WEEK 4 PREVIEW
Week 4: Time to Plan for Next Year Already?
Three weeks down, so many to go that I can't possibly fathom how my dead-insideness is going to last nearly four months. Luckily I can live vicariously through others as I write these weekly previews and reviews as we have some absolute killer teams this year. And the Fantasy Gods have blessed us as this week brings some amazing matchups that could have long-term impacts on how the league plays out in 2021, so let's take a look.
WEEK 4 MATCHUPS
Satan's Minions (3-0; Proj: 86) vs. JManslow (0-3; Proj: 91.2)
A weekly preview debut finally comes in Week 4 for the early frontrunner for Comeback Player of the Year, Satan. After an abysmal 2020 season saw him finish dead last, Satan has summoned the powers of hellfire and gone scorched earth on teams so far in 2021. Big wins over the Fighting Cocks and SD3 sandwiched a close fought victory over Ph and the WacDarnolds, equaling Satan's win output from 2020 already. With such a strong start, you would think that everything has worked out perfectly for Satan, but that surprisingly has not been the case. With top RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire off to a slow start and WR Brandon Aiyuk a complete non-factor for San Francisco through three weeks, Satan has had to deal with his 2nd and 3rd round picks giving him 6th and 7th round production. Luckily for Satan, 6th round pick Mike Williams has been playing like a top-tier first round pick, giving him the third-most points from a FLEX-eligible player so far this season. Rob Gronkowski has also seemed revitalized in 2021 and Satan has used those two FLEX players to weather the storm until his top picks can show why they were so highly rated.
Satan will need to hope that CEH and Aiyuk get going this week, however, as JMan looks to spring a big upset in the Taylor Division. Despite his 0-3 start, JMan showed signs of life last week against Lone Wolf and his players finally appear to be getting into the 2021 flow, and ESPN appears to recognize that as JMan is favored by 5.2 points despite the record disparity between the two teams. JMan's late selection of Chuba Hubbard is the X-factor this week with Christian McCaffery out; if the Oklahoma State product can give similar production that Mike Davis did in CMC's 2020 injury absence, it will be a huge coup for JMan and could be the right thing at the right time to dig JMan out of his 0-3 hole.
Jive Turkeys (3-0; Proj: 87.7) vs. Barça (3-0; Proj: 81.4)
Our final weekly preview debutant is redwing, who has piloted his Jive Turkeys to unimaginable heights in these early days. redwing has always been a proponent of picking his opponents well; he has finished the past two seasons at 6-7 despite finishing 19th and 20th overall in scoring, respectively. But he has found a new gear in 2021 and so far, the opponents have not mattered. Similarly to Satan, redwing has found some production lower in the draft with 5th round pick Melvin Gordon III producing like he did at Wisconsin and ranking as the 11th overall RB through three weeks. But redwing also nailed his top picks: 3rd overall pick Alvin Kamara has had a couple great weeks, and 2nd & 3rd round WRs Tyler Lockett and Cooper Kupp rank 3rd and 1st overall for all WRs so far. Add in some decent DST production and some workable performances from Joe Burrow and it is easy to see why redwing is leading the league. However, it is also fair to say that redwing hasn't really been tested so far as his three opponents are a combined 1-5 against teams not named redwing. That won't be the case this week.
redwing's opponent this week and the guy that makes this our first true marquee (not moonz) matchup of the season is none other than Barça. While Barça took a bit of a dip in Week 3 compared to his stellar performances in the prior two weeks, he still got past Mr. I/O to move to 3-0 on the season. But what makes this matchup so appetizing is not only that both teams are 3-0 and possibly fighting for the overall league lead roughly a third of the way through the season, but that these two fantasy giants are in the same division, meaning one of them will get a huge leg up in the race for a top 4 seed. Barça though will be reeling a bit with the news of Christian McCaffrey's absence this week through injury. With limited depth options at RB, Barça will be hopeful that James Conner's solid Week 3 performance for Arizona can be replicated until CMC can get back on the field, but it will put him at a bit of a disadvantage against redwing this week. The Fantasy Gods giveth, and the Fantasy Gods taketh away. We will see who has been keeping up on their prayers this week.
Pitt County Pinfish (3-0; Proj: 83) vs. Lone Wolf (2-1; Proj: 85.1)
Our other remaining undefeated team is the astounding rookie TripleDeac and his Pitt County Pinfish. The "good for the rookie, I'm glad he got off to a good start" vibes are over; TripleDeac is here to fuck shit up and chew bubblegum. And he's all out of bubblegum. A dominating victory over Young Buck in Week 3 saw him move to 3-0 and a third consecutive double digit winning margin despite a second consecutive low-scoring week from first round pick Tyreek Hill. The Vikings tandem of Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson continue to pay dividends for the Pinfish, and Kareem Hunt is showing why he was considered a premier starting RB in the NFL before his legal issues saw him released from the Chiefs. Luckily, the Browns were so bad at football that they couldn't afford to care about women, and here Hunt is producing at a near-elite level again. The Pinfish will hope that Hunt doesn't try to audition for kicker again any time soon and that he can continue to find fantasy production despite sharing a backfield with another elite NFL RB, Nick Chubb.
A tough test waits for the Pinfish this week as a surging Lone Wolf comes to town. The most inexplicable result of the season so far was Lone Wolf's loss to me in Week 1, but Wolf has righted the ship with consecutive victories and looks primed to take over the division lead from TripleDeac if he can meet his projections. A couple of lineup changes for Lone Wolf see rookie PIT TE Pat Friermuth and BUF WR Emmanuel Sanders starting this week, so it is clear to all that Lone Wolf is not resting on his laurels. He is stalking his prey, changing strategy as need be, and is ready to strike. In a battle between wolves and fish, I think I know who I'm taking.
FAMILY CORNER
Deacon Peach (2-1; Proj: 77.5) vs. Goon Squad (1-2; Proj: 87.7)
Though we previewed her in the normal section last week, Peach makes up our final Family Corner member before we run the cycle again. It also might be the final time that I get to show up in a weekly preview because I suck so bad so I'm taking it. As mentioned in the Week 3 review, Peach had a tough game last week, mustering a mere 55.92 points in a disastrous loss to the Fighting Cocks of Appalachia. However, despite such a horrid performance, Peach managed to be the 19th highest scorer in the league as I brought up the rear with an atrocious 50.82 point outing against Bern. Hopefully our matchup this week doesn't end up the pebble fight that last week's results suggest it could be. A potential boon is coming for both of us as injured RBs Dalvin Cook and Darrell Henderson Jr. return to action, a meaningful boost to both of our lineups. And the matchup has heavy implications in the Kitchin Division, especially with fellow division rivals TripleDeac and Lone Wolf facing off this week as well. For Peach, it is the possibility to stay at worst 1 game back of the division leader; for me, a chance to get back into the thick of the playoff race. I would really like Matt Ryan to pretend he is still a competent NFL QB this week, that'd really help. Best of luck, Peach!
GOONER'S GALLANT GUESSES
Still buzzing from my 9-1 performance last week, hoping to keep the good times rolling. WFF, I had to.
Good luck to all in Week 4!