THANK GOD, WE ACTUALLY MADE IT.
It's okay! Take a breath! Sit and calm down. Cry the stress out, sing and rejoice - whatever exhales the worry out of your system, do it, because NFL football is still here!
If all goes as planned, we will be crowning the winner of the Breakfast League's seventh season this December! But of course, fantasy football is primarily a weekly game. Let's take a look at the first week's match-ups as a part of the first regular weekly preview.
PLEASE NOTE: All rankings used are ESPN's projected final standings.
I had a tough time picking a Game of the Week. On one hand, my match-up with Kaelan is a big rivalry with five titles between us - but alas, Kaelan usually wins. I also thought about showcasing new member Daren Lincourt's first game, against his friend Dan Jackson Jr. But, I did pick RJ Dechow and Al Ohlinger to face each other in the title game this year in my season preview - so, here it is.
While we don't have a lot to go off of yet, let's look at the achievements for these two owners: first of all, RJ leads the league in all-time average points per season (1644.5). Al is in a tight second (1642.425). Al leads the league in all-time winning percentage (66.67%), while RJ comes in third (61.11%). Al and RJ both own a regular season title, and they both have three playoff appearances (tied for first all-time). There's a strong argument to be made that these two owners are the most consistent in the League.
This makes the Waffle Division an intriguing watch for the season. Both teams are sporting elite QB's and elite RB's - it may come down to each team's matchups.
If we go by precedent, there's no question - Kaelan is the favorite to get his eighth win over Kenneth (that's me!) in this head-to-head, division matchup. Besides, ESPN predicts a 15.1-point victory for Kaelan - the most lopsided prediction of the week.
As a welcome to the Breakfast League, new owner Daren Lincourt gets to face the only other League member he knows personally - Dan Jackson Jr. In the battle of slightly inappropriate but fully hilarious team names, Dan will enter with the newly-found optimism that is ESPN's full backing of a #1 prediction. Meanwhile, no one knows what kind of owner Daren Lincourt will be. This week will be our first look.
Dan may have hurt his roster depth by picking a defense and kicker so high in the draft; but, depth issues aren't usually issues in week one.
Sean Alumbaugh has wanted to get over the hump for some time now. With two second-place finishes and one third-place finish, Sean has been so close. His first test is an owner who has won a title, but has since then been very inconsistent. The two owners have only played each other six times over six years - now they will face each other twice a year thanks to being in the same division.
Ethan Maas has only one win in five games against Alex Annan all-time. But in my own humble opinion, his roster is stacked for this run. Meanwhile, Alex will wait to see if early acquisition Lamar Jackson will pay off in the early season. This appears to be the battle of the top two contenders in the Sausage Division - we shall have to wait and see.
Jared hasn't exactly been successful in the Breakfast League so far - but ESPN is optimistic about his season. Under the new league format, #6 is IN the playoffs. Meanwhile, Aaron's projection is even brighter, coming in at #2. It's time to see whether these chronic under-performers can light off some fireworks. Look for the quality of performance in Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs rookie RB - if he goes off, Jared could start his season off with a win.
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