For my power rankings this week, I’ll be taking into account the results thus far, of course, but I’m not dropping my preseason projections just yet. The way I see it, you need more than just two games for a team to prove itself one way or the other. How I benchmark this is by adding 25% results each week. So after week 1, it’s 75% preseason projections and 25% results in my analysis. Week 2 is 50/50, and week three is 75% results. Only after game 4 do I feel like I have a large enough sample size that I can completely discard all projections. Therefore when reading this week, keep in mind that I’m taking into equal consideration results and what I thought about the player before the season. This may lead to some slightly controversial rankings, but hey, these are power rankings, not standings.
A quick note, the change in ranking (+ or - after the record) represents the change from my preseason rankings, not Alex’s week 1 rankings, so you can see how I view the team has improved or regressed. Let’s get to it.
1. Team Suspension (2-0), +2
Last Week: Win vs. The Rampaging Koala Bears, 119.9-111.6
Coming off of a nice win that came down to the wire, Team Suspension is the team to beat right now. They’ve put up consistent scores the past two weeks and still have a top 3 roster in the league. Chris Godwin and Vance McDonald were standouts in a week that Christian McCaffery had a bit of a quiet game. That’s what you want to see in fantasy, even when your star players don’t have the best week, others pick up the slack and you still end up with a decent week overall. That’s why I think this is such a strong team.
2. Punting is Winning: (2-0), +2
Last Week: Win vs. Saving Private Ryan 121.8-104.1
I’m going to use this space to brag just a little bit, so humor me for a second. I have the best winning percentage in the league historically at over 65%. I also have a winning or tied record against every member of the league except two. One is Kenny (1-2 all time). The other? I play them this week, and it’s the only team I’ve never beaten. Yep, I have an 0-4 record against Alex. So this is one I was looking forward to this season. I want to turn that record around and it starts now. Unfortunately, both Alex and I have a stick, a used Kleenex, and a rubber band at tight end. But other than that position, this should still be a good matchup.
3. Turn Left and Goff: (2-0), +4
Last Week: Win vs. Davante’s Inferno, 126-77.1
Eckler has proved himself to be the guy at RB for the Chargers and Dak and Cooper are hooking up for tons of points. These were the two players I had the most doubts about coming into the season and they have both proved me wrong thus far, which means I really, really like this roster now. When you can be sitting Kerryon Johnson, you’ve got a pretty loaded team. Unless something crazy happens, the matchup between RJ and Kaelan will be for the top spot next week. I took a look at both of these rosters and they are both pretty nutty and it it’s almost too close to call.
4. Stop Looking at My Peter, Man: (1-1), +2
Last Week: Win vs. Lincoln Riley’s Offense 135.8-126.4
A big win last week with the highest weekly total provided a big bounce back for Dan against Brandon. My main concern coming in with this team was that Josh Jacobs was talented, but Oakland’s offensive line has been trash recently. Well, this is now a player that’s proving himself to be the best rookie in a talented class. With a nice trade to pick up Hollywood Brown, it’s looking up right now for the Fightin’ Petermans. Another chance to prove it comes next week versus a currently undefeated Calculated Madness.
5. Lincoln Riley’s Offense: (1-1), +4
Last Week: Loss vs. Stop Looking at my Peter, Man 126.4-135.8
The worst feeling in fantasy football is when you get the second highest weekly score yet lose your matchup. That’s what happened last week to Brandon. As a wise coach once said, “That’s football.” But, there’s not much you can do about that. There’s still an excellent PF and LRO also picked up Singletary in a trade earlier this week. Without actually calculating the average score in the league, I would guess it’s around 115 and as long as you’re scoring above that mark, you’ll be fine.
Note: This was written before I accepted the trade with Brandon. I’ll let you guys be the judge of that one.
6. Calculated Madness: (2-0), +5
Last Week: Win vs. Memphis Mayfield 119.4-73.6
This might be slightly controversial putting this team this low. Ethan is currently 2nd in points for, I’m aware. And his team does look pretty strong overall, except at one key position. However, that position is the most important, and that’s running back. I’m absolutely not sold on Lindsey and Barber as your RB1 and RB2. But, as I said in the intro, if this team continues to win over the next couple of weeks, I will absolutely take that into account. On a more positive note, Ethan has already double his win total from last year! ****Confetti falls*****
7. Colorado Farmers: (0-2), -5
Last Week: Loss vs. Crazy Train 72.7-75.8
…This might be slightly more controversial, putting this team this high. Look, I play Alex this week, and I opened FantasyCast to check his lineup and this shit looks scary. I still think this is a top 4 roster in the league. However, the results show the exact opposite, with an abysmal score last week. So for now, we’ll split the difference at 7. Don’t worry, if this points trend continues, the Farmers will not be here for long. As a side note, Alex, you’re going down this week!
8. The Rampaging Koala Bears: (1-1), +4
Last Week: Loss vs. Team Suspension 111.6-119.9
I don’t care how good your PF is, if you’re not setting your lineup, you don’t deserve to be in the top half of the league. So I’m going to take as long writing this blurb as Eli did setting his lineup.
9. Saving Private Ryan: (0-2), +1
Last Week: Loss vs. Punting is Winning 104.1-121.8
An 0-2 start is never a good thing, but there is a silver lining here. The two loses were to the top two teams in this ranking, so things should get easier from here. The overall PF isn’t terrible either, so there’s still hope for this team. But, since Tyreek was injured, it will still be tough. You never want to start 0-3 so this week is a must win in a matchup where you get a free flex player. It’s a good opportunity to turn things around for Aaron.
10. Crazy Train: (1-1), -9
Last Week: Win vs Colorado Farmers 75.8-72.7
Look, I may have slightly overvalued this team to start off with, but I still don’t mind my initial top 4 ranking for Crazy Train. However, injuries have decimated this team already, and things are starting to go off the rails. It’s going to be tough to get things back on track, and frankly, Sean was lucky to get a win last week with that score. This is a team that always finishes the year strong, however, and I have faith that the train can get back on track. Next week is a chance for a win while recovering, which could be key. If Sean could start 2-1, no matter how ugly it is, with these injuries, that would be a massive win.
11. Memphis Mayfield: (0-2), -3
Last Week: Loss vs. Calculated Madness 73.6-119.4
So far, in the three years I’ve done the post draft power rankings, I’ve been right about Kenny’s team every time. In 2017, I picked him 9th and he started off 0-3 before making a massive comeback. In 2018, I picked him 2nd in the league and he ended up winning. This year, I wasn’t so confident, and again, I’ve proven to be correct. When looking at this team, I see exactly two player that would be in my starting lineup, and those are the two RB’s. Carson has proved to be a good choice. Frankly, the rest of the team is stinking up the bed right now. Am I counting Memphis Mayfield out? Of course not, that would be stupid. Kenny’s too good at fantasy to do that.
12. Davante’s Inferno: (0-2), -7
Last Week: Loss vs. Turn Left and Goff 77.1-126
This was really the only team that I feel like I majorly whiffed on in my initial projections. There’s no excusing league low scores two weeks in a row. OJ Howard has done absolutely nothing, and neither has the quarterback position. There were a couple injuries like Big Ben, and I think there’s still some hope for this team, but they will have to get better fast against a tough opponent next week in order to avoid starting 0-3.
Next Week’s Preview
For two teams that are always in playoff contention, this is a big week. Who’s going to get the crucial W that will certainly matter two months from now.
As I stated earlier, despite the 0-2 record, I think this is a dangerous team. Also, I’ve never beaten Alex so I’m looking forward to this one.
Both teams are off to good starts, but I’m not quite sold on either as a top team yet. A win in this matchup would do it for either.
Brandon looks to bounce back from a tough loss last week and Jared looks to get something, anything going.
Can you tell that it annoys the crap out of me when people don’t set their lineups?
Really feels like a must win for both teams if either wants to do anything with this season.
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