Is it?!

“Grant them Prima Nocta…first night.  When any common girl inhabiting their lands is married, our noble lord shall have sexual rights to her on the night of her wedding.  If we can’t get them out, we’ll breed them out.”  Boom!  Longshanks is on the prowl!  In spite of having my tight end lay an egg and having my highest scoring runningback on my bench, my team was the lone team to crack triple digits and thus took home the Week 6 High Score prize!  My defense was spectacular (Ravens – 26 pts), Carson Wentz posted 20 and Jordan Howard added 19, leading my team to 107 points AND my first victory of the season!  I need to make horrible trades more often!

In the league standings, the South Division is now about as close as it can be with the Coors Light Drunk Guys in 1st at 4-2, then Glory Day just a half game back at 3-2-1, then the remaining three teams only 1 game back at 3-3.  The North Division has a bit more separation, with two teams at 4-2 (Joe’s Pats and Bubble Craps Bandits), then the rest of the teams with losing records.  In terms of points scored, the North Division has the edge in total points by 43 (2,310 to 2,267), but the South has the edge in total wins by 3 (16-13). 

Just a quick update this week, as I’m gearing up for mid-term grades next week.  Let’s do this!


GOOD STUFF
-New Orleans, DEF – Free Agent – 32 pts – This has to be the first time a free agent defense has led all scorers in a week.  Check out the stat line… 5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 (yes 3!!) defensive touchdowns.  In one week, the Saints more than doubled their point production from the previous 5 weeks (31 points combined Weeks 1-5, 32 points in Week 6).  Just amazing.

-Le’Veon Bell, RB – Goose Eggs – 27 pts – After scoring only 12 points in the first two weeks, Bell is averaging 20 per week over the last 4.

-Kirk Cousins, QB – Glory Days – 27 pts – Cousins is the 6th best QB in fantasy, averaging 19.2 points per game.

-Baltimore, DEF – Longshanks – 26 pts – The Ravens recorded 4 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries, and had 2 return TD’s plus 323 return yards!  Nice!

-Melvin Gordon, RB – Glory Days – 26 pts – Two weeks in a row, and two weeks scoring >25 points.  Ain’t nothing wrong with that!

-Adrian Peterson, RB – Longshanks – 25 pts – Hey now!  How about an AP sighting?  The desert sun always seems to have a rejuvenating effect on old bones, so I believe (or rather I’m hoping and praying) this is a preview of more to come.

WHAT THE…?
-Jared Cook, TE – Goose Eggs – 1 pt – Well at least he improved on his point total from last week.  Not by much, but hey.

-Chris Hogan, WR – Longshanks – 1 pt – Hogan's touchdown streak came to an end at 4 in-a-row, along with pretty much any other production.

-Michael Thomas, WR – Goose Eggs – 1 pt – The Saints put up 52 points this week, but somehow none of that production went to Thomas.  He finished with 3 catches for only 11 yards.  Yikes!

-CJ Anderson, RB – Vandelay Industries – 1 pt – In what should have been a favorable matchup (at home vs. NYG), Anderson amassed a meager 17 yards on 9 carries (1.9 ypc) and failed to get the ball in the endzone from the 1-yard line.  The 26 points he racked up in Week 2 look like a distant memory at this point.

-Coby Fleener, TE – Longshanks – 0 pts – Fleener’s production has gone from bad to worse, after having scored 20 points in his first two games of the season to only 4 points total in his last three games.

-Andre Ellington, RB – Glory Days – 0 pts – No catches or carries for Ellington, as it all went to the A-Train. 


PLAYOFFS?!
Last week I made my playoff team predictions, and even in spite of my colossal performance this week, I am sticking to my original predictions.  Just a quick reminder of how the playoffs work, and the prize payouts.
Format – Six teams qualify for the playoffs, with the top two from each division receiving an automatic bid, and the top team from each division receiving a first round bye.  The remaining two spots are wild cards which go to the next two highest teams regardless of division.
Tie-breakers for division standings:  Overall record, Division record, Head-to-head record, Points scored, coin flip.
Tie-breakers for wild card standings: Overall record, Head-to-head record, Points scored, coin flip.
Prizes – Weekly High Score Prize - $50 (runs from Week 1-16 and all teams are eligible each week).
4th Place - $45
3rd Place - $67
Runner-up - $113
Champion - $225


WEEKLY RANDOMNESS
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
The past, present and future walk into a bar.  It was tense.
Practice safe eating… always use condiments.

TOP 5’s
Here is the Week 6 check-in on the top ranked players by position, compared to the pre-season rankings.  (Week 6 rankings are based on average points scored per game).

QB	as of 9/5/17	After Week 6 (10/17/17)
1	Aaron Rodgers	Deshaun Watson Hou
2	Tom Brady	Alex Smith KC
3	Drew Brees	Tom Brady NE
4	Russell Wilson	Dak Prescott Dal
5	Matt Ryan	Carson Wentz Phi
RB
1	David Johnson	Kareem Hunt KC
2	Le'Veon Bell	Leonard Fournette Jax
3	LeSean McCoy	Todd Gurley II LAR
4	Melvin Gordon	Melvin Gordon LAC
5	Devonta Freeman	Le'Veon Bell Pit
WR
1	Antonio Brown	Antonio Brown Pit
2	Julio Jones	A.J. Green Cin
3	Odell Beckham, Jr.	DeAndre Hopkins Hou
4	Mike Evans	Stefon Diggs Min
5	A.J. Green	Jordy Nelson GB
TE
1	Rob Gronkowski	Rob Gronkowski NE
2	Travis Kelce	Zach Ertz Phi
3	Greg Olsen	Cameron Brate TB
4	Jordan Reed	Travis Kelce KC
5	Jimmy Graham	Charles Clay Buf
DEF
1	Denver	Jacksonville Jax
2	Seattle	Detroit Det
3	Houston	Baltimore Bal
4	Kansas City	Los Angeles LAR
5	Minnesota	New Orleans NO
K
1	Stephen Gostkowski	Greg Zuerlein LAR
2	Justin Tucker	Ryan Succop Ten
3	Matt Bryant	Wil Lutz NO
4	Dan Bailey	Matt Bryant Atl
5	Mason Crosby	Robbie Gould SF

Of 30 players ranked in the Top 5 of their respective positions, 8 currently rank in the Top 5.  The biggest surprises have to be Deshaun Watson, Leonard Fournette and the Jacksonville defense.


BEST BENCH
Not a lot of points were left on the bench this week, which was surprising with the low scores we saw.  But with a 33-point improvement possibility, the Week 6 Best Bench goes to… sprouts!  Russ needed only three roster moves to make it happen:  M. Ingram for J. Allen +19, J. Brown for TY Hilton +11 and P. Rivers for M. Ryan +3.


Now, who is this who speaks as though I needed his advice?