The contenders are beginning to separate from the pretenders. Trades are flying all across the league. Who will emerge victorious? The foundations are being set now.
1. Children of Thanos (4-0) (+2)
The only undefeated team left, Brandon stands alone at the top. What did it cost? Everything. Whoa whoa whoa hold on here just a minute. Isn’t Thanos supposed to be about balance? That means this team is gonna have to start losing some games soon. Sorry, that’s just part of the rules. Team Thanos has already played the only two winless teams, so some tougher competition is ahead, but this is one of two teams that looks unstoppable right now.
2. Avant Gardeyns (3-1) (+2)
There’s a reason I though this looked like the best team coming out of the draft. Alex has all but one of his original draftees still on his team. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The league leader in PF, this 2nd position in the rankings is really more like 1b with a slight slipup in week 1 being the tiebreaker.
3. Crazy Train (3-1) (-1)
Just like the top 2 are virtually tied in my eyes, so are the 3rd and 4th teams on the list. But since Sean was so generous to do a nice trade with me, I’ll give him the 3rd spot. A loss to Thanos gives little reason for worry and with a sparkling new QB and TE, the train should be getting back on the rails. This week is a key matchup with another 3-1, and tiebreakers always come into effect playoff time. These are the ones you want to win.
4. Party Like It’s 1999 (3-1) (+1)
I’ve got to say, I’m really excited about my team now with a full roster of competent starters. When I sounded pessimistic 2 weeks ago, I thought I was a running back away from having a great team. Now, with Christian McCaffery and coming off my best week score-wise ever in the league, watch out. (That means you, Mr. Commissioner.)
5. Frost Advisory (3-1) (+5)
The last of the 3-1 teams on this list, Frost Advisory, is quietly putting up a solid season. After a dud in week 1, many may have written RJ off but he has come back to win 3 straight and is now knocking on the door. And, it turns out, that loss was to the current top team, so it’s not so bad after all. However, to me, this team is still a notch below the 4 above it. A big chance to prove otherwise presents itself this week versus Crazy Train.
6. I’m Bringing Rexy Back (2-2) (+1)
Not only is Kenny bringing Rexy back, but also his season. Two wins was just what the doctor ordered and one more will put him right back in contention. It’s always nice to see trades in the league, as it means people are being active participants. I think we’ve had more trades this year already than last year, with Team Rexy being one of them this week. We’ll see how his new additions perform against an evenly matched gamed vs. PL99.
7. Team Suspension (2-2) (-1)
With only 10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter of the afternoon slate, Kaelen was down 30+ points and all players for both sides were in action or finished. But then something funny happened. Kamara, Hyde, and Landry combined for 4 touchdowns bringing him within 10. The comeback was on. And then the Browns went to overtime. As the opposing team, I was scared, that’s for sure. But then the Browns Brown’d it up and the comeback fell short. Right now, I see this as a middle of the pack team that could go either way. Can’t tell you for sure right now where Team Suspension will finish. We shall see.
8. Just Call Burton (2-2) (+1)
Just Call Burton had a stellar week with the high score league-wide. Having your D/ST kicker put up 30 combined certainly help with that. Unfortunately, the great score came against a bottom team. Can Jared continue this trend of scores? If the consistency comes, this team will move up. Just as with Team Suspension, I’m not really sure where Just Call Burton will end up.
9. Attack of the Mahomes (1-3) (-8)
Oof. Right back to where we started here. Two weeks ago, I asked it was an overreaction to move Team Mahomes to number one in the power rankings. Well, hindsight is 20/20 and I can tell you, yes it was. Aaron’s scores have leveled and are beginning to average out. But watch out, because if the Chiefs offense goes off again, so will this team. Cross your fingers when you play Aaron this year to not be the unlucky one.
10. The Rampaging Koala Bears (1-3) (-2)
Don’t start Ryan Fitzpatrick? Put up 3 points at QB. Start Ryan Fitzpatrick? Still put up 3 points at QB. Man, that’s some bad luck, but there are other issues with this lineup as well. At this point only the week 1 win is keeping the Koala Bears this high, and that won’t last long unless something changes. Eli will need to make sure to start updating his roster every week, too.
11. Chronic Masterdeflater (0-4) (0)
We saw a little bit of life out of our bottom two teams last week. Unfortunately, their scores only raised from below average to average, which was not enough to get either team a win. To be fair, Dan has been plagued by injuries, which is no fun whatsoever. And, there is a light on the horizon…
12. Donald Trump’s Hair (0-4) (0)
When I watched college football on Saturday a couple of weeks ago, I made sure not to miss Rutgers vs. Kansas. Not because it was going to be good football, but because it was going to be good entertainment. Well, this year’s pillow fight is this week with the two winless teams left vying for their first taste of victory. We’ll all be watching. For the same reason you watch a train wreck.
Getting to the end here, I’ve realized that I’ve pretty much just ranked you in the order you appear in the standings with only a couple of exceptions. But thinking about it, from what I see as the good teams, there’s only been one big upset, which was Eli beating Alex week 1. Other than that, whoever was supposed to win, won for the most part. We shall see going forward in bye weeks, but I think the gap between the top and the bottom of the league this year is much bigger than it has been in previous years. Make what you will of that.
Next week’s preview
Game of the week:
A key playoff tiebreaker to be won here.
Others:
Pillow Fight of the Week
Comments