The Sanderson Gazette - 2024-10-09 - High Scores, Low Drama

Week 5 Recap

Richie def. Derrek, 158.20-125.68

Whoa, where did this point explosion come from?! Richie nearly equaled his previous two weeks combined, with Joe Burrow (36.20), Darnell Mooney (26.00), and Tucker Kraft (23.73) leading the way. Derrek finally joined the list of teams that have lost despite scoring 125 points... after coming out on the winning end of such games four times already! D.J Moore (26.00) was his high scorer, and the Denver defense added 18.00 in his tough loss.

Rabbit def. Kevin, 148.27-108.57

Rabbit stayed in the running for Team Blangums until the very end, but Samaje Perine (3.20) put up a Monday night dud and he fell short. He did get 36.40 from Lamar Jackson and dueling 22.27's from Brian Thomas, Jr. and Darius Slayton as he cruised to 4-1 on the year. Kevin followed up his own near-Blangums with another solid week, mainly thanks to Ja'Marr Chase (37.73).

Mike R. def. Pat, 126.18-81.26

At halftime of the noon games, it looked like Mike would be taking home his third Blangums of the season. Kirk Cousins (37.45) and Mike Evans (20.27) had huge Thursday nights, and Chuba Hubbard (13.43) and Terry McLaurin (13.13) got off to hot starts. But the rest of the week was pretty meager for the Bullies, so Mike will have to settle for a mere victory. On the other side, Pat saw Caleb Williams (26.10) break out, but got disappointing scores from Chris Olave (1.33) and Dalton Kincaid (4.53).

Ed def. Schertz, 113.90-55.08

Ed put together a nice score, with Tee Higgins (23.07) and Brian Robinson, Jr. (13.80) each scoring multiple touchdowns, but the story here was Schertz's awful week. He had four players in the Sunday noon games - De'Von Achane (1.67), Mike Gesicki (4.53), Jerome Ford (4.97), and the Ravens defense (-1.00) - and they combined for barely ten points total. By the time Blake Grupe threw - er, kicked - in his own zero on Monday night, Schertz was sitting on his fourth lowest score in franchise history.

Rob def. Scott, 106.53-91.21

This was our closest matchup of the week, with a margin of 15.32; only seven weeks have had a closest game with a greater margin than that (#1 is week 12, 2020, with 25.06). And despite being the closest game, it wasn't even in question on Monday night, as Harrison Butker (13.60) had no chance of making up Scott's deficit on his own. (Rob got 19.57 from D'Andre Swift and 18.93 from Brock Bowers in the win.)

Babel def. Dave, 135.05-99.05

Babel put together an incredibly balanced performance, as every one of his players scored between 9.33 (Travis Kelce) and 19.60 (Brandon Aiyuk). Dave let Kyler Murray's 25.55 go to waste, thanks in part to George Pickens's 3.47 and Xavier Legette's 1.07.

Matt def. Pulley, 105.13-82.06

Matt more or less earned his first win of the year on Thursday night, when Drake London (26.53) and Baker Mayfield (24.70) went wild. George Kittle added 14.53 on Sunday for good measure. Meanwhile, Pulley had no one go above 16.10 (Josh Jacobs).

Standings

  1. Rabbit, 4-1, 579.13
  2. Rob, 4-1, 545.50
  3. Babel, 4-1, 528.02
  4. Mike R., 3-2, 579.57
  5. Ed, 3-2, 521.92
  6. Richie, 3-2, 514.61
  7. Pat, 3-2, 491.15
  8. Scott, 2-3, 489.76
  9. Schertz, 2-3, 462.15
  10. Dave, 2-3, 461.53
  11. Derrek, 2-3, 446.54
  12. Kevin, 1-4, 505.97
  13. Pulley, 1-4, 422.94
  14. Matt, 1-4, 415.23

Blingalytics Ratings

  1. Rabbit, 711
  2. Mike R., 695
  3. Rob, 672
  4. Babel, 570
  5. Ed, 563
  6. Scott, 532
  7. Kevin, 514
  8. Richie, 484
  9. Pat, 475
  10. Schertz, 442
  11. Derrek, 395
  12. Dave, 390
  13. Matt, 285
  14. Pulley, 273

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums

Richie's 158.20 gave him his first Team Blangums since the final week of 2021.

Slapped Heartbeat

Schertz's 55.08 was by far our lowest score this week. The 26.18 point gap between him and this week's second worst scorer (Pat) is the largest since exactly four years ago.

Weekly MVP

There were four players (Ja'Marr Chase (37.73), Kirk Cousins (37.45), Lamar Jackson (36.40), and Joe Burrow (36.20)) who scored between 36 and 38 points. So, like the NFL MVP, this will go to the QB on the team that performed best. Congratulations, Joe Burrow - you powered Richie to Team Blangums!

Dud of the Week

The Ravens defense (-1.00) had a sub-zero game for Schertz.

Start of the Week

Rob won the closest game of the week, but his four active bench players were among his five highest RBs and WRs, so he doesn't qualify here. Richie won Blangums by less than 11 points, but his only active bench player was Miles Sanders, whom he does not get credit for sitting.

We'll just leave this vacant and move on.

Misplay of the Week

Just like Start of the Week, the lack of close games will result in no one getting this award.

Pickup of the Week

There were some really good transactions this week! Scott picked up Jordan Whittington and got 11.87 in his lineup. Pulley grabbed Rashod Bateman and was rewarded with 13.73. Derrek acquired the Denver defense and inserted their 18.00 into his lineup. Rabbit signed Darius Slayton and saw him explode for 22.27.

But Richie would not have won Team Blangums had he not claimed Tucker Kraft and his 23.73 off of waivers. That was a hell of a use of the #2 priority.

Pryor Play of the Week

Brandon Aiyuk's 19.60 for Babel was more than 13 points higher than his previous high score. He'll edge out Ed's Tee Higgins (23.07, more than 15 points higher than his previous) on the basis of having four previous disappointments to the latter's two.

Week 6 Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

Keep Calm & Keon (Babel, 4-1, 3rd) vs. The Vistas are Back (Pat, 3-2, 7th)

Pat leads all-time series, 8-7.

This is a prove-it game in a few ways. For Babel, he's just sort of been in the background, quietly going 4-1. And while he has a Team Blangums and another 135 point week, he's quite a ways behind our top point totals and only Matt has played an easier schedule through five weeks. Putting together a second consecutive huge week would definitely make the rest of the league sit up and notice him. To do that, he'll need Josh Allen (@NYJ) to rebound strongly and Brandon Aiyuk (@SEA) to keep playing like he did in week five. Oh, and he'll need a TE to fill in for Travis Kelce (bye).

On the other side, Pat needs to prove he does belong among the playoff contenders. He started 2-0, but didn't break 100 in that stretch. He since did nearly win Blangums, but laid a big egg last week when he had a chance to get to 4-1. The good news for Pat is that Caleb Williams (vs. JAC) looks like he's figuring things out, while Derrick Henry (vs. WAS) and Kenneth Walker III (vs. SF) have been pretty great themselves. If Chris Olave (vs. TAM) can deliver consistently, Pat could climb the standings quite easily.

Pick: Keep Calm & Keon.

Other Blingamatches

Rob for Today (Rob, 4-1, 2nd) vs. Ed Gross (Richie, 3-2, 6th)

Rob leads all-time series, 7-6.

Rob got knocked out of his first place perch, but still looks like he's on the short list of championship contenders. A Lions/Cowboys shootout in Dallas would be great for him, because it would mean Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Brandon Aubrey all max out. Saquon Barkley (vs. CLE) is back from his bye, too, for a game that should present a favorable game script.

Richie's coming off a ridiculously good week, but there's no way it's sustainable. Joe Burrow (@NYG) isn't going to score 30+ every week. Tucker Kraft (vs. ARI) is good, but not Rob Gronkowski good. And this is unrelated to last week, but by the time you read this, his top two WRs - Garrett Wilson (vs. BUF) and Davante Adams (vs. PIT) - might be competing for targets from Aaron Rodgers.

Pick: Rob for Today.

Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 4-1, 1st) vs. Let him Cook! (Scott, 2-3, 8th)

Rabbit leads all-time series, 4-2.

Rabbit, for the third time in four years, looks like a juggernaut... but in 2021 and 2023, he wound up barely making the playoffs. Will he buck that trend and cruise to a bye this season? If Lamar Jackson (vs. WAS) has anything to say about it, yes! Additionally, Jonathan Taylor (@TEN) and Devin Singletary (vs. CIN) look like they're back this week after being totally unneeded in week five.

Scott's season has really taken a turn after he looked like a strong contender after three weeks. James Cook (@NYJ) has remained mostly very good, but the absence of A.J. Brown (vs. CLE) - who is back this week - was definitely felt. David Montgomery (@DAL) returning from his bye will also help.

Pick: Let him Cook!

Live Commish (Ed, 3-2, 5th) vs. The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 1-4, 12th)

Ed leads all-time series, 10-9.

Ed's on a three game winning streak and will look to solidify his playoff position. Marvin Harrison, Jr. (@GB) and Breece Hall (vs. BUF) both disappointed this past week, but Tee Higgins (@NYG) had a very encouraging performance. Is this the week Amari Cooper (@PHI) follows suit? Will Jayden Daniels (@BAL) continue his top tier play against a strong opponent?

Kevin is a lot better than his record shows; he's just the fourth team to have an expected winning percentage over .500, but one or fewer wins. This week, he will have to play Daniel Jones (vs. CIN) over Patrick Mahomes II (bye), but is that really so bad? Being without Jordan Addison (bye) might be worse, but Jahmyr Gibbs (@DAL) will be back from his bye, which is very good.

Pick: Live Commish.

schertzopotamus (Schertz, 2-3, 9th) vs. Harrison Hammers (Matt, 1-4, 14th)

Matt leads all-time series, 11-2.

Schertz is coming off a brutal week, and now has to deal with three of his best players - Kyren Williams, De'Von Achane, and Xavier Worthy - all being on bye. Oh, and the Ravens defense hosts the dangerous Commanders. At least Jalen Hurts (vs. CLE) is back. And facing the last place team bodes well, right?

That last place team is Matt, who usually isn't anywhere near the cellar. George Kittle (@SEA) has definitely not been the reason for Matt's struggles. Najee Harris (@LV)? Well, he's yet to crack double digits, so you can blame him. Drake London (@CAR) has been pretty solid, though, and Baker Mayfield (@NO) has three games of 24 points or more.

Pick: Harrison Hammers.

Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 3-2, 4th) vs. Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 1-4, 13th)

Mike R. leads all-time series, 9-8.

Mike is - by a hair - our top scoring team so far, breaking the 125 point barrier thrice. Pulley has yet to score 90 or more. This one looks like our most lopsided game of the week.

Pick: Bernie's Bullies.

Double Digits (Dave, 2-3, 10th) vs. D's Nuts (Derrek, 2-3, 11th)

Derrek leads all-time series, 11-7.

Tenth place vs. eleventh place. Kyler Murray (@NE) vs. C.J. Stroud (@NE). Mark Andrews (vs. WAS) vs. Isaiah Likely (vs. WAS). An 89 point projection vs. an 89 point projection.

Pick: #teamtie. (Hey, if it's ever going to happen, why not here?)

Closing Thoughts

We just barely missed a 110-point average score for the week. Historically, week five is now the 13th highest scoring week ever!