This week marks the halfway point for the latest campaign for the Breakfast League, and four teams have separated themselves from the pack. If I were to repick the playoffs right now, I would take the current top four in the rankings below. Why? Let’s take a look at some data here.
The average weekly score for the entire league is 111.6, and only 4 teams beat that average by more than 10 points. In addition, versus other competition, those teams have dropped a combined 3 games through 5 weeks. (One of LRO’s losses was to Team Suspension.) Does that mean everyone else is out? Of course not, we still have half the season left. But until something changes, these are the clear frontrunners. I’ve also included the points per game below in graph form for your convenience. Onto the rankings!
1. Team Suspension (5-0)
This team is undefeated, has the highest ever weekly score in the history of the Breakfast League, and currently leads the standings. McCaffery and Godwin are two of the best fantasy players overall, as they’re the number 1 RB and number 1 WR overall. That’s not even mentioning Kupp, Chubb, and Lamar Jackson who are top 5 at their respective positions as well. When you can comfortably sit Tevin Coleman and LeSean McCoy, you know you’re in a great position. What more is there to say? This team is on a roll and that should continue into next week.
2. Punting Is Winning (4-1)
Last week, I beat my personal all-time high score for the second time this season, and with what I’m pretty sure is a top 10 all time Breakfast League score. And I did it while leaving some points on the bench. So that’s pretty good. Russell Wilson is the overall fantasy leading QB, and as long as the games are close, I can count on a big score from him. I also have two top 6 running backs in Jones and Ingram. And I want to mention as well, I took Terry McLaurin as a rookie in the second to last round, and he’s having a great year so far. What does this all add up to? That sounds like a team right in the mix for a championship to me.
3. Turn Left and Goff (4-1)
RJ and Brandon’s teams might as well be 3a and 3b right now, but I’m just gonna give the nod to team Goff right now because of the record. Don’t worry, this will be decided on the pitch this week. A bit of a surprise to me is Austin Hooper being the number one tight end, but maybe it shouldn’t have been, since the OC in Atlanta just came there from the Bucs, who threw a ton to OJ Howard the past couple of years. Ekeler and Cooper have also been standouts on this team, and even though Melvin Gordon is back, with how good Ekeler has been, he has to keep getting touches. The importance of the game this week with LRO can’t be understated, as these two teams are right in the playoff mix, and we’ve seen how important tiebreakers are in the past.
4. Lincoln Riley’s Offense (3-2)
If you take a look at the average points per game for the top four teams above, you’ll see why I think these four are a cut above the rest right now. There are two others just above the 111.6 league average per game, but LRO and the top three are a step ahead of that. Despite having two losses as opposed to one, this team has already played Team Suspension where PIW and Goff haven’t yet. And each of those two teams has also dropped a game to a team with a 1-4 record. So everything’s still fine here. The team is looking nice too, with one of the best defenses in recent history, the Patriots, and a stud RB in Dalvin Cook. Still, this week almost seems more important for Brandon, if only because a loss would drop the record back to the middle of the pack, where tons of teams are right now. A win would give them some breathing room and make it less of a sweat come playoff time. Good luck this week, gentlemen.
5. Calculated Madness (3-2)
This team is still hanging on, but it’s slipping right now. When Mahomes is on, we’ve seen the highs his fantasy owners reach. But, when Mahomes looks mortal, so does this team. And unfortunately, the rest of the team is not picking up the slack right now. OBJ is too inconsistent and despite Lindsey having a great year, I just don’t see an RB2 here. The two best other contributors are the D/ST and kicker, which is fine, but not what you want to see. Ethan’s team looks to bounce back this week versus Eli’s inactive team, but unfortunately, he doesn’t get anyone out or on a bye. I’d be pretty salty about that, tbh.
6. Colorado Farmers (2-3)
The Colorado Farmers get the nod here at the sixth spot mostly because I think they have more upside than the teams below them. Zeke is better than only the 12th best back in the league, and I expect him to bounce back. And Watson and Keenan Allen have both been excellent this year. After starting 0-3, Alex has rattled off two in a row to get right back in the thick of things. Just remember, only one team has made the playoffs with more than four losses since we went to 11 games, and that was only because of a division win. So if four losses is the cutoff, then there’s not much margin for error here. That means this is a must win for the Farmers to keep hope alive with three of the top four teams left on the schedule.
7. Stop Looking at My Peter, Man (1-4)
The unluckiest team of the year thus far has to go to Dan here. It’s the second time this year that the person who has had the second highest weekly score has lost the matchup, but this one hurts way more than when Brandon lost to Dan, as LRO only had 126 in that matchup. SLMP had 149, which should be more than enough to win most weeks. This is not a bad team either, as evidenced by the above league average 113.1 points per game. The roster also includes Kamara, Josh Jacobs, and Jameis Winston who are having good years. But in the end, fantasy always comes down to, ya just gotta win some games man. Four losses mean that every week from now on is a must win, and it’s not an easy start with a loser leaves town matchup versus the Colorado Farmers.
8. Crazy Train (3-2)
A couple weeks ago, I said on Facebook that this team wasn’t looking great, but it doesn’t matter as long as you keep winning. Unfortunately, Sean dropped a game last week to a previously 1-3 team, and when you’re trying to win without getting the scores some of the other top teams are getting, that’s the kind of matchup you just can’t drop. Because it only gets more difficult this week with the number one team coming to town. We’ll see how far that good start can carry Crazy Train, but it looks like things are starting to go off the rails here. (Yes I know I make that joke like every time, sue me.) And, the only players on this team who are top 10 at their positions (not including D/ST’s) are Gardner Minshew and Michael Thomas. But, there is opportunity here as well. Pulling off the upset would be massive and put Sean right back in the playoff mix.
9. Davante’s Inferno (2-3)
One of the main reasons I included that graph with this article is because of Davante’s Inferno. Just take a look at the progress this team has made over the course of the year. Despite having league low scores in the first two weeks, if Jared can keep the trend up, he’ll be scoring 200+ points in no time! Seriously though, that’s two good wins the past two week, and I’m honestly on upset alert this week versus a team that’s catching fire. If Adams can come back from his injury, and some excellent waiver wire pickups like Dissly and DJ Chark continue to perform, watch out. Finding those kinds of guys is exactly how you recover from an 0-3 start, so excellent work. Like I’ve said previously, the margin for error for 2-3 teams is slim, but I’m not counting out the Inferno yet.
10. Saving Private Ryan (1-4)
This is where I’m drawing my playoff cutoff line this week. I just don’t see enough contributors on this team to come back and win out the rest of the year. To be fair, Aaron has already played 3 of the top 4 teams this year, but those were all losses which would kill tiebreaks even if he did win out. When that’s the most optimistic point of view, and when your two best players are Matt Ryan and Zach Ertz, I foresee tough sledding ahead. Ok sure, if you start Will Fuller last week, you almost make up a 50 point loss, but even then, you still lose. That’s not great.
11. Memphis Mayfield (1-4)
Boy, Kenny sure is lucky that my team left town for a week and that the other team vying for last doesn’t set their lineup. Because otherwise it would be the basement for him. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. At least you have top 10 kickers and D/ST’s. Yes, kickers plural. Yes, D/ST’s plural. No, there’s no skill position players on this roster in the top 10. You know, I think I see where the issue is.
12. The Rampaging Koala Bears (1-4)
Despite their best efforts, the Koala Bears accidentally fielded a full starting lineup last week for the first time this year. *Confetti*
Next Week’s Preview
Two of the top four teams meet in a clash with huge playoff implications. Nothing more needs to be said.
Massive opportunity for Train to pull an upset here. Will he take it, or will Kaelan and Team Suspension keep it rolling?
This could be a trap game for me as Davante’s Inferno has been heating up over the last couple weeks.
If CM wants to stay in the playoff picture, they have to win this one. Can’t drop these kinds of games.
Essentially a playoff elimination game, both teams need a win very badly this week.
Boooooring.
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