We’re in the thick of it now. Week 6 is the second week of (official) byes and the results of it can be seen in some of the matchups. This week featured a Monday-night nail-biter, waiver wire wizardry, and hubris. We’ll hit the recaps in a moment.
But first,
In case you missed it, Minnesota sports media icon Sid Hartman passed away this weekend at 100 years of age. Hartman’s life might be the most visible example of a person living for their work. That phrase is typically meant to be taken as a positive thing, but in Sid’s case it’s a lot more gray than that. The type of person that comes out of his degree of drive and obsession is a fascinating topic, but ultimately one that isn’t appropriate for this particular space. Others, who have actual stories about him (and holy shit are there so many stories) will be more valuable for your time than any reflections by D’Jasper Probincrux III. I’ll leave a couple of them at the end.
If I may be so bold, I suggest taking any time you had allotted to Thursday’s presidential debate to one of those instead. It will be a damn sight more compelling, and if you have some sort of crotchety old man quota for the week it’ll still be satisfied.
With that said, let’s get to it...
WEEK 6 RECAP
Hostert With The Mostert (3-3) def. Knobby Packers (4-2)
125.62 - 110.7
Hostert With The Mostert wins in a fantasy nail-biter against the first place Knobby Packers. HOST took an early lead in the afternoon games, forcing KNOB owner Alex St. Peter to employ a trusted tactic: The Discord jinx.
Little did he know, the jinx had already been junxed.
Two Weeks Earlier…
More like D’Jinxer Probincrux, amirite?
But by the end of Sunday, the jinxes had neutralized each other and left much to be decided. Both teams projected for a tie as late as halfway through the first of two Monday night games. In the end, HOST needed a solid performance by Kyler Murray without a big game by rising talent Chase Edmonds. Luckily for HOST, that’s what took place. Despite going 9/24 with his arm, he did make a couple deep completions and had 2 TD’s by air and one by land.
HOST got it done, but certainly didn’t make things easy on themselves. Outside of Murray, they scored just one TD on the week, and it came from the Steelers D/ST. Their 19 point performance, and Justin Tucker’s 16 from the K slot, proved clutch in covering the mediocre performances elsewhere. HOST has hoisted themselves back to .500 and seeks to continue the streak next week against the dreaded SHTS.
For KNOB, it was two key letdowns that did them in. First was the Aaron Rodgers impersonator that took the field against the Bucs. The 3.8 point total was as ugly as it was inexplicable. The second letdown came from a classic fantasy dilemma. KNOB’s top RB, Alvin Kamara was on bye. To take his place, St. Peter has two options: Chase Edmonds or D’Andre Swift. Both are young RB’s with high future potential. Both have been trending upwards and are thought to be on the cusp of taking over their backfields. Both have names that apply really favorably to a career as a running back. Who do you pick? St. Peter chose Edmonds. The fantasy gods chose Swift. Had it gone the other way, it’s a KNOB win. Sometimes it’s as fickle as that.
Team Grimm (4-2) def. Too Many Cooks (4-2)
150.54 - 72.02
Team Grimm flips from last week’s bottom score to this week’s top and dispatches a depleted Too Many Cooks squad. GRIM’s duo of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones elevated them to victory while daggering the young Vikings D. I was personally interested to see how Alexander Mattison would perform this week, and I was not alone, as his roster percentage jumped over 50 points this week to 92.4 percent. Unfortunately we didn’t really get to find out, as the game script became such a disaster for the Vikings that establishing the run wasn’t really an option. Fortunately for GRIM, they could afford to carry Mattison’s disappointing day and still cruise to victory.
If Too Many Cooks had to pick a week to lose, it might as well have been this one. With Dalvin injured and three of their big money-makers on bye, it was largely a bench-go week. That said, the let-down performances mostly weren’t from the new guys. Mike Evans, Tyreek Hill, and Odell Beckham Jr. pooted out a mere 12 points combined. But, again, if those three had to whiff, might as well do it this week.
Outdated Sheets (3-3) def. When Does Hockey Start (2-4)
129.88 - 119.1
Outdated Sheets has a solid bounce back week with a win AND solving the great IR mystery. SHTS rode to victory on a mammoth 40+ point performance by certified ‘very bad man’ Derrick Henry. Not to be overlooked was a 20 point performance by the Tampa D/ST as they gobbled up Aaron Rodgers for 2 INTs and a pick-6. Those were 15 points above projection and that proved to be vital, as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce made things interesting for WILD. The wombo-combo pair contributed 41 points to lead the team and left WILD just 10 points short.
Respect The Specks (2-4) def. 3 Pete (2-4)
146.34 - 88.12
Respect The Specks seems to enjoy(?) a soul-bond with Gerogia-based football. Just like their Falcons, GOGS bounced back in Week 6 with a resounding victory. Justin Jefferson rewarded their patience en route to nearly 40 points, ironically outscoring both Falcons starters. Also contributing was Week 6 waiver wire darling Chase Claypool. Between Jefferson and Claypool, GOGS has proven to be shrewd on the wire. All told, it was a good football day for Respect the Specks. It only cost them the Braves...
All the frustration 3 Pete worked off last week has probably returned. They got the dreaded goose egg from TE Matt Gesicki, but also bizarre underperformances from the likes of Juju Smith-Schuster, Ezekiel Elliot, and Stephen Gostkowski. For some of those names, these showings are becoming less an anomaly and more of a trend which indicates inconsistency at best and swift fantasy irrelevancy at worst. Call it David Johnson Syndrome. Decisions loom for the former champion.
Now it’s time for…
Earlier in the recaps I posited that this week’s loss by division leader Too Many Cooks was due to bye weeks for several starters. There is, however, another factor that I’d consider to be far more important: Demoralization. This week, owner Aaron Preese suddenly released TE Jared Cook. Then, despite knowing that Dalvin Cook was going to be out to injury, he sat Brandin Cooks.
For the first time, there were no cooks in the kitchen. Nobody was there to spice the meatballs. The results are self-evident. The regular starters, used to having a Cook in the roster to anchor them, were confused, disoriented, and probably holding back tears. As a result, they put up season lows. Brandin Cooks did all he could from the bench in an effort reminiscent of a kidnapping victim struggling bound and gagged from the trunk of the car. Suddenly, the most committed naming convention in the league sold itself out for Hayden Hurst. The fantasy gods award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
WEEK 7 MATCHUPS
Hostert With The Mostert (3-3) vs. Outdated Sheets (3-3)
When Does Hockey Start (2-4) vs. Team Grimm (4-2)
3 Pete (2-4) vs. Knobby Packers (4-2)
Too Many Cooks (4-2) vs. Respect the Specks (2-4)
League News
Late last week, we implemented a contingency for last-minute game cancellations due to COVID-19. Hopefully you saw the discord post about it, but I’ll copy it here in case you didn’t. (New detail in bold below) Please reach out if you have thoughts or issues:
Each manager can select a RB and a WR on their bench as a contingency player. In the event that their starter's game is unexpectedly postponed to a different scoring period, your contingency player's score will be counted in their place. This isn't mandatory, just some optional security. If you want to do this, post your contingency players on the league message board (I will make a topic for it each week).
Fine-print details:
1. Contingency players have to be posted before they play.
2. This is only in effect if the entire game is postponed. If an individual player is out due to COVID, it's treated like any other gametime injury or illness and the contingency will not be in effect.
3. For QB, TE, D/ST, and K, if you have a backup on your bench, they're automatically your contingency player (I don't think anyone has multiple backups). You can't designate a contingency player from FA or waivers.
**4. I will assume your contingency WR is your first choice to back up your FLEX spot. If you rather it be the RB you select, please specify that in your post.
Finally, some media remembering Sid Hartman:
Chad Hartman joins Dan Barreiro to discuss the passing and the legacy of his dad Sid Hartman - Chad Hartman and Dan Barrerio on KFAN
10/19/20 Soucheray and Reusse react to the passing of Sid Hartman - Garage Logic Podcast - Joe Soucheray and Patrick Reusee swapping Sid Hartman Stories for an hour and a half. Even if you’re not typically a fan of GL, give this a shot.
Sid Hartman remembered as Dad, as Grandpa – and, yes, also as 'Sid!' – by son Chad Hartman - Strib article by Reusee
That’s all for now. Best of luck in Week 7!
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