WEEK 6 RECAPS - PART 1 — Protector Of The League

This past weekend was great. I took Emma out to Morton’s on Friday night and enjoyed a 12 oz filet and some rum & cokes. (Medium rare of course.) Rum & cokes and steak was a surprisingly solid combination and the rest of the night went well. The next day we hosted both sets of parents at our place in Southie – cooked Italian food and finished the rest of the wine we brought back from Italy. The Sox lost to the Astros, but the Bruins whooped the Red Wings. Top notch Saturday overall.

Then Sunday came and while I missed the 1 PM games, the afternoon/night went well. I swung by Dylan’s for a few hours, a few beers and a little bit of fumar. After that it was Boston Sports Time. You all know how that went – the Sox won an absolute thriller and the Patriots reminded everyone that they’re the top dog (in the AFC at least). What an incredible night to be a Boston sports fan.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Sox, Pats and Bruins did well, I saw my parents and ate a ton of good food. I even went 4-1 in my 5 fantasy leagues which made me very happy. So where am I going with all of this? Despite all of that good fortune, I’m about to complain. Why? Because I’m Irish. “If complaining is an art form, the Irish are Michelangelo.” Or something like that. That one loss I suffered, in this league of course, has soured the weekend for me. Not entirely, I still look back on the weekend with fondness. That said, I can’t fight this nagging feeling to complain about it.

Tell em why you mad!!! Everyone knows I’m a complainer. Maybe I’m a perfectionist. Maybe I’m jaded. Maybe it really just is because I’m Irish. Regardless of the reason, I’m here to complain. Lucky for you, I won’t be complaining for my own sake. This week, I’ll complain for all of us. This week, I’ll write the top 3 complaints that each team should have. While this is going to be a bit negative, I think it’ll help put things in perspective. Tell em why you mad!!!

Thanos anal snap: 5-1

Complaint 1: Amari Cooper, 3rd round pick. What an enigma. 3 points, 19 points, 3 points, 25 points, 1.5 points, 0 points and out for game with concussion. I don’t even know what to say anymore. The Raiders stink and don’t know how to use one of the most talented receivers in the NFL. I don’t care what your record is, if you have Amari Cooper on your team you are allowed to complain.

Complaint 2: Larry Fitzgerald, 4th round pick. What a bust. From 2015-2017, Larry Fitz averaged 108 catches, 1,130 yards and 7 TDs per season. This year, he’s on pace for 58 catches for 573 yards and no TDs. I know he’s old, but no one expected this. Complain away.

Complaint 3: It’s hard to complain when you’re 5-1 and the first place team, but I have an interesting take on this one. If I were Tieg, I’d complain that no one gives me credit for my fantasy football acumen. If you took a straw poll, I’d bet at least half the league would chalk Tieg’s success up to luck. Horseshoe up his ass, golden child, pure taige, you name it. It’s gotta be kinda frustrating to be so successful for so long in this league and have everyone think it’s mostly just luck.

Kens African Safari: 4-2

Complaint 1: In a similar way, it has to be annoying that no matter how much success Ken has this season some people will put an asterisk on it. We’ll never know how much help he got drafting his team, but you can bet your ass there will be cries of “asterisk!” if/when he makes it far in the playoffs. Like Tieg he’ll have to brush this off, but you know that’s gonna happen later this year.

Complaint 2: Ken put up 165 points this week….. and was the THIRD highest scoring team. If he scores that in Week 1, 2, 3, or 5 then he goes home with the $25 prize. Not this week.

Complaint 3: Ken’s WRs are so good, he can’t even start Julian Edelman! That’s just unfair, sucks to suck. Having to face that dilemma every week must not be fun. A small violin plays somewhere in the distance.

The West Canaan Coyotes: 3-3

Complaint 1: I’ve scored the most points of any team through 6 weeks and my record stands at a mediocre 3-3. I have the same record as 6 other teams despite scoring nearly 200 more points than one of them. How in the san-hell is that possible?

Complaint 2: I stand near the middle in points against (5th), so that’s not it. The reason I’m 3-3 is because I’ve played against the Week’s high scorer in 2 of my 6 matchups. Think about that - 33% of the time I’ve faced the team who led the league in points for the week. To make matters worse, I have to then pay that person $25 dollars the following day. I hate you Kev, I hate you Keetz.

Complaint 3: Don’t even get me started on Keetz and Tyreek Hill. Keetz scored 76 points in Week 5. He then turned around and dropped 174 on me in Week 6….. booooooooooo. As for Tyreek Hill - here are his last 4 games: 7 points, 13 points, 11 points, 38 points. You can all guess which week I played against him. Good grief.

DeAngelo Vickers: 3-3

Complaint 1: Going back to the draft board, Guy has to be pissed about Derrick Henry. While there were concerns Henry was going to cede work to Dion Lewis, this was supposed to be his breakout year. No more DeMarco Murray and the Titans were a popular breakout team. Instead, Henry is RB50!! Notable stud RBs who rank higher than him include Jamaal Williams, Peyton Barber and Ty Montgomery (LOL). He hasn’t exceeded 10 points in a game through 6 weeks and he’s not even deserving of a roster spot. Waste of a 4th round pick.

Complaint 2: Guy only ranks 3rd in points against, but he’s had some pretty brutal luck there as well. In 3 of his six matchups, his opponents have put up 150 or more (Week 1, Week 4 and Week 6). Unless you get extremely lucky those are auto losses and guess what? Guy has lost each one of those games.

Complaint 3: In a similar way, Guy has to be kind of annoyed that this was the week his team decided to put up a season high 165.7 points. It’s annoying because his opponent only put up 108 and that has to feel like a waste. Guy has scored 112 or more every week but 1, so again, kind of a waste.

Zeke-A-Tyreek: 3-3

Complaint 1: This is breaking news, but I’d certainly be complaining about Devonta Freeman if I were Keetz. His 2nd round pick, #14 overall has been put on the IR with a groin injury which effectively ends his season. It certainly ends his fantasy season. Freeman has only played in 2 games while scoring 7.7 and 6.7 points. Save Leonard Fournette, he’s the biggest bust of the 2nd round.

Complaint 2: I’d be annoyed about Will Fuller if he was on my team. He missed Week 1, but put up 23 and 20 in Weeks 2/3. Since then he’s been awful. In the last three weeks (4, 5, 6) he’s combined for 8 catches, 97 yards and 1 TD. If it weren’t for that TD he’d have a combined 13.7 points during that time frame. It looked like he was going to be a breakout, now we’re not sure what his role in the offense is.

Complaint 3: Kinda small beans, but on Weds, September 19 Keetz dropped David Njoku to waivers. He averaged 3 catches for 23 yards per game to that point. Since then, he’s averaging 6 catches and 58 yards per game with a TD in his most recent game. TE is a hard position to nail down so this is definitely one to complain about. (Although it has a lot to do with the Tyrod to Baker Mayfield switch.)

The GOAT and His Kids: 3-3

Complaint 1: All is right in the world….. for everyone but Kev. Guess who leads the league in points against? You guessed it! The GOAT and His Kids. Kev’s opponents have put up 830 points in 6 weeks, which averages out to more than 138 per week. Over the last 3 weeks his opponents have scored 154, 130 and 166. Complain away Kev, complain away.

Complaint 2: I have to mention this one, but the Le’Veon Bell situation has to be frustrating. Yeah James Conner is unreal, but Bell is a superior back. It’s worked out for him so far, but having your first round pick hold out the entire season is a pain in the ass no matter how you slice it.

Complaint 3: The scheduling gods were not fair to Kev this week and he’s got to be concerned about his RBs heading into an important matchup with Lamone. Marshawn Lynch, James Conner and LeVeon Bell are all out on bye, taking out 3 of his 4 RBs. As of press time, he doesn’t even have anyone to sub into his RB2 spot. Who’s his RB1? Mark Ingram who travels to Baltimore to take on the Ravens and their top 6 defense. On the year the Ravens only allow 82 yards per game on the ground. Poor timing indeed.