MLBPPWORLD FANTASY WEEK 8 RECAP:
Odd Year Magic (GoTwins24) 102.5 Smokin' Jay's Cig Squad (Queso James) 131.5
Summary: The defending champion snapped their five-game losing streak in a big way, scoring the second-highest point total this week. Every player in their lineup was on point, as almost all scored in double figures. James Robinson and Marvin Jones were the only position players who did not score over 10, but Robinson left the game with an injury. Had Robinson remained healthy, the team would have likely scored over 140. Most importantly, AJ Brown has woken up from a slow start, as he led the way with 26 points. Obviously, his resurgence benefits the Cig Squad's QB- Ryan Tannehill- who scored 20 points as well this week. Another positive sign is the dominance of Najee Harris, who appears to be a top-5 fantasy RB for the rest of the season. The rookie scored 18.5 points this week, and his floor is extremely high. The team also would have benefitted from starting Amari Cooper, who played really well in spite of Dak Prescott's injury. Even Devante Parker, who returned from injury, looked promising. Ultimately, the Cig Squad could make a run to the postseason, which would be even easier if Saquon Barkley returns healthy. Odd Year Magic fell to 3-5 in yet another underwhelming showing. Mainly, they were hurt by Lamar Jackson's absence. Kirk Cousins looked terrible against Dallas and only scored 12 points. Had Jackson not been on bye, the scoreline would have been closer, although the Cig Squad would have still won. Their biggest disappointment was undoubtedly Nick Chubb, who scored 6.5 points in his return from injury. Chubb is a pivotal piece for Odd Year Magic, and they will need Cleveland's offense to move the ball more for Chubb to succeed. They were hurt most by their streaming plays and non-skill players, as Hunter Henry, Matt Prater, and Cincinnati's defense all scored under 5 points, which doomed them to hover around the 100-point threshold. They now face a pivotal three-game stretch that can make or break their season.
The Jared Goff Lion Experience (Dishnet34) 70.5 Atomic Pickles (AgentP) 58.5
Summary: The Jared Goff Lion Experience won in the lowest-scoring game of the week, thanks almost entirely to Cooper Kupp. Once again, Kupp put up stellar numbers in the Rams' blowout victory over the Texans. Melvin Gordon was also essential, scoring 16.5 points in a bit of a bounceback game. Aside from these two players, everyone else disappointed, especially Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The Kansas City tandem combined for just 16 points, which is well below their expected output. The team also received goose eggs from Robby Anderson and Rob Gronkowski, the latter of whom left the game due to injury, a concerning sign. Still, The Lion Experience clinched an above .500 season and is a near-lock for the postseason. This showing will probably be an anomaly, because Marquise Brown, Justin Tucker, and Josh Jacobs were all on bye. With these players returning, the Lion Experience should still be a formidable opponent every week. The Atomic Pickles were stunned as they put forth the second-lowest scoring game of 2021. Immediately, they were put in a tough spot when Davante Adams was ruled out for the game. After this, they were dealt another tough blow when Dak Prescott was ruled out with an injury. These injuries were also in addition to David Montgomery's, so the Pickles were riddled with injuries all week. Even Antonio Gibson is obviously not 100%, or even anywhere close to it, and he scored just 6.5 points this week. The entire Washington offense hurt the Pickles, as Terry McLaurin scored 4.5 points- even less than Gibson. With their two most important players on the same team, they will need that offense to look more proficient in order to have more consistent scoring outputs. Actually, the entire Denver-Washington game was a disaster for the Pickles, since Noah Fant and Javonte Williams combined for just 6 points. With this, not even Ja'Marr Chase could save the team from defeat, which was disappointing given their easy matchup. The Pickles will look to rebound in the next few weeks, and any potential rebound may depend on their team's health.
Bellwind High Football Club (MUFFINZ) 144.5 Detroit Phantoms (DTigers115) 105
Summary: Bellwind High Football Club has lost Derrick Henry for likely the entire 2021 season. In spite of this, Bellwind High Football Club is still going to be the title favorite. Even though Henry scored 6.5 points, Bellwind still would have beaten every team this week. It is difficult to recall any team in this league's history with a more loaded roster. To offset Henry's injury-caused struggles, four players: Deebo Samuel, Chris Godwin, Darrell Henderson, and Tom Brady scored over 20. DK Metcalf was also right behind them with 19. The only concerns for this team right now are a few receivers- mainly Deandre Hopkins and Mike Williams, who combined for just 7 points. Also, their RB situation is a bit more precarious, since right now their best healthy RB2 option would be Devin Singletary. They will probably need to add another RB on the wire to manage until Miles Sanders returns from his injury. Even still, this is the top team in the league right now, and it is hard to foresee anyone beating them in a 2-week matchup. The Phantoms fell to an unlucky 3-5 as they faced another rough matchup. They got off to a poor start Thursday Night as Kyler Murray scored just 8 points. Murray also suffered an injury late in the game, which was said to be a "1-3 week injury." But it is unclear whether Murray will actually miss any game time. If he does, the Phantoms will have to scramble to find a temporary replacement after trading Jalen Hurts. A positive sign was the emergence of Michael Carter, who scored 26.5 points in a breakout game. Carter may actually have benefitted from Zach Wilson's injury, as Mike White targeted him early and often. Another positive was Tyreek Hill's emergence, as Hill scored over 20 points with a substantial target share. Despite these positives, Justin Jefferson, Ezekiel Elliot, and Emmanuel Sanders all underwhelmed. The trio combined for just 12 points, with Sanders failing to score a single point somehow. This grouping will have to improve if the Phantoms are to make the postseason, and they face a difficult Week 8 with Mike Evans on a bye week.
iPump Plastic (iPumpPlastic) 127 Los Angeles Aodgers (Kungfupandacam) 100
Summary: iPump Plastic improved to 6-2 and now holds a 2-game advantage on the league's third overall seed. Once again, Matthew Stafford was stellar, as he scored 24 in a takedown of the Texans. Stafford could legitimately make a claim for MVP this season, so iPump Plastic really benefitted from taking a flyer on him. Additionally, Adam Thielen, Joe Mixon, and Tyler Lockett were all stellar, as each scored over 15. Lockett was especially beneficial as he had struggled without Russell Wilson, but Geno Smith finally looked his way. He actually received over 10 targets, which is more than his average. Chase Edmonds has been a solid flex option in some weeks, and he continued that trend with a 13.5 point outing. Right now, the main concern for the team is to get Dalvin Cook going. If Cook scores more than 7-10 points weekly like he is currently, iPump Plastic will be even scarier. Another concern is returning to full health- as Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Michael Thomas, and Russell Wilson's returns from injury will make the roster better overall. Although, with Stafford's emergence, Russell Wilson could be an interesting trade piece to teams that are dealing with QB injuries, but iPump Plastic may still choose to hold him for when Stafford goes on bye. Los Angeles lost for a few reasons- mainly struggles from Justin Herbert and D'Andre Swift. Herbert and Swift combined for 16.5 when they usually combine for 30+, which made a big difference in this one. Stefon Diggs has also failed to meet his 2020 form, which has capped Los Angeles' upside a bit. Still, Michael Pittman's emergence has been major for them, as they can now rotate receivers around their lineup. However, they suffered a major blow with Calvin Ridley's absence, which will be tough to overcome. For right now, though, their biggest Week 9 worry is Swift's bye week. Without Swift, they will need to rely on Myles Gaskin, and Gaskin has been hit-or-miss all season. At 4-4, they are right in the thick of the playoff hunt, but they will need to stack a few wins first.
Break the Walls Down (PhilliesFan134) 120 Team Griffith (jag123jg) 108
Summary: Break the Walls Down finally ended their winless streak with a convincing win over a solid team. Josh Allen's return was the main reason for their victory as Allen led the way with a 28-point outing. Also, their receiving core was a huge part of their win, Robert Woods especially. Woods scored 18.5 points, and his target share appears to be gradually increasing as the season progresses. Speaking of target share, Cole Beasley ate up targets en route to a 16-point game. Jakobi Meyers was also okay, but his notorious inability to find the end-zone has hand-cuffed him to more of a flex role than a WR2 role. They weren't without their letdowns, as Kyle Pitts scored just 2 points after two games where he dominated. Pitts will need to be more consistent if Break the Walls Down wants to stack more wins. Another disappointment was Kadarious Toney, who was again affected by injury. Toney scored just 4 points, but his potential is clearly there. He just needs to remain on the field. Going forward, Break the Walls Down may not have a playoff chance, but they can still play spoiler, and this week was a perfect example of that potential. Team Griffith fell to 3-5 after a substandard game. No one was horrible, per se, although Dalton Schultz scored just 2 points. The main issue was nobody scored over 20 points, which will always lead to trouble in this league. Actually, 5 position players scored in double-figures, but still none over 20. Jonathan Taylor came close, scoring 19.5, but it was still a lower output than recent weeks. Aaron Rodgers scored 15, which is also disappointing for his standards, but one cannot really blame him since he was missing his primary targets. Rodgers gets his targets back and an easier matchup against Kansas City next week, so he can be expected to be a strong play still. One concern may be the WR2 position, which has switched between Julio Jones and AJ Green all season. Neither of those players has been really impressive, and the waiver wire is quite thin at WR, so Team Griffith's best hope is that either of these veterans can recapture some of their old form. At 3-5, they have a crucial stretch of games coming up that will determine their fate.
Standings: Alvin Lockhart Division The Jared Goff Lion Experience 7-1 iPump Plastic 6-2 Detroit Phantoms 3-5 Odd Year Magic 3-5 Team Griffith 3-5
Gilgamesh Star Division Bellwind High Football Club 6-2 Atomic Pickles 4-4 Los Angeles Aodgers 4-4 Smokin' Jay's Cig Squad 3-5 Break the Walls Down 1-7
Power Rankings (Based on Total Points Scored): 1. Bellwind High Football Club (1135.5) 2. Detroit Phantoms (1004) 3. The Jared Goff Lion Experience (992) 4. Odd Year Magic (951.5) 5. Team Griffith (933) 6. Atomic Pickles (910.5) 7. Los Angeles Aodgers (905) 8. iPump Plastic (900) 9. Smokin' Jay's Cig Squad (860) 10. Break the Walls Down (845.5)
Best of luck in Week 9!
_________________ The source of my emotional anguish:
ZeroGibson13 wrote: So far your Game 1 and 2 predictions have been the opposite of right, so I'm gonna predict the Indians have a 3-1 lead after Game 4. ...
BrewersFuzz wrote: AND THEN IN A SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS CLEVELAND BLOWS THE 3-1 LEAD THIS TIME
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