Jeff's Week 12 Power Rankings

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts. I'll try to get back on it this week.

1) This is for Jordy (9-3)

The injury bug has finally caught up with Andrew. With Edelman and Allen out and Rivers slumping badly (poor guy has no WRs!),  Andrew's team is starting to show signs of weakness. That being said, he's got a good core in Marshall, Fitz, AP, Gurley, and Reed--which still makes him the team to beat. Cousins/Winston are good replacements (with Rivers banished to the waiver wire) and Cecil Shorts has proven himself as a good short term find. Consistency wins championships in FF, and Andrew's team remains the most consistent one in our league.

I also really like Andrew's chances in the playoffs. If you look at his roster, he's got a bunch of players who are on teams (Houston, NY Jets, Green Bay, Washington, and Minnesota) that are all still in the thick of the playoff hunt. That means zero risk of his players being rested in anticipation of the playoffs.

2) JULIOdoyouthinkyouare?! (8-4)

In the lead up to Week 9, Eric looked at his roster stuffed with talent (4 solid RBs, 2 good defenses--none worth dropping), saw who was on bye (Wilson and Tucker), saw who he was playing (Aaron Chou), said to himself "ah what the heck", and decided to leave his kicker and WR#3 spots open. After Eifert put up 23+ points on TNF, his decision was looking pretty good. But then Sunday rolled around, and Aaron's team put up just enough points to possibly steal the win. This made Eric nervous, so he  plugged Inman into his lineup at WR#3. Inman did nothing, but he still walked away with the win.

In Week 10, Eric did the same thing again, but this time it looked like he really wasn't even trying. In his defense though, he had a lot of players on bye (Julio, Hilton, and Inman). If there was any week for Eric to take an L, it was this week. Well played strategic move on Eric's part, but it also may have costed him the regular championship + money. It's ok. It's all about the long play--the playoff championships.

In Weeks 11 and 12, Eric's team returned back to form and is starting to look like a very very dangerous team. Tucker, Carolina DEF, Eric's stable of RBs, Julio, and Hilton have been steady plays all year long. Add in Russell Wilson, who has finally turned things around in a big way, Inman whose role grows each week in San Diego's offense, and Eric's got himself one heck of a team.

3) Unicorn Queen (8-4)

Tim's team is looking really really really good these days (minus his performance last week), and it's all thanks to the phenomenal play of the Panthers. As long as Cam Newton and company #keepingpounding, Tim's team will #keepwinning. I was super tempted to rank Tim #2 this week after a bunch of solid showings the last couple of weeks, but then his team came out flat this week. He's still got huge question marks at RB in Miller/Gordon/Hyde/Matthews, but he seems to be getting enough production from other players to keep winning. 

Three additional thoughts on Tim's team:

1) Tim's weakness at RB will likely be his downfall in the playoffs.

2) Tim better hope that the Panthers keep gunning for an undefeated record. If the Panthers pick up an L at some point, then Rivera may be inclined to start resting some of his starters in Weeks 15-16. No point in risking the health of your $100M QB, especially if history cannot be accomplished and home field advantage is already wrapped up (Panthers have 2 game lead over Arizona). Plus, Derek Anderson is a very capable backup.

3) If both #1 and #2 happen, Tim's team is in trouble come playoff time. 

Yes, I know. It's still a lot of "ifs". I'm pretty sure Tim's team will be fine in the playoffs.

4) Di Yi (7-5)

On paper Abraham's team looks like a championship worthy team. However, the last couple of weeks, it has been anything but--scoring a measly 55 points in Week 10 and a lackluster 74 points in Week 11. His team did better in Week 12 (104 points), but now he's got another hole at RB to fill. With Chris Johnson out with a broken tibia, he will likely insert Hillman into his lineup, giving him just enough firepower to make a deep postseason run. Abraham's still got the best WRs in the game in Jeffery, Sanders, and Green, the best kicker in the game (Gostkowski), the reliable Andy Dalton, and a very solid pickup in DeAngelo Williams at RB. I'm expecting his team to pull an Eric and turn things around this week.

With Abraham still in the mix, there are 4 teams in my opinion who are capable of running the table come playoff time.

5) Grab it like Beckham (8-4)

David Lin has worked his butt off to fix his team (leads the league in waiver wire moves), and it's finally paid off. Rawls and Ware have been great pickups, but the question is how long will they last production-wise? Lynch has to come back at some point. So will Charchandrick West.

That being said, David Lin's team has the potential to be a dark horse in the playoffs. I don't think he has enough to win it all, but I could see him pulling off an upset or two as long as he can get the right players into his lineup at the right time. This means playing the right player in the continually revolving door he has at QB (Bortles vs. Hoyer). This means playing the right WR #2 and WR #3s out of Moncrief, Allen Hurns (concussion), and Watkins. This means playing the right TE out of Gates and Walker. And most importantly, this means playing the right RB out of Ware, CJ, Rawls, Woodhead, and Duke Johnson. That's a lot of "ifs" to figure out, but if anyone has the chops to do it, it's David Lin. He's proven that he can successfully do all season long.

On another note, similar to last year, OBJ is starting to come on strong in the second half of the season. (This seems like the typical plot line for the underachieving New York Giants. Each year they either fall short of making the playoffs or barely make it in. If they make it in, they somehow go on to winning the whole shebang behind Eli's magical, golden arm). This means good things are in store for David Lin from OBJ.

6) 1-800-HOPKINSBLING (5-6)

Every time I write Justina's team off, it surprises me and goes off for a bizillion points. Stafford has really poured it on as of late. Landry, Desean, and Hopkins are all going strong. (Who knew Desean would be this good with Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball? I honestly wrote Desean off two years ago). Mark Ingram has been a steady 9-10 point contributor. Houston defense is experiencing a resurgence. And Theo Riddick is somehow, some way finding ways to score...although I doubt this will last long term. (Fortunately, Justina's got that covered. She's stashed Abdullah and Ellington on her bench. Very smart move). The best news yet though is that Gronk has not suffered a season-ending injury to his knee after going down in Week 12. He'll likely be out next week, but Justina better hope he recovers by Week 14. She'll need him in the playoffs.

7) Spider Pig (6-6)

Luke's team is coming off a five game winning streak. Brees is playing like the Brees of old (except for last week). His WRs are playing decent. Antonio Brown has been playing better with Big Ben back. Mike Evans is benefiting from Winston's inspired play. And Demaryius should get more points as long as Osweiler is throwing him the ball. Add in the shrewd pickup of Javoris Allen to go along with the ever steady Chris Ivory, and Luke should qualify for the playoffs barring any major major setback. That's pretty incredible, considering the position his team was in 6 weeks ago.

8) David's Team (5-7)

David Li's team has not been faring very well as of late, and that has me worried about his playoffs chances. Forsett is gone for the season. Lynch is out at least another game or two. His RB#2, James White, scored 0.60 points last week. One of his WRs, the fragile Amendola, may or may not play next week due to injury. 

Luckily for David Li though, he's matched up against Aaron for a berth to the playoffs, who is also quite literally struggling to keep his team afloat. The question is can he beat Aaron's team? The way I see it, it's going to come down to Rivers (great pickup), Cooper, LaFell, Yeldon, and Julius Thomas (another great pickup) versus Palmer, Decker, DeMarco, and Seattle defense. I like David Li's chances more than I like Aaron's. One of them will make the playoffs, but neither team will last past the first round.

8) Aaron Chou's Team (5-7)

I think Aaron's team has set a record for the most number of injuries this season. He's lost an incredible 4 key players (Dion Lewis, Le'Veon Bell, Steve Smith, and Andrew Luck) to long term injuries. Now he's starting a bunch of flyers like Dwayne Harris, the injured but promising Michael Floyd, Matt Jones, and Brent Celek to fill in the gaps. #lulz. DeMarco has also been struggling a lot as of late too. Other than Palmer and Decker, there's not a whole lot to like about his team right now.

9) I Called Game (4-8)

Duke's team is an example of what could've been. Week 12 gave us yet another glimpse of his team's mouthwatering potential, but for a slew of reasons (bad matchups, injuries, owner indifference), his team never played up to expectations. Even with a win against Luke this week, he won't make the playoffs.

11) 4th and Long (3-9)

Poor Gabs. Even in his good weeks, he still loses. At the end of the day, Gabs just didn't have enough firepower or consistency to win. Freeman is injured. Cobb and Lacy have continued to underachieve all season long. Tyrod Taylor took too long to return to his early season playing ways. Throw in a couple of unlucky matchups, and hence the 3-9 record. It's ok Gabs. There's always next season Gabs. At least that's what I'm telling myself!

12) HAMAJANG (3-9)

Woe is my team. I am out of the playoff hunt. No monies for me this season.

End of Week 8 Thoughts

1) Let's start off today's post with some #Week8lulz. Should've posted these on Monday, but I got busyz. Oh wellz.

a) Guess who Luke left on the bench this week? Oh just this guy:

and his historic, once-in-a-lifetime performance. #lulz

No biggie, Luke At least you got the win!

b) Guess who else had a major bench fail this week? This handsome guy:

Here was Eli's historic stat line from Week 8:

Tim went onto lose by 9 points. #lulz

c) J. Randle gets demoted, throws a Ryan Mallet-like fit, and literally disappears from the Cowboys' practice facility. Justina decides to start him anyway and loses by a point to Duke.

Justina would've been better off starting herself at RB#2. #lulz

d) If David Lin had played only 4 players (Hoyer, OBJ, Washington, and Walker), he would've beaten my entire team. #lulz

e) I'm not sure which is funnier. The fact that David Li's team only managed to score 71 points.

 Or Yahoo's description of Luke's sudden upward momentum. #lulz

3) It's time to check in on Tim's chances of making the playoffs this year. Will this be the year that the drought ends???

With a 4-4 record and #6 ranking, I rate Tim's chances as:

4) These are worth sharing. Business Insider photos from the Cowboys' Week 5 matchup against the Patriots. Pretty surreal looking. Some look like paintings.

5) We are only halfway through the NFL season, and it's starting to get ugly out there. Here's a list of the most notable injuries from Week 8:

-Keenan Allen (out for season with a lacerated kidney). This one is crazy. How hard does someone need to hit you in order to crack a kidney?

-Le'Veon Bell (out for season with torn MCL)

-Steve Smith Sr. (out for season with Achilles tear)

-Reggie Bush (out for season with torn MCL)

-Matt Forte (out at least 2 weeks with some sort of MCL injury)
-Ryan Fitzpatrick (injured ligaments in hand)

Then again, from looking at the waiver wire, I guess y'all already knew this:

Three quick observations:
a) There will hardly be any star players left at this rate. The team that wins the league will probably be the healthiest.
b) Poor Aaron. Two star players out for the season. His team's chances just took a huge hit.
c) Gabs has had the worst luck at QB this season. Flacco gives him less than a point in Week 1. His replacement, Kaepernick, proved equally awful. Gabs finally lands Tyrod, who got injured a week later. And now his replacement, Fitzpatrick, goes down with a hand injury after three throws.

5) Here are Peter King's (MMQB writer) thoughts on the NFL injury epidemic:

6) Speaking of injuries, apparently Andrew Luck has been playing with injured ribs since Week 3. Nah they don't look bad at all...

In light of the broken ribs, I have to commend Luck for his gumption. He played pretty darn well in the 4th quarter comeback he engineered against the Panthers.

7) Adding to Justina's woes, it looks like things have gotten weirder in Dallas. J. Randle has now been released by the Cowboys. Why yes, I do get all my FF news from Business Insider.

8) In yet another illustration that the NFL is a topsy turvy place, I want you to take a wild guess who the top 5 RBs in FF scoring are this season.

For me, I'm going to pick... Freeman, AP, Forte, Chris Johnson, and Martin. Let's see how I did.

A few observations here:
a) The gap between Freeman and Ingram is absolutely insane. He'd better be in the running for NFL MVP this year.
b) Speaking of Ingram, who would've thunk that he would be the #2 RB right now in FF? That's VERY surprising.
c) I'm also surprised to see Ivory sitting there at #5. I know he had had a couple of good weeks, but a top 5 ranking? 0_0

9) Now I want you to take a wild guess who the next 5 RBs are in terms of FF scoring. Surely, AP, Chris Johnson, and Bell are in the mix. As for the other two? I have no idea. I'm going to guess Gio and Forsett. Let's see how I did.

Three additional observations here:
a) I got a majority of the picks right, but Woodhead at #7?!?! Maybe David Lin is onto something.
b) Miller had two big games, and now he's a top 10 RB? I don't believe!
c) If you remove the recently injured Bell from this list, the next two RBs on the list would be:

Gurley's going to be a top 5 RB by the end of the season. He's already reached #12 in just 5 games.

10) Now just for funsies, let's compare this year's top 20 WRs (through Week 8) with last year's top 20 WRs (final season). Let's see how much turnover occurs between top WRs each year.

2015 WR Rankings by Total Points (Through Week 8)

2014 WR Rankings by Total Points (Final Season)

a) The only constants I see in the top 10 for both years are:

-Julio Jones (trending up - averaging more points/game this year than last year)

-Antonio Brown (trending down - playing worse due to Big Ben injury)

-OBJ (trending down - averaging 13 points/game this year vs. 17 points/game last year)

That means 7 out of the 10 top WRs this year are fresh faces (A. Robinson), old faces (AJ Green, Fitz, B. Marshall, K. Allen) that reemerged, or second tier WRs that made the jump (Edelman and Hopkins).

b) The only constants I see in the top 20 for both years are:

-Julio Jones (trending up - averaging more points/game this year than last year)

-Antonio Brown (trending down - playing worse due to Big Ben injury)

-OBJ (trending down - averaging 13 points/game this year vs. 17 points/game last year)

-DeAndre Hopkins (trending up - top 5 WR this year vs top 15 WR last year)

-Calvin Johnson (trending down - playing slightly worse than last year; 10 points/game this year vs. 11 points/game last year)

-Demaryius Thomas (trending down - playing a lot worse due to Peyton)

-Steve Smith (trending down - was playing better this season but now out for season with Achilles tear)

That means 13 out of the 20 top WRs this year were not in the top 20 the year before. And of the 7 WRs who were constants, only 2 (Julio and Hopkins) are playing better than they were last year.

What does all this tell me? 

a) The NFL is very unpredictable. A lot can change in a year--namely injuries to the WR himself or weak play at the QB position.

b) When drafting WRs, it's best to diversify as much as possible. Get a mix of players who played well last season (top 20 ranking) as well as proven vets who did not have good seasons last year (injuries/outside top 20). Don't get caught up picking the same WRs from last year unless it's a stud like Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, or OBJ. At the end of the day though, it's still hard to predict who will do well and who won't.

c) Be ready to scour the waiver wire for talent. James Jones, Travis Benjamin, Allen Hurns, and Rishard Matthews all went undrafted this year.

11) Let's wrap this post up with a roundup of the most interesting plays from the last couple of weeks:

a) Has anyone noticed this "hurdle the center on field goals/extra points" trend that's spreading across the NFL? It looks like more and more teams are trying to do this provided they have a super athletic player on their roster. (The catch is that hurdler must clear the line completely or else the play will result in a penalty). While I don't think this trend is going to spread like wildfire, I do think we will see more of it in two distinct situations: a) extra point attempts (these are pretty low risk for the defending team because getting a penalty on a PAT is no big deal I think) and b) critical game changing field goals (where the reward is well worth the risk of getting a penalty).

I'm also interested to see how and/or if teams will try to counter this phenomenon. It doesn't happen a lot to be worth dedicating a lot of practice time to it, but if I were an NFL coach, I would make like Bill Belichick and leave no stone unturned. Maybe the kicking team will start using hard counts to throw off the hurdler's timing. Or maybe the kicking team will instruct its center/linemen to stand up quicker once the ball is hiked. Or maybe the kicking team will keep an extra blocker behind the line of scrimmage to knock the hurdler on his butt once he clears the line. I don't know. Just a my thoughts on the situation.

That being said, I do believe this idea has been around for at least a couple of years now. Polamalu tried it back in 2013, but his timing was off.

Apparently, the Rams' Darren Bates has been trying to do it for awhile now. He finally pulled it off against the Giants last year.


Kam Chancellor also did it against the Panthers during the 2014 playoffs. He was unsuccessful on his first try, but got a second crack at it due to a false start on the Panthers. of which he was successful. (After seeing Kam hurdle the center the first time, you'd think the Panthers would've tried to do something to slow him down the second time around).





In Week 6 this year, the Patriots' Jamie Collins (former high jumper) pulled off the same feat against the Colts. He successfully blocked Vinatieri's extra point attempt.


I'm sure we will see more of this hurdle trend as the season progresses.

b) Biggest head scratcher goes to the Colts in Week 6. They tried a weird fake punt in Week 6, but it blew up in their faces. At least, the Colts can take solace in knowing that Pagano didn't actually want the play to happen.

c) You gotta love the "never give up" attitude of Julio Jones in Week 8. He runs Alexander down to prevent the TD.

d) Not sure what's more embarrassing. St. Louis leaving Torrey Smith wide out on this play, or Kaepernick not seeing him.

e) On MNF, the Panthers players who did not attend Ohio State for college decided to make fun of their teammates who did.

Predictions: Week 8

There's a lot of parity between spots 4-10 right now. That being said, I'm predicting no upsets this week.

Overall Predictions Record (4-2)

GAME OF THE WEEK:

1) Unicorn Queen (4-3) vs. Di Yi (5-2)

QB: I think Dalton and Cam are both going to score in bunches this week. Cam will get a rushing TD, and Dalton will do all his damage in the air. Dalton is still the top QB in FF. Slight edge to Abraham.

Advantage: Di Yi

WR: Tim needs all of his WRs to play well this week in order for him to pull off the upset, and I don't see that happening. Benjamin is probably going to be smothered by Patrick Peterson. Martavis will be fine. And Maclin is coming off a concussion. As for Abraham, his WRs are just too strong. Green is going to hook up with Dalton for a TD this week. Jeffrey is going to have another monster game. And Sanders is in a groove with Peyton right now.

Advantage: Di Yi

RB: Tim is going to need Miller to have a huge week to stand a chance against Abraham. Will he score enough? That's the question. I'm not expecting another 35 points from Lamar, but something in the range of 17-20 points. Hyde is going up against a stout St. Louis DEF, so I am expecting 5 or less points. Can Johnson and Hillman match Miller in output? I think so.

Advantage: Di Yi

TE: Olsen is still a little too boom or bust for me, but I think this week he will break out. Witten faces Seattle DEF with Cassell now delivering him the ball.

Advantage: Unicorn Queen

K/DEF: Gostkowski over Gano. He's an automatic 10 per week. I don't see Minn DEF or Arizona DEF playing that much better than the other, but I'm going to give the slight edge here to Arizona.

Advantage: Di Yi

Winner: Di Yi

The only way I see Tim's team winning is if Miller goes off again for 30 points. I don't think that's going to happen.

REST OF THE PACK:

2) HAMAJANG (1-6) vs. The Walking Dez (4-3)
Yahoo favors me over David Lin, but I'm not convinced.

QB: Rodgers faces a very tough defense in Denver at Mile High Stadium. Two TDs from Rodgers would be a good day. Cutler faces a pretty tough matchup against Minn.

Advantage: Tie

WR: I think OBJ is in for a big game this week against NO DEF. Moncrief should fare well even against a strong Carolina secondary. Nate Washington has a savory matchup against TEN DEF. I can't see Diggs, Ginn, and James Jones outplaying David Lin's WRs. Major edge to David Lin. 

Advantage: The Walking Dez

RB: Murray and Forte both have tough matchups against stout run defenses. Duke Johnson also faces a tough matchup against Arizona. Woodhead gets a soft Baltimore DEF, but will he get the touches? Eh, I like me a bit more but only slightly.

Advantage: HAMAJANG

TE: Barnidge is the #2 TE in the game right now.

Advantage: HAMAJANG

K/DEF: David Lin's team dominates at special teams, and it's not even close. I'm not expecting as much production against a high powered GB offense, but they will still be respectable.

Advantage: The Walking Dez

Winner: The Walking Dez
If there's going to be an upset this week, it will be me. However, I think David Lin's WRs + special teams will score enough to give him the W.

3) David's Team (4-3) vs. Spider Pig (1-6)

Yahoo has Luke over David Li. I'm not so sure.

QB: Tanehill will regress towards the mean this week against NE. I'm expecting more average production from him. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 yards and 2 TDs. Ryan gets a very weak TB DEF but has played poorly as of late. I like Ryan here.

Advantage: Spider Pig

WR: Luke has the clear advantage here at WR. Brown has Big Ben back. Mike Evans faces a soft ATL DEF. And Demaryius is getting targets just not TDs. Meanwhile, Cooper is visiting Revis Island. A good showing from LaFell and Snead would be 8 points each.

Advantage: Spider Pig

RB: Forsett has a great matchup this week against SD. I think he will get 15+ points. Lynch is back to his Beastmode ways. Meanwhile, Ivory is hobbled, and Blue is in a RB-by-committee attack. Clear advantage to David Li.

Advantage: David's Team

TE: Bennett is getting major targets but not yards. Kelce is good for 7-8 points a week. 

Advantage: David's Team

K/DEF: I like St. Louis DEF against SF like...a lot. Poor Kaep is going to struggle again this week. Boswell will also get his points with Big Ben back. 

Advantage: David's Team

Winner: David's Team
David's RBs and special teams neutralize Luke's superior advantage at WR.

4) I Don't Gronk W/ You (3-4) vs. I Called Game (2-5)

Assuming that Duke makes the necessary switches, then he's got a chance against Justina this week.

QB: You can't not pick Brady here. Luckily for Justina though, I don't think the drop off between Brady and Big Ben/Stafford is that steep this week. Slight advantage to Duke.

Advantage: I Called Game

WR: If Duke plays John Brown this week, then he's got a chance. Megatron is capable of matching Hop in production. Same goes for Brown vs. Landry. It's a toss up between Wright and Crabtree, the latter of whom faces the NY Jets secondary. This one's close, but I think Hop is going to have a monster week. Wright should do well against Houston too. Edge to Justina.

Advantage: I Don't Gronk W/ You

RB: If Duke plays Stewart this week, then it'll be enough to push him over the top. The combination of Stewart + Blount/Hill should be enough to beat Ingram + Randle/Crowell. I'm not expecting more than 2-3 points from Randle/Crowell.

Advantage: I Called Game

TE: Gronk.

Advantage: I Don't Gronk W/ You.

K/DEF: Nothing jumps out at me here. Assuming that Duke gets a sub for Sturgis this week, then I think this matchup is a toss up.

Advantage: Tie

Winner: I Don't Gronk W/ You
I don't think Duke has enough to pull off the upset this week.

5) Gurley Man (6-1) vs. Aaron Chou's Team (4-3)

QB: Rivers is going to outplay Luck here. Not by a lot but enough. I'm expecting 30+ from Rivers and closer to 22-25+ from Luck.

Advantage: Gurley Man

WR: I like all the matchups here for both teams. Someone on Andrew's team will get a TD this week. As for Aaron, Decker pretty much always gets a TD. Steve Smith is in store for a good week too against SD. Man, it's close. Really close.

Advantage: Gurley Man

RB: This is where Andrew gains separation from Aaron. Gurley + AP > Bell + Lewis. Lewis is injured and may not even be a factor in NE's game plan.

Advantage: Gurley Man

TE: Reed and Thomas are on bye this week, so Andrew is going with Watson. Aaron is guaranteed 0 points right now with Clay.

Advantage: Gurley Man

K/DEF: I like Aaron here more. Seattle DEF will score more FF points than an average NE DEF. Walsh and Folk will both get around the same amount of points hree.

Advantage: Aaron Chou's Team

Winner: Gurley Man
Andrew wins all the close matchups. Plus, his RB game is too strong.

6) TOUCHDOWN MACHINE (3-4) vs. JULIOthinkyouare?! (5-2)
If Gabs starts McFadden, he's got a shot at taking down Eric.

QB: Fitzpatrick has a great matchup against Oakland this week. I don't trust Russell right now.

Advantage: TOUCHDOWN MACHINE

WR: Eric has the clear advantage here. Even if Davante lays a goose egg, Julio + Hilton should be enough to counter anything Randle, Austin, and Cobb put up.

Advantage: JULIOthinkyouare?!

RB: Freeman is going to keep rolling. I'm predicting 20 points from him. Assuming Gabs starts McFadden over Lacy this week, then Gabs could win the match up here. Eric has decided to go with West and Martin. Both are solid plays this week. Slight edge to Gabs if McFadden gets the start.

Advantage: TOUCHDOWN MACHINE

TE: Gabs needs a good week from Graham if he's going to pull off the upset. That's difficult to figure out, but I think he'll get it. Eifert is good for at least 10 points against the Steelers.

Advantage: TOUCHDOWN MACHINE

K/DEF: Carolina DEF should get takeaways against Indy this week. That's the difference at special teams.

Advantage: JULIOthinkyouare?!

Winner: JULIOthinkyouare?!
Eric's WRs win it for him.

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.