Category: Uncategorized

Now that the annual Rookie Draft has concluded, it’s time to get hyped about the season ahead. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the site to view each team’s full breakdown. They are in order of my preseason rankings.

Voting for the first annual GM of the Year came down to the wire, with 4 out of the 5 finalists receiving votes. Remember, the prize is 25% of the buy-in, so the stakes for this award will be raised year after year. Below are the results in reverse order.

0 Votes: Team Hack (Dan Hack)

Hack showed great improvement from last season, but a string of bad luck prevented him from a higher win total, which may have hurt him in the voting. While it didn’t translate into wins, Hack still went from last in the league, to the league’s leader in Points For with 1737.1, and improved three places in the standings. He ended up right in the middle in trade success, and had a strong draft, snagging Josh Jacobs and Marquise Brown in the first two rounds.

0 Votes: JMU How You Doin’s (Max McQ)

Max McQ had the best improvement from 2018 of any team in the league, jumping from 7th place to securing a first round bye as the #2 seed in 2019, and reaching the championship. He wasn’t very active in terms of trades and waivers, but when your team performs the way his did, why change it up? He scored with a few good draft picks as well, taking DK Metcalf and Noah Fant in rounds 1 & 2, plus getting good stash value in Darwin Thompson & Bryce Love in rounds 3 & 4, both of which could bring some fantasy relevance next season.

1 Vote: Die Lit (Griff)

Griff made a lot of moves this year to secure future assets, as he now controls a quarter of the first round and half of the second round in this year’s draft. He ended up with the third-best trade differential, which is impressive considering the high volume of trades he was involved in. His waiver acquisition of Raheem Mostert for $19 looked good at the end of the season, as he finished with 8 total TD’s in his last 6 games, but it looks even better after Mostert’s playoff run. Griff’s combo of players and draft capital puts him in position to acquire just about any player to bring him into contention in 2020.

5 Votes: Mount Hebron’s Old Bay (Dan McQ)

Dan had the second-best improvement in the standings, going from 10th place last year, to the #6 Seed and making the semi-finals this season. He had (in my opinion) far and away the best draft, taking both immediate and long-term impact into account. N’Keal Harry & Mecole Hardman in round 1, Deebo Samuel in round 2, Benny Snell & Diontae Johnson in round 3 being the highlights of his draft class. Dan also had the third-best trade differential, with a large sample size, including trading away David Johnson for Miles Sanders and Derrick Henry in the preseason, acquiring Aaron Rodgers & John Brown for Josh Rosen, Anthony Miller and a 3rd Round Pick in the preseason, and making a splash at the trade deadline for Melvin Gordon. Dan built up a deep team throughout the course of 2019, and established himself as one of the top dogs in the league.

6 Votes: Dirty Dawgs (Teddy)

That leads us to our winner of the first annual GM of the Year award, Teddy. Leading his team to being this year’s League Champion certainly built his case. Although he actually had the same number of wins as last season, The Dawgs got it done in the playoffs. Teddy finished 4th in trade differential, most notably acquiring Austin Hooper, Courtland Sutton (later traded) and a 3rd round pick for Jarvis Landry in the preseason. He also drafted the highest scoring WR in the 2019 class, AJ Brown with the 9th pick in the first round. Brown switched it into high gear during the fantasy playoffs, propelling Teddy to a championship. With Brown’s success, and already having Michael Thomas & Stefon Diggs, he was able to later flip Courtland Sutton & two 2nd Round picks for Marlon Mack, a 1st & a 2nd, balancing out his starting lineup.

Dissecting the best values and biggest whiffs for each team, ordered in draft position.

Team Hudock

The Good: After a great season, Adam Thielen in Round 3 turned into a package of players and a 1st & 2nd rounder via trade, so it seems to me like a great value for a guy who probably would go in the first two rounds in a draft today. Mark Walton in Round 20 could end up being a great stash pick, with Kenyan Drake out of Miami as well.

The Bad: Rounds 7-12 turned into quite the drought for Hudock looking back on it. Marshawn Lynch, Josh Doctson, Ty Montgomery, Mohamed Sanu, Theo Riddick & Rob Kelley is a bit of a rough patch to say the least, especially considering the guys that were passed up on in those rounds.

Team Hack

The Good: Tyler Lockett has been Hack’s most consistent receiver since day one, and was picked in the 11th round, with guys like Nelson Agholor, Allen Hurns and Paul Richardson all being picked earlier than Lockett. Lamar Jackson, in the midst of a breakout campaign, was selected in the 18th round, and stashed until the time was right.

The Bad: Jerick McKinnon in round 2 definitely hurts. The 49ers RB has yet to play a single game in this league’s history. Kelvin Benjamin, Marqise Lee and Jordy Nelson in rounds 8, 9 & 10 is certainly regrettable.

Team Tomiello

The Good: The three best values that stand out most to me from Tomiello’s draft are Nick Chubb in the 10th round, Aaron Jones in the 12th, and Austin Hooper in the 19th. Nick Chubb at this time was backing up Carlos Hyde, but now has turned into one of the best fantasy backs in the league, Aaron Jones ended up being traded, but helped Tomiello bring in Melvin Gordon, and Austin Hooper has become one of the more consistent performers in fantasy at tight end

The Bad: Rashaad Penny in the 7th round was a miss, not to say he can’t end up being good, but he’s stuck behind Chris Carson now in Seattle, and I think it’s safe to say Tomiello would rather have someone like Marlon Mack or Kerryon Johnson, who were picked later than Penny. Also, Jordan Reed was selected in the 9th round and currently is a free agent, battling injuries.

Mount Hebron’s Old Bay

The Good: Dan McQuillan=TE University. He snagged George Kittle in the 10th round with Jordan Reed, Delanie Walker, Trey Burton, Kyle Rudolph, Jimmy Graham, Greg Olsen, Jack Doyle ALL being picked earlier than Kittle. He also selected Mark Andrews in the 24th round (25 rounds in the whole draft).

The Bad: Isaiah Crowell in the 6th round has gotta sting, with a bunch of superior backs taken behind him, and Corey Davis in round 4 doesn’t look great now either, as the Titans’ former first round pick has only scored in the double-digits twice this season, and was shipped off for Kalen Ballage by Dan.

Team Smerling

The Good: To be completely honest, there weren’t many value picks here other than Tyreek Hill in the 3rd round. Hill played like a 1st rounder last season, but was traded when suspension rumors started swirling.

The Bad: LeSean McCoy being selected in the second round was definitely high, and he’s since been traded twice in the league. Demaryius Thomas, Ronald Jones and Michael Crabtree going back-to-back-to-back in rounds 4, 5 and 6 is hard to look at too.

Die Lit

The Good: Although they have since been traded, tip of the cap to Chris Godwin in round 12 and Austin Ekeler in round 13. A great late round snag still rocking a Die Lit uniform is Hunter Henry in the 22nd round, who flew under the radar with injuries last season.

The Bad: Jay Ajayi in round 5 hurts with Tevin Coleman, Chris Carson and Mark Ingram all going with later picks. The same can be said about Jamison Crowder in the 8th round.

Team Brenner (Max B)

The Good: Max found the best values with runningbacks, picking Tevin Coleman and Marlon Mack in rounds 6 & 8 respectively, although Coleman was traded for Tarik Cohen in a multi-player deal. His biggest find was James Conner in the 15th round. Tyler Boyd going in round 20 was a great pick too, even with the now-anemic Bengals offense.

The Bad: Lamar Miller was a bit of a reach in the fourth round, with a mediocre season in 2018 and missing all of this season, he was part of the Tarik Cohen trade too though. Chris Thompson was picked in the 7th round and has also been disappointing since his 2017 breakout season

McChicken and Fries

The Good: The obvious one here is Patrick Mahomes in round 11, with Kirk Cousins, Matt Stafford, Jimmy G, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Tom Brady and Carson Wentz all being picked in earlier rounds. Kerryon Johnson, although out for the rest of this season, still seems like a good value for a 7th rounder, and DJ Chark in the 15th round turned into a great stash.

The Bad: Although he’s starting to turn into a decent value, Leonard Fournette did not play like a 1st rounder last season, and with better backs on the board, he definitely wasn’t the best option. Jordan Howard was a bit of a reach in the third round. He isn’t bad necessarily, but probably should’ve been picked later. The real killer in this class was back-to-back picks of Jimmy Graham and Kyle Rudolph in rounds 8 and 9. The tight end position has been giving McChicken fits from the beginning, and these two reaches are a big part of why.

Rockland Rimjob

The Good: Mark Ingram in the 6th has provided great value, as has Julian Edelman in the 9th. Courtland Sutton (since traded) has definitely surpassed his 11th round selection as well. Tyrell Williams in round 16 turned into a great value this year as well.

The Bad: Kareem Hunt in the second round is tough, but who knows, maybe he’ll be great when he returns. Josh Gordon hasn’t spent much time on the field since his 4th round selection, and is no longer with Stewart. Dion Lewis in the 5th is a stinger for sure.

Couple Yelpers

The Good: Christian McCaffrey in the second round is insane looking back on it, considering he’d likely be the number 1 pick in a re-draft. Chris Carson in round 6 is great value, as well as Kenny Golladay in round 8 (since traded).

The Bad: Devin Funchess in the 5th round turned out to be quite the reach, Dez Bryant in the 11th hurts, and I gotta add Akrum Wadley in the 17th round solely because I’ve never heard of him and his name kinda sounds like a sex act.

JMU How You Doin’s?

The Good: Dalvin Cook (2nd round) has more than proven his value this year, Cooper Kupp in the 7th is money, and even though he’s hurt, Jared Cook played well enough last year to be a great value pick in the 17th round.

The Bad: Doug Baldwin and Duke Johnson in rounds 4 & 5 were big reaches, but the stretch of Pierre Garcon, Nelson Agholor, Cam Meredith and Jordan Wilkins in rounds 8-11 was the biggest cold spell of Max’s class.

Dirty Dawgs

Keep in mind, the team was drafted by Zach Stark

The Good: Michael Thomas in the second round & Sony Michel in the 8th were probably the two best picks

The Bad: Marquise Goodwin, Randall Cobb and Peyton Barber in rounds 6, 7 and 9. Royce Freeman in the 4th looks like a reach, although he’s slowly sustaining fantasy relevance.

Checking in on the teams of Die Nasty halfway through the league’s second season. We got some tight races boys.

Teddy Bristow’s Dirty Dawgs (6-2)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 5-3

Teddy has enjoyed a successful start to his first full season as an owner in the league. After taking over for Zach Stark last year, he led the team to an 8-5 season, the third-best record in the league. This year, he’s kept the momentum going, and is the hottest team in the league sporting a five-game win streak. Early season tanking rumors have been shut down harder than the Taco Bell in Tallman. The emergence of Aaron Jones as a clear RB1 is a big reason for this team’s success, and there’s more RB help on the way, as he’ll have Marlon Mack down the stretch after acquiring him from Griff. Austin Hooper also has solidified himself as one of the best TE options for fantasy, and Royce Freeman has put up solid numbers after a disappointing rookie campaign. Throw in mainstays like Stefon Diggs and Michael Thomas, and it becomes clearer why he’s at the top of the standings.

Jake Brenner’s McChicken & Fries (5-3)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 3-5

A mediocre inaugural season for McChicken left fans questioning their allegiance, but some offseason acquisitions brought new life into this club. Adding Adam Thielen, Devonta Freeman and James White helped give the team the depth it desperately needed. The breakout season from 2018 dynasty stash pick, DJ Chark, and the return to fantasy relevance for Leonard Fournette have become critical in solidifying the starting lineup. Starting off the year with two losses for a combined 9 points thru the first three weeks put McChicken in a bad position, but the team currently boasts a three-game win streak, and sits second in the overall standings. Going forward, the health of guys like Pat Mahomes, Thielen & Keenan Allen will dictate the success of this squad, who has already lost Kerryon Johnson for the year.

Matt Bruton & Vinny Perri’s Couple Yelpers (5-3)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 3-5

Our almighty league champions find themselves still hanging at the top of the standings. They were 0.4 points away from pulling out a victory last week and tying Bristow for first place, which has got to be rough on this team. But, considering where they were at this point last season, things are looking pretty good. Although OBJ hasn’t been great fantasy-wise, this team still has enough weapons to beat the best. Their depth pieces at WR is what interests me the most. Golden Tate, Christian Kirk and Sterling Shepard have all been great when they’ve played this year. Kenyan Drake now becomes interesting too, leaving the depressing Dolphins for the Cardinals, a team that won’t be afraid to run. Not to mention he’s pretty much the only healthy back available. It’s hard not to wonder where the Yelpers would be had David Njoku not gone down during Week 2, but they’ve made it work.

Zack Stewart’s Rockland Rimjob (5-3)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 4-4

A one-win improvement so far definitely doesn’t tell the full story of this team. Stewie’s Squad has a whole new look, thanks to some great offseason moves. He traded for Tyreek Hill and Sony Michel (separately), signed Darren Waller and Danny Amendola for $1 each and drafted Devin Singletary, who has been good when healthy. Another good contributor, who turned out to be a great stash from 2018, has been Tyrell Williams, who has a TD in each game he’s played this year. The rest of the season will be interesting for Rimjob, with Drew Brees (another offseason acquisition) coming back after the bye, and wildcard Kareem Hunt eligible to play Week 10. It’s also worth noting the recent trade between Stewart and Max B, in which he parted ways with Zach Ertz and Derek Carr for Carson Wentz and O.J. Howard. If this says anything, it’s that Rimjob fans should be buying their Darren Waller jerseys ASAP, because he’s the tight end of the present AND future.

Max Brenner’s Team Brenner (5-3)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 7-1

Starting off last year with a record like 7-1, it’s not surprising to see a slight decrease. That’s not to say this team is worst than last year, but a whole lot of things need to fall in your favor to go half a season nearly unblemished. That 7-1 start ended up turning into 10-3, the best record in the league, so it’s no surprised that in a league like this Team Brenner is still hovering around the top of the standings again this season. That being said, this team lost some fire power this year, as Max was the unlucky owner of Antonio Brown in this league. But, he’s gained a lot more than he’s lost, having acquired Alvin Kamara in the trade heard round the world this offseason. He’s also made separate trades for Russell Wilson, Robert Woods, Latavius Murray. As mentioned earlier, he just traded for Zach Ertz as well, which could be huge. I think the biggest factor of this team’s success going forward is the performance of his first round pick this year, David Montgomery. After a slow start for the rookie, he put up a monster performance Week 8, showing the rest of the league the type of force he can be. If come playoff time, Max has Alvin Kamara, James Conner and THAT David Montgomery, he’ll be tough to stop.

Max McQuillan’s JMU How You Doin’s? (4-4)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 3-5

This is another team where the talent is greater than the record. His starting WR’s are up there with the best, led by Julio Jones & Cooper Kupp (both top 5 in scoring this year) and complimented by Allen Robinson (14th in scoring this year). Max has also enjoyed a healthy, unstoppable Dalvin Cook and a great second year from Phillip Linsday. The main reasons his record isn’t above .500 are injuries and inconsistent depth pieces. Losing Ben Roethlisberger early in the season has forced Max to start Josh Allen for most of the year, who has had an up-and-down fantasy season, and just as Jared Cook was finally getting in his groove, he’s missed the last two weeks, and will miss this week (bye), which has forced Max to choose between Tyler Eifert and rookie Noah Fant. I see this as a playoff team, barring injuries, even with the league moving from an eight-team format to six.

Mason Smerling’s Team Smerling (4-4)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 3-5

Although he only has one more win through 8 weeks, it’s actually a one-win improvement over his final record last year as well, as Smerling would lose the next five games, finishing at 3-10. The glaring issue with this team that holds Mason back from taking that next step is depth at RB. With David Johnson tending to his injuries, Ronald Jones has been forced to start alongside Zeke Elliott. If one of those two were to also go down, next up would be either Kalen Ballage or Wendell Smallwood. All of that being said, Mason has done a great job maneuvering both in the offseason and during the season to make this team competitive. Once David Johnson is healthy, a two-headed monster of him and Zeke is real sexy. Kenny Golladay and Chris Godwin are really young and really good. Terry McLaurin turned out to be a good find in the middle rounds of this year’s rookie draft, and should be solid for years to come. He also has Josh Gordon, who very well could see the field again this year. This certainly is no longer a team that’s gonna roll over, and standings-wise is right on the cusp of a playoff spot. However the year ends up for Big Mase, I’d count it as a success to this point.

Nick Tomiello’s Team Tomiello (4-4)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 6-2

On paper, it looks like regression from the team who finished last year with the same amount of losses he currently has, but when you dive in deeper, it’s a string of bad luck, which by the way, seems to be behind Team Tomiello at this point. Melvin Gordon missed the first four weeks, Saquon Barkley missed three, JuJu Smith-Schuster hasn’t had Big Ben, and Derrius Guice has missed 7 weeks and counting. On top of all this, he was 4.5 points away from a win vs Max McQuillan week 4, which would have him at 5-3 right now, rather than being on the outside of the playoffs looking in at the point of the season. Like I said though, Tomiello may have already gotten through the worst of it. Melvin Gordon’s workload is slowly increasing, Saquon Barkley is back and churning, Derrius Guice may return week 11, and guys like Mike Evans & Nick Chubb have been fantastic. Trading for Jordan Howard will help with depth, and if he could get just a little more out of Alshon Jeffrey, Brandin Cooks and TJ Hockenson, there’s no question he’ll be loaded for another deep playoff run.

Dan Hack’s Team Hack (3-5)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 3-5

Like Smerling, Hack would go on to lose out the rest of the season from Week 9 on, finishing at 3-10, so it’s tough to know what another 3-5 start means for Hack. His team is definitely better than last season, with additions of Josh Jacobs & Marquise Brown via draft, and Austin Ekeler via trade. He’s also enjoyed a breakout season from Lamar Jackson, and the return of Le’Veon Bell. Emmanuel Sanders being traded to the undefeated 49ers will help in fantasy terms as well. Hack could definitely benefit from some better consistency out of WR’s not named Tyler Lockett, and the Jets offensive line blocking more than just their own arteries for Lev Bell. To be frank, it doesn’t seem like this is a playoff team yet, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. (And also I think Hack is gonna beat me this week)

Griffin Merkert’s Die Lit (3-5)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 5-3

Although he had a better record up to this point last year, Griff would only end up getting one more win for the rest of 2018, so improvement is certainly not out of the question this season. Even after trading his best fantasy asset in Alvin Kamara, Die Lit is still hanging in there. It’s gonna be tough to make the playoff with the way the roster is currently constructed (a lot of inconsistency at RB), but it seems the plan is acquiring draft capital for this squad. Die Lit could be sellers, with the trade deadline less than a month away, and good assets still on the team. It’s possible by this offseason, the draft could be Griff featuring Griff.

Dan McQuillan’s Mount Hebron’s Old Bay (3-5)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 1-7

Keep in mind, he lost by 0.1 (yikes) week 4, and by 8 points last week, so he could very easily have been 5-3 to this point. It’s also worth noting after the 1-7 start last year, he finished the rest of the season 4-1. The great thing about this league is that almost every team is right in the thick of things, and almost every team is dangerous. Danny Mac has a red-hot Aaron Rodgers (70 points in last two games), Tevin Coleman who now has the 49ers backfield in a headlock after nearly putting up 40 last week, Derrick Henry who’s been very solid, Miles Sanders who is starting to pick it up, George Kittle AND 2018 stash Mark Andrews. The one spot that has given Dan some trouble is wide receiver, but AJ Green should be returning next week, and hopefully can provide some consistency. Even if this doesn’t end up being a playoff team, he’s bound to play spoiler to another playoff hopeful later on.

Nick Hudock’s Team Hudock (1-7)

2018 Record thru Week 8: 5-3

Remember when I said almost every team is competitive this year? Hudock is the almost. Now yes, he lost Rob Gronkowski to retirement, Cam Newton has missed a ton of time to injury, Todd Gurley hasn’t gotten his normal workload, Jarvis Landry hasn’t been great (thanks to Baker), Gronk’s replacement, Delanie Walker has taken a step back, and Delanie Walker’s replacement Will Dissly is out for the season. Even the poor guy’s kicker is on IR. The few bright spots: Daniel Jones seems like he’ll be a fantasy relevant QB in the future, Larry Fitzgerald has shown he can still ball, and maybe Mohammed Sanu could see some relevance after getting traded to the Pats. Now usually, the bright spot of a season like this is owning the number 1 pick in next years’ draft, but actually Griff owns his pick. That being said, Hudock still has 10 picks in the draft next year! Including six in the first three rounds. That can definitely turn into a lot, as we’ve seen some late picks in last years’ draft turn out well this year. With rumors circling that Hudock may be selling the team after this season, I personally hope the fans can convince him to stay, I really enjoy having him in the league and I think the fans trust the process.

Notable Transactions

Die Lit signs Raheem Mostert (SF) for $19

Overpaid? Or ahead of the curve? Time will tell, but as of right now, it’s a good move. Mostert was solid when he played last season, and with Tevin Coleman missing week 2, he put up 24.1 points, doing damage as both a runner and receiver. The 9er’s backfield is crowded even without Coleman, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see Mostert contribute going forward.

Rockland Rimjob signs Demarcus Robinson (KC) for $1

Tomiello punching the air rn.

Die Lit trades Kalen Ballage (MIA) to Mount Hebron’s Old Bay for Corey Davis (TEN)

This was an odd deal at the buzzer before Sundays’ 1pm games. Ballage famously had a terrible game right after this trade went down, and the Die Nasty chat let Old Bay know it. All in all, both players have been pretty disappointing, but considering this is a dynasty league, I’d say the upside advantage goes to Corey Davis.

McChicken and Fries(1-1) beat Rockland Rimjob(1-1) 157.8 to 96.5

When your score looks like a radio station, you know you’re in trouble. It was a rough week for the team formerly known as She Wants Moore Kareem. He was a victim of the Drew Brees injury, as well as less than stellar performances from DeAndre Hopkins (9) and Mark Ingram (9.7). He will have to rely on Derek Carr and newly acquired Mason Rudolph at QB. On the bright side, he absolutely SNAGGED Demarcus Robinson (35.2) for a dollar. For McChicken, it was a dominant performance, scoring third highest in the league. Pat Mahomes did Pat Mahomes stuff (31.6), Calvin Ridley (24.5) was exceptional, Greg Olsen (17) was a great surprise, and guys like Adam Thielen (12.5), Keenan Allen (17.8), and Kerryon Johnson (16.8) did enough to win, although not putting out eye-opening performances. As far as bench notables, DJ Chark (18.5) is looking like a great late round flier in last year’s inaugural draft, as it seems the second-year WR is honing in his talents.

JMU How You Doin’s?(1-1) beat Mount Hebron’s Old Bay(1-1) 114.4 to 95.2

Another brother vs brother matchup here in week 2. JMU pulls it out despite falling victim to Ben Roethlisberger’s injury. With Josh Allen facing a porous Bengals defense next week, he should be okay. Even with Allen Robinson (8.1), Jared Cook (4.5) and Philip Lindsay (10.6) playing well under their capabilities, JMU was able to pull this one out with big performances by Dalvin Cook (28.1), Julio Jones (27.6) and Cooper Kupp (17.6). On Old Bay’s side, four skill position players scored under double digits, including Dede Westbrook who only logged 1 reception for 3 yards. Hopefully going forward he and the goat Gardner Minshew can build a chemistry. It’s tough to see the league’s second best tight end, George Kittle, only score 8, but at the same time it was encouraging to see a second straight monster performance out of Baltimore’s Mark Andrews (25.2). There’s also a silver lining in Old Bay’s draft class, which includes Mecole Hardman (16.1) and Deebo Samuel (20.4).

Dirty Dawgs (1-1) beat Team Brenner (1-1) 111.9 to 99

A week after tanking rumors about the Dirty Dawgs were prominent, the Dawgs took it to one of the most dangerous teams in the league. After the matchup, team owner Teddy Bristow put any tanking rumors to bed by stating, “This team is gonna stick through thick and thin together and try to win every week.” He also mentioned this was NOT because of underperforming players on Team Brenner’s side. He believes the Dawgs have what it takes, and hey, this week they did. Aaron Jones went off for 25 points, and it was good to see his handcuff, Jamaal Williams (13.1) eat too, albeit on the bench. Royce Freeman (15.2) did well, and actually did some damage in the passing attack, and even with Drew Brees leaving, Mike Thomas (18.9) was still very active. For Team Brenner, it was a rough one. James Conner left the game prematurely, but was still able to put up 13.5, Alvin Kamara (7) was clearly effected by the Brees injury, Robert Woods (6.2) only hauled in two catches, Tarik Cohen (4.5) was outshined by David Montgomery (13.8 on the bench), and owners everywhere are still looking for OJ Howard. On a positive note, Max got to see Antonio Brown (16.1) on the Patriots for the first time and Tyler Boyd (22.2) keeps eating. It seems like the David Montgomery/Tarik Cohen start/sit is gonna be a tough weekly flex decision, and he just lost Michael Gallup for a few weeks, who seemed to be finally hitting his stride.

Team Smerling (2-0) beats Team Hudock (0-2) 158.8 to 84.7

Two straight dominant performances for Smerling. This league has been turned upside down. Smerling had six starters score 20 or more, scoring the second most in the league, even with David Johnson only putting up 8.4. He’s a bit light on RB’s after his two starters, but has enough WR’s to plug in at flex to make up for it. Although Josh Gordon (3.9) was overshadowed by AB’s New England debut, he still should be effective against the right matchup. Plus, with the emergence of John Ross (21.2) and Scary Terry McLaurin (17.2), he’s got some decent flex options. And how about Vance McDonald’s (22.8) day when Mason Rudolph came in? It seems like it’s gonna be a long season for Hudock, as two weeks in, he’s faced the only two 2-0 teams. To be fair, he did score the lowest amount of points this week, but still not the best of luck. Not to mention, it turns out Cam Newton has a foot injury and may miss some time. That’s a tough blow as Newton is one of his most valuable assets. I guess it’s time to see what Daniel Jones can do!

Team Hack (2-0) beats Couple Yelpers (1-1) 167.7 to 109.6

I mean wow. Not only did Team Hack, our last place team a season ago, defeat our almighty humble champions, but he is now 2-0. He led the league in points this week AGAIN, and now has the most points for by over 50. Lamar Jackson (30.9) and Austin Ekeler (23.3) have been money, Travis Kelce (23.7) is the best tight end in the league, Le’Veon Bell (20.9) still put up numbers in a terrible Jets performance, and Emmanuel Sanders (28.8) went off against a tough Bears defense. With Hollywood Brown (16.6) putting up another big game in just his second game ever, Hack’s lineup might get even better. On the Yelpers’ side, it seems like they’ve seen enough of Jack Doyle (4.1) as they’ve made it known they are in the market for a tight end. They didn’t necessarily have a terrible week, with OBJ (28.1) lighting up the Jets in his MetLife return, Amari Cooper (14.4) being solid as usual, and Curtis Samuel (14.3) playing a big role for Carolina. That being said, the rest of their usually-reliable starters failed them, with Christian McCaffrey (7.3), Chris Carson (9.7) and Damien Williams (8.6) having forgettable games, which ultimately decided this matchup.

Team Tomiello (1-1) beats Die Lit (0-2) 108.2 to 92.6

Starting off 0-2 and not having your own 1st rounder next year is a big yikes, but Die Lit did swap picks with Hudock, so I guess it’s a wash. And yes, he does have three other 1sts and four seconds. Starting Gio Bernard (2.3) even after Joe Mixon was cleared to play was a risk that didn’t pay off, and poor performances from Marlon Mack (8.3) and Julian Edelman (9.2) didn’t help. Deshaun Watson (12.9) also turned in a dud. Looking forward, Davante Adams is always a threat to ball out, T.Y. Hilton still seems effective with Brissett under center, and having a Matt Breida/Raheem Mostert could be a sneaky handcuff. For Tomiello, injuries have played a big role on his team. Juju Smith-Schuster was already off to a bit of a slow start before Big Ben was lost for the year, Alshon Jeffrey left the game before recording a catch and could miss a couple weeks, and another flex option, Derrius Guice, was placed on IR earlier last week. Even still, he has a lot of great pieces. It’s worth mentioning after a monster league debut, TJ Hockenson (1.7) was nowhere to be found in week 2. Obviously, you don’t expect that to be a long-term trend, but it’ll be interesting to see where his true consistent value will be as a first-year player.

Notable Transactions

Team Smerling trades Derrick Henry, Miles Sanders & 2021 First Rounder to Mount Hebron’s Old Bay for David Johnson & Geoff Swaim

This move created some controversy amongst other owners, but in my honest opinion I think it was fair for both sides. We saw this week how 1st round draft picks can make an immediate impact, plus Derrick Henry showed a lot to love. Miles Sanders was underwhelming, but you figure at some point he’s Philly’s guy. Not much needs to be said about David Johnson, he’s been a workhorse for quite some time.

Team Brenner Beats McChicken And Fries 127.9 to 122.4

What better way to open up the season than a sibling rivalry? This was a close one all week. After an underwhelming Thursday Night game that included underwhelming performances from Tarik Cohen (ish) and David Montgomery, it seemed like McChicken was in the driver’s seat. But duds from Kerryon Johnson, Leonard Fournette and Devonta Freeman left just enough room for Wil Lutz to swing his dick into the lead on a Monday Night thriller. Max’s blockbuster deal to bring in Alvin Kamara came into play, as the Tennessee product put up 23.9. A trade late in the offseason between these two teams can also be considered the deciding factor of this game, as 4.1 points from the aforementioned Freeman opposed to the 16.6 put up by Robert Woods played heavy.

Mount Hebron’s Old Bay beats Dirty Dawgs 117.9 to 91.1

This one wasn’t the prettiest, with some underwhelming performances on both sides. For Old Bay, Aaron Rodgers was only able to contribute 12.9 on Thursday, Tevin Coleman put up 7.6 and suffered a high ankle sprain that will keep him out of action, and Corey Davis was nowhere to be found in the Titans’ offense, laying a goose egg. For the Dawgs, it was an ugly performance from Baker Mayfield (9.4), a combined 12 points between starting RB’s Royce Freeman & Aaron Jones, 5.7 points for Stefon Diggs and a goose egg for Anthony Miller. During the matchup, Dirty Dawgs owner Teddy Bristow was quoted saying “Might have to tank this year”, which may be the Dawgs’ best option, but it’s still too early to tell. On Old Bay’s side, not only did Derrick Henry contribute right away with 28.9 points, but a 25.3-point performance from John Brown may be enough to vault him into the flex over Corey Davis. He may also have an interesting trade piece in Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews, who put up 24.8, but is blocked in the lineup by George Kittle.

She Wants Moore Kareem beats JMU How You Doin’s? 134.1 to 125.9

A solid showing by both teams, but man you just know that JMU is having nightmares about benching Sammy Watkins. The 46.8 points from KC’s deep threat is tough to see sitting on the bench, but at least with Tyreek Hill out, he should see a lot more opportunity. Speaking of Hill, Stewart was the one impacted by that injury in this league, only getting 4.1 points out of him before he left the game. Big performances by Nuk Hopkins (31.1), Mark Ingram (22.7) and Tyrell Williams (22.5) helped make up for Hill’s injury as well as disappointments from Sony Michel (1.4), Justin Jackson (7.1) and a slightly low week from Zach Ertz (10.4). Based off performances this week, Stewart has some good options for next week, with Bills rookie Devin Singletary (14.8), Malcom Brown (17.3) who split carries with Todd Gurley and Danny Amendola (23.4). Stewart also may need the nickname TE-University, as after trading away his surplus in David Njoku, it seems he has another prodigy in Darren Waller. As far as JMU’s outlook, you expect that Jared Cook and Big Ben will bounce back, rookie D.K. Metcalf showed a lot to like and Allen Robinson’s performance showed a glimpse of what he was in Jacksonville.

Team Hack beats Team Hudock 177.3 to 134.7

This one was a slobberknocker. Hudock was a victim of some bad luck, scoring third highest in the league, but facing the team that scored the most. Hack silenced the doubters with a dominant Week 1 and finishing with the worst record last year. Lamar Jackson (33.6) was perfect, Le’Veon Bell, who Hack missed dearly last year, looked like his old self with 23.2, Josh Jacobs (24.3) kicked down the door in his league debut, and Austin Ekeler (39.4) made Melvin Gordon really tight at home (probably). Hack also had Hollywood Brown on his bench who put up 30.7 in his league debut. Hey, maybe those draft picks actually are worth something after all. That being said, the way Ekeler played, that trade looks a lot better already. Hack may end up having a lot quicker of a turnaround than many expected. As for Hudock, it was tough to see Cam Newton put up 5.4 and Todd Gurley only have 11. To still score in the 130’s with your two best players having bad weeks is nothing to bat an eye at though. Larry Fitz (25.3) still has it (thanks Kyler), Delanie Walker (22.5) looks like Mariota’s go-to, and the second coming of Jesus (Gardner Minshew) found Chris Conley (21.7) in the end zone. It could be a long year for Hudock, but hey you never know with an inspiring week 1 like this, even though it resulted in a tough loss.

Team Smerling beats Team Tomiello 132.5 to 119.7

In the biggest upset of the week, last year’s league runner-up was taken down by Smerling, who finished last year 3-10, but after a busy offseason has a new-look squad. Smerling acquired Dak Prescott (33.4), David Johnson (25.7), Kenny Golladay (14.2) and Chris Godwin (14.3) all in separate trades, and signed Josh Gordon (16.3) for $5. Performances from DeSean Jackson (35.4) who was benched this week but also acquired via trade, the breakout of John Ross (34.8), and drafting rookie receiver Terry McLaurin (23.5), make this team unrecognizable from last year. Could Smerling be an early front-runner for the first annual GM of the Year award? For Tomiello, although he will start the year 0-1 he definitely has the pieces to make another deep run. Even with the possibility of missing Melvin Gordon for the season, his RB combo of Nick Chubb and Saquon Barkley is one to fear. He’s strong at WR, even with week 1 duds from Mike Evans (4.8) and Brandin Cooks (5.9), and TJ Hockenson (25.1) looks like the next great tight end already. The missing kicker botchery proved to not matter as Matt Bryant laid a goose egg anyway. Derrius Guice was disappointing and left with an injury, but as long as he gets back on the field, it’s tough to think he won’t contribute with his talent level.

Couple Yelpers beat Die Lit 156 to 134.4

It doesn’t seem like there is any championship hangover, as our gracious league champs put up the second-highest scoring performance this week. Led by a MONSTER showing by Run-CMC (42.9), and strong games from Amari Cooper (22.6), Chris Carson (24.1) and Damien Williams (18.5). Even in a rough Browns’ loss, Yelpers had the two fantasy relevant players from the team in OBJ (14.1) and newly acquired David Njoku (13.7). Jared Goff was unimpressive (9.4), but faces a Saints defense next week that Deshaun Watson carved, and they have the option of Kyler Murray as well. Kenyan Drake (4.7) was the ugly child for the Yelpers this week, but with Derrius Guice doubtful for week 2, Adrian Peterson could side into flex consideration. Our league’s favorite worldwide traveler, Die Lit had a great week too, but faced some bad luck. As mentioned earlier, Deshaun Watson (30.7) had a day vs the Saints, Marlon Mack (25.4) doesn’t care about Andrew Luck, and Evan Engram (28.6) had the highest scoring week amongst all tight ends. Joe Mixon (3.7) leaving with injury, Davante Adams’ dud (7.6) and Will Fuller’s all or nothing style (8.9) weighed heavily in this matchup, as well as the performance on the bench by T.Y. Hilton (28.7), who also clearly doesn’t care about Andrew Luck anymore.

I’m not doing my team cuz it feels weird to do. Don’t be mad, these are my off the dome reactions.

Team Brenner (Max B): A

After drafting David Montgomery to complete the Chicago RB pairing, he might’ve had the deepest RB core in the league… but after shocking the world by trading for Alvin Kamara, it doesn’t seem to be a question anymore. Adding Russell Wilson via trade, plus promising WR’s Andy Isabella & Miles Boykin in the draft puts him in a good spot. As far as near-future contributions, wideouts are a little thin past AB and Tyler Boyd, but still a scary squad.

JMU How You Doin’s? (Max M): B

Max went “boom or bust” first round with DK Metcalf. We know about his ceiling, but it’ll be interesting to see his floor. Noah Fant should be a good eventual successor to Jared Cook for Max, and Darwin Thomson very well could contribute for the Chiefs at some point. Max was sort of riddled with injuries last year, so getting more out of Dalvin Cook, Cooper Kupp and Sammy Watkins should call for an improvement on last year’s 7th place finish

Mount Hebron’s Old Bay (Dan M): A

In my opinion, Dan was the draft day winner. He turned a slight weakness at WR into his biggest strength, grabbing N’Keal Harry, Mecole Hardman, Deebo Samuel and Diontae Johnson with four of his six selections. Those rooks added to the likes of AJ Green (injured) plus Corey Davis, David Moore, Dede Westbrook, Tre’Quan Smith and more, create enough assets to strengthen another position like RB. He also traded for an extra 1st & 2nd in the 2021 draft, and acquired Tevin Coleman, who’s back with Kyle Shanahan, although in a crowded backfield.

Die Lit (Griff): A+

Griff had a very quiet draft day, followed by a very loud few days post-draft. He now owns 9 picks in the 2020 draft; 4 first rounders (three of which should be high picks), 4 seconds and a third. Trading Alvin Kamara is tough of course, but receiving Marlon Mack, TY Hilton and 2 firsts (including possibly next year’s 1st ovr pick), is a great haul. His team without Kamara shouldn’t be overlooked, and he now has the capital to acquire some game-changers.

Team Hudock (Nick H): D+

It was a tough offseason for Hudock. Somewhat from choices, somewhat from things outside his control. To start it off, Gronk rode off into the sunset after the Pats Super Bowl win. Todd Gurley’s knee may very well come into play this year, although for now it seems okay. He did draft Darrell Henderson, so he should be fine there. However after Henderson, there wasn’t much movement on Team Hudock. He chose the route of drafting veterans this year, but may have benefitted more by taking fliers on some high-risk/high-reward rookies. He also has ten (yes) open roster spots and doesn’t own his first round pick next year. On the bright side, he still has a few valuable players he could flip to contending teams. Not all is lost.

Couple Yelpers (Matt & Vinny): B-

Our gracious 2018-2019 League Champions will look to prove there’s no such thing as a championship hangover. A few nice offseason moves in the real league has their team improved without moving a finger. OBJ is now on what could be one of the league’s most prolific offenses, Damien Williams should be the workhorse back in Kansas City, Jack Doyle is back from injury and Golden Tate (post suspension) & Sterling Shepard should be the bulk of the Giants offense, whatever that will be. Adding Kyler Murray with the last pick in the first round and Irv Smith for the future in the second round complete a modest, but respectable offseason.

Team Smerling (Mason): C

Having finished with the second-worst record last year, it’s tough to see he only owns his 4th and 5th rounders next year. He does have a pretty good set of runningbacks after acquiring Derrick Henry via trade and Miles Sanders in the draft, but Zeke Elliot is threatening to pull a Le’Veon Bell this year. Adding DeSean Jackson, Keke Coutee, Chris Godwin (and Kenny Golladay earlier in the summer), plus Hakeem Butler via draft gives his receiving game a new look, although it’s still missing that true alpha dog.

She Wants More Kareem (Zack Stewart): B

Trading for Tyreek Hill and keeping Kareem Hunt paid off, as Hill made it through unscathed and Hunt ended up back in the league, so I definitely give some points there. Mark Ingram is now the lead back in a run-heavy offense, and Damien Harris could very well get the bulk of goal-line touches in New England. Although Devin Singletary is in a crowded Buffalo backfield, Shady and Frank Gore are on their last legs, so this was a good move for the future. Riley Ridley and KeeSean Johnson are interesting fliers. Would’ve liked to see him make a move or two to strengthen his depth, but he does still have a couple tight ends he can choose to trade if need be.

Team Hack (Dan Hack): D+

Minus points for missing the draft. smh. First I’ll go with the good: he finally will get production out of Le’Veon Bell, he might have his Brady successor in Dwayne Haskins, Josh Jacobs should be a workhorse, and Marquise Brown is arguably a first rounder that slipped to Hack in the second round. Now… trading your first and second round picks for next year… just a day after having the first overall selection in the draft… for Austin Ekeler & Trey Burton no less, is interesting to say the least. He does have trade-able assets, and would definitely benefit from turning some players into future picks. His grade definitely would’ve been higher after acquiring the rookies mentioned earlier, but we were the ones who made those picks, so I can’t justify giving him credit for that.

Dirty Dawgs (Teddy): B

I love the AJ Brown pick. Teddy might’ve reached a little for some RB’s in the second round, but Ryquell Armstead could be a contributor considering Leonard Fournette’s injury history. JJ Arcega-Whiteside is interesting, because there’s a lot of other receivers fighting for targets on the Eagles, but he has the size to be a big-time goal line threat and could be good down the road. He also owns three 2nd round picks in next year’s draft, so there’s a lot of routes to take from here. After buying the team last year from Zach Stark, he’s doing a fine job.

Team Tomiello (Nick T): B

Time to see if the Derrius Guice gamble will pay off. I personally think it will. With Adrian Peterson still on the Redskins, at the very least it should allow Guice to ease back into game-action, and take over in the mid-to-late weeks as the lead back when All Day’s legs tire. The Steelers trading AB to the Raiders leaves JuJu Smith-Schuster as the clear number one option through the air, and Nick even has the Steelers possible number 2 in James Washington. Jaylen Samuels showed he can contribute last year, and with Le’Veon Bell gone, he should be an interesting piece. If anything were to happen to Damien Williams in Kansas City, you would think Carlos Hyde is the next man up. I’m also interested to see what Jason Witten has to offer. Another wildcard for this team is the ongoing Melvin Gordon situation. As far as Tomiello’s draft, TJ Hockenson could be the next great tight end of the league. Gary Jennings Jr. was a reach, but I like the fliers on Jalen Hurd and Jordan Scarlett.

Weekly updates throughout the season and probably some other stuff idk yet.

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” (O) (o) “

— Adam Gase