Last Place Wisdom: Week Four - No jokes, just facts
After the crazy amount of black magic involved in TFLOEG last week, this week seemed to be a bit of a downer. No crazy injuries that I can think, no shocking upsets, no game deciding stat-corrections, and no evidence of anyone sacrificing a goat to the dark lords of fantasy. It makes it tough to do a truly entertaining blog post without having that as inspiration, so apologies in advance if I'm unable to live up to the high standard that I believe was set by John and myself last week.
The only game that was ever really in doubt was Curtis and Aaron, where Curtis came so close to being able to pull off his first win of the season. Only a late Drew Bree's touchdown allowed Aaron to pull it out, as it truly came down to the wire. Inconsistency bit Curtis once again, as Desean Jackson, who was his star last week, did nothing against the Giants, while Reggie Wayne put up a big game on Curtis' bench. While Luck has been incredibly consistent, the ball has been spread around too much in Indy to create another consistent weapon. Still, it's a sign of life for Curtis' team, with the hope that better things can be around the corner.
The total ineptitude of Philly's RBs has been startling to me, and the most surprising thing about this season has been Andrew's rough start. It would have been tough for him to beat me in any case, thanks to another solid QB game and fantasy superstar Antonio Brown, but I can understand how frustrating these first 4 weeks have to be for Andrew. In other news John managed to scrape an acceptable week out of his bye week fill-ins and pulled out a rare Boner Bowl victory, while Shayne and Steve both had their typically strong weeks.
Although the games themselves weren't very exciting, the first set of trades for the year were finalized, which always brings excitement to me as soon as I see the notification. While neither one is truly earth-shattering in my mind, both could have a significant impact.
I'll start with the trade I'm intimately familiar with, Curtis trading me Knowshon Moreno and Kyle Rudolph for Brian Quick and Khiry Robinson. When Moreno gets back from injury, I have no idea who will be the RB to own in Miami, so it didn't make sense to have the 2 guys split up onto different teams. I proposed 2 trades, either I trade Miller to Curt, or I get Moreno, which is the one he accepted. While Robinson might not be a longterm starter once Ingram comes back, he gives Curt a player who can fill in until hopefully Tate and Matthews come back. Quick is an interesting player (which I only bring up because I know how much John hates him), I could see him continuing to do what he's done so far; which is quietly put up 8-15 points a week, or decent flex numbers and finish the year as a completely underrated player.
The second trade caught me by surprise, although the fact Andrew is making a move at this point is not shocking; he needs to make a move to shake up his struggling roster. John is clearly trying to buy low on both Demariyus (early season disappointment) and Sproles (tough to trust any Philly RBs going forward). I didn't expect him to give up on Jeffery and Patterson so quickly, although I have to think he got the higher upside in the deal. Jeffery is consistently startable, although he might not have quite the superstar potential Thomas has. Sproles had 2 easy matchups and went off like crazy, but then has done nothing his last 2 against tougher teams, so it's tough for me to get a read on what he will be this season. The real wildcard is Patterson, who had a huge week 1 but hasn't done much since. I still love the player, and Minnesota should find a way to get him the ball more, but I do worry a bit that this won't be his breakout season after all.
Overall, it could be a win-win for both sides. On paper John should have upgraded at WR, and he doesn't really take a hit at flex considering Steve Smith Sr. or Ingram should be starting there over Patterson so far. Andrew's team gets younger and gives him some less top-heavy keeper options, with only a small hit at WR. It's probably a good thing to split up McCoy and Sproles who seem to be too all-or-nothing for my tastes, and hopefully Patterson can give Andrew that consistent WR2 he has been searching for.
Mr. Manager of the Week Award
At 4-0 it's time John gets some love in the Mr. Manager of the Week Award. While he deserves credit for the overall makeup of his team, I wanted to highlight one move in particular. While I know John is all-in on his love for Johnny Manziel, the real QB that you want from this draft class is Teddy Bridgewater. In my opinion, Mike, Curtis or Shayne all should have taken him on waivers last week, and I was a little upset to see him fall in John's lap. I think he goes on to have the best career of the 1st round QBs from this year, and could be a valuable keeper going forward.
You might be asking me, if you were so in love with Teddy, why didn't you draft him? The answer would be his bye-week, which is the same as Mr. Luck. I was hoping to snag Teddy on waivers around week 5 or 6 when I was able to make more sense of my roster, but Cassel's injury pushed up the timeline, and I was comfortable enough with my QBs to not take the chance. Time will tell if I made a mistake not acting quicker, but for now John will reap the rewards.
Injuries
Let's be honest, this segment of the blog is kinda lame. I'll probably discontinue it, so if you love hearing my hard hitting injury takes and want to see me continue it, leave a comment underneath.Alternatively, if there is any sort of topic you would like to see me make a regular feature of this blog (crazy fantasy rumours, team by team breakdowns on how I'd try and improve them, answering questions from league members, etc) feel free to suggest it.
Random Thoughts
I didn't actually watch any football this week, so I have a lot fewer thoughts and comments than otherwise.
At this point in the year, you can kind of tell if your team is for real or not. This year is maybe a little different, but I think that generally holds. What I think this means for the standings in the league:
I may be biased, but I think the teams that are 4-0 or 3-1 are in the playoffs, and I would be surprised if any of the missed. That being said, I don't think the 0-4 teams are necessarily eliminated at this point. While it will be tough for Curtis or Mike to come back, the scores for the bottom 5 teams are close enough to one another that with a little luck any of them still have a chance at snagging that last playoff spot. It will be interesting to see if this can play itself out at all.
Week Four Preview
The Keith-glorious Bastards vs The Fear Boners - I don't think there is any doubt that this should be the game of the week for Week 5 (and possibly the biggest game until the potential undefeated showdown between John and Steve in Week 8). I have a decision to make because I want to get Hopkins into my lineup, but am unsure about which RB to bench and don't want to bench Marshall after my mistake in Week 2. I'm thankful that Bridgewater is a little banged up, as #2 QB is really the only position I think I have a clear advantage over John at. In any case, it should be a good one.
BISP vs NFL Owner - I was wrong about Eli Manning this year, he's been one of Mike's most consistent producers. Unfortunately, he's been just about the only one. If I'm Mike, I take the opportunity to pick up Alfred Blue for Foster's inevitable injury. Shayne will have a choice at QB is Palmer is healthy enough to play, otherwise he should just continue to rely on Demarco Murray, who's the early season fantasy MVP.
oh that's nasty vs Sideliners - Steve has a chance to take sole possession of 1st place depending on how John and my match-up goes. I don't have much to say about his team, other than it should give him a chance to win each week. If I'm Dawson, I give up on Gerhardt for now and try rolling with Sankey or Welker. He has both of his star WRs back however, and Bell has a great matchup against Jax, which he'll need to pull this out.
NINERS vs What are the Chances - Stan is looking for a bounceback after an embarrassing loss last week. Having Manning back will help for sure, but Ball, Morris, Garcon, Edelman and Brady all have horrible matchups. I don't know what McKinnon will do, but he did look good last week, and Stan might really need him. This game is very winnable for Curt, who has a ton of lineup decisions to make. Jackson needs to come out, with either Wayne, Harvin or Quick going in, and Brown has a tough matchup against the Jets and could be replaced by Ellington or Ben Tate who should be back from injury.
Aaron-PRIMETIME-Clapperton vs RW Throws a Sexy Deep Ball - Huge Altus Geomatic matchup this week, and I know for Andrew at least it holds a ton of meaning. Pride and office bragging rights are on the line. I like Andrew's chances with the Steelers facing off against Jax, and his Bears have a potentially great matchup against Carolina whose D has looked terrible these last couple of weeks (and another lesson why you don't draft D/ST early). For Aaron to pull it out it will take a good game from his QBs, and possibly switching out CJ?K.
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| This might be the last time you see John and I this buddy-buddy for the rest of the week. |
The only game that was ever really in doubt was Curtis and Aaron, where Curtis came so close to being able to pull off his first win of the season. Only a late Drew Bree's touchdown allowed Aaron to pull it out, as it truly came down to the wire. Inconsistency bit Curtis once again, as Desean Jackson, who was his star last week, did nothing against the Giants, while Reggie Wayne put up a big game on Curtis' bench. While Luck has been incredibly consistent, the ball has been spread around too much in Indy to create another consistent weapon. Still, it's a sign of life for Curtis' team, with the hope that better things can be around the corner.
The total ineptitude of Philly's RBs has been startling to me, and the most surprising thing about this season has been Andrew's rough start. It would have been tough for him to beat me in any case, thanks to another solid QB game and fantasy superstar Antonio Brown, but I can understand how frustrating these first 4 weeks have to be for Andrew. In other news John managed to scrape an acceptable week out of his bye week fill-ins and pulled out a rare Boner Bowl victory, while Shayne and Steve both had their typically strong weeks.
Although the games themselves weren't very exciting, the first set of trades for the year were finalized, which always brings excitement to me as soon as I see the notification. While neither one is truly earth-shattering in my mind, both could have a significant impact.
I'll start with the trade I'm intimately familiar with, Curtis trading me Knowshon Moreno and Kyle Rudolph for Brian Quick and Khiry Robinson. When Moreno gets back from injury, I have no idea who will be the RB to own in Miami, so it didn't make sense to have the 2 guys split up onto different teams. I proposed 2 trades, either I trade Miller to Curt, or I get Moreno, which is the one he accepted. While Robinson might not be a longterm starter once Ingram comes back, he gives Curt a player who can fill in until hopefully Tate and Matthews come back. Quick is an interesting player (which I only bring up because I know how much John hates him), I could see him continuing to do what he's done so far; which is quietly put up 8-15 points a week, or decent flex numbers and finish the year as a completely underrated player.
The second trade caught me by surprise, although the fact Andrew is making a move at this point is not shocking; he needs to make a move to shake up his struggling roster. John is clearly trying to buy low on both Demariyus (early season disappointment) and Sproles (tough to trust any Philly RBs going forward). I didn't expect him to give up on Jeffery and Patterson so quickly, although I have to think he got the higher upside in the deal. Jeffery is consistently startable, although he might not have quite the superstar potential Thomas has. Sproles had 2 easy matchups and went off like crazy, but then has done nothing his last 2 against tougher teams, so it's tough for me to get a read on what he will be this season. The real wildcard is Patterson, who had a huge week 1 but hasn't done much since. I still love the player, and Minnesota should find a way to get him the ball more, but I do worry a bit that this won't be his breakout season after all.
Overall, it could be a win-win for both sides. On paper John should have upgraded at WR, and he doesn't really take a hit at flex considering Steve Smith Sr. or Ingram should be starting there over Patterson so far. Andrew's team gets younger and gives him some less top-heavy keeper options, with only a small hit at WR. It's probably a good thing to split up McCoy and Sproles who seem to be too all-or-nothing for my tastes, and hopefully Patterson can give Andrew that consistent WR2 he has been searching for.
Mr. Manager of the Week Award
At 4-0 it's time John gets some love in the Mr. Manager of the Week Award. While he deserves credit for the overall makeup of his team, I wanted to highlight one move in particular. While I know John is all-in on his love for Johnny Manziel, the real QB that you want from this draft class is Teddy Bridgewater. In my opinion, Mike, Curtis or Shayne all should have taken him on waivers last week, and I was a little upset to see him fall in John's lap. I think he goes on to have the best career of the 1st round QBs from this year, and could be a valuable keeper going forward.
You might be asking me, if you were so in love with Teddy, why didn't you draft him? The answer would be his bye-week, which is the same as Mr. Luck. I was hoping to snag Teddy on waivers around week 5 or 6 when I was able to make more sense of my roster, but Cassel's injury pushed up the timeline, and I was comfortable enough with my QBs to not take the chance. Time will tell if I made a mistake not acting quicker, but for now John will reap the rewards.
Let's be honest, this segment of the blog is kinda lame. I'll probably discontinue it, so if you love hearing my hard hitting injury takes and want to see me continue it, leave a comment underneath.Alternatively, if there is any sort of topic you would like to see me make a regular feature of this blog (crazy fantasy rumours, team by team breakdowns on how I'd try and improve them, answering questions from league members, etc) feel free to suggest it.
Random Thoughts
I didn't actually watch any football this week, so I have a lot fewer thoughts and comments than otherwise.
At this point in the year, you can kind of tell if your team is for real or not. This year is maybe a little different, but I think that generally holds. What I think this means for the standings in the league:
I may be biased, but I think the teams that are 4-0 or 3-1 are in the playoffs, and I would be surprised if any of the missed. That being said, I don't think the 0-4 teams are necessarily eliminated at this point. While it will be tough for Curtis or Mike to come back, the scores for the bottom 5 teams are close enough to one another that with a little luck any of them still have a chance at snagging that last playoff spot. It will be interesting to see if this can play itself out at all.
Week Four Preview
The Keith-glorious Bastards vs The Fear Boners - I don't think there is any doubt that this should be the game of the week for Week 5 (and possibly the biggest game until the potential undefeated showdown between John and Steve in Week 8). I have a decision to make because I want to get Hopkins into my lineup, but am unsure about which RB to bench and don't want to bench Marshall after my mistake in Week 2. I'm thankful that Bridgewater is a little banged up, as #2 QB is really the only position I think I have a clear advantage over John at. In any case, it should be a good one.
BISP vs NFL Owner - I was wrong about Eli Manning this year, he's been one of Mike's most consistent producers. Unfortunately, he's been just about the only one. If I'm Mike, I take the opportunity to pick up Alfred Blue for Foster's inevitable injury. Shayne will have a choice at QB is Palmer is healthy enough to play, otherwise he should just continue to rely on Demarco Murray, who's the early season fantasy MVP.
oh that's nasty vs Sideliners - Steve has a chance to take sole possession of 1st place depending on how John and my match-up goes. I don't have much to say about his team, other than it should give him a chance to win each week. If I'm Dawson, I give up on Gerhardt for now and try rolling with Sankey or Welker. He has both of his star WRs back however, and Bell has a great matchup against Jax, which he'll need to pull this out.
NINERS vs What are the Chances - Stan is looking for a bounceback after an embarrassing loss last week. Having Manning back will help for sure, but Ball, Morris, Garcon, Edelman and Brady all have horrible matchups. I don't know what McKinnon will do, but he did look good last week, and Stan might really need him. This game is very winnable for Curt, who has a ton of lineup decisions to make. Jackson needs to come out, with either Wayne, Harvin or Quick going in, and Brown has a tough matchup against the Jets and could be replaced by Ellington or Ben Tate who should be back from injury.
Aaron-PRIMETIME-Clapperton vs RW Throws a Sexy Deep Ball - Huge Altus Geomatic matchup this week, and I know for Andrew at least it holds a ton of meaning. Pride and office bragging rights are on the line. I like Andrew's chances with the Steelers facing off against Jax, and his Bears have a potentially great matchup against Carolina whose D has looked terrible these last couple of weeks (and another lesson why you don't draft D/ST early). For Aaron to pull it out it will take a good game from his QBs, and possibly switching out CJ?K.
Philly Cheesesteaks at Boston Pizza, good times! While I agree with your thoughts on Philly RBs, I have a feeling McCoy is about to take a corner on a dime. The addition of Lane Johnson to the O-line is an upgrade, the rest you gotta George Michael it (read: gotta have faith not Arrested Development). I wanted to potentially grab McCoy in the trade with Andrew as well, but I didn't want to give up Marshawn or Giovanni and I felt anything less would be a trade rape which I don't do. Collusion when I can, but a trade rape never. To get it out of the way I don't hate Quick. I bow to the altar of Chris Wessling and Marc Sessler, and their opinion that Edward Jones Dome/St. Louis football fans (Mike) make watching a game as enjoyable as visiting a "venerable mausoleum." I'm trying not to keep players on my roster this year that are A. Good and B. I want to watch (Philip Rivers the obvious "shotgun wedding" exception). Any St. Louis player need not apply. Which brings me to the "blockbuster" trade of 2014. First things first, I didn't give up on Jeffrey he will be draft value gold for Andrew next year and especially the year after when Marshall is sipping pina coladas. Check that, crown floats (because due to the differing alcohol viscosities the have two personalities visually and as a taste consistency) (like Marshall). However, you are correct I did want to establish a rival best WR combo to combat the tyranny of Dawson and his Titans Two. Sproles was more of a toss in for sentimental reasons. This, of course, leads me to the big fish, Patterson. I'm not going to say I didn't try to offer Andrew S.S.Sr. instead but I wanted it to be fair in his eyes and Patterson has high upside potential that can break out at any minute. I just couldn't wait for him to do it any longer and I certainly could see myself regretting giving him up. Flattery will get you nowhere, but Teddy? I love him so far. I'd love love love Manziel to get a shot though, every Cleveland game becomes must watch tv. I'm fine with you ditching Injuries. Finally, if I was you I'd plug Hopkins in this week. But it's your team fella!
ReplyDeleteObviously the portion of my comment that says:
Delete"I'm trying not to keep players on my roster this year that are A. Good and B. I want to watch (Philip Rivers the obvious "shotgun wedding" exception)."
Should have read:
"I'm trying to keep players on my roster this year that are A. Good and B. I want to watch (Philip Rivers the obvious "shotgun wedding" exception)."
I've jinxed my season.