Welcome to the aftermath of Week 3, where the dynamics of the #GMRRFFA have shifted substantially following this weekend’s results. We still have two undefeated teams and two winless teams, both of whom have at some point this season put up a For Sale sign in the front windows.
Nonetheless, it was a pretty wild weekend, and put the best of the best squarely in control (namely, LKA!). Let’s dive right in and recap a big weekend in action…
Pain Train Derailed
Fredo Maisel’s best week of fantasy football ended abruptly this weekend when he finally faced a legitimate opponent in the way of Stabs, who had a decent performance from Deshaun Watson (31 points). Give credit to the Pain Train though, dropping a respectable 124 points, even with Chris Hogan in the rotation. (Side note about last week’s trade, where Fredo sent Golden Tate to LKA! For Hogan and draft dollars; Fredo Maisel still loses this week, but why would he send away a top-15 WR for a player with only 4 catches through 2 weeks (3 more catches on Sunday night) on 10 targets in an offense that simply doesn’t utilize WRs? A show of hands from #GMRRFFA owners; if you knew Tate was available, would you have made a better offer than the heist LKA! made? Something tells me about 4 or 5 owners could have. In any case, well-played LKA!).
Makese Stays Perfect
The quintessential underdog, Team Motley, continued its Cinderella run at perfection this week, squeaking by reigning champ and 2018 doormat Silvio, now appropriately named the Dead Sea. This was essentially a win-or-go-home game for the 2017 champ, who was saltier than the name of his team after the Zeke Eliot miscue.
Nonetheless, Makese did just enough – thank Big Ben when you can – to post an 8 point victory. While I’m already on board the bandwagon, can we not overlook the low point totals? This week, Makese posted the 10th lowest totals for the week, after posting just 116 last week. The Cinderella of #GMRRFFA better stop being cute because the low scores may come back to haunt him (ask #Smeet about his 2017 season). Recently-acquired Josh Gordon may – may not – be helpful, considering he sat out this week, and will be involved in a pretty complex offensive system that doesn’t use receivers too much (also, his personal issues are always a potential derailment, unfortunately).
I researched this – only.03% of fantasy teams on ESPN have ever had a Kicker (who actually started) in their starting line-ups post zero points in back-to-back weeks – guess what? I’m proudly part of that percentage after Greg Zuerlein’s week 2 injury and Dan Bailey being signed not to do a single damn thing over the weekend. The 0’pher was a nice distraction from two painful beatdowns this week for your favorite commissioner, but despite the appearance of a sell off, I swung TY Hilton and $50 draft dollars in to Nuk and Tarik Cohen, suggesting I’m in no way prepared to close up shop this early in the season. Facing doormat Toby next week, the commish is still in the hunt and has assets to sell you.
LKA! Wins a Big Showdown
With newly-acquired Tate officially on board, LKA! easily handled its business this weekend, squashing the once-formidable Denver ponyboys by 50+ points. Carlos’ squad never really had a chance, even with Jordy Nelson posting 31 points. LKA!’s Alvin Kamara is pretty much a unique specimen, the first player ever to rush 15 times plus have 15 receptions in a single game. In three weeks, AK has posted 45, 36, and a “pedestrian” 18 points (week 2). Kamara is the only running back in the league averaging 30+ points, and his 18-point week 2 performance is higher than the average points output of every RB minus 7. He’s a stud and I wouldn’t drop him for Johnathan Williams or trade him for Chris Thompson – EVER!
A Bad Journey Ends Prematurely
Sure, #Smeet’s Bad Journeys chalked up another L at the hands of FIL this week but man did he look better with #Fitzmagic in the line-up. Spending $55 on him on waivers last week was a nice touch of competitiveness from the former-fantasy-football-owner-now-part-time-writer #Smeet. In fact, #Smeet lost weeks 1 and 2 by close enough margins that #Fitzmagic would have won him both weeks and he’d be 2-1 today. Its ok because I still agree with his moves, but perhaps we need to find a new worst team in the league – wish we had someone…
The Champ Officially Arrives in the W Column
It was only a matter of time, but Tito Galen put an old-school beat down on his former mentor Toby this weekend to collect his first W after two rough losses to start the season. Not much was needed from the Big Gronkowskis though as Toby posted less than 100 points for the second weekend in a row. All of Tito Galen’s skill players aside from his TE posted 16+ points and three of his bench players outscored all but two of Toby’s starters this week. Tito Galen all of a sudden has some momentum heading in to one of the prime match-ups of Week 4, where he takes on the undefeated LKA!
Week Four Preview
Team Motley and Fredo’s Pain Train could be a wildly entertaining match-up of Cinderellas, and I’m curious how long the Browns’ players on Fredo’s roster continue to impress... The most electrifying match-up is LKA! vs Tito Galen’s squad. I think the Big Gronkowski needs this win – going 1-3 could be troubling in the playoff positioning battle later this year. Finally, FIL and Dorne could be a really fun match-up, but let’s hope Dorne plays someone other than Charlton Walton at running back this week.
Rivalry of the Week
This was an easy one this week, with none other than old college roommates – Stabs and Jon Del – squaring off in a pretty important match-up for both teams. Stabs is coming in to his own with a nasty roster against a quasi-desperate Jon Del, coming off a 101-point performance, and facing a brutal schedule ahead – Stabs, Fredo Maisel, Carlos, and LKA! – before getting a reprieve against the dismal Toby. The rivalry here is as old as Filipino Pride Day – a lazy excuse to play hooky while watching the first few days of the NCAA mens basketball tournament while both were allegedly in college – which Jon Del claims to be the original inventor. Despite being Italian, Stabs argued and subsequently placed legal claim on the original concept back in 2001. The two sparred over the ownership rights until Stabs officially got in to law school, and became way too busy to meander over something as non-profitable as FPD, but the animosity still exists between these one-time friends. Week 4 may be the chance for Stabs to settle the score…