What Goes Up, Must Come Down to Earth: NFL Week Two Wins and Woes

 Some of the high hopes and pipe dreams around the NFL’s AFC and NFC conference teams following week one have been rigged to implode after the second week’s slate of games. One iota to keep in perspective is the hype machine encouraged by network analysts. There were teams on both ends of the doom and over-the-moon spectrum heading into their second match–up. There were a few that kept the locomotive chugging in the right direction, while others did not stoke the fire well enough to withstand their opposing competition, getting derailed off their intended tracks.

Let’s take a peek at some week two highlights and low blows: 

When New York Jets pulled off a miraculous overtime win versus the Buffalo Bills in week one with Aaron Rodgers out for the season, there may have been a glimmer of hope for the Jets to possibly pull off a fair season with an improved defense and the opportunity for Zach Wilson to glean off one of the great quarterbacks in Rodgers. The New York Jets were in high hopes to be the better competitor of the New York franchises versus the Dallas Cowboys. With a prominent defense, and decent running game with the tandem of Dalvin Cook and Breece Hall, many fans were hoping for a better game than what unfolded on the gridiron. The Jets defense appeared to have no answers for the play-calling Dallas offense. The Jets went down hard losing 30-10. The Jets host New England on Sunday, and there’s an aura of insecurity of what will show up on the Meadowlands gridiron. 

On the flip side, Buffalo came out week one with a surprisingly lackluster display on both sides of the football. Josh Allen threw three interceptions in one game, and when it came down to stopping the Jets from tying the game, the Bills D came up empty. Following that overtime loss, the Bills Mafia had to be smacking their foreheads in disbelief of what they just witnessed unfolding in New Jersey (yup, both New York Teams play in Jersey…) Needless to say, Josh Allen was the most frustrated and perplexed regarding his and the team's performance. Week two, Buffalo welcomed the 1-0 Oak…. Errr (still difficult for many East Bay residents to accept the move, Ugh!) Las Vegas Raiders to town with the chiseled-jawline handsome Italian quarterback, Jimmy G (Garoppolo) at the helm. Needless to say, the Bills Mafia and Buffalo players were on a mission to get back on track at home in the tundra of Northwest New York. The game plan, offense, and defense performances did not disappoint, beating the Vegas Raiders with ease, 38-10. Buffalo handed Garoppolo his worst loss since being a starting quarterback. The Las Vegas Raiders secondary continued to struggle. The Raiders D-Line needs more than their top defensive end, Maxx Crosby to place a dent into future competitions. 

The Cincinnati Bengals offered a $275 million 5-year extension to star quarterback Joe Burrow, making him the highest paid player in NFL history, clearing $55 million in earnings annually. And then, the Bengals proceeded to fall flat on their pads and helmets losing their first two games to the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Just two years removed from a Super Bowl appearance (losing to the Los Angeles Rams), expectations are definitely high for the ‘Who Dey’ crew repping the other franchise in Ohio. I am fairly sure they weren’t expecting this outcome heading into week three. It’s cliche’ to say when one of these gargantuan contracts are awarded, there tends to be a slip in performance of the athlete, usually exhaling and celebrating the life changing deal. Although ‘Broadway Joe Jr,’ has a knack for panache and flair above the average professional athlete, it may be more about a plaguing injury from preseason (calf), than Gucci shades and Havana cigars in the locker room. I understand Joe is theee quarterback and leader of the Bengals, there’s ten other players along with him on the scoring side, as well as eleven defense positions with the single-minded goal of stopping the opposing team from scoring. Let’s hope a healing calf, and scrutinizing analysis of game tapes helps Cincy turn things around going into week three. The Bengals will be hosting the Los Angeles Rams, a formidable (and surprisingly competitive, plus possible grudge match from the Super Bowl) opponent on Monday night. Pending Burrow’s game time status with his questionable calf injury, I am sure the crowd will be roaring to help pump up their team towards a needed win.

Speaking of losses, two formidable NFL franchises have high expectations for their teams coming into the 2023-2024 season. The 0-2 Chargers travel to the 0-2 Minnesota Vikings in week three. Both squads are looking to notch a win on their record. Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense are coming off a productive 2022 season, where there were high hopes to go deep into the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings are beginning the 2023 season with firm expectations of competing for a conference championship coming off of a substantial showing in last year’s regular season with a 12-4 record, clinching their division (NFC North), only to be eliminated in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The Chargers always appear on the brink of pushing forward and having a successful season, and producing in the postseason. San Diego (Oh.... I know, they're actually in Lala land...) scraped enough wins in 2022 to make it into the playoffs, only to be rejected again in the wild card playoff game last year. Looming curiosities and questions circle around each franchise wondering if it’s a shortfall due to the rosters? Or the execution of the game plan by the head coaches and coordinators. Of course, it continues to be early in the season, however I am sure fan bases are pondering what direction their respective teams are going. Oh how the amateur and professional (and well paid, huh-hum) sports analysts love speculating and hyping up potential (and probable minutiae) of the early unfolding NFL season! 

Some surprises for our football fanatic eyes have been the effective play of Baker Mayfield down in Tampa Bay. Let’s be honest ladies and gents, didn’t we all have Baker marked up as a wash out after being waived/traded from the Browns?! I know I was shaking my head wondering how he would perform coming into this season. Well, well, well… The flag planter is showing up and possibly making a list of names to send sandbags to for a pounding workout. Between the Tampa Bay defense grabbing turnovers, sacks and a pick six combined with Mayfield’s elusiveness to escape and find touted receivers in Evans, Godwin and rookie Palmer, the Buccaneers have turned up with a surprising win in Minnesota and beating a competitive Chicago Bears squad at their home opener. Tampa Bay hosts the NFC defending champions, Philadelphia Eagles in the early Monday Night kickoff game, and may have an opportunity of handing Philadelphia their first L of the season, going to a pristine 3. 

Last but not least is the continued injuries playing out on the gridiron, affecting many fantasy outcomes week-to-week. One of the highest rated running backs, Cleveland Browns Nick Chubb has suffered a season-ending MCL tear. Baltimore Colts top rusher, David Montgomery suffered a deep thigh bruise that will most likely keep him out 1-3 weeks. JK Dobbins, the premier running back for Baltimore out for the season with a torn Achilles. Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is ruled out for a concussion. Chargers leading rusher, Austin Ekeler will be out for a second week with a lingering ankle injury. Niners wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was ruled out of Thursday night’s game with a shoulder injury. Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback, Joe Burrow will be a game-time decision due to a continued ailing calf injury. Starting quarterback for the Colts, Anthony Richardson will be out due to a concussion. Carolina Panthers starting quarterback, Bryce Young is ruled out with an ankle injury. New Orleans Saints running back Jamaal Williams ruled out with an ailing hamstring. Many defensive line, defensive secondary and offensive line players across the league remain questionable and doubtful to suit up for their third game. Depending on the number of teams and layout of your fantasy league, this can cause quite the disruption of maneuvering a starting lineup, and possibly affecting a win or loss for your ‘Burrow the Competition’ squad. 

Obviously, I missed the deadline of posting my farce amateur sports fanatic nuggets before the Thursday night game between my home team, San Francisco Forty-Niners and New York Giants. Purdy wobbled a little in the first half, only to recover with prominent play of the core YAC brothers defeating the Giants handily, 30-12. The Niners moved to 3-0, with Brock Purdy winning his first eight starts in the regular season. The San Francisco defense continues to shine and become even stronger with Bosa scoring his first sack of the season, as well as documented rushes on the quarterback and tackles. Niners are showing up fierce and ready to rumble with anyone on the road and at Levi Stadium. The Niner Nation faithful to our Bay team is here for it!!! Bang-bang Niner gang! 

Best of luck fellow fantasy peeps! 

#FTTB 

The Glows and Blows from NFL Week One

 What a topsy-turvy week one captured across the time zones in week one of NFL! Fantasy football owners across the landscapes are experiencing the spectrum of emotions, from elation to head blown emojis following Monday Night Football! 

Takeaways from the first week of September NFL action: 

Shockers-

For the first time in my fantasy tenure, I actually decided to take a risk on Aaron Rodgers’ off season move to the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, JETS! And take him as my QB1 in one of my two fantasy football leagues. In less than five minutes into the Monday night game, all Aaron Rodgers owners had our jaws on the floor and pretty much shat our pants in the same moment. Here was an anticipated 25-30 points to win our fantasy game shut down. I was actually surprised I still won that fantasy match up in that league EVEN WITH Rodgers accumulating a big fat zero! (thank you Jared Goff flex, Pittman and Jones!)

The home squad (my home squad, Niners Baby!!!) laid down a statement of their own in Steel Town USA, when the San Francisco walked out onto Three Rivers Stadium and dismantled all hope for every fan waving those terrible towels, limiting the offense to one score in the first half! Swooping in the last hour, San Francisco made 2022 DPOY Nick Bosa the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Although he had some rushes and assistance in tackling, I am sure the intimidation he thwarted on the defensive line, helped his fellow teammates kick some Pittsburgh booty all game long. Another secure (not-any-surprise to Bay Area Niner fans) performance was by San Francisco’s QB1 coming off elbow ligament surgery, Brock Purdy. Experts have ranked him as the 24th best quarterback in the league?! 24th??? Really? Well, Shanahan’s game plan, and Purdy’s calm cool demeanor had something to say about that diss. San Francisco walked off the gridiron sending a statement to the rest of the league: with a 30-7 dredging of the Pittsburgh Steelers; we’re coming to make a mark, and win. 

Another shocker that arose this past Monday night, was the rare lackluster performance by Josh Allen, throwing three interceptions to the same Jets Safety, Jordan Whitehead, coincidentally wearing #3 (Possibly a Damar Hamlin nod). There were two grabs I felt Stefon Diggs could have batted away… I know Allen is rumored to be dating a hottie (Hailey Stanfield), and not sure if that’s been possibly a distraction? Of course, I am sure he’s the consummate professional compartmentalizing those things when walking into the locker room, and trotting onto the field. Just curious myself, and the eye-opening-eek performance coming out of the preseason. To see Zac Wilson take over for Aaron Rodgers, along with a stingy Jets defense/special teams performance and win the game in an OT touchdown was incredibly entertaining, and I’m sure there was a collective sigh and J-E-T-S jubilation breathing potential hope for the upcoming season. The expectations of ‘Super Bowl or Bust!’ have definitely been deflated to, ‘Let’s try and make it to the postseason’! 

The opening game between Detroit and Kansas City was a twister! The Lions came to play! No one, NO ONE had Detroit pegged to win that game! Things just got real in motor city, and they're definitely not rolling over for anyone. Their power ranking rating should rise if they continue to lay out upcoming opponents. 

Sunday night football with Dallas walking into New York (Okay, okay, Jersey…) versus the Giants- we thought we would be watching a balanced competitive game between two foes. Nothing could be closer from that happening. The New York Giants offense looked flatter than a day-old pitcher of beer. On top of that, the Giants defense had zero answers for what Dallas threw, ran their way. If there were a mercy rule in football, I believe New York may have requested not to play the remaining minutes of the fourth quarter, with Dallas stringing up a 40-0 spot on the supposed more competitive of the two New York teams in the past several years. 

Many football enthusiasts were looking forward to seeing if Seattle would continue their rise with the second coming of Geno Smith and the plethora of offensive options between receivers and running backs. Their opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, had rising concerns with their main pro-receiver, Cooper Kupp being out, and if Matthew Stafford would find some of his Super Bowl pizzazz that was proficiently displayed two years ago. Well, well, well… Lookie here ladies and gentlemen! Seattle was taking too many steps in the wrong direction, while Stafford hooked up with some unknown receivers lighting up the field and scoreboard! The waiver wires in many leagues I am sure were busy with claims from every team in the league attempting to out bid one another for either Tutu Atwell or Puka Nacua! (I mean I attempted to claim both! And, actually acquired Atwell!). Between Cam Akers and the receivers, Stafford and the LA Rams sent Seattle twelfth man fans into a tantrum rant and left Lumen Field in a tizzy fit.

Last but not least, were the performances of certain traded quarterbacks, and the expected performance of one Miami team. Jimmy Garropolo and Derek Carr landed wins in their new towns and team colors. It was nice to see Jimmy G and Carr do well in their new locker rooms and teams. The other team (and quarterback, after all the concussions from the previous season) many of us were piqued to watch were the Miami Dolphins and how Tua Tagovailoa would rebound from such a tumultuous 2022-2023 season. The San Diego Chargers led by one of the talented quarterbacks in the league, Justin Herbert were definitely favored to win in many football minds. Little did we know how ready head coach Mike McDaniel and the offense plan would unravel, stunning the Chargers with outsourcing them as the last seconds ticked off the clock. Tua did a phenomenal job spreading the ball out between the two highlight reel receivers Tyreek HIll and Waddle, as well as newcomers Barrios and Cracraft, mixed in with a strong running game headed by Raheem Mostert. 

We all walk into the NFL season with our heads held high, thinking we know it all… Even the paid experts miss the mark on their evaluations and predictions. Of course, we can definitely have our overreaction moments, considering it's week one of eighteen! After all of our ‘Hmph!’ and adjusting moves, we all look forward to seeing what week two will bring!!! Buckle up buttercups (and superstars!), we may continue to experience some turbulence heading into the Fall! Best of luck to all my fellow fantasy football fanatics (okay, all except my opponents… I would like to kick some A this weekend, uh-hum…) 

#FTTB

It's TIME!!! The Fantasy Football Sweetspot

 If you’re not familiar with the Buffer brothers, let me refresh your memory: the elder Michael Buffer has been the main man ring announcer for premier boxing bouts and most famous (and I’m sure trademarked) phrase before the beginning of each main fight or championship fight, “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!!!!”; the younger brother, Bruce Buffer has been the main Octagon announcer for UFC fight cards and his infamous crowd pump-up phrase, “ Iiiiiiiiit’s TIIIIIIIME! For the MAIN EVENT of the Evening!!!”... As rookies, invites and established players reported to camp for the upcoming 2023-2024 NFL Season, may I glean from the Buffer Boys’, the greatest ring announcers of our time, “Are you Ready for Fantasy Football?!!!!” It’s time for God to take the backseat, as NFL Mayhem rises up taking  over Sundays!  The most popular professional and physical sport in America is revving its engines with the preseason games in the books, final rosters established and the first game on Today! 

When getting ready for your fantasy draft, it’s wise to catch up on all the coaching changes, free agency signings and acquired draft prospects joining the sixteen AFC and NFC rosters. Honing in on power rankings, head coaching strengths and weaknesses, offense and defense coordinators’ philosophies and playbooks, all should be taken into consideration.  Of course, there are in-depth charts created by analysts and proclaimed ‘experts’ at every fantasy team’s disposal. The outlying questions remain about each of their accuracies of predicting performances, especially as a prime PPR player ages, and the unknown effectiveness of rookies making rosters.  You can always follow power rankings by certain fantasy football analysts and do fine; I always like to evaluate the whole team, beginning with the strength of the offensive line, the offense play calling style and the ranking/effectiveness of the quarterback. We must not forget about an established running game to open up passing opportunities. Depending on how the scoring is layed out, there can be gems performing on losing teams, (e,g, Derrick Henry) where they are the go-to clutch player for their squad. There’s also the seasoned fantasy football player’s gut many should not ignore. Many dipping their toes into the fantasy football world may not realize what’s all involved creating consistent winning fantasy teams year-in and year-out. I have yet to see a player in my two top leagues win back-to-back seasons. A main goal for ‘mois’ is to at least win my entry fee back in bonus points (top score weekly bonus; playoff team bonus; top team bonus; winning playoff round bonus), as well as placing in the top three. Last season was brutal! I  went the whole regular season undefeated, only to lose in the championship game, coming in second! Ugh! One of the drawbacks of having top point performing players, usually means they end up resting, not playing during the final games leading up to the playoffs; thus, that truly gutted my team in the championship game. 

As draft party dates are lined up during the preseason, there’s such a thing as creating a drafting date too early! As I found out, (as many of us around the nation did, oof!) drafting Jonathan Taylor (RB, IND) at an auction draft in late August, risking that he may not be signed, or traded before the mandated 53-man roster cut date! Now he’s either on the bench for the first four games, or possibly the whole season! I am going to be as patient as possible to see if there’s some action in the next two weeks before possibly seeking a trade, or picking up another running back. Luckily I have decent flex options with drafting extra tight ends and the other running backs I have, I believe are slotted RB1 for their teams (Raheem Mostert, D’Andre Swift, Ezekiel Elliott, Pat Freirmuth, Cole Kmet and Chigoziem Okonkwo as flex options). When drafting towards the beginning of training camp, preseason can be risky, as injuries, waivers, trades and signings happen, leaving you in a lurch, scrambling to find players off the waiver wire. There’s a balance one must attain laying out an ideal fantasy roster.  Always keep in mind the scoring layout of your league, and invest in the positions that will get you the most points week-in and week-out. Most of all, have fun! Wishing all of my fellow fantasy football colleagues the best of luck! Shock your league and be the babe that conquers their league!!!