Two superstars might return this weekend

Saddles hoping that keeper RB Jonathan Taylor makes his return; Tirades would be happy with a full game from keeper WR Cooper Kupp for the first time since trading for him last fall.

Jonathan Taylor (left) and Cooper Kupp (right) might be returning to action this weekend.

When you have spent 30 years in the newspaper business, you get a thick skin and get used to pissing people off. It appears Blayze Hanson was not a happy camper about ESPN predicting him to be a big underdog last week against the Recliners. So, he went out on Thursday night and dropped 3 TDs from David Montgomery on Chris and the rout was on.

And, so was the crowing. That is life in the fantasy world we live in. Blayze deserves the right to crow about being dissed. But, what the heck, we will go on crapping on him and he will win the bloody league when ESPN thinks he will finish dead last. Crazier things have happened.

And, Blayze’s life gets a little easier this week with the return of one of the two big scoring studs (and 2023 keepers) missing in action this season – Blazing Saddles’ Jonathan Taylor and the Tirades’ Cooper Kupp.

We have no idea whether either one of them will play this week. Taylor has been practicing all week and the window for reactivation has been opened by the Rams for Kupp. Tirades’ owner Ron Hender is confident enough that he already has Kupp in his starting lineup for this Week 5 action against the Gerbils. But, to be fair, Ron could probably grab a couple of stiffs off the waiver wire and beat Chuck’s hapless band of losers, even if he's trying to to by starting a guy who is technically still on the IR.

Blayze likely will wait until Sunday morning to check his status and decide then if he will roll Taylor against the Rangers. Like Ron, Blayze may not need much to earn his fourth win of the season.

Trade Deadline Looms in 8 Weeks: Just a friendly reminder so we don’t have a repeat of the Christian McCaffrey fiasco in 2024, the trade deadline is coming December 1 and three players (and teams) are directly impacted. The pending free agents: Justin Jefferson is the key trade chip and he is owned by John; Derrick Henry, owned by Matt; and Jonathan Taylor, owned by Blayze. All three must be traded by the deadline (midnight PST on Dec. 1) or they go back into the draft. There was a fourth potential free agent (Nick Chubb), but he was dropped by Jordan after Chubb’s season-ending injury and has been scooped up by the Tirades. Matt Pringle apparently will only stockpile healthy stud RBs. Anyway, start making your plans and trade offers accordingly if any of them entice you.

Schedule Starts to Get Wonky : Four teams are on bye this week (Cleveland, the Chargers, Seattle and Tampa Bay). We still have a Thursday night game on the schedule (Chicago at the Commanders, phew good luck selling ads for that dog) and Jacksonville stays in London to host Buffalo for another early kickoff Sunday morning. Stay on top of those starting lineups, you would not want to lose because a guy was on “bye.” Well, maybe Chuck does. He could be on that “tank for Caleb Williams” bender this season.

Game of the Week

Band Aids vs. Packers, Band Aids favored by 1: All eyes will be on this one. Jeff has owned Bob Garcia for years and would love nothing better than to soil that perfect 4-0 record the Band Aids bring into this one. This is the tightest matchup on the board this week and is pretty much a pick ‘em. And, we should get a quick read on the Pack’s chances with that early Sunday morning game in London. The Band Aids come in heavily favored at several key positions (Patrick Mahomes over Josh Allen at QB, Bijan Robinson over Travis Etienne Jr., Puka Nacua and Mark Andrews, and the Ravens’s defense. Allen and Etienne both are in that 6:30 a.m. game across the pond (Editor's note: That's PDT. Not all of us live on the West Coast, Vern). We have been burned several times by the Pack this season, but we stand by the mantra “never bet against Jeff.” Take the Pack and 1.

Best of the Rest

Spread Beaters vs. Invaiders, Beaters favored by 11: These two teams are part of a four-way logjam for second place in the Silent Division and Matt likely wins this one by 10. Pringle is heavily favored at every position except his Achilles Heel – quarterback. Derrick Henry, Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown all should romp and Pringle could roll out Jim Everett at QB and still win this one. Beaters by 5

WTNE vs. Recliners, WTNE favored by 3: This is the second-closest matchup on the board this week. WTNE, reeling from its first loss of the season last week, likely rebounds to hand Chris his third loss of the season. Jordan is betting Derrick Henry’s days as the bell cow back in Tennessee might be coming to an end as he snagged Tyjae Spears to be his second RB this week (replacing Rachaad White who is on a bye this week). And that might be the opening that Chris needs to pull off the upset as he will roll Tony Pollard against the 49ers (brutal), Zack Moss against another brutal run defense in Tennessee and Aaron Jones at Las Vegas. If his trio of RBs have any production, he might get the upset. The sneaky play is the Jets defense against Denver. But as long as Drake London is a starting WR for Chris, this looks to be a WTNE win. Take WTNE in a nail biter.

Rangers vs. Blazing Saddles, Saddles favored by 14: Why would anyone ever bet against the Saddles again? Every time we have gone against Blayze, he has won. Maybe we should reverse psychology this thing and start picking him as a big favorite. This Week 5 has all the makings of a Saddles runaway. Blayze’s team is heavily favored at every position, except quarterback, tight end and defense, and that is still with Taylor’s projected 9 points on the bench. Blayze, if he starts Taylor, likely swaps him for Gus Edwards at RB2. David Montgomery could have another big day in this one, along with Davante Adams. The Rangers are in a four-way logjam for second in the Silent Division at 2-2, and likely falls to one game under .500 this week. Take the Saddles and pray for rain.

Dog of the Week

Gerbils at Tirades, Tirades favored by 1: Again, do we have to watch this one? Ron is probably grimacing as he reads this, but this should be a much bigger win than ESPN is predicting. Chuck is getting nothing from Joe Burrow, Jajee Harris and George Kittle.

If Brandon Aiyuk has another big day (who can predict who from the 49ers’ stable might erupt?) and if Kupp can finish a game, this should be a romp and Chuck falls to 0-5. If not, we have a two-way tie in the basement. Take the Tirades and 5.