Joe's Pats is the 2021 Champion!!

"2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? Joe!"

For the fourth time in the last 7 seasons, Joe’s Pats is the Sacred Sundays Champion!  Joe did it with a 2 point victory over the Coors Light Drunk Guys (83-81), thanks to Terry McLaurin (WR) equaling Tony Pollard (RB) with 4 points on Monday Night Football.  The Pats now join American BadAss as the only teams in the league to win FOUR titles.  This also marks the first time since 2016 the #4 seed has won the championship.  Congratulations senor!!  Fantastic season!  For the Drunk Guys, the championship game capped an amazing run of getting into the playoffs as the sixth seed and nearly winning it all in spite of no Weekly High Score prizes this season.  Congrats on the 2nd place finish Shawn!

Other congratulations go out to American BadAss for taking home the final Weekly High Score Prize of the season with a solid 121 point performance!  Jason got huge games from Dak Prescott (31 pts) and Joe Mixon (25 pts), plus had Zeke chip in 15 and Stefon Diggs add 14.  This was the 3rd High Score for BadAss this season, tying the Scottish Rebels for the most.  Nice work bro!

Lastly, in the only other significant game this week, Young Guns defeated my Scottish Rebels to finish in 3rd place.  It really ended up being a race to the bottom, as my Rebels produced their lowest total of the season (46), and the Young Guns tied their second lowest total of the season (69).  Congratulations on finishing 3rd, John!  This marks John's second 3rd place finish, having also finished 3rd in 2018.  For me it is the fourth time I've finished 4th, having also claimed it in 2020, 2018 and 2014.  No other team dominates the 4th spot like I do!

Okay, just tying up some odds and ends this week, the final money tally, and we hand out the final (and highest!) Best Bench of the season.  Let's do this!

EVERYBODY NEEDS MONEY, THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT MONEY

The 2021 season is the first time in league history (18 seasons) where every team won a prize!  What an amazing stat!  Here is a recap of the prizes won by each team:

TOP FIVE – FINAL TALLY

Here is how the top five players for each position played out this season:

Couple interesting points to note:

• “Undrafted” players (7) outnumber players drafted in the 1st & 2nd rounds combined (6).
• Derrick Henry only played in 8 games yet finished with 175 points, ranking him 8th--only 8 points out of 5th place and making this list.
• Of the Top 10 Kickers, only 3 were draft picks… 7 of the top 10 were undrafted.
• The highest ranking undrafted running back was Tony Pollard, finishing as the 22nd ranked RB with 113 points.
• The highest ranking undrafted wide receiver was Cordarrelle Patterson, finishing as the 7th best WR with 168 points.  (Already calling this as Jens’ first keeper.)
• The highest ranking undrafted quarterback was Kirk Cousins, finishing as the 9th best QB with 273 points.  (And there’s Jen’s second keeper.  What do you know?!?!)

DRAFT ORDER AND KEEPERS

The draft order is the reverse of the final standings, so here it is for 2022:

1 Jens

2 James

3 Rob

4 Timmy

5 Jason

6 Russ

7 Jerry

8 John

9 Shawn

10 Joe

The keeper rule will be the same as it has been previously.  Each team can designate up to 2 players as keepers for next year’s roster.  The player will count as a draft pick for where they were drafted this season.  Players being re-kept will count as a first round pick.  Undrafted players will count as 15th round pick.  Keepers will be due by Aug. 28, 2022, one week prior to the draft.  Fingers crossed on making a triumphant return to Vegas for the draft…more details coming later on that.

BEST BENCH

Since 2019 the average Best Bench improvement has been on a steady decline.  In 2019, the average was 39.8 points per week, last year the average dropped to 37.8, and going into this week the average was just 29.6!  This season has seen some amazingly low weeks, with the record low score being set and the 3rd lowest total ever also being set.  However, there is always the yang to the yin, or the other side of the coin.  This week’s Best Bench winner was the highest for this season, and the highest since Week 6 last season.  Needing four players for an impressive 56- point- improvement-possibility the final Best Bench of 2021 goes to… Young Guns!  John needed to swap: T. Higgins for K. Allen +31, R. Penny for S. Barkley +16, J. Waddle for A. Brown +5 and Green Bay for Seattle +4.   This is the second Best Bench this season for the Young Guns, having also claimed it back in Week 5.  Sprouts was the only team to avoid snagging a Best Bench this season (nice work Russ!), and the Coors Light Drunk Guys led the way with 4.

Wow!  Congrats to everyone on the prizes!  I’ll reach out with a separate email to dole everything out.  Rosters will be considered final by the end of this week, and I’ll send out a listing with all draft pick values.

It’s crazy how another season can draw to a close yet seem like it only just started.  September to December really does fly by.  Now, as we head into the New Year, some toasts:

“Here’s to staying positive and testing negative!”

“Here’s to our sons… may they have beautiful mothers and rich fathers!”

“Here’s to lesbians, because they have good taste.”

And finally to Jens, specifically, – “To your very good health.  May you live to be as old as your jokes.”

Happy 2022 gentlemen!!  May it be filled with wealth and health for you all. :-)

The Final Showdown of 2021!

And then there were two… We are all set for the final showdown for the 2021 Sacred Sundays Champion – Joe’s Pats versus the Coors Light Drunk Guys!  Shawn had a Tuesday night comeback victory (don’t hear that very often) over Young Guns and Joe thumped my helpless Scottish Rebels.  The Coors Light Drunk Guys have played in the Championship game twice before, having won a championship most recently in 2011.  Joe’s Pats has been in the Championship game four times, having won championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018.  Congratulations and good luck to both teams!

The other big congratulations this week go to Attack of Mahomes, who racked up a mighty fine 118 points to snag a second Weekly High Score Prize for the season!  Over half of Timmy's points this week came from just two players, Travis Kelce (34 points) and Patrick Mahomes (32 points), who absolutely killed this week!  Timmy even had a goose egg from a wide receiver (Jamarr Chase), yet still had enough to be tops this week.  Well done sir!!

Just a quick update as we head into the final week of the season and Christmas...

EVERYONE NEEDS MONEY, THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT MONEY

Recap on the prizes for this season… Weekly High Score Prizes are $50/week, and here is the current tally:

For the playoffs, here are the prizes this season:

• 1st = $325
• 2nd = $150
• 3rd = $100
• 4th = $75
• 5th = $50

In the Championship game, in the event of a tie the following tie-breakers will be used.

1) Team with the highest scoring quarterback wins;

2) Team with the highest scoring runningback wins;

3) Team with the highest scoring wide receiver wins;

4) If still tied at that point, co-Champions will be declared and prize money split evenly.

DRAFT & KEEPERS

Same keeper rules will apply for next season… each team can designate up to 2 players from this season’s final roster as keepers for next season.  The players will count as a draft pick from the round they were drafted this season.  Keepers being re-kept will count as a 1st round pick.  Undrafted players will count as a 15th round pick.  I’ll send out the final rosters and draft values a week or so after the season concludes.

Draft 2022 will be on Labor Day Weekend… plans forthcoming…

BEST BENCH(es)

Time to get caught up on Best Benches… three to award this week.  Weeks 13 and 14 went to the two teams who had the longest streaks without a Best Bench.  In Week 13 it was my Scottish Rebels with a 23-point improvement possibility taking home the honor.  It was the first Best Bench I’ve won since Week 14 2020.  In Week 14 the Best Bench went to Vandelay Industries with a 30-point improvement possibility.  For Rob, that was his first Best Bench since Week 5 2019, which was the longest active streak.  The current longest streak now belongs to sprouts, who has not had a Best Bench since Week 16 last season.

For last week (Week 15), it was a familiar face taking home the honors, as the Coors Light Drunk Guys won their 4th Best Bench of the season!  Shawn needed just a two player swap to improve by 21 points this week… H. Henry for T. Higbee +19 and T. Pollard for J. Connor +2.  The Drunks last had a Best Bench in back-to-back weeks, 9 & 10 of this season.

Only one more week to go!  Get any final waiver claims in!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all you guys!!

American BadAss dominates Week 12

Only one team was able to cross the triple digit threshold this week.  Heck, only one team scored over 87 points this week!  With a dominating score of 118, and taking home a second Weekly High Score Prize this season, Week 12 goes to American BadAss!  After the 118 points, the next closest score was two teams with 87 (Attack of Mahomes and Young Guns).  The 31-point gap between the top two scores is the largest (by far) we have seen all season.  ABA was led by Joe Mixon with 31 points and Dak Prescott with 28, but also had solid games from the Cincinnati defense (19 pts) and Stefon Diggs and Justin Tucker both adding 13.  American BadAss is now the second team to win multiple High Score prizes, having last won back in Week 6.  (Oddly enough, the 2nd largest gap between the top two scores was back in Week 6, when Jason won his first prize.)  Nice work bro!

Five playoff teams are now known, with 3 teams still vying for the 6th and final playoff spot.  Playoff seedings are still TBD, especially in the South division.  American BadAss has been tops in the South since Week 7, but still needs a win in Week 13 to secure the top seed.  (Or a loss paired with losses by sprouts and Young Guns will also secure the top spot.)  But if American BadAss loses and just sprouts wins, thus making both finish at 8-5, sprouts takes the tie-breaker due to the head-to-head record (both would have the same divisional record, 3-3, but sprouts’ won both head-to-head matchups).  If American BadAss loses and just Young Guns wins to make both finish at 8-5, Young Guns takes the tie-breaker with the better divisional record (4-2 vs. 3-3).  If American BadAss loses and both sprouts and Young Guns win, thus causing 3 teams to be tied at 8-5, Young Guns would take the top spot with the better divisional record (4-2 vs. 3-3 vs. 3-3), sprouts would finish second (based on the aforementioned head-to-head record) and American BadAss would finish 3rd and take the first wildcard spot.

In the North Division, the Scottish Rebels have the top spot secured.  Joe’s Pats can tie for best record (8-5), but the Rebels' division record is better (6-0 vs. 4-2).  The intrigue really centers around the game between Joe’s Pats and the Coors Light Drunk Guys.  If the Drunk Guys win, they will secure a wild card finish and tie Joe’s Pats for 2nd best record.  (Joe’s Pats will take the 2nd seed due to a better divisional record).  If Joe’s Pats wins the game, and Attack of Mahomes and Vandelay Industries all win, three teams could end up tied at 6-7 for the final wild card spot.  In that scenario, all three of those teams (Coors Light Drunk Guys, Attack of Mahomes, and Vandelay Industries) all have wins and losses over one another in head-to-head so it would likely come down to total points scored.  Through Week 12 those three teams are within 33 points of each other (Attack of Mahomes=1,060, Coors Light Drunk Guys=1,058, Vandelay Industries=1,027), so that could be tight!

Remember the tie-breakers for divisional standings are (in order): Overall Record, Divisional Record, Head-to-Head record, Points Scored, Coin Flip.  For wildcard it is: Overall Record, Head-to-Head Record, Points Scored, Coin Flip.  These are different than the tie-breakers Yahoo! uses, so I'll send out an update on Monday night confirming who makes it in and in what seeds.

BEST BENCH

Well it would appear the Best Bench is back to normal this week as there were quite a few points to be had.  Six teams had a bench improvement which would have won or tied either of the last two weeks.  Joe’s Pats had a solid total with a 27-point-improvement possibility, and sprouts did even better with a 36-point-improvement possibility.  But none were better than the back-to-back week champion, Big Sack No TD’s, with a 49-point-improvement possibility!  Jens took home the crown last week, with a single player swap, but this week needed 3 players to get there:  Miami for Carolina +22, C. Patterson for M. Pittman Jr. +19 and K. Cousins for R. Tannehill +8.  What.  Do.  You.  Know?!

Get those waivers in and get ready for Week 13!!!

Thrice is Nice!

This crazy and unpredictable season continues to deliver!  The scoring finally returned after a 3 week dip (946 total points scored with four teams scoring triple digits), and my Scottish Rebels barely edged sprouts by one point to claim the Week 11 Weekly High Score Prize, 122-121!  How my team did it is one of the oddest I’ve seen, as my scoring leader was my tight end, Zach Ertz, with 20 points, and my lowest scorer, Arizona Defense, had 11 points.  The rest of my players scored 18, 17, 15, 14, 14 and 13.  No outstanding performances, just solid all around production.  Sprouts was on the other end of the spectrum with an amazing 81% of his 121 points (99 points to be exact) came from just three players: Jonathan Taylor (52), Justin Jefferson (31) and Diontae Johnson (16).  This is a crazy season indeed!  The Week 11 High Score Prize marks my 3rd one for the season, and my Rebels are still the only team to claim multiple prizes so far this season.

The other games this week clarified the playoff picture a little bit… there is one team in for sure and one team out for sure but the other 8 teams are still alive and vying for a spot.  Much more on that below.  Plus this week we hand out a team’s first Best Bench in over a season and a half.  Let’s go!

BIG TIME

• Johnathan Taylor, RB – sprouts – 52 pts – Taylor had an absolute gem of a game, going for 185 yards and 4 TD’s on the ground, plus 19 yards and another TD receiving.  He joins an elite group of players who have surpassed 50 points in a single week.  Prior to this week, there were only six other players since 2007 to accomplish the feat, and this is the highest single week score since Derrick Henry had 50 back in Week 14, 2018.
• Justin Herbert, QB – Young Guns – 37 pts – Herbert had a great day, throwing for 382 yards, 3 TD’s and 1 interception, plus also ran 9 times for 90 yards!  Herbert now ranks as the 5th highest scoring QB in fantasy.
• Aaron Rodgers, QB – Coors Light Drunk Guys – 35 pts – The crotchety one is still getting it done, throwing for 385 yards and 4 TD’s, albeit in a losing effort against the Vikes.  This moves Rodgers to 9th place among QB’s in scoring this season.
• Austin Ekeler, RB – Joe’s Pats – 35 pts – What a night for Ekeler, racking up 4 total TD’s (2 on the ground, 2 through the air) and 115 total yards (50 rushing, 65 receiving).  
• Justin Jefferson, WR – sprouts – 31 pts – Jefferson was a monster on the field, gaining 169 yards plus two TD’s!  He should have had a 3rd TD, but was ruled down at the one.  
• Jalen Hurts, QB – Joe’s Pats – 29 pts – In the “I Didn’t See This One Coming” category, we have Jalen Hurts-#1 scorer in all of fantasy.  He has 242 points on the season, 2 more than Tom Brady.  (To be fair Tom has had his bye week and Hurts has not, but still.)

COME ON MAN!

• Brandin Cooks, WR – Joe’s Pats – 1 pt – When you start a Houston wide receiver, you are really only hoping for 3 points, so actually this wasn’t that bad.
• Tyler Bass, K – Sofa King American – 1 pt – A lone extra point was all Bass had to offer this week.  Oof.
• Tee Higgins, WR – Young Guns – 1 pt – Bad day for Higgins, catching just 2 passes for only 15 yards.
• Younghoe Koo, K – Coors Light Drunk Guys – 0 pts – Falcons were shut out by New England, so Koo never even had a chance.
• Randy Bullock, K – sprouts – 0 pts – Made an extra point and missed an extra point.  Double oof.
• Buffalo, DEF – Young Guns – 0 pts – The Bills were absolutely worked by the Colts, giving up 41 points while recording only one defensive stat: a single 4th down stop.

PLAYOFFS? DON’T TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!

Only two weeks left of regular season play and nine teams are alive in the playoff picture.  The magic number for making it in for sure is 7, with three teams already at or above that number and another four teams capable of reaching that number.

Already Secured:

• Scottish Rebels – The top spot in the North Division has been secured by my Scottish Rebels with 8 wins. Joe’s Pats is the only team capable of also getting to 8 wins in the North Division, but the division record tie breaker would go in my favor.

In Control of Own Destiny:

• American BadAss – Win 1 game to assure a Top 2 spot in the South Division.
• sprouts – Win 1 game to assure a Top 2 spot in the South Division.
• Joe’s Pats – Win 1 game (especially the Week 13 showdown with Coors Light Drunk Guys)
• Young Guns – Win 1 game to qualify, or there’s even still a path to the top spot in the South with 2 wins plus 2 losses from American BadAss and 2 losses from sprouts.
• Coors Light Drunk Guys – Win final 2 games, or win 1 game and it will come down to tie-breakers.
• Vandelay Industries – Win final 2 games, or win 1 game and it will come down to tie-breakers.

Needing Some Help:

• Attack of Mahomes – Win final 2 games plus 2 losses from Coors Light Drunk Guys and two losses from Vandelay Industries and one loss from Sofa King American.  Would still probably come down to tie-breakers.
• Sofa King American – Win final 2 games plus 2 losses from Young Guns and two losses from Coors Light Drunk Guys and two losses from Vandelay Industries and 1 loss from Attack of Mahomes.  And again, it would probably come down to tie-breakers.

The Way Is Shut:

• Big Sack No TD’s – Unfortunately, there is no path to the playoffs.

With as tight as the standings are, there is a scenario which could play out where six teams finish with a record of 6-7, which would make for the most epic tie-breaking of all time.  Here is a reminder of the tie-breakers used in determining final regular season standings:

Divisional standing ranking
Overall record
Division record
Head-to-head record
Points scored
Coin flip

Wildcard standing ranking/tiebreakers
Overall record
Head-to-head record
Points scored
Coin flip

Division record doesn’t matter for wildcards so both wildcard teams can come from the same division.  Also, the final standings of teams in 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th will be determined at the end of Week 13.

BEST BENCH

In 2019 the lowest Best Bench winning total was 30, while the average was 39.8.  Last season, the lowest total was 25 and the average was 38.6.  But this season prior to this week there were already five Best Bench winners with totals lower than 25.  And this week’s winner is another historic low at only a 17 point improvement possibility!  There were four teams this week with optimal line-ups… crazy!
But, there always has to be a winner, and for the first time since Week 4 of 2020, claiming his first Best Bench this season, Week 11 goes to… Big Sack No TD’s!  Jens needed to make just one roster change to get the 17 points – K. Cousins for R. Tannehill +17.

Get those waiver claims in and get ready for Week 12!  Happy Thanksgiving!
TURKEY!!!

On the Attack in Week 10!

This season truly is one for the ages!  The record for the most number of different teams to win a Weekly High Score Prize before this season was eight, set back in 2013.  (Well, technically there were 9 teams to get a share of a Prize in 2008, but one of those was only a half win.)  Most seasons we will see 6 or 7 teams claim the prizes.  (Last season, 2020, there were seven different WHSP winners).  But now this season, in just 10 weeks of play we already have our ninth different team to win a Weekly High Score Prize!  

The Week 10 honor goes to Attack of Mahomes, who finished with 117 points thanks to big Sunday and Monday Night games.  Timmy got big performances on Sunday from Mahomes and Kelce (39 and 11 points, respectively), then on Monday night had a breakout game from Deebo Samuel (24 points) to edge the next closest team by 5!  The win also moved Timmy’s record to 4-6 keeping him alive in the playoff hunt.  Nice work Tim-MAY!!  The only team in the league now who has yet to take home a Weekly High Score Prize is the Coors Light Drunk Guys.

Across the rest of the league there are no clinched playoff spots yet, but American BadAss and Scottish Rebels are close.  Probably one more win or a couple key losses by other teams will secure spots.  For everyone else, it is still wide open and all teams still have a chance to make it in.  From the scenarios I’ve run, it appears getting to 7 wins should secure a playoff spot for any team who gets there.  There is even a scenario I’ve run where Big Sack No TD’s (currently with a 3-7 record) makes it in with a record of 6-7.  So everyone is alive and it is crunch time!  Make sure to have your best roster in every week, and remember all teams are eligible to win a Weekly High Score Prize through Week 16 regardless of playoff qualification.

Just a few items to get to this week, including a record-setting Best Bench!

BIG TIME

• Patrick Mahomes, QB – Attack of Mahomes – 39 pts – After a couple lackluster weeks, Mahomes had his shine back completing 35 of 50 passes for 406 yards and 5 TD’s!  This moves Mahomes back into a tie with Brady for the top spot in fantasy scoring this season (221 points).
• Dallas, DEF – Big Sack No TD’s – 27 pts – Yes, a defense was the 2nd highest scoring player this week… crazy!  The Cowboys were all over the Falcons, getting 3 interceptions (1 run back for a TD), 2 sacks, a blocked kick, 2 4th down stops and only gave up 3 points.  

COME ON MAN

• DK Metcalf, WR – Coors Light Drunk Guys – 2 pts – He was targeted 8 times, but only mustered 2 catches for just 26 yards.
• AJ Brown, WR – Big Sack No TD’s – 1 pt – Nothing doing for Brown this week, catching just 1 of 4 balls thrown his way for 16 yards.
• Dalton Schultz, TE – Young Guns – 1 pt – Schultz hasn’t found the endzone since Week 4, and this week caught a lone pass for just 14 yards.
• TJ Hockenson, TE – Vandelay Industries – 0 pts – No injuries or anything, just simply no production from ol’ TJ this week.  

TOP 5 CHECK IN

Here are how the top fives by position are shaping up after 10 weeks:

Notable highlights –

• Derrick Henry is still the 2^nd highest scoring running back in spite of not having scored any points for the last two weeks (and only 6 points in Week 8 before getting injured).
• Travis Kelce is still the best tight end in Fantasy.
• Two undrafted defenses are in the Top 5 (Arizona and Dallas).
• Kyle Pitts, TE for the Atlanta Falcons is the fourth highest scoring tight end and was actually selected in the 4^th round by American BadAss.  That is not a typo.

 

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Boss - How good are you at Power Point?

Me - I excel at it.

Boss – Was that a Microsoft Office pun?

Me – Word.

 

BEST BENCH

The Bestest Best Bench we’ve ever seen happened back in Week 2 2009 when sprouts had an 89-point improvement possibility.  The Coors Light Drunk Guys have come the closest to breaking that record with an 88-point improvement possibility back in Week 8 2014.  But now Shawn has finally done it and broken a Best Bench record, but not for most points ever…rather for the least!! 

Four weeks ago, Joe’s Pats went low on the Best Bench with an just an 18-point improvement possibility (tied for 3^rd lowest ever), but this Week the Drunk Guys did even better by taking home the Week 10 Best Bench with just a 14 point improvement possibility!

In an amazing testament to everyone’s roster selections this week, there were simply not many points to be had.  All other teams had just single digit improvements from their benches.  Unbelievable.  For the 14 points, Shawn needed to only make two roster changes:  H. Henry for T. Higbee +7 and R. Anderson for DK Metcalf +7.  This is the 3^rd Best Bench for the Drunk Guys, having also taken it home in Weeks 2 and 9.  Four teams have avoided a Best Bench so far this season.

 

Get those waivers in and get ready for the last 3 weeks before playoffs!!!

Week 8 means MIDTERMS!!

 

That's a big sack

What a scoring drop off!  Since Week 1, the average score across the league has not been below 90 points.  Scoring peaked in Week 5, with 1,105 total points scored, but even the last two weeks have had 977 and 947, respectively.  Then this week saw five teams score in the 60’s, two in the 70’s, one in the 80’s and just two teams scoring in triple digits.  And in this week’s example of how much matchups matter – two teams scored 69 points this week, one won and one lost, and two teams scored 73 points this week, and again one won and one lost. 

But the congratulations this week go to Mr. What Do You Know? Himself… Jens and his Big Sack!  In a preview showdown of Week 9’s “What Do You Know Bowl”, the two highest scoring teams came down to Big Sack No TD’s and the Coors Light Drunk Guys.  The Drunk Guys posted a very respectable 108 points, and Big Sack trailed by 7 points going into MNF with only a Kicker left to play.  Harrison Butker managed to knock home 2 field goals and 2 extra points for 8 points giving Big Sack a total of 109 to take the Weekly High Score Prize!  Jens also had big games from A.J. Brown (24 points) and Ryan Tannehill (20 points), and got 25 total points from his running back duo (Alvin Kamara 13, and Cordarrelle Patterson 12).  This marks the first Weekly High Score prize for Big Sack No TD’s and is the 7^th different team to win a prize so far this season.  Nice work Jens!

Eight weeks of the season are in the books so it is time for mid-term grades!  Years ago when I first starting giving out these mid-term grades, it was mostly just a gut feeling about each team and whether I thought it was any good.  Now it has grown into a full blown scientific analysis where teams are scored across eight categories and grades are awarded on a strict curve (2 A’s, 2 B’s, 2 C’s, 2 D’s and 2 F’s).  Much more on that below, plus we have two Best Benches to give out this week… onward!

BIG TIME

• Mike White, QB – Free Agent – 29 pts – Yes a free agent quarterback was this week’s top scorer.  Check this out, filling in for Zach Wilson he goes for 405 yards, 3 TD’s and 2 interceptions and leads the Jets to a victory over the Bengals.  Amazing!
• Tom Brady, QB – Sofa King American – 28 pts – Brady had 375 yards and 4 TD’s, but also tossed 2 INT’s and lost a fumble.  However, he still leads all fantasy scorers so far this season by 25 points.
• Josh Allen, QB – Scottish Rebels – 28 pts – Just 249 yards passing and 2 TD’s, but managed to also rumble for 55 yards on the ground and get a rushing TD.  He currently ranks as the 2nd highest scoring quarterback in fantasy, just behind Mr. GOAT.

COME ON MAN

• Kyle Pitts, TE – American BadAss – 1 pt – After scoring 17 & 19 in his last two games, Pitts managed just 2 catches for a whopping 13 yards this week.
• Dalton Schultz, TE – Young Guns – 1 pt – With Prescott out, Schultz only managed to catch 2 balls for a measly 11 yards.
• Mike Williams, WR – Vandelay Industries – 1 pt – After a 31 point explosion in Week 5, Williams has now scored only 3 points in his last two games.
• Emmanuel Sanders, WR – Scottish Rebels – 0 pts – He did not manage to catch any of the four balls thrown his way. Yuck.
• Travis Kelce, TE – Attack of Mahomes – 0 pts – After dominating fantasy scoring early in the season, Kelce has scored in double figures only once since Week 4, and has just 1 touchdown in the last 5 weeks.  This week he caught four passes for 27 yards, but lost a fumble wiping it all out.
• David Johnson, RB – Sofa King American – 0 pts – Yet another player who at one time was a sure fire 1^st round pick reduced to fantasy irrelevancy.  Johnson had just 2 carries for 4 yards and appears destined for even less work going forward.  Alas.
• Noah Fant, TE – Sofa King American – 0 pts – Just a bad day for Fant who caught only 2 passes for 8 yards. 

 

MID-TERMS!!

Here are the categories all teams are scored on for mid term grades:

-Win/Loss record – Higher points go to teams with better records – Scottish Rebels currently have best record at 7-1;

-Points scored – Higher points go to teams who have scored more total points – Scottish Rebels currently have most points scored at 794;

-Points against – Higher points go to teams with more points scored against them – Attack of Mahomes has had the most points scored against with 854;

-Weekly High Score Prizes – More points go to teams with more High Score prizes – Scottish Rebels are the only team with multiple (2) so far this season.

-Best Benches – More points go to teams with fewer Best Bench awards – American BadAss and Attack of Mahomes each have 2, while Big Sack No TD’s, sprouts, Vandelay Industries and Scottish Rebels have not had a Best Bench this season so far.

-Waiver Moves – More points awarded to teams more active on the waiver wire – Young Guns currently has the most waiver moves with 20.

-Keeper Production – More points awarded to teams whose keepers have scored the most points.  Vandelay Industries is tops in this category with 336 points from keepers.

-Utilization – More points awarded to teams with higher utilization.  Sprouts has the highest utilization rate this season at 93.2%.

Here are the report cards for each team:

So the big question is whether these mid-term grades mean anything… here is a recap of the last four year’s top three finishers and what their mid-term grades were:

The grade which has been in the top 3 in each of the last four seasons is A+, followed, oddly, by C+ with three appearances.  We’ve not had a grade lower than C+ finish in the top 3 since mid-terms have been calculated this way. 

 

PLAYOFFS?! DON’T TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!!!

Only four more weeks of the regular season which means it’s almost time to start talking about playoff scenarios.  At this point, with only three teams with records better than .500, it is still literally wide open.  Any team which wins their last four games is a virtual shoo-in to make the playoffs.

 

BEST BENCH(ES)

Two weeks of Best Benches to hand out this week… man whether it’s due to bye weeks, injuries or just good ol’ team management, there have not been many points left on the bench the last two weeks.  Across the last three weeks, there have been 16 instances of only single digit improvement possibilities, with 7 of those being ‘optimal lineups’ (i.e. Zero bench improvement points!).  And oddly enough, the last two week’s Best Benches both tied with just 22-point improvement possibilities.

In Week 7, it was a lone player swap to get the 22 points for… Attack of Mahomes!  Timmy needed to only swap J. Chase for D. Moore (+22).  This is the second Best Bench this season for AoM, having also earning the distinction back in Week 1.

This week was a bit more work to get there, as it required 4 roster swaps to get the 22 points.  Snagging a 2^nd Best Bench this season as well, Week 8 goes to… American BadAss!!  Jason needed the half-roster swap:  J. Burrow for J. Winston +10, M. Gordon for E. Elliott +8, T. Boyd for S. Diggs +3, and J. Cook for K. Pitts +1.  This is also the second Best Bench for ABA, having earned it back in Week 4 as well.

 

Okay get those waivers in and get ready for the final push to the playoffs!  Bring on Week 9!! 

American BadAss takes the Week 6 top spot!

This season is officially going down as the craziest season of all time.  There have been seasons where we only had six different teams take home a Weekly High Score Prize for the whole season, and now this season gives us six different winners in as many weeks!  How's that for parity?  The congrats this week go to American BadAss who more than doubled Young Guns en route to a 141-69 point victory!  The 72-point margin of victory marks the 12th largest margin of victory in Sacred Sundays history.  BadAss’ roster was pretty impeccable across the board with four players scoring over 20! (Dak Prescott 29, CeeDee Lamb 26, LA Rams 21 and Joe Mixon 20).  141 points is also the highest single week total we’ve seen this season, beating Vandelay Industries’ 139 points from Week 2.  Well done bro!

In other games scores were high again this week, with four other teams scoring in triple digits, amounting to 977 total points scored (2nd highest scoring week this season).  Attack of Mahomes was the one losing team to score over 100, after last week when 3 teams scoring over 100 lost.  Historically scoring over 100 has led to victory 87% of the time, but this season is only at 81.5%.  Brutal.

Check out some of these crazy stats from the NFL:

• The Kansas City Chiefs are not in a playoff spot, but the Cincinnati Bengals are.
• Stefon Diggs, who led the league in receptions and receiving yards last season, doesn’t currently rank in the top 25 of either category.
• Jalen Hurts has outscored Lamar Jackson in fantasy points (145 to 139).
• There have been 31 missed extra points so far this season, led by Tristan Vizcaino (LAC) who has missed a mind-boggling 5 of them.
• Sam Darnold has outscored Aaron Rodgers in fantasy points (113 to 109).
• Patrick Mahomes threw six interceptions last season.  He’s already thrown eight this season.

Just a few quick items this week, including a crazy Best Bench…

BIG TIME FOOTBALL

• Derrick Henry, RB – Vandelay Industries – 33 pts – The human wrecking ball known as Derrick Henry continued his path of destruction, this week logging 143 yards and 3 TD’s!  Henry leads all running backs in fantasy scoring this season, and it is not even close.  He’s got 156 points on the season with the next closest, Austin Ekeler, having just 96.  It’s like he’s playing a different game.
• Josh Allen, QB – Scottish Rebels – 31 pts – Another big game for Allen, 353 pass yards and 3 TDs, making it the third time this season to score over 30 points.  
• Kirk Cousins, QB – Free Agent – 30 pts – Solid outing for Cousins, 373 yards and 3 TDs, which moves him into the 10th ranked quarterback in fantasy.

COME ON MAN!

• Mike Evans, WR – Scottish Rebels – 2 pts – Two catches for 27 yards is all Evans was able to muster this week.
• Buffalo, DEF – Young Guns – 2 pts – The only stat the Buffalo defense was able to hang on the Titans was a single interception, while giving up 34 points.
• Denver, DEF – Coors Light Drunk Guys – 2 pts – The Broncos also surrendered 34 points and the only stat they hung on the Raiders was two sacks.  Weak.
• Terry McLaurin, WR – Joe’s Pats – 2 pts – Targeted 8 times and only caught half of them for just 28 yards.

ALL UNWANTEDS

The Unwanteds are proving to not be drafted for good reason this season.  Normally in this process I’ll uncover one or two gems, but not this year.  Look at this garbage lineup when using the Chicago Bears (excluding D. Montgomery and A. Robinson) and the New York Giants (excluding S. Barkley and K. Golladay):

I’ve honestly not heard of half of those players.  Eli Penny?  Cole Kmart?  Who are these guys?  With a league average score of 97 this week, this goes down as another loss for the AUW’s, moving their record to 1-5.

BEST BENCH

Keeping with craziness of this season, the Week 6 Best Bench is the sixth different team to take home the honor this season.  Last season overall there were 8 teams to win a Best Bench, and we’ve already had 6 this season.  Crazy!  Also, owing to injuries, bye weeks, and just all around quality team management this week’s Best Bench was nearly a record setter (on the low side).  The record for the lowest Best Bench of all time is 16 points, which was set by the Midnight Maulers back in Week 7 of 2011.  This week’s Best Bench came within a breath of that record and actually tied the record for 2nd lowest Best Bench with just an 18 point-improvement-possibility!  Needing just two roster moves to get there, the Week 6 Best Bench goes to – Joe’s Pats!!  Joe needed to only swap D. Harris for A. Ekeler +12 and B. Cooks for T. McLaurin +6.

Get your waiver claims in and get ready for Week 7!  Six teams are on byes, so double check your rosters!