NFFL Week 1 recap
A sluggish first week across the board for many saw just
three teams crack the one hundred barrier and a top-three clash fizzle out into
a battle of attrition…
Nemo 100, DFlam 99
The game of the week saw Nemo sneak past DFlam behind a
subpar but sufficient ten points from last year’s first round choice, QB
Bridgewater. In what was a
straightforward MNF matchup, the ten points proved a mighty struggle but the
final result ended up being what many expected entering the week’s final game.
Nemo is off to a winning start but the depth is already
being tested- Bush and Jackson both exited their games. DFlam was letdown by just sixteen points from
star WR trio Green, Beckham, and Sanders but should be able to bounce back
nicely if his somewhat unreliable backfield holds up given his strong QB play.
Concannon 87, Tighe 82
Most likely a ‘game of the week’ given the lofty power
rankings of the two squads- but this one was more dud than anything else. It did come down to MNF as rookie RB Coleman
made his case for the next great PB Tzar flex play rookie back with just enough
conviction to hold off Bradford’s late surge.
The impending fantasy irrelevance of Manning may be coming a
year early for the commish’s tastes- however, with Mallet in the fold the blow
may be cushioned a tiny bit in a worst case scenario. The squad has a sneaky large number of
irrelevant injuries but the first team remains unscathed. Tighe will no doubt be alarmed by the debut
of Anderson in terms of both workload and output- however, any improvements to
the squad will need to originate elsewhere thanks to a relatively thin RB
corps. Moncrief is one to watch in
September- with starters Hilton and Johnson struggling in the opener, the
talented year two man may see a significant boost in playing time.
Thompson 121, Chessman 81
Thompson holds off the dumpster fire with a fairly
convincing win. That said, the Woodhead
performance could be more fluke than reliable and should see Thompson down
towards more of the middle of the league going forward. Playing Bortles over Smith is likely to not
be replicated.
Where to go with Wiseman that the power rankings did
not? DeVante Parker played one snap out
of the flex position and that about sums it up.
The injury to Carr hurt team output and the benching of Hoyer did not
improve the backup situation- with little else on the bench, 81 could be a
high-water mark for quite some time.
Sean 98, TMac 84
Sean picks up an opening W in week 1, showing that life
after Jordy is going to be a little more feisty than some experts
predicted. Hyde showed RB1 potential in
the late game and combined with Ryan ‘Touchdown Machine’ Mathews- TJ
Yeldon- perhaps a workable arrangement is emerging in the backfield. The bench showed enough life for optimism.
TMac will need to exercise a little patience- Foster is
still out, for one- but the lack of options at RB/WR behind Morris (scored
exactly 12 fantasy points for the 456th straight game, approximately) will
require a closer look.
Lee 87, Arbo 63
Heavy lies the crown…hard to tell which team is more
disappointed. Lee took the W and got
some reassuring outings from his better lights- however, the injury list is
longer than my patience to type it and all roads to the trade block run right
through Lee. Brandon Coleman is on the
bench…more on him shortly.
Coach Arbo will likely have his team running extra wind
sprints after an embarrassing outing to open his title defense. Slow starts from AP and Olsen can be
overlooked but some of the players he was relying on for breakouts really did
not give much reason for hope. The
emergence, possibly, of Arbo favorite ASJ combined with a looming return for
Gates could see Olsen hit the block early in the hopes of finding someone more
useful for that flex position.
#1 Curran 132, Malinn 92
The year of Father Coffee?
A widely unexpected move to match Brady’s auction bid pays off
handsomely here as #12 paced a balanced approach to defend the #1 ranking with
style. With Johnny Football finding his
way onto the field and Palmer reportedly griping for more playing time- a deal
could be had to further strengthen the current top dog.
A tough loss for Malinn but not much can be done against the
leading scorer. The Mariota party is in
full force and presents options if Malinn tires of Newton early on. There was not much going on behind the scenes
here so patience with underperformers Watkins and Randle will be required prior
to returns of Cruz/Bryant relegating Randle/Wheaton (respectively) to likely
third fiddles in those passing attacks.
Week 2 Preview
A quiet waiver wire and lack of activity on the trade front
indicate that teams are willing to wait another week, at least, to confirm any
early hunches. The week two slate:
Chessman v TMac
/ Concannon v Malinn /
Arbo v Nemo
Notable matchups…
Thompson v Tighe
Tighe and Thompson square off just one week after opening
performances did not meet power ranking expectations.
Beth Israel Bowl- Sean v Lee
An injury to Nelson seemed to doom Sean and relegated him to
an early 11th ranking- Lee countered last week for the medical crown
by seeing approximately seventeen players admitted to the hospital. The focus on Terrance Williams that may come
due to the Bryant injury could be one particularly cruel path to 0-2 for Lee.
Game of the Week- DFlam v #1 Curran
DFlam posted a strong season opener but fell to Nemo in a
tough one by just a single point. Curran
enters wedding weekend riding high- can Flam recover from disappointment to
pick up a first win?
Quotes of the week
‘Mariota has 4 tds’-
half of the league
I think I got a pretty good idea of who thought I was
serious about picking him #1 and who thought I was bluffing. A wildly impressive start for the young
Titan, to be sure.
‘The start of the
Brandon Coleman era’ -Lee
Lee was too busy dusting off his crystal ball to focus on
writing his MNF update on time this week.
Oh well. Coleman will be a part
of the solution on a day that saw half of Lee’s team wind up in the hospital.
‘Football, glorious
football’ –Sean, quoting (I believe) Dave Dameshek
Welcome back, everyone.
Good luck to all for the rest of the season.
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