The Sanderson Gazette - 2022-09-07 - Kicking Off
Week 1 Preview
Game of the Blingaweek
Super Bash Bros. (Dave) vs. Pralines & Dick (Rabbit)
Rabbit leads all-time series, 11-5.
Last year's Blingabowl rematch features two teams that didn't have first round picks. Instead, Dave enters the year with Davante Adams (@LAC) and Rabbit with Christian McCaffrey (vs. CLE).
Overall, Dave looks to have notable advantages at QB (Justin Herbert (vs. LV) over Trey Lance (@CHI)) and TE (Travis Kelce (@ARI) over Albert Okwuegbunam (@SEA)), while Rabbit has a clear advantage at RB (McCaffrey over Clyde Edwards-Helaire (@ARI)).
But what about kicker? I like Nick Folk (@MIA) for Dave over Ryan Succop (@DAL) for Rabs.
Pick: Super Bash Bros.
Other Blingamatches
D's Nuts (Derrek) vs. Harrison Hammers (Matt)
Yahoo doesn't quite project Derrek for Team Blangums, but it does love his roster. Having candidates for the top overall scorer at QB (Patrick Mahomes II (@ARI)), WR (Justin Jefferson (vs. GB)), and RB (Jonathan Taylor (@HOU)) will lead to that.
Matt can't match the star power of D's roster, but Jalen Hurts (@DET), Mike Williams (vs. LV), and Saquon Barkley (@TEN) give him plenty of high-upside plays.
At kicker, Derrek has Daniel Carlson (@LAC), while Matt has playoff hero Evan McPherson (vs. PIT).
Pick: Harrison Hammers.
Swift Justice (Babel) vs. DK Country (Richie)
Babel leads all-time series, 7-3.
Yahoo's two lowest projections of the week face off in a battle between last year's 5th and 6th place finishers. It also features Russell Wilson (@SEA) going up against his former team.
That looks like a boon for Richie, who drafted Wilson, and a bust for Babel, who has Richie's namesake, DK Metcalf (vs. DEN). Babel will have Dak Prescott (vs. TAM) at QB. Both teams have strong RBs: Austin Ekeler (vs. LV) and James Conner (vs. KC) for Richie, and Najee Harris (@CIN) and D'Andre Swift (vs. PHI) for Babel.
I like Richie's team a little better, but Matt Prater (vs. KC) gives Babel the edge at kicker (over Brett Maher (vs. TAM)).
Pick: Swift Justice.
schertzopotamus (Schertz) vs. Live Commish (Ed)
Schertz leads all-time series, 8-2.
Schertz became the first team with 8+ wins to miss the playoffs last year, making it two straight misses since his 2019 Sanderson Cup season. He brought back Aaron Jones (@MIN) from his championship squad and will complement him with two more RBs in his flex spots, David Montgomery (vs. SF) and Kareem Hunt (@CAR).
Ed also brought back a few players from his past, both recent (A.J. Brown (@DET)) and distant (Mike Evans (@DAL)).
The QB matchup in this one - Lamar Jackson (@NYJ) for Schertz vs. Kyler Murray (vs. KC) for Ed - is intriguing, but what about the kicker matchup of Tyler Bass (@LAR) vs. Dustin Hopkins (vs. LV)? Bass, a trade target last year, gives Schertz the edge.
(Bonus fun fact: The last five matchups in this series - and six of ten overall - have produced Team Blangums or Slapped Heartbeat awards.)
Pick: schertzopotamus.
The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin) vs. Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley)
Pulley leads all-time series, 13-6.
Cooper Kupp (vs. BUF) and Joe Mixon (vs. PIT) arguably give Kevin the two best players in this one, but that doesn't mean he's a heavy favorite, as the rest of his team is full of question marks. Will George Kittle (@CHI) return to form? What about Michael Thomas (@ATL) and Cam Akers (vs. BUF)? And is Trevor Lawrence (@WAS) ready to take a leap in year two?
Pulley has his own second-year Jaguar question mark in Travis Etienne, Jr. (@WAS) and his own injury-recovery question mark in Robert Woods (vs. NYG). Even more of his team had various offseason, off-field dramas; Aaron Rodgers (@MIN), Marquise Brown (vs. KC), and Alvin Kamara (@ATL) all made headlines for non-football reasons. (And that's to say nothing of keeper, Deshaun Watson.) Did the Pullman find a market inefficiency, or will his risk tolerance hurt his bottom line?
Historically, you'd expect Pulley to be favored in a battle of kickers, but his nemesis stole Justin Tucker away from him. As a result, Kevin's Matt Gay (vs. BUF) looks to give Kevin the edge (over Pulley's Brandon McManus (@SEA)).
Pick: The Chocolate Donuts.
Bernie's Bullies (Mike R.) vs. The Vistas are Back (Pat)
Mike R. leads all-time series, 10-5.
Mike and Pat took Derrick Henry (vs. NYG) and Dalvin Cook (vs. GB) first and second overall, respectively; while neither looks to be quite as good as they were a few years back, they both can be counted on as workhorse RBs.
The similarities don't end there. Mike and Pat both trot out the last two Super Bowl winning QBs (Tom Brady (@DAL) and Matthew Stafford (vs. BUF)), young WRs with high ceilings (Ja'Marr Chase (vs. PIT) and CeeDee Lamb (vs. TAM)), former premiere WRs on new teams (Allen Robinson II (vs. BUF) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (@ARI)), and second-year RBs in committees (Javonte Williams (@SEA) and Eli Mitchell (@CHI)).
If a matchup ever were going to come down to kickers, this is the one. Mike has Harrison Butker (@ARI), while Pat has Robbie Gould (@CHI). That must be why Yahoo (surprisingly) projects Mike to win Team Blangums this week.
Pick: Bernie's Bullies.
Two Digit FC (Scott) vs. Rob for Today (Rob)
Rob leads all-time series, 3-1.
Scott was the first team to draft a QB, Josh Allen (@LAR), and a defense, Buffalo (@LAR). That's because he was confident that Deebo Samuel (@CHI), Tee Higgins (vs. PIT), and Ezekiel Elliott (vs. TAM) gave him a strong base at WR and RB.
Rob has his own pair of young WRs, Terry McLaurin (vs. JAC) and Michael Pittman, Jr. (@HOU), and his own between-the-tackles RB, Nick Chubb (@CAR).
Scott might have taken the first QB and defense, but Rob took the first kicker, Justin Tucker (@NYJ). And this week, that's what counts. (Scott will counter Tucker with Rodrigo Blankenship (@HOU).)
Pick: Rob for Today.
Wesbsite Updates
A few new features have recently been added to blingaleague.com.
- A complete history of draft picks, including specific pages for each season's draft (example: the 2008 draft, full of remember-a-guys).
- Individual player pages, linked from keeper, trade, and draft pick tables (example: Michael Crabtree, who was drafted or kept ten times, each time in a different round).
- A few changes to the homepage, including a truncated draft listing and a new "Random Teams" section to suggest some historical teams to research.
- A points allowed (PA) column to standings tables on season pages (example: the 2018 season, where Scott finished fourth in points scored, sixth in points allowed, and somehow missed the playoffs).