Football is back! It was an eventful week 1 which saw some dominating performances but also a couple poor performances as well. The important thing to remember is not to overreact. With that in mind, let’s get to the matchups!
Amazon Piranhas 136.10 – 92.08 Tropical Thunder
Both teams underperformed this week, but all the Piranhas had to do was start a somewhat competent lineup and they still would have won this week. Scoring over 135 points, they were significantly helped by Trevor Lawrence (25), Christian McCaffrey (20) and the San Francisco defense (21). The Piranhas lineup was far from perfect, as they started Aaron Rodgers (1) and Brandon Aiyuk (0). Luckily, that did not pose any threat to them winning this week.
Well, the Thunder had a week to forget. Only scoring a measly 92 points, the Thunder had the worst lineup in the league. Over half of their lineup scored in single digits, including their first three picks in the draft. Ezekiel Elliot (4), Stefon Diggs (7), and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (7) all did not pull their weight based off their draft capital. The Thunder also did not benefit from starting Ryan Fitzpatrick (0) as he suffered a hip injury early in the game. Ultimately, I wouldn’t overreact to this poor output, but it certainly isn’t something to be proud of.
Sahara Sandstorms 149.90 – 113.58 GalensWinningWinners
The Sandstorms put up a solid effort this week, thanks in part to Kyler Murray (41), Joe Burrow (22), Cooper Kupp (17) and the Carolina defense (17), who added to the fourth highest score this week. Even starting Robert Tonyan (1) did not set the Sandstorms back this week. Overall, it was a great performance for a team looking to make its second career playoff appearance.
GWW came up short this week, scoring the third least points in the league. They started DeAndre Hopkins (20) which was good, but everyone else was middle of the pack. Half their roster scored in single digits on way to the 113-point output. Lamar Jackson (21) was the highest scorer. This team has promise, but we didn’t see it in week 1.
Hurts so Good 151.54 – 108.45 Everglade Squatches
Hurts so Good had four players score over 20 points, including Tyler Locket (22), Nick Chubb (21), Travis Kelce (20) and Jalen Hurts (35). HSG other starters supported the roster on route to their convincing win against the Squatches. They might need some running back depth though as Raheem Mostert is now out for eight weeks with an injury. Up and down, this team has the potential to make some noise this season, granted they stay healthy.
The Squatches always have the most hype in the league but were clearly overmatched this week and perhaps overhyped. After getting 33 points from Dak Prescott on Thursday, they didn’t get much support otherwise, with 60% of the starters scoring in single digits. The Squatches also decided to start the unproven Jaguars defense against the Texans rather than the established defense of the Steelers against the Bills. That went as you would expect it would and blew up in the face of the Squatches, with the Jags defense scoring 1 point, and the Steelers defense scoring 23 sitting on the bench. Let’s hope the Squatches make better start/sit decisions if they want to live up to the pre-season hype.
Tundra Icecaps 187.15 – 137.52 All I do is Winston
The reigning champion Icecaps picked up right where they left off and scored the most points in the league by far with 187. Russell Wilson (35), Matthew Stafford (30) and Tyreek Hill (27) were the main scorers in this potent lineup. The Icecaps even had four additional players score more than 15 points. There appears to be no holes in this lineup and early indications point to another strong season for the Icecaps.
All I do is Winston scored a respectable 137 points but wasn’t enough to beat the Icecaps. They got 60 points from quarterbacks Josh Allen (20) and Jameis Winston (40) and then another 22 from Joe Mixon. Otherwise, five starters scored single digits. Deebo Samuel was left on the bench, scoring 24 points, not that it would have mattered in this matchup. There is room for improvement in this roster.
Philly Special 157.27 – 155.72 Hipple’s Heroes
The matchup of the week! Coming down to the wire on Monday night, it all came down to the Baltimore defense to decide the winner. Needing 9 points to win, Philly Special had the Baltimore defense and Hipple’s Heroes had no players. At the end of regulation, Philly held the lead by a single point but would have to wait an additional overtime period to be declared the winner. The early overtime touchdown from the Raiders doomed Philly, as the additional points allowed from the Ravens would give the win to the Heroes. However, the touchdown was overturned, and a subsequent interception essentially gave the win to Philly Special. The touchdown from the Raiders later in overtime did subtract points from Philly’s total but it was too late for the Heroes.
Otherwise, this was a high scoring affair and the closest matchup of the week. PS had Patrick Mahomes (39), Kirk Cousins (26), Amari Cooper (27) and Adam Thielen (21), who all had big weeks to score over 157 points. What is even more impressive, is that they started Ronald Jones who scored negative points (-0.6) and Saquon Barkley (2). Either way, a well fought win for Philly Special.
Hipple’s Heroes had a great week scoring over 155 points and was the third highest scorer in the league but played against a team that scored the second most points this week. The Heroes got off to a blazing start on Thursday, starting Tom Brady (35) and Rob Gronkowski (21) and Chris Godwin (16). On Sunday, they added Dalvin Cook (15) and Sam Darnold (21), but it was not enough to get the win.
WEEK 2 MATCHUPS
Amazon Piranhas (1-0) vs. Hipple’s Heroes (0-1)
Hurts so Good (1-0) vs. All I do is Winston (0-1)
Tropical Thunder (0-1) vs. Everglade Squatches (0-1)
Tundra Icecaps (1-0) vs. GalensWinningWinners (0-1)
Sahara Sandstorms (1-0) vs. Philly Special (1-0)
News from Around the League
Overreaction? After being beaten by Amari Cooper in week 1, Hipple’s Heroes sent DK Metcalf and Jakobi Meyers for Cooper in a trade completed with Philly Special.
This is the second trade completed from manager Ben Hipple who sent Gus Edwards and De’Andre Swift to the Tundra Icecaps for running back Damien Harris before week 1.
Cheers!
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