Week 6 Recap: The Breaks of the Game

Congratulations, you’ve all made it to the midway point of the season with me, and like all of you, I have DEFINITELY enjoyed the ride as an owner of the 17th best bi-coastal 14-team keeper league headquarted in Washington, DC.

Week 6 offered some pretty spectacular heartbreak – Aaron Rodgers (no), the Big Gronk losing because the Bears went in to OT (no), Toby actually winning this week (nope); the heart break goes to poor Matty Minnella, who needed (and got) a big Derrick Henry fantasy night (including a long garbage TD) but still lost. Sad face…

On to the more interesting factoids of Week 6…

What’s In a Name? (Part 2)

Sad days are here for Stabs, our last remaining undefeated team who got much-deserved love from the commissioner last week, but I couldn’t help but include one little tidbit in the Week 5 recap: “…Stabs is the sole remaining undefeated team, and two games up for his division. Not sure he’s the team to beat (seriously, one bad game from the Packers and his team is toast)...” Welp, against bottom-feeder Makese last week, the shoe dropped and broke Aaron Rodgers’ collarbone, he’s out for the season and Stabs suffered a disappointing 15 point loss. With two teams just one game back and Rodgers out for the season, I’m not sure where Stabs goes from here.  Keep in mind, Stabs has Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Randall Cobb AND Martellus Bennett on his roster, so this may be the cliff and the fall may be a long one (especially with Ty Montgomery taking back his starting spot). I’m eagerly looking forward to offering Stabs Eli Manning trades this week, but good news is Andy Dalton, Josh McCown, Blake Bortles, Case Keenum, and Brian Hoyer all remain available. I’m secretly hoping he swipes smokin’ Jay Cutler this week, but good luck to the current division leader…

Sad Gronk Mad

Tough loss for the formidable Big Gronkowskis, losing to my folks by just 4.7 points… Evan Engram almost brought him back, but I’d be remised not to mention that Bears-Ravens game in my win (and how luck is all FFB really is). With 1:37 left in the 4th, the mighty Bears led 24-16, and had a 94% win probability, only to watch the Ravens return a punt for the TD and convert a 2-point conversion. Subsequently, in the extra period, stud Jordan Howard rushed for 55 yards plus one catch, for an extra 7.4 points added to his totals in a game that had no business going to extra time… tough luck for the Gronks…

Morabito Love?

My dear father-in-law (STLU) and brother-in-law (ponyboys) took advantage of our 14 days together in Italy, heeding every ounce of fantasy football advice I provided them and running amok in a league many thought they wouldn’t even be competitive in (I’m joking; STLU sends me angry texts when I make trade offers, and the ponyboys PAID me to not make any more offers). John and STLU have thrown 3 straight wins on the board, and are just one game out of first place in the Fire Division, surviving a late scare from Matty last night… Carlos and the pony boys are even more impressive, throwing up 3 straight wins (against better competition) while dropping 187.1 and 141.3 over the last two weeks. Schedules get tough for both though, particularly Carlos, including an intra-family faceoff this week (which would be epic if Carlos cared whatsoever about fantasy football). STLU faces two more teams with winning records the after this week, but Carlos will see both division leaders and the brother he always wanted in Week 11. In any case, legitimate props to both Morabitos and I’m just happy someone on the west coast is competitive (right Silvio???)

Cupcakes Can be Good

I called the 1-4 Makese cupcakes last week, but thanks to an ill-advised collarbone breaking, he defeated Stabs to improve to 2-4… I hate to say he’s got a chance, but Makese ABSOLUTELY HAS A CHANCE TO RUN THE TABLE. Despite having a crappy team, Makese only faces one more team with a winning record (ponyboys in Week 12) the rest of the way, and aside from Carlos, his remaining opponents have a combined 11-23 record. Makese is literally facing the worst teams in the league aside from Carlos (Yea Coop, I’m including you in that assessment), so maybe a Tom Brady run and some more lucky breaks (PUN Alert) and we could see Makese sneak in to the playoffs.

The Week Ahead

Aside from the intra-Morabito clash of two 4-2 teams, we have some fun ones to watch… in the Fire Division, Dorne at 5-1 faces the Big Gronk at 4-2. After OBJ went down in Week 5, Dorne put up a paltry 77 points in a win over the now-official cellar dweller ASOMIAF, so he needs to rebound in a big way for both his division lead and playoff positioning against the Gronks… I’m watching A Team Has No Name because he needs a win badly. After starting 3-0, Coop has dropped three in a row, following the theme of his team’s 2016 campaign, where they dropped faster than the Packers’ super bowl odds after Rodgers went down. He’s up against a desperate ANUS, who at 2-4 needs to keep pace but is also getting married this weekend (hey Congrats again Silvio!). If Coop can’t beat Silvio ANUS this week, I think we can officially send him a 2018 draft packet… Personally, my favorite match-up is Men’Julio squaring off against the Vienna Sausages, if for no other reason than we need Matt to win and stay vested in the league. Last week, he started an injured Gronk and still barely won. This week, he watched Derek Henry almost get him a win but didn’t. A loss here could wrap up not only his season, but his interest in the league, which would be ultimately unfortunate for all of us and a tad earlier than expected.

Playoffs

If you’re 3-3, you’re in right now; if you’re 1-5 you actually still have a shot at post-season glory. But all those teams with losing records (and Coop, you too because your team is dying a slow death), every win is critical…

Good luck this week!