WEEK 8 - PART 1

WEEK 8 ENTERTAINMENT – MATCHUP RECAPS

Welcome back for Week 8 GWBL entertainment. This week we’re going to keep it simple and recap each of the matchups. I’ve also brought back the interview segment and we should have one for you this week. Nothing clever here, let’s go.

Return of The Mack (5-3) defeats KingoftheNorth Shore (3-5): 125.9-117.1

Frader gets a big win over Rob D which puts him at 2 games above .500 and 2 games above Rob D in the standings. This was a really pivotal game as the standings would look much different if both Frader and Robby D were 4-4.

This was a perfect example of when “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. Not one player on Frader’s team scored 20 or more points, but he still came away with the win in a pretty close matchup. While no one “went off”, every single player other than his kicker put up 10 or more. An all-around team effort and a big win for the squad.

In terms of the players: Return of The Marlon Mack led the way with 19.3 points on 90 yards plus a TD. I’ve never seen someone name their team after a player and have it work out so well.  Another noteworthy performance was Tyrell Williams – 16.6 points on 91 yards and a TD. I initially thought Frader overpaid for Williams on waivers ($30 when no one else bid any FAAB), but it’s looking like a great pick. Fun fact of the day: Williams has a TD in every single game he’s played this year.

KingoftheNorth Shore (3-5) loses to Return of The Mack (5-3): 117.1-125.9

Brutal loss for Robby D for two reasons. First because of the standings – Robby D falls to 8th place after the loss. Second because it was so close – just 8.8 points separating the two. While Frader brought a team effort this week, Robby D’s team did the opposite. Deshaun Watson and David Montgomery scored 30+, while JuJu scored 21. Those 3 players combined for 85, while the remaining 6 players combined for 32 points.

Two missing players were probably the difference here: David Johnson missed his second straight game, while Amari Cooper was on a bye. It’s safe to say if those two players were in they could have made up for the 8 point differential.

I could be wrong, but I’m wondering if Bob D is paying attention at this point. He had an empty bench spot, still owns Will Fuller (out for a month with a hamstring) and had Marquez Valdez Scantling (WR39) in his starting lineup. We’ll see if he makes some roster moves tonight.

MaKamaraca Great Again (4-4) defeats Butt Kicker Dot Com (5-3): 164.3-114.8

Yuuuuugggge win for Kev as he tries to MaKamaraca Great Again. A loss puts him at 3-5 and likely outside of the playoffs, but the win gets him to 4-4 and in playoff position. He also beat Keetz which is no easy task.

The biggest thing to take away from this is that he did it without Alvin Kamara OR Patrick Mahomes. Kev’s first and fourth round picks sat out this week, but it didn’t matter as he put up the weekly high score. (3 of his first 4 picks were out if you count AB.) Kev’s done a great job of handcuffing his RBs the last two years and he did it again with Latavius Murray. While Kamara sat out, Murray scored 39.4 points for Kev’s squad (157 yards 2 TDs.)

Mike Evans had another big game with 39 fantasy points on 198 yards and 2 TDs. That’s his second game with over 190 yards and more than 39 fantasy points. While he’s disappointed a few times, those week winning scores have made up for it.

Butt Kicker Dot Com (5-3) loses to MaKamaraca Great Again (4-4): 114.8-164.3

Tough loss for Keetz and that’s 2 losses in his last 3 games after a 4-1 start. It would have been 3 losses in a row if not for an 11th hour stat correction that took place on Thursday of last week. I’m starting to think if you win on a stat correction then the fantasy gods will automatically make you lose the next matchup. I beat Keetz on a tie/stat correction in the semi-finals last year and immediately lost in the finals. Keetz beat Guy on a stat correction and immediately faced the league high score the following week. We’ll have to keep an eye out for the next time this happens, but we’re 2 for our last 2.

The DeAndre Hopkins/Julio Jones duo put in work with 40 combined points. They totaled 21 catches for 260 yards which is exactly what Keetz is hoping for when he went WR-WR to start the draft. Neither of them scored a TD, but both had 10 or more catches with 100 or more yards.

Keetz is feeling the bye week blues a little bit these days. He missed Mark Ingram and Mark Andrews in Week 8. This coming week he’ll be without Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones. In Week 10 he’ll be without DeAndre Hopkins and in Week 11 he’ll be without Russel Wilson. I think he has the depth to navigate through it, but it wont be easy. Then again… he plays Tieg this week so it might be.

HOW’S HOOTERS? KiTTLES? (3-5) defeats Make America Gordon Again (0-8): 136.8-132.4

A season saving win for Lamone gets him to 3-5 and a game back of the playoffs. At 2-6 Lamone was probably out, but 3-5 keeps him in the hunt. I’m sure that sending Tieg to an 0-8 record sweetened the win even more, but we’ll get to that.  

It wasn’t all positive for Kittles, so let’s start with a concerning development – Leveon Bell had a season low 6.8 points on season low 12 touches for a season low 35 yards. Adam Gase is always difficult to figure out and you don’t have to look any further than Bell’s usage this year. Through 3 weeks he was averaging 19 carries and 6 catches per game. They had the bye in Week 4 and since then, he’s averaging 13 carries and 3 catches per game. The Jets have a favorable schedule coming up and Lamone’s going to need Leveon to produce if he wants to make playoffs.

Now for some good news – Aaron Rodgers. Lamone was down 132.4 to 103.2 going into Sunday Night Football. It looked like Tieg might break the seal and get his first W of the year….until Rodgers went off. Lamone’s prized trade acquisition put up 33.6 points on 305 yards passing, 3 TDs and 30 rushing yards. Rodgers now has 86.4 points over his last 2 games and 97.5 over his last 3. With Drew Brees back in the fold Lamone has the best QB duo in the league.

Make America Gordon Again (0-8) loses to HOW’S HOOTERS? KiTTLES? (3-5): 132.4-136.8

Yet another loss for Tieg and he’s still searching for that first W. The 132.4 is the highest he’s put up all season, but it wasn’t enough to end the streak. As I mentioned in Lamone’s recap, Aaron Rodgers was the difference. Tieg needed Rodgers to score 29 or fewer points in order to get the win. Not a stretch by any means, especially considering Rodgers had only beaten that score in 2 of 7 games to start the season. Sadly for Tieg he did it this week and crushed his dreams.

Despite the loss, Tieg has to feel great about Tevin Coleman. The 49ers starting RB scored 4 touchdowns on his way to 42 fantasy points. That was the 2nd highest output of any player in Week 8 and only .7 points behind the Week 8 leader Aaron Jones. Coleman will look to put up more numbers in a cakewalk matchup against Arizona in Week 9. (See: Latavius Murrary’s week 8 score.)

Another positive development – Melvin Gordon finally scored a TD and put up a season high 12 points. His 3.9 yards per carry were the highest average this season too, so hooray beer. Gordon also has a pretty favorable schedule coming up with Green Bay, Oakland and Kansas City on the schedule. If ever there was a time to pick it up, now would be it.