The Sanderson Gazette - 2021-09-29 - Spread Out

Week 3 Recap

Richie def. Dave, 145.54-52.91

Richie's team exploded behind strong performances from Sam Darnold (26.80), Ja'Marr Chase (20.67), DK Metcalf (20.27), and new addition Ezekiel Elliott (24.30). Dave's Justin Fields (0.10) dice roll came up snake eyes, but it wouldn't have mattered with the way Richie's team delivered.

Rabbit def. Pat, 107.27-90.18

Special teams were key for Rabs in winning the closest game of the week; the Denver defense scored 22.00 and Matt Gay put up 11.00. Cooper Kupp (24.80) also continued his hot start for Rabs. Pat did get 33.15 from Justin Herbert, but couldn't pull off the upset.

Kevin def. Mike R., 139.14-108.74

Keeper Josh Allen (40.80) finally blew up for Kev, and Kareem Hunt and Davante Adams added 23.97 and 23.60 for good measure. Mike also saw one of his keepers - James Robinson (20.93) - live up to expectations, but couldn't defeat our defending champ.

Matt def. Ed, 100.35-80.16

Mike Williams's 30.27 was enough for Matt to take this one, as Ed's four WRs - DeVonta Smith (3.73), DeAndre Hopkins (2.80), Sterling Shepard (2.13), and A.J. Brown (0.30) - collectively failed to reach double digits.

Babel def. Rob, 117.22-94.00

The Dickran Duel lacked drama this year, as Matthew Stafford (32.45) and D'Andre Swift (18.70) led Babel to a comfortable victory. That was despite Rob getting 20.00 from his defense (New Orleans).

Derrek def. Pulley, 122.93-75.52

Justin Jefferson (21.73), Brandon McManus (16.00), and the Cleveland defense (16.00) propelled Derrek to his own easy win over Pulley, whose high scorer was Aaron Rodgers, with 20.02.

Schertz def. Scott, 102.87-68.93

And finally, add Schertz to our list of teams that coasted to victory. Tom Brady's 31.50 paced the victor, while Scott was led by the Arizona defense (21.00).

Trades

Trade between Richie and Rob

Richie received:

  • Ezekiel Elliott - from Rob - keeper cost: 1st

Rob received:

  • Calvin Ridley - from Richie - keeper cost: 1st

This trade is notable for being the first one-to-one trade of players drafted in the first three rounds this early in the season. (The last time two such players were traded occurred in week 6 of 2018.) Rob was fed up relying on Elliott and his inconsistency, and Richie was willing to take on that risk.

One week in, Richie's been the big winner; Elliott outscored Ridley 24.30-8.13 in week 3.

Standings

  1. Rabbit, 3-0, 423.06
  2. Babel, 3-0, 377.34
  3. Derrek, 3-0, 353.13
  4. Schertz, 2-1, 329.62
  5. Kevin, 2-1, 318.86
  6. Richie, 2-1, 314.48
  7. Matt, 2-1, 297.16
  8. Dave, 2-1, 283.93
  9. Ed, 1-2, 281.79
  10. Pat, 1-2, 271.61
  11. Mike R., 0-3, 311.51
  12. Rob, 0-3, 265.74
  13. Pulley, 0-3, 264.93
  14. Scott, 0-3, 234.52

Blingalytics Ratings

  1. Rabbit, 844
  2. Babel, 766
  3. Derrek, 765
  4. Schertz, 577
  5. Mike R., 558
  6. Kevin, 531
  7. Matt, 478
  8. Richie, 474
  9. Dave, 463
  10. Ed, 396
  11. Pat, 359
  12. Pulley, 316
  13. Rob, 309
  14. Scott, 164

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums

Richie had two Team Blangums awards in his first 115 games. His 145.54 means he now has two in his last five.

Slapped Heartbeat

Dave's 52.91 against Richie gave us just the 17th Gumslapper of all time.

Weekly MVP

Josh Allen scored 40.80 for Kevin.

Dud of the Week

Justin Fields scored 0.10 for Dave.

Start of the Week / Misplay of the Week

Once again, no game came close to having a single player change its outcome.

Pickup of the Week

This one goes to Richie for his acquisition of Ezekiel Elliott (24.30) via trade. The net points he got (16.17) from starting Elliott over Calvin Ridley (8.13) resulted in him stealing Team Blangums from Kevin.

Pryor Play of the Week

Josh Allen adds a second award to his trophy case this week. He scored 40.80, which is more than he had in weeks 1 and 2 combined.

Week 4 Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 3-0, 1st) vs. DK Country (Richie, 2-1, 6th)

Rabbit leads all-time series, 6-3.

Cooper Kupp (vs. ARI) stayed red hot for Rabbit in week 3, but Tyler Lockett (@SF) and Christian McCaffrey (@DAL) both saw huge dips in production. (And to make matters worse, McCaffrey's was due to an injury that will keep him out for a few weeks at least.) That caused Rabs to fall to second in total points through three weeks.

Richie's week 3 Team Blangums score was not quite as high as either of Rabbit's first two weeks, but it does suggest his team is trending upward. Sam Darnold (@DAL) and Ja'Marr Chase (vs. JAC) have emerged as consistent performers, so if Ezekiel Elliott (vs. CAR) plays like he did this past week, Richie could be a real contender.

Pick: Pralines & Dick.

Other Blingamatches

Swift Justice (Babel, 3-0, 2nd) vs. Harrison Hammers (Matt, 2-1, 7th)

Matt leads all-time series, 11-4.

Babel's not far behind Rabbit, coming in with the 11th most points ever through three weeks. Darren Waller (@LAC) and Najee Harris (@GB) have been opportunity hogs for their teams, and D'Andre Swift (@CHI) has been a fantastic keeper.

Matt's 2-1 thanks to a shrewd deal he made with Ed, as Brandin Cooks (@BUF) has been outstanding for the Hammers. Dalvin Cook (vs. CLE) should be back this week, but the Denver defense could be a concern for Lamar Jackson (@DEN) and Mark Andrews (@DEN).

Pick: Swift Justice.

schertzopotamus (Schertz, 2-1, 4th) vs. Super Bash Bros. (Dave, 2-1, 8th)

Schertz leads all-time series, 5-4.

Without much fantasy fanfare, Tom Brady (@NE, and that is weird to type) has scored between 30.90 and 31.50 every game this year. Add that to Derrick Henry (@NYJ) and Stefon Diggs (vs. HOU), and Schertz has returned to contender status.

Dave's team looked great through two weeks, but completely shat the bed in week 3. Alvin Kamara (vs. NYG) has been merely good, while Amari Cooper (vs. CAR) and CeeDee Lamb (vs. CAR) have been inconsistent. Will Kirk Cousins's (vs. CLE) return get Dave back to his winning ways?

Pick: schertzopotamus.

The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 2-1, 5th) vs. Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 0-3, 13th)

Pulley leads all-time series, 13-5.

This year, Kevin is a lot like his previous two squads: all over the place. Davante Adams (vs. PIT) has been great, and D.J. Moore (@DAL) was a draft-day steal, but the rest of his team has been inconsistent.

Inconsistent is better than bad, though, which is where Pulley surprisingly finds himself. Pulley is 0-3 for the first time in twelve years; he's been 3-0 six times since then! George Kittle (vs. SEA) hasn't been bad, but he hasn't had a great week yet, either, and Joe Mixon (vs. JAC) has fallen off a lot since week 1. Odell Beckham, Jr. (@MIN) came back strong from injury last week, which Pulley will need to continue to rise back into contention.

Pick: The Chocolate Donuts.

D's Nuts (Derrek, 3-0, 3rd) vs. Live Commish (Ed, 1-2, 9th)

Derrek leads all-time series, 9-7.

Derrek has pretty quietly ascended to 3-0, and a good bit of that is Patrick Mahomes II (@PHI) consistently giving him solid QB scores. It also helps that Justin Jefferson (vs. CLE) and Saquon Barkley (@NO) have seen their scores increase week to week; if they can keep that up against a couple of tough matchups this week, D should be a team to fear.

The good news for Ed is that he's averaged nearly 125 points against Derrek over the past three years. The bad news is that Derrek has averaged over 130 in those games. DeAndre Hopkins (@LAR) needs to start playing like the elite WR Ed traded for, or else Live Commish will miss the playoffs yet again no matter how well Aaron Jones (vs. PIT) and Jalen Hurts (vs. KC) keep playing.

Pick: D's Nuts.

The Vistas are Back (Pat, 1-2, 10th) vs. Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 0-3, 11th)

Mike R. leads all-time series, 9-5.

Pat is looking to become the first team to go 2-0 vs. another in the regular season since 2011, having defeated Mike in an epic battle in week 1. Tyreek Hill (@PHI) scored 32.67 in that matchup, but has less than ten points combined since then. So he'll probably go off for a big week again, since...

Mike is doing his best 2020 Ed impression. The Bullies are seventh in points, fifth in expected wins, and fourth in all-play record... but somehow 0-3. Travis Kelce's (@PHI) lowest score so far is 13.87 and Chris Godwin (@NE) has been solid, but after that, Mike can't really trust any specific player on his team to hit their projections, even if his team mostly does overall.

Pick: The Vistas are Back.

Rob for Today (Rob, 0-3, 12th) vs. Where's My State Farm Discount (Scott, 0-3, 14th)

Rob leads all-time series, 2-1.

Is it 2019 again?

Only T.J. Hockenson (@CHI) has delivered more that one above-average performance for Rob, which is a big reason why he hasn't broken 100 yet. Fortunately, he's playing the worst team in the league; Scott hasn't hit the 90 point mark.

Pick: Rob for Today.

Closing Thoughts

Week 3 just barely missed the top ten of all time in terms of average margin of victory.