We’re officially halfway through the fantasy football season! The Icecaps, Philly Special and the Sandstorms won again to strengthen their lead on the rest of the league. As for the NFL, the Cardinals won 31-5 over the Texans, which was the first ever game to end with that final score in the history of the NFL. Meanwhile, the Panthers have found what they have in Sam Darnold and do not like it at all. The Chiefs scored three points in the entire game against the Titans and the Bengals dominated the Ravens 41-17, and actually hold the number one overall seed in the AFC playoff picture if you can believe it. Yes, the Cincinnati Bengals hold the number one seed in the AFC playoff picture as of October 26, 2021. I also hope no one was outside in the pouring rain like the two primetime games this weekend, as the weather was clearly a factor during the games.
On to the recaps!
Philly Special 131.83 – 125.02 Everglade Squatches
Philly Special: Philly scraped by with a win this week over the Squatches, bringing their record to 5-2. Ja’Marr Chase continues to make his case for rookie of the year as his performances on the field are as impressive, if not more impressive than his fantasy point values. AJ Brown also had his breakout week along with Kenyan Drake, as well as a much-needed Monday night performance from DK Metcalf. There was still bad starts for this team, as the quarterback position combined for 14 points which was reminiscent of Tropical Thunder this season. Patrick Mahomes and Jimmy Garoppolo made this matchup closer than it should have been but the quarterbacks on the other side were equally as bad for the Squatches.
Great starts: DK Metcalf (15), AJ Brown (20), Kenyan Drake (14), Ja’Marr Chase (27)
Bad starts: Patrick Mahomes (7), Jimmy Garoppolo (7), Noah Fant (4)
Squatches: The Squatches have got to be frustrated about this one as the loss will drop them to 4-3. They had a relatively balanced lineup with seven of eight non-QB starters score in the range of 12-20 points. That included the Packers defense, Jonathan Taylor, and Kyle Pitts. Kicker Brandon McManus could be partly to blame, with his two extra points he had on Thursday night to start off the week. But more realistically you would have to look at the quarterback position to potentially assign blame. Set aside Zach Wilson because he got injured and let’s just look at Geno Smith. The Squatches were down five going into Monday night and had Geno Smith to play, while Philly Special just had DK Metcalf. A win was certainly in the range of outcomes for this week. All Smith had to do was essentially throw a touchdown to anyone except Metcalf. Well, the first (and only) touchdown that Geno Smith threw went to DK Metcalf, for 84 yards. Smith would then throw for an additional 83 passing yards for the rest of the night. Needless to say, I do not think Geno Smith will be getting any Christmas cards from the Squatches this year.
Quality starts: Cordarrelle Patterson (12), Marquise Brown (14), Jonathan Taylor (16), Josh Jacobs (13), Kyle Pitts (17), James Connor (12), Packers defense (19)
Bad starts: Zach Wilson (2), Geno Smith (14), Brandon McManus (2)
Sahara Sandstorms 180.68 – 149.05 Amazon Piranhas
Sandstorms: Another dominating outing from the Sandstorms. Consistently putting up insane scoring performances week in and week out have made this team an early favorite for a championship. Cooper Kupp continues to be a cheat code and one of the best 2021 draft selections this year. Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow have also been great for this squad this season from the quarterback position setting the attitude for this franchise. However, they did bench the aforementioned Joe Burrow who scored 32 points. He did not need him, as they made a better start in Tagovailoa who scored 35 points. The point is this team is stacked from top to bottom and are serious contenders. If that wasn’t enough Alvin Kamara had a great night on Monday to top 180 points for the second consecutive week.
Excellent starts: Tua Tagovailoa (35), Kyler Murray (27), Cooper Kupp (29), Mike Gesicki (15), Alvin Kamara (25)
Piranhas: The Piranhas put up a strong week but fell short due to their opponent. They started off strong with 24 points from D’Ernest Johnson on Thursday night and followed that up with other solid starts on Sunday. Rodgers, Brady, Mitchell, Booker, and the Arizona defense made this lineup competitive but unfortunately ran into the hottest team in the league. They are 2-5 but are a dangerous 2-5 in this point in the year.
Great starts: Aaron Rodgers (30), Tom Brady (32), Eli Mitchell (17), D’Ernest Johnson (24), Devonte Booker (13), Arizona defense (19)
Bad starts: Odell Bekham Jr. (2), Marquez Calloway (3), OJ Howard (0), Harrison Butker (4)
Tundra Icecaps 118.62 – 94.04 Tropical Thunder
Icecaps: The Icecaps won again to move to 6-1 on the year and only needed 118 points to do it. Matthew Stafford and DeAndre Swift were the strong starts for the Icecaps as the rest of the roster was not good. Half the team was in single digits including Fields, Hill, Higbee and Ruggs III. Luckily, they faced the lowest scoring team of the week in the Thunder. They will desperately need Russell Wilson to come back from injury, so they are not rolling out Justin Fields again. But until then Justin Fields will continue to be inserted into the lineup for the Icecaps.
Good starts: Matthew Stafford (33), DeVante Adams (14), DeAndre Swift (21)
Bad starts: Justin Fields (1), Tyreek Hill (7), Tyler Higbee (5), Henry Ruggs III (3)
Thunder: 94 points. The Thunder once again put up a terrible performance and could not even score over 100. Severely undermanned from byes, seven players scored in single digits on route to the Thunder’s second lowest score this season if you can believe it. (They scored 92 in week 1). I would say that this team should just focus on next week, but this team has not put up any substantial points since week 4. After starting 3-1, they are 3-4. They are averaging 116 points per week – which is worst in the league. Is it time to panic?
Okay starts: Carson Wentz (24), Matt Ryan (21)
Bad starts: Brandin Cooks (2), Chuba Hubbard (6), Mike Davis (1), TJ Hockenson (5), Hunter Renfrow (6)
All I do is Winston 162.44 – 109.23 GalensWinningWinners
Winston: Winston is finally getting some wins after some painful losses early in the year after taking care of GWW this week. They set a balanced lineup as nine starters all scored in doubles digits. Forced to start Case Keenum on Thursday, his 15 points actually beat his yahoo 14-point projection. Mike Evans proved to not be in the doghouse with Tom Brady after giving away his 600th touchdown ball to a fan, as Evans scored 26 points for Winston. McLaurin, Samuel, and the New England defense made this week easy for Winston who moves to 3-4 on the year.
Solid starts: Terry McLaurin (19), Deebo Samuel (14), Mike Evans (26), Younghoe Koo (13), New England (18)
GWW: Another down week for GWW who scored 109 points this week. Six players scored in single digits including Ridley, Jones, Williams, Seals-Jones, and waiver pickup Denver defense. The only player that beat projection was Hopkins who scored 12 over a projected 11. Jackson and Tannehill did well in the quarterback position but that was about it on the day as GWW moves to 2-5. It is tough to say what is wrong with this team. They are certainly good on paper, but it is not translating to wins. Next week would almost be considered a must win for this squad as they will face the 2-5 Heroes.
Good starts: Lamar Jackson (26), Ryan Tannehill (21), DeAndre Hopkins (12)
Not great starts: Calvin Ridley (8), Aaron Jones (4), Darrell Williams (5), Ricky Seals-Jones (6), Denver defense (7)
Hipple’s Heroes 118.81 – 97.82 Hurts so Good
Heroes: A win for the Heroes? Scoring 118 points they knocked off HSG to claim their second win of the season. They started Taylor Heinicke, Damien Harris and the Tampa Bay defense which carried them on the afternoon. The lineup was not without fault though as six starters scored in single digits including Meyers, Gibson, and an embarrassing Sam Darnold performance. That also doesn’t include the negative point that AJ Dillion scored. A win is a win as they move to 2-5.
Great starts: Taylor Heinicke (23), Damien Harris (24), Tampa Bay defense (24)
Bad starts: Sam Darnold (2), Jakobi Meyers (5), Antonio Gibson (6)
Terrible start: AJ Dillion (-1)
HSG: Things are not looking good after losing to the worst team in the league (arguably). Jalen Hurts and Leonard Fournette anchored this team to south of 100 points. Otherwise half of the starters scored single digits. HSG was forced to start Nyheim Hines due to injury at the running back position and was rewarded with a single point. Robby Anderson also did not benefit from the Sam Darnold experiment and got one point as well. They are 3-4 on the year.
Good starts: Jalen Hurts (28), Leonard Fournette (16)
Bad starts: Tyler Lockett (1), Nyheim Hines (1), Robby Anderson (1), Baltimore defense (5)
Week 8 Matchups
Sahara Sandstorms 5-2 vs. Everglade Squatches 4-3
Philly Special 5-2 vs. All I do is Winston 3-4
Tundra Icecaps 6-1 vs. Amazon Piranhas 2-5
Hurts so Good 3-4 vs. Tropical Thunder 3-4
GalensWinningWinners 2-5 vs. Hipple’s Heroes 2-5
Around the League
Good luck to all on the back half of the fantasy football regular season!
Cheers!
Books Boss League 