The Sanderson Gazette - 2025-10-15 - To the Point

Week 6 Recap

Dave def. Derrek, 117.55-114.40

Dave completed a Monday night comeback behind Jayden Daniels (22.25), D.J. Moore (6.60), and the Buffalo defense (4.00). He was in position to steal this win thanks to new addition Josh Jacobs (28.90).

Derrek got strong games from Christian McCaffrey (19.00) and - finally! - Ladd McConkey (19.33) but Juwan Johnson's zero and TreVeyon Henderson's 3.90 were reasons why he fell just short.

Rabbit def. Pat, 141.42-59.19

Rabbit had more players above twenty points (George Pickens (28.40), Jalen Hurts (21.95), and Jonathan Taylor (20.17)) than ones below ten (Chase Brown (7.13) and Harrison Butker (5.30)). On the other end of the spectrum, Pat got less than twenty points total from the six players that went for him prior to Monday night. D'Andre Swift's surprising 25.73 kept him from having an all-time bad game, but Cam Little's -2.00 and Tyquan Thornton's zero did their damnedest to get him there.

This game's 82.23 point margin is the widest since Rabbit defeated Babel by 83.11 in week 15, 2023 and the 21st largest of all time.

Scott def. Matt, 129.12-67.25

Scott was already up by a couple points heading into Monday night, but then Bijan Robinson (32.07) and Drake London (27.07) decided to turn this one into a complete laugher. Matt got 15.30 from Rachaad White and 10.80 from Harold Fannin, Jr., but didn't see anyone else score above their Yahoo projections.

Schertz def. Babel, 136.04-79.55

Big weeks from De'Von Achane (27.73) and Dallas Goedert (20.67) propelled Schertz to his highest total of the season. Babel got 29.95 from Drake Maye, but also -1.00 from the Philadelphia defense.

Kevin def. Richie, 110.81-59.75

Kevin rode Rico Dowdle (31.77) to another big win. Richie had to start both Alec Pierce (6.40) and Ryan Flournoy (4.30) due to injuries.

Rob def. Mike R., 109.27-94.14

Mike R. had a shot at a comeback on Monday night, but James Cook (8.70) and Matt Prater (2.00) couldn't do enough against a shockingly elite Atlanta defense. Rob basically won the week on Thursday night when Cam Skattebo scored 29.40.

Pulley def. Ed, 87.35-67.08

Yikes! While Ed had more double digit scorers (Caleb Williams (20.90), Derrick Henry (13.27), and Tucker Kraft (11.73) than Pulley (Patrick Mahomes II (32.55) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (27.60)), Pulley's were much better. Fun fact: these two teams got a collective -2.00 from their defenses (Cleveland, zero for Ed; San Francisco, -2.00 for Pulley).

Trades

Trade between Babel and Dave

Babel received:

  • Quinshon Judkins - from Dave - keeper cost: 5th
  • Geno Smith - from Dave - keeper cost: 9th
  • Luther Burden III - from Dave - keeper cost: 9th

Dave received:

  • Josh Jacobs - from Babel - keeper cost: 1st
  • D.J. Moore - from Babel - keeper cost: 4th
  • Evan Engram - from Babel - keeper cost: 8th

Babel saw through any promise his 2-3 record had and decided to look ahead to next year, acquiring Judkins and, to a lesser extent, Burden. Dave decided to put his 2025 team back together in the form of Jacobs and Moore.

Jacobs (28.90) outscored Judkins (3.60) by so much that this is a clear win for Dave. We'll have to wait until 2026 to see how this turns out for Babel.

Trade between Ed and Pat

Ed received:

  • Derrick Henry - from Pat - keeper cost: 1st
  • Caleb Williams - from Pat - keeper cost: 7th
  • Kareem Hunt - from Pat - keeper cost: 9th

Pat received:

  • Josh Allen - from Ed - keeper cost: 2nd
  • Zach Charbonnet - from Ed - keeper cost: 7th
  • Keon Coleman - from Ed - keeper cost: 8th

Ed was grasping at straws to save his season and shipped the league's top QB (Allen) off for a buy-low candidate at RB (Henry). Pat was happy to take the QB upgrade.

As for how this turned out... brace yourselves: Ed won! Had Ed kept Allen and started R.J. Harvey (3.20) and Travis Hunter (2.00) (which is probably what he would have done), he'd have scored less than fifty points! Had Pat kept Allen and Henry in his lineup over Allen and Coleman, he'd have pushed his total up over 70.

Neither would have won their game, but - spoiler alert! - the Slapped Heartbeat award would have turned out differently.

Standings

  1. Rabbit, 5-1, 724.09
  2. Scott, 4-2, 725.75
  3. Kevin, 4-2, 666.66
  4. Schertz, 4-2, 628.77
  5. Rob, 4-2, 619.56
  6. Pulley, 3-3, 640.92
  7. Dave, 3-3, 602.62
  8. Pat, 3-3, 583.99
  9. Richie, 3-3, 472.09
  10. Mike R., 2-4, 601.64
  11. Derrek, 2-4, 570.22
  12. Matt, 2-4, 555.27
  13. Babel, 2-4, 546.39
  14. Ed, 1-5, 559.83

Blingalytics Ratings

"Starting to see some separation in the middle of the pack." - Scott

  1. Rabbit, 750
  2. Scott, 734
  3. Pulley, 595
  4. Kevin, 562
  5. Rob, 545
  6. Schertz, 540
  7. Mike R., 506
  8. Dave, 495
  9. Pat, 454
  10. Derrek, 428
  11. Matt, 395
  12. Ed, 392
  13. Babel, 334
  14. Richie, 269

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums

Rabbit's 141.42 earned him his first Team Blangums of the year.

Slapped Heartbeat

Pat's 59.19 barely edged out Richie's 59.75.

Weekly MVP

How about George Pickens, who scored 28.40 for Rabs?

Dud of the Week

Cam Little's score of -2.00 directly caused Pat to get his heartbeat slapped.

Start of the Week

Dave was not tempted to start shiny new TE Evan Engram (6.30) over Sam LaPorta (13.33), which was smart; doing so would have turned his win into a loss.

Misplay of the Week

Derrek could have played Cooper Kupp (11.33) over the perpetually disappointing TreVeyon Henderson (3.90) and won, but he didn't.

Pickup of the Week

Schertz picked up Bryce Young to fill in for the injured Kyler Murray and got 19.95 points. It wasn't awesome, but it was a shrewd move.

Pryor Play of the Week

Ladd McConkey had scored just 34.41 points through five weeks, but put up 19.33 in week six for Derrek.

D'Ernest D'oh

Kevin initially picked up Eddie Pineiro, who scored 18.70, at kicker. But then he dropped Pineiro for Michael Badgley, who scored 8.50. Oops!

Week 7 Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

Let him Lay them Bricks! (Scott, 4-2, 2nd) vs. The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 4-2, 3rd)

Scott leads all-time series, 5-3.

Scott and Kevin are in second and third place. They have four of the six Team Blangums awards between them. Some matchup eventually had to push Rabbit out of the spotlight, and this is about as good of one as we'll get.

Scott weathered the week five bye of Bijan Robinson and Drake London (both @SF) and now has their uninterrupted services through the end of the season. Does he also have CeeDee Lamb (vs. WAS), finally? That could make Dak Prescott (vs. WAS), who's been awesome since being traded for, even better.

Kevin's week will be bookended by his two best players: Ja'Marr Chase (vs. PIT) plays on Thursday, while Jahmyr Gibbs (vs. TAM) plays on Monday. In the middle, can Rico Dowdle (@NYJ) deliver a thirty-point game again? Will Keenan Allen (vs. IND) bounce back from three straight sub-eight-point games? How much does Tony Pollard (vs. NE) have left in the tank?

Pick: Let him Lay them Bricks!

Other Blingamatches

Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 5-1, 1st) vs. 'Genuinely an idiot' for Today (Rob, 4-2, 5th)

Rob leads all-time series, 12-7.

It's beginning to look like 2010 again. Rabbit is clearly the league's best team right now, and his team stacks up well next to his championship 2010 and 12-1 2012 season through six weeks. But to throw a little cold water on this party, it's also similar so far to his 6-8 2024 season.

Anyways, while George Pickens (vs. WAS) is at some risk of falling back to Earth if CeeDee Lamb is back, Jonathan Taylor (@LAC) has shown no such signs. Oh, and Brian Thomas, Jr. (vs. LAR) looks like he's rediscovered his 2024 form, too.

Rob will be without Emeka Egbuka due to injury, and might be without Marvin Harrison, Jr. (vs. GB) for the same reason. Baker Mayfield (@DET) rolled along last week despite the Buccaneers' WR room looking like an infirmary - why can't he do the same this week?

Pick: Pralines & Dick.

Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 3-3, 6th) vs. The Vistas are Back (Pat, 3-3, 8th)

Pulley leads all-time series, 14-2.

This is something of a make-or-break week for these two. Pulley has rallied to 3-3 after an 0-3 start, but week six showed his team has definite flaws. Amon-Ra St. Brown (vs. TAM) is mortal. J.K. Dobbins (vs. NYG) and Darren Waller (@CLE) might not continue their hot starts. Patrick Mahomes II (vs. LV) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (vs. HOU) are great, but can't do everything every week.

Pat is 3-3, too, but has been trending in the opposite direction from Pulley. D'Andre Swift (vs. NO) came alive last week, and the Lions have said they want to use David Montgomery (vs. TAM) more - both of which are promising for the Vistas. But Josh Allen is on bye. Is this the week #playoffpat stops trending completely?

Pick: Pullman's MondoSquad.

Double Digits (Dave, 3-3, 7th) vs. Harrison Hammers (Matt, 2-4, 12th)

Matt leads all-time series, 11-9.

Just two weeks ago, Dave was in the cellar; now he's 3-3 and on the edge of the playoff picture. Acquiring Josh Jacobs (@ARI) has been a part of that turnaround, as has Jayden Daniels's (@DAL) return from injury. Oh, and Ashton Jeanty (@KC) is good now, too.

Matt has lost four in a row after starting 2-0, and will still be without Lamar Jackson (bye) and George Kittle (injured) this week. Bucky Irving is also still out, but Rachaad White (@DET) has been great filling in. There are just too many question marks on this roster as it currently stands to foresee a turnaround. I'd hate to be a Hammers, Inc. intern right now.

Pick: Double Digits.

Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 2-4, 10th) vs. D's Nuts (Derrek, 2-4, 11th)

All-time series tied, 10-10.

Here we have another pair of teams that have been strongly trending downward. Replacing Joe Burrow with Daniel Jones (@LAC) hasn't been the problem for Mike. And, despite a horrible first week, neither has trading for A.J. Brown (@MIN). To be honest, there are reasons to remain optimistic about the Bullies: Tee Higgins (vs. PIT) once again has a competent QB; Chris Olave (@CHI) has been a target machine; and Rashee Rice (vs. LV) is back from his suspension!

For Derrek, it's harder to see a positive long-term outcome. Sure, Ladd McConkey (vs. IND) looks alive again, and DK Metcalf (@CIN) has been invigorated by Aaron Rodgers, but Jerry Jeudy (vs. MIA) and Juwan Johnson (@CHI) inspire no confidence as starters, even in a fourteen-team league.

Pick: Bernie's Bullies.

schertzopotamus (Schertz, 4-2, 4th) vs. Live Commish (Ed, 1-5, 14th)

Schertz leads all-time series, 9-5.

We're now two and a half seasons into the De'Von Achane (@CLE) and Kyren Williams (@JAC) period in Schertz's franchise history. The rest of his team isn't bad - Nico Collins (@SEA) has quietly been solid and Dallas Goedert (@MIN) is the best part of the Eagels' passing game - but the story here is the same as it's been since the start of 2023.

Meanwhile, Ed is off to his worst start in franchise history - just the fifth time he's been below .500 after six weeks. At least he can have fun rooting for Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze (both vs. NO) every week.

Pick: schertzopotamus.

A...Strange...season (Richie, 3-3, 9th) vs. Keep Calm & Stefon (Babel, 2-4, 13th)

Babel leads all-time series, 11-5.

Sadly, Future Babel has not written me a letter telling me the outcome of this game, so I'll have to make a guess myself.

Pick: A...Strange...season.

Closing Thoughts

Week six's average margin of 41.46 is the 7th highest of all time. Because its average score of 98.07 isn't awful, its excitement index of -2.28 isn't quite so bad - it ranks "just" 15th out of the 231 weeks we've played so far.