Studio711.com – Ben Martens

I hope you got a chance to catch the Seahawks at the Panthers. What a game! One lowlight was Wilson missing another pass to an open Doug Baldwin in the endzone. It sailed right over his head just like last week. What happened to the chemistry those two used to have? On the other side of the ball, Christian McCaffrey was making the Seahawks look silly. He finished with 125 yards rushing, 112 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns! It’s not often that a running back has the most points in all of fantasy football for the week. The fourth quarter had plenty of drama including a missed field goal by the Panthers with less than two minutes less and a game winning drive and field goal by the Seahawks. As Pete Carroll said before the game, this was a playoff game. It really put the Seahawks into a great spot to make the playoffs and I think they have have a great chance at topping my 8-8 prediction since 3 of their remaining games are against teams with 2 wins. Hopefully nothing silly happens there.

Our league wasn’t devoid of drama either.Logan topped 170 points for the fourth week in a row securing a spot in the playoffs. Andy also secured his spot even though he lost. But the most amazing game was easily the one between Tyler and Nick. Nick entered Monday night with a 60% chance of winning with Deandre Hopkins only needing about 10 points to put Nick on top. With 10 minutes left in the game, Nick was 0.01 behind. That’s not a typo. The closest game in the history of our league was 0.12 back in 2012. Surely he’d get at least one more yard, right? Nope! The game ended with Nick down by 0.01. With a score that close, it’s not really over yet. Stat corrections come in by Thursday and though it’s unlikely, if a correction hits either team, it could easily change the outcome of that matchup which would have big playoff implications. A win for Nick gives him a real shot at the playoffs while a loss makes it almost impossible. (And in case you’re curious, it is possible to tie in the regular season in our league.)

Next week, Tyler and I do battle with the winner clinching the third playoff spot, although realistically we’re both in. Even if Nick wins the remaining two games and one of us loses both games, we’d still beat Nick in a points tie breaker.

Thank you all for keeping your rosters full even if you’re not going to make the playoffs! It helps keep the league fair if we’re all filling the rosters each week.

Whew. I need some oxygen. Let’s look at the power rankings:

1. Logan (Goat Roapers)
2. Ben (Kool Aid Kid) +1
3. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!) -1
4. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck)

On to the weekly records:

UPDATE: Logan noted I had incorrectly listed Tyler as the owner of Christian McCaffrey.

The Seahawks looked pretty good against the Packers but you have to wonder what’s going on with Wilson this season. He’s missed a lot more throws than I remember him missing in the past. I counted at least three big misses on that Thursday game including one to a wide open Baldwin in the endzone.

The real game of the week was Monday Night Football between the Chiefs and the Rams. If you didn’t catch that, go watch a highlight reel. I zoomed past Luke for the win floating on Mahome’s 6 TD’s (despite his 3 INT’s and 2 lost fumbles.) Logan said that Mahomes was “Farving all over the field.”

Our league set another record this season for total score. Logan topped 170 for a whopping third week in a row. I don’t have the stats for it, but I bet that 520.91 points in three games is a league record. Logan and Andy both one to extend their leads on the rest of the league. Yahoo doesn’t give them the little icon yet but they’re pretty much a lock for the playoffs. Tyler and I are tied for third but we could easily get overtaken by Nick and maybe even the others. In fact, Tyler and Nick are playing next week which will be a key game for both of them.

Logan is still on top of the power rankings this week:

1. Logan (Goat Roapers)
2. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!) +1
3. Ben (Kool Aid Kid) -1
4. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck)

On to the weekly records:

The Seahawks are now 4-5 and are looking like they have a pretty good chance of hitting my 8-8 prediction. That might even be a stretch. If they can beat the Packers after this short week then that will be a big help because you hope they can beat the 49ers twice and the Cardinals. They kept this last game interesting but the magic isn’t there. I loved seeing Russell running more. I wonder where that’s been all season?

Our league was kuh-razy. It was the most total points for our league this season and there were two huge upsets as Luke took down Tyler and Nick squeezed out a high-scoring win over Andy. Those games were crazy too as Luke’s Monday night player scored just enough to beat Tyler before leaving the game early and Nick was one fumble away from losing his game on Monday night too.

Everyone has over 1000 points for the season now but there’s a pretty big separation between positions 1-4 and 5-8. The playoffs are far from a lock though. Andy and Logan should be feeling pretty good about their chances but there are still 4 games left before we start our playoffs and crazier things have happened. Next week’s key matchup is Andy vs Tyler in a battle of #2 and #3.

After putting up 350 points in two weeks, Logan is obviously on top of the power rankings:

1. Logan (Goat Roapers) +2
2. Ben (Kool Aid Kid)
3. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!) +1
4. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck) -3

On to the weekly records:

The Seahawks game sure ended dramatically but they were lucky it was even that close. Dropped touchdown passes, multiple missed throws by Wilson, numerous penalties, and a pick six interception put them in a big hole that they couldn’t dig out of. Next week isn’t going to be any easier as they face the seemingly unstoppable Rams who usually give the Seahawks trouble even when the roles were reversed.

In our league, Logan finally put a decisive end to Tyler’s winning streak. But menwhile, Andy has quietly been getting his own five game winning streak going and he’s alone out front. Nick is the next one to get a crack at taking him down. Tim and Nick both had 0’s in their roster but it looks like most of them were late scratches. Nick ended up winning that one with a great last minute defense signing.

The power rankings are relatively stable this week.

1. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck)
2. Ben (Kool Aid Kid)
3. Logan (Goat Roapers) +1
4. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!) -1

On to the weekly records:

The Seahawks looked like a reasonably good team on Sunday. The wide receivers were pulling down everything in sight (and then some). The Rams seem like a lock to win the division, but right now the Seahawks are only half a game out of the final wild card spot. They have a long way to go, but if they keep playing like they did yesterday, there’s a chance that my early prediction of them not making the playoffs will be wrong. I’ll stick with my prediction though. One game does not a season make. (Here is a good website for playoff odds if you’re interested.)

Our league witnessed another dominating performance by Tyler. He broken the season high score (which he set previously) and flirted with the all-time record. And that game between 7th and 8th place (Luke and Nick)? They put up a lot of points, but Nick came out victorious. Every week I think about saying that you need to be making lots of roster moves to win in this league, but then I see Andy up there tied for first place with the fewest moves in the league!

Tyler has shot up to the top of the power rankings chart. He had some lower scores the previous weeks which held him down but the 191 point performance is hard to deny.

1. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck) +4
2. Ben (Kool Aid Kid)
3. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!) -2
4. Logan (Goat Roapers) -1

On to the weekly records:

There wasn’t a Seahawks game this week. Next week they play the Lions and it looks like they’re underdogs at that game which is probably fair. We’ll see what they can do on the road in Detroit.

In our league, Tim ended Tyler’s five game winning streak. Tyler now falls back into the clutches of Logan and Andy in a three way tie for first place. Tim has 4th place to himself, I’m in 5th and everyone else is tied for 6th. This marks the halfway point to the playoffs for our league since weeks 15 and 16 of the NFL regular season are our playoffs. The top four teams will make it into the playoffs so it’s still anybody’s game. Here are what the power rankings think will happen…

1. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!) +2
2. Ben (Kool Aid Kid) +2
3. Logan (Goat Roapers) -2
4. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck) -2

Lots of new records this week…

Both the Seattle offense and defense had their act together on Sunday, despite some painful penalties, but then again, the Radiers can make a lot of teams look good. I had fun watching Marshawn Lynch’s ineffectiveness. Sports radio around here was gushing over how great he is and maybe that’s true, but I thought his last year here was a mess. It appeared to me that he just didn’t want to play and I have no respect for that even though I liked him a lot before that. I ended up throwing away my Lynch shirt (ok, actually I donated it.) I have similar feelings about Earl Thomas. Thanks for all you did. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out and don’t expect me to cheer for you when you play against the Seahawks.

Tyler continued his dominating streak with a close win over me. To add insult to injury, he did that with one player scoring negative points. Logan is nipping right on his heels. Andy and Tim round out the top four while the rest of us are tied with 2-4 records. Looking at points for/against gets interesting around this point of the season. Logan and Tyler have the most points by a pretty wide margin. Nick and I have the most points scored against us but Nick also has the least points scored which is a tough combination.

On to the weekly power rankings:

1. Logan (Goat Roapers) +1
2. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck) -1
3. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!) +1
4. Ben (Kool Aid Kid) -1

Lots of new records this week…

The odds were heavily against the Seahawks but they almost pulled out a win. Their offense was able to cover their defensive failures and they even had a final drive to put themselves in position for a game winning field goal… and then they took themselves out of position with penalties. I’m sticking with my 7-9 prediction.

Our leave is finally spreading out a bit. Tyler continued his winning streak and is sitting pretty at 4-1. Logan, Andy and Tim are tied for second and the rest of us are chasing them. Make sure that you’re checking those free agent boards. There are still some great players out there that are free agents. This league is generally won by the person who makes the best use of those free agents. Tyler is in first place in our power rankings and it’s hard to argue with that.

1. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck) +2
2. Logan (Goat Roapers) -1
3. Ben (Kool Aid Kid) -1
4. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!)

Now on to the weekly awards…

The Seahawks made rookie QB Rosen look good, but they pulled out a win. That stadium continues to haunt them though. Remember last year when Sherman and Chancellor got hurt there and ended their Seahawks careers? Add Earl Thomas to that list. He left with a broken leg and though it’s something that will heal by the time the playoffs roll around, he didn’t appear to want to return in a Seahawks uniform. I have a hard time siding with a guy who is getting paid $10 million to play football. See ya Earl.

Our league’s goofy season continues. We now have a 6 way tie for second place and Luke down in 8th place is only 2 games out of first place. Tyler is alone out front at 3-1 and he’s looking strong. Nick will be the next one to try and knock him back down into the mass of teams nipping at his heels.

When you look at the records below, look at the highest scoring player. This is the fourth consecutive week where the highest scoring player has a been a free agent!

Even though the league is close in terms of records, with four games behind us, my incredibly accurate and totally future-predicting power ranking algorithm is ready to rock. Here’s what it says now:

1. Logan (Goat Roapers)
2. Ben (Kool Aid Kid)
3. Tyler (Krazy Kanuck)
4. Andy (RAAAWWWRRRRR!!!)

Now on to the weekly awards…

The Seahawks looked reasonably good on Sunday. It was a nice change of pace. Wilson didn’t spend the whole game getting sacked and the defense was able to keep the Cowboys under wraps. My prediction for this year is that the Seahawks will finish 7-9.

In our league, I posted the second highest score and lost to Logan. I guess it’s only fair since that happened to him last week. Half the league is now tied for 1st with a 2-1 record and everyone else is tied for 5th with a 1-2 record. It’s obviously anybody’s season at this point. Our two newest league members, Tyler and Nick, started with a loss but they now have 2 game winning streaks and Tyler is at the top of the league!

Now on to the weekly awards…