Week 4 Recap

Well, we've made it through the first four weeks of the season, and amazingly there are still a few healthy players left on rosters.  To add insult to injuries, getting to Week 5 means...that's right.. BYE weeks are starting.  God help us.

On to the matchups..

Jordan faced off against my team, and Josh Jacobs looked electric, especially in the receiving game, tallying 157 total yards and 2 scores.  Drake London also put together his first 100+ yard game of the season, along with his first TD.  Unfortunately not enough to secure a win this week, and on top of that, the Packers & Falcons are on Bye in Week 5, so he'll need to find some replacement production somewhere.  Dropping to the dreaded 0-4, hopefully Jordan's locker-room pep talk can help rally his troops to get that first win...

Jordan will hope to get the monkey off his back when he squares off with Matt.

Brice got big games out of Puka & McCaffrey to win vs Matt's team this week.

Puka went for 170 with a TD, and is the top scoring WR on the season.  CMC continues to do his thing, and is heavily involved in all facets of their offense...he already has over 300 RECEIVING yards through 4 games.

Lamar Jackson did leave early with a hamstring injury, so his status for Week 5 is definitely up in the air at this point.  We'll see how it plays out, but worth noting that the Ravens have a Bye in week 7, so it's not completely out of the question to think they may rest him until after the Bye.  

Brice goes up against Kyle in Week 5.

Matt had to deal with frustrating output from A.J. Brown & Ja'Marr Chase this week.  And with as bad as the Bengals have looked on offense recently, I can't really envision being able to have confidence in any of their position players for the foreseeable future.  On top of those receiver woes, Tyreek Hill left Monday night's game with a dislocated knee, which I can only imagine will put an end to Hill's season.  No official word as of yet, but either way, Matt will have some decisions to make with his WR room going forward.

Matt drops to 2-2 and faces Jordan this week.

There have been several extremely close matchups already this year, and Dan & Kent's rivalry definitely checked that box this week as well.

Dan got JUST enough out of Bo Nix and J.K. Dobbins on Monday night to secure the victory, and moves to 3-1 on the year.  Not everything is flowers & rainbows though, as Kent did put a hex on Dan's team prior to the matchup, and Dan lost superstar WR Malik Nabers for the season to an ACL tear.

Luckily for Dan, he does have crazy wide receiver depth, so I'm not sure it will be too much of a blow to his squad going forward.  Guess we'll find out, as Dan goes up against Zach's team in Week 5.

I mentioned last week that Kent may have hit the jackpot with rookie RBs Omarion Hampton and Quinshon Judkins essentially earning starting roles, and they certainly showed what they were capable of right out of the gate.  I expect that trend to continue.  Unfortunately a poor game script led to an unusually quiet week from Derrick Henry, while Keenan Allen & DeVonta Smith didn't contribute much either.

Kent drops a close one and falls to 1-3.  He'll look to rebound vs Tom this week.

Tom's RB duo of Bijan & James Cook have been consistently putting up 40+ points combined each & every week.  That kind of baseline production is nice to have, and hard to win against.  His shrewd managerial move to play Dallas Goedert also paid off, as he put up two scores and gave him the edge he needed in this close matchup with Ramsey.

Tom moves up to 3-1 on the season.

Despite an extremely lackluster start to the year, Ashton Jeanty finally woke up for Ramsey's team in Week 4, putting up 155 combined yards and 3 TDs to go along with it.

That kind of breakthrough performance can at least let Ramsey finally exhale, as he should be able to start him with more confidence going forward, knowing what he's capable of.  Justin Jefferson also notched his first 100+ yard game of the year.

Ramsey now sits at 2-2 and goes up against my team this week.

It has not been easy sledding for Kyle so far, but he secured his first win in another matchup where he needed a big week in order to get it done.  DK Metcalf has found the endzone in his last 3 games, but the yardage totals have been lacking until this week, to say the least.  Metcalf put up 126 yards to go with a TD, but gets a Bye this upcoming week.

With Braelon Allen leaving Monday's game with a knee injury, I imagine Breece Hall will get a significant increase in workload until he can return.  May be the shot-in-the-arm Kyle's team needs.  Josh Allen & Saquon are still the cornerstones of his lineup, although Barkley has yet to put on a highlight performance so far this season.

Kyle moves to 1-3 and faces Brice this week.

Zach's squad actually had a very productive week, despite his kicker putting up a goose-egg and the Packers D contributing negative points.  Amon-Ra St. Brown now has 6 TDs already on the season, Egbuka is looking rock-solid, and Javonte Williams has been a certified bellcow.

Add Bucky Irving's name to the injury list, as he was banged up in Sunday's game.  I haven't heard the severity yet, but it will be something to keep an eye on this week to see if he'll be missing any time.  Zach drops to 1-3 and will look to rebound in a matchup with Dan in Week 5.

Alright I think that's about it for me.  Best of luck with the Bye week & all the matchups.

- Eric

Week 3 Recap

Whew, we survived week 3 (sort of)...

Toes are the least of our problems now, as new injuries seemed to keep piling on this week.

Brice & I had a fun little back & forth matchup that came down to the wire on Monday Night Football and ended up with me squeaking out a win by .12 points.  As of this morning, it wouldn't surprise me if he was shooting off a few emails to the NFL to double-check if there are any stat corrections.

The range of emotions witnessed from Brice last night was pretty legendary, however..

Brice falls to 2-1 and goes up vs Matt in Week 4.

 

Zach got massive performances out of Jalen Hurts and Jordan Mason this week, to secure his first win of the season.  Mason should be a very strong play for as long as Aaron Jones is sidelined.  Zach secures his first win of the year and faces off with Kyle in Week 4.

Kent drops to 1-2 and fell victim to an unfortunate injury to CeeDee Lamb early in the game, before he could even get any fantasy points on the board.  Indications are that Lamb is going to miss some time...how MUCH time is the real question.  Considering Kent's WR depth, it may not be much of an issue.

Speaking of depth, Kent leveled up two of his rookie RBs this week.  With Najee Harris out for the year with an Achilles injury, Hampton should immediately vault into an every-week RB start.  Quinshon Judkins (Browns rookie RB) was finally unleashed against a tough Packers D, and still managed a strong fantasy day.  These are two pretty huge developments, and I think it bodes well for rest-of-season.

In a matchup that I'm sure will see no trash-talk back & forth, Kent faces Dan's team in Week 4.

Speaking of, Dan's built quite the core of receiver talent, anchored by Nico Collins, Malik Nabers, and the breakout of Rome Odunze.  You know you have an embarrassment of riches when most of the players on your bench are putting up double-digit fantasy points as well.

Ramsey drops to 2-1, but has his own solid core of WR playmakers.  He just had a quieter-than-usual week from Jefferson, who wasn't really needed in the Vikings' blowout win.  Jaxon Smith-Njigba led his team in scoring and is a locked-in WR1.

Jeanty has been disappointing so far, but rookie RBs don't always start hot right out of the gate.  Ramsey gets a date with Tom in Week 4.

Tom's team, led by his dynamic duo of elite RBs, came out just ahead in his extremely close matchup with Jordan. 

James Cook now has 355 total yards and 4 TDs through his first 3 games of the season, and seems locked-in as an elite option every week.  If Tom can persuade the rest of his team to consistently contribute, I'll like his odds the rest of the season.

Jordan came out on the short-side of this one, losing by less than two-tenths of a point.  Kyren Williams has been very reliable and led his team in scoring this week.  Unfortunately Jordan's team drops to 0-3.  It's still early, but the next few weeks will be critical to try and get a couple wins.

What can I say about Matt's team... They are on an absolute tear, putting up the highest score in the league in back-to-back weeks.  And this week, it wasn't even close.  Jonathan Taylor is the #1 scoring RB on the season, Travis Etienne has been surprisingly effective so far, and A.J. Brown decided to wake from the dead.  Also helps when Minnesota's defense puts up 30 points by embarrassing the faltering Bengals.

The only real question marks are whether or not Ja'Marr Chase can get competent throws with Browning at QB, and if Taylor Swift is going to write her entire next album about Kelce's inability to perform.  I swear every time they show Kelce on the sidelines, he's giving an earful to Andy Reid.  Is it a lover's quarrel?... jealousy over who has the better mustache?  Had to say with any degree of certainty.

Now for a live look at Kyle..

In his defense, he's had some really tough matchups to start the season. But as long as his team is scoring like they have been, I expect his luck to turn around.

Kyle will look to secure his first win in a matchup with Zach in Week 4.

That's it for me, best of luck in this week's matchups!

- Eric

Week 2 Recap

Week 2 in the books.

Dan's team rebounded nicely, thanks in large part to Malik Nabers, who hauled in 9 catches for 167 yards and 2 scores.  He's on pace to see 200+ targets this year, so I'm sure this won't be the last monster game he puts up.  Kenneth Walker also decided to show up in Week 2, after scaring the hell out of fantasy managers with his performance in Week 1.

J.J. McCarthy left the game with an ankle sprain and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.  TBD if Dan has the stones to pick up & play Carson Wentz next week. Luckily Dan will have various options... unfortunately the Vikings do not.

As for Jordan's team..  Pour one out for "Toe" Burrow..   Burrow left Sunday's game with a toe injury after a sack. I can only assume it must have been the big toe (or one of the other important ones), because apparently the surgery needed will sideline him for up to 3 months. 

For those that didn't see the injury play out, here's a quick re-enactment of what it looked like:

Jordan moves to 0-2 and will try to rally his troops for his Week 3 matchup with Tom.

Brice is off to a hot start at 2-0.  Lamar Jackson, Puka, and CMC all put forth solid efforts, which were needed in a high scoring matchup.  Brice & I will face-off to see which one of us remains undefeated after Week 3.

Tom's team also had a great week, but didn't have QUITE enough juice to walk away with a win.  James Cook is looking like a steal so far at his 3rd round draft spot, and Bijan is just doing Bijan things.  That RB combo is lookin pretty scary so far.  Tom moves to 1-1 and faces Jordan in Week 3.

Matt showed his resolve and his team bounced back in a big way, displaying some serious heart in Week 2, en route to putting up the highest team score of the week. 

Jonathan Taylor had over 200 total yards and Ja'Marr Chase hauled in 14 catches and a score to move Matt to 1-1.  He'll hope that team momentum carries over into Week 3's matchup with Kyle's squad.

Zach's team put up 117 after Amon-Ra St. Brown went nuclear, scoring 3 TDs.  Javonte Williams is wondering why we all ignored him in the draft (was taken in the 13th round).  He's essentially been their bellcow back so far, and has 3 TDs through 2 weeks.

Zach will have a "get right" matchup with Kent this week.

Ramsey gets out of the gates at 2-0 after taking down Kent this week.

Jeanty has had a slow start to his season, but Baker Mayfield has taken Ramsey's team on his back and looks locked in. 

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has solidified himself as the elite WR he is, with back-to-back 100 yard games to start the year.

Ramsey will look to keep this train rolling vs Dan this week.

For Kent's team.. Derrick Henry looked like an unstoppable force in week 1, but the Ravens didn't need to lean on him in this game.  It happens, I wouldn't be worried.  What I WOULD be a little worried about is Omarion Hampton, who followed up a so-so showing in Week 1 with a disaster of a game last night.  He was credited with 3 points, but could have had a lost fumble attributed to him as well (they gave the fumble to Herbert on the handoff, since I don't think he ever actually got possession).

Jayden Daniels is day-to-day with a knee injury also, so Kent will have a few things to think about going into his Week 3 matchup with Zach.

Josh Allen came back to earth this week, and Kyle's team overall just played a bit too flat to get the W.  I'm expecting a bounce-back game from Allen in the Thursday Night Game vs the Dolphins, because Miami's defense hasn't been able to stop anything so far this season.

Kyle gets paired up with Matt this week.

That's all i've got for now.  Good luck with your Week 3 matchups!

- Eric

2025 Season Kickoff & Week 1 Recap

Figured I'd get back in the swing of things and do some weekly writeups whenever I have time.  I used to do them regularly (sometimes every single week), but last season, my work schedule was pretty insane, so I didn't get in the habit of doing them.

I think Ramsey actually brought up the idea a few years back of having a ring as a trophy, so (in addition to the $$) that's what is up for grabs this year for the winner of the Playoffs:

On to the Week 1 Recaps...

If you were curious.. Last year in week 1, our league scored an average of 107.37 points.  This year, 98.62 points.  So a slow week from a scoring perspective, hopefully that ramps up in Week 2.

Welcome to the league, Matt!

Didn't realize he'd take the loss so hard, so I swung by his houseboat to talk him into sticking it out...

Brice (1-0), we've gotta have a talk about your QB though.  It was like 60 degrees for that game, what is this?

Apparently starting Cornholio, Brice is fully embracing the chaos this year, also drafting CMC in the first round, and (at least so far) it's paying off.  Not sure I would be able to live in that state of constant anxiety waiting to hear the next update about McCaffrey's health, but I respect the bold move.

And it's proving to be worth it as of now, as he absolutely steamrolled Dan (0-1), our returning champ's team.  And by "team", it was more like a band of misfits in Week 1.  Not a single rushing or receiving TD...ouch.  But hey, several of your bench guys had a few scores, so looks like they're trying to earn a spot.

Dan will look to rebound vs Jordan in Week 2.

Speaking of, Jordan's team lost in a close one, no thanks to Joe Burrow and the Bengals' pathetic offense.  The rest of his lineup played decent enough, and was pretty balanced.  I mean, like identical stat-lines kinda balanced...

Kent was led to victory on the back of the freak that is Derrick Henry.  Every year there are people who say he's gonna fall off, too old, etc, etc.. but he looked every bit as dominant as ever on Sunday night.  Can you be both elite and old at the same time?

Henry is an anomaly, but he's one you want to have on your roster.  Kent gets a matchup with Ramsey in Week 2.

Ramsey (1-0) WILL have to find a tight end for that matchup though, as George Kittle is set to miss 3-5 weeks after breaking a beer bottle over his head.  Ok I'm not 100% sure if that was the exact nature of his injury, but I also don't think anyone would be totally surprised if that was the case.

Zach (0-1) got a solid game out of Hurts and a 2-score effort from Javonte Williams, but it wasn't quite enough this week.  Egbuka, the rookie wideout, also managed a couple TDs on the day, so he could earn a spot in his lineup going forward.  Zach & Matt will face off for Week 2.

The battle of the heavyweights was between Tom & Kyle, with the top 2 scores of the week.  Both of them actually managed to start solid lineups, which is more than I can say for most of us.  Tom's 3 starting RBs scored over 54 points and awarded him the narrow victory.

For Kyle's team, Josh Allen ALONE probably would have had 54 points if that game had gone into OT.  Allen may end up being a very prudent 2nd round draft pick.

That's all I've got for now.  Best of luck on the waiver wire, and in your Week 2 matchups.

- Eric