The Co-Hosts’s Corner
Power Rankings
Well, hello and welcome to this week’s power rankings – being done by me - the one and only true co-host of the LoC Podcast, despite other pretenders this week. I’ll be interested to see who the debutant amongst you is, we’ve had almost everyone on over the years! I’m filling in for the EDITLOCCA who has handed me the baton to produce a (supposedly) funny and whimsical look at where we all stand. So, let’s get to it, and let’s see if we all agree…
12. Buccing the Trend
And, at 5-6, they really are living up to their name. How on earth has this team reached 5 wins? You really would have had long odds on A) Brian Hill, Mohamed Sanu and Zach Pascal starting for any team, let alone together, at the beginning of the season and B) Kirk Cousins leading any team, fantasy or otherwise, to any sort of glory. An early season leader for the LoC Luck Award BUT kudos for trying to play the waiver wire. Their QB and two prize running backs are the key to any future success – but as we all know, no team can really stumble their way through a season with only 3 serviceable players and have sustained success, unless however, your name is Phil.
11. Gridiron Gang
There’s a reason why this team is where they are – a lack of clear, consistent scoring. I’ll be honest, the Gang did give me one hell of a fright last week and I thought for a long time, they were in the hunt for a long overdue win. Then the touchdowns stopped, then the scoring stopped altogether, culminating in a classic 2019 Damian Williams performance for less than 2 points on Monday night (don’t tell me I didn’t warn you!) and another player heading to the bench injured. They just can’t get the luck. Saying that, swapping old man Brady for old man Brees is a shot in the arm for this team. It’s just a shame we don’t have a 2 QB league and it’s not 2012…
10. Bear Necessities
In the eternal words of Peter Griffin - you know what really grinds my gears? Playing a player that’s inactive. Man, what a way to ruin a competitive league. Anyway, gripe out the way – this team, much like the Chicago Bears, they’re in terminal decline this season. The wheels have well and truly fallen off the wagon, so much so that the wagon is scraping on it’s roof, heading for the cliff edge. Time to bail out now. Consistent early season form has been replaced with mediocre scoring – perhaps that’s why this team is trying to make amends by producing the highest bench score – they’re holding not one, not two, but a whole THREE QB’s on the roster. Now, that’s what I call extravagant. Watson makes or breaks weeks, Edelman has been a decent source of points and Kelce is clutch now Mahomes has returned but again, the supporting cast are like one of a B movie with an A list star, forgettable.
9. Patistan
Well, this week showed a timely sign of life from those over at Patistan, shocked into life by the proverbial defibrillator that is Josh Allen and given the kiss of life by pure matchup heaven, but there’s only so many times you can bring something back from the dead. This week, they face top of the table Forge Flyers, bringing in Devante Adams (against San Francisco) and having to make do without messrs Hill and Butker and not-yet-cleared-for-contact Jordan Howard. Ouch. Also, time to drop Gardner Minshew – kind of the equivalent of having a pumpkin outside your house from Hallowe’en – that party’s over.
8. The Dream Team
Coach Nathwani definitely won’t be using his own rule again this year – though kudos for beating Phil on the last play of the game, that’s definitely worth 2 wins and a leading contender so far for the Ross Nunn Comedy Award for Comedy, which if you hadn’t have guessed, is for funny shit that happens over the course of the year. This was actually a rather positive week for the Dreamers (a nickname I have just coined, but should be used more often). After doing a fantastic impression of Ross on Honeymoon the last few week, their RB corps got off the beach and actually turned up this week (and a corps they are – there’s 5 of them on this roster!) to secure a solid win. More of these performances are needed to climb the greasy pole to become ‘best of the rest’.
7. Tom’s Tyrants
I’d fancy my chances playing Russian Roulette with Tom. Thankfully, this isn’t The Deer Hunter, we’re not in 1970s Vietnam and hopefully you sort of get my point by now – Tom is most likely to shoot himself in the face (proverbially of course) with team selection. Again, the points were there. Again, Kyler Murray shows himself to be a Fantasy QB1 despite shitty matchups. Again, DJ Chark is Nick Foles’s #1 target and no other receiver might as well play. Again, James Conner gets injured. It’s like a broken record, but that record is ABBA Greatest Hits – it’s just tiresome and if I were part of it, I’d be getting bored with it. Anyway, onwards and upwards for the Tyrants – thinking positively, the points are there, they just need to put them on the board!
6. Burdettinators
This was the one I’m most unsure about. No doubt, they have a quality QB, fantasy or otherwise. They have a stud RB in Aaron Jones. They have another serviceable RB in Jamaal Williams. Much relies on Jackson’s playmaking ability, which does seem to paper over the cracks of a receiving corps, which can only be politely described as ‘underrated’. So, in terms of power, they have the potential to go nuclear, especially if Lamar does his thing, but have all the power of a dam in a drought if he doesn’t, or the Packers play badly, or Rodgers decides to throw 5 touchdowns himself. Ollie finally has himself a boom or bust team – it boomed last year with great effect, will it do the same again?
5. The Wizard of Boz (or whatever it’s called this week)
Last year’s luckiest coach really does need to thank the auto draft for some good fortune this year but I’m happy to report, recent success is absolutely by judgement. This team possesses, in theory anyway, the most threatening corps of receivers anywhere in the league (Julio, Kupp, Golladay, OBJ & Andrews) and Russell Wilson, Fantasy QB gold. Jimmy G did a great impression this week but it wasn’t quite enough – touchdowns were hard to come by for some reason for his talented group, but the potential (and the power) is firmly, if not always consistently, in their hands.
4. Four Weddings and a Few Newsome (or whatever it’s called this week)
As team names go, this one sucks. It’s hard to say, and its acronym FWAFN sounds like some government regulator, so we can only hope for a new one this week. Aside from that, the team is super solid, and despite a sniff of a gypsy win this week, they find themselves on an impressive 8 wins and firmly in the wildcard position. For me, definitely this year’s surprise package and another one that can thank their lucky stars for auto draft! Going forward, they have two target monsters at receiver, a solid QB and three starting running backs, plus a solid, largely uninjured bench. There’s no reason why this super solid form can’t continue to close the year.
3. The Tuckfards
Is this the start of the Tuckfards’ classically predictable end of season slide? Phil will be pleased to know that no longer are they the gypsy kings (they have finally climbed to 11th in points against) but they will now need to show their true championship potential to close the season strongly and not limp (like Tuckfards stars Mahomes and Barkley) into the playoffs. Speaking of Mahomes, in his absence, and in a very Phil-esq move, he turns to Baker Mayfield to keep the Tucks feeling dangerous this week. They’ll need to be, as they’re playing the Wizard of Boz, and I see plenty of points in that one. Saying that, I’d love to see Phil back in the playoffs – I think he’ll get over the line and with Big Pat and Saquon, anything’s possible.
2. IKSAN
The league’s most consistent team. There, I said it. So it should be, it’s designed to be with the amount of spreadsheets and metrics used to draft and maintain it. They have been chugging along with 100-and-a-bit point scores the last three week but that’s in all likelihood about to come to an end. This week, they enter dreaded bye week hell, and are currently without a QB or a Kicker, or their RB1. Yikes. Thankfully, Derrick Henry returns to roast the Jags once again, George Kittle might come back and John Brown appears a changed man so all might yet be alright. Oh, and they’re playing Buccing the Trend. They can afford a small bump as they comfortably lead their division and I think at this point, barring any disasters, they’re a sure fire for the playoffs.
1. Forge Flyers
Up to this point, I’ve written 1564 words, so perhaps allow me an indulgence to put my team first. I do have evidence to back up my number one position though – I’ve got the joint most wins, and my team’s scored the highest this year by 130 clear points – as people keep telling me, the numbers don’t lie. But that’s so far, turbulent times may lie ahead for the in-the-clouds Flyers – injuries are racking up, Mack’s broken his hand, Hooper’s done himself in, Hilton’s calf doesn’t work properly and the matchups this week suck. Not to mention, I’m looking over my shoulder to see Ross there every week, and a slip up could see the division change hands fairly quickly. So, in Forge-land, there is a quiet confidence, but not enough to get too excited just yet…
Bold Play of the Week: Calvin Ridley (IKSAN) – to be fair, he came from the depths of Ben’s bench and did a great Julio Jones impression.
LOL Play of the Week: It’s got to the Chiefs DST (The Dream Team vs The Tuckfards). Just because.
Troll Play of the Week: DeSean Watson (Bear Necessities) - turns out a shootout became a blowout very quickly indeed.
And that’s your lot, lovely people of LoC Fantasyland. I hope you enjoyed your odyssey through the runners and riders this week. Good luck to you all (except you Pat) and I’ll see you again next week, same time, same place. Ciao!
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