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.

Predictions: Week 6

I'm going to try and start doing predictions on a weekly basis, but now that the NFL has decided to schedule a game every Thursday night, I only have 2.5 days to get these up.

Overall Predictions Record (0-0)

GAME OF THE WEEK:

1) Di Yi (3-1) vs. TOUCHDOWN MACHINE (3-2)

We've got two heavyweights going against each other this week. Can the dynamic duo of Freeman and Tyrod help Gabs pull off the upset?

QB: Dalton is the top QB in FF right now, and Tyrod is banged up. Dalton also lit up a good Seahawks defense last week. I think he will do the same against a good Buffalo defense.

Advantage: Di Yi

WR: Abraham's depth at WR wins it. Cobb has struggled the last two weeks. Randle is having hammy issues. I still don't trust Boldin with Kaep.

Advantage: Di Yi

RB: Freeman is scoring enough for two RBs right now. He is going to explode against a soft Saints defense.

Advantage: TOUCHDOWN MACHINE

TE: Cameron is getting targets but has no results to show for it. Jimmy Graham is ghosting it in Seattle.

Advantage: Tie

K/DEF: Arizona DEF and Gostkowski are the best combination in the league, but Gabs has good matchups this week. Atlanta DEF plays New Orleans. Hauschka is playing a very strong Carolina DEF, which means less TDs, more field goals. It's close, but I'll give the slight edge to Abraham.

Advantage: Di Yi

Winner: Di Yi

Abraham's balanced team approach wins out.

REST OF THE PACK:

2) DeEz Nuts (2-3) vs. Unicorn King (5-0)

QB: Rivers faces a sneaky good defense in GB at GB. I don't think he's going to have a great game, but he will put up more points than Vick. 

Advantage: Unicorn King

WR: There's no way Hopkins scores enough points to beat Marshall, Fitz, and Edelman.

Advantage: Unicorn King

RB: AP + Gio all day.

Advantage: Unicorn King

TE: Gronk is the best TE in the game. New England also plays Indy this week. The gameplan will be simple: dump as many points on the Colts as possible. Plus, Julius Thomas is just coming back from injury. He'll need time to get back up to speed.

Advantage: DeEz Nuts

K/DEF: Buffalo faces an offensive juggernaut in Cincy, and Carpenter has struggled the last two weeks. On the other hand, GB DEF is peaking and facing a weak SD O-line. Bryant will capitalize on all of Freeman's TDs.

Advantage: Unicorn King

Winner: Unicorn King

Andrew moves to 6-0.

3) It's a me! Mariota! (2-3) vs. Aaron Chou's Team (3-2)

QB: This matchup is a lot closer than it looks. Mariota faces a weak Miami secondary, so I think he'll break 20 points this week. Palmer faces a weak Steelers defense that has come on as of late. Slight advantage Aaron.

Advantage: Aaron Chou's Team

WR: Hurns will keep rolling against Houston. OBJ is battling a minor hammy issue but played well last week. Moncrief gets Luck back. Meanwhile, Decker is good for another 10 points. Steve Smith has health issues but is facing a weak SF defense. And Matthews has cooled off after a hot start. If David is going to win this matchup, he's going to need solid play at WR. I think he'll get great production from at least 2 out of 3.

Advantage: It's a me! Mariota!

RB: Bell faces a tough Arizona defense this week but will still be the focal point of the Steeler's offense, and Lewis will be a top receiving option for Brady. CJ is still on the struggle bus. And Woodhead faces a stout GB DEF. Aaron has the clear advantage here.

Advantage: Aaron Chou's Team

TE: Tamme and Clay are about the same in my book.

Advantage: Tie

K/DEF: Denver's defense is obliterating opponents right now. McManus continues to benefit from an offense that constantly bogs down in the redzone. Seattle always plays Carolina games close. Think no TDs and a lot of fields goals. And Gould should benefit from a rejuvenated Chicago offense. This one's close, but I'll give the edge to David.

Advantage: It's a me! Mariota!

Winner: Aaron Chou's Team

It was close, but I think Aaron's RBs will do enough to mask his deficiencies at WR.

4) Spider Pig (1-4) vs. DanceDothe#JULIO (3-2)

QB: I like Matt Ryan in this one. Ryan faces a terrible NO DEF. Russell will find points hard to come by against Carolina DEF at full strength.

Advantage: Spider Pig

WR: Antonio Brown and Vick are not on the same page. Plus, the Steelers play the Cardinals this week, and they have one of the best secondaries in the league. Demaryius is getting the looks but not the TDs. And Pierre Garcon is visiting Revis Island. Meanwhile, Hilton is overdue for a TD. Julio has an excellent matchup against NO. And I assume Crowder will be blanketed by Cromartie, the Jets' other CB. Julio wins it for Eric.

Advantage: DanceDothe#JULIO

RB: Ivory is back but running against a strong Washington front. Vereen had a large role last week, but will it carry over to this week? He's also facing a fairly solid Philly DEF. I think the NE-IND game is going to be barnburner. Plenty of points to go around for guys like Gore. West is a question mark but faces a soft Minnesota run defense. Slight edge to Eric.

Advantage: DanceDothe#JULIO

TE: Kelce has come back down to earth since Week 1. Eifert is a monster.

Advantage: DanceDothe#JULIO

K/DEF: Arizona scores too many TDs, so all Catanzaro kicks are extra points. Detroit is playing a rising Chicago offense. I think Baltimore's offense will struggle some against a young but underrated SF DEF. This means Tucker is going to get some work. I don't think Philly DEF will explode this week, but I can see a solid 8-10 from them.

Advantage: DanceDothe#JULIO

Winner: DanceDothe#JULIO

Eric's team is too strong.

5) Unicorn Queen (3-2) vs. I Called Game (1-4)

QB: Cam is playing Seattle this week. The last couple of Seattle-Carolina games have all been low scoring, defensive affairs. Tom Brady is playing Indy. He's going to make them pay.

Advantage: I Called Game

WR: Two out of three of Tim's WRs have good matchups. Maclin should get the ball even more now that Charles is out. Robinson is playing a weak Houston secondary. I'm not expecting much out of T. Benjamin this week. He's playing Denver. Duke's WRs all have good matchups this week but continue to underperform. I will believe it when I see it.

Advantage: Unicorn Queen

RB: Foster is at full strength this week playing against a weak JAX DEF. Blount gets a weak IND DEF. Hyde gets a weak Bal DEF. And Miller gets a weak TEN DEF but has only averaged 7 carries the last two weeks.

Advantage: I Called Game

TE: Olsen may get yards this week but probably no TD. Daniels put up 0 points last week.

Advantage: Unicorn Queen

K/DEF: Who benefits from a low scoring, slug-it-out, defensive affair? Kickers. Gano is going to get points this week. I honestly don't know how NE DEF is going to play against Indy's offense, but I think Indy will still be able to move the ball some. On the other side of the ledger, I think the Jets are going to shut out Washington. And Sturgis will kick some field goals in a Philly offense that is turning things around.

Advantage: I Called Game

Winner: I Called Game

Duke for the upset.

6) HAMAJANG (1-4) vs. David's Team (2-3)

QB: Rodgers will outplay Flacco. Rodgers is at home too.

Advantage: HAMAJANG

WR: No Cooper for David, but Snead should be a nice sub. I'm not hot on Percy Harvin either, but Wallace has a tasty matchup against KC. The question is whether or not he will get the ball in a run-heavy Vikings offense. James Jones should produce against SD. At this point, I still have no idea who my other two WRs are. Slight edge to David.

Advantage: David's Team

RB: Forte leads the NFL in rushing, and he'll keep padding his stats against Detroit this week. David Johnson has been housing it with limited touches. Meanwhile, Forsett is surging, and Marshawn is back but playing against a stout Carolina DEF. I think it comes down to the RB #2 matchup. Can David Johnson outscore Marshawn?

Advantage: David's Team

TE: Gates came back with a vengeance last week. Bennett has been hit or miss.

Advantage: HAMAJANG

K/DEF: I think Josh Brown will outplay Mason Crosby. GB scores too many TDs. Cincy DEF gets a banged up Bills offense this week. I'm not crazy about Baltimore even if they are playing SF.

Advantage: HAMAJANG

Winner: HAMAJANG

This is going to be close, but I think Rodgers + Gates will give me the edge here.

Jeff's Week 6 Power Rankings

1) Unicorn King (5-0)

What a team. Even with AP and Marshall on bye, Andrew's team doesn't miss a beat. Gio continues to play like the true #1 in Cincy. Gurley is living up to his hype. Rivers keeps getting it done despite a weak O-line. Andrews WRs keep killing it. And Julius Thomas is returning this week to a surprisingly potent Jax offense. Andrew's got everything you could want in a FF team: balanced scoring, bench depth, and no injuries.

2) DanceDothe#JULIO (3-2)

We've got a newcomer at the #2 spot! Nothing against Abraham, but I think Eric's team has earned the right to move up. The key to Eric's success lies in the explosive potential of his players. Between Martin, Gore, Eifert, Julio, Tucker, and Philly/Carolina DEF, he can always count on 2-3 of these guys to score an insane amount of points. This allows him to weather subpar performances from Julio Jones and Russell Wilson every now and then. Charchandrick West was an intelligent pick up off the waiver wire and well worth the risk in my opinion. Might as well splurge if you have no other holes on your team to address. Plus, I can't imagine too many more RBs popping up on the waiver wire between now and the end of the season. With West in the fold and McCoy slated to return in 2-3 weeks, Eric has potentially 4 solid RBs he can play. On another note, I'm interested in seeing how Gore does now that Andrew Luck is back. Will he get the same amount of touches? Or will the Colts revert back to a pass-happy attack?

3) Di Yi (4-1)

When Romo went down with a broken clavicle, Abraham was able to do the FF impossible and find a better replacement at the QB position. Not only has Dalton exceeded expectations this season, but he has staked his claim as the top QB this season. Through five weeks, he leads our league in FF QB scoring. Can Abraham work the same magic with Charles out? Not likely. I don't envision Antonio Andrews playing on the same level as Charles, but luckily for Abraham I don't think he needs Charles-like production from Andrews to succeed. His team is so balanced from top to bottom that if he gets just enough points at the RB #2 position he'll be ok. Dalton, Sanders, Green, Chris Johnson (he's now the starter), Gostkowski, and Arizona DEF can carry the load. Same with Jeffrey whenever he finally decides to comes back. I also like the Charles Sims pickup. Very smart and sneaky. I had no idea he was playing that well the past three weeks (10+ points per week). Between Andrews, Davis, and Sims, I think Abraham is going to find himself a RB that is decent enough.

I'm also not a big fan of Witten/T. Williams sans Romo, but winds of change are a brewing in Dallas. It looks like Cassell is going to replace Weeden after the bye. While Cassell doesn't have a great record as a starter, I do know he can throw the ball better than Weeden can.

4) TOUCHDOWN MACHINE (3-2)

Gabs' team is a little banged up right now, but as long as Devonta Freeman and Tyrod Taylor are good to go, his team will remain competitive. Taylor is literally doing everything for the Bills on offense--throwing, running, and catching passes. Yes, you heard me. He even played WR on one series. Here's Tyrod's stat line from last week: 10-17 for 109 yards and 1 TD, 8 rushes for 76 yards and 1 TD, and 1 reception for 4 yards. 

Now if Gabs could just get a little more production from Cobb, Lacy, and Graham, his team could contend for FF "elite" status. I'm still bullish on Cobb. He's bound to get more love from Rodgers in the near future. Lacy has been a little iffy as of late but also difficult not to start. With GB building such large early game, they will need to keep feeding Lacy the ball to run out the clock. And Graham? He's a head scratcher. I can't blame Gabs for sticking with him, but the Seahawks don't really seem to be making any effort to get him the ball. It also doesn't help that Wilson has like no  time to make the reads he needs to make in the pocket. The Seahawks lead the league in sacks right now.

5) Aaron Chou's Team (3-2)

Aaron's team has been in a slump the past two weeks, but I'm expecting him to break out again. Palmer should continue to chip in 20+ points per game. Bell and Lewis are a solid one two punch combination at RB. The underrated Eric Decker is coming off his bye week. And Seattle defense continues to play well from a FF perspective. Bonus points for Aaron if Steve Smith returns this week from his rib injuries. Normally, a player with rib injuries would scare me, but Steve Smith is an iron man who can play through anything. Aaron's got all the pieces to beat David Lin this week and goto 4-2.

6) Unicorn Queen (3-2)

Things are looking up for Tim. He's getting strong play at the QB position from Cam (and Eli). Olsen is returning this week. And his WRs are providing very balanced scoring. However, Tim's RBs are still a concern me. Hyde is extremely talented but limited by the rest of his team. Rawls has lost whatever value he had now that Marshawn (and Fred Jackson) are back. And Gordon is playing like a true rookie--fumbling the ball and missing block assignments. It also doesn't help that he's playing behind a hodgepodge line in San Diego. If Tim can get more consistent production at the RB position, he'll move up.

Fun fact: Eli has scored 23+ points over the past four weeks. That's pretty darn consistent if you ask me. With Cam playing a motivated Seattle defense this week, Tim may want to consider giving Eli the start instead.

7) HAMAJANG (1-4)

I know my win-loss record is crappy, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and put myself at #7. My rationale? I've got more "Pts For" than all the teams below me, and a win next week would catapult me to 7th or 8th anyway. Here's what I like about my team. I've got a nice core in Forte, Rodgers, James Jones, and Gates. These four players went a long way in pushing me over 100 points last week, and as long as they continue producing, my team will see better days. It is true that Rodgers has struggled over the past two weeks. There are signs that he is starting to miss the vertical threat Nelson provided. (That back shoulder throw was automatic). However, I have complete confidence that the #1 QB in the NFL will figure things out. Just throw to Randall Cobb more! Right Gabs? Now if I could just pick the right guys to play at WR #2, WR #3 and RB#2, I'll have a good week. I guess this is where the "skill" piece of FF comes into play.

8) David's Team (2-3)

David Li's team is quietly getting better. Flacco had a good showing against Cleveland and is facing a weak but underrated SF defense next week. Forsett is starting to get into a groove. And Yeldon has held down the fort long enough for Beastmode to return. Willie Snead has been a good pickup too. Maybe this will be the week that David Li finally breaks 100 points. He's playing me after all.

9) It's a me! Mariota! (2-3)

After another subpar performance from Peyton, David Lin has finally turned the reins over to Hawai'i local boy and hero, Mariota. Now his team name matches his starting QB! Yay!

Mariota will give David's team a lift, not a big lift but a lift nonetheless. He's got better FF numbers than guys like Tanehill, Cutler, Brees, and Bridgewater, and he's outplayed Manning the past two times he's hit the field. I also like what I see at WR. After a lot of monkeying around on the waiver wire, David Lin has finally landed himself a nice crop of WRs. Allen Hurns has been putting up Dez-like numbers the past three weeks. OBJ has been a bit hit-or-miss, but the Giants and Eli are trending up in a weak NFC East. As long as Eli keeps targeting OBJ, he'll have more weeks like last week. And Donte Moncrief should benefit with the return of Andrew Luck. The only thing holding David back though are his RBs--seems to be the recurring theme this season. CJ has got to be the biggest FF bust this season. Woodhead is still hit or miss. And Duke Johnson is playing second fiddle to Crowell although he does get those receptions. If David Lin can squeeze more points out of his RBs, he may be able to make some noise the next couple of weeks. 

10) I Called Game (1-4)

I still think highly of Duke's team, but for one reason or another, his talented group of players can't seem to put it all together. Some of the the blame lies in inconsistent individual performances (e.g.: Hill). Some of it lies in factors he can't control like injuries (e.g.: Foster) and poor QB play (e.g: Matthews and Megatron). Some of it lies in Duke hitting early bye weeks (e.g.: Brady, Blount, and NY Jets DEF). And some it lies in indifference/apathy. (Yes, Duke did start the NY Jets DEF last week even though they were on bye). 

Luckily for Duke though, I think he's got a good shot at taking down Tim this week. The Patriots are playing the Colts this week--the team that got them into the whole Deflategate mess. This means Brady is going to be super motivated to annihilate Indy. As a result, Blount will also get a TD or two too.

11) DeEz Nuts (2-3)

Here's a fun fact: Justina's team has failed to top 70 points the last two weeks. While the loss of Big Ben has been hard to recover from, I don't think that's the only problem she has now. Other parts of her teams are starting to unravel. Randle is on bye this week and in jeopardy of losing his starting gig to Christine Michael when he returns. That means she has to start DeAngelo, the only other RB on her bench. Wright and Mumphrey aren't getting it done. Vick has been a fairly decent back-up QB in real-life but only a so-so FF play. (I still think there better options out there on the waiver wire). And she plays Andrew this week. *Womp womp*

12) Spider Pig (1-4)

Do you like the picture Luke? I think it's cute. =) Here's another fun fact: Luke had the presence of mind to change his team name last week but not to pick up a different defense. This same defense, Houston, went on to score 0 points even after I wrote about how bad this defense was in this very blog. Guess which defense Luke is starting again this week? Yep, Houston.