.... (133) over Zombie Lassard (99)
[Papkin over Sovic]
"It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand." - Apache proverb
For many of us here in NBD, .... owner Sam Papkin is a man defined by his early participation in our league: one aimless, pointless screed after another sent over the league e-mail list, sometimes responding to other league members mid-sentence, before even reaching the point of their messages. He was, in many ways, the definition of that obnoxious loudmouth in your fantasy league. But the truth is, Sam has been a settled man for several years now, and when he does send out a mass missive to the league, it's usually helpful input on some issue or another. No, the only real loudmouth left in the league is the asshole who insists on writing thousands of words every week on the outcomes of these imaginary games, and then gets offended if nobody responds. And also Elliott. But the point is, Papkin has clearly learned the "less thunder in the mouth" lesson, and this season, he sure seems to have a lot of "lightning in the hand." This was probably his most important match-up to date, taking on a 3-1 Zombie Lassard squad that was itching to de-throne him from the top of the standings. The Ellipses rose to the occasion, having secured victory on the shoulders of Eli Manning (21) and Tony Gonzalez (18) before Arian Foster (23) even got a chance to take the field. Most impressive, though, of Papkin's standouts has been the Bears defense (28), which has averaged an amazing 25 points per week over the past three weeks. Although I still believe that defensive performance is too unpredictable to spend a lot of money on in a draft, .... has proven so far this season that if you do manage to hit the lotto with a big point-generating defense, it can mean huge success.
.... are once again the Classic Jam High Scorers of the Week, and I'm running out of ideas for Classic Jams related to their names. Since they're success has been so tied to the Chicago defense, however, I'm going to go with Chicago's If You Leave Me Now, which is a pretty sweet song. It's especially well-used in the movie Three Kings.
Higgs-Boson (126) over Woody's Warriors (59)
[Ray over Sherwood]
"He who would do great things should not attempt them all alone." - Seneca proverb
There is no doubt that Woody's Warriors' Trent Richardson (19) has been extremely impressive in his rookie season so far, averaging 18.2 points per game over the last month and proving that he can overcome his own team's shortcomings as well as quality defenses. He would do well to learn the lesson that many a Seneca Warrior has learned before him, though: the battle can not be won alone. And Richardson did find himself largely alone this week, whereas the Particles rode a four-headed passing, receiving, and running monster to their second victory. Perhaps most satisfying to Higgs-Boson owner Ray was seeing his quarterback-receiver combo of Andrew Luck (30) and Reggie Wayne (27) have such an incredible day. Ray has been singing Luck's praises since before day one of the season, and the resurgence of Wayne must remind him that even those that society has given up on and conscripted to the retirement scrap heap still have something to offer us! Neither Luck nor Wayne was Higgs-Boson's high scorer, however; that honor belongs to Marques Colston (31), who has come alive after a slow start to the season. With Colston going strong, Stevan Ridley (19) looking like a more and more reliable source of points, and Rashard Mendenhall (16 on the bench) back in action, the 2-3 Particles are suddenly looking like a team to be reckoned with.
Joe's Team (117) over Finga Sniffs (83)
[Colly over Manning]
"If you don't know where you are going, any path will take you there." - Sioux proverb
Starting the season, you would have thought that Matthew Stafford, Larry Fitzgerald and Ray Rice would form the core of Joe's Team, and that a week with Stafford on a bye and Fitz (9) and Rice (12) posting mediocre numbers would spell disaster for the Collies. But with plenty of upheaval and uncertainty in the JT locker room, success came in Week 5 from some unlikely places. Most surprising: Alex Smith (29), the third-stringer pressed into action due to the absence of Stafford and Carson Palmer, who posted a shocking 29-point day. Thought of as a "game manager," Smith did more than manage by hooking up with Demaryius Thomas (17) throughout the game. Smith's confidence may have been abetted by knowing that the JT special teams (Blair Walsh, 12) and defense (Ravens, 15) had his back, allowing him to take the chances he would normally avoid. Though the Sniffs boasted their own quality receivers (Victor Cruz, 23 & Julio Jones, 16), their attack proved completely one-dimensional with a pitiful running performance from Andre Brown and Daryl Richardson (4 combined).
Replacement Players (104) over Dietz's OG Lonestars (95)
[Derek over Screen]
"A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass." - Sioux proverb
In light of last week's R*dsk*ns controversy, Screen has thrown yet another complicating factor into the argument, re-naming his team after "Lone Star" Dietz, a Sioux player and coach who is said to be the namesake of the Washington franchise. Dietz was a teammate of Jim Thorpe's, a disciple of "Pop" Warner, a Hall of Fame coach, and generally a larger-than-life character. HOwever, there is some doubt as to whether he had any actual Native American heritage, further complicating our question of celebration vs. exploitation. Either way, I salute Screen for bringing this figure, who I was previously unaware of, to our attention. As an owner, Andy has continually invoked the powers of our team's illustrious past, be it in the form of Dietz, Manley, or Mosely. Unfortunately for him, none of those historical references have brought success, like wind over the grass. This week was no exception, as the Lonestars fell to 0-5 against a pass-happy Replacement Players team. Tom Brady (18) found both Percy Harvin (24) and Brandon Marshall (20) to be suitable targets, and with Adrian Peterson (10) providing adequate support on the ground, there really wasn't any chance for the struggling Lonestars to notch their first win.
Brain Crapital 47 (86) over Stocks in Clarks Wallabees (81)
[M Haller over Elliott]
"Misfortunes do not grow on one path, they flourish everywhere." - Pawnee proverb
In the first month of the season, Elliott was a benificiary of one of the best value buys in our auction draft: for $14, he got Robert Griffin III, the leading quarterback over that time frame. Going into Week 5, when Dez Bryant and Jason Witten were on a bye, he must have felt that at least he had Griffin to count on. But misfortunes flourish everywhere, and Griffin's flourished on the shoulder of Sean Weatherspoon, and the 25ish points that the Wallabees had come to depend on from Griffin suddenly vanished (...with a flourish?). This left the door open for the dominant quarterback of the past few years, Aaron Rodgers (26) to re-claim his throne.* Though Rodgers didn't do much with his receivers, he made plenty good use of Frank Gore (17) and Jamaal Charles (16). Charles and Gore are both part of the prove-em-wrong RB class of '12, which is showing that ACL injuries (Charles, Peterson, Mendenhall) and age/wear (Gore, Turner, McGahee) are no reason to count a guy out.
*note: the first time I typed this sentence, I unwittingly wrote "Aaron Brooks" instead of "Aaron Rodgers" and "thrown" instead of "throne," both of which are funny for different reasons.
Burke City Giants (84) over Wild Stallions (53)
[M Toobin over DeYoung]
"Those that lie down with dogs, get up with fleas." - Blackfoot proverb
This was a pretty mangy contest. Burke City came into the game winless, and though the Stallions had chalked up three wins, only once had they cracked triple digit scoring, and two or three starters were either injured or on a bye. Hence, the flea-bitten performance that ensued, epitomized by a representative of the Dawg Pound itself, Greg Little (0). The Giants' first win was hardly mind-blowing - and would in fact have been a loss against most every other team in the league - but Ahmad Bradshaw's best outing of the season (27) and a decent day by Matt Ryan (19) were enough to put a collar on the Stallions. Since I don't have much more to say about this game, I'd like to highlight a couple of quotes from Yahoo's Game Recap: "Steven Jackson has scored below his projection in every game this season after scoring 7.60 points against a projected 10.75 this week." "Jermichael Finley has scored below his projection in four straight games after scoring 1.10 points against a projected 8.51 this week." Hey Yahoo, didja ever consider projecting those guys for fewer points? Just thinking that maybe you should base those projections on some kind of actual data.
1 comment:
week 6...you're late....
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