2021 - And then there was one...well, actually it's a zero

 Welcome to another episode of the LOC Report! We are officially heading into the month of Red October, where some teams (looking at you Patriots) only just start to come into their own and show their true colours. Will that happen in the LOC? It's all to play for right now (with only one team having a 0 on one side of the board). Commissioner Stubbs and Co-host Chris Leach look back at the week 3 action, before previewing week 4.

2021 Power Rankings: Week 3

Hello everyone! Welcome to another weekend edition of the Power Rankings. We’re two weeks in and 2/3rds of the league has settled nicely into a .500 record, including one entire division, so it is looking like another classic LOC season already. Amongst other things that seem to happen every year, results continue to go out of their way to prove just how wrong (and likely pointless) my Rankings may be, there may be a little more chopping and changing this time around.

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12. Napolitans (0-2) Down 3

Guessing that you will find yourselves bottom of the Power Rankings before they come out is always ominous. Similar to certain fanbases already looking forward to another top 5 pick (#RiseUp). The score is actually a little deceiving, with very high Kicker and DST points. Lamar’s rushing will be a good source of points each week, but they need some of their other players to step up, soon.

11. IKSAN (1-1) No Change

Despite getting absolutely smashed in the box score, this wasn’t the worst week, with options like Cooks and Jones Jr. looking like they are going to be solid weekly contributors. A little more from Josh Allen continues to be what they are missing, he’s got it in him for sure. They’ll be looking to push up from this spot next week in the Power Rankings equivalent of a relegation 6 pointer.

10. Burdettinators (1-1) No Change

Not in the most convincing manner ever, but a good win to get them going. More encouraging will be seeing Jones do some of that 2020 stuff he was so good at. Murray growing more into the Ravens backfield would be more encouraging still. They continue to feel like a team which you can never tell quite who is going to go off each week, and picking up Moore gives them another such option. 

9. U R Gould (1-1) Down 2

After everything going their way last week, this week couldn’t quite live up to the same level. The Bears D was good, but outside of that they struggled. CEH’s usage is more than worrying, and the critical fumble won’t help. Losing Landry to IR shouldn’t hurt too much though, with the bench options they have. They need to sort their QB spot out, currently losing 3 roster spots to the position.

8. Buccing The Trend (0-2) Down 6

Oh dear, seems like my early season dark horse was a little lame. I don’t like to drop teams this far, but it is hard when lots of players that looked like they were going to be go to options in the offence haven’t necessarily played out that way. Even Kamara looks limited by Winston’s penchant to throw deep and bigger penchant to lose the ball. Pittman showed the world what he can do but, picking the right team here each week looks like a headache.

7. Tom’s Tyrants (1-1) Up 1

Still very reliant on Murray, but a more well-rounded team performance earned them a win. Other than from Sanders of course, don’t think he’ll be kicking in this town again anytime soon. If top picks Harris and Gibson up their games a little, this team could become dangerous.

6. ASIPE (2-0) Up 6

Well, they had to change this week, they’re the top seed for Pete’s sake. It was a good score as well, largely due to an impressive shutout from the Bills D and Gronk continuing his 2011 comeback tour. Saying anything negative only seems to fuel this team, like Anakin giving into his anger, so I’m going to leave it there before we end up with the LOC Empire. 

5. Gridiron Gang (1-1) No Change

First win on the board always leads to a happy coach. I feel my comments on Mr. Bridgewater last week need clarifying, however – I meant a long-term solution. The fact he finds himself unceremoniously dumped back on the waivers proves my point, but also proves this team will be moved around a lot in the hunt for success. Zeke looked much better, but Pollard is outplaying him. Tyler Lockett is awesome, that is all. 

4. The Dream Team (1-1) Down 1

Not a good week, although not necessarily a sign of things to come in this writer’s opinion. We saw what is definitely Hill’s floor, and unlikely to be repeated, but we also saw Hurts and Pollard continue to prove they could be weekly starters (admittedly on the bench this time). The main concern may be Robinson, who can’t get going and seems to be suffering simply as a result of being a Jags player.

3. Forge Flyers (1-1) Up 3

Boom. That’s it, next team.

No seriously, that was big, with the superstars doing what they do best. Everything went right this week, and we saw the potential this team has. The standout from my point of view has to be Kupp, if he continues this chemistry with Stafford, Forge Flyers could be on for a very good season.

2. Bear Necessities (2-0) Up 2

Very solid again, getting the right guys on the starting roster despite several playable options. They look built for the long season, with the bench players also ready to contribute, although I’m really starting to get curious about the AD thing… a bet? The engineering of a HOF nomination for future seasons? There must be an angle, surely!

1. Patistan (1-1) No Change

I had to jinx them eventually, everyone knew it was coming. They were unlucky to lose last week, and they put up a big score still, but the bigger jinx came Thursday night. Losing McCaffery will hurt them, a lot, but they still have a lot of strong contributors and this position is meant to reflect what happened prior to Thursday night of course… hindsight. The coming waivers could determine their ability to hold onto top spot.

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So, we had an Up 6 and a Down 6, it really is a miracle anyone still bothers to read this tripe. Hopefully things will start to settle out the next few weeks, it does get much easier when we’ve played a few more games, basically just copy and paste off the league table at that point. For now though, good luck all, and try not to do anything that makes me look too stupid.

2021 - How has this happened again

 Welcome to another episode of the LOC Report! The season is well underway now with 2 weeks in the books, and once again Coach Nunn's autodrafted side looks like the team to beat, against all odds. How has this happened again? Commissioner Stubbs and Co-host Chris Leach debate that, as well as reviewing the week 2 matchups and previewing week 3.

2021 Power Rankings: Week 2

Good afternoon coaches! Didn’t take me long for my first non-weekday edition. In my defence, I have been on holiday in Somerset, and everybody knows that Somerset doesn’t have basic human necessities like wifi and electricity. This particular late edition does come with Somerset related pros though, namely vintage cheddars and farmhouse ciders. Okay, they aren’t necessarily pros for you readers, but I’m in a very good place right now. Maybe my opinions will be kinder than normal as a result? Most likely not though, read on and see for yourself.

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12. ASIPE (1-0) No Change

I said Mahomes would win them some games by himself, chalk this one up as the first, but tougher matchups will need to be overcome before I get too excited by this team. There were encouraging performances elsewhere, and the plug and play of Shepard showed Coach Nunn picked up right where he left off. The great wall of TEs pretty much all produced in week 1 as well… annoyingly.

11. IKSAN (1-0) No Change

A decent first week for sure, particularly from the RBs (including the one I called out…). This team may still lack a little bit of oomph overall for me, but encouraging performances from Harris and Cooks were my highlights. Getting some solid floors from them will allow Allen and others to push the score higher each week.

Note: Personal apologies to Coaches Nunn and Sherwood at this point, just couldn’t work out how to get them any higher after only 1 game. But, this isn’t a poll, the clue is in the team name, what are you gonna do…

10. Burdettinators (0-1) Down 2

Top picks Jones and Ridley let the side down, but Prescott, and his aggressive game script, hid what was otherwise quite an underwhelming week 1. Edmonds looked good in a blowout win, but Conner drew a lot of carries and Kyler stole the rushing TD. Coach Burdett will be hoping Anderson and Murray grow into their respective offenses more to give them more weekly options.

9. Napolitans (0-1) Down 3

Not the welcome to the league they would have been hoping for, there weren’t too many positives to fish out in fact. Taylor’s workload was encouraging, and Smith looks NFL ready, but more involvement for Barkley and (a lot more for) Aiyuk will be needed. A high price was paid form the Kirk’s chemistry with Murray, hopefully it will continue.

8. Tom’s Tyrants (0-1) Up 1

The 100+ point week 1 is a little misleading on this occasion, lots of flattering to deceive and struggling to find the end zone. Murray looked electric, but the rest of the team needs to get up to pace soon to avoid yet another slow start. Don’t get me wrong, the move up reflects on other teams more than theirs.

7. U R Gould (1-0) Up 3

Helped by lots of high-scoring matchups, and not held back by the QB lottery, a very solid performance and score to kick off the season. Picking up Winston should help them build further, although you have to question the dropping of Carter after giving up a valuable WR in Claypool only days earlier.

6. Forge Flyers (0-1) Up 1

Henry and, particularly, Rodgers pretty much sunk them in Week 1, didn’t think I’d be saying that even after questioning them last week. But, they got to a respectable score with solid contributions elsewhere, most notably from Joe Mixon who looked very good in week 1. 

5. Gridiron Gang (0-1) No Change

I questioned the vets on this team, and while Hop showed up, he lacked back up. The score was respectable, with coach’s favourite Lockett also contributing a big number, but Coach Stubbs Jr. will no doubt be looking for a more well-rounded performance in week 2. Adding Mitchell and Claypool should give them some more solid options, but I don’t think they’ve solved their QB issue with Bridgewater.

4. Bear Necessities (1-0) Up 1

I think Coach Stubbs Sr. will be fairly happy with himself after that start, mainly due to his bench options, surprisingly. The won, comfortably, but the number of viable starting options they have is impressive. Mike Evans will have better weeks, and the biggest problem with this roster could end up being who to play each week, particularly with their position/team clashes.

3. The Dream Team (1-0) Up 1

Ekeler played (and played well) so there was worry for nothing there, but it was first rounder Tyreek who saved the day late on Sunday night. Corey Davis may not have gotten the target share he was projected, but he looked like the hyper efficient WR1 that could make him a bargain. Hurts on the bench picked up his 2020 form and could form a weekly selection headache with Herbert.

2. Buccing The Trend (0-1) Down 2

Eesh, benching Cooper really wasn’t the call for week 1, and would have made this blurb read very differently. Based on that, I’m avoiding being too reactionary, but the loss of Mostert was a big hit for the first week. I don’t think picking up Mark Ingram will fill that void.

1. Patistan (1-0) No Change

To continue my piece from last week; drafted at number 1, stayed at number 1 for the rankings and now instantly taken number 1 spot in the league. They made a statement without any of their players really doing anything too unrepeatable (except maybe for Brady, but never bet against that guy). The bench didn’t do much to alleviate my concerns, but they have more that enough outside of that to stay the ones to beat.

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As we all know, LOC committee members are only permitted one all-expenses paid holiday per season. But we do this for love, not for perks, and clearly not for fantasy success based on Week 1. Anyway, my point is, my midweek schedule is now much emptier, and you should be hearing from me again soon. Good luck all. 

2021 - The Commissioner's Soliloquy

 Welcome to another episode of the LOC Report! The season is finally underway, and the Commissioner will be recapping the week 1 action for you all by himself, before previewing all of your week 2 matchups and everything else.

2021 - The Week We've All Been Waiting For

 Hello and welcome to the first regular season episode of the LOC Report! The LOC Draft happened last weekend and Commissioner Stubbs and Co-host Chris Leach will be recapping that all for you in this episode, as well as delivering the first preview of the year for Week 1.

2021 Power Rankings: Week 1

Good evening coaches! Welcome to a brand-new season in the LOC! Season 13 in fact, unlucky for some, and we thought the injuries last year were bad – sheesh. Running unopposed yet again, you fools will have to put up with me as your EDOTLOCCA again, and in turn my rambling Power Rankings. Speaking of which, despite the draft being the highlight of the fantasy calendar, post-draft rankings are always the trickiest and, therefore, most rambling… so I’ll get on with it.

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12. ASIPE

Well, someone had to be bottom, and something tells me Coach Nunn will likely revel in it. Auto-draft giveth and auto-draft taketh awayeth. On this occasion, it gave TEs and took away depth. Having said that, Mahomes and Adams will definitely get a couple of wins all by themselves.

11. IKSAN

There are no bad teams at this time of year, but I feel the early QB pick and perhaps a slight reach for Jacobs has cost them some of the spark other teams display at skill positions. If Josh Allen maintains his 2020 form, he’ll be worth the high price. Lots of this roster will be relying on volume to put up big points.

10. U R Gould

Our second auto-draftee, kind of. The pre-picked players approach helped Coach Gardner get his guys, but it also resulted in a few reaches, notably CeeDee, Thielen and Tonyan (who has subsequently been dropped for a QB). Speaking of which, they also failed to get a single starting QB, early waiver moves were necessary.

9. Tom’s Tyrants

A reasonably solid team, but perhaps lacking some of the matchup proof players that come from higher draft spots. They’ll be looking for the projected jump from Kyler, with a stable of high upside RBs with potentially featured roles to carry them this season.

8. Burdettinators

I reckon there is a decent chance I could have copied and pasted last year’s blurb for Coach Burdett, without fail drafting for upside. If Ridley, Jones and Gus get their projected volume, they’ll be the weekly floor. Without them the bench is typically boom or bust. If Dak regains his pre-injury 2020 form, he could be a steal.

7. Forge Flyers

Another team that stuck to their formula, and it has worked well in recent years. Stocking RBs early (including the big move for Henry) and backing them up with A-Rod should lead to a high weekly floor. I question whether this team was drafted at their ceiling value, including several low volume receivers and injury risks.

6. Napolitans

A solid start for the latest LOC coach, admittedly one more experienced than most of us entered the league with, but slightly less techy, based on the Etch-A-Sketch at least. For me, this draft was based on value, with Saquon, Lamar, Kittle and Boyd all taken at good spots. They may be betting on certain offenses improving, but the roster remains solid.

5. Gridiron Gang

Starting with what I don’t like, Zeke, Hop and Matty Ice need to show me they have plenty of juice left to make this team tick. But, what I do like, is the excellent pass catchers, with good value, and the both solid and high upside bench. This team was built for the long season.

4. Bear Necessities

With Diggs, Kelce and Wilson as theoretically matchup proof, the foundations here are solid. Normally RBs are the reliable floors, but this team is built differently, and their RBs could actually be alarmingly un-featured. Mike Evans and Mike Davis usage and TD return will be the key differentials.

3. The Dream Team

 I drafted my first rankings before news on Ekeler, and for now I am sticking to them, although his health could make depth a problem. The Hurts/Herbert combo could be the best in the league, and Hill is the most explosive player. The bench is high upside, particularly the rookies, and this team could be a very strong finisher.

2. Buccing The Trend

I wasn’t planning on putting Coach Taylor’s men this high but, the more I looked, the more I liked it. Sanders is the only question mark amongst their starters in my opinion, and their bench options are very good. Tannehill to Julio could be an electric stack. I don’t think they’ll still be under the radar by Week 4.

1. Patistan

Drafted at number 1 and stayed at number 1 for the rankings. I’m not the biggest fan of the bench, most guys struggling to reach top of their respective depth charts, but the starting roster is the most complete at this stage, an ideal blend of touches and big play potential. Resisting last minute trade offers to secure the QB they wanted rounded it out nicely.

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So, there they are, I hope you enjoyed. I’m sure some of you will be happy but, for those of you that are not, remember that the first rankings are only ever about one notch above opinionated garbage and your EDOTLOCCA is entirely off-grid and noncontactable. If you don’t like it, stop letting me run unopposed. Have a great season everyone!