Intro
We’re over halfway through the fantasy regular season, as we approach week eight! Six weeks to go before the playoffs begin week 14. GWW looks quite strong, while the Piranhas continue to falter.
On to the matchups!
Tundra Icecaps vs. Philly Special
The Icecaps got back on track last week when they throttled the Thunder, scoring over 190 points to cruise into second place in the overall standings. Their roster provided a balanced attack as their lowest scoring player was 9.40 points from flex starter Robby Anderson. Kyler Murray’s 47.20-point explosion also helped score the second highest points for the week. They are starting Teddy Bridgewater this week as Kyler Murray is on bye, but that won’t phase this team. At 5-2, the Icecaps have one of the stronger teams in the league and will battle Laces rival Philly Special this week.
Two quick losses and Philly Special’s 5-0 has become 5-2. The week did not get off to a great start after Devonta Freeman scored less than a point on Thursday night, and only continued to get worse as the week went on. Despite Tom Brady’s 47.56-point performance, the other nine starters combined for less than 90 points. A late injury from Aaron Jones over the weekend forced Philly to rely on the bench, which didn’t fare well. Philly gets some key players returning from bye this week, including Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen and Mark Andrews. This matchup this week will decide who takes sole possession of the top of the Laces division.
GalensWinningWinners vs. Sahara Sandstorms
GWW has been an unstoppable force recently, scoring over 160 the past five weeks, and over 190 in the last three. Last week, GWW scored the highest total in the league on the season, scoring 209.59 points! Picking up Jamaal Williams was a nice flex start that gave GWW over 19 points from waivers. Not including Hunter Henry (2.80), GWW had no player score less than 14.70 points, which included three players with scores over 30 points (DeShaun Watson, Drew Brees, Kansas City Def). There is no reason to say this isn’t sustainable, as Christian McCaffrey may come off the bench this week to add to the already potent lineup. Is it too early to say this is GWW championship to lose?
The Sandstorms should send a thank you note to Tyler Lockett, who scored 42 points for this team’s otherwise uninspiring starters. But a win is a win, especially when you can beat the Squatches. Moving to 4-3 and fifth overall in the league, the Sandstorms keep grinding out wins. They get Dalvin Cook back this week from bye (and hopefully injury), which should provide a boost to the team. The Sandstorms also look to be starting a Jets running back not named Frank Gore. La’Mical Perine will get the call up this week for the Sandstorms. The only problem is I’m not sure it’s enough to take down GWW. Vegas has the Sandstorms as 30-point underdogs.
Everglade Squatches vs. Amazon Piranhas
Another loss for the Squatches, bringing their record to 2-5. If you want to talk about an unimpressive roster, look no further. Justin Herbert and the Rams defense accounted for over 50% of the team’s points, scoring 47.93 and 24.00 points respectively. In their defense, it’s not like they could have done better, as their bench is thin and would not have helped them in any capacity last week. He must know CeeDee Lamb personally, as the Squatches have the faith to roll out Lamb again after getting burned last week for 0.10 points. The good news is that they get the Piranhas this week, who have been ravaged with injuries.
If you’re starting Phillip Rivers this week, you got to be doing something wrong. The Piranhas have lost their last three straight to move to 3-4. After losing Dak Prescott, the Piranhas have yet to solve the quarterback dilemma they continually face. Cam Newton and Andy Dalton combined for less than six points last week en route to an 88.52 overall output. Having James Robinson on the bench certainly didn’t help, as he scored over 30 points. The Piranhas also lost Chris Carson to injury potentially and plans to start Le’Veon Bell as of this press release. Sitting at 3-4 isn’t ideal, but neither is 3-5.
Wentz upon a Time vs. Fresh Prince of Helaire
Wentz upon a Time didn’t really have a chance last week against the dominant GWW. They also did not help the cause by starting Jalen Hurts (0.20). Only scoring 97.92 points, eight of their starters scored in single digits. This could have been much worse if Russell Wilson did not score over 40 points. Wentz is starting a more competent lineup this week, which includes Lamar Jackson in the starting lineup. At 5-2 and in third place in the standings, I think we can chalk up the loss last week as an outlier.
Winless no more! Knocking off Philly Special by scoring over 175 points, Fresh Prince got their first win to move to 1-6 on the year. Everything went right for this team for a change, with three players scoring over 30 points (Aaron Rodgers, Carson Wentz, DeVante Adams), and only two starters scoring in single digits. I would not count them out, but another loss would certainly almost eliminate them from contention. They will need more solid performances from their quarterbacks to get a win this week, and wins the rest of the year.
Prairie Dawgz vs. Tropical Thunder
Prairie Dawgz recorded their second win last week to move to 2-5 on the year. Led by Baker Mayfield’s 41.28-point performance, they took care of the Piranhas with ease. Despite starting James White (0.30) in the flex position, the Dawgz got solid performances from Terry McLaurin (15.50), Chris Godwin (17.80), and San Francisco Defense (17.50). The Dawgz face an issue this week at receiver as McLaurin has a bye, and Chris Godwin has been declared out this week. This is an issue because they only have one other receiver on the roster (Sammy Watkins). They will need to work some waiver wire magic this week.
Tropical Thunder lost last week bringing their record to 3-4 and sixth overall in the league. Five of their starters scored in single digits, which all contributed to the loss to the Icecaps. They made a great quarterback start in Joe Burrow, who scored 44.14 points for the Thunder, accounting for 33% of the team’s points. Their running backs were embarrassing last week, when Josh Jacobs, Justin Jackson and Kenyan Drake (flex) scored a combined 15.20 points. The Thunder will need to address the running back position this week if they plan on coming home with a win this week. They get a chance to do that this week when they face the Dawgz.
Closing Thoughts
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Enjoy the games this weekend!
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