Week 3 News and Notes

NFFL Week 3 recap

A wild week saw a number of teams respond in emphatic ways- overall, the scoring this week was the highest so far in 2015.

DFlam 135, Arbo 112

The biggest win of this week came from DFlam as AJ Green ensured that a week without Brees was not an excuse to drop to 0-3.  The second highest total scorer in the league, Flam is right back in the top four mix now with a W under his belt.

The coach goes back to the drawing board with perhaps the first order of business involving a flex position that is getting shakier each week.  With the usefulness of Kaepernick in question after a dismal outing and lacking a convincing WR1 option- Arbo will have a lot to consider in the build up to a critical week 4 matchup.

Tighe 133, Chessman 97

Tighe romps to a big win over the Big Cheese thanks to three 30’s- Rodgers, Smith SENIOR, and Freeman bringing the Busch latte cases home this time around.  The top heavy nature of this squad is not historically unusual but the ongoing struggles of CJ will be of major concern as the bye weeks hit.

Eifert and AJ Green combined for 34 points but unfortunately for Wiseman he held the empty end of that split.  The Chessman will need a new king as Big Ben limps off the board for his annual stint on the DL- perhaps a rook will do, if the Dorsett appearance is to be believed.  Carr has been a nice revelation as a QB2 and will need to carry the load for a team not equipped to lose a QB (read: has no backup QBs except for backup QBs).

TMac 120, Lee 101

Hot acquisition Terrance Williams is still picking up the offense- as evidenced by his zero points- but who needs him when you get five twenty spots and a strong crew of injured guys in White, Foster, and Cutler?  Well White is not hurt but that injury report is coming in HOT alongside the inevitable Andre Johnson ‘injury’- questionable (age)…the Morris thing is really concerning- guys like him have a history of falling off cliffs (Rudi Johnson?) so that situation bears watching.

The return of Bell saw Lee return to losing ways.  Getting an 8 from a QB is no recipe for success in these parts and Lee should be a bit concerned about Foles- just 40 points from three outings.  The Wiseman formation of starting multiple tight ends netted a total of two points- one per TE.

Thompson 102, Malinn 99

Top of the league?  Thompson?  The Cellar Dweller looks stellar and in a three-point game someone had the game winning score so let’s just say Bortles and one of his garbage time TDs did the trick.  A little over-reliant on the Falcons here so let’s see- who has Thompson during the HOT-LANTA bye week…(FLAM!)…otherwise Thompson might be headed toward a one-loss season.

A tight battle saw Malinn slam his forehead down on the panic button as it is getting a whee bit WIN-DEEEEEEEEEEEE in 0-3 city.  Rumors that Marcus ‘The Cat’ Mariotta wants OUT or at minimum a chance to show her friends back home what she can do should do nothing but add to the swirling trade talks.

Concannon 121, #1 Curran 112

Game of the week lives up to the billing here as it goes right down to Monday night.  The title still feels like it is Curran’s to lose but what is officially a slow start from Hill is cause for concern.  Is Blount back, or just gearing up for the annual ‘200 yard rushing night at Indy- then see ya later…’ tradition?

The Commish moves to 3-0 thanks to a competitively top-heavy attack.  The two QB setup is looking very solid as Mr. Manning begins to come around and with players soon returning from various injuries the bye weeks are looking navigable here for a sustained top four assault.  If anyone is looking for Andre Johnson- buy a carton of milk.

Sean 106, Nemo 56

Sean officially starts the wheeling and dealing season by picking up ‘The Jets QB situation’- I have a nice little prediction for him- if that team goes downhill Sean does not have the Jets starter in December.  How dare he not start Ryan Mathews when he got the call over the injured Murray- Yeldon at RB2 for this one smacks of ‘Concannon-itis’- defined as over-reliance on rookie picks combined with an insistence on proving how smart his draft picks were.  The football gods will surely punish him by causing Mathews to roll an ankle while pulling up his jock next weekend.

Not much to say for Nemo here- the Lynch injury early just about sums this one up after Ivory’s zero snap outing got things rolling downhill.  Everyone gets a loss like this per year so hopefully they saddle up quickly over there at Nemo HQ and move on to Cincinnati.

Trade and waiver analysis

*TMac trades QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and QB Geno Smith to Sean for QB Jimmy Clausen, WR Terrance Williams, and a 2016 4^th round pick

Wooo, a big one!  Or so it seemed, anyway.  Sean picks up some QB flotsam in the form of the ‘Jets situation’ in exchange for a couple of weaks of Clausen and the intriguing Williams.  The trade is a classic now/later deal we see at this stage of the season- TMac can hang in with McCown until Cutler returns while Sean’s cast of cheaper receivers made Williams at least available, if not expendable.  It is notable that the QBs on each side were likely traded at their peak values…

A big factor here was the Romo injury- Williams likely sees a value drop there that offsets his gain from half a season as the #1- but I think I would still shade this deal to TMac a little.  That said, if I was stuck in Sean’s spot, getting this back would be a fairly good return- a solid deal for both sides.

*Vick @ $100 to Tighe, Rawls @ $99 to Lee

Lee and Tighe both hit $0 early in FAAB action as they scoop up this week’s hot pickups.  Vick is a known commodity (a shaky, injury prone one) but his legs should prove an asset during these coming bye weeks with the slight possibility of a trade…

Rawls is less known- unknown, actually- but could be in line for major duties in the event that this is THAT YEAR for Lynch- the bill comes due for every great bruising running back at some point. 

Other sneaky moves I liked:

*Riddick to Malinn could be a spot play with the ongoing chaos in the Lions backfield

*Ginn and Snead to Sean- both WRs are getting targets and although it is unlikely that they are the next Odell Beckham it is possible that we might have this year’s Charles Johnson among the duo- temporary solutions tend to become more permanent than expected on bad teams.

*Gray to Tighe will be intriguing if the Pats trade for him prior to the Indy game.  The entire Dolphins backfield situation is a mess at moment, exciting the only Jay Ajayi owner in the world.

 Week 4 preview

One o’clock games

Chessman v Malinn / Nemo v TMac / Tighe v Curran / Arbo v Concannon

Role reversal?- DFlam v Lee

DFlam has outscored Lee by a wide margin this year- naturally, Lee has a better record.  No flukes or excuses this week.  The key player here might be Brees for Flam- I like his odds on a night game in Dallas- but Winston is a solid backup.  Lee is currently hinting that new man Rawls will line up in the backfield with Eddie Royal out in the slot…uh oh.

Game of the Week- Thompson v Sean

No power ranking as of press time but Thompson is surely in the mix and, in any event, puts his undefeated status up against a squad held together with duct tape and chopsticks.  Thompson is rolling out touchdown reliant Woodhead, Benjamin, and Miller- so this one could get close if the Ryan-Jones connection is a little slow to go on Sunday.