After my second resounding Manboob victory of the season, Geoffrey has seen fit to leave me the replacements. So let’s start by “thanking” him with a review of how he did do and could have done:

		Proj	Actual	FA Rank	Best	Best Points
QB	Stanton	4.28	0	7=	Mike Glennon, TB	18.56
RB	Rodgers	5.15	0.9	18	Fozzy Whittaker, CAR	11.6
RB	Ogbannaya	3.5	0	28=	Roy Helu, WAS	6.6
RB	Robinson	2.825	3.6	7
WR	Johnson, S	2.9	5.3	15	Andre Holmes, OAK	24.1
WR	Wright	3.9	3.8	18	Robert Woods, BUF	15.8
WR	Ginn Jr	2.2	2.375	25	Brandon Lloyd, SFO	14
WR	LaFell	4.6	21.7	2*	Chris Hogan, BUF	13.2
TE	Carlson	4.4	1.4	14	James Casey, PHI	8.6
TE					Lance Kendricks, STL	8.2
PK	Cantazaro	6.4	10.45	1*	Mike Nugent, CIN	9.7
PN	Ryan	0	5.675	10	Steve Weatherford, NYG	12.425

DE	Ngata	2	1.25	25=	Vinny Curry, PHI	15
DE	Gholston	1	4.5	10	George Johnson, DET	13.75
DT	Guion	0.5	3	13=	Evander Hood, JAC	13
LB	Robinson	2.5	5	20*	Tahir Whitehead, DET	26.95
LB	Sheard	0	1	54=	Dan Skuta, SFO	23.5
LB	Durant	1.5	4	26=	Justin Tuggle, HOU	16.05
LB	Graham	1	19	3*	Alex Okafor, ARI	16
S	Ishmael	4	3	14=	Rashad Johnson, ARI	38.8
S	Jefferson	5.65	1	26=	Dontae Johnson, SFO	20
CB	Cox	0	6.25	12*	Blidi Wreh-Wilson, TEN	22.65
CB	Arrington	1.5	1.25	43*	Buster Skrine, CLE	19.5

		59.805	104.45			367.985

Much like Bill Belichick Mangboob is a coach / GM, and much like Bill he spends a lot of time being grumpy in hoodies. This is not where the similarity ends, as both Bill and Manboob show a knack for coaching the shit out of his players, getting far more than the traditional 110% out of his players with an impressive 175% improvement. Unfortunately, also like Bill, Manboob is a terrible GM specialising in identifying players who have an awful lot of shit to be coached out, and the 104 he scored, while impressive against the predictions, was a long way short of the near 370 possible.

Overall Manboob finds himself coaching the Replacements to their second lowest score, and didn’t manage to beat a single proper team, leaving Pete’s week one effort still the best the Replacements have managed, and the only time the replacements have beaten a DynaBowl franchise.

		Proj	Actual	*CtSOoT Score**	Teams beaten
Week 1	Pete Conaghan	89.385	150.74	1.69	3
Week 2	Move along nothing to see here
Week 3	Ben Hendy	89.795	126.64	1.41	0
Week 4	James Goodson	52.4	97	1.85	0
Week 5	Iran Kulkowski	79.2	144.535	1.82	0
Week 6	Geoffrey Manboob	59.805	104.45	1.75	0
Week 7	David Slater	72.025

Anyway, enough trashing Manboob (power-ranked 10^th out of 10 right now), it’s time to introduce Week 7’s replacements.*Coaching the Shit Out of Them

Ladies and gentlemen (well, just gentlemen) please could we have a tepid and disinterested round of applause for your offence!

Starting Quarterback – Charlie Whitehurst (Ten): Ranked 4^th – Projected 9 points

This really comes down to a choice between 4 potential starters – Orton, Fitzpatrick, Genome Smith and Whitehurst.

Half man, half beard... ALL BEARD — Half man, half beard… ALL BEARD

Fitz may look like he’s eating a squirrel through his helmet grill, but he’s likely to be a liability against a Pittsburgh defence who have held opposing QBs to very low scores (joint 4th best in fantasy against QBs), and sadly doesn’t score any points for his squirrel-munching antics.

Orton is up against an even more effective Minnesota defence – 4th best in fantasy against QBs despite facing Matts Ryan and Stafford, Tom Fucking Brady, Adam Rodgers and Brees in 5 of their 6 weeks.

Genome, is facing the Patriots – better than both Pittsburgh and Minnesota in terms of destroying a QB’s fantasy totals – and he is a truly fucking terrible QB.

This leaves Whitehurst, who is playing Washington’s incredibly forgiving defence, a defence so bad it made King Cunt Nick Foles looks good. Also Charlie has magnificent hair. The only real risk is that Jake Locker is fit enough to play Sunday, but even if he is, it’s likely Whitehurst gets 2 quarters and he could still outscore the others in that time.

Starting Running Backs –

Roy Helu (Was): Ranked 1^st – Projected 5.6pts

Jonathan Stewart (Car): Ranked 2^nd – Projected 5.5pts

To say the running back options are thin would be an understatement. They’re anorexic, a graveyard of terrible selections.

Helu, who sees regular change of pace work in the Washington backfield is a steady option, and with a TD could put up a decent score.

The chaos in Carolina’s backfield means that the fit again Stewart (last week’s running back of the week in Carolina, Fozzy Whittaker, is questionable as is the week before’s Darrin Reaves) is likely to start and see the majority of carries when Cam doesn’t decide to do it all himself.

Starting Wide Receivers –

Andre Holmes (Oak): Ranked 3^rd – Projected 5.4pts

Brandon Lloyd (SF): Ranked 27^th – Projected 2.2pts

Jerricho Cotchery (Car): Ranked 4^th – Projected 5.3pts

Robert Woods (Buf): Ranked 6^th – Projected 4.525pts

Holmes is a no-brainer, and I’d be surprised if he were available for next week’s Replacement Level as he’s put up 13.4 and 24.1 points in the two games either side of the Raiders bye week with Carr starting to find his feet. Oakland has a good matchup this week, with Arizona having the most generous passing defence involved in this weekend’s games (31st in points to wide-receivers).

Lloyd has shown flashes of his old self, and knows Denver well, having been the NFL’s leading receiver in his time as a Bronco. A deep threat might prove necessary against a Denver defence which has been one of the best against opposing receivers.

Cotchery has been consistently average for Carolina so far, but with Benjamin suffering a mild concussion should see a greater workload this weekend. The Packers pass defence has been pretty good; holding opposing wideouts to less than the fantasy average, however this is as much a product of playing some average offences as anything else, and Miami lit them up for 156 receiving yards and 2 tds last week. Carolina is far from a dominant passing defence, but Green Bay has regularly demonstrated their difficulties handling a talented mobile QB and Cotchery could be the beneficiary.

Woods has emerged as a decent target for Orton and has seen a lot more looks in the passing game in recent weeks, unfortunately for the Bills, they’ve played a run of excellent defences over that period and that continues this week against the Vikes. 10 to 12 targets is a realistic number for Woods, and if he catches 7, he could find himself on the end of an 80 yard day, which would be good enough for my 4^th choice.

Starting Tight Ends –

Jermaine Gresham (Cin): Ranked 2^nd – Projected 4.5pts

Ben Watson (NOS): Ranked 13^th – Projected 1.9pts

Ah, Jermaine Gresham… Sabotaging fantasy teams with his promise and and lack of production for about 5 years now. With the Bengals struggling for bodies who can catch passes Gresham had his best week of the year – in fact a better week than the whole year put together. Another 60+ yard outing beckons against Indy who’ve been generous to TEs so far this year.

With Jimmy Graham out, Watson is the usual number 2 tight end and should see a nice little uptick in his production. As a Jimmy Graham owner, I can testify first hand to how Drew Brees appears to have forgotten his Tight End exists so far this year, but at a thin position Watson has upside. Also, fuck you Drew Brees.

Starting Kicker –

Caleb Sturgis (Mia): Ranked joint 4^th – Projected 6.4pts

A veritable treasure trove of riches at Kicker compared with the other offensive positions. Gould would be a fine choice, but Sturgis should get lots of opportunities to kick against a fairly poor Chicago defence, and has only missed once this year – from 48 yards.

Starting Punter –

Steve Weatherford (NYG): Ranked N/A – Projected 0pts

Not projecting points for punters is a major oversight by MFL. Weatherford is the second best punter so far amongst free agents, and he was the best in the league last year. His leg may be sore after last weekend, but he, unlike the rest of the Giants’ offence, could at least reflect on a job well done against Philly.

On to the defence… As a general rule, projected scores for defensive players are a joke. We’re dealing with big play scoring, and the league doesn’t seem to project big play scores, as such the projections are essentially useless as a guide here.

Starting Defensive Ends –

Haloti Ngata (Oak): Ranked 1^st – Projected 2pts

George Johnson (Det): Ranked joint 38^th – Projected 0pts

Ngata is a steady presence, with the potential for a big game, and his ability to make plays on passing downs matches up well against their pass happy offence.

Johnson is in good form, with 2.5 sacks and four tackles for a loss in his last two games. Dallas abused New Orleans’ offense, and Detroit bring a much better defensive unit to the game. Johnson can ride his hot-streak to make Drew Brees life slightly more miserable. Also, fuck you Drew Brees.

Starting Defensive Tackle –

Sammy Lee Hill (Ten): Ranked joint 25^th – Projected 0pts

Tennessee have a good defence, tough, but not that special – that’s why their players litter the DynaBowl free agency pool. They also have the Washington Redskins in town, so expect to see a lot of them on my team this week.

Starting Linebackers –

Kamerion Wimbley (Ten): Ranked joint 31^st – Projected 1pt

Pernell McPhee (Bal): Ranked joint 63^rd – Projected 0pts

Eric Walden (Ind): Ranked joint 31^st – Projected 1pt

Jabaal Sheard (Cle): Ranked joint 63^rd – Projected 0pts

These are mostly match-up based. Tennessee and Washington, Baltimore and Atlanta (who are terrible on the road) and Cleveland and Jacksonville should provide plenty of opportunities for these guys to make plays. Indy play the Bengals, who’ve shown one of the better lines in the early stages of the season, but this is a trend thing. The Bengals line seems to be getting worse, and the Indy defence seems to be finding its feet. Walden has three sacks on the year and five tackles for a loss, I like him to have a good game.

Starting Safeties –

Michael Griffin (Ten): Ranked 2^nd – Projected 5pts

Roman Harper (Car): Ranked 9^th– Projected 3pts

Griffin is actually projected worse than his Tennessee safety colleague (15 points!), but has consistently out-performed him this year so far. Backing Kirk Cousins to throw stupid interceptions is basically playing with house money.

I was tempted to double down on Tennessee, but while Harper might be old, but he’s still pretty good in the passing game. The scoring we use doesn’t worry about players getting lit up, or defences who can’t stop their opponents – Green Bay figure to see a fair amount of the ball against Carolina, and Rodgers will make plays all day long, meaning at worst Harper should provide a reasonable return in tackles, defended passes and the like, with the potential for a big play along the way.

Starting Cornerbacks –

Adam Jones (Cin): Ranked 1^st – Projected 5.2pts

Blidi Wreh-Wilson (Ten): Ranked joint 2^nd – Projected 4pts

Jones plays in a good Cincy secondary who should get the chance to make plays against pass-happy Andy Luck, who rarely lets a game pass without one interception at least. Jones was also used as a returner last week, and that little point bump can only help.

Blidi Wreh-Wilson possesses an excellent name. He had a huge game against the Jags, and while it’s highly unlikely he’ll repeat that, Tennessee are playing the Redskins, and it could be jackpot time for anyone in that secondary. I’m also loathe to pick two players from the same club at corner or safety, else Newman would have been a good play here.

And so, without further ado, your full week 7 replacements (and the projected best replacements teams)

		Proj	Rank among FA	Best	Best Points
QB	Charlie Whitehurst, TEN	9	4	Kyle Orton, BUF	12.06
RB	Roy Helu, WAS	5.6	1	Roy Helu, WAS	5.6
RB	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	5.5	2	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	5.5
WR	Andre Holmes, OAK	5.4	3	Andrew Hawkins, CLE	6.2
WR	Brandon Lloyd, SFO	2.2	27	Jarius Wright, MIN	6.1
WR	Jerricho Cotchery, CAR	5.3	4	Andre Holmes, OAK	5.4
WR	Robert Woods, BUF	4.525	6	Jerricho Cotchery, CAR	5.3
TE	Jermaine Gresham, CIN	4.5	2	Lance Kendricks, STL	9
TE	Ben Watson, NOS	1.9	13	Jermaine Gresham, CIN	4.5
PK	Caleb Sturgis, MIA	6.4	4=	Robbie Gould, CHI	7.4
PN	Steve Weatherford, NYG	0	N/A	N/A	0

DE	Haloti Ngata, BAL	2	1	Haloti Ngata, BAL	2
DE	George Johson, DET	0	38=	Osi Umenyiora, ATL	1
DT	Ian Williams, SFO	0.5	7=	Damon Harrison, NYJ	1
DT	Sammie Lee Hill, TEN	0	25=	Vince Wilfork, NEP	1
LB	Kamerion Wimbley, TEN	1	31=	Jacquian Williams, NYG	3
LB	Pernell McPhee, BAL	0	63=	Jon Beason, NYG	2.5
LB	Eric Walden, IND	1	31=	Philip Wheeler, MIA	2.5
LB	Jabaal Sheard, CLE	0	63=	Tahir Whitehead, DET	2.5
S	Michael Griffin, TEN	5	2	George Wilson, TEN	15
S	Roman Harper, CAR	3	9	Michael Griffin, TEN	5
CB	Adam Jones, CIN	5.2	1	Adam Jones, CIN	5.2
CB	Blidi Wreh-Wilson, TEN	4	2=	Terence Newman, CIN	4

		72.025			111.76

I’d nominate manboob, for nominating me, but that seems like a vicious circle, and he’s already had his chance and blown it. So for next week I’d like to nominate manager of the Firebeards, Neil to see if he can’t beat his actual team’s score for the week.

Replacement Level: Week 5/6 Addendum

October 9, 2014

Commish

Geoffrey Manboob is a good man. And thorough. Well, not that thorough but he is busy, and I won’t have you holding that against him.

He missed a couple of things in his replacement level post this week and I am here to update those. Firstly, his own projected score, which is as follows:

PK	Cantanzaro	Ari	6.4
PN	Ryan	Seattle	0
QB	Stanton	Ari	4.28
RB	Rodgers	Atl	5.15
	Ogbannaya	Car	3.5
	Robinson	Jac	2.825
WR	Johnson	SF	2.9
	Wright	Min	3.9
	Ginn Jnr	Ari	2.2
	LaFell	NEP	4.6
TE	Carlson	Ari	4.4
DE	Ngata	Bal	2
	Gholston	TBB	1
DT	Guion	GBP	0.5
LB	Robinson	Was	2.5
	Sheard	Cle	0
	Durant	Dal	1.5
	Graham	Phi	1
S	Ishmael	Atl	4
	Jefferson	Ari	5.65
CB	Cox	SF	0
	Arrington	NEP	1.5
Total			59.805

Second of all, there’s the scoring of Iran’s team from week 5. Ian was projected a total of 79.2 points. According to his post. I do not know if this is true. But let’s see how his team actually wound up doing…

PK	Bullock	Hou	4
PN	Schmidt	Buf	10.125
QB	Fitzpatrick	Hou	4.46
RB	Helu	Was	5.8
	Smith	Atl	14.5
WR	Austin	Cle	5.4
	Cotchery	Car	4.6
	Sanu	Cin	13
	Wright	Min	2.7
TE	Gresham	Cin	1.5
	Harbor	Jac	2.2
DE	Ayers	NYG	1
	Thornton	Phi	12.5
DT	Hankins	NYG	16.5
LB	Bostic	Chi	1.5
	Davis	NYJ	2.75
	Hawthorne	NOS	2.25
	Robinson	Was	3
S	Adams	Ind	12.5
	Moore	Den	0.5
CB	Allen	Pit	19.5
	Jackson	Hou	4.25
Total			144.535

So there we go. He came out over 65 points better off. Well done Iran.

Replacement Level: Week 6

October 9, 2014

Commish

League Business Replacement Level No Comments

Brought to you by the one and only Geoffrey Manboob…

Many thanks to Iran for nominating me to complete this week’s replacement team after I beat him again. This is always a tricky prospect given the size of everyone’s rosters and with injuries and bye weeks in full effect, but given how bad I always seem to do, I’m not holding out much hope for my selected 22 “Expendables”.

General Thought Process

The players that are available are generally high risk/reward players. Fringe stars who could score you 15 points in one week but only score 1.5 for the remainder of the season. In fact, most rookie gambles have already been stashed away. Due to this, I’ve tried to avoid being influenced by total player scores for the season or the MFL predictions weekly predictions. Instead I’ve tried to pick players who have good match-ups as well as some level of consistency over all their starts. I have probably picked a lot of the higher scoring free agents but I’ve tried not to be overly persuaded by this statistic.

The Team – Skill Positions

Obviously the most important part of any fantasy side is the skill positions, so I’ll pick these first:

PK – Chandler Cantanzaro (Ari)

Cantanzaro is Arizona’s rookie kicker who has had a great start to his NFL career. He’s been steady through his first 4 starts and should continue this against Washington this week

PN – Jon Ryan (Sea)

Difficult to know how much the Seahawks will need to punt against the Cowboys, but what impressed me in week 5 was the quality of Seattle’s punt coverage. Ryan had excellent distance and hang-time on his kicks, forcing the opposition to start deep within their territory. The Cowboys’ defense has been a surprise this year, so Ryan may see plenty of action.

Offense

QB – Drew Stanton (Ari)

Stanton has done well stepping into Carson Palmer’s shoes, but struggled last Sunday when the Broncos gave him a bit of a battering. Week 6 sees a good matchup for Arizona at home against Washington and their soft secondary. The Cardinals have some great receiving targets, so they should be able to move the ball downfield effectively through the air as Washington are one of the most generous defenses for fantasy QBs

RB – Jaquizz Rodgers (Atl)

Running backs by committee in Atlanta and one that seems to be growing. Rodgers provides the speed option out of the backfield, so he could be at the races if he makes it to the second level (see his TD touchdown against the Giants). It’s difficult to know how much action he’ll see, but with the threat of injury always hanging over Steven Jackson, he could quickly become the feature back. Also his pace against Chicago’s linebackers could make a difference.

Chris Ogbonnaya (Car)

Someone has to run the ball in Carolina and as the last man standing, that someone appears to be Ogbannaya. While Riverboat Ron will be hopeful that Jonathan Stewart can take some snaps on Sunday, it would appear the Ogbonnaya will continue to shoulder the majority of the load. Carolina face the Bengals this week who were taken apart on the ground by Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen in Week 5.

Denard Robinson (Jac)

Wildcard selection because the pickings at RB are very slim. I’m a believer of sticking to my philosophy, which is selecting 3 running backs and 4 wide receivers. Robinson continues to improve and has looked lively when carrying the ball this year. While he won’t see the majority of snaps, hopefully he can exploit some third down situations for big yardage. Plus he was the cover star of NCAA Football 2014

WR – Stevie Johnson (SF)

Odd selection seeing as I just sacked him from the Dynasty of Sadness, but he’s too good not to select here. Yes, he’s hamstrung by Kaep’s inability to play QB, but he appears to have won the 3rd receiver position in San Francisco and they’ve facing one of the worst pass offenses in the league. He should make a handful of catches and maybe even bag a touchdown.

Jarius Wright (Min)

This all rests on my love of Teddy B. In Bridgeater’s only start, Wright was used effectively in the screen game. While Detroit are a much sterner test than the porous Atlanta defense, I’d expect Norv Turner to run a similar game plan, allowing Teddy to complete plenty of short passes to keep the chains moving. While it’s too early to properly judge, Wright had some decent chemistry with Bridgeater.

Ted Ginn Jr (Ari)

As per Drew Stanton, I expect Arizona to more the ball well through the air. Ginn has the added advantage of being the 3rd receiver, therefore “covered” by the largely ineffective EJ Biggers or injured Tracy Porter. While that is appealing, what tips Ginn over the edge for selection is the fact he’s a top return man against one of the most shambolic special teams in the history of football. I wouldn’t rule out a touchdown for him.

Brandon LaFell (NE)

So, I’m low on Brady, the Patriots seem to be a run first team and they deploy 2 TE sets. Why have I gone for LaFell. Well, he’s the only receiver who can catch a ball. He’s the deep threat that allows the things above to work. I’ve been fairly bullish on LaFell all season and against a tough but limited defense in Buffalo, i think he could do well (if Tim can throw this week).

TE – John Carlson (Ari)

Any receiver playing in the seam against Washington will score touchdowns. John Carlson is in prime position to go all Larry Donnell this week. If Housler decides to take the Donnell role, Carlson could easily replicate Giants backup TE Daniel Fells with a touchdown.

Defence

DE – Haloti Ngata (Bal)

Baltimore’s very own Mr Interception this season. He’s had two big games and he’s a disruptive presence at the line against a poor Tampa Bay side that can’t run the ball well. Mike Glennon should see a fair amount of him.

William Gholston (TB)
Gholston has been steady through his first 4 games (after missing week 1), but that is partly what I’m looking for. I like the matchup this week against a stretch-zone running side like Balitmore. Getting pressure at the edge should lead to tackles and some pressure on Flacco, who struggled against an average Colts defense last week.

DT – Letroy Guion (GB)

Letroy Guion had a break out performance last week in a key position for the Packers defense. While he’s not done much before the blowout win over the Vikings last week, I like the matchup against Miami, who rush a lot between the tackles and have poor pass protection for Ryan Tannehill.

LB – Keenan Robinson (Was)

He’s quick, athletic and apparently good in coverage, which is why Perry Riley has been picking up the seem receivers. Robinson should be active against Arizona who will look to use the speed and ellusiveness of Andre Ellington as a receiver. Robinson has the size to challenge for passes to TEs or even a Larry Fitzgerald.

Jabaal Sheard (Cle)

Another pick based on steady performance. Sheard has been consistent and this week sees the Browns up against the Steelers who are enjoying a strong start to the season by LeVeon Bell. This selection was for a player who I expect to busy with tackles on a pretty tough Browns defense.

Justin Durant (Dal)

He’s might be the last man standing in Dallas who can play linebacker, but he’s had a good start to the season in a defense that has surprised many of us. He’s only played 3 of the 5 Dallas games this year, but he has plenty of tackles and a few forced fumbles. In week 6, Dallas face Seattle who will be looking to get their ground game going early on.

Brandon Graham (Phi)

Very consistent through the first 5 weeks as Graham seems to be resurrecting his career under Chip Kelly. It will be a tough assignment playing outside linebacker against the Giants, but there should be plenty of opportunities for his to rush and pressure Eli. With the Giants still running the ball, he should be busy with tackles too.

S – Kemal Ishmael (Atl)

Playing safety against Jay Cutler is normally a good sign for an interception. While Atlanta don’t have the best secondary, Ishmael is good enough to catch a Cutler pick.

Tony Jefferson (Ari)

Jefferson has been pretty impressive at safety this season. This week he faces Washington and the erratic decision making of Kirk Cousins. Cousins has more ups and downs than a yo-yo. After a good performance against Seattle, he’s due to regress. The strong Cardinals run defense should force him to air it out two. Jefferson could be set for a big game.

CB – Perrish Cox (SF)

3 Interceptions already for Cox and this week he gets to line up against whichever body that St Louis can agree to play quaterback. Cox could be the best opportunity for The Replacements posting a decent score this week.

Kyle Arrington (NE)

Are you sold on Kyle Orton as the guy that will save Buffalo’s offense? No, neither am I. While Orton isn’t as bad as EJ Manuel, I can see him making some bad throws this week. What Orton is good enough to know is don’t throw to Revis, which should be great for Arrington.

Well, that ended up taking a lot longer than I expected. I might as well finish off with my suggestion for next week’s GM. While ideally I would like Mark to show us how the Roster Doctor really does it, he’s far too busy eating bananas to even remember to draft or pick up waivers in the Chatterbowl. Therefore, I’d like to nominate “Mr Fantasy Football” himself, D-Slatz, to GM the Replacements in week 7.

Stock Watch: Week 4

October 2, 2014

Commish

League Business Stock Watch No Comments

by Jaunty Coving

Welcome to the weekly summary of the top fantasy players in Week 4 of the Dynabowl:

Rank	Player	Week 4 Pts	Total Pts	Trending	Comments
1	Andrew Luck (IND, QB)	29.62	107.50	No Change	Luck shows no signs of slowing down with another monster week 4 performance. 393 yards and 4 touchdowns made him the first player to top 100 total points this season
2	Matt Ryan (ATL, QB)	20.12	85.22	Up 1	While the Falcons were disappointing in their defeat to the Vikings, Ryan maintained his fantasy relevance with 298 yards and 3 TD passes. Two interceptions marred another strong performance
3	DeMarco Murray (DAL, RB)	27.50	84.20	Up 7	155 all-purpose yards and 2 rushing TDs helped the Cowboys steamroller the Saints in the Sunday night game
4	Philip Rivers (SDC, QB)	27.08	83.8	Up 5	Rivers continues his efficient start to the season. He was nearly flawless putting up 377 passing yards and throwing for 3 TDs as the Chargers beat a poor Jaguars side
5	Antonio Brown (PIT, WR)	25.78	78.18	Up 7	Brown became the top Receiver in the league with 131 yards and 2TDs as the Steelers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 17 passing yards of a trick play would be a particular highlight for Brown owners
6	Aaron Rodgers (GBP, QB)	28.88	77.56	Up 13	Rodgers’ performances have been as stuttery as the Packers 2-2 start. Against the Bears he had a good day with 400+ passing yards and 4 TD throws.
7	Jay Cutler, (CHI, QB)	17.14	77.04	Down 1	Cutler continues to put up consistent fantasy scores. But as the Bears failed to match Packers in their Sunday shootout, Culter’s weakness for throwing interceptions reared its ugly head again. He now has 4 on the season.
8	Matthew Stafford (DET, QB)	26.52	75.64	Up 9	After two quiet games, Stafford got back on track with nearly 300 passing yards and a couple of passing TDs, all without a very limited Calvin Johnson. A rushing TD helped boost Stafford’s week 4 score
9	Kyle Fuller (CHI, CB) *	1.25	74.00	Down 7	After 2 monster weeks, Fuller came crashing back to earth recording only 2 tackles and an assist as the Bears defence was picked apart by Aaron Rodgers.
10	Eli Manning (NYG, QB)	32.10	71.46	Up 36	Player of the Week

*Denotes rookie

Noteable players who had were on Bye Weeks:

Peyton Manning (DEN, QB) – Previously ranked 4, now ranked 15

Marshawn Lynch (SEA, RB) – Previously ranked 5, now ranked 21

Russell Wilson (SEA, QB) – Previously ranked 8, now ranked 29

Player of the Week:

Eli Manning (NYG, QB) – 32.10 Pts

Stat line: 1 Rushing TD; 4 Passing TDs; 300 yards passing; 1 yard rushing; 1 interception

After a shakey start with new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, Eli Manning finally seems to be clicking in the Giants new West Coast offense. Through pre-season and the opening game, Manning looked lost in the new system and completely out of synch with his receivers. However, a steadily improving pass completion percentage reflects that the new system is starting to settle in. Thursday night’s performance against the Redskins certainly showed that to the whole league.

Manning finished the away trip with not only 300 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he completed an impressive 28 of 39 pass attempts (71.8%). He showed a full range of throws by mixing up short screens with precision passes down the sidelines that allowed only Giants receivers to make the catches. He has gradually built up a strong rapport with TE Larry Donnell, who had only made 3 receptions since joining the Giants as an Undrafted Free Agent in 2012. Manning was able to exploit Donnell’s size for three touchdowns including one that exposed Washington’s poor “Redzone” cover-2 defensive scheme.

While Manning was aided by Washington propensity to turn the ball over in good field position, he led an efficient Giants offense to punish those mistakes. The “icing on the cake” for his week 4 performance, was Manning’s 1 yard rushing TD. With good coverage, Manning spotted room to pick up the score much to the delight of those fantasy owners who started him.

Top 10 Free Agents through 4 weeks

Rank	Player	Week 4 Pts	Total Pts	Trending
28	EJ Manuel (BUF, QB)	13.30	58.72	No change
32	Ryan Fitzpartick (HOU, QB)	12.12	57.88	Down 6
36	Geno Smith (NYJ, QB)	8.76	53.68	Down 6
62	Perrish Cox (SFO, CB)	22.50	47.00	Up 115
90	Brian Hoyer (CLE, QB)	Bye	40.56	Down 48
95	Kendrick Lewis (HOU, S)	4.50	39.25	Down 19
97	Mike Adams (IND, S)	27.40	38.40	Up 387
100	George Iloka (CIN, S)	Bye	37.95	Down 51
110	Travis Carrie (OAK, CB) *	18.15	36.70	Up 187
112	Kareem Jackson (HOU, S)	4.50	36.50	Down 14

Replacement Level: Week 5

October 1, 2014

Commish

League Business Replacement Level No Comments

by Ian Kulkowski

This should be interesting. I barely know who half of my own players are let alone the randomly named players who remain in our barren wasteland of a waiver wire. But as I am somehow 7-1 through the first 4 week’s of both bowls I guess that makes me as qualified as anyone pick some needles from the haystack.

Week 4 Review

Let’s start by reviewing Goody’s performance from last week.

A total of 97 is respectable given the shortage of options due to a heavy bye week. This is 23 short of the lowest Dynabowl score so not quite competitive. Looking at the top scorers that were available on the wire last week there was a whopping 351 points! This shows there is potential out there. Though the majority of the big scores come from the D where in our league anyone can have a big week at any time.

Goody managed to select 1 of the top scorers in Devin Hester (Andre Holmes would also have been one if we were going with 4 WR’s).

Interestingly when looking at the performance of Goody’s picks from last week it is evident that Max has read the article then gone and picked up most of the players Goody selected. A devious strategy Indeed!

Let’s see if he goes for the same this week with my stellar picks (more fool him if he does!)

Week 5 Replacements

I’ll start by looking at the D as if I do it the other way around I will be totally bored by the time I get to the end. We’ll begin with what is according to Dynasty of Sadness GM Geoffrey Manboob the most important position in our IDP league – Safety.

The top scorers so far are Iloka, Moore, Lewis, Adams & Abdullah whilst the top projected scorers this week are Jefferson, Goldson, Demps, Adams & Moore. So that’s Rahim Moore & Mike Adams in. The matchups don’t look too bad vs the Cards and Ravens (as long as Steve Smith Senior doesn’t eat him).

All going smoothly so far, let’s move on to corner. By the same logic Kareem Jackson & Cortez Allen are towards the top of the actual / projected scores table so they’re in. Allen has perfect matchup vs the Jags so I’m expecting at least 1 pick 6.

Linebackers next. Everyone is projected the same points at linebacker so I may have to change my tactic here. I’ll go for Jon Bostic for no other reason than he’s playing the Jags, David Hawthorne (for Jags read Buccs), And Keenan Robinson (who will have to make a million tackles against the Seahawks).

This is getting difficult now. And it started so well. A few guesses coming up (As if they’re not all guesses so far!). At DE we’ll take Cedric Thornton & Robert Ayers. DT will be Jonathan Hankins and I don’t fancy any more Defensive Lineman so will go for another Linebacker. Erm… Demario Davis will do.

That’s the D done. Projected points 26.5. Now to the Offence.

At Punter Coulton Schmidt looks like a safe pick. In fact I might even pick him up. Max, don’t you dare! I’ll take Randy Bullock at Kicker. Just because that sentence had to be written.

There are NO Tight Ends available. Clay Harbour did okay last week at the chargers so I’ll give him a go vs the Steelers. Ugh

At WR I’ll take the Browns top target Miles Austin. He was on Kelkowski’s original roster but didn’t make J’ays exacting standards [read “his name wasn’t crazy, let alone crazy enough for J’ay” – ed] but I’ll give him a shot here. Sanu has been consistent so far so gets a look. Jarious Wright seems to have some chemistry with Teddy Bridgeater (let’s hope he plays as I imagine the same can’t be said for Cassel). Flex play will be Jerricho Cotchery.

Roy Helu has featured more in the receiving game in recent weeks so can try again at RB. And I’ll see if Antone Smith can repeat his performances of recent weeks.

My Gunslinger will be Ryan Fitzpatrick as I simply can’t take my eyes of that facial hair.

Project points for the Offence is 52.7 giving me a total projection of 79.2. If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far it’s that projections are always wrong. So there we go. I hope you’ve paid attention and learned a thing or two about how to pick a team.

Oh, and I’ve just realised I’m 1 short on offence, will have to be another TE I think. Jermaine Gresham Maybe.

To recap here’s what we ended up with:

QB – Ryan Fitzpatrick

RB – Roy Helu, Antone Smith

WR – Miles Austin, Mohamed Sanu, Jarious Wright, Jerricho Cotchery

TE – Clay Harbour, Jermaine Gresham

PK – Randy Bullock

PN – Coulton Schmidt

DT – Jonathan Hankins

DE – Cedric Thornton, Robert Ayers

LB – Jon Bostic, David Hawthorne, Keenan Robinson, Demario Davis

CB – Kareem Jackson, Cortez Allen

S – Rahim Moore, Mike Adams

Replacement Level: Week 7

Replacement Level: Week 5/6 Addendum

Replacement Level: Week 6

Stock Watch: Week 4

Replacement Level: Week 5

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