All 10 teams are in first
Swami goes with the "glass is half full" option as he examines Week 2 matchups
There are two ways to look at the carnage that unfurled in the opening week of the JSFL season. You can take the stance that the first best teams reside in the Shit-Talkers’ division as all five won their openers. Or, the optimist in me looks at it a different way (a kind of glass is half full approach) – all 10 teams still have a piece of first place in their respective division.
The Shit-Talkers are all undefeated. The Silent Division five are all winless. All have a share of first, separated only by the number of points they scored last week. I can hear Ron huffing and puffing already. Tough. I get a chance to write the preview each week. He writes the wrap-up. If you want to do both, have at it. (Ha!).
Along with losing last week, I can safely say the Silent Brothers all learned something from the Week 1 action (you know what they say, “You learn more from a loss than from a win.”) What we did learn is that several team’s defenses are not what we expected (we are talking about you, Denver, and Houston).
One team (the Marietta Tirades) is projected to hit triple digits again and four others are projected to top 96 points. Picking the players to fulfill those projected points is what separates winners from losers. One of the premier matchups this week will feature two of the best quarterbacks in fantasy history – Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson – face each other as the Band Aids look to go 2-0 against the 0-1 Recliners.
And, just like last week, all five pairings will feature one Shit-Talker taking on a Silent Division brother. Spotlighting the matchups is the highest projected pairing of the week when the Tirades look to go 2-0 against the Chandler Rangers (the combined score is projected for 196 points).
NFL Schedule
Learning from those Week 1 developments, the NFL lineup has five tasty offerings for us to feast on starting tonight (Thursday) with the Buffalo Bills taking on the Detroit Lions. The next on the score-fest lineups are on Sunday: the Miami Dolphins at San Francisco 49ers, the New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens, the Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys, and Philadelphia Eagles at Tennessee Titans. The Sunday Night game features the Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs, and the Monday Night game has the New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams.
This week's matchups
Tirades (1-0) vs. Rangers (0-1), Tirades favored by 4: This could be a barnburner and it won’t be settled until the final whistle Monday when Matthew Stafford takes the field for John’s Rangers and Harrison Mervis (the Rams’ kicker) for Ron’s Tirades. The Tirades are favored at QB with Caleb Williams, both RBs in Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry, flex RB Ashton Jeanty and Mervis. The Rangers have the edge at both WRs in Amon-Ra St. Brown and CeeDee Lamb and the Tampa Bay defense at home to Cleveland. The Swami loves high-scoring games and hopes this one lives up to the hype. Take the Tirades and 8.
Band Aids (1-0) vs. Recliners (0-1), Band Aids favored by 4: After undergoing a last-minute meniscus trim right before Week 1 action, tight end Brock Bowers is expected back on the field this week for Chris’ Recliners. Despite being the underdog in this one, Chris is actually favored in five of the nine individual matchups. He gets the edge at tight end with Bowers (if he plays … he is expected back at practice Thursday and Friday), one of the RB slots with Aaron Jones Sr., and both wide receivers (Ja’Marr Chase and Zay Flowers) and the Eagles defense against Tennessee. The Band Aids are favored in the other four matchups, starting with QB Josh Allen, RB Javonte Williams, flex WR Puka Nacua, and kicker Brandon Aubrey. The Swami thinks the Band Aids are loaded and should win this one easily. Take the Band Aids and 5.
Packers (1-0) vs. WTNE (0-1), Packers favored by 2: This one likely will be decided on Monday evening as well, as the Packers’ RB Kyren Williams will facing off against WTNE RB Cam Skattebo. The Packers are favored in four of the nine matchups, WTNE is favored in three. The Packers get the edge at QB with Jalen Hurts, Kyren Williams over Cam Skattebo, flex RB David Montgomery and kicker Cameron Dicker. WTNE gets the edge with both WRs in Justin Jefferson and Drake London and the Ravens defense against New Orleans. The Swami still thinks the Packers are outgunning WTNE. Take the Packers and 1.
Gerbils (1-0) vs. Invaiders (0-1), Gerbils by 1: This one is about as even as a matchup can get. The Gerbils are favored at both RB positions with Jahmyr Gibbs and Kenneth Walker III and the Invaiders are favored only at one spot, tight end Trey McBride. The Swami thinks the Gerbils win big in this one. Take the Gerbils and 7.
Who Dey (1-0) vs. Spread Beaters (0-1), Beaters favored by 7: The only Silent Division brother projected to get a win this week is Matt Pringle. But, the bad news is Pringle is going to have to wait until Monday night, again, to put a win away. This has the makings of being a blowout, but Who Dey was in the same boat last week and blew all projections out the window. The Beaters are favored in four battles, starting with QB Jaxon Dart, both RBs in Jonathon Taylor and Omirion Hampton, and the Kansas City defense against Indianapolis. The Swami likes the Beaters to win with less drama than last week. Take the Beaters and 5.
Injury update
Band Aids RB Jordan Mason, who was supposed to be the guy to take over when perpetually-injured Vikings RB Aaron Jones Sr (Recliners) went back on the shelf, went on IR today and will miss at least four weeks. Bob also could be without WR Ladd McConkey, who is questionable with a rib injury, and might have to go with a backup RB (Travis Etienne or Croskey-Merritt) or WR Terry "No Scorin" McLaurin.
We'll see if it makes any difference for Gerbils RB Jamyr Gibbs now that the Lions are down two starting offensive linemen. Probably not, as they were down all five starting linemen at one point last year and Gibbs still shredded opposing defenses.
The Invaiders will be without WR AJ Brown for at least four weeks with a high ankle sprain, but at least he did not require surgery like DeZhaun Stribling (since released by the Tirades, he'll miss an expected 10 weeks).
Packers WR Jalen Coker, who scored 25 on the bench last week, also suffered an ankle injury and is questionable going into Sunday's game. Another Packers WR, starter Nico Collins, is questionable with a hamstring issue.
Zay Flowers, who had 21 points in the Recliners opening-week loss, also has a wonky hamstring and is questionable for the game against the Saints on Sunday.
Matty McCumber won't be happy is starting QB Joe Burrow (back) won't be able to go on Sunday, but he assured JSFL Today reporters that he plans on playing against the Texans (Burrow must have been drooling after watching tape of Houston getting shredded with zero pass rush against Josh Allen and the Bills last week).
QB Sam Darnold of Seattle (dumped by the Gerbils yesterday for Saints QB Tyler Shough) will miss at least four weeks. It didn't matter much to Jaxson Smith-Njigba and Matty last week, as JSN scored 18 even with Drew Lock throwing to him.
Comments