The Sanderson Gazette - 2024-09-18 - Concentrated

Week 2 Recap

Mike R. def. Schertz, 138.58-113.15

The Gentlemen's Tussle featured the first and third highest scores of the week. Mike R. got a whopping 44.17 from Alvin Kamara, which meant Jared Goff's 11.85 didn't hurt him. Besides those two, he got solid-if-not-awesome scores from just about every player.

Schertz had a more hit-or-miss roster. De'Von Achane and DK Metcalf scored 24.80 and 23.20, respectively, but Xavier Worthy and Taysom Hill put up just 2.77 and 1.93.

Dave def. Scott, 131.40-107.38

It looked like Scott would cruise to victory after James Cook (28.07) had a huge Thursday night. But then Justin Jefferson (23.73) and Kyler Murray (30.70) took the field for Dave, turning this into a rout in the opposite direction.

Rob def. Rabbit, 110.37-105.81

Our Game of the Blingaweek delivered on drama, as it was undecided until the final minutes of Monday Night Football, when Saquon Barkley's 14.30 kept Rob ahead of Rabbit, who had Youngoe Koo (10.50). Marvin Harrison, Jr.'s 29.33 points (all in the first quarter of his game!) were the biggest reason Rabs was even close, while Chris Godwin (21.60) and Brandon Aubrey (18.80) were Rob's strongest players.

Richie def. Pulley, 106.37-76.09

Davante Adams (20.67) and Rhamondre Stevenson (15.30) led the way for Richie to improve to 2-0 on the year. Pulley saw J.K. Dobbins (19.10) have another great game, but Matthew Stafford (6.30), Cooper Kupp (4.93), and Stefon Diggs (also 4.93) disappointed as he fell to 0-2.

Babel def. Matt, 100.72-93.78

This matchup looked like a big dud-fest up until the final two games of the week. On Sunday night, Babel got 24.00 from Nico Collins and 22.50 from Ka'imi Fairbairn, putting him up for good. Matt got 17.00 from the Houston defense and 11.70 from Cairo Santos, then added 13.20 from Drake London on Monday, but still fell short.

Derrek def. Ed, 90.67-84.50

Derrek won this one with special teams; his combo of Dustin Hopkins (14.50) and the Cleveland defense (14.00) nearly quadrupled what Ed got from Tyler Bass (7.30) and the Eagles (1.00). (Editor's note: Tyler Bass and the Eagles is a great fictional band name.)

Pat def. Kevin, 82.85-72.58

"Well bless my cahoots, we've got a winning streak!" - Pat

Malik Nabers (22.93) and Derrick Henry (16.00) were the bright spots for Pat, who also suffered through 6.45 from Tua Tagovailoa and 3.87 from Jakobi Meyers. Kevin didn't have anyone crack fifteen points until Monday night, when DeVonta Smith scored 16.13.

Standings

  1. Babel, 2-0, 228.25
  2. Rob, 2-0, 225.50
  3. Richie, 2-0, 194.27
  4. Pat, 2-0, 173.09
  5. Mike R., 1-1, 241.16
  6. Scott, 1-1, 229.69
  7. Dave, 1-1, 219.03
  8. Schertz, 1-1, 203.08
  9. Rabbit, 1-1, 200.35
  10. Derrek, 1-1, 165.90
  11. Ed, 0-2, 187.43
  12. Matt, 0-2, 177.83
  13. Pulley, 0-2, 165.21
  14. Kevin, 0-2, 158.07

Blingalytics Ratings

"I like this week's blingalytics." - Mike R.

  1. Mike R., 766
  2. Scott, 762
  3. Rob, 744
  4. Babel, 718
  5. Dave, 626
  6. Schertz, 555
  7. Rabbit, 535
  8. Richie, 487
  9. Ed, 427
  10. Matt, 347
  11. Pat, 307
  12. Derrek, 260
  13. Pulley, 256
  14. Kevin, 210

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums

Mike R.'s 138.58 takes home the Blangums prize this week.

Slapped Heartbeat

Kevin's 72.58 puts him firmly in the cellar.

Weekly MVP

This will probably be one of the easiest choices of the year: Alvin Kamara, who scored 44.17 for Mike.

Dud of the Week

Rabbit lost by less than five points, all while getting just 1.73 from Sam LaPorta.

Start of the Week

Derrek didn't overreact to week one, keeping Zay Flowers (18.13) in his lineup over Ladd McConkey (3.47).

Misplay of the Week

Ed played Amari Cooper (1.47) over Andrei Iosivas (12.93).

Pickup of the Week

Matt may have lost, but he can't blame the defense he picked up; Houston scored 17.00.

Blessed Cahoots

See the Pat-Kevin recap above.

Week 3 Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

Keep Calm & Keon (Babel, 2-0, 1st) vs. Rob for Today (Rob, 2-0, 2nd)

Babel leads all-time series, 10-9.

The 2.75-point margin between Babel and Rob is the closest tiebreaking margin for first place since week 4, 2021 (coincidentally, Babel was in first then, too). It's also the closest such margin in week 2 since 2012.

Babel's been carried by Nico Collins (@MIN), James Conner (vs. DET), and Ka'imi Fairbairn (@MIN) - just like we all predicted, right? Travis Kelce (@ATL) has been a huge disappointment, though, and Josh Allen (vs. JAC) didn't have to put up fantasy points to blow out the Dolphins last week. If those two can return to previous form, look out, Blingaleague!

Rob will probably be starting Dak Prescott (vs. BAL) for the first time this year (after relying on him to win the title last season). CeeDee Lamb (vs. BAL) and Saquon Barkley (@NO) have been delivering as expected, though, and Brandon Aubrey (vs. BAL) is one of the few kickers who can keep pace with Fairbairn. (And the Gazette is featuring kickers heavily in its previews, just like we all predicted, right?)

This is set up to be a Dickran Duel for the ages!

Pick: Keep Calm & Keon.

Other Blingamatches

Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 1-1, 5th) vs. Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 1-1, 9th)

Rabbit leads all-time series, 9-8.

Both Mike and Rabbit have a triple-digit loss; the difference between them is that Mike scored 130+ in his win, while Rabs scored less than 100 in his.

Jared Goff (@ARI) has been a bust for Mike, but Alvin Kamara (vs. PHI) has more than made up for it. Amon-Ra St. Brown (@ARI) and Trey McBride (vs. DET) both bounced back from bad week one performances to have solid week twos. Mike Evans (vs. DEN) could be key against a Denver team that has looked hapless so far.

Sam LaPorta (@ARI) has been a bust for Rabbit, but Jameson Williams (@ARI) has more than made up for it. Marvin Harrison, Jr. (vs. DET) and Devin Singletary (@CLE) both bounced back from bad week one performances to have solid week twos. Lamar Jackson (@DAL) could be key against a Dallas team that just let the Saints offense do whatever they wanted.

Also, wow, there is a lot riding on the Lions @ Cardinals game in this matchup.

Pick: Pralines & Dick.

Ed Gross (Richie, 2-0, 3rd) vs. schertzopotamus (Schertz, 1-1, 8th)

Schertz leads all-time series, 8-4.

Richie's a surprise 2-0 thanks to Davante Adams (vs. CAR), Joe Mixon (@MIN), and Rhamondre Stevenson (@NYJ) all putting up at least one big game. If Garrett Wilson (vs. NE) and Joe Burrow (vs. WAS) can live up to expectations, Richie could be a major player down the stretch.

Schertz put up a good total score despite Christian McCaffrey's (IR) absence last week, so at least he knows he's not in a total bind. De'Von Achane (@SEA) has been awesome and Kyren Williams (vs. SF) has gotten the kind of usage everyone expected. Taysom Hill (vs. PHI) has been a huge sink at TE, though.

Pick: Ed Gross.

The Vistas are Back (Pat, 2-0, 4th) vs. Live Commish (Ed, 0-2, 11th)

Ed leads all-time series, 10-5.

Pat is a surprise 2-0, like Richie, but without having cracked 100 yet. Will new QB Derek Carr (vs. PHI) change that this week? Carr will be stacked with Chris Olave (vs. PHI) and joined on Pat's roster by Malik Nabers (@CLE) and Derrick Henry (@DAL). His defense (Cincinnati (vs. WAS)) is also going against Ed's QB, so that's a spot where huge swings could happen.

Ed's QB is Jayden Daniels (@CIN), who followed up a great week one with a subpar week two. Breece Hall (vs. NE), Jonathan Taylor (vs. CHI), and Brian Robinson, Jr. (@CIN) have all been in double digits both weeks so far. If Ed could get anything from Amari Cooper (vs. NYG) that would help him move up from the winless ranks.

Pick: Live Commish.

Let him Cook! (Scott, 1-1, 6th) vs. The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 0-2, 14th)

All-time series tied, 3-3.

Scott very appropriately renamed his team after his best player, James Cook (vs. JAC). Past that, he's got an injury problem: both A.J. Brown (@NO) and Deebo Samuel, Sr. (@LAR) are doubtful to play. Is Greg Dortch (vs. DET) the answer? Can Kyle Pitts (vs. KC) produce consistently? These are the questions Scott's roster will need to answer.

Kevin, sadly, is once again off to a rough start. Patrick Mahomes II (@ATL) and Ja'Marr Chase (vs. WAS) have been huge duds so far, and while Jahmyr Gibbs (@ARI) has been good, his other RBs - Zack Moss (vs. WAS) and Zamir White (vs. CAR) - haven't done much. Maybe some good matchups will get Kevin his first win this week.

Pick: The Chocolate Donuts.

Double Digits (Dave, 1-1, 7th) vs. Harrison Hammers (Matt, 0-2, 12th)

Matt leads all-time series, 11-7.

Dave's outlook this week could come down to a very simple question: will Justin Jefferson (vs. HOU) play? Yes, Bijan Robinson (vs. KC) has been consistently good so far, but that won't be enough on its own. What else could help? Kyler Murray (vs. DET) and Jaxon Smith Njigba (vs. MIA) repeating their week two performances.

Matt's in an unfamiliar situation: 0-2 for the first time in seven years (and just the fourth time overall)! Tyreek Hill's (@SEA) outlook isn't the same with Tua Tagovailoa out, but it was good to see Drake London (vs. KC) get in the end zone last week. Brock Purdy (@LAR) doing to the Rams what Kyler Murray just did would go a long way to getting Matt his first win.

Pick: Harrison Hammers.

D's Nuts (Derrek, 1-1, 10th) vs. Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 0-2, 13th)

Pulley leads all-time series, 12-8.

These two have combined for just 1.03 expected wins on the year.

Pick: D's Nuts.

Closing Thoughts

We've had some competitive weeks so far: both weeks one and two crack the top 26 (of 213 total weeks) in closest average margin.