2020 Midterms!

 

Eight weeks of the fantasy football season are in the books.  Been a wild one so far… did you know we have seen a player score over 40 points in all but two weeks this season?  And Week 2 actually gave us two players over 40 points, so the 2020 season has already seen 7 players do it.  Last season there were only 11 players to do it for the entire year!  

This week it was Dalvin Cook who was back in the lineup after being injured in Week 5, and absolutely ran wild over the Green Bay Packers.  Cook racked up 163 yards rushing and 3 TD’s, plus 63 yards receiving and another TD, to finish the day with 49 points scored!  This is the highest single player score we have seen so far this season, and in spite of Cook not scoring any points in Weeks 6 & 7 (out injured), he is the highest scoring running back and leads the 2^nd place RB (Alvin Kamara) by 17 points.  What can I say, Cook is cooking!

The big congratulations this week once again go to the big man up north…no not Santa, it’s Sofa King American!! USA! USA!  James had four players score in the 20’s this week (Philly D-24, Davante Adams-23, Matt Stafford-22 and Tyreek Hill-21), and was one of two teams in triple digits, finishing with a very nice 113 points.  Two in a row now for Mr. Hand…great work Major!!

In league action, the total points scored dropped for the sixth week in a row, with only 800 total points scored this week.  We apparently blew our collective load in Week 2.

Crazy graph right?  Not one blip in the nice gentle glide from 1,034 points down to 800. 

Across league standings, 7 teams have four wins or more and four teams are tied for 2^nd place with records of 5-3.  Much too early for playoff scenarios, but it’s the perfect time for some midterm grades, so let’s get right to it!!

 

MID TERMS

This will be the fourth year in a row using the same methodology on calculating mid-term grades.  It is a purely analytical analysis on seven categories measuring each team’s success so far and the effectiveness of the manager.   In each category, the highest ranked team receives 10 points, 2^nd place receives 9 points, 3^rd 8 points and so on.  If there is a tie, the points are allocated evenly across the tied teams.

Here is a breakdown of the grading categories:

• Overall Record:  More points awarded to teams with better records.  Sprouts takes the top spot here, and four teams tie for 2^nd place.
• Points Scored:  More points awarded to teams who have scored more points.  Sprouts, Longshanks and Sofa King American are the top three point scorers so far.
• Points Against:  More points awarded to teams who have had more points scored against them.  American BadAss leads the way here with 846 points scored against them, followed by Big Sack No TD’s with 787.
• Weekly High Score Prizes:  More points awarded to teams who have collected WHSP’s.  Five different teams have won a WHSP this season, with sprouts leading the way with 3.
• Best Benches*: Teams with more Best Benches are awarded fewer points.  Both American BadAss and Big Sack No TD’s have claimed 2 Best Benches this season.
• Waivers*:  Teams with more waiver moves are awarded more points.  Attack of Mahomes leads everyone in waiver moves with 24 so far, while the Coors Light Drunk Guys have the fewest with 5.
• Keeper Production:  Teams who have had the best keeper production thus far are awarded more points.  Attack of Mahomes is tops in this category (300 points between P. Mahomes and T. Kelce), with Vandelay Industries in 2^nd (267 points between D. Henry and L. Jackson).
• Utilization:  Teams who have done the best on leaving the fewest points on the bench are awarded more points.  Sofa King American has the best utilization rate so far (92.0%), with sprouts close behind (91.3%).  Big Sack No TD’s has the lowest utilization rate so far (78.6%). 

(*The points in these categories are weighted to only count half as much as the other categories.)

 Points are awarded across those categories, summed up and compared across the league.  As always, grades are doled out on a strict curve, with 2 A’s, 2 B’s, 2 C’s, 2 D’s and 2 F’s handed out. 

Here are the 2020 Midterm Grades:

Russ - sprouts		Pts
Record:	7-1	10
Points For:	841	10
Pts Against:	707	6
High Scores:	3	10
Best Bench:	1	2.25
Waivers:	11	1.75
Keepers:	201	6
Utilization:	91.3%	9
Total Points:		55
Grade		A+

 

Jerry - Longshanks		Pts
Record:	5-3	7.5
Points For:	765	9
Pts Against:	725	8
High Scores:	1	7
Best Bench:	0	4.25
Waivers:	18	4.25
Keepers:	87	1
Utilization:	89.3%	8
Total Points:		49
Grade		A

 

James - Sofa King American		Pts
Record:	4-4	4.5
Points For:	755	8
Pts Against:	667	2
High Scores:	2	9
Best Bench:	0	4.25
Waivers:	11	1.75
Keepers:	230	7
Utilization:	92.0%	10
Total Points:		46.5
Grade		B+

 

Rob - Vandelay Industries		Pts
Record:	5-3	7.5
Points For:	651	3
Pts Against:	609	1
High Scores:	1	7
Best Bench:	0	4.25
Waivers:	14	3.25
Keepers:	267	9
Utilization:	87.7%	7
Total Points:		42
Grade		B

 

 

Timmy - Attack of Mahomes		Pts
Record:	5-3	7.5
Points For:	739	7
Pts Against:	668	3
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	1	2.25
Waivers:	24	5
Keepers:	300	10
Utilization:	81.9%	3
Total Points:		37.75
Grade		C+

 

Jason - American BadAss		Pts
Record:	2-6	2.5
Points For:	685	4
Pts Against:	846	10
High Scores:	1	7
Best Bench:	2	0.75
Waivers:	14	3.25
Keepers:	237	8
Utilization:	81.0%	2
Total Points:		37.5
Grade		C

 

Joe - Joe's Pats		Pts
Record:	4-4	4.5
Points For:	730	6
Pts Against:	723	7
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	0.5	3
Waivers:	10	1
Keepers:	134	4
Utilization:	85.4%	5
Total Points:		30.5
Grade		D+

 

John - Young Guns		Pts
Record:	5-3	7.5
Points For:	713	5
Pts Against:	690	4
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	1.5	1.5
Waivers:	13	2.5
Keepers:	183	5
Utilization:	83.7%	4
Total Points:		29.5
Grade		D

 

Shawn - Coors Light Drunk Guys		Pts
Record:	2-6	2.5
Points For:	606	1
Pts Against:	693	5
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	0	4.25
Waivers:	5	0.5
Keepers:	129	3
Utilization:	86.1%	6
Total Points:		22.25
Grade		F+

 

Jens - Big Sack No TD's		Pts
Record:	1-7	1
Points For:	628	2
Pts Against:	787	9
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	2	0.75
Waivers:	18	4.25
Keepers:	116	2
Utilization:	78.6%	1
Total Points:		20
Grade		F

 

So what do midterm grades mean?  Nothing really.  Although looking back historically, this has been a pretty good predictor of top finishing teams.  In 2017, Joe’s Pats & Bubble Craps Bandits received the top grades, and they finished 1^st and 2^nd overall.  In 2018, Joe’s Pats and Young Guns received the top grades, and they finished 1^st and 3^rd overall.  Last year, American BadAss and sprouts received the top grades, and they finished 2^nd and 9^th overall.  2019 is the outlier year, as my grade last year was a C+ and yet I ended up in 1^st place. 

 

BEST BENCH

There were not a lot of points left on the bench this week, as five teams had just single digit improvement possibilities and only 3 teams even had >20 point improvement possibilities.  But claiming his first full Best Bench this season and with a 26-point-improvement possibility, the Week 8 Best Bench goes to… Young Guns!  John needed to swap only 2 players to get there, R. Woods for A. Thielen (+18) and J. McKinnon for R. Jones II (+8).

 

Playoffs are going to be here before you know it!  Get those waiver claims in and get ready for Week 9!!