2 games to go folks - TWO! We had yet another riveting week of LOC and NFL football alike in Thanksgiving week, and I have had enough pumpkin pie to put me off it until next Thanksgiving. The Playoff race is white hot now as well with 7 teams still in firm contention - what does the Commish make of all this? Read on to find out…
-
12. Art Attack (4-8) - down 5: And thus ends the berserker Coach Nunn side of the 2023 LOC season. Losing Andrews was a blow, but losing Taylor for the rest of the regular season is a death knell. It’s unclear when/if Higgins will return, so this leaves Prescott as the lone reliable player on this team, supported by Kittle, Diggs and Kelce. Freiermuth looks like he’ll be another nice helping piece, but this team is back to a low floor and a capped ceiling. To add salt to the wound, they were officially eliminated from contending for the division last week.
11. Tom’s Tyrants (4-8) - up 1: And my birthday gift to you Coach Barnes is lifting you off the bottom (definitely because of your teams progress and not another falling beneath you). With Love’s recent play QB may not be an issue for this team, but he is inconsistent. Beyond that only Allen, Cook and Robinson are consistent contributors - with the latter two not necessarily setting the world on fire. Kupp hasn’t given this team the shot in the arm it needed, and there’s not much else exciting here. Will Reich’s firing help Thielen? Perhaps - perhaps not. Either way, it’s not going to substantially help this team.
10. Buccing The Trend (2-10) - no change: I don’t really know what to write about this team that I haven’t already said. They are what they are. Tua is on an offence that is one of the best in the NFL, but the TDs seem to flow heavily through the run game vs the passing game. The rest of the team is ok contributors - so the ceiling isn’t too high here and the floor is hovering above sea level. Long since eliminated from traditional playoff contention, the chances of them avoiding the tied worst LOC season in history are on the wrong side of questionable.
9. Bear Necessities (3-9) - down 3: It’s just been one of those years for Coach Stubbs Sr, not helped by a laissez faire style that would even be a bit too far for Coach Nunn. Now owners of an 8 game losing streak (yikes), I retract my previous statement that they are likely to pick up a win or two to close the year, as they just find ways to lose games. Brown hasn’t benefitted from Murray’s return, and Puka has clearly taken a step back since Kupp returning (not helped by his health). Only Bijan and Deebo are solid options here - Lamar is boom or bust.
8. U R Gould (9-3) - no change: Coach Gardner-Beddoes missed a golden opportunity to clinch a playoff spot last week (granted they are still likely to do so). To make matters worse, the team’s output was putrid, and even if their point repellant powers were active they’d have probably still lost. The team is thin, with Brown being the only great option at their disposal. Everything else is middling. Purdy is a good QB to have, but he’s going to have games like last week where he only throws the 1 TD. To quote the Co-host on the podcast, if this team does make it to playoffs they will likely be found out quickly.
7. IKSAN (7-5) - up 4: Now on paper this team is up 4, but it’s more about what has fallen behind them as opposed to who they have overtaken. A solid week last week yes, but this team still feels like it’s on shaky ground. It’s a bit of a rag tag bunch - a bunch that is certainly capable of having nice days, but you kind of have to hold your breath. Evans leads the way, Sutton is a bright spot too, and Kirk and Ekeler can chip in - beyond that it’s a gaggle of streamers. I think we’re running out of time for Mahomes to change what he (or more aptly, his receivers) has been for much of this season - but of course if anyone can, it’s him.
6. Forge Flyers (4-8) - up 3: I think Coach Leach has his mojo back, and he’s officially picked up the mantle from Coach Nunn for berserker team down the stretch. Downing the number 1 seed last week in impressive fashion, they’re going to end the year on a positive note. They’re getting production out of the QB room, Henry and Stevenson are a serviceable core, Aiyuk has been great, Ridley has finally got going, and then they’re finding production from their 5th streamer each week. We can’t overlook the Cowboys D on this team as well, who have been by far and away the highest scoring D this year. Hide your women and children, this team is pillaging.
5. Great Scott (7-5) - down 2: big big win against the division leading Dream Team last week, which was an absolute must win game to keep Coach Scott’s divisional and traditional wildcard playoff hopes alive. And their reward - a 2 ranking drop in the power rankings. This is a combination of some other teams outlook perhaps looking a bit better, and some doubt I have on this team. Lawrence’s resurgence has been big for this team the last couple of weeks - we hope it’s here to stay but you can’t take it for granted. They still have a very good starting lineup, but I just can’t shake the feeling that in a given week 1-2 of them will let him down. The lineup is Chase, st brown, mostert, white and Gibbs. Why am I keying on this so much? Because there is nothing on the bench other than fellow Miami running backs, who at best are like for like to other playoffs in the lineup, or at worst muddy the picture. It’s definitely still a dangerous team, but I think they could be quite volatile.
4. Burdettinators (7-5) - up 1: huge win for Coach Burdett last week, overcoming a 40 point deficit, and effectively keeping their divisional and traditional wild card playoff hopes alive. Hurts is a stud, and Williams return to the team has come at the absolute perfect time. The rest of this team is a bunch of solid options top to bottom, having that flexibility week in week out is a great thing to have. Now the star power of this team is still lacking and that prevents them from really going much higher here, but they can be consistently very good to close the season, and that’s nothing to sniff at in the unpredictable fantasy game we play.
3. Patistan (9-3) - up 1: lots of big wins around the LOC last week, for Coach Allen it rescinded his lead of thr Southampton division and ownership of the number 1 seed. Great QB room, and a roster of great options to turn to each week. Similar to Burdettinators, I don’t think any of them are necessarily elite, but they’re all very good. What does really boost this team though (and this is the reason they’re above the 2 teams below them) is that Justin Jefferson is returning. Now, of course we don’t know what he’ll look like with Dobbs, and he may not coming flying out the gate, but the potential impact he could have on this team here could be season defining.
2. The Dream Team (8-4) - down 1: As it transpired Coach Nathwani wouldn’t have officially clinched with a win last week - and to make matters worse do now face some competition again for the division after a loss. Further to this, are there some small cracks starting to emerge in what has been a brilliant team? They remain flashy, with a very high ceiling on their boom and bust roster (though the bust floor is fairly high still). But I’m just scanning down here, could Herbert start to have some wobbles down the stretch? What’s going on with Etienne lately? It was hard to envision the jets offence getting worse, but it has and this is affecting hall. Warren finally made a start for them, but Najee has had a resurgence and a coordinator change perhaps muddies the picture. All of these players are still capable of blow up performances, but suddenly the bench is looking more unpredictable as well. It’s a solid group, but a tough one to predict which player will turn up in a given week. I’d be absolutely shocked if they didn’t make the playoffs still, but maybe just maybe, they’re not the world beaters they have been for much of the season.
1. Gridiron Gang (8-4) - up 1: I could no longer keep my team from jumping up to 1. Now the highest scoring team by 145 points, coming off the highest scoring week of the season, my team is in very good stead. The RB room may be the best in the league, and now has the addition of Zack Moss who for most teams would slide in as a starter but for mine is a luxury depth piece. This may be only a short term impact, but there are other solid players to round out the roster as well. The knocks are Cooper who is in flux in the wake of the Watson injury, but Walker or Flacco may aid that situation. The Lockett trade has been ok but he remains inconsistent, and hill is a nice depth piece but as we know, unpredictable.
-
And there you go, quite a lot of change this week as we enter the crucial period of the LOC season. We have 7 teams with 7+ wins currently, which is not a common occurrence. This week we may start to see teams clinching depending on what results happen, and there are some mouthwatering playoff race changing matchups on the docket too. Buckle in everyone, it’s about to get bumpy!
No comments:
Post a Comment