Here we are again.  Drafting fantasy football teams together for almost a quarter of a century.  The draft was a ton of fun.  I love it when we all get together whether in person or virtually.  Hopefully the fates will smile down upon us and give us an opportunity to get together in person soon.  But even a zoom call made for a fun and entertaining couple of hours.  Thank you to all that joined.

Now that the sentimental BS is over with let’s get to what you came here for.  Grades.  As always I’ll give my thoughts on players, teams, and give a subjective, arbitrary grade that means nothing.  Last year my grades went like this:

Contenders:

1. Stephen: A
2. Max: A
3. Logan: A

Can Compete:

4. Andy: B+

5. Michael: B

6. Brad: B

7. Caleb: C+

Better Luck Next Year:

8. Quentin: D+

9. Ben: D

10. Josh: F

Now the playoff teams wind up being Stephen, Brad, Caleb, and Josh, with Stephen winning it all.  He got the highest grade and won it all.  Is that how it works?  No.  But I’m building credibility so you believe what I say next.

1. Michael. 

Mike gets first pick and took the “manimal” Christian McCaffrey.  CMC was on Mike’s Super Bowl winning teams in 2019 and 2018.  He was also on Brad’s Super Bowl winning team in 2017.  Since then he hasn’t won a super bowl for his team.  Can Mike turn it around?  CMC was on Caleb’s roster last year and that was good for a 3^rd place regular season and 3rd place final standing finish.  Last season CMC averaged 22.36 fantasy points per game in half ppr.  San Fran has a high implied scoring total estimation during the playoffs this year.  This was the correct pick and Mike didn’t hesitate come draft day.

At the end of Round 2, Mike’s plan of drafting Isiah Pacheco was disrupted by Max taking the Chiefs bellcow one pick before him.  Instead Michael selected Drake London at 2.10.  He wasn’t sure who take after that, so he turned to the league for assistance.  Brad took the call and moved up 3 spots via trade.  A saavy move by Mike that would pay off for him in the 4^th round.  Now when it comes to Drake London going ahead of Davante Adams, Chris Olave, Deebo, Mike Evans, Jaylen Waddle, DJ Moore, etc.  London has finished as WR#36 and WR#39 in two NFL seasons.  The Falcons have the easiest schedule this season according to Warren Sharp and other than Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney, London should have the lion’s share of targets.  Michael plants his flag and says London WILL breakout in Year 3 and will be better than all of the wideouts I mentioned.  He’s talented.  Let’s see if Captain Kirk can make the vision become reality.  Mike wind up trading Brad’s pick with Quentin to acquire Jalen Hurts at 3.5.  I like Hurts and think he should be a Top 5 fantasy QB with Kellen Moore calling the plays for the Eagles.  Having Barkley helps too.

In Round 4 Mike had the benefit of that earlier trade with Brad, so he was drafting from the 4.7 spot.  The perfect spot to take Malik Nabers.  Nabers looks like a monster, and I can see him being taken in the late first next year.  IF he gets some consistent QB play.  Daniel Jones is in a prove it year (like every year of his career I feel like), but they have Drew Lock backing him up.  Nabers should get a ton of targets and I thought this was a slam dunk pick.  I consistently selected Nabers at 4.7 in my mocks.

In Round 5 Mike traded back with Josh, trading 5.1 and 6.10 for 5.6 and 6.5 and swapping 12ths.  Mike takes Trey McBride at 5.6.  Love this pick.  Think McBride is helped by the added Marvin Harrison weapon for the Cardinals and Kyler is healthier than ever.  In the 6^th Mike takes Rashee Rice.  Big pick here.  Rice has several potential felony charges involved with a car accident with injuries where he allegedly fled the scene.  This dug up some earlier scouting reports that had concerns with Rice and who he hung out with during his time at SMU.  As of right now there is no indication from the league if/when he will be suspended for this accident.  Which means Mike has a Top 2 target for Patrick Mahomes and the back-to-back Super Bowl winning Chiefs to start the year.  With Hollywood Brown missing time due to an injured shoulder, Rice will be competing with Travis Kelce and rookie phenom Xavier Worthy for early season targets.  We’ll see if Rice plays the whole season or if this incident comes back to bite.  High risk/high reward type of call here.

In Round 7 Mike took good value in Rhamondre Stevenson.  He got paid this offseason like the now and future starter.  One must worry a little bit about Antonio Gibson’s role.  Gibson can be a decent 3^rd down back.  The other thing to worry about is the Patriots might be terrible again.  They have one of the hardest schedules in the NFL this season looking at implied win total.  The hope is volume with Rhamondre.  In Round 8 Mike took Chase Brown.  I think Zach Moss is a perfect fit in that offense.  Everyone keeps saying Brown is the guy, but unless Zach Moss is dead, I don’t think Brown is as big a thing as people are letting on.  We’ll see though.   He had that great 50+ yard touchdown last year on a screen pass.

In Round 9 Tony Pollard.  Seems like the Titans are going to be an electrifying offense and have two pass catching backs that are going to split time evenly.  Pollard is now a full year and a half removed from his broken ankle and his main competition Tyjae Spears has no knee cartilage.

Mike got good value late with Jameson Williams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rico Dowdle, and Jaylen Wright.

Draft Grade: B+.  Mike was trading all over the place but the end result was good.  Hurts-CMC-Nabers-McBride is a great core.  Mike has depth at RB and some high upside WR depth too.  The path to the playoffs for Mike will be if London’s 3^rd breakout happens according to plan, if Malik Nabers can overcome potentially inconsistent QB play, and whether or not the NFL cracks down on Rashee Rice at some point this season.  Solid job.

2. Max.

Last year Max got an “A” draft grade, but it didn’t work out.  Injuries plagued him and he struck out on Tee Higgins and Dameon Pierce.  But this is a new year.  Max got a monster with Breece Hall.  He finished last season with games of 37.1-23.1-28.0 fantasy points.  If he can carry that momentum into this year, a year further removed from his knee injury.  Look out.

At the end of the 2^nd round he went Isiah Pacheco.  Pacheco finished as RB#16 last year.  The Chiefs defense got worse in the offseason in my opinion.  And all signs point to them passing more and having more shootouts.  With that being said, Pacheco is the starting running back on a very good football team.  That’s a good asset to have.

At pick 3.2 Max went trips RB with PPR machine Alvin Kamara.  He missed 3 games to start the year last year and sat out Week 18, but finished as RB#14.  15 half ppr points per game average though.  Expanded over the whole season he would’ve finished RB #5.  He caught 75 catches on 86 targets for 466 yards.  It was his worst Yards per catch of his career, but the Saints added no new running backs.  We drafted an OT with our first pick.  The offense is virtually the same.  It’s not crazy to think he keeps up this PPR pace.  If he played the whole season with the reception average he had he would have had 98 catches last year.

In Round 4 Max goes DJ Moore.  LOVED this pick.  Caleb Williams is an upgrade at QB.  Last year he was WR#6.  How he fell to you at 4.9 is a mystery.  They did add Keenan Allen and drafted Rome Odunze.  But DJ Moore and Rome are locked in long term.  Keenan Allen is a one year rental.  DJ Moore is the wideout to have on the Bears and this was a great pick.

In Round 5 you got tremendous value in Devonta Smith.  Smith was WR#20 last year, regressing a bit from his sophomore campaign, but in comes Kellen Moore for OC.  The same Kellen Moore that led to Keenan Allen’s blow-up last year.  Will AJ Brown remain X and will they put Smith in the valuable move him all around role? It’s possible, which means Smith could smash his ADP.

In Round 6 Max took Kyler Murray.  This was a little early for QBs this year for me personally, but I think Kyler is locked in to be a Top 10 Fantasy QB this season.  I’m high on the Cardinals this season.

In Round 7 you took George Pickens.  He is the #1 WR on the Steelers.  Arthur Smith.  Russ Wilson or Justin Fields.  Toughest schedule in the NFL according to Warren Sharp.  But someone has to catch passes.  Pickens wanted to be the alpha with all his complaining last couple of seasons.  Well here is your chance hot shot.  Max even said when he drafted him that he wanted an asshole on his team lol.

In Round 8 you took Javonte Williams.  Meh.  I am avoiding the Broncos backs for the most part.  But this was decent value in case he can return to his pre knee injury form from a couple years ago.  9^th Round Taysom Hill.  This might be sneaky good.  TE finishes last 4 years: TE#4, #13, #5, #10.  But just in case you took Dallas Goedert with the next pick.  Good value picks with Austin Ekeler, Keon Coleman in the later rounds.

Draft Grade: A.  I think Max did a great job again.  This team scares me more than some others in the league.  I’m glad Max isn’t in my division.

3. Stephen.

The King Slayer Stephen Kelly returns to defend his crown.  The league was staring at a potential Brad three-peat.  God knows what would have happened if Brad had won it all.  The White Knight Stephen took him out.  Stephen’s first five picks were phenomenal.  In Round 1 he starts with Bijan Robinson.  Bijan has the easiest schedule, has a better QB.  And the passing game coordinator for the Rams that made Kyren Williams a thing is now the Falcons OC.  Bijan was RB#9 last year but missed two games that he was active for due to a headache and flu-like symptoms.  But Arthur Smith kept him active like a dick.  The skies the limit for this back.

In Round 2 Stephen took Puka Nacua.  Puka’s ADP dropped due to a bursa sac knee injury.  All signs point to him being ready for Week 1, although they might be a bit cautious with his snap count.  Cooper Kupp is also back and healthy so we’ll see if Puka can repeat his rookie phenom season or if he backtracks a bit in Year 2.  When they were both on the field at the end of last season there were some games where they were split down the middle, others where Puka disappeared and others where Kupp disappeared.  They are going to be a problem for opposing defenses.

In Round 3 Stephen goes Deebo Samuel.  Little early looking at ESPN ADP, but right on the money if you look at competitive best ball tournaments.  The San Fran offense goes through Deebo.  That was obvious last year.  When he was healthy, they won.  When he wasn’t they didn’t.  Despite missing 3 weeks last year he finished WR#12 and averaged 14.25 points per game.  Solid.

In Round 4 Stephen took Nico Collins.  3^rd year breakout last year was great.  Finished as WR#9.  The concern for a repeat this season is the addition of Stefon Diggs in the offseason.  But Nico got a contract extension and he’s the #1.  I think Diggs provides depth and a true 2^nd wideout for 2 WR sets opposed to Tank Dell who is like a mighty mouse/speedster.  Diggs started last year strong but then played horribly to finish the year.  He might be dust.

In Round 5 Stephen takes James Cook.  My word.  In my other leagues Cook was a 2^nd round pick.  Stephen gets him in Round 5.  This is nuts!  Cook was the bell cow last year when Joe Brady took over play calling for the Bills.  Only problem was Latavius Murray.  Cook would be used to get to redzone then they would take him out.  I’m banking on some of that, but maybe less now that his backups are all rookies?  Maybe?  I think Bills defense takes a big step back this year and Cook can catch more passes out of the backfield, we’ll see.

In Round 6 Stephen doubled up on Bills with Dalton Kincaid.  I don’t have issues with Kincaid.  But Dawson Knox is still there and will take TE snaps away.  Kincaid could play more slot, but that is where new addition Curtis Samuel specializes.  They have MVS and Keon Coleman as weapons on the outside.  It’s a bit of a mess, but maybe Kincaid can earn the lion’s share of targets?  I liked Evan Engram and Jake Ferguson over Kincaid this season.  More on that later.

In Round 7 Stephen took Joe Burrow.  Geaux Tigers!  Everyone hopes that Joe is back to 100% after a scary surgery involving his hand ligaments.  Good value in a pair of panthers Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Brooks.  Then just for shits and giggles Stephen got the scary Mahomes new toy in Xavier Worthy.

Draft Grade: A+.  Stephen crushed this draft.  I don’t give out A+’s often.  His team has no weakness.  He has a legitimate shot to repeat.  Wow.  Just blown away by this.

4. Brad.

24 years ago a nervous Bradley leaned over to Michael not knowing who he should pick.  Michael was chewing on one of his mechanical pencils as he always did.  Leaned over and pointed to the ESPN sheet I was holding.  “He’s really good.”  I nodded in agreement and selected my first fantasy football player ever.  “Marvin Harrison”.  Now here we are.  Adults.  And I had an opportunity to draft Marvin Harrison’s son, Marvin Harrison Jr.  I know sentiment and feelings shouldn’t be considered when making logical decisions.  It takes more than good juju to win in fantasy football.  But I was willing to sacrifice this entire season for nostalgia and to be able to honor the memory of that faithful day 24 years ago.  Moments matter.

With all that being said, Marvin Harrison Jr was a terrible first round pick.  His ADP was 21 according to ESPN.  But he was born to play this game.  He’s built like CeeDee Lamb or AJ Green, much bigger than his father was.  I’m bullish on the Cardinals this season.  Kyler is healthier.  MHJ should get high targets immediately.  He’ll get going early and often this season.

In Round 2 Brad selects Kyren Williams.  Kyren finished as RB#6 last year despite missing 3 weeks.  His average fantasy points per game (19.9) was #2 amongst Running Backs only behind CMC.  Now the passing game coordinator of the Rams is now the OC of the Falcons.  And the Rams did draft Blake Corum from Michigan.  Corum of course scored 27 touchdowns last year and helped end Nick Saban’s career with this run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NBDegpbe90

And Kyren was dealing with a foot injury this offseason.  But if he can stay healthy and hold off Corum he should continue to smash.

In Round 3 Mike asked if anybody wanted to move up to 3.1.  Seeing Travis Etienne Jr there I had to take the bait.  It cost me Malik Nabers in the next round, but I was happy to get Etienne.  Etienne was RB#3 last year.  His efficiency was terrible as he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, but he caught 58 passes on 73 targets, scored 12 total touchdowns, and played in every game.  The Jaquars offensive line should be better this year.  And Trevor Lawrence played through multiple injuries last year and should be healthy and ready to go.  They’ve also swapped out weapons Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones for Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis.  An improvement in my opinion.

In Round 4 I missed out on Malik Nabers but was able to take Joe Mixon at 4.10.  Why Mixon?  Mixon seems to have a lock on RB1 duties for a good-looking Texans team.  He could smash this season.  He was RB#5 last year in a similar fashion to Etienne.  High volume, low efficiency, played every game.  Going Kyren-Etienne-Mixon for Brad is like the pioneers that crossed the Oregon Trail.  They had mules.  They aren’t pretty or graceful like horses.  But they get the job done.

In Round 5 Brad goes DK Metcalf.  Metcalf’s last four years of fantasy finishes: 6, 11, 18, 16.  He’s consistently a WR1/WR2.  The new Offense Coordinator is Ryan Grubb, who served as OC for the University of Washington that saw 574 pass attempts out of 985 total plays (58%).  Now was that a product of having Penix, Odunze, Polk, and McMillan?  Or will Grubbs bring that passing rate to the Seahawks?  So far Metcalf is my most rostered player for 2024.  Just a solid choice who can score at any time.  One of my main reasons for drafting him?  I don’t want to play against him.

Round 6: Terry McLaurin.  Another boring veteran.  He’s typically a fringe WR2/WR3.  Last year he finished as WR#28 on a terrible Washington team.  The O Line was a disaster.  Sam Howell was a disaster.  But everything is different.  Jayden Daniels is a cheat code.  Could McLaurin have a career year?  I certainly think it’s a possibility.  Daniels should be the best QB he’s had in his career.  Boring pick, but a tickle of upside here.  Think Kliff Kingsbury’s first year in Arizona and what he did for DeAndre Hopkins.

Round 7 Brad takes Evan Engram.  Seems like good value.  He was TE#2 last year and caught 114 passes.  I do expect some regression in that department with the additions of Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr., but even the year before he was Tight End #6.

In Round 8 Brad continued his onslaught of Honda Civic players with Chris Godwin.  Godwin will move back into the slot this season, which is where he thrived a few years ago.  In Round 9 Brad made his crucial error of the draft.  More egregious than MHJ in the first.  He took Brian Robinson Jr.  He should have taken Jayden Daniels.  With everyone having their QB locked in Brad got greedy thinking he can wait one more round for Daniels.  Caleb had other plans.  Now Robinson was RB#22 last year despite missing a couple games and they added the talented but aging Austin Ekeler.  This coaching staff is new.  Brad went RB depth over upside starting QB.  The error could cost him big time.

In Round 10 Brad takes Jake Ferguson.  Ferguson should be the #2 target on the Cowboys.  He smashed in the playoff game against the Packers last year, catching 3 touchdowns.  He could easily finish a Top 5 tight end this season and jump over aging super stars in the category like Kelce and Kittle.  After missing on Daniels Brad decided to double up on Tight End, knowing there were still several good Qbs out there.

In Round 11 Brad’s consolation prize was Jordan Love.  Love was QB#5 last year.  His weapons are legit.  He got paid like a Super Star.  Can he repeat his Top 5 Fantasy finish?  Late picks were meh and will probably all get dropped at some point.  Although Gabe Davis is always fun for a Boom/Bust spot start.

Draft Grade:  -1 Letter Grade for MHJ in first.  -1 Letter Grade for whiffing on Jayden Daniels.  This looks like a typical Brad team.  Going to put up 85-105 points.  Not going to pop off for 150 any weeks.  But will be consistent and solid and make you show up to beat them.  I swear I stared at this roster for an hour after our draft not knowing what to make of it.  It’s not like any I’ve seen before.  I believe the correct Gen Alpha vernacular is “It’s Mid”.  Draft Grade: C

5. Quentin.  

After Brad got sentimental, Quentin got back to business taking Justin Jefferson.  Many rankers have Tyreek, Chase, and Lamb over JJ this season, but they all have some issues.  Chase and Lamb are holding out for new contracts.  Tyreek has a little wrist injury he’s working through.  JJ’s concern is his QB is Sam Darnold and his other stars Addison and TJ Hockenson are banged up to start the season.  The worry with the Vikings right now is this.  If they are terrible, they may shut down their super star so he doesn’t get hurt later on in the year.  I think it’s premature to say stuff like that and love the upside of the stud who averages almost 100 yards per game in his career so far.

In Round 2 Quentin gets Jonathan Taylor.  WTF is the back half of the draft doing?  In fact every single team that drafted from Picks #6-10 is getting docked a letter grade for passing on Jonathan Taylor twice.  You idiots!  I swear Quentin if you would have passed on him and I would have gotten him yall would have erased my penalty for taking MHJ.  JT has a legit chance to lead the league in rushing yards this season.  I can see him rushing for 1800 yards.  People just like… Nah!  Great pick Quentin.

In Round 3 Quentin did the weird trade thing with Mike but landed on Patrick Mahomes.  Mahomes fantasy finishes every year being a starter: 1, 7, 4, 4, 1, 8.  Last year was his worst year as a starter.  They still won it all.  Now they lost some key people on defense.  And they added Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Xavier Worthy.  He should be back as a Top 4 fantasy QB this year with an outside chance of breaking passing records this season.  He doesn’t run, but look at the finishes.  It doesn’t really matter.

In Round 4 Quentin got great value in Jaylen Waddle.  Waddle is a stud and if Tyreek Hill wasn’t in Miami Waddle would be a late 1^st/early 2^nd round pick.  Now he had a down year last year while Tyreek was trying to get 2000 yards.  (He finished with 1799).  But this year Tyreek has said that is not his goal this year because it would be selfish.  I think that says they are going to spread it out a little more evenly and Waddle’s numbers go up.  They paid him like they will anyway.

In Round 5 the head scratcher.  Lamar Jackson.  It’s a 10-team league Quentin.  There are 12 starting Qb’s available via free agency right now post-draft.  My strategy was to wait as long as possible to draft a QB.  Quentin has two after five rounds.  Lamar Jackson averaged 21.14 points per game last year for his QB#4 finish.  Jordan Love, who I drafted in Round 11, averaged 19.42 points.

In Round 6 George Kittle after a trade with Stephen.  Kittle was quiet last year and yet still finished as TE#5.  That gives him 3 seasons in a row finishing as a Top 5 Fantasy Tight End.  With his playing style he has played exactly 1 full NFL season in 7.  But he does tough it out and suits up for most of them.  Also, if you watched Receiver on Netflix you know he isn’t afraid to get an injection and go back out there and throw his body around to help his team win.

In Round 7 Quentin finally takes his 2^nd RB with Aaron Jones.  He was banged up last year and is going to be 30 in December.  Reports out of camp is the plan is for him to handle 15-18 touches per game, which is solid.  But will the Vikings be good with Sam Darnold at the helm?  Doubling up with Vikings means you think so.  At least Jones should play well in his two Packers revenge games.

In Round 8 Quentin took Keenan Allen.  Keenan Allen who I shat on last year right before he popped off for a WR#8 finish in only 13 games of action, averaging over 17 points per game.  We’ll see how Caleb Williams distributes the ball for the Bears, but with Rome and DJ Moore locked in long term it seems Allen is just a 1-year rental.  Do you throw him the ball a bunch to use and abuse him or do you work on your rapport with your buddies that will be with you long term?

In Round 9 Nick Chubb.  We’ll see if Chubb can return to former glory after having his leg nearly break off last year in Week 2.  He’s a grinder so I won’t bet on him not coming back, but if I’m the Browns I’m not giving him 30 carries any time soon.

Loved Gus Edwards in Round 10.  Should be the starter for Greg Roman’s offense for the Chargers.  They want to pound the rock.  Insert Gus Bus who rushed for over 800 yards and 13 touchdowns last year.

Draft Grade: C+.  Love the core of Mahomes-JT-JJ-Waddle-Kittle.  But RB2, Flex, and WR depth concern me.  You know, might have been a good time to address one of those areas around Round 5 when you were taking YOUR 2^ND QB IN A 10 TEAM LEAGUE.

***Every Team Drafting 6^th-10^th lost 1 letter grade as a result on passing on Jonathan Taylor twice***

6. Josh.

Tyreek again!  Tyreek smashed last year.  He had an offseason goal of getting 2000 yards and the crazy bastard almost did it (He finished with 1799).  But Tyreek has said that is not his goal this year because it would be selfish of him.  But he’s still Tyreek.  Even if he gets 1500 yards instead of almost 1800 I think you’ll be okay.  My concern with him is Week 17 they play @ Cleveland.  So if you make the Super Bowl he might have another Frozen game like in Kansas City last year when they couldn’t do anything.  But that’s a long ways away.

In Round 2 you took Derrick Henry.  Now I would have loved this pick.  I’m big on Henry this year on the Ravens.  If Gus Edwards can get 800 yards and 13 touchdowns then surely Derrick Henry can do more than that right?  But taking him over Jonathan Taylor was ludicrous.  Last year was a mess.  I get that.  He had the contract crap, the ankle crap, then randomly he broke his hand and missed a few more games.  But heading into the year he’s healthy, he’s happy, he’s signed long term.  He’s ready to SMASH.  Love Henry, but not over JT.  No way.

In Round 3 you took Pfizer spokesperson Travis Kelce.  He’s 34 and obviously dating Taylor Swift.  He’s back on a two year deal hoping to do the unthinkable.  Win a third championship in a row.  Kelce who despite missing a couple games last season still finished as TE#3 extending his streak of consecutively Top 3 TE finishes to 8 seasons.  Can he make it 9?

In Round 4 Josh takes Josh.  Jacobs that is.  When this offseason signing happened my initial thought was it was a good fit.  I do think Josh Jacobs will be better in Green Bay than Aaron Jones was last year.  Jacob’s signed on for a few years and should be ready to roll.  The Packers offense looks scary and Jacobs should do well, especially when the weather gets colder.  I had Mixon and Cook ranked higher than him in my rankings, but I could certainly see Jacobs outscoring both of them.

In Round 5 you traded with Michael to obtain a Michael. Pittman Jr that is.  Pittman finished as WR #15 last year despite Gardner Minshew throwing him the ball for most of the season.  Anthony Richardson is back, so a bigger arm could help Pittman’s prospects.  Great value in Round 5 I think.

At the end of the 6^th round Josh got his QB in… Brock Purdy.  Over Burrow, Dak, Jayden Daniels.  Purdy was QB#6 last year.  That’s true.  Did you need to take him here though?  Tough to say.  I think you should have waited.  Especially considering you were able to get Caleb Williams in Round 10.

In Round 7 Josh takes Tee Higgins.  I’m down with it.  He has all the potential in the world, but it hasn’t materialized yet.  Maybe if Burrow and him are both healthy this year and Chase is a little slower due to his contract disputes maybe Tee can make the magic happen.  He’s on the franchise tag and is looking to secure a huge contract in the offseason.  Great pick.

In Round 8 Josh takes Tulane stud Tyjae Spears.  I think the answer to Tony Pollard versus Tyjae Spears is “Yes”.  Spears showed flashes of brilliance last year while backing up Derrick Henry.  Spears hype train was derailed a bit this offseason when the Titans signed redundant Tony Pollard to a 3 year $21.75 milly contract.  Pollard is a better catcher than runner and Spears last year caught 52/70 targets for 385 receiving yards and a TD.  All offseason I’ve seen it’s a 1A and 2A situation where they will be interchangeable.  But if Brian Callahan splits the work and airs it out more than previous Derrick Henry/Mike Vrabel seasons then it should be a fun show to watch.  And if one of them gets hurt, look out.

In Round 9 Josh goes Calvin Ridley sticking to the Titans theme.  I think he’ll be used in a similar fashion as he was in Jacksonville.  The Titans new OC was the Jaguars passing game coordinator last year.  Stick with who you know I guess.  DeAndre Hopkins has a knee injury which should help Ridley.  It’s all up to Will Levis.

In Round 10 Josh got Caleb Williams.  High upside pick.  Great value with Jakobi Meyers late.

Draft Grade:  B-.  Passing on JT and reaching on Purdy should’ve been enough to get you to your normal C to D range, but your team is solid.  Two manimals at RB.  4 Solid Wideouts.  Some depth.  Josh.  I see the improvement and I appreciate you.  Remember Stephen drafted you into his division.  Make him pay.

7. Logan.

CeeDee Lamb!  #1 WR’s from previous seasons don’t normally fall to 7^th.  Lamb’s contract situation needs to be worked out sooner rather than later, but he’s a stud.  I remember when he was drafted into the NFL.  Falcons were on the clock and passed on him for a Cornerback.  Dallas took him despite already having Amari Cooper because they drafted on talent not on need.  Falcons suck.  Dig the pick.

In the 2^nd round you had quite the dilemma.  AJ Brown, who was going in firsts for most drafts.  Or secure that first RB.  I would have taken AJB over Henry and Kyren like you did.  But over JT?  I don’t think I could’ve done it.  But AJ Brown is a stud.  His two seasons in Philly he’s finished as WR#5 and WR#7.  Insert Kellen Moore as the OC and look out.

In Round 3 Logan goes Davante Adams.  Adams ADP was late 2^nd/early 3^rd.  Another value pick for Logan.  Adams finished WR#11 last year despite having horrific QB play for most of the year.  Gardner Minshew is an improvement and helped Michael Pittman finish as WR#13 last year.  Probably would have been prudent to go RB here, but the Lamb-AJB-Adams trio is straight nasty.

In Round 4 you did it again.  Now it’s getting ridiculous.  But Evans is an underrated beast every year.  Here are all of Mike Evans fantasy finishes starting from his rookie season to now: WR#12, 23, 1, 19, 9, 12, 10, 8, 16, 5.  Does that sound like someone that should be going in the 4^th round to you?

In Round 5 you took Brandon Auyik.  His finishes the past two years were WR#15 and WR#14.  He has been holding out for a new contract this offseason as well.  The Steelers are interested in trading for him.  But the 49ers are in win now mode.  Its an interesting dilemma for both team and player.  I think the Niners want to see how Ricky Pearsall is before pulling the trigger on a trade, but Pearsall has been hurt all training camp with a shoulder issue.  I predict Auyik stays a 49er and has another WR2 finish.  If he gets traded to the Steelers I would downgrade him to a WR3.

In Round 6 you finally got a RB.  James Conner.  Career year last year in terms of rushing yards for Conner and he finished as RB#18 despite missing a few weeks.  He’ll have to fend off Michael Carter and Trey Benson to keep the lead job.  I like Conner, but not as a RB1.

In Round 7 you took Raheem Mostert.  Mostert balled out last year.  RB#2 due to his 18 rushing touchdowns.  I don’t think he hits 18 again, but I do think he gets a lot of work in that Dolphins time share at RB.  Decent RB2.

In Round 8 Logan takes Zamir White.  High volume bruiser who will get plenty of opportunities for Antonio Pierce’s Raiders.  White should be the bellcow for the Raiders this season as they only brought in Alexander Mattison and drafted Dylan Laube as his competition.  Laube could carve a 3^rd down role for himself, but White should be Jacobs straight up replacement.

Logan gets Dak in Round 9.  QB#3 finish last year and he gets the Dak-Lamb stack which is nice.  Prescott is also working on finalizing a contract extension with the Cowboys.  They may decide to clean house if they don’t win it all this year.  But solid starting fantasy QB in Round 9.

Logan got great value in Jayden Reed and Jerome Ford and David Njoku.  Reed should be the most consistent of the Packers wideouts.  Njoku was a monster last year and Ford should get a lot of work as Nick Chubb works his way back from his knee injury.

Draft Grade: B-.  The Wideouts are SO GOOD.  The RBS are so mediocre.  Depth is great.

8. Andy.

Chase at 8?  Come on.  Great value.  He’s been holding in all summer.  Where he shows up to practice but doesn’t practice.  He wants a new contract, but he’s a year too early.  He is supposed to hold out next summer.  The Bengals want to try and win a Super Bowl this year then lock him down and let Tee Higgins Walk.  It’s been their obvious plan for awhile now.  Chase needs to show up and ball out.

In Round 2 Andy chose Gibbs.  Gibbs over JT is legit.  I think it’s a solid argument.  Gibbs has the talent to be a Top 5 fantasy RB.  He just needs the opportunity.  David Montgomery kind of blocks that opportunity.  But even with Monty there Gibbs finished as RB#10 last year.  And that’s with Gibbs missing 2 weeks too.

Andy stuck with the Lions theme in Round 3 going Sam LaPorta.  The Iowa product came into the NFL in a BIG way last year with his TE#1 finish.  He should remain the 2^nd target behind Amon-Ra in the Lions passing attack.

In Round 4 Andy goes with Rachaad White.  White got all the volume last year.  He wasn’t the most efficient with it, but volume is volume and he finished as RB#7.  3.64 yards per carry isn’t going to do it though.  Word from Tampa Bay camp is that Bucky Irving’s skill set fits better into the OC’s running scheme/system.  If White repeats his volume from last year great pick.  If he doesn’t…

In Round 5 Andy goes Tank Dell.  This is an Andy pick.  Tank is a little speed devil.  He was great last year prior to breaking his leg.  But I think the Texans learned their lesson.  Don’t run your fast 165-pound wide receiver up the middle at the goal line.  Little concerned about a dip in targets due to Stefon Diggs signing.  Also, don’t sleep on John Metchie III.

In Round 6 Andy went with CJ Stroud.  This allowed him to not have to change his team photo.  Clutch.  An impressive rookie with 499 pass attempts last season with only 5 interceptions.  That is freaking nuts.  They add Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon to his weapons arsenal.  Does he continue to transcend?  Or does he experience a little sophomore slump?

In Round 7 Andy takes Stefon Diggs.  I don’t think Diggs is startable unless Nico Collins and/or Tank Dell gets hurt.  I just don’t see a path where all three WR’s are consistent.  Nico is the most likely to be consistent.  Taking Diggs over Amari Cooper was a terrible pick in my opinion.  Why have a #1 WR that scored a 50+ point game last year when you could have a WR3 that might be dust!

Andy got decent value in Round 8 with D’Andre Swift.  Starter for what looks like a very potent Bears offense.  Khalil Herbert will probably take more snaps than you’d like, but Swift has been explosive in years past.  He’s been a Lion, an Eagle, and now a Bear, oh my!

Love. Love. Love. The Brian Thomas Jr. Pick.   While doing my film watching I saw an absolute stud.  Many people think he played second fiddle to Nabers and couldn’t do all the things that Nabers could do.  But man.  His jump balls for touchdowns, his jukes in the middle.  Dude can play.  Nabers/Thomas have a legit chance to replicate Chase/JJ. JJ had a NFL prospect score of 6.46 and went #22 overall to the Vikings.  BTJ had a NFL prospect score of 6.47 and went #23 overall to the Jaguars.  I don’t think BTJ is JJ.  But does he have the potential to ascend to that level?  I think there is a chance.  He takes Ridley’s WR18 role right away.  Ridley did that with a lot of close misses and with T Law banged up most of the year.  What can Thomas do with a healthy T-Law?

The rest of Andy’s draft was some great depth pieces like Addison, Hopkins, Allgeier, and Allen.

Draft Grade: B-.  Loved his early picks, loved his late picks.  Just don’t care of the Dell-Diggs-Swift middle rounds.  7 decent wideouts.  Who do you start?  RB2 might be a problem at times.  At least you drafted a team that you like and will have fun rooting for them.

9. Ben.

Sun God!  Amon-Ra St. Brown.  CMC-like energy after watching Receiver on Netflix.  Very impressed by his grind. WR#3 last year despite being hurt and missing a game.  Gutsy player.  A-ok with the pick here.

In Round 2 Ben went Barkley.  Saquon!  I personally would have gone JT here but to each their own.  Barkley has always been a stud, just on a bad team.  But now he’s a stud, on a good team.  His best fantasy performance was during his rookie season where he finished as RB#2.  Since then it’s been a mixed bag with finishes of #10, 114, 32, 6, 12.  2020 was the ACL year I think and 2021 was the ankle.  But for the last couple years he’s put up RB1 numbers.  Miles Sanders was RB#13 his last year in Philly.  Swift was RB#23 last year in Philly.  Time to see what Barkley can do.

Ben got great value in Round 3 when Chris Olave fell to him.  His ESPN Average Draft Position (ADP) is 19.  Ben got him at Pick#29.  That’s legit.  He’s been WR #25 and #19 in his two NFL seasons so far.  Will he have a third-year breakout?  Or will Derek Carr’s inconsistencies cap his ceiling?

Round 4 you took Josh Allen.  Why not?  Josh Allen’s QB finishes the past 4 seasons: Qb#1, 1, 2, 1.  That’s pretty fucking great.  There are concerns for his weapons after losing Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, but they added Curtis Samuel, Keon Coleman, MVS.  I still think he finishes Top 5 QB though because their defense has lost a TON of players.  I think they’ll be throwing a lot and that will help Allen despite not having the same weapons.

Ben took Zay Flowers in Round 5.  Flowers is a shifty cat.  Should build on his solid rookie season.  He isn’t going to kill anyone, but he’ll get decent production most weeks.

David Montgomery was a solid pick in Round 6.  Loved it.  RB#13 last year despite missing 3 weeks.  13 touchdowns.  He’s a solid RB 2 to snag in Round 6.

In Round 7 Ben goes Christian Kirk.  Kirk was doing pretty well last year in his 2^nd season with Jacksonville until he tore his groin.  The additions of BTJ and Gabe Davis hurt Kirk’s value in my opinion.  It wasn’t a good sign that BTJ and Davis were lined up in 2 WR sets in the preseason games.  Kirk might be slot specialist/WR3 on the pecking order.  Taking him over Amari Cooper was pretty bad in my opinion.

In Round 8 you got Kyle Pitts.  I sent you a funny meme about Pitts always busting. (see below)  Well like I’ve mentioned before.  The Rams passing game coordinator is the new OC for Atlanta.  And it’s not like Tyler Higbee was smashing.  But 8^th round it’s worth the upside as long as you draft someone else in case he busts again.

In Rounds 9 and 10 you got two veteran running backs on new teams.  I think both start to start the year.  Devin Singletary for the G Men who is familiar with Brian Daboll’s system from his time in Buffalo.  And Zach Moss who showed brilliant flashes last year for the Colts.  His ability to run from the shot gun fits beautifully into the Bengals offensive scheme.

Great value in Round 11 Hollywood Brown, Round 12 Blake Corum, and Round 13 Courtland Sutton.  I’m bullish on Corum this season.

Draft Grade: C+.  This is one of those situations where someone drafted value picks but created a team that I hate.  Like if you had pretty-looking puzzle pieces and they looked like they created a beautiful piece of art.  But once assembled they made a picture of dog poo.  It’s like this horse meme where the first pane is ADP value.  The second pane is potential.  And the third pane is actual results.

10. Caleb.

Oh boy.  Wow.  Where to begin?  Let me start with a quick run down of Caleb’s selections and how I feel about them then I’ll go into who and why.

1. Bad
2. Terrible
3. Great
4. Great
5. Good
6. Great
7. Great
8. Good
9. Good
10. Great
11. Good
12. Bad
13. Good
14. Bad
15. Good
16. Good

Lets dive in.

Round 1: Bad.  Garret Wilson is a rich guy’s Drake London.  He has had two years of bad QB play and flashes of brilliance.  His two finishes were WR#19 and WR#32 last year.  You are banking on him not only securing the third-year breakout, but outscoring AJ Brown (WR#7) and Puka Nacua (WR#4).  Aaron Rodgers is 40, coming off a torn Achilles and was recently considered to be RFK Jr’s running mate.  I get hesitation over Puka’s knee, but taking Wilson over AJB is just dumb.

Round 2.  Deep breathes Brad.  Deep breathes.  You took De’Von Achane over Jonathan Taylor and Jahymr Gibbs.  You took… Achane over JT and Gibbs.  You took a backup RB who is always hurt over JT and Gibbs.  Mostert ran for 18 touchdowns last season.  They drafted Jaylen Wright.  In Weeks 3-5 last year Achane scored 99.8 fantasy points and was RB#1, 5, and 4 those weeks.  Then he got hurt and missed 4-5 weeks.  When he came back from Weeks 13-18 he scored 87.5 points was RB#3, 24, 29, 52, 8, 21.  Mostert is re-signed on a two year deal.  Drafted Jalen Wright.  Here are Achane’s snap %s for every game he played in: 10%, 41%, 60%, 48%, 4%, 61%, 46%, 39%, 55%, 48%, 63% and the playoff game 38%.  Over 25% of his entire fantasy output came in that freak Denver game where the Dolphins won 70-20.  RB’s I have ranked over Achane this season: CMC, Hall, Bijan, Gibbs, JT, Barkley, Kyren, Etienne, Henry, Kamara, Cook, Mixon.  You took him 11 overall.  “Terrible” in a Charles Barkley voice.

Round 3.  Great pick!  Cooper Kupp is healthy and looks great.  Even when he was playing with Puca at the end of last season they were both doing great.  Think this was as huge value and a solid WR2 for your squad.

Round 4 you took Kenneth Walker III.  GREAT RB2.  Love love love it.  High volume, explosive.  He’s missed two games each of his first two years in the league, but he’s a Chris Carson clone and he took up the mantle seamlessly.

Round 5 you took Mark Andrews.  Andrews missed a couple games in 2022 but was fighting injury all year and finished TE#4.  Last year was same story, missing 7 games and finishing as TE#13.  His per game fantasy point average is there (11.29).  He just needs to stay on the field.

Anthony Richardson baby!  Love me some Anthony Richardson.  Dude is huge and flashed his potential last season.  Let’s hope they figure out how to keep him healthy because the sky is the limit.

Phenomenal value in Amari Cooper in Round 7!  Cooper finished WR#18, but missed a couple games.  He also had that 15 target, 11 catch, 265 yard, 2 touchdown game against the Texans in Week 16.

Great value with the Steelers duo at RB in Rounds 8 and 9.  Najee and Warren.  Najee Harris is solid for 1000+ yards and 8 touchdowns, which he has done every year of his career so far.  Only concern with the duo is Arthur Smith bringing in Cordarrelle Patterson.

Then.  It happened.  Caleb ruined my draft.  Jayden Daniels in Round 10.  It was my own fault.  But great, high upside pick.  He is very similar to Richardson.  High upside, high injury risk due to running ability.  The difference is Daniels BMI is 25.6 and Richardson’s BMI is 29.7.  And Richardson STILL got hurt last year.  I’m rooting for both because they will make football and fantasy football more fun.  Good luck choosing the right starter each week.

Good value in later picks as well.  Christian Watson, who supposedly found out why his hamstrings kept getting hurt.  He saw a specialist and they determined one of his legs were bigger than the other.  They adjusted his strength training and workouts to strengthen the hamstrings the right way.  I hope he stays active all year, he is a promising young talent.  Great value with Jaleel and Herbert too.

Draft Grade: C+.  I hated your first two picks so much.  It might work out, but I hate it.  Then you did an incredible job building depth and finding value in later rounds.  I don’t hate your team.  Hate the first two picks.  Don’t hate your team.

There we have it folks.  Here are the draft grades in order of picks:

1. Michael: B+
2. Max: A
3. Stephen: A+
4. Brad: C
5. Quentin: C+
6. Josh: B-
7. Logan: B-
8. Andy: B-
9. Ben: C+
10. Caleb: C+

Here are the draft grades in order of grade:

1. Stephen: A+
2. Max: A
3. Michael: B+
4. Josh: B-
5. Logan: B-
6. Andy: B-
7. Quentin: C+
8. Caleb: C+
9. Ben: C+
10. Brad: C

And here are ESPN’s draft grades that they emailed out to everyone post draft:

1. Stephen: A
2. Michael: B
3. Andy: B
4. Ben: B
5. Josh: B
6. Brad: C
7. Quentin: C
8. Logan: C
9. Caleb: C
10. Max: C

Good Luck This Season!

Week 3 Recap:

Division 1:

JD (2-1) 173.4 vs. Jen (0-3) 96.6

JD went batshit insane this week, blowing out Jen by 76.8 points.  He got 23.3 from Brock Purdy, 29.1 from Kenneth Walker, 38.7 from Davante Adams, and a crazy 33 from Bills D/ST.  Jen had good games from Watson (21), Travie Etienne (15.8) and a big one from her JJ (29.4), but she had 4 players score 4 or less points and 6 in single digits.  Not enough to hang with JD’s teams explosion.

Mike (1-2) 120.2 vs. Katon (3-0) 129.6

Game of the Week!  Rivalry Week!  Mike was top heavy with a large percentage of his scoring coming from his top 2 players.  Katon was evenly distributed with more of a solid game all around with the exception of his kicker.  Mike had Justin Herbert to Keenan Allen connection with their combined 75.6 points which is just ridiculous.  Keenan Allen had 18 receptions for over 200 yards receiving and threw a freaking touchdown.  Mike started Derrick Henry and Gibbs and they combined for 10.7 while Zach Moss went off on his bench.  Nico Collins after starting off hot, cooled down in Week 3.  For Katon his top scorers were Patrick Mahomes with 25.6 and Ja’Marr Chase with 23.1.  Better luck next time Mike.

Division 2:

Scotty (3-0) 133.9 vs. Kenny (2-1) 110.4

Both teams entered Week 3 undefeated and looking to stay that way.  Alas, one team had to lose.  This time it was Kenny.  Scotty was carried by his Tua to Tyreek stack which combined for 62.4 points.  Kenny stayed competitive with solid outings from Hurts (19.8), Deebo (25.1), Diggs (18.1) and Swift (17.3), but ultimately his downfall was his peripherals.  Scotty’s TE, D/ST, and Kicker combined for 30.6 versus Kenny’s 8.6.  This was a 22 point difference in a game that was decided by 22.7 points.

Tommy (0-3) 123.3 vs. Joe (1-2) 143.0

Something had to give!  Both teams entered Week 3 defeated and in the dreaded 0-2 hole.  Neither wanted to start 0-3.  Tommy had great games from Kirk Cousins with 28.6, Mike Wiliams for 24.6, and Evan McPherson on Monday Night dropped 18 points on Joe.  Joe was carried by CMC’s solid 20.4, Mattison’s 15, and above all… Raheem MUST-START and his 41.7 fantasy points.  Joe also got Sam LaPorta’s breakout game of 18.4 points and sealed the deal on Monday Night Football with Bengals D/ST shutting down the Rams and scoring 15 points.  Tommy’s Super Bowl hangover continues and so does his injury luck.  He lost Mike Williams for the season due to a torn ACL.  With Ekeler hurt, Jacobs and Najee underperforming, Tommy might try a desperation trade or start spending heavy in free agency to acquire some starters because it aint looking good.

Division 3:

Moose (3-0) 99.3 vs. Brad (1-2) 99.0

Heading into Monday Night Football Moose was up 89.6 to Brad’s 65.4.  Moose had Puka Nacua left and Brad had AJ Brown and Eagles D/ST.  The game started out with a bit of optimism for Brad as AJ Brown wore bright yellow cleats that will surely get him fined and he hauled in two big plays in the first drive.  Brown would finish with 20.6 points despite dropping a would be touchdown.  Puka was tame for Moose and sat at only 5.5 fantasy points late into the 4^th quarter.  On the Rams last drive they threw a long pass to Puka and he gained 37 yards.  Brad was up by 3.9 at the time.  This catch at the very end of the game was the difference between Moose moving to 3-0 and Brad moving to 1-2 versus both teams being 2-1.  Sometimes in life you lose at the last minute in devastating fashion.  You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and question why you play fantasy fucking football because it’s stupid and I hate it!     Calvin Ridley keeps dropping balls and Moose left De’Von Achane’s 56.3 on the bench.  If Brad had started Jerick McKinnon over Tyler Allgeier he would have won.  I’ll be patiently waiting for the stat correction to drop on this one.  (spoiler alert it wont, this is the denial stage of grief).

Trey (0-3) 86.3 vs. Chase (2-1) 130.9

Chase did indeed spend all his money on a Ford.  Jerome Ford did decent against a tough Tennessee run defense getting 18.1 points most of which came from two touchdowns (12).  Everybody else for Chase was just solid.  No one exploded and no one did terrible.  Just a solid 130 points performance.  This included a touchdown catch for Travis Kelce, which apparently wasn’t the biggest catch for him this week.  Taylor Swift was in attendance and rooted hard for Kelce mouthing “Lets Fucking Go!” after he scored the touchdown.  Are they for real or are they trolling the world?  Kelce jerseys were up 400% in sales and Swift would get breakup song ammunition.  Seems like a business deal to me.  For Trey he continued to miss JK Dobbins and Jamaal Williams.  He replaced them with Kendre Miller but the Saints couldn’t really get anything going on offense against the Packers.  Fields and DJ Moore have been a huge disappointment.  Olave and Metcalf both got respectable 17 point weeks, but the 22.1 combined points from Fields and DJ Moore just isn’t enough.

Week 4 Preview:

Scotty (3-0) vs. Brad (1-2)

Brad is facing the Tua-Tyreek stack in both his 23-year-old league and this league, so you can go ahead and slam those over props as I’m sure they’ll continue their records paces against me.  I used up all my karma points in the offseason when I wrote that fake book, autographed it, and sent copies to all my league mates because I’ve won back-to-back titles.  Scotty also conveniently gets back Alvin Kamara this week against me as I’m sure he’ll be very motivated to hit the ground running after his 3 game suspension.  20^th ranked Miles Sanders gets Minnesota’s run defense.  Scotty could also be getting Christian Watson back on Thursday Night Football against Detroit.  If not, Scotty can turn to Marquise Brown who has looked pretty good for the Cardinals that just upset the Cowgirls.  Brad is also terrified at Steeler’s D/ST going up against the Texans.  The Texans starting offensive line has 4 members on IR and the left tackle has missed games as well.  It’s a shit show.  This could be a bloodbath for Brad.  Speaking of injuries that’s what Brad is looking at.  He’s hoping to have David Montgomery back from injury for TNF against the Packers, but we’ll see if his thigh bruise cooperates or not.  Brad is also monitoring Anthony Richardson and his concussion.  If he can’t go or is a Game Time decision Brad might elect to go with Trevor Lawrence in London against Atlanta.  Brad has Dameon Pierce against a Steelers team that has given up a lot of rushing yards, but again he doesn’t have a line to run behind.  If Brad is going to pull this upset he needs Calvin Ridley and AJ Brown to not drop passes.  I don’t think Scotty finishes the season undefeated, but I do think he finishes this week undefeated.

Trey (0-3) vs. Tommy (0-3)

Something has to give!  The good news is that one of these teams are going to get their first win of the season.  The bad news is that one of them is going to drop to 0-4 and most likely already be out of playoff contention.  Not statistically, but probabilistically.  Who is it going to be?  Trey has 3 Wide Receivers that are Top 14 and that doesn’t include DK Metcalf (22) DJ Moore (36) or the impressive Zay Flowers who is averaging 6+ targets and 10.3 fantasy points per game.  But who to start?  At Running Back he has Bijan looking amazing, but has yet to get a rushing touchdown.  He’s still a Top 10 RB, but he was drafted #1 overall.  He needs the tuddies.  AT RB2 Trey has Kendre Miller, Dalvin Cook, or someone else out there.  If I was Trey I would be burning my phones looking for someone that needs a wide receiver or flex player and is willing to deal a RB.  With Kamara coming back and Zach Wilson’s ineptitude it would behoove Trey to find a new RB2.  He has Justin Fields going up against a Denver defense that was embarrassed by the Dolphins.  Does Fields take advantage or does Denver take out their revenge on a struggling offense?  For Tommy.  He’s got #2 Qb Kirk Cousins @ Carolina.  This game could be up in pace.  Look for him to continue his high bolume passing attack  At RB Tommy still doesn’t have Ekeler so he must turn to Josh Jacobs @ LA Chargers and Najee Harris @ Houston.  Texans have given up a rushing touchdown to opposing backs each week this season including 3 in Week 1 against Baltimore.  Maybe Trent Richardson 2.0 can fall into the endzone for Tommy this week.  At WR its rough.  He has Jerry Jeudy vs. Chicago, DeAndre Hopkins vs. Cincy and DJ Chark vs. Minnesota.  He could go dumpster diving into the free agent pool or he can try to trade.  I don’t know who he would trade though.  I don’t know who is going to win, but I want you both to know.  We are all thinking about you.  Good luck!

Chase (2-1) vs. Katon (3-0)

Great Week 4 matchup here.  Both teams last week were solid.  Got solid production on their way for solid wins.  Does it happen again?  Chase has #13 Qb Josh Allen vs. Miami.  Miami has been en Fuego and they get them in Buffalo.  Allen was solid as hell against the Dolphins in all three matchups last year.  Scoring games of 26.7, 35.86, and 24.08.  Seems like a slam dunk for 20+ points this week.  Chase also has #13 RB James Cook in that same matchup.  He has #11 Jerome Ford who impressed me last week against a tough Tennessee run defense.  He didn’t rush for shit, but he fought hard and scored 2 touchdowns.  Gutsy.  Chase has #21 WR CeeDee Lamb against New England and #17 WR Amari Cooper against Baltimore.  It’ll be interesting to see who Chase starts in the flex as he has a few different options that are intriguing.  For Katon he has #4 Patrick Mahomes vs. a tough Jet’s defense.  Because the Jets offense is so bad Mahomes will have plenty of scoring opportunities.  Katon just needs to hope he throws it to his backs and receivers and not to Travis Kelce who Chase has.  Hopefully he isn’t hitting Taylor like a wrecking ball or whatever pop reference would be appropriate to add into the write up right here.   #15 RB Joe Mixon gets that tough Tennessee rush defense.  This is a Ja’Marr Chase week.  Speaking of which, Katon has Chase.  He also has #18 WR Michael Pittman and #23 Isaih Pacheco.  #1 TE TJ Hockenson gets Carolina which could be a shootout.  The records and matchup set this up to be an early season classic.

Jen (0-3) vs. Moose (3-0)

Despite the record disparity these two teams are more evenly matched than meets the eye.  Moose has scored 30.1 more points this season than Jen.  But he has had 98.1 less points scored against him.  In fact, as of this writing, Jen is currently favored to win.  Let’s dive in.  Jen has #14 Qb Deshaun Watson coming off his best game of the season so far.  He gets Baltimore, which can be tough, but their secondary has been hurt to start the year.  She also has #14 RB Travis Etienne vs. Atlanta, #26 RB Roschon Johnson vs. a Denver defense that was just embarrassed by the Mostert/Achane combo.  She has #3 WR Justin Jefferson going up against a Carolina defense that has a ton of injuries.  Tee Higgins gets pass funnel Tennessee in a boom set up game for him.  Darren Waller will be deployed on Monday Night Football as Jen tries to take this one home.  With Jen having Packers D/ST she’ll have someone playing on TNF, London 830am game on Sunday, and MNF.  Pretty nice weekend.  For Moose he has #7 Lamar Jackson against a really tough Cleveland defense.  They’ve been playing lights out.  But Lamar seems to be getting more comfortable into the new system.  Moose will deploy his newly minted Top 5 RB Duo of Tony Pollard vs. New England and rookie phenom De’Von Achane @ Buffalo.  Look for Achane to come back to Earth in a big way much like I came down from the first time I ever went into a bar.  I was 18 and we lied saying it was my birthday despite it being St. Patty’s day and they made me the honorary judge of the bikini contest and things got wild.  At WR Moose has #6 Puka “Beat Brad by 0.3 in the closing moments in Week 3” Nacua with a decent matchup against Indy.  He also has #23 Jordan Addison in the up temp game against a banged up Carolina defense that could see a lot of points.  Cleveland shuts down tight ends, but can they shut down Andrews?  Breece Hall gets KC’s defense that has done well at stopping the run since Week 1.  Saints D/ST and Jake Moody combo has been a silent cheat code for Moose.  Combined they have been averaging 25.3 points per game.

JD (2-1) vs. Joe (1-2)

JD is playing the streaming Quarterback game and has dropped Brock Purdy for Jimmy Garoppolo.  Garoppolo is in the concussion protocol but has a juicy matchup against the LA Chargers if he’s able to clear.  If he can’t JD can pivot to Danny Dimes who gets Seattle on Monday Night Football.  JD has #4 RB Kenneth Walker in that same MNF game.  He will hope to have Saquon Barkley back, but with him playing Monday Night and coming off of injury JD can afford to wait a week and see what happens.  He also has #6 RB Kyren Williams against Indy and for shits and giggles has Rachaad White against New Orleans if he gets in a bind.  (If Trey is reading this then JD would be a team I’d be reaching out to inquire about RB availability.  White and Kyren Williams volume has been insane and when Barkley comes back he won’t need all 4).  JD also has #4 Davante Adams in that Chargers matchup to complete the stack and #13 DeVonta Smith against Washington.  He has #19 George Pickens vs. Houston’s Stingley-less secondary.  Joe says this year will be better.  I don’t know if that’s true, but this week must feel better after getting his first win of the season last week.  He will try to make it two in a row.  First step is to see if Aaron Jones can go against Detroit on TNF.  If he can then Joe has a tough decision to make between #22 Alexander Mattison, #1 Raheem Mostert, or Jones in an important divisional game.  (Trey if you are reading this then Joe would be a team I’d be reaching out to inquire about RB availability.)  Joe will have one legged pocket passer Burrow against Tennessee who happens to suck against the pass (lucky you).  Joe will also hope that Jaylen Waddle can clear the protocol in time for the big divisional matchup against the Bills.  #2 Sam LaPorta continues to impress and will look to continue his awesome rookie season against the Packers on TNF.

Mike (1-2) vs. Kenny (2-1)

Mike has a little squad now.  The #1 Qb Justin Herbert to #2 WR Keenan Allen combo has proved all the haters wrong.  (To be clear.  I hated the Allen pick and loved the Herbert pick, so I’m only half wrong).  Derrick Henry has been hampered by an injury and hasn’t seemed right.  Spears has been taking a lot of snaps.  Is Father Time finally catching up to the Big Dog?  Mike also has Jahmyr Gibbs against Green Bay and #12 RB Zach Moss vs. LA Rams.  Mike’s suffering from the Garret Wilson demise, but is competing each week.  For Kenny he’s coming off is first loss and looks to bounce back here.  Having 3 Top 8 Wide Receivers gives him the chance to do just that.  He has #9 Jalen Hurts vs. Washington.  #10 RB D’Andre Swift who started singing songs from the hit musical Hamilton when Kenny Gainwell went down in Week 2.  “I am not going to miss my shot!”  He gets Washington as well.  AT RB#2 he has #7 RB Brian Robinson against that tough Philly defense.  Kenny has #8 Stefon Diggs against Miami and #7 Deebo Samuel against Arizona.  Don’t forget about #5 WR Mike Evans in the coveted Lattimore matchup.  The touchdown or throwing a punch bets are getting slammed right now.  Dallas D/ST is ranked #2 despite only scoring 2 points last week.  We’ll see if the loss of start cornerback Travon Diggs will continue to hurt this team or if it was just a fluke.  On deck is the Patriots and Zeke Elliots revenge game.

Thanks for reading and good luck everyone!

Commish B-Razzle Dazzle

Week 1 Recap:

Division 1:

JD (0-1) 73.9 vs. Katon (1-0) 80.8

A low scoring affair.  JD went into Monday Night Football down 26.9 with Bills D/ST and Tyler Bass.  They combined for 20, leading to our Super Bowl Champion falling short.  The rest of his starters all scored 14.2 or less including 6/9 players scoring in single digits.  Katon’s team didn’t do much, but his 19.5 from Patrick Mahomes on TNF was the highest scorer in this matchup.  He was able to overcome his D/ST Baltimore scoring 12 points as his second highest scorer.  Both teams had a fluke week as they move on to their second division game in Week 2.

Mike (1-0) 101.6 vs. Jen (0-1) 91.2

Mike was down by 1.5 points with Garret Wilson left to play on Monday Night Football.  Wilson got 11.9 most of which came from an incredible touchdown catch.  Of course that touchdown was thrown by Zach Wilson and not Aaron Rodgers who left the game with a season ending Achilles injury just 4 snaps into his season. The big story for Mike’s team was his kicker Jake Elliott who went 4/4 on field goals and scored a whopping 17 points.  Most of the match was evened up but his peripherals outscored Jen’s 35.8 to 24.3.  For Jen she started out rough on TNF with Skyy Moore only getting 0.4 points.  Also Tee Higgins was a huge disappointment as he had an impressive 8 targets and 0 catches.  There will be better days ahead for Tee Higgins.

Division 2:

Tommy (0-1) 89.0 vs. Scotty (1-0) 92.1

An incredibly close game to start the year as Tommy suffers the dreaded Super Bowl hangover.  His first round pick Austin Ekeler picked up right where he left off with a solid 27.4 points rushing for over 100 yards and a score.  Kirk Cousins tried to keep him in the game with 19.3, but he had 3 turnovers.  Tommy had 6 starters in single digits including 3 players that scored less than 5 points.  Scotty’s team didn’t do much better.  His Qb Dak Prescott got 6.2 points.  He had 5 players score in single digits and 2 players score 0.  One of the 0’s was from Christian Watson who was ruled out before kickoff.  This gave Scotty enough time to swap out his lineup and worries me about Scotty’s overall engagement.  Are we losing Scotty everybody?  How in the hell did Scotty win you might ask?  TYREEK HILL.  Tyreek accounted for an incredible 47.8% of Scotty’s entire team point total this week.  That’s what happens when you catch 11 balls on 15 targets for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Crazy to think that Tommy almost pulled this one out.

Joe (0-1) 100.7 vs. Kenny (1-0) 126.1

Joe had a mixed bag in Week 1.  On one hand he had his 3 running backs combine for 67 points.  On the other Joe Burrow scored 3.1 and his two starting wideouts combined for 11.2.  There are sure to be better days ahead for Joe (both Burrow and Weiser), but don’t be surprised if he tries to trade a running back out to upgrade at wide receiver.  For Kenny he had a balanced game with one big exception.  Hurts got 12.5, Nick Chubb got a respectable 17.7.  Mike Evans looked good with 6 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota.  But really the story was all about Sunday Night Football and Dallas D/ST.  My goodness.  37 points!  10 points for shutout, 8 points for blocked fg for touchdown, 6 points for turnovers, 7 points for sacks, and another 6 points for the pick six.  Heading into Monday Night Football Kenny was up 1.2 and had Stefon Diggs left to play.  Didn’t even need his 24.2 to beat Joe, but it was nice and jettisoned Kenny to #1 in Points For after 1 week.

Division 3:

Trey (0-1) 102.5 vs. Brad (1-0) 110.3

#1 overall pick versus the last pick in the draft and Brad sneaks out a victory.  The biggest story line for Brad was Trevor Lawrence and Calvin Ridley’s connection.  Lawrence threw for 241 yards 2 passing tds and an interception.  Of those Calvin Ridley caught 8 passes on 11 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown.  Getting the coveted 3 points 100-yard bonus.  As expected Brad got a paltry 5.7 from his RB1 and David Montgomery got him a respectful 13.4 on Thursday Night Football.  Brad’s “Brown-Brown” combo combined for 27.5 as both got into double digits.  For Trey it was a weird week.  Justin Fields and DJ Moore got blown out by the Packers.  Bijan Robinson scored his first touchdown of his young career, but Tyler Algeier stole the show.  Trey also lost JK Dobbins to a torn achilles.  Justice Hill took over for Dobbins when he was out and scored two touchdowns meaning it was Dobbins injury that most likely sealed Trey’s fate in Week 1 and handed Brad an early season victory.

Chase (0-1) 77.4 vs. Moose (1-0) 92.6

Love when these two get together.  Moose held the lead heading into Monday Night Football.  He was up 92.6 to Chase’s 60.1.  This means Moose’s 32.5 point lead versus Chase’s Josh Allen and James Cook on the Bills.  ESPN predicted Chase at 93.5 and gave him a 53% chance of victory.  Of course Monday Night Football didn’t go as planned with Josh Allen having four turnovers and James Cook failing to find the end zone as they both combined for a total of 17.3 points.  Moose’s team was carried by Tony Pollard’s 2 touchdown day, Jake Moody’s impressive 14.0 points and Jordan Addison’s first career touchdown catch.  Moose had 4 players score 6.5 or less including Lamar Jackson, which is rough.  Chase had underwhelming days from most of his starters with Herbert rushing for only 27 yards, Cooper only receiving 37 yards, Sutton with only 32 yards receiving, but he did score a touchdown.  CeeDee caught a ball late in the game in garbage time and wind up with 4 catches and 77 yards.  Brandon Aiyuk went off on Chase’s bench with 8 catches, 129 yards, and 2 touchdowns.  I’m betting we’ll see him more in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

Week 2 Preview:

Division 1:

JD (0-1) vs. Mike (1-0)

Dizzle heads to Mike Grote to try and get his first victory of the season.  At Qb he’ll hope that Daniel Jones does a bit more than he did against the Cowboys (4.3 fantasy points).  He should since the Cardinals are one of the worst teams in the NFL.  For Mike he’ll have Justin Herbert @ Tennessee.  Tennessee’s secondary is atrocious, and I like Herbert to repeat with another 20 point outing.  At Running Back JD has Barkley @ Arizona who gave up 75 yards rushing on the ground and a receiving touchdown against the Commanders last week.  JD also has Rachad White vs. Chicago.  Aaron Jones ran all over Chicago prior to pulling his hammy.  A good sign for White on the surprising 1-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  For Mike he’ll have Derrick Henry vs. LA Chargers and Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Seattle.  Henry didn’t do much against the Saints run defense, but an alarming stat was how much Tajae Spears played.  Henry played 48% of the snaps while Spears played on 54% of snaps.  Gibbs also didn’t play as much as David Montgomery.  Gibbs played on 27% of snaps compared to Monty’s 79% snap rate.  Remember what I always say, for wide receivers bet on talent, for running backs bet on opportunity.  Now we all know that Gibbs snap count will increase as the season goes on.  Gibbs was obviously a monster in the limited snaps he played.  Looked bigger, stronger, faster and he kept hitting the spin move.  If Mike is gonna hang with JD he needs his backs to play more.  For Wide Receivers JD has Davante Adams vs. Buffalo and DeVonta Smith vs. Minnesota.  We might get a TNF shootout with two high potent offenses going at it.  Smith will be fine.  Adams will go against Buffalo who did a pretty good job shutting down the Jets passing attack, but with Zach Wilson at Qb it’s tough to know whether Buffalo’s secondary is going to be really good or if it was just Wilson.  Jacobi Meyers kind of stole the show in Week 1 and looked like Jimmy G’s go-to receiver.  Adams should be fine.  Mike has Garrett Wilson @ Dallas and Keenan Allen @ Tennessee.  Zach Wilson going up against Dallas D/ST.  I would lessen your Garrett Wilson expectations, but he’s so talented you also have to start him.  Tough.  Keenan Allen could feast on the Titans.  At Flex JD has Kenneth Walker III @ Detroit.  Detroit was decent against the run and Seattle lost both of their starting left tackles to injury in Week 1.  They just signed 41-year-old Jason Peters, which is not a good sign.  Mike will have Chris Godwin vs. Chicago.  Godwin had 5 catches for 51 yards on 6 targets in Week 1, which is about what I would expect. For Peripherals JD has Kittle vs. LA Rams, Bills D/ST vs. Las Vegas, and Tyler Bass vs. LV.  Kittle averaged 31.5 yards receiving against the Rams last year making him a more td dependent option this week.  Bills should be fine.  For Mike he has Pat Freiermuth vs. Cleveland, Commanders D/ST vs. Denver, and Jake Elliot against Minnesota on Thursday Night Football.  Freiermuth only had one catch last week, but it went for a tuddy.  He’ll be limited in practice this week but is expected to play.

Jen (0-1) vs. Katon (1-0)

Jen vs. Katon will get started on Thursday Night Football with Katon’s TJ Hockenson and Jen’s Justin Jefferson and finish up on Monday Night Football with Jen’s Deshaun Watson.  At Qb we have Jen’s Watson going up against a Pittsburgh defense that underwhelmed in Week 1.  Christian McCaffrey ran all over them and Brock Purdy threw a couple of touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk.  I think Watson will be fine.  For Katon he’ll have Patrick Mahomes vs. Jacksonville.  This looks like it could be a high scoring and fun game.  Mahomes is hoping to have Kelce back and hoping his wide receivers don’t repeat that terrible performance from week 1.  At Running Back Jen has Travis Etienne Jr. vs. the Chiefs and either Javonte Williams vs. Washington or AJ Dillon vs. Atlanta.  Etienne should do fine against a Chiefs defense who gave up 74 yards rushing to David Montgomery in week 1.  Chiefs do get Chris Jones back who ended his holdout and rejoined the squad.  Katon will roll with Joe Mixon vs. Baltimore and James Conner vs. the Giants.  Mixon can’t do much worse then last week, but Baltimore did a good job stopping the Texans rush attack in Week 1.  Conner faces the Giants team that gave up a pair of touchdowns to Tony Pollard.  At Wide Receiver we have Jen’s Justin Jefferson vs. it doesn’t matter.  No it’s Philly who low key got torched by the Patriots terrible wide receivers.  JJ should be fine.  Tee Higgins should bounce back from a historically bad Week 1.  8 targets and 0 catches is insane.  Last year against Baltimore Higgins wasn’t great, but they have some injuries to their secondary that are worth monitoring.  Regardless, everyone is starting Tee Higgins.  Katon has Ja’Marr Chase against Baltimore and Terry McLaurin vs. Denver.  Katon famously picked Chase over JJ in the draft and now here we are in Week 2 and we get to see if he’ll regret it or not.  At flex it’s looking like Jen will have Skyy Moore, or Javonte/AJ Dillon, or Romeo Doubs perhaps.  We’ll see as it looks like she has a few options.  Katon has Samaje Perine or Pacheco.  At Tight End Jen should have Darren Waller in her lineup vs. Arizona.  Katon will rock with TJ Hockenson against Philly.  Hunter Henry caught a touchdown against Philly in Week 1.  Jen has Packers D/ST against Atlanta and Katon has Raven’s D/ST vs. Cincy.  Should be a great matchup and best of luck to both of you!

Division 2:

Tommy (0-1) vs. Kenny (1-0)

Tommy has to be scared shitless for this matchup.  Two very big things to watch in this one.  One is Austin Ekeler’s ankle.  The other is Kenny’s Dallas D/ST against Zach Wilson.  They could repeat their 30+ point performance from Week 1.  Some good news for Tommy is his Kirk Cousins will play a banged up Eagles secondary who might be without James Bradberry and their starting safety.  More bad news is he is going up against Jalen Hurts like he didn’t in the Final Four matchup last year you lucky bitch.  Hurts plays Minnesota on TNF.  At RB Tommy will either have Ekeler, Jacobs and Najee or just Jacobs against Buffalo and Najee against Cleveland on Monday Night Football.  For Kenny he has Nick Chubb on MNF and Brian Robinson Jr. against Denver.  AT WR Tommy has DeAndre Hopkins against a Chargers secondary that gave up 200+ receiving yards to Tyreek Hill in Week 1.  And Mike Williams @ Tennessee.  Mike Williams left the game in Week 1 for a head injury but wind up returning and catching a couple more passes.  Might be something to monitor as the week progresses.  K-Dub has Stefon Diggs against the Raiders and Deebo Samuel @ LA Rams.  In my draft grades I said I was worried about Deebo’s role and Week 1 proved me right.  But he’s a bet on talent play that can take it to the house on a single slant route.  We’ll see if it happens this week.  Peripherals are advantage Kenny because Dallas D/ST might outscore all of Tommy’s Evan Engram, Vikings D/ST, and Evan McPherson.

Joe (0-1) vs. Scotty (1-0)

Joe vs. Scotty.  Looks like this party is going to get started on Thursday Night Football with Joe having Alexander Mattison and Scotty having Dallas Goedert.  Joe will have Joe Burrow finishing things off on Monday Night Football.  Scotty will have Tua going up against New England.  At RB Joe has Run CMC against LA Rams and he’s hoping to have Aaron Jones depending on the severity of his hamstring injury.  Scotty has Rhamondre Stevenson against Miami and Miles Sanders against the Who Dats on Monday Night Football.  At WR we have the battle of the Dolphins with Joe’s Jaylen Waddle and Scotty’s Tyreek Hill.  Both Wide Receiver 2’s kind of suck in Joe’s Christian Kirk and Scotty’s Marquise Brown.  At Flex Joe will either have Aaron Jones or maybe Raheem Mostert, Jahan Dotson, or Treylon Burks.  Peripherals I give the advantage to Scotty with Steelers D/ST against Celveland and Harrison Butker against Jacksonville.  Joe has Justin Tucker against the Bengals D/ST and Kyle Pitts who doesn’t get any targets.

Division 3:

Brad (1-0) vs. Chase (0-1)

Great matchup on paper!  Chase has Josh Allen looking to rebound against the Raiders.  Brad has Trevor Lawrence in a potential shootout with Kansas City.  KC is hoping to have Kelce back and will get Chris Jones back on defense, which could impact Lawrence’s production.  KC isn’t the only one hoping to have Kelce back as Chase would love to deploy the stud against Brad’s Chig Okonkwo.  At RB Chase has James Cook in the Las Vegas game and Khalil Herbert going up against Tampa Bay.  Herbert is looking dicey after only one week of play as Roschon Johnson looked good in limited action, albeit at the end of the game when the Packers were already up big.  Khalil should be fine, but Tampa Bay did a decent job stopping Alexander Mattison the Vikings rush attack in Week 1.  For Brad he has two plodders in Dameon Pierce against Indy and David Montgomery vs. Seattle.  Both have favorable matchups in games they should win.  No clear advantage.  At wide receiver Chase has Amari Cooper @ Pittsburgh.  Last week Brandon Aiyuk carved up the Steelers defense and Cooper will hope to replicate on Monday Night Football.  Last season against Pittsburgh Cooper had one boom game and one bust game.  The boom was in Week 3 where he went 7 receptions on 11 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown.  The bust came in Week 18 when it didn’t really matter.  He caught 2 balls for 51 yards.  Chase has Brandon Aiyuk fresh off the two touchdown game going up against the LA Rams.  Metcalf got an early touchdown against this secondary buy Aaron Donald took over and Seattle couldn’t get much going.  Chase will also deploy CeeDee Lamb against the Jets.  Stefon Diggs was able to carve them up on Monday Night Football, so look for Lamb to have a decent outing.  For Brad he too will deploy trips wide receivers.  He has Amon-Ra St. Brown against Seattle who made Puca Nacua look like Cooper Kupp with 10 catches on 15 targets for 119 yards.  Brad has AJ Brown against the Vikings on Thursday Night Football.  And Calvin Ridley against the Chiefs for the T-Law/Ridley stack.  Peripherals show a clear advantage Chase with Travis Kelce against the Jags, Browns D/ST against Pittsburgh now without Diontae Johnson, and Jason Myers in a dome against Detroit.  Brad has Chig Okonkwo vs. LA Chargers, Eagles D/ST against a Minnesota team that turned it over 3 times against the Bucs in week 1, and Brandon McManus against KC.  Should be a great game.

Trey (0-1) vs. Moose (1-0)

T- Money is hoping to bounce back from the Week 1 defeat, but must face the juggernaut 4-time champion Moose to do it.  Moose has been decimated by injuries to his 1^st round, 3^rd round, and 6^th round draft picks.  He’ll be without Cooper Kupp and Diontae Johnson at least in this game, with the possibility of missing out on Mark Andrews and Kenny Gainwell as well.  Trey will deploy Justin Fields against a Tampa Bay team that caused Minnesota to turn the ball over frequently.  Fields didn’t look great in Week 1 and only scored a respectable 14.5 points after scoring a late touchdown in garbage time.  Moose will have Lamar Jackson who also had a dud in Week 1.  He posted on social media that they had rust.  He travels to Cincy to go up against division foe Joe Burrow.  At RB Trey will have Bijan Robinson against Green Bay and Jamaal Williams @ Carolina, both favorable matchups.  Moose will have Tony Pollard against the Zach Wilson led Jets and Breece Hall against the juggernaut Dallas team.  At Wide Receiver Trey will have Chris Olave vs. Carolina, DK Metcalf @ Detroit, and DJ Moore @ Tampa Bay.  Moose will go double rookies Jordan Addison in the TNF matchup against the Eagles secondary that made Kendrick Bourne look like Davante Adams and Puka Nacua who did his best Cooper Kupp impression in Week 1.  In the Flex we’ll have to see who Moose goes with if Kenny Gainwell is out due to his rib injury.  Most likely Joshua Kelley (depending on Ekeler’s status), Michael Thomas, Elijah Moore or Zay Jones.  Peripherals look even with Trey having Juwan Johnson @ Carolina, 49ers D/ST against the Rams, and Younghoe Koo against Green Bay.  Moose will feature Mark Andrews (if he plays) or Luke Musgrave against Atlanta.  Saints D/ST against Carolina and Jake Moody @ LA Rams.  Still a lot in the air for injuries this week, but it should be a big time Week 2 matchup.

Thanks for reading and best of luck this week!

Round 2 Recap:

5. Chase (7-7) 99.1 vs. 1. JD (11-3) 122.5

JD moves on the Super Bowl!  He overcame some terrible play from Bam Knight on TNF (1.8), and questionably started Juwan Johnson in swirling 30 mph winds that felt like -10 degrees in Cleveland for some reason, but he was carried by his big 3: Patrick Mahomes 23.6, Austin Ekeler 21.9, and CeeDee Lamb 32.0.  Chase had good performances out of Kirk Cousins 24.0, Travis Kelce 17.3, and his kicker Brett Maher with 18, but single digits for 6/9 starters and he failed to crack 100 points.  A new champion will be crowned in Season 14.

3. Brad (10-4) 131.8 vs. 2. Tommy (10-4) 150.3

Tommy’s team balled out.  Brad put up a solid and respectable 131.8, but it wasn’t enough.  Tommy had Joe Burrow throw for 375 yards and 3 touchdowns for 26.5 fantasy points, Tom Brady decided to throw it to Lenny Fournette a thousand fucking times for 20.7 fantasy points, Derrick Henry did NOT rush for 200 yards, only 126 and a touchdown.  Kittle caught 2 touchdowns for 30 points.  Brad started the right tight end and got an extra 3 points for switching out his kicker, but shit.  Brad was carried by his wideout duo of Waddle (27.8) and Justin Jefferson (28.3).  Points Leader falls in the Semi’s.  A new champion will be crowned in Season 14.

Bottom Bowl Recap:

Round 2

Game 1:

Joe 110.6 vs. Jen 112.0

Jen advances to Game 1 of Round 3 and is guaranteed either 5 or 6 balls in the draft lottery next year. Congrats Jen!  Joe drops to Game 2 of Round 3 and will either have 3 or 4 balls in the draft lottery.

Game 2:

Katon 99 vs. Kenny 66.4

Katon advances to Game 1 of Round 3 and is guaranteed either 5 or 6 balls in the draft lottery next year. Congrats Katon!  Kenny drops to Game 3 of Round 3 and will either have 2 or 1 ball in the draft lottery.  Whomp whomp

Game 3:

Scotty 84.8 vs. Trey 86.0

Trey advances to Game 2 of Round 3 and will either have 3 or 4 balls in the draft lottery depending on if he beats Joe or not.  Scotty drops to the bottom of the bottom to face Kenny with only 1 or 2 balls as the consolation prize.

SUPER BOWL 14 PREVIEW:

1.JD (11-3)  vs. 2. Tommy (10-4)

JD and Tommy have never met in the post season.  The closest they came was back in 2014 when they both made the Final Four.  JD advanced to the Super Bowl, but Tommy did not, falling to the eventual champion Scotty in the Semi’s.  JD is 0-2 in Super Bowls.  Tommy is 0-1.  The big story of this Super Bowl is Running Backs.  JD had the 3^rd pick and picked Austin Ekeler.  Tommy had the 5^th pick and took Derrick Henry.  Austin Ekeler is currently RB #3 and Derrick Henry is currently RB #2.  Both of these studs are at risk this week as Titans don’t have any reason to try against Dallas on TNF and will most likely bench Derrick Henry to save him for next week’s AFC South Crown matchup against Jacksonville.  For JD Austin Ekeler banged up his knee on the last play of the game in the Chargers victory against the Colts on Monday Night Football.  They have secured a playoff spot and will either be the 5, 6, or 7 seed, so rushing Ekeler back doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Tommy won this matchup earlier this season in Week 5 149.5 to JD’s 106.5.  Both of the studs mentioned went off in this matchup.  Ekeler had 36.9 for JD and Henry had 29.2 for Tommy.  This biggest difference in that game was Tommy’s RB2 Lenny Fournette scoring 30.9 versus JD’s RB2 James Robinson getting 4.9 AND Tommy’s Dallas D/ST getting 24.0 against the Rams versus JD’s Miami D/ST getting -1 against the Jets.  Tommy started Kareem Hunt in the flex in that game, who scored a touchdown.  With Henry listed as doubtful as of this writing, Tommy might have to go dumpster diving in the waiver wire or roll with Hunt yet again.

MATCHUPS:

Quarterback:

Tommy features #4 Qb Joe “Big Dick” Burrow against Buffalo on Monday Night Football.  What more can you want?  Your season potentially coming down to an AFC duel between Josh Allen’s Bills and Joe Burrow’s Bengals?  It’s going to be epic.  JD will have #1 Qb Patrick Mahomes who might be winning the MVP award this season.  He faces a Denver team in disarray who fired their head coach this week.  Their defense has been their only bright spot, but that didn’t stop Mahomes from throwing for 352 yards and 3 touchdowns against them just 3 weeks ago @ Denver.  Two of the best dueling it out here.

Running Backs:

This was supposed to be #2 versus #3, Stud Rb versus Stud Rb.  But now both are in doubt.  I just got confirmation that Henry will be INACTIVE tonight versus Dallas.  JD smartly picked up Tennessee backup rookie out of Michigan Hassan Haskins who will be playing in a garbage game against Dallas on TNF.  He also picked up Khalil Herbert to block Tommy.  Tommy looks as though he’s going to roll with his rostered running backs of #13 Leonard Fournette in a battle against the Panthers with the season on the line and Kareem Hunt in a tough matchup against Washington.  Hunt hasn’t been flex worthy for most of this season and Nick Chubb will be playing, limiting Hunt’s potential.  Tommy will hope for a touchdown.  On JD’s side he’ll hold out hope for Austin Ekeler to play, but if he doesn’t he can turn to Joshua Kelley who JD picked up earlier this month with $4 of FAAB.  Peace of Mind is worth $4 in fake money if you ask me.  At Rb #2 JD has choices.  He could roll with Hassan Haskins for a fun YOLO play, could roll with Zonovan Knight against Seattle with Mike White back at Qb, or could roll with Raheem Mostert in a divisional clash against New England.  Nothing like your season potentially coming down to Zonovan, Hassan, or Raheem.

Wide Receivers:

Tommy will feature his duo of WR Freaks in #2 Tyreek Hill @ New England and #15 DK Metcalf versus Sauce Garnder and the NY Jets.  Tyreek will have Teddy Bridgewater throwing passes to him since Tua is yet again concussed.  In Week 1 Tyreek caught 8 passes on 12 targets for 94 yards and no touchdowns against NE.  Tua to Teddy is a downgrade.  DK might have Lockett back in the lineup, which could help relieve some double teams, but even single man against the Sauce will be difficult.  As of right now Tommy has #19 Brandon Aiyuk in his flex spot against a very beatable Raiders secondary.  He could pivot to #20 Zay Jones against the Texans.  For JD he has #6 CeeDee Lamb against Tennessee’s backup defense.  Lamb has been on fire the last 2 weeks going 7/7 for 126 yards in Week 15 against Jacksonville and 10/11 for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 16 against Philly.  In my preseason write up I said Lamb had Top 5 WR potential this season and here he is at 6 and a smash spot in the Title game.  He might only play the first half, but I could see him doing significant damage in that half against backups to a starting secondary that already isn’t very good.  He’ll also have Keenan Allen.  Allen after coming back from injury has been a target monster.  Here are his stats over the past 4 games.  6/14 88 yards 1 touchdown, 12/14 92 yards, 8/9 86 yards, 11/14 104 yards.  You read that correctly in 3 out of the last 4 games he’s gotten exactly 14 targets.  The Rams are still starting Jalen Ramsey, but Ramsey could very well spend more time with Mike Williams, so who knows.  Love his floor in this one.  JD currently has #18 Garret Wilson in his flex position.  With Mike White coming back from injury this has to give JD hope.  With Mike White at Qb Wilson had games of 25.9 and 23.2 versus his last 2 games of Zach Wilson which were 11.8 and 3.0.  He did see 9 targets in each of those games though, Zach Wilson just sucks.

Tight Ends:

Tommy has #3 George Kittle who has been destroying defenses lately.  Easily Purdy’s top target as he has caught 4 touchdowns in the past 2 games, scoring games of 25.3 and 30.0.  In come the Raiders 22^ndranked OPRK against Fantasy Tight Ends.  Something to note though is they haven’t given up a touchdown pass to a tight end since Travis Kelce scored 4 of them back in Week 5.  Interesting.  JD has #11 Juwan Johnson as of this writing.  He faces Philly.  Johnson has scored 7 touchdowns this season, so we’ll see if he can go for #8 for JD in the Super Bowl.

Defense & Special Teams:

Tommy has #2 Dallas D/ST against Joshua Dobbs and Hassan Haskins on Thursday Night Football.  If there is a silver lining of Tommy not having Derrick Henry, it’s that he can fire up Dallas D/ST confidently.  Cowboys are projected to blowout the Titans.  JD also has a favorable matchup with NY Giants against the Indianapolis Colts.  Nick Foles looked downright awful against the Chargers on MNF throwing 3 interceptions.  Giants also are getting back Xavier McKinney potentially, which could help.

Kicker:

Tommy scooped up Brad’s garbage in #5 Tyler Bass.  Projected shootout on Monday Night Football @ Cincinnati.  JD has #7 Graham Gano going up against Indy at home.  Both solid kickers that should have ample opportunity this week.

Final Thoughts:

Great season to both of you.  The payout structure is $750 to the winner and $200 to the runner-up.  In the past the two teams have elected to change the payout amount to be closer.  If you both message me and agree to a different amount then I shall make it so.  Thank you all for another great season of the BBY Dream Team League. I look forward to seeing who wins their first title and will be fighting to defend it in Season 15.

Bottom Bowl Preview:

Round 3:

Game 1:

Katon vs. Jen

Congrats you two, you’ve already won 5 or 6 balls.

Game 2:

Joe vs. Trey

Both ended the year strong and will be playing for 3 or 4 balls in the draft lottery.  Good luck gentlemen!

Game 3:

Scotty vs. Kenny

Two previous champions meet at the Bottom of the Bottom Bowl.  Look forward to seeing you back in the playoff hunt next season.  Winner gets 2 balls in draft lottery.  Loser gets nothing.

Thank you all so much for a wonderful season.  God Bless you.

Thanks,

Commish B-Razzle Dazzle

Round 1 Recap:

This was the highest scoring Round 1 in the history of our league. 

BYE: 1. JD, 2. Tommy

5.Chase (7-7) 156.4 vs. 4. Moose (8-6) 141.4

Chase advances to face the 1 seed JD after defeating Moose in a shootout 156.4 to 141.4.  Moose didn’t get Dallas Goedert back in time and the result was a shootout anyway.  But chase got 37.4 from Kirk Cousins, 27 from Dalvin Cook in their epic comeback win against the Colts.  He got a solid 9.5 or more from every starter in a complete game.  Moose had 5 players score in single digits, but still hung around with gutsy performances from Josh Allen (38.7), Barkley (20.5), AJ Brown (25.6) and Stevenson (26.8).      

6.Mike (7-7) 131.6 vs. 3. Brad (10-4) 145.1

Brad started off with a 99+ point lead as 7/9 starters played prior to Sunday.  Mike came roaring back and threatened until the bitter end, but wind up falling by 13.5 points.  Brad moves on to face Tommy.  Mike got a monster 30.2 game from Jerick McKinnon.  Brad was carried by his big three with Jalen Hurts getting 37.7, Justin Jefferson getting 27.3 and CMC getting 23.9.  He also had a long td catch by Jaylen Waddle, which got the big play bonus and put him over 100 yards receiving where he finished with 23.9. 

Bottom Bowl:

Kenny (6-8) 80.2 vs. Jen (6-8) 103.6

Jen wins and advances to Game 1 of Round 2.  Great spot to be.  Kenny moves on to Game 2 of Round 2. 

Joe (6-8) 95.1  vs. Trey (6-8) 82.0

Joe continues his epic win streak.  He moves on to Game 1 of Round 2 and will get at least 3 balls in the draft lottery.  Trey drops to Game 3 of Round 2 and has already capped his ball potential for next year. 

Katon (3-11) 93.6 vs. Scotty (3-11) 78.0

Katon defeats Scotty to move to Round 2 Game 2.  Scotty is already capped to a max of 4 balls in the lottery since he will be playing in Round 2 Game 3. 

Round 2 Preview:

5.Chase (7-7) vs. 1. JD (11-3)

Chase is coming off of the second highest opening round score in the history of the league and enters Round 2 as a complete team.  Chase and JD have never met in the playoffs.  This bracket is shaping up a lot like 2014 where JD was the 1 seed and played the winner of the 4/5 game that featured Moose and Chase.  Moose won back in 2014, but this time it’s Chase’s turn.  JD won in the final four matchup in 2014.  Let’s see if history will repeat itself.  JD is searching for his first Title after losing in back to back Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015.  Chase is seeking back to back Titles and his 4^th Championship this season. 

Quarterbacks:

Chase has 8. Kirk Cousins is coming off of back to back 30+ point fantasy performances and this week he gets the Giants at home.  JD features #2 Patrick Mahomes vs. Seattle.  Seattle’s secondary is young, but they give up a lot of fantasy points to running backs and tight ends.  Which benefits Chase who has Kelce. 

Running Backs:

Chase has 8. Dalvin Cook vs. the Giants who are 23^rd OPRK and JK Dobbins with a plus matchup against Atlanta.  It’s going to be cold and miserable in Baltimore as it is in much of the US, so I expect a lot of runs in this game. JD will finish things off with #4 Austin Ekeler vs. Indianapolis in Indy on Monday Night Football.  He will either start Bam Knight who faces Jacksonville in a bad weather game on Thursday Night Football or pivot to Raheem Mostert against Green Bay in Miami.  Bam is fun to say, but not if he’s Banged Up. 

Wide Receivers:

Talent all over the place.  Chase with #7 Amon-Ra St. Brown versus a beatable Carolina team on Saturday.  Weather looks to be freezing temperatures, but some of the best in the slate because everywhere else is garbage weather.  #25 JuJu will be in the Seattle game.  I mentioned earlier Seattle locks down Wideouts, but get’s destroyed by Running backs and Tight Ends.  Chase will also have #23 Michael Pittman on MNF vs. LA Chargers OR DeAndre Hopkins vs. Tampa Bay on SNF.  Indy has announced a Qb change from Matt Ryan to Nick Folk, which I’m not sure if that helps or hurts the Colts.  Dizzle has #8 CeeDee Lamb in a pivotal divisional matchup against Philly on Saturday.  He also has #17 Garrett Wilson vs. Jacksonville on TNF.  Weather looks like shit, but Wilson has been a target machine in the last 4 weeks, averaging nearly 10 targets per game.  JD also has Keenan Allen on MNF in a tough matchup against Indianapolis.  Indy’s secondary is solid until they completely fall apart and give up 36 second half points.  

Tight Ends:

Clear advantage to Chase with #1 Travis Kelce.  Kelce is the equivalent of WR or Rb #5.  He gets a great matchup against Seattle this week.  He averages 17.7 points per game.   Its like Chase rolling out Nick Chubb or Saquon Barkley in his TE spot.  Dizzle has been streaming Tight Ends and just dropped Daniel Bellinger to pick up TD magnet Juwan Johnson.  Johnson is projected to play in Cleveland this weekend with snow projected pregame and in game.  Temps in the teens with 20-30 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 40 mph.  Juwan has broken a lot of long touchdowns this season, we’ll see if he can do it while playing a game in Hell. 

Defense & Special Teams:

Chase is rolling with 14. Cleveland D/ST in the winter hell game.  Look for a lot of runs and for people to try and get the hell out of there.  Low scoring, slippery football.  Could be great for a D/ST.  JD has Ten D/ST against Houston.  Houston has been formidable the past couple weeks against Dallas and Kansas City.  Hanging in games they shouldn’t.  Not sure if it will continue as the way to exploit Tennessee is to pass against them.  We’ll see. 

Kicker:

#5 Brett Maher for Chase in a great game against Philly.  Could very well come down to a field goal or two.  JD has #10 Graham Gano in a dome in Minnesota.  A favorable situation give the weather this weekend.   

3.Brad (10-4) vs. 2. Tommy (10-4)

Super Bowl 3 Rematch.  Brad defeated Tommy by 1 point on a last minute play in which Drew Brees broke the touchdown record on a touchdown to Brad’s Darren Sproles.  Brad is 3-10 against Tommy all time.  2 of those wins have come in the playoffs. 

Quarterbacks:

Brad HAD #1 Qb Jalen Hurts who had scored at least 30 points in 4 consecutive weeks.  Then it was determined that he hurt his shoulder in his game against Chicago.  Hurts is saying he might still play this weekend, but it looks like it’s going to be Minshew this week against Dallas.  Tommy had saved up his FAAB and smartly picked up the Top 3 backup Qb options putting #15 bids on each one as Brad only had #14 FAAB remaining.  Brad is horrible at managing FAAB specifically in this league.  This led him to pick up Brock Purdy against a really tough Washington Defense.  Purdy has thrown 2 touchdowns in each of the last 3 games.  Brad is hoping for a miracle to have Hurts available, if not he’ll roll with the Purdy-CMC stack.  Tommy has his choice of Joe Burrow or Justin Fields…. Or Aaron Rodgers or Zach Wilson or Gardner Minshew lol.  He’ll most likely roll with #4 Joe Burrow against New England.  They are pretty good against the pass, but Burrow is Burrow. 

Running Backs:

Brad has all 3 of his Rb’s starting on Saturday with #5 Nick Chubb vs. New Orleans in a snow game, Isaih Pacheco against Seattle’s #31 OPRK, and #3 CMC against a stiff Washington Defense.  Nick Chubb is nursing a foot injury and hasn’t practiced as of this write up.  If Chubb misses that could be disastrous for Brad since Tommy holds Kareem Hunt who would become an instant starter.  Tommy has #2 Derrick Henry vs. Houston.  In Henry’s last 4 games against Houston he has rushed for: 32-219-2, 34-250-2, 22-212-2, and 32-211-3.  And Tannehill is projected to miss.  Houston is #32 OPRK.  I’ve scribbled in 30 in this spot.  Tommy will also have #14 Leonard Fournette against Arizona.  He took a 2/3 snap share last week over rookie Rashad White, which I’m sure Tommy would love to see continue this week.   

Wide Receivers:

Brad has a dynamic duo in #1 Justin Jefferson against the NY Giants and #6 Jaylen Waddle vs. Green Bay in Miami.  JJ has a chance to break Calvin Johnson’s receiving yardage record, so look for his normal studly amount despite him working through a chest contusion.  Tommy features the top Dolphin wideout #2 Tyreek Hill.  Tyreek has been more consistent and has been balling out all season for the Dolphins.  Classis Waddle vs. Tyreek matchup this week.  Tommy also has #14 WR DK Metcalf against KC’s #27 OPRK.  Tyler Lockett broke a finger last week and will miss this game, meaning more targets for Metcalf.  Things are looking up for Tommy.   He also has #19 WR Zay Jones playing on TNF as of this write up.  Zay has been on fire lately and has scored 4 touchdowns in the past 2 weeks.  He may be matched up against rookie phenom Sauce Gardner in a bad weather game.  Tommy could pivot to #21 Brandon Aiyuk who has a tough matchup against Washington. 

Tight Ends:

Brad has either David Njoku in a terrible weather game against a tough New Orleans team or Greg Dulcich against the Rams.  Greg was looking good, but his volume has dropped.  Tommy gets #5 Greg Kittle who is coming off of his best game of the season last week.  But this week he faces Washington who are the best team in the league in stopping opposing Tight Ends.  This position looks to be a disaster for both teams this week. 

Defense & Special Teams:

Brad has #6 Bills D/ST with injuries, bad weather, and Justin Fields on the opposite side of the field.  Bills D/ST hasn’t scored a touchdown since week 2.  Tommy has #2 Dallas D/ST They were looking amazing until the past couple of weeks where Houston and Jacksonville were able to score a bunch against them. 

Kicker:

Brad has #2 Tyler Bass against Chicago as of this write up.  He might pivot since it will be so cold in Chicago that when Bass tries to kick the ball it might crack in half.  Tommy has #7 Greg Zuerlein who will be playing in rain and wind, but it won’t be as cold.  I have very little expectations out of this group as well. 

Bottom Bowl Preview:

Round 2

Game 1:

Joe vs. Jen

Winner moves on to Game 1 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 5 or 6 balls.  Loser goes to Game 2 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 3 or 4 balls. 

Game 2:

Katon vs. Kenny

Winner moves on to Game 1 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 5 or 6 balls.  Loser goes to Game 3 and will be playing in the Bottom of the Bottom Bowl with only a chance to win 2 balls.

Game 3:

Scotty vs. Trey

Winner moves on to Game 2 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 3 or 4 balls.  Loser goes to Game 3 and will be playing in the Bottom of the Bottom Bowl with only a chance to win 2 balls.

Thanks,

Commish

Week 13 Recap:

Division 1:

Mike (7-6) 102.4 vs. Joe (4-8) 139.8

Joe continues to play spoiler!  Joe gets his highest scoring game of the season with Geno Smith getting 25.9, Tony Pollard 23.6, Perine 21.5, Akers 18.5, SF D/ST 22 (Against Miami!).  Those five players combined for 111.5, enough to beat Mike’s team.  Mike got 16.2 from Trevor Lawrence, 23 from Josh Jacobs and double digits from 7/9 players, but nobody went off and 7/9 scored 11.9 or less.  It was a solid effort, but Joe’s team just kept scoring touchdowns.  Mike will now have to face the D1 Winner Tommy to secure a playoff spot.  Tommy is fighting for the 2 seed and a bye in the playoffs.    

Tommy (9-4) 137.0 vs. Chase (7-6) 82.8

Tommy clinches the Division 1 Crown after Mike and Chase both lose!  Tommy scored a really solid 137 points.  He had disappointing game from Derrick Henry (4.8) but the rest of his studs did their thing.  Joe Burrow got 30 and moved to 3-0 against the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.  Tyreek Hill got 28.1, DK Metcalf got 25.7 and he even got 21 from Dallas D/ST.  On Chase’s side he had a rough week.  Watson looked rusty as hell in his first game action in 700 days.  (5.3 points).  6/9 players scored in single digits including 6 players that scored 5.6 or less.  His lone bright spot was Amon-Ra St. Brown.  The alpha wide receiver caught 11 catches for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns for 32.1 points.  Tommy locks in D1, but has his sights on a bye.  Chase will look to clinch a playoff spot in Week 14 against suddenly surging Joe.        

Division 2:

JD (11-2) 144.8 vs. Jen (6-7) 88.3

I didn’t even mention Cleveland D/ST in my preview for this week and they wind up being the story.  The top scorer in this game with 31 points, they scored 3 touchdowns against the Texans and accounted for 4 turnovers.  The interesting thing about their 3 scores is they got one of each.  On interception return for a touchdown, one fumble return for a touchdown, and one punt return for a touchdown.  Insane.  JD got 19.7 from Patrick Mahomes, 14.3 from new addition Zonovan Knight, 23.2 from Garret Wilson, 17.9 from CeeDee Lamb, and 17.8 from Keenan Allen.  JD is getting hot at the right time as we approach the playoffs.  Jen is still alive in the playoff hunt, but ESPN gives her a 1% chance.    

Katon (2-11) 110.1 vs. Kenny (6-7) 115.2

Heading into MNF with Kenny’s season on the line (sort of), it was virtually tied with Katon having 105.4 and Kenny having 105.2.  Katon had Alvin Kamara left and Kenny had kicker Wil Lutz.  ESPN gave Katon a 72% chance of winning prior to gametime.  Wil Lutz went 3/3 from on field goals and Kamara was used sparingly.  Saints opted to use Mark Ingram more despite him getting hurt.  Saints collapsed and lost the game, but Kenny emerged victorious.  ESPN gives Kenny an 8% chance to making the playoffs.  I’ll discuss more in the playoff scenario section.  Kenny was carried by Davante Adams 8 catch 177 yard 2 touchdown explosion for 36.7 points.  He also got a solid 19.1 from D’Andre Swift.   Most of his team underperformed, but he got the job done.  Katon got 18.7 from Stefon Diggs and 18 from kicker Robbie Gould, but just got barely edged out in this one.  Had he started Devonta Smith (21.7) instead of Zeke in the flex the game would have ended 115.2 to 115.2 tie.  Kenny would have still gotten the victory because the tie breaker is Qb points as originally set by League Founder and my Dad’s coworker at Community Coffee Wendell.    

Division 3:

Moose (7-6) 99.7 vs. Trey (6-7) 105.5

Peripheral Bowl it twas!  Heading into Monday Night Football Moose held a slim lead of 94.7 to Trey’s 93.2.  Moose had Tampa Bay kicker Ryan Succop and Trey had Taysom Hill.  ESPN gave Moose a 57% chance of victory.  Moose got things started in the 1^st Quarter with a chip shot field goal.  But in the 2^nd Quarter Andy Dalton found a wide-open Taysom Hill for a 30 yard touchdown.  Moose has lost 4 in a row and Trey has won 2 in a row to stay alive.  Trey won despite losing Lamar Jackson to any early knee injury.   He finished with only 1.3 points.  He was carried by Tyler Lockett’s 26.3 and Christian Watson’s 22.9.  Watson scored a rushing and a receiving touchdown and looks like the real deal in Green Bay.  Moose had solid efforts from the Top of his lineup with Allen’s 16.8, Barkley’s 16.6, Stevenson’s 10.8, and AJ Brown’s 30.9 in a revenge game against the team that traded him during the draft.  But it was Moose’s peripherals and WR 2 that struggled, with the 4 of them combining for only 13.6 points.  Despite the loss, ESPN says Moose has clinched a playoff spot, locking him into the 4^th, 5^th, or 6^th seed.  Trey will be hoping for a miracle in Week 14.          

Scotty (3-10) 79.2 vs. Brad (9-4) 126.2

Scotty started Joe Mixon who was inactive and DJ Moore who was on a bye week.  So that’s shitty.  As commissioner I want to remind everyone to please set your lineups.  Even when you are eliminated.  There are going to be 6 teams playing for money at the end of the season and what happens at the end of the season has playoff seeding implications.  Now in this situation if Scotty just moved pieces around and started Patterson for Mixon and Evans for Moore he still would have lost to Brad, but if the end of the season rankings came down to this it could make someone really upset.  Please set your lineups folks.  Brad was carried by Jalen Hurts 37.4.  He looked like the MVP of the season as he sliced and diced the Titans defense.  Christian McCaffrey looked good against Miami, getting 24.6 fantasy points including an 8-80-1 receiving line on the day.  Brad got nice production out of Pacheco (15.2) and Jefferson (15.1) despite getting pretty much nothing out of Jaylen Waddle (1.4).  Scotty got 21.1 from Justin Herbert and decent production from his peripherals who combined for 31.3.    

Week 14 Preview:

Last Game of the Regular Season!

Division 1:

Mike (7-6) vs. Tommy (9-4)

Mike is fighting to stay in the hunt.  Tommy is fighting to get a bye.  Everything at stake.  In their Week 3 meeting Tommy won 105.9 to 75.3.  Mike will feature Dak Prescott vs. Houston.  Houston is #3 OPRK against fantasy Qbs.  Most teams just run on them.  But two weeks ago they even held Tua to 15.8 fantasy points.  Mike will also have #21 Rb Najee Harris against Baltimore.  Baltimore is #6 OPRK against Rbs.  #1 Rb Josh Jacobs faces the LA Rams.  Who despite being horrific have been decent stopping the run this season.    WR #14 Tee Higgins faces Cleveland.  Cleveland defense is very beatable.  In Week 8 he had 3 catches on 6 targets for 49 yards and a touchdown against them.  Mike will need more than that.  He’ll also have Target-Vacuum Chris Godwin @ San Fran.  Tyreek was able to get his against San Fran, but Waddle was shut down last week.  The bigger story is the giant mismatch of San Fran defensive line vs. Tampa’s offensive line.  Brady may want to rethink retirement after this week, but it could lead to more check downs to running backs and perhaps, Chris Godwin.  Dalton Schultz is in the Houston matchup.  Right now Mike has DPJ in the flex against Cincy.  Cincy is #4 OPRK to Fantasy Wrs, but the over/under might be tempting (opened at 49, currently at 47/47.5 depending on which sportsbook you’re looking at).  Don’t overlook Mike’s #2 D/ST NE who averages 12.5 points per game or his kicker #4 Daniel Carlson who averages 9.4.  On Tommy’s side he has #4 Qb Joe Burrow versus Cleveland.  Cleveland is 11^th OPRK, but I think that has more to do with how bad their run defense is rather than how good their pass defense is.  #2 Derrick Henry has been trending down in fantasy points the last 3 weeks 24.2-13.2-4.8, but in comes Jacksonville.  The Jags just gave up a big week to the Swift/Williams combo in Detroit.  This could be a get right game for Henry heading into the final stretch.  At Rb 2 Tommy will most likely roll with Rb #16 Uncle Lenny.  Fournette has lost the starting gig to rookie Rashad White, but against the Saints they split RB touches pretty evenly.  He’s facing San Fran’s #1 OPRK, so Tommy is hoping for lots of catches and possibly a touchdown to make Fournette worth it.  At Wideout Tommy has #4 Tyreek Hill @ LA Chargers.  This game was flexed to Sunday Night Football and features the highest over under of the week at 52.5 points.  #16 DK Metcalf gets Carolina.  #9 TE George Kittle and #19 Brandon Aiyuk square off against Tampa Bay, but they have Brock Purdy at Qb.  Deebo might get more rushes, but we’ll see how it impacts Kittle and Aiyuk down the stretch.  Don’t over look Tommy’s defense #1 Dallas.  They face Houston, the same Houston that Cleveland D/ST scored 3 times against to the tune of 31 fantasy points.  Anything can happen, but this matchup screams Tommy steam roll.    

Joe (5-8) vs. Chase (7-6)

Chase is pretty much in.  It would be a freak miracle for him to miss.  He faces a red hot Joe team.  In Joe’s run he was starting Samaje Perine.  Joe Mixon should be back this week.  He may stick with Perine, but don’t look for him to continue his recent success.  Joe does have favorable matchups elsewhere however. Including #7 Qb Geno Smith vs. Carolina, #7 Rb Tony Pollard vs. Houston, #18 Wr Ja’Marr Chase vs. Cleveland, Adam Thielen vs. Detroit, Cam Akers vs. LV.  He also has #2 Tight End Mark Andrews against Pittsburgh.  Andrews did well with replacement Quarterbacks last season and should receive his normal production level.  On Chase’s side he’s hoping Deshaun Watson can shake off the rust against Division foe Cincinnati.  They just bested Patrick Mahomes, so Sir Jerks a Lot has his work cut out for him.  Chase will rely on the Rb duo of #9 Dalvin Cook vs. Detroit and D’Onta Foreman versus Seattle’s #30 OPRK.  He also has #7 Amon-Ra St. Brown against Minnesota, DeAndre Hopkins against New England, and of course #1 Travis Kelce @ Denver.  Should be a great matchup.  Joe is playing for seeding in the Bottom Bowl.  Chase is playing to secure his playoff spot.  There are 3 teams at 6-7 rooting for Joe this week.      

Division 2:

Katon (2-11) vs. JD (11-2)

The worst versus the best.  Neither team is playing for anything this week.  Katon has locked in a game at the bottom of the bottom bowl against Scotty.  JD has locked into the 1 seed and is most likely out of reach of points leader.  You guys can just relax and enjoy football this week.  JD will be hoping his core of Patrick Mahomes, Austin Ekeler, and CeeDee Lamb all stay healthy.  As well as Garrett Wilson who is looking like a potential league winner.  JD will basically have two bye weeks in a row.  This matchup doesn’t impact seeding and next week he’ll be on a bye. 

Jen (6-7) vs. Kenny (6-7)

THIS matchup however does have some spice to it.  One of these teams will be 7-7.  If Mike or Chase loses then there will at least be a tie in records of 7-7 to determine the 6^th seed.  Jen is hoping for Mike and Chase to both lose and for her to score 70 more points than Mike this week.  Kenny is hoping to win, Mike and Chase to lose and for him to stay higher in points than Mike.  Gonna be tricky.  Of course Jen will have to completely rebuild her team this week due to bye weeks.  She’ll be without #8 Rb Aaron Jones, #20 Rb Antonio Gipson, #13 WR Terry McLaurin, #15 WR Chris Olave, and she’ll have to monitor the health of #14 Rb Kenneth Walker who “jammed” his ankle.  After she reconstructs her roster she’ll have James Conner versus New England and Kenneth Walker vs. Carolina if Walker can’t go she’ll have to pick up a Rb off of Free Agency to start this week.  At WR she’ll have #24 Gabe Davis against the Jets.  She’ll have to get another wideout on free agency to start this week.  Bit of a project and doesn’t bode well for Jen’s 1% chance of making the playoffs.  On Kenny’s side he’s not exactly a clean bill of health either.  He’ll be without his kicker and defense due to bye weeks, but at Qb he lost Jimmy G for the season.  He’ll turn to #12 Tua in a shootout versus LA Chargers, but he tweaked his ankle at the end of the game against San Fran, something to monitor.  #23 Devin Singletary looks like the 3^rd best Rb for the Bills behind emerging rookie James Cook and 3^rd down specialist Nyheim Hines.  #25 Jeff Wilson Jr has a great matchup in that LA Chargers game, but last week he played second fiddle to Raheem Mostert.  D’Andre Swift’s usage was inspiring for Kenny, who hopes that he continues that in a shootout against Minnesota.  #1 Davante Adams gets a Jalen Ramsey game.  #10 Amari Cooper gets #10 OPRK Cincy with a rusty Watson throwing it to him.  In Watson’s first game Cooper caught 4/9 targets for 40 yards.  Both teams need to reconstruct their lineups and keep up in points scored AND have things fall into place perfectly.  Will this game determine a playoff team?  Or is this game a mirage, a false hope, and one that will simply matter to the Bottom Bowl seeding?  We shall find out. 

Division 3:

Brad (9-4) vs. Trey (6-7)

Trey’s Cinderella story might be coming to an end this week.  He faces the D3 winner and points leader through 13 weeks Brad.  Brad is trying to get a bye in the playoffs and Tommy holds the tie breaker having beat Brad in Week 6 83.2 to 133.5, which means Brad needs to win and Tommy needs to lose to make that happen.  Trey will not receive mercy from Brad this week and his lineup looks disastrous.  Lamar Jackson was injured and is most likely out this week.  Johnathan Taylor has a very very ill-timed bye week.  So does Christian Watson and even Taysom Hill.  Trey will need to replace his Qb and Tight End in waivers and might have to find a Wideout/Flex as well considering Treylon Burks got concussed last week and will have to clear a more strictly enforced protocol.  He will have #17 Rb Travis Etienne Jr @ Tennessee and #12 Rb Miles Sanders vs. the Giants in a big NFC matchup.  On Brad’s side he’ll have #2 Qb Jalen Hurts in the Giants matchup, #5 Rb Christian McCaffrey against Tampa Bay, #4 Rb Nick Chubb vs. Cincy, #3 WR Justin Jefferson against Detroit, #9 WR Jaylen Waddle vs. LA Chargers, #5 D/ST Buffalo against Mike White and the NY Jets.  Trey has pulled off some miracles to stay alive this long, but this fairy tale looks like it’s about to get crushed without mercy. 

Scotty (3-10) vs. Moose (7-6)

Moose has dropped 4 straight but has clinched a playoff spot.  Scotty isn’t starting his lineup anymore, so Moose should progress to 8-6 on the season.  He’ll have #3 Qb Josh Allen vs. the Jets, (he put up 24.8 against them in Week 9), #6 Rb Saquon Barkley against Philly who just shut down Derrick Henry, #11 Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Arizona, #5 WR AJ Brown vs. the NY Giants.  Scotty will have #8 Qb Justin Herbert vs. Miami who just gave up a decent outing to Brock Purdy,  #13 Rb Joe Mixon might actually be back this week against Cleveland, which is a smash spot for Rb’s.  #10 Rb Jamaal Williams is the 2022 James Conner and faces Minnesota.  DJ Moore gets Seattle Tyler Boyd against Cleveland, #3 TE TJ Hockenson gets a revenge game against Detroit. And #20 Deebo Samuel gets Tampa Bay.  If Scotty doesn’t touch his lineup he actually could win this.  He has options on his bench too.  Crazy.      

Playoff Scenarios:

5 Teams are vying for the final 2 spots.  For the purpose of tie breakers I’ll include Moose who is 7-6, but according to ESPN has clinched a playoff spot.

6 Teams at 7-6 or 6-7.

How can they get in?

Moose (7-6)- 100% chance

(In according to ESPN who says he has 100% chance.  Will be 4^th, 5^th or 6^th seed.  Moose has scored a lot more points than anyone else 1596.7 and is still in running for points leader with Tommy and Brad.) 

1. Win and he’s in the 4 vs. 5 matchup.
2. Lose against Scotty, Trey wins, Mike loses, Chase loses, then 5-way tie at 7-7 with Moose, Chase, Mike, Trey, and winner of Kenny/Jen. Would go to points for and Moose is in. 
3. Lose against Scotty, Mike wins, Chase wins, Trey wins, then it is 3-way tie at 7-7 with Moose, Trey, and winner of Kenny/Jen. Would go to points for and Moose is in.
4. Lose against Scotty, Mike wins, Chase wins, Trey loses, then it is 2-way tie at 7-7 with Moose and winner of Kenny/Jen. Moose beat both Kenny and Jen, so head to head he’s in.
5. Lose against Scotty, Mike wins, Chase loses, Trey loses, then it would be 3 way tie at 7-7 with Moose, Chase, winner of Kenny/Jen. Moose lost to Chase, but beat the other two.  Records are Moose 2-1, Chase 3-0, Kenny 0-2, Jen 0-2, so records are out, goes to Points For, Moose is in.  In this scenario, it would be 1. JD, 2. Brad, 3. Tommy, 4. Mike, 5. Moose, 6. Chase.  

Chase (7-6)- 99% chance

1. Win against Joe and he’s in.
2. Lose against Joe, but Brad beats Trey and Mike beats Tommy. (Chase beat both Kenny and Jen)
3. Lose against Joe, Brad beats Trey, Mike loses to Tommy. (Goes to Points For where Chase, Mike, and winner of Kenny/Jen compare points for.  Chase is at 1459.5, Mike at 1355.3, Kenny at 1383.7, Jen at 1285.4.  So if Kenny doesn’t win AND score 75.8 more than Chase, then Chase is in)

Mike (7-6)- 87% chance

1. Win against Tommy and he’s in.
2. Lose against Tommy, but Brad beats Trey and Chase beats Joe. (Mike beat both Kenny and Jen)
3. Lose against Tommy, Brad beats Trey, Joe beats Chase. (Goes to Points For where Chase, Mike, and winner of Kenny/Jen compare points for. Chase is at 1459.5, Mike at 1355.3, Kenny at 1383.7, Jen at 1285.4.  So if Kenny beats Jen Mike would need to score 28.5 more than Kenny.)

Kenny (6-7) 8% chance

1. Win against Jen, Mike loses to Tommy AND Chase loses to Joe, Trey loses to Brad. (Goes to Points For where Kenny has to outscore Chase by 75.8 or Mike needs to not outscore Kenny by 28.4.

Jen (6-7) 1% chance

1. Win against Kenny, Mike loses to Tommy, Chases loses to Joe, and Jen oustcores Mike by 69.9 AND outscores Trey by 70.0( would have 4-5 teams at 7-7 and Points For would be tie breaker, with Moose in, Chase in, and next highest scorer getting 6^th Jen doesn’t need Trey to beat Brad if Mike and Chase both lose, she would just need to score 69.9 more than Mike.  If Trey wins she would need to outscore Trey by 70.0. 

Trey (6-7) 6% chance

1. Win against Brad. Moose beats Scotty. Chase loses to Joe.  Mike loses to Tommy.  This would set up Chase 7-7, Mike 7-7, Trey 7-7, and winner of Jen/Kenny at 7-7.  Trey would need to finish higher in Points For than 2 of the remaining 3.  He’s even with Mike (Trey-1355.4, Mike-1355.3) and holds a lead on Jen (1285.4), but lost to Jen in regular season.  He would need to oustcore Kenny by 28.3 (Kenny is at PF: 1383.7)  if Kenny beats Jen.  He needs Mike and Chase to both lose, because if one of them wins, then it’ll go to head to head matchup between Mike, Trey, and Jen or Mike, Trey and Kenny for 6^th  Mike beat both Kenny and Jen but lost to Trey.  Trey beat Mike and Chase, but lost to Kenny and Jen.  Jen lost to Mike, but beat Trey.  Kenny lost to Mike, but beat Trey. 
2. So let’s say Chase beats Joe, Mike loses to Tommy, Jen beats Kenny, Trey beats Brad, and Moose beats Scotty. It would be 1. JD, 2. Tommy, 3. Brad, 4. Moose, 5. Chase.  The 6^th seed would be tie breaker between Mike 7-7, Jen 7-7, and Trey 7-7.  All 3 would be 1-1 and it would go to Points For.  So who ever finishes the season with most points wins the 6^th  I think this is Trey’s ideal scenario.    

The Summary:

The 6 teams will most likely be JD, Tommy, Brad, Moose, Chase, and Mike.  Mike is the only one that is a sizeable risk to lose his spot (13%).  If he does, it would open the door for Trey, Kenny or Jen.