2021 Power Rankings: Week 5

Hello again Coaches, welcome to the 5^th edition of this year’s Power Rankings! And, happily, Week 5 brings the return of the London games, which were sorely missed this time last year. This return to London also means the early kick offs set to catch out last minute team changers (and last minute Power Ranking writers), so we all have to be a little better prepared. Hence, the rankings, read on… 

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12. Napolitans (0-4) No Change

They may not be the worst team in the league, but if other teams keep piling the points on like that, it won’t really matter. There were encouraging signs in Week 4, particularly from the core of RBs, but it still didn’t amount to an overly impressive score. Baby steps, but if things keep trending in this direction, it won’t be long before that 0 becomes a 1.

11. Buccing The Trend (1-3) No Change

Another week where the players seemed to underperform. Taking punts on the waivers is the right thing to be doing, and the big price paid for Williams will be more than worth it if they can sneak a couple of wins whilst he is the starter. They need a spark from somewhere and, spoiler alert, they seemed to find one in Week 5 TNF.

10. U R Gould (1-3) Down 1

Not good. I mean, obviously things would have been very different had talisman Gould not injured himself in the pregame warmups, but these things happen. Lamb and Williams both hit their floors, they’ll bounce back, a fully healthy Cook would also help a lot. They’re better than that score.

9. Burdettinators (2-2) Up 1

Much more like it from them, and a much more well-rounded performance too. Picking between Prescott and Stafford each week is a nice problem to have, whilst Mooney finally looking like the player all that offseason hype promised is also encouraging. They’ve put good ground between themselves and the 3 teams below them.

8. IKSAN (2-2) No Change

Missed opportunity there, too many players not really doing anything of note. There is plenty of reason to think that those players will improve though, Cooks and Harris had horrible matchups and game scripts, whilst Jacobs is still getting back to full fitness. Conner establishing himself in that Cardinals backfield could be a fruitful development though.

7. Tom’s Tyrants (2-2) No Change

A good win and a fairly balanced performance. They’ll still be hoping for more from Allen, but targets and touches are trending in the right direction across the board. The bench was starting to look a bit sorry for itself, some necessary shuffling in the waivers.

6. Gridiron Gang (3-1) Down 1

Hey, a win is a win, right? Rotating QBs always results in a few subpar weeks, but first round pick Zeke is now well in his stride and carried them to this win. Aside from trading Raiders’ receivers in the waivers, their roster is starting to look more settled, bigger scores needed to move up the rankings though.  Is the 3-1 record deceiving?

5. Bear Necessities (2-2) Down 2

Just didn’t quite work out for them last week, a few of their RB timeshares suddenly aren’t looking so encouraging either. They’ve not dropped due to the Wilson injury (although that could come next week), they just don’t look quite as dangerous as the teams around them right now. Kelce bounce-back game incoming, for sure.

4. FTMAL (3-1) Up 2

Firstly, apologies to 'forgot to make a logo' and their adoring fanbase, I have only just updated the team name, kinda dropped the ball there. Secondly, good bounce back result, with huge performances from Mahomes and the Bills DST. This team is exactly what we expected, relying on the big names each week but, as long as they stay healthy, they will be a constant threat. A classic team that you never want to face.

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

One of those weeks where everyone seemed to be at their best, taking them from bottom of the division to the very top seed (only in the LOC right?). They move up one space for now, but the gap between my top 3 is exceedingly close. I think they have enough bench options to keep it up through the bye weeks as well.

2. Forge Flyers (3-1) No Change

Big battle at the top, and they just about snuck it. Whilst the on-field players weren’t at their most convincing, the bench had a great game. Could Patterson be the most unlikely star player since the infamous Perriman pickup up of this very team? He’ll get his chance this week. 

1. Patistan (2-2) No Change

Picking up where they left off in 2020 by going for the injury title once again. They still put up a good score without McCaffrey, and they would have won had they not lost RB2 Montgomery mid-game. They’re only a game behind the top spots, and with the injuries not being too severe so far, I see no reason to drop them at this stage.

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Another week without too many changes. Either I’m finally starting to get the hang of this, or the league is starting to settle out. Now, enjoy the week and, almost more importantly, enjoy the NFL being back in the country*!

*Apologies to any coaches or coordinators who may be reading from outside the UK…

2021 Power Rankings: Week 4

Good afternoon! Once again, the weekend is upon us and I must still be in pre-season mode, because I’m not quite sure where all these fantasy weekdays are going. It helps to appreciate the rightful inclusion of the podcast into the HOF this offseason, quite the commitment week in week out. So we must congratulate co-host Leach for that induction again, because it was all him of course, no others credits due. Anyone, better get these rankings out, before their weekly relevance is spent.

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12. Napolitans (0-3) No Change

Speaking of still being in pre-season mode, it has been a rough welcome to the league for the Napolitans. They have had the points absolutely stacked against them, but they haven’t put up many in return either. Getting Moss into the starting line-up is overdue now, he could provide some spark to a stagnant roster.

11. Buccing The Trend (1-2) Down 3

It wasn’t particularly pretty, but they won’t care one bit, a win is a win and it lifts them from the twelfth seed. Losing Julio and Chark was not quite as good news, however, and this roster still looks a little lost. If Josh Gordon makes the difference, then I may have to quit fantasy, but he is exactly the kind of wildcard they need to spark them up again.

10. Burdettinators (1-2) No Change

Not their best week, with players struggling to even get the ball in their hands, let alone scoring points. A few roster additions and the return of Johnson should guarantee them some slightly higher volume options. They need to start getting some consistent scores from someone other than Dak to start pushing towards the triple figure weekly scores.

9. U R Gould (1-2) No Change

Perhaps the first all-receiver play of the season? Gotta love superflex, but it didn’t work out this time. They need to get Cook back and healthy, and I am still amazed they’re rostering all those QBs. Mike Williams however, that looks to be working out rather nicely and CEH finally did something, hopefully a turning point.

8. IKSAN (2-1) Up 3

Allen turned up! And started repaying that early selection that could make this team very dangerous going forward. Now, their second and third top scorers last week were the Kicker and DST, so I’m not getting crazy excited, but I was clearly too low on this team off the bat. Also, where is Tucker’s 6-point field goal? I demand an AGM.

7. Tom’s Tyrants (1-2) No Change

Losing trust in a first round pick early in the season is never a good sign, especially when benching him costs you the matchup. They’re not in the worst shape, but Murray’s down-week revealed some of the gaps that he had been patching. Playing matchups is going to continue to be a weekly battle with a lot of solid but unspectacular options.

6. ASIPE (2-1) No Change

Anyone else let out a sigh of relief when you saw they had lost? I did, a big one. It wasn’t the worst week, and they’ll be encouraged to see Adams warming up. But, losing Shepard and Gronk, plus continued health concerns for Henderson, is going to start to test the depth which was always a question mark. 

5. Gridiron Gang (2-1) No Change

Can we still call it a Stubbs bowl with the added hint of Merritt? Whether we can or not, it was a good one. Maybe it was the hint of Merritt that brought the drama. Zeke made this win, there is no doubt there, and him maintaining that level of play could be the key to their season. They’re starting to pile up the health issues though and they’ve lost the safe play of the Broncos DST, time to start that penchant tinkering.

4. The Dream Team (2-1) No Change

Amazingly, they find themselves bottom of the division, despite two big winning weeks out of three. Chase is looking better and better with Burrow’s trust, making up for Hill’s less impressive weeks, and Robinson has fallen back into that 2020 form as well. Their biggest weakness may genuinely be the strength of their division.

3. Bear Necessities (2-1) Down 1

It was a bad week in general for the remaining undefeated teams. They would have been sleeping soundly Monday night as well, but that is fantasy. It was a solid week in general, just without anyone doing anything too special. They’ll be hoping Wilson and Diggs can return to form and get them back to winning ways this week.

2. Forge Flyers (2-1) Up 1

In past seasons, Coach Leach has made a habit of picking players in the early-middle rounds the exact right seasons to get the most out of them. He appears to have managed that again. It looks like a very strong team now, certainly stronger than I thought fresh out of the draft, and has claimed the top seed now. No one will want to play them at the moment.

1. Patistan (2-1) No Change

Losing McCaffrey was bad, we’ve covered that, but he shouldn’t be out too long. They spent big on Hubbard (not that they really have a choice) and should have covered themselves as a result. More importantly, they have enough star power elsewhere on the roster to keep them winning, as displayed last week.

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8 No Changes?? That must be my record, particularly this early in the season. Of course, I am in control of such things, so I could just decide to beat that record next week. Good luck all, enjoy the matches.

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.