In the past two weeks, Dalvin Cook has 468 yards and 6 TDs (and 17 first downs), pacing Kennedy’s team toward a two-week total of 435 points. That two-week total exceeds the past three weeks’ totals for Brian, Cameron, Coleman, Corey, Evan, Oliver, Sean, and Tim. It also exceeds the past four weeks’ worth of Cam’s points, which says more about Cam’s team than K’s, so let’s move on.
Honorable Mentions Kyler, Russ, and Mahomes can duke it out for the real MVP award. Alvin Kamara might also find his way into that discussion, leading the league in scrimmage yards while everyone questions Drew Brees’ arm strength, leading the Saints to a division title and probably the NFC 1-seed. Dalvin Cook can’t win regular season MVP unless he breaks the all-time rushing record, which would require that he rush for 1,250 yards in the next eight games, or 156 yards per game. Dalvin Cook has exceed 156 rushing yards in three of seven games this year, so I guess it’s possible. When OJ broke 2K yards in ’73, he rushed for 143 yards per game, so I have my doubts about Dalvin. If Dalvin averagd 143 per game from here on out, he would join the 2K club and have an outside chance at MVP but more likely settle for NFC Offensive Player of the Year.
Actually another MVP got my attention: Travis Kelce is averaging six points per game more than the next best TE this year (excluding Kittle). He’s ninth in non-QB scoring,
I mean… right? He had a 50-point game already. The next closest scorer in Joe Burrow, who has 50 fewer points despite starting an extra game and having 60 more passing attempts. I want to make a case for James Robinson here since he’s going to take me to the playoffs, but I have to hand it to Herbert for scoring 30% of Evan’s points after Evan finally threw in the towel on Wentz.
Other Honorables besides Robinson would be CEH, Tee Higgins, and Brandon Aiyuk. Burrow hasn’t been worth anything to us since he has like two starts in this league and they weren’t even his good games. CEH has obviously been an every week starter, but Spencer paid way up to get him (over Dalvin…). Higgins, though, has double digits every week for the past six or seven weeks, and Aiyuk has been a little less consistent but shown a higher ceiling. All the rookies mentioned (except CEH) have late-round keeper eligibility and will almost definitely be kept.
Sorry, Evan, no love for Justin Jefferson, who has two 30-point games but in the last three weeks had his bye, a 2.6, and an 8.4. He’s a keeper candidate along with Herbert, but he’s not ROY material if he’s not winning you games.
1. Kennedy
- Cook and Kelce (392 FP)
2. Corey
- AK and DK (356)
3. Shelby
- Henry and Trash Asshole (338)
4. Tim
- Gurley and Jones (286)
5. Coleman
- Zeke and Terry (270)
6. Spe
- Ridley and CEH (268*)
*Exactly 134 each
7. Doak
- Robinson and Allen (266)
8. Cam
- Trash Asshole and Nuk (264)
9. Oliver
- Jacobs and Conner (262)
10. Brian
- Adams and Lamb (258)
11. Evan
- Lockett and RoJo (248)
12. Sean
- Robby Anderson and Mike Davis (230)
While Shelby had the most innovative draft strategy, Spencer may have had the most straightforward of the smart ones. You know how you assemble the best fantasy offense? You find the best NFL offense and steal it. Of the Chief’s 35 total TDs, Spencer’s team has scored 32. When you factor in the double-points (rec TDs for CEH and Hardman and a pick-six for Mathieu), Spencer has 36 Chiefs’ TDs this season. I don’t even need to check on other stacks because only the Seahawks even have 36 TDs. This is probably a one-shot deal, as it will be nearly impossible to stack Mahomes and CEH again next year, but if I were Spencer, I would do whatever shaking and baking I needed to rig that deck again.
Honorable Mention: Sean’s Panthers, Anderson and Davis, both of whom he scooped off waivers while the rest of his team was imploding. He might only be 3-6, but the reason he’s not in the basement with Brian is clutch pickups like these.
Brady and Gronk combined for three points this past week. It 100% cost Corey his matchup, since they only needed to combine for 14 points to get him the win. In fact, they fucked up an easy TD when Brady threw it a few inches behind, so even though Gronk got hands on it, the defender was able to get a hand in and knock it out. That TD alone would have made that combined three into a 15.
I have to say it. Lamar is 13th in QB scoring, nestled among Bridgewater, Big Ben, and Derek Carr, all of whom who were free agents after our draft. Lamar has three 30-point games, and his floor is around 15. He’s a starting QB, but that’s all he is. Actually, when you look at the points, he’s a low-end QB sustained by rushing upside. He is right now what we thought Josh Allen was a year ago, in fantasy anyway. There’s not much to say about Andrews.
This is tough. Shelby’s keepers, Kyler and Henry, have the total points. Spencer’s keepers, Mahomes and AJ Brown, would be right there if Brown hadn’t missed a couple games. In fact, since Brown’s return, he has 96 points to Henry’s 116, and that includes a 48-point high for Henry compared to a 27-point high for Brown, meaning in most games, they end up with similar totals. Henry clearly has the ceiling. Despite Kyler’s 52 to give Shelby some Week 9 cash, Mahomes has that QB ceiling, with games of 53 and 54 already this year. Mahomes is the more reliable player by NFL standards, but that 12-point game against Denver looms large. Only a few QBs are going to blow teams out with regularity, given the greatness of the offense and at-least competence of the defense. Mahomes is one of them. Kyler is not. For fantasy, Kyler has an impossibly high floor, 29 points in a 3-INT game against Detroit. Mahomes hasn’t carried the ball beyond the line of scrimmage in almost a month. So even though Mahomes and Brown are gods of actual football, I’ll give the edge to Kyler and Henry in this contest.
It’s nobody’s fault this happened. I mean, it’s probably my fault, since Sean originally wanted to keep Green and Josh Allen and I mentioned I thought Butker was more likely to be a weekly starter and Allen could be acquired at basically the same pick as Butker, plus kicker is a much scarcer position and Butker is the clear #2. It was sound logic, but obviously things worked out differently. In retrospect, Butker was still the pick; Sean should have let go of AJ Green.
Apologies to Kennedy, who has the #2 DL and the #2 LB, but I have the #1 DL and the #1 LB right now. And if it were a tie, we’d be looking to your Jessie Bates against my Marlon Humphrey, with the edge obviously going to Humphrey for bringing back the Peanut Punch and leading all IDPs in scoring before he missed a week with COVID. I suppose we could look to DST to break the tie, but even there I’ve got the #2, and you’ve got the Bears.
This is not up for debate, even though I love me some Younghoe Koo. Tucker is the best kicker. I don’t care if he’s not leading in FP. He’s the best kicker. Plus, even though Koo leads all kickers in FP, he has games of zero and two points. I personally can’t handle a kicker getting less than a field goal’s worth of points in a week. If you want to win ona weekly basis, you need a consistent kicker.
Honorable Mentions: Randy Bullock and Ryan Succop
I would go on to predict a playoff picture and a league champion, but the jinx would just end up ruining someone’s year. I’m in a holiday mood, so I won’t say anything nice about anyone doing well, just in case.
I will say, congratulations in advance to Cameron, who is getting married this Saturday, and who needs something good in his life after his fantasy team shit the bed in four consecutive weeks. Cameron, I’m sorry I can’t be there to celebrate with you in person. I hope your marriage is a dream come true for you like mine has been for me. I wish you and Monica a lifetime of happiness. It is truly amazing any of us find love at all from people who start out as perfect strangers. You are one of the lucky ones. Have a wonderful wedding day.
(PS - Your gift is in the mail. You can never have too many air fryers, right?)
Everyone else, I might write a Saturday note. I might not. Haven’t really been feeling it. I had a day off today and felt like I owed you something, so I went for it. We’ll see what happens. Stay safe.
