GWBL - Week 9 - What You Missed (Part 1)
Gentlemen,
Apologies yet again for slacking with the GWBL recaps - the kids and work continue to get the better of me (you’d be amazed how often a 2 year old misses daycare from being sick). Anyways it’s been 3 weeks since you last heard from me and to honor that, I’ll list out 3 things about each team. In reverse order of the standings:
10th Place: How I Metcalf Your Mother (2-7) - Kev
1) Don’t look now, but Kev’s on a 2 game winning streak after stumbling his way to an 0-7 start. One of the wins came against DMO who is currently his main competition in the Gabriel race. Maybe some day we’ll have a punishment for last, but being called the Gabriel will have to do for now.
2) Kev’s week 8 win over Lamone was the closest win by any team this season - a 116.95-116.2 victory. A margin of .75 points is ridiculous, but Kev was due for some luck (isn’t he always in this league…..). A single catch gives you .5 so that’s how slim of a margin we’re talking here.
3) Non-football, but have to give Kev props for this. He ran the NYC marathon in under 3 hours last weekend. He told me the average mile was under 7 minutes and all I can say is holy shit. Children have sapped me of all athletic ability and stamina (sexual and non), but even in my hey-day I couldn’t have run a 7 minute mile. Touche kev.
9th Place: Hill Bill (3-6) - DMO
1) It’s been a tough 3 week stretch for DMO as he went 1-2 and failed to put up 100 points in both of those losses. After losing to Kev in Week 9 he’s firmly in the race to the bottom.
2) Injuries have been especially prevalent for DMO. Kyler Murray missed Week 9’s game, while Saquon Barkley hasn’t played since Week 5. Miles Sanders is currently on IR and he was already dealing with David Montgomery’s injury.
3) The interesting thing is that DMO’s prospects look good for the rest of the season. David Montgomery is back and Saquon should be back soon. If Miles Sanders spends the minimum time on IR he’ll be back for Week 11’s game. Kyler was close to playing Sunday. When you add in his healthy assets this is a team that can make a run (Thielen, Tyreek Hill, Brandin Cooks, Darrell Henderson, etc).
8th Place: A Finkle In Time (3-6) - Frader
1) It’s been a rough go the last 4 weeks for Frader and he’s gone 1-3 during that time. His team is performing pretty well and averaging 120 per week, but his opponents are being a real finkle in time. Over these past 4 weeks his opponents have failed to score fewer than 119 and are averaging 130 per week.
2) I do have to mention the Calvin Ridley thing - what a bad break for Frader. His 2nd round pick is WR62 on the season and is currently away from the team dealing with a personal matter. Obviously hope he’s doing okay, but he’s really letting his teammates and fantasy owners down this year
3) On the bright side, Cordarrelle Patterson has been the free agent pickup of the year. Frader spent a pretty penny to get him ($50 of $150 FAAB), but it’s been worth the investment. Patterson is RB7 in our scoring and has 7 consecutive games with 15 or more points.
7th Place: Fresh Prince of Bhel-Aire (4-5) - Rob D
1) We cannot talk about Robby D’s team without talking about Derrick Henry. The unstoppable force has a broken foot and is out for at least the fantasy regular season. This is a brutal loss for Rob D and took him from the league front runner to just an average team.
2) Coincidentally Rob D has lost each of his 3 games and dropped from 1st place (4-2) to out of the playoffs (4-5). His team is on a bit of a free fall, with their output declining each of the past 4 weeks. 144 points in Week 6. 118 in Week 7. 92 points in Week 8. Then just 63 in Week 9. Let’s hope this is rock bottom for Bob D.
3) To end with some positive news, reinforcements are on the way. Chris Carson might return from the IR this week, Antonio Gibson had a bye week to rest his shin, Antonio Brown looks close to a return and just about every player had a terrible performance in Week 9. Can only go up from here right?
6th Place: Covid Dak-cine (5-4) - Ken:
1) Like most of our bottom 5, it hasn’t been a pretty few weeks for Ken. He strung together 3 straight wins in weeks 5-7, but has dropped 2 straight since. He’s combined for just under 180 points the last two weeks, highlighted by a 58 point skidmark in Week 8. That 58 is the lowest any team has scored this season. (Dak was out and Ken couldn’t replace him since his IL spot was locked by an ineligible player).
2) Dak Prescott has really let the team down lately, missing Week 7 with a bye and Week 8 with injury. He then flopped in Week 9 and put up 18 points in a matchup Ken lost by 5. Dak and Ken’s team may need a booster shot soon. (Topical joke, check.)
3) Ken’s IR is a sight to behold right now. He’s got Odell Beckham who cleared waivers without being signed. He has Michael Thomas who’s out for the season. He also has Davante Parker who isn’t actually on IL. At a macro level, I’m starting to see some interesting rosters/benches as I go through these teams and I hope people aren’t giving up on the season already.
