secondary led by Stephon Gilmore. For Jen she is turning to Mike White against Minnesota over #11 Qb Daniel Jones against Washington. She’ll be without James Conner this week due to bye, which is unfortunate. She still has #14 Rb Kenneth Walker against Aaron Donald-less Rams defense and #7 Aaron Jones in a smash spot against a completely depleted and overmatched Chicago defense. In Week 2 Jones scored 33.5 against Chicago and that we before they traded away Robert Quinn to the Eagles, Roquan Smith to the Ravens, and lost Safety Eddie Jackson to a season ending Lisfranc injury. Jen will also have #15 Terry McLaurin vs. the Giants and #13 Chris Olave against Tampa. In Week 2 Olave caught 5 of 13 targets for 80 yards. Jd is favored, but this is fantasy football and anything can happen. Will Jd win his 8th in a row and knock Jen out the playoffs? Or will Jen keep hope alive and win her 4th straight?
Katon (2-10) vs. Kenny (5-7)
Kenny is technically still alive for the playoffs but he would need a miracle. ESPN gives him a 4% chance, which is the smallest odds of the remaining 9 teams in contention. He does get Katon, which has been the leagues proverbial doormat this season. Katon will have struggling Rb #18 Alvin Kamara against Tampa Bay on MNF, #1 Wr Stefon Diggs @ New England on TNF, #10 WR Christian Kirk in a smash spot against Detroit and Zeke against Indy on SNF. Kenny will have #12 Qb Tua Tagovailoa against San Fran, #21 Rb Jeff Wilson against his former team, and #24 Rb Devin Singletary @ New England on TNF. #3 Davante Adams gets LA Chargers. #7 Amari Cooper gets Houston with a new Qb at the helm in Deshaun “Seriously you are a pro athlete and you couldn’t get girls to please you sexually for free?” Watson. We’ll see if Cooper and Watson have good chemistry from practice or if Watson is rusty after the long hiatus. Best of luck Kenny. We’ll see if he’ll be banished to the bottom bowl or if his slim hopes will stay alive this week.
Division 3:
Moose (7-5) vs. Trey (5-7)
Trey is hanging on by a thread. Moose has his eyes set on a Division Crown. Only one can win. Moose will get the party started on Thursday Night Football with both #2 Qb Josh Allen and #12 Rb Rhamondre Stevenson. Then on Sunday Moose will deploy #5 Rb Saquon Barkley against Washington, #16 Rb Dameon Pierce against Cleveland, and WR #9 AJ Brown in a revenge game against his former team the Tennessee Titans. The Titans traded away AJ Brown and drafted Treylon Burks. You know Brown will be motivated to assert his dominance over the young Titans secondary. I don’t know if Trey can survive what’s about to happen to the Titans. Unless… the Eagles use Brown as decoy given the headlines and feed Trey’s Rb #13 Miles Sanders. Titans have been a pass funnel mainly due to the fact that they are so good stopping the run. Something to watch, but I would not want to be a member of the Titans secondary this week. Trey will also have rookie Christian Watson against the ghost of defenses past Chicago. Watson has scored touchdowns in each of his last 3 games. 6 to be exact. And caught one from Jordan Love last week, which is a good sign if Aaron Rodgers isn’t able to go due to being so beat up right now. Trey will #20 Rb Jonathan Taylor on SNF against a good Dallas defense and then on Monday Night Football Moose will have #8 Kicker Ryan Succop and Trey will have #4 TE Taysom Hill. Would be crazy if this game came down to a peripheral bowl on Monday Night. A couple of relevant storylines to watch this week will be whether Travis Etienne plays for Trey and/or if Christian McCaffrey plays for San Fran. Trey picked up Tyrion Davis-Price as a hail mary in the event CMC sits and the 49ers decide to make him lead back this week. Brad went with a different strategy which we’ll talk more about in the next matchup.
Scotty (3-9) vs. Brad (8-4)
I have my eyes on the prize. A year after finishing 3-11 and finishing the regular season in dead last, Brad once again finds himself in the playoffs. Even more he has a chance to win his division AND is currently #1 in Points Scored, which has a $200 bill awaiting the winner. He can’t get ahead of himself though. In his way sits Scotty. Scotty will have #9 Justin Herbert in a shootout with the Raiders, #10 Rb Joe Mixon looks to clear concussion protocol and play in a big time shootout against Kansas City, TD Magent #9 Jamaal Williams faces Jacksonville, #25 WR Tyler Boyd is in the Cincy-KC game, #20 Wr Deebo Samuel gets Miami and #3 Tight End TJ Hockenson gets the Jets. The big story for Brad is Christian McCaffrey. He has a knee ailment that will limit his practice this week. They are hopeful he plays against Miami. Brad picked up Jordan Mason just in case, but it’s no lock that Mason would start if McCaffrey is inactive. They could go with bigger back Tyrion Davis-Price or even bring Tevin Coleman up from the practice squad and have him handle the bulk of carries. Brad also has Jaylen Warren who could be in line for a high workload against a beatable Atlanta defense if Najee Harris is inactive and he has Jamycal Hasty who could be in line for a high workload against a beatable Detroit defense if Travis Etienne is inactive. Brad has options. #4 Nick Chubb faces Houston’s #32 OPRK defense. #2 Justin Jefferson will square off against the Sauce and #6 Jaylen Waddle will be in that interesting 49ers game. Brad also has Isaih Pacheco who has taken over as KC’s lead running back and Jerick McKinnon the third down back is banged up, albeit they have a tough matchup against the Bengals. Brad is heavily favored in this one, but he still has a lot of options and storylines to pay attention to and manage as the week progresses. He’s hoping he’ll have good games out of his #4 Bills D/ST and #2 Kicker Tyler Bass who both play on TNF.
Playoff Implications Everywhere. Cold Weather. Injuries. Hope. Ambition. Fantasy Football.
Thanks for reading,
The Commish.