EDOTLOCCA's Corner: Week 4

Happy Friday everyone! Probably (not) the only time I will be able to use that intro so thought I’d get it out of the way. There are many advantages to writing an article on a Friday, primarily that I could massively increase my Bold Prediction hit rate no end, more on that later… And we also get to see some nice games shaping up already as well, IKSAN vs. Tanky McTankface is off to a great start for the divisional matchup. Although, waking up 50 points down on a Friday can’t feel too hot. Coach Allen, thoughts? Hit up the comments section, why not, it must be there for some reason, right? Anyway, we’re already a day late, so let’s crack on.

Coaches Award

A super close game that was at heavy risk from being micromanaged on both sides. As it was, both coaches made good and bad calls (not that I disagree with any of them, just the NFL doesn’t always make sense…), but the critical decision came late on Sunday when Coach Nathwani got Desean Jackson in the starting lineup, and his contribution was critical to the slimmest of victories. Spare a moment of thought for the terribly unlucky Coach Burdett (two weeks running), but then he also keeps putting up huge scores, so only a short moment.

Wooden Spoon

No one makes the correct decision every week, but there is only one coach in the league who seems to be trying his absolute hardest to have the highest scoring bench each week. So far he has been getting away with it, but not in Week 3. Coach Gardner got caught short in a relatively close game with plenty of points left on the bench that could have won him the game. Unlucky, but then he was pushing his luck somewhat the first couple of weeks.

Bold Predictions

Another correct prediction last week! Brady going big on the Texans has upheld my record of one per week, good man. This week we have a bit of a head start from Thursday night’s matchup but, whilst hindsight is glorious, it is also most definitely cheating. Let’s see how we do!

The Dream Team vs. The Southampton Narwhals: Fresh off a Coaches Award, the Dream Team are looking to spread their wings. After a decent start from Howard, they double the Narwhal’s score, complete with a big British Brees performance!

Forge Flyers vs. The Burdettinators: These teams have really built off of their RBs, and they seem pretty matchup proof! 600 yards and 6 TDs on the ground, count ‘em.

Cash4Gould vs. Gridiron Gang: Annnnnd Gridiron Gang are back to Palmer, didn’t take long, unfortunately he fails to score even one third of Ryan’s points total and the rollercoaster relationship continues.

Patistan vs. Bear Necessities: Predictions get harder to make when over a quarter of the players have already played. So, focussing on the players who haven’t played, Patistan’s rookie RB investment pays off with 35 points between them.

Tanky McTankface vs. IKSAN: IKSAN look to be hitting their stride this season and this game could be a high scorer. Having already won going into MNF, Cousins and Kelce provide the sprinkles on the cherry on the icing on the cake.

Tom’s Tyrants vs. ADRZ: Something is cooking in Gronk town, a big performance is on its way. 100 yards and 2 TDs here could be insurmountable for Tom’s Tyrants.

Right short outro here, before I have to change the intro to ‘Happy Saturday’, so gonna get straight to posting! Good luck this week everyone!

2017: Power Rankings Week 4

And here we are again to attempt to hopelessly assess the balance of power in the LOC! And it was another interesting one, in which we saw many of the win-less teams win....obviously. It wasn't all topsy turvy however, as some teams actually decided to follow their pattern. Let's find out who!

Power Rankings

1. Burdettinators, 1-2 (1): The top of this list, as expected, is pretty much as you were. As was said last week, this team is strong from top to bottom with depth to boot. They narrowly lost last week, by less than a point, but they had more than enough on the bench that would have brought home the W. This team is going to continue to put up good performances and the wins will surely follow.

2. Forge Flyers, 3-0 (2): Speaking of good performances, Forge Flyers just had their 3rd one in a row too. While they don't have the strength top to bottom like Burdettinators, each week they have guys capable of shouldering the load while others struggle, which is a perfectly fine situation to be in. The depth certainly isn't as good, but as long as the core remains intact that's not a problem.

3. Bear Necessities, 3-0 (4): And to round out the fearsome trio at the top of the league is Bear Necessities. Once again, #PackersOrPanic worked it's magic, and seemingly the only time this team will panic is on their bye week. While only Rodgers (and Crosby I guess) performed from the Pack this week, they have enough options around them to chip in when required. As long as the Pack are rolling, they should too.

4. The Dream Team, 2-1 (7): Now there's the team that I saw after draft day. Coach Nathwani's side finally put it together in Week 3, delivering the performance we all expected. While the roster still does have it's worries, week 3 looks like the week where The Dream Team have finally figured it out and can start to get their season properly on track. This is another sneaky strong starting lineup.

5. Patistan, 2-1 (6): A bit of a ho hum week in what has been a good start to the season for Coach Allen. But we've all had them once upon a time. This team was doing ok but really got sunk on Monday night by the Raiders offence (West coast teams typically never do well when travelling to the East coast). If they would have even put in an average performance this would have looked a lot better, and their bench is seemingly getting stronger every week.

6. ADRZ, 1-2 (5): After a decent start to the season, Coach Wells' side finally broke the duck and got a win. Not much to report here really, the team is as it has been, putting up decent weekly scores and finally facing an opponent that didn't outscore them. They might struggle to rack up the wins this year, but there's no doubt they're going to get their fair share with a decent lineup. However, the bye weeks and any injuries may cripple this side without any budget left to spend.

7. IKSAN, 1-2 (11): They haven't had the best of starts to the season, but Coach Sherwood rolled out a nice performance to bring home the W in week 3. They looked much better than they have been, and they could certainly build off of this going forward. However, with the looming potential of losing Zeke Elliot to the suspension he delayed, IKSAN could be in hot water before we know it.

8. Tom's Tyrants, 1-2 (8): And thus ends the precipitous rise of Coach Barnes' side up the power rankings. Look, it was a bad week, we all have them, I'm not going to slate them. What is positive though is they got to 68 points with only 2 people topping 10 points, and 4 players not even topping 3. Chalk this one up to a bad week, and while they might not be world beaters they should be better than this going forward.

9. Tanky McTankface, 1-2 (3): So after I finally give Tanky McTankface some credit and shoot them up the power ranking....they deliver an absolute dud with a season worst 44 points, one of the lowest weekly totals in LOC history. Not one player topped 10 points. However, they did have options on the bench that would have, and this team is definitely better than this. Time will tell if consistency eludes them or finds a home.

10. Cash4Gould, 2-1 (9): The team that was fortunate to get to 2 wins has finally lost their first game. It was a decent week, but another one that marked them leaving a lot of points on the bench. The depth is starting to shape up for this team, now Coach Gardner just has to make sure he plays the right players on a given week. If he can they should improve.

11. Gridiron Gang, 1-2 (12): Another win-less team that finally woke up in Week 3. Key players finally delivered on their price for Gridiron Gang, and they got decent chip ins from the surrounding cast. Despite suffering multiple injuries to start the season, Coach Stubbs Jr. has done an adequate job of plugging the holes via trades and waiver additions. Let's see if they can carry it through to next week.

12. Southampton Narwhals, 0-3 (10): #BradyOrBust is alive and well with this team, with Brady lumping in half of this teams weekly points. Which is pretty incredible when you add in the fact they got 89 points. Outside of Brady's heroics, and a good week by Hilton, there wasn't much to write home about...which unfortunately could be the case most weeks. Coach Nunn really needs to hit the waiver wire, filling his last vacant bench spot and dropping Allen Robinson to boot.

EDOTLOCCA's Corner: Week 3

Greetings kind folk, I hope you come prepared to divulge in the latest entry into the LOC history books. As always, the most meaningless chapters in said history books come straight from the darkest corners, the EDOTLOCCA’s corners that is. If that little intro hasn’t reminded you why you never click on the link that I post each week, then nothing will, so we might as well get into the nitty gritty.

Coaches Award

When only one game amongst the whole week of matchups really stands out as a high scorer, it is hard not to look in that direction for such an award. I have already questioned (multiple times) the brave tactic of committing oneself so closely to the fate of one particular team, but the questions will dry up with more performances like these. Congrats to Coach Stubbs Sr. for proving that his pioneering fantasy tactic does make the grade. And what a happy coincidence that Coach Stubbs Sr. is such a big fan of Green Bay too… oh… wait a minute…

Honourable Mention: Proving once again that necessity is the mother of invention, Tanky McTankface refuse to do what you expect of them. Great performance and well deserved win, can this team go further though?

Wooden Spoon

Ouch, sometimes there doesn’t really seem to be a reason for a team doing particularly badly, the players just don’t seem to be living up to expectation. Well, Gridiron Gang need to take a good hard look at themselves because something doesn’t add up here. For all the wheeling and dealing that Coach Stubbs Jr. has managed in the early part of the season, he needs to find away to put some points on the board. Cutting loose with Palmer was a good start, lets see if he can keep it trending up.

Bold Predictions

I can honestly say that I have never felt hard done by whilst writing this before. I got one whole prediction right! Cash4Gould’s rookies did make Zeke look useless, but I hit the post on two more and was so close to a .500 record for the week, the stuff dreams are made of. It will come, we just have to keep pushing on!

Forge Flyers vs. The Southampton Narwhals: The Narwhals look in trouble early doors, a culmination of bad depth and really bad luck. From their point of view, Forge Flyers must look like the metaphorical Goliath, Brady could just be their David however, cracking the 40 point mark.

Burdettinators vs. The Dream Team: If there is one constant that you can count on in fantasy football, it is that you start whoever is playing the Saints. Newton and Benjamin combine for 50 points here and all Coach Nathwani can do is watch.

Patistan vs. Gridiron Gang: Coach Stubbs Jr. really needs someone (anyone) to step up at this point, but Patistan’s WRs may be too hot to handle this week. Overdue some breakout games, the three receivers go over the 50 mark.

Bear Necessities vs. Cash4Gould: To continue his perfect record, Coach Gardner might need to start scoring a few more points. He continues his winning record here, but it is close again, with the highest scoring game of the week totalling 240+ points.

Tanky McTankface vs. ADRZ: In a matchup of arguably the two least predictable coaches in LOC history,  predicting anything at all seems bold to be honest. So lets go with this: *spins giant wheel that you can’t see but totally exists* TEs! *spins wheel once more* 35 points! There you go, TEs combine for at least 35 points, your guess is as good as mine.

Tom’s Tyrants vs. IKSAN: Will Zeke show up this week? If he doesn’t then this could well be the most uninspired group of RBs every collected in a LOC matchup. Well, I am going bold here and saying that there is only one rushing TD in this Week 3 game, and it goes to Trevor Siemian, obviously.

Despite feeling cheated from last week, I am still on a hat trick ball here, so I want everyone to keep their fingers crossed for another successful week. Disregard your meaningless fantasy sports to assist in my pursuit of correct meaningless predictions about your meaningless fantasy sports! Don’t ask why, just do it! Until next time.

2017: Power Ranking Week 3

Here we go again! After 2 weeks of LOC football what we have is either a clearer picture of the teams - or a more muddled one because the second week was the complete opposite of the first. Aren't you happy you're not the one who has to sort through this mess? I hope you enjoy my attempt at doing just that. Action!

Power Rankings

1. Burdettinators, 1-1 (2): Despite dropping a game last week (in which Coach Burdett still scored 115 points), Burdettinators have looked like the real deal so far this season. An incredibly well balanced team from top to bottom, there's scarcely a weak point in the starting lineup. As long as more of the same continues and they avoid the injury bug, they're looking like this year's team to beat.

2. Forge Flyers, 2-0 (3): I need to borrow Coach Leach's crystal ball before we draft next year. He said on the podcast a few weeks ago he'd rise up the rankings and - low and behold - he's one spot from the top of the mountain. While there are concerns and some players not bringing home the bacon, Coach Leach has a well rounded side that should be able to get you around that magic 100 every week.

3. Tanky McTankface, 1-1 (11): A meteoric rise here for Coach Merritt, I'm not sure he's been this high since 2014. And with good reason. While not everything is rosy on the roster, this team has shown it is capable of putting up points (something the team didn't show lasts year). There are concerns at running back, but this team has other strengths to mask this. Coach Merritt could be back people, finally proving he can hang in a 12 team league.

4. Bear Necessities, 2-0 (9): A very very nice week for Coach Stubbs Sr. last week, but this team will be quite volatile. Way down after Sunday night, they made a roaring comeback. Mainly because they have 5 (count 'em, FIVE) Green Bay players playing in the Sunday night game. While they're definitely a good team to have shares in, you have to figure this will be volatile. But if Green Bay go off, so will Bear Necessities.

5. ADRZ, 0-2 (4): Coach Wells has to be disappointed at starting 0-2 because the team has certainly done enough to deserve 1 win. Alas, the win will come as they have a decent, deep roster. After their splurge on waiver adds in week 1, they saw a bit of a boost, although probably not as much as they would have hoped considering the investment. Still, this team definitely has options to turn too now and should be quite consistent.

6. Patistan, 2-0 (7): Another very deep team from top to bottom that I don't think has come close to hitting their apex potential, so I'm ranking them at what they are right now. It's just a good, strong, consistent side, what more can I say? Jones and Thomas haven't even hit full stride yet, while I'm just waiting for the day when McCaffrey and Mixon take the next step. This could be an under the radar team that storms to the finish.

7. The Dream Team, 1-1 (1): Ok, Beckham still isn't at full strength, but I've seen enough to take some of the shine off of this side. Howard and Reed have been disappointing to this point, while other options aren't doing much to pick up the slack. Anderson looks like the real deal, but around that there's not much to write home about. They might turn the corner at some point, but for now they're looking shaky.

8. Tom's Tyrants, 1-1 (10): Coach Barnes is continuing his slow and steady rise on the power rankings (place an early bet now on them being no.1 in week 7). The side nearly pulled off an upset with a late comeback in the 9pm games but didn't quite make it. But this is also the worry, as without the charge from Witten and Siemian it was looking like a bad week. Still, Coach Barnes is too good a coach to write off, so they'll make it work.

9. Cash4Gould, 2-0 (5): A some what surprising 2-0 team as they've scored the 9th most points, but as you can probably guess, it's because they've conceded the least. Perhaps Coach Gardner is the new Coach Wells, who has not had the same fortune thus far. It was another disappointing week for Coach Gardner in which he limped to not losing, but to his credit he does have options on the bench. That won't be the case when he instantly puts them in the starting line up, but he has got potential.

10. The Southampton Narwhals, 0-2 (12): Coach Nunn is firmly committed to the #BradyOrBust strategy for a second year in a row, and the third year in a row that it has been a strategy. Brady put the team on his back in a narrow loss, in which outside of special teams and the Quizz the team did not do much. There is also little to turn too on the bench. But, on the flip side, some of the key players aren't performing right now, so maybe they can be better than they've been showing.

11. IKSAN, 0-2 (6): While Coach Gardner has depth aplenty, Coach Sherwood's cupboard is bare. Nelson got hurt this week but should be back soon, while Blount might not get any carries anymore. The bench is a wasteland of disappointment, and only Cousins, Kelce and Elliot at this point are their saving grace. But, despite all the negativity, Coach Sherwood finds a way of turning it around. He does know something about the NFL after all.

12. Gridiron Gang, 0-2 (8): As you can imagine, I'm pretty disappointed with my team's start. Bell has been slow out of the gate, and my trio of receivers have yet to pop. QB play has been an issue, and I've had a starter go down injured both weeks in a row. But I think it's just been a bad start as opposed to being a bad team. A silver lining is that the injuries to this team have been to non-core players. The core of the team should still be good, we'll just have to see how long it takes to emerge.

2017: Week 2 Status Report

2017: Week 2 Status Report

Gridiron Gang
- Clean bill of health

The Dream Team
- Jordan Howard: shoulder, limited all week, questionable but expected to play
- Odell Beckham Jr: high ankle sprain, questionable, was close last week, should play

Tanky McTankface
- Clean bill of health

The Southampton Narwhals
- Jarvis Landry: knee, questionable, should be all systems go

Bear Necessities
- Clean bill of health

Burdettinators
- Danny Amendola: concussion/knee, out

Tom's Tyrants
- Sam Bradford: knee, questionable, will be a game time decision but tentatively expected to play
- Andrew Luck: shoulder, out
- John Brown: quad, out

Forge Flyers
- Clean bill of health 

IKSAN
- Clean bill of health

Cash4Gould
- Golden Tate: finger, all systems go

ADRZ
- Clean bill of health

Patistan
- Clean bill of health

EDOTLOCCA's Corner: Week 2

Hello! After 8 months or so off, we have our first taste of LOC action! And boy was it good… well if you like defence anyway. A lot of NFL offences left a lot to be desired after Week 1, even studs like Le’Veon Bell and Tom Brady looked distinctly average, and as a result only four teams managed to get above the middling 90 point mark, bit of rust to shake off of the ol’ LOC. Despite this, it didn’t stop any of the thrill of the LOC with 12 teams taking their first step towards glory in 2017. Who got off on the right foot you ask? Well, read on.

Coaches Award

This coach was close to a mention in this section last week, he had a very strong draft and managed to singlehandedly derail my strategy on the day. It would be easy to just pick whoever scores the highest each week, and I am not one for making things unnecessarily harder for myself, so congratulations to Coach Burdett. The team looks legitimately stacked and, yes it is only Week 1, but I am already thankful that I am not in his division. He also made my bold prediction last week look ridiculous, but that is actually relatively easy to do, moving on.

Honourable mention: We all knew the new waiver system was going to cause a bit of confusion, but no one saw what happened Wednesday coming. Coach Wells isn’t getting this mention for his savvy pickups however, he gets it for sticking to his guns, admitting his mistake and rolling for it. That is enough for a virtual high five from me! In fact, unless they are playing against The Tyrants, I can’t help but root for ADRZ now!

Wooden Spoon

This team was missing their top WR due to an inconvenient hurricane, but they appeared to be missing more that than last week. With a team full of committee RBs and secondary target WRs, Coach Merritt will be looking for a spark to emerge within his ranks, or one of his classic waiver wire steals that no one saw coming. Whatever the fix is, it is still early doors, he has time yet.

Bold Predictions

It is always nice to start the season with a win and, like 6 of the teams here, your EDOTLOCCA has done just that. Okay, 1-5 isn’t everybody’s idea of a win, but we have come to lower expectations over time here. Any week with a correct prediction is a good week! Speaking of which, here’s what you can expect in Week 2.

Tanky McTankface vs. The Southampton Narwhals: I have been through the matchups and, if I’m brutally honest, I am not sure where the points are going to come from on these two teams. Other than the two QBs, no player posts double digit points in this game.

Gridiron Gang vs. The Dream Team: Coach Nathwani might feel a bit miffed that his first round pick missed his Week 1 matchup, well Beckham starts paying off the debt this week, snatching victory with a 25 point performance on Monday night.

Bear Necessities vs. Burdettinators: Coach Stubbs Sr. won’t need to flick through the games much this week, he only has starters on four different teams and two of them play each other! With 90 points from a single game (surely a record), will we see the greatest LOC comeback ever?

IKSAN vs. Cash4Gould: IKSAN drafting Zeke seems inspired at this point in time (all bets are off for how long it lasts), but he is facing a tough matchup this week. Coach Gardner will see his two rookie RBs both surpass the sophomore star.

ADRZ vs. Patistan: Question, what does spending your whole waiver budget after the first week get you? Well, thanks to Coach Wells, we are about to find out! He will need his waiver gems to pick up the slack after his WRs combine for less than 12 points on Thursday night, especially with Coach Allen employing the almighty ‘Jets Stack’ technique.

Tom’s Tyrants vs. Forge Flyers: Can two mid round RBs outscore three RBs taken in the first three rounds? Maths would say no, but boldness doesn’t know the meaning of the word. Of course, the unholy combination of Scott Tolzien and Jacoby Brissett could make that entirely irrelevant.

There they are then, predictions seven to twelve of 2017, if we could get another correct one after two weeks, this really would be a season to remember! Well, we can all dream. Good luck gentlemen, see you in a week!

2017 Power Rankings: Week 2

With week 1 in the books have your fantasy dreams been realised or crushed? Are you feeling the highest of highs, or wallowing in the lowest of lows? If you're either of these, pause - and remember, it's only week 1, there's a lot of games left to play. But after seeing a week of real football, the power rankings are certainly less of a stab in the dark....

Power Rankings

1. The Dream Team, 0-1 (1): Yeah they lost, boo hoo, cry me a river, and so on. Coach Nathwani was without his first round pick, in a game where Brees didn't light it up. While my optimism for a Viv title has softened, I'm not going to drop them off the first spot until we see the team at full strength.

2. Burdettinators, 1-0 (6): A team that has definitely been buoyed by a strong week 1 performance. Much of my Burdettinators ranking (as I said last week) was trying not to gauge them at their best or worst, which was why they were 6th. However, week 1 confirmed that Hunt and Diggs look good, which were 2 of my major concerns. A very nice season could be in store for them.

3. Forge Flyers, 1-0 (5): They said on the LOC Report they'd start to rise, and they were right. Building off a strong last season, Coach Leach started by going over 100 points. It was a consistent, steady effort from all. The receivers didn't look particularly flashy, but they hid it with a strong RB performance. Let's see what next week brings.

4. ADRZ, 0-1 (2): Our first faller! It was a curious week for Coach Wells. Leaving Gillislee on the bench cost them, and the rest of the team was largely...flat. They'll definitely do better than 70 points most weeks, but when I scan down the roster I'm not sure if there are many consistent high scorers in the line up.

5. Cash4Gould, 1-0 (4): They fell, but only because other teams jumped in front. Coach Gardner brought home a win despite losing his 1st round pick Ajayi. While there are definitely holes on the roster, this team showed in week 1 there are points to be had, and most reassuring to me is that the bench which looked questionable, right now looks like a strong group.

6. IKSAN, 0-1 (3): Another tough to gauge team based on week 1. A few of their starters (Cousins, Miller, Sanders, Kelce) did under perform compared to what we expect. However, Miller and Sanders aren't flashy names in the first place, so some other players will need to step up to give this team the oomf it needs.

7. Patistan, 1-0 (9): A reassuring week 1 lifts Patistan up the rankings a bit. I saw enough to believe Lynch will have some nice games, and that McCaffrey should too vased on volume alone. All this in a week where Jones and Thomas combined for 11 points, and they still got the W with 98 points. Patistan is going to be just fine.

8. Gridiron Gang, 0-1 (7): WHAT, PUSH THE RED BUTTON, PANIC PANIC!!!! I'm joking. Gridiron Gang usually lose the first game of the season, this is a widely known fact. They were truly sunk by a terrible performance from Palmer AND an early injury to Woodhead. While the Rams D did hide what would have been a horrible week, this was just one of those weeks where none of the key players really did anything. Let's see if they can turn it around.

9. Bear Necessities, 1-0 (8): I'm still not a fan of the all Green Bay strategy. Although they had arguably their toughest match up in week 1, a blip week by them is going to hurt you. As well as this, some key starters looked uninspiring and others have question marks. To top it off, there aren't many bench options to turn too. Let's see what week 2 brings before we deliver the verdict.

10. Tom's Tyrants, 1-0 (12): A team that was never going to stay on the bottom for long, a good week and a win have moved them up. While I don't think Bradford scores 31 points every week, the strength of the receiving corps alone is going to keep them in games. West looked good too, so they could be a hipster underdog pick this year.

11. Tanky McTankface, 0-1 (10): Not a great start to the almighty comeback from Coach Merritt. While I admire his optimism in the face of a large deficit, the game never really looked in doubt. And for good cause. There are many alarm bells ringing on this roster. Rivers showed well against a tough D, but everyone else's outlook is looking murky at best. I look forward to seeing how they come out in week 2.

12. Southampton Narwhals, 0-1 (11): Now, Coach Nunn's side were already low on the rankings, but matters have been made worse by losing David Johnson and Allen Robinson for potentially the season. There are no options on the bench to really turn to to replace them. Brady will have to carry this team for them to be successful, but the early outlook for this team is sadly bleak. Being savvy on the waiver is crucial for Coach Nunn this season.

2017: Week 1 status update

Week 1: Status update

Gridiron Gang
- Demaryius Thomas: Groin, should play

Forge flyers
- Clean bill of health

Bear Necessities
- Clean bill of health 

The Southampton Narwhals
- Jamaal Charles: some rest days this week, will play 
- Malcolm Mitchell: sent to IR, won't be available for at least 8 weeks
- Byes: jacquizz Rodgers, Jarvis landry

Tom's Tyrants
- Sebastian Janikowski: placed on IR due to a back injury, will not be available for at least 8 weeks
- Andrew Luck: shoulder, out
- Thomas Rawls: rehabbing an injury, will be a game time decision and reports are saying he could be held out 

The Dream Team
- Odell Beckham Jr.: High ankle sprain, game time decision but not realistically expected to play
- Jordan Reed: fractured toe, will play 
- byes: desean Jackson 

Tanky McTankface
- Dede Westbrook: core, placed on IR will not be available for 8 weeks
- byes: kenny stills, Mike Evans 

Burdettinators 
- Cam Newton: shoulder, questionable but expected to play
- byes: Jameis winston

ADRZ
- Jamison Crowder: hip, questionable but expected to play 

Cash4Gould
- Clean bill of health 
- byes: jay ajayi 

IKSAN
- Clean bill of health 

Patistan
- Clean bill of health 
- byes: Devante Parker

EDOTLOCCA's Corner: Week 1

Welcome, welcome good people of the LOC! Here we find ourselves, staring week 1 in the face, fresh off of yet another memorable draft experience. But, now that the offseason hangovers have cleared, it is time to get serious. EDOTLOCCA’s Corner is here to guide you through (probably most of) the 2017 season; celebrating greatness, rubbing salt in wounds and, most importantly, going bold. Strap yourselves in people, not only will it be one heck of a ride, but it will most certainly be bumpy. The season starts now!

Coaches Award

Before I get too far, I would like to remind everyone that I won my forfeit game last year and am under no obligation to unnecessarily hype up any team (although I would like to remind anyone who may have lost said forfeit game that the Tyrants are in need of some love right now). Regardless of any deals that were made, if a coach has a stellar draft, they deserve recognition. After a few years in the dark, Coach Leach has given the fans something to cheer for again. With a good mix of high upside and high floor players, a slew of respectable backups and a fan favourite in Mariota leading the way, Forge Flyers have had a great start to the season! Commendation is well deserved for Coach Leach.

Honourable Mention: We all know that going bold will get you respect in EDOTLOCCA’s Corner, well two separate teams drafted themselves 3 rookie RBs each this year, that is bold! That has got ambition written all over it! But, only one of those coaches brought party poppers to the draft… If you are going to mix boldness with flair, you have definitely bagged yourself an honourable mention, plus he has drafted a pretty nifty team as well! Congrats, Coach Allen.

Wooden Spoon

You know it, I know it, I am pretty sure that even Coach Merritt knows it, a true cardinal sin of draft day is selecting a player who has already been confirmed as out for the season. So soon after earning the right to be known as IKSAN instead of IKNAN, Coach Sherwood has taken his eyes off the ball for this one. I’m not sure if I could handle typing out ITOIRDKNAN each time, so he had better pull his socks up and stay focused for the regular season! (That’s; It Turned Out I Really Did Know Nothing About NFL by the way, but I’m sure you’d gotten that).

Bold Predictions

Southampton Narwhals vs. Bear Necessities: In a real game of double or quits, Coach Nunn will be hoping his Seattle DEF can hold off half the Green Bay offence. With two turnovers and a TD, Southampton Narwhals get the ‘W’ and Coach Stubbs Sr.’s bold draft day strategy looks miserable in Week 1.

Burdettinators vs. Tanky McTankface: Instant revenge game to start the season! With Coach Burdett’s long standing tradition of only beating Coach Merritt when it matters (and most recently stealing his very identity within the league), plus some tough match ups for Burdettinators, Tanky McTankface record the biggest Week 1 victory, 35 clear points.

Forge Flyers vs. Gridiron Gang: Sometimes you just have to sit back and admire a matchup, two well drafted and well balanced teams fighting for bragging rights in the LOC report. Forge Flyers RBs go over 50 points, so do Gridiron Gang’s WRs and everyone just has an all-round nice time.

Cash4Gould vs. ADRZ: The sophomore that was being written off before the draft vs. the auto draftee, doesn’t exactly scream headline matchup does it? However, after two very solid drafts, opinions of these teams may (and should) be changing. The difference here will be that one first round pick is playing, and one is hunkering down in a hurricane, ADRZ win by AJ Green’s statline.

Patistan vs. IKSAN: Speaking of first round picks playing, make the most of seeing Elliott on the field. Coach Allen can certainly feel hard done by, being on the other end of a game-changing 25 point performance before Zeke fades into fantasy irrelevance for half a season.

The Dream Team vs. Tom’s Tyrants: Possibly the most and least balanced teams facing off in Week 1, Coach Nathwani reminds Coach Barnes why RBs matter too. However, this game comes down to Monday night in Minnesota. If the Saints win, so do The Dream Team, but if the Vikings win, then so do the Tyrants.

There you have it people, your first EDOTLOCCA’s Corner of the season and, as a treat, I have a bonus Bold Prediction for you: this will be a weekly article, without fail, for the whole of 2017. Anyone who has paid any attention for the last couple of years will understand just how bold that is. Anyway, seeing as I am pretty sure no one ever bothers with the outro, I will call it here. Good luck for the season everyone, and particularly for Week 1!

Power Rankings 2017: Week 1

Here we are at long last, the long dark nights of the offseason are over, LOC Christmas (otherwise known as the draft) has come and gone, and week 1 is finally here (unless you were meant to be playing in Florida). And with that, we can do the first power rankings of the year. Now coming out of the draft my gut feel was there was a lot of parity - I liked a lot of teams, and didn't really dislike or really like any, which makes this hard. So don't worry if you're at the bottom, and don't be cocky if you're at the top, because it's all very marginal.

Power Rankings

1. The Dream Team, 46-43: I said a few weeks ago on the 2017 preview show that I think Coach Nathwani's window is closing. He's had multiple years of success, and that has to come to an end at some point. But I also said I think this is the year The Dream Team win it, at the end of their window. I'm now even more confident in this after they drafted a team to back it up. They're not amazing in every spot, but i think they're very good. The only weakness I see is flex, they have upside there, but there's a lot of risk. A great well rounded roster.

2. ADRZ, 46-43: A surprisingly good result for an auto drafted team. They have two super stars in Gronkowski and green, and behind that a good, deep roster. It errs more on the safe side, but there are a couple of high potential guys mixed in here. This should be a consistent team (barring injuries).

3. IKSAN, 57-47: Coach Sherwood's team was the toughest to gauge. They've got potential to boom or bounce. Their entire RB corps could be amazing or shocking (and being without Elliot for 6 weeks is going to sting). The receivers are a strong-not-great group, but should provide stability week to week. They've also got one of the best fantasy TEs and QBs in the league in Cousins and Kelce.

4. Cash4Gould, 8-6: The man who was lightning quick with his picks at the draft clearly had a plan - and it was a good one. This is an above average roster, it's good and consistent throughout the starting lineup. However, I don't think there's a great deal of upside here, and a below average bench could hurt this team when they're missing a player or two in the bye weeks. But ultimately I think they're in good shape, Coach Gardner is off to a flyer!

5. Forge Flyers, 49-64: Coach Leach looks primed to build off his return from the netherworld of fantasy football after last season. McCoy is the foundation, and if Gurley returns to form, Fournette delivers, and Pryor makes the leap this team could be explosive. Outside of that, there's some decent options that could develop, and some that are a bit uninspiring. But I think on balance they'll have a fine season. 

6. Burdettinators, 60-56: Its fitting Coach Burdett's side is at 6, because if they hit they could be 1, if they don't they could be 12. Newton, Winston, Benjamin, Hyde, Diggs, Garçon have all put some amazing stuff on tape before - but they've also looked pretty bad at times. What versions of these players we get will dictate Burdettinators success. Hunt is high potential but also unproven as yet, and Gordon needs volume and health (barring a next step) to deliver the mail. I like the roster, I do - but there are some red flags. 

7. Gridiron Gang, 56-60-1: Being impartial in these articles is hard - especially without points on the board. There's a trifecta of great receivers here, but Cooks is a wildcard until we see how the patriots use him, and Bryant and Thomas may not be as special as they once were. Bell highlights the RB group, but after that it's questionable to put it mildly. Palmer Stafford and Olsen should provide stability around this, its tough to see the outlook of this team right now.

8. Bear Necessities, 66-52: This is a risky team - but if it pays off it could do very well. 4 Green Bay packers could be a boon, but a bad week would sink this team, and only Rodgers will probably be the consistent option. Freeman and Crabtree are solid, while hill is another wildcard who could do well or be flex worthy. The bench is quite uninspiring, not a lot of good options to lean on here. Coach Stubbs Sr. needs the starting lineup to lead this team. 

9. Patistan, 14-15: Coach Allen is trying to build off of their last season, and they've got some nice building blocks in place to do so. Jones and Thomas form a great receiver duo they'll rely on every week. QB should be a stable hand too. Unfortunately that's where the certainties end. Lynch, McCaffrey, Gore and Mixon form probably the biggest RB enigma in the league. How this group performs will dictate how well Patistan does this year. 

10. Tanky McTankface, 65-54: id just like to stop here and remind you all again that I like the next 3 teams. The nature of power rankings means I have to put someone 1-12, so just cause these 3 are here does not mean I think they're bad teams. This is probably the best Coach Merritt draft in years. Murray and Evans are two great foundations. Ingram, Jeffery, Adams, Coleman and Kelly should all bolster this, however the jury is still out on how good each of these players will be. After that there isn't a great deal to write home about, so they'll need some of those middle rounders to hit.

11. Southampton Narwhals, 25-31-1: is Coach Nunn's team as good as his Mario Kart skills? Hard to say, but they've got a decent side. Highlighted by Brady and Johnson, they arguably have the best 2 of those positions. Hilton is a star but will need Luck to perform, while Graham should easily be a top 5 TE. After that they have to hope Peterson, Landry and Robinson hit to give them a stable weekly side, but no one would be surprised if that happens. 

12. Tom's Tyrants, 64-53: I can personally vouch for how difficult it was drafting where myself and Tom were, so can Ollie who did the mocks for our teams. In a similar strategy, Coach Barnes has the best receiving group in the league hands down, and they'll probably win them games alone. But the rest of the roster is a quagmire. QB is an issue for this team. Luck should be great when he's back, but when will that be, and what condition will his shoulder be in? I think he'll be ok, but we don't know right now. Bradford also isn't an ideal starter, despite poor opposition. RB is also less than ideal. Powell and West are volume plays who could be good, but it's not an ideal starting duo. What they get from the bench RBs is also to be determined, but I like Rawls' upside, and Martin when he returns.

Bracketology: The Worst Draft Pick of All Time (The Finals)

And at long last, we are at the conclusion of the worst draft pick of all time. I hope you have enjoyed this series, and indeed all 3 parts of the bracketology series, starting with the best game of all time 2 years ago, the best draft pick of all time last year, and now the worst draft pick of all time. This brings a close to my 3 year plan of the bracketology series, as I was only planning a trilogy. Next year and beyond will be replaced with something possibly even more exciting and interesting, which will be revealed at next years AGM. But, for now let's focus on today, where we finally discover the worst pick of all time (to date) in the LOC. Let's roll.

Third place final

(60) Andre Johnson, The Tuckfards 4th Rnd, 2015 v (56) Davante Adams, The Dream Team 3rd Rnd, 2015
Who knew at the time that both of these picks, only a round apart, would end up being one of the worst draft picks of all time. We know the story of the Andre Johnson pick. Let's ignore his performance alone for a second. Coach Merritt decided to draft Johnson after drafting Hilton just 2 rounds prior. Now, it's true, the Colts are one of few offences in the NFL who can probably support 2 fantasy relevant receivers. However, That doesn't mean you should draft them both to the same team. On top of that, Johnson was old, ineffective, lost the 2nd receiver spot, and was playing with Matt Hasselbeck for large parts of the season. Johnson lasted just 3 weeks on Coach Merritt's team before he cut bait. Not a good investment.

Davante Adams, one with less back story but no less poor performance. Some were speaking of Adams as a sleeper before Cobb got injured, and to be fair to him that was probably accurate. As evidenced in 2016 he is capable of putting up numbers. But playing with an injured, not himself Aaron Rodgers, on a team without Jordy, or a run game is a recipe for bad JuJu Smith Schuster. He didn't even crack 500 yards. The worst part about all this though? He stayed on The Dream Teams roster all season, permanently taking up a spot someone more useful could have had.

Winner: Andre Johnson
Reason: Johnson was that bad and without promise, a 4th round pick got cup after 3 games, even though he was fully healthy. A worthy choice as the 3rd worst draft pick of all time.


The Final
(12) Peyton Manning, The Dream Team 2nd Rnd, 2011 v (8) Josh Cribbs, The Tuckfards 5th Rnd, 2010
And here we are, the finale we've all been waiting for on the eve of draft day. Manning v Cribbs. Nathwani v Merritt. It's almost poetic that both Viv and Phil are in the final and third place final. Phil took the third place final, let's see who will take the final....

Peyton Manning. Oh Manning. The king of the regular season, who has won countless fantasy championships for many a player, certainly for Burdettinators in 2013. But in 2011, if he was drafted he certainly didn't win anyone anything. 2011 was Coach Nathwani's rookie year in the league, so whether he knew about Manning's neck surgery or not I'm not sure. Should he have known? Absolutely. Because the whole offseason there were reports about Manning missing significant time, if not the entire season. Some doubted whether Manning would ever play again it was that serious. Unfortunately for Viv, he also started him in Week 1 due to being in California and unable to change his team. This cost him the win. But it didn't cost him the season, as it was a lost 6-8 season for the rookie. But better times were ahead.

Josh Cribbs meanwhile, did play the whole season. Josh Cribbs...I don't even know how to set this up. He played for the Browns in 2010? He was theoretically their best receiver? I'm not really sure what that's saying. He was predominantly a kick and punt returner. But one thing I can tell you he certainly was not - fantasy relevant. He only put up 35 points across the season. Even though he was a 5th round pick, few players who play the whole season in a starting role are that bad. It's unclear when The Tuckfards dropped Josh Cribbs, but it was before Week 6, so he didn't hang around long.

This is a really tough one. Both of these are just god awful picks. Part of me wants to pick Manning, because he did not play a snap in 2011. But Viv was a Rookie, and I'm not sure if he knew (not that that excuses it). Meanwhile when Phil took Cribbs, we were still in the early days of the league. And in hindsight, it's just a very Phil way of drafting. The other factor here is whether I pick Phil or not so he can finally win something. Decisions, decisions....

The Winner: Peyton Manning
Reason: Every fibre in my body wanted to pick Josh Cribbs. It was a disaster pick. But, the GM in me looks at Manning, a guy you've drafted with a 2nd round pick, who never took the field for your team. If I was an NFL GM something like that would keep me up at night, and likely also get me fired. The Cribbs pick, while horrendous, things like that happen in the NFL (just look at Blake Bortles for example - actually scratch that, any Jags QB drafted). That's a black mark, but not a death sentence. And that is why Peyton Manning is the worst draft pick of all time. 


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