WEEK 5 PREVIEW
Week 5: Davis Division Dominoes
This week is the start of a weekly look at the four divisions over the next month and give a closer examination of each team. We start with by far the closest division, the Davis Division. Matchups appear in the order of current Davis division standings, let's take a look.
WEEK 5 MATCHUPS
Mrs. I/O Deac (2-2; Proj: 79.5) vs SD3 (2-2; Proj: 81.8)
It's been a while since we checked in on Mrs. I/O, and she quietly has found herself at the top of the Davis division. The 8th overall scorer in the league, Mrs. I/O's division lead amounts to a mere 16.86 point margin and she doesn't have the highest percentage playoff projection in the division, what matters is points already scored and wins already confirmed. And in that regard, Mrs. I/O reigns supreme in the Davis division.
Mrs. I/O's rookie QB strategy still makes her team fairly sink or swim on a weekly basis, but solid performances from her skill players and consistent weekly production from the Colts DST gives her a fairly high floor week-to-week, demonstrated by her lowest weekly score still being above 70 points. However, that score was posted last week and her weekly scores have decreased every week since a high water mark of 99.98 points in Week 1, so her reasonably high floor seems to be approaching. And against an opponent in SD3 who has shown remarkable consistency this season as well, Mrs. I/O might need to find a little more scoring punch to make sure she has a shot to stay atop the division heading into Week 6.
Young Buck (2-2; Proj: 80.6) vs. Barça (4-0; Proj: 81.8)
Young Buck has had an up and down season to this point, but is coming off a big win in Week 4 that he hopes has set him on the right track as he tries to climb up the standings. Contrary to Mrs. I/O, Young Buck's roster is high-risk, high-reward, but has the potential week to week to really bottom out and leave him desperate for points. No better example of this exists than his team having three consecutive weeks to start the season with a player who out performed their projections by at least 9 points while also having a player score under 2 points. It's never fun to be on a rollercoaster during a fantasy football season, but a solid, less volatile performance in Week 4 gave Young Buck not only a victory, but also hope that stability is in his future.
Stability would be a big boost for Young Buck as he takes on undefeated Barça in Week 5. Projections have him slightly down pregame, but hitting those projections will at least give him a shot to take down the juggernaut. Besides, I've been projected to win all 4 of my games this season and look how that has panned out. Young Buck will be counting on Alex Collins having a big game for Seattle to replace Joe Mixon's production, and hope that one of his WRs can have a big game to put the pressure on Barça, but even if he becomes the latest victim of the Barçanaut, simply having a consistent performance will likely suit Young Buck just fine.
Edarem (2-2; Proj: 63.7) vs. Jive Turkeys (3-1; Proj: 91.1)
You can say a lot about our favorite RJ impressionist, but one thing you cannot say about JAMESSOKOLOVE EDAREM is that he isn't trying is ass off to win in fantasy football. This year's top movemaker with 11 transactions already completed, Edarem is doing anything and everything to find the magic formula that could bring him a second consecutive title and the first back to back league winner since legend HTTD did it back in 2016 and 2017. However, things just aren't panning out for him, and his hold on a .500 or better record is tenuous. Trade acquisition TE Logan Thomas went down in Week 4 and finds himself on IR for a few weeks, and starting Seattle RB Chris Carson is at best a 50/50 shot to play this week against the Rams, leaving Edarem shorthanded everywhere.
Having scored no better than 72.36 points in a week even with a full strength lineup, last week's nightmare left Edarem at the bottom of the league scoring standings and struggling to find answers. And those answers aren't likely to come this week as a pissed off Turkeys team looks to Jive all over Edarem's face (ew). I'm not saying that Edarem is going to need a miracle to win this week and to stay in playoff contention, but even the 1980 Miracle on Ice squad thinks he's going to have a tough time. Don't worry though, Edarem. I'm a millennial and you can blame it all on me.
Oblong Pickle (2-2; Proj: 79.6) vs. Lazy-Eyed Psychos (1-3; Proj: 92)
The Pickle came back down to earth a bit after Weeks 2 and 3 had him thinking some lofty thoughts. After the worst possible start to the season, Pickle did a reverse Young Buck and put up massive performances to get to 2-1, only to sadly see that level of production fail to be maintained in a dismal Week 4 loss. Pickle has not received the boost from OBJ's return to action that he may have wanted, and OBJ's teammate Baker Mayfield has not taken the leap that some had projected he might after a solid 2020. And while RB James Robinson and WR Davante Adams have done what needs to be done, Pickle's depth is just not panning out as he had hoped post-draft, leaving him second bottom of the scoring standings and actually down to Edarem, his fellow scoring cellar dweller, on head-to-head tiebreak. All that leaves Pickle in desperate need of some help as he tries to navigate his way into the playoffs without the help of really any tiebreak hopes.
Pickle's fortunes did not improve entering Week 5, as a pissed off Psychos team comes to town off the back of one of the bad beats of the season. The projections don't look promising for Pickle with some tough matchups for his players mirrored by similarly great matchups for his opponent's players, and not a lot of lineup shifting to be done to close the gap. Can Pickle finally get his team to perform at the level needed? Or is he doomed to waste away at the bottom of the jar, helpless to arrest his fall to the lower reaches of the league? I need better Pickle puns.
FAMILY CORNER
Mr. I/O Deac (1-3; Proj: 82.8) vs. Carolina WacDarnolds (1-3; Proj: 84.4)
A return to Family Corner for Mr. I/O Deac sees him in serious need of a win to keep his faint playoff hopes alive. He will take some heart in joining his opponent this week in breaking the duck and getting his first win of the season, and in a commanding fashion as he posted the 3rd highest score of Week 4. Mr. I/O doesn't have the deepest team and was hit hard with the loss of QB Tua Tagovailoa to IR so early in the season, but if last week was a better barometer of his team's strength than the previous three weeks, he might be OK. He will have to hope that anti-vax ignoramus Cole Beasley doesn't bring down his team with the COVID, but I digress.
As indicated, his opponent this week also is coming into this matchup on a high, as Ph got his first victory of the season 2 weeks early this year. I criticized Ph for his RB-heavy strategy in the draft and I won't yet admit that I was incorrect in doing so, but having two top 10 RBs on your roster is never a bad thing and gives Ph more lineup flexibility than most. Both teams need this win, both teams are projected to have solid weeks, both teams are essentially eliminated from playoff contention with a loss. But no big stakes or anything like that.
GOONER'S GALLANT GUESSES
Trying to get back on the horse this week, I will not be picking myself and I will continue to pick the Fighting Cocks of Appalachia.
Good luck to all in Week 5!