Jeff's Week 8 Power Rankings

Pardon the one week hiatus, but the power rankings are back!

1) Gurley Man (6-1)

Even though Andrew picked up his first L last week, I see no reason to move him down. Rivers is playing at super high level. (He now leads the NFL in passing yards, and it's not even close. The difference between Rivers and the next closest QB--Tom Brady--is a whopping 400 yards). Gurley, AP, and Gio are still going strong. Fitz has lost some steam now with the emergence of John Brown and Floyd, but luckily for Andrew, he's still got a solid trio in Edelman, Marshall, and Allen. I doubt they will all go scoreless again like they did last week. Throw in Jordan Reed, who is back from injury, and GB DEF, which is back from bye, and Andrew still has the team to beat.

2) JULIOdoyouthinkyouare?! (5-2)

With a win against Abraham last week, Eric solidifies his position as the second best team in our league, and it's easy to see why. Hilton and Julio are playing like topflight WRs. He's got a solid stable of RBs in Martin, Gore, Shady, and C. West. (Add in Ryan Matthews and that's arguably five RBs who could hit double digits on a weekly basis). And Carolina/Philly defenses keep rolling. Carolina has looked especially strong lately.

The only gripe I have about Eric's team is Russell Wilson, who is currently on the struggle bus. In my opinion, he will never be an elite FF QB, but he is capable of putting up better numbers than he did the past couple of weeks.

3) Di Yi (5-2)

Abraham mailed it in last week, choosing to leave A. Jeffrey in his starting lineup rather than drop one of his players. Not a move I can argue with. With so many key players (Dalton, Jeffrey, and Green) on bye and a bench stocked full of players worth keeping, Abraham decided to take a mulligan and still almost came away with the win. That speaks to the strength of his team. He's still got a question mark at the RB#2 spot, but the rest of his team easily makes up for this one deficiency. Abraham will continue to be a formidable opponent.

4) Unicorn Queen (4-3)

Over the past three weeks, Tim's team has proven its mettle, breaking 100+ points in each of its outing. That's because a lot of things are going right for him. Newton has fared well enough through the rougher patch of Carolina's schedule. Lamar Miller has turned into a touchdown machine thanks to a renewed focus in Miami in on running the ball. And Tim's WRs are going bananas right now. A. Robinson has established himself as a top 5 WR. T. Benjamin is #7 in FF scoring for WR. And M. Bryant has picked up where he left off last year. I only expect him to play even better with Big Ben returning this week. I'm still not crazy about Tim's defense (Washington) and Olsen/Hyde are still a little too boom-or-bust for my liking, but otherwise, Tim's got a playoff-worthy team. It looks like the drought may end this year!

5) Aaron Chou's Team (4-3)

If you google "Aaron Chou", this is one of the images that shows up. Hah!

As I predicted, Aaron's team has bounced back the past two weeks. Andrew Luck, while not playing well in real life, is putting up elite numbers as a FF QB. 30+ points in the last two games. Aaron's WRs are also playing at a high level right now. Steve Smith has been playing his heart out in Baltimore. Decker puts up 9-10 points without fail. And between Matthews and Floyd, Aaron's got two good options at WR #3. Matthews is capitalizing on the resurgence of the Dolphins' offense. He doesn't get a lot of looks, but he makes the most of his opportunities. And Floyd is stealing more and more looks away from Fitz. The disappearance of D. Lewis from NE's gameplan has to sting a little, but luckily for Aaron, DeMarco Murray has reemerged to the point that he's a decent play at the RB#2 spot. In addition to Bell and Seattle DEF, Aaron's still got himself a solid team.

6) David's Team (4-3)

David Li's team blew up last week thanks in large part to the one-two punch of his RBs, the terrific play of Tanehill and St. Louis DEF, the steady play of Cooper, and an unexpected contribution from Ebron. There's a lot to like about David Li's team right now, but the question remains...Will David Li's players continue to play like they did last week (136 points total)? Or will they play more like they did in Week 6 (84 points total)? 

I'm going to argue the former. Forsett, Marshawn, Cooper, and St. Louis DEF will continue holding down the fort. LaFell represents a clear upgrade over Mike Wallace in my book. (He got 8 targets in his return from the PUP list). And if not, David Li's got the underrated Marvin Jones waiting in the wings. (He may be worth starting over Snead this week). Boswell will also benefit tremendously with Big Ben healthy again.

7) I Don't Gronk W/ You (3-4)

As evidenced by last week's performance, things are looking up for J's team. Hopkins and Gronk are still the top players at their positions. Landry has stepped it up the past two weeks. (I credit the coaching change in Miami + playing weak competition). Ingram has poured it on as of late. (He's now the #2 RB in FF scoring through Week 7). And to top it off, J now has two viable options at QB. Stafford has come up big the past two weeks. Plus, Big Ben is returning this week.

As a side note, I also find it funny that J keeps holding onto Brian Quick for no apparent reason. Maybe she's holding onto him for sentimental reasons.

8) The Walking Dez (4-3)

I was surprised to find this meme in Google's image bank, but it looks like great minds think alike!

I've got to credit David Lin with not giving up on his team. All the moves he's made--and there have been a lot of them--have his team headed in the right direction. He's ditched both Peyton and Mariota in favor of Blake Bortles, who has shown the a lot of growth between Year 1 and Year 2. He's picked up Moncrief, who is proving to be a solid WR#2. Add in the top DEF, a top 3 kicker in FF, Dez who is returning, and OBJ who is hitting the an easier patch of his schedule, and his team has some promise. 

I'm still a little iffy on David Lin's RBs. Sure, Woodhead had a great game last week, but we know that he's just as likely to put up 1-2 points on any given Sunday. Duke Johnson has been a more consistent play as of late, but I'm a little wary of pass-catching RBs. It's really hard to predict when they will do well and when they won't. Who knows though? David Lin has hit 100+ points the past two weeks due in large part to the strength of his special teams. He only needs enough points at RB to get by.

9) TOUCHDOWN MACHINE (3-4)

The last couple of weeks I've been high on Gabs' team, but now it looks his team is trending in the wrong direction. Freeman continues to be Freeman, but he appears to be the only player Gabs can legitimately rely on. Graham has been maddeningly inconsistent the last couple of weeks. Every time he has a breakout game, he follows it up with a dud. (I blame Seattle's coaches). Lacy and Cobb have disappointments thus far with the former losing carries to Stark and the latter suffering from some combination of the drops, a nagging shoulder injury, and an inability to get free on routes without Jordy Nelson stretching the field. To make matters worse, the Bills are on bye next week, which means Gabs has to wait another week for Tyrod to return. The good news for Gabs though is that Fitzpatrick is a sneakily good play, and McFadden is the de facto starter in Dallas next week. Will McFadden be able to follow up on his 20+ performance from last week? As long as he can stay healthy.

10) I Called Game (2-5)

The last two weeks Duke's team proved me right, playing up to its potential. But just like that, two unlucky breaks on Sunday (Arian Foster tearing his Achilles and Blount completely falling out of NE's gameplan), and Duke's team is now back on shaky ground. Fortunately though, not all is lost. Jonathan Stewart has played well the past two weeks against tough defenses in Seattle and Philly, which makes him worth inserting into the lineup, and Hill is returning from bye. Add in Brady, Megatron, Crabtree, and Sturgis and Duke still has the potential to take down anyone in our league.

I don't understand why Duke insists on playing the sputtering Jordan Matthews over the surging John Brown either.

11) Spider Pig (1-6)

Luke's team is looking more respectable these days. Even at 1-6, he still has a chance to move up the rankings. In the span of one week, Luke went from having one decent RB (Ivory) to three (Ivory, Alfred Blue now that Foster is injured, and James Starks who is out touching Lacy). A. Brown is also on the rise. With Landry Jones behind center last week, he put up 12 points. With Big Ben behind center this week, I expect Brown to return his normal production of 17-20+ points per game. Mike Evans also had a good week. Let's see if he can keep the momentum going against Atlanta this week. I'm still not crazy about Matt Ryan's play lately or the fact that Luke is starting Detroit DEF, but things are looking brighter for Luke.

12) HAMAJANG (1-6)

As we say in Hawai'i, my team is all hamajang. With Rodgers, Forte, and James Jones on bye last week, I watched as Justina put the hurt on my team. The lone bright spot in the loss though was the emergence of Stefon Diggs. Will the addition of Diggs be enough to push my team over the top? I'm skeptical. On paper, I've got all the pieces to make a run at the playoffs. Can it happen? Maybe.