The Sanderson Gazette - 2014-10-01 - Pulley Loaded

Yes, the tagline's a pun. Deal with it.

Week Four Recap

Pulley def. Matt, 147.00-113.04:

Pulley spotted Matt 28.00 points on the kicker-defense combination this week, yet still won by almost 34 points. Matt, I think you finally know what it feels like to go up against a juggernaut. Andrew Luck (33.55) and Antonio Brown (30.32) once again led the way for Adam.

Rob def. Ed, 115.70-103.35:

Eli Manning (34.10) won this game for the younger Gross, in a game in which both teams had solid, if unspectacular days from their non-QBs. Philip Rivers (28.85) continued his stellar year for me.

Rabbit def. Dave, 128.90-111.07:

Rabs survived this one to get to 3-1, thanks mainly to Randall Cobb's (27.07) breakout day. Jordy Nelson (26.40) almost matched his teammate, but on the whole, Dave was just not good enough to avoid his second-straight defeat.

Derrek def. Pat, 124.36-97.37:

D finally had a good week thanks to Eddie Royal (26.00) and Frank Gore (25.23), and really only one disappointment (LeGarrette Blount, 2.50). Pat got a rare dud from Calvin Johnson (1.60), though he did smartly play the Chiefs' defense (16.00).

Kevin def. Mike R., 121.73-76.64:

Mr. Pattermann got 10+ points from every non-kicker-or-defense player, which propelled him to a much-needed second victory. Joe Flacco (28.65), in particular, shined. Bernie suffered a miserable week, despited Aaron Rodgers's 30.90.

Schertz def. Babel, 100.39-87.58:

Babel's Blake Bortles (12.05) gamble had very little bearing on this matchup. JuJu had a solid overall week, led by Larry Donnell's 25.20 on Thursday night.

Allen def. Richie, 100.35-59.65:

No one benefitted from Steve Smith "Sr."'s revenge game like Allen, as the former Panther scored 30.53. The defenses (New England, -5.00; Chicago, -4.00) combined for -9.00 points in this one.

Current Standings

The Clash of Hatred is shaping up to be pretty epic again this year.

  1. Pulley, 4-0, 545.93

  2. Rob, 3-1, 435.47

  3. Rabbit, 3-1, 421.88

  4. Schertz, 3-1, 354.1

  5. Dave, 2-2, 481.16

  6. Babel, 2-2, 435.4

  7. Kevin, 2-2, 426.39

  8. Pat, 2-2, 392.04

  9. Ed, 2-2, 376.46

  10. Allen, 2-2, 341.64

  11. Matt, 1-3, 394.66

  12. Mike R., 1-3, 348.19

  13. Derrek, 1-3, 336.02

  14. Richie, 0-4, 312.35

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums: Pulley (147.00) wins his third-straight Team Blangums award, joining only Kevin (2008, weeks 9-11) and Rabbit (2010, weeks 8-11) as the only threepeaters.

Slapped Heartbeat: Richie's 59.65 puts him at 0-4 on the year.

Weekly MVP: Andrew Luck (33.55) is our repeat winner this week.

Dud of the Week: Pulley (Atlanta) and Mike R. (Carolina) both managed a rare feat - playing a perfectly bad (-7.00) defense.

Start of the Week: Had Schertz played Tom Brady (3.95) over Jay Cutler (18.70), he would have lost to Babel.

Week Five Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 4-0, 1st) vs. BANGARANG RUFIO (Dave, 2-2, 5th):

Dave leads all-time series, 5-3.

These two account for all four Team Blangums awards so far in 2014, and, as such, are the top two point-scorers.

But their records tell a different story. Pulley's our only 4-0 squad, while the Fultz brothers sit at 2-2. A loss here could put them out of the playoff picture, at least temporarily.

Pulley has a stud QB (Andrew Luck, vs. BAL), a stud WR (Antonio Brown, @JAC), and a stud RB (DeMarco Murray, vs. HOU). Dave's strength is his receiving corps, with A.J Green (@NE), Jordy Nelson (vs. MIN), and Martellus Bennett (@CAR) all having great years so far.

Pick: Pullman's MondoSquad.

Other Blingamatches

The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 2-2, 7th) vs. Vinegar Strokes (Pat, 2-2, 8th):

Pat leads all-time series, 4-1.

Kevin's coming off a big win, Pat's coming off a disappointing loss. Both are 2-2, and both could really use a win here. On the whole, Kevin's team looks a bit stronger this week.

Pick: The Chocolate Donuts.

Optimus Prime (Allen, 2-2, 10th) vs. schertzopotamus (Schertz, 3-1, 4th):

All-time series tied, 1-1.

These two have a lot in common so far. They both have records that are better than their overall level of impressiveness, and they both scored between 100.35 and 100.39 last week.

Pick: schertzopotamus.

Harrison Hammers (Matt, 1-3, 11th) vs. Keep Calm and Le'Veon (Babel, 2-2, 6th):

Matt leads all-time series, 5-2.

Matt's Nick Foles (vs. STL) luck finally ran out last week, and now he finds himself in an odd position: two games below .500. Babel is also looking to bounce back, and he gets his regular QB, Andy Dalton (@NE) back this week.

Pick: Harrison Hammers.

Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 1-3, 12th) vs. THRILLHO (Rob, 3-1, 2nd):

Rob leads all-time series, 5-1.

Peyton Manning (vs. ARI) vs. Aaron Rodgers (vs. MIN). That's the headline for this one, but I doubt that's the deciding matchup. Of course, now that I say that, one of them will outscore the other by 15 points.

Pick: Bernie's Bullies.

Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 3-1, 3rd) vs. DICK ARMOUR (Richie, 0-4, 14th):

Rabbit leads all-time series, 2-0.

I look at Richie's team, and I don't see 0-4. But Richie's Blingaleague career has been all about unfulfilled expectations. Meanwhile, classic Rabs appears to be back.

Pick: Pralines & Dick.

Live Commish (Ed, 2-2, 9th) vs. D's Nuts (Derrek, 1-3, 13th):

Ed leads all-time series, 5-4.

What hath happened to these two once-proud franchises?

Pick: Live Commish.

Closing Thoughts

Week four was the seventh-highest-scoring week of all time. That's more like it.

EWG