Two weeks pass and still Newizona is a mess. Three teams are tied for the lead in wins, and also tied for 2nd in the whole league. The TDs, Munnies, and bEARs seem to be destined for a brutal stretch through the back half of the season. Unfortunately for the Ddy's and Nutts that means they'll need quite a change to happen for their teams to have a shot at a wildcard. Over in Colorexico ACL has held the lead, though they did suffer a loss two weeks ago to the Ddys (mostly due to the tragic loss of Rodgers). Runner Runner is still within a game of the lead, but also is within a game of dropping to 3rd if Julio and Friends can pull it together. Fun fact: The Friends and Runners are within half a point of each other in average scoring over the season.
Week 7 Review
Despite losing half their roster to the IR, ACL still was able to pull off the top score of the week. As long as Zeke avoids the suspension, the team should remain competitive. The Munnies beat Runner Runner in an important match for both. The loss put Runner a game behind the lead, and the win kept the Munnies in their tie for division lead. Julio and Friends put up the third highest score, which would be great if they hadn't been up against the team that scored second highest. Brees is just so damn consistent for fantasy, it's not really fair.
At the bottom of the standings, The Futures and Ddys faced off in a battle of "who can lose the most important player in the worst way"? Palmer breaking his arm is a brutal blow to the Future's owner, he has my sympathies. Lynch, though...what a dumbass.
Finally we had the TDs facing the Zombies. It's fitting that the TDs benefit from an opponent starting an incomplete lineup. In an unfortunate misfire, the Zombies left Fournette in their lineup despite being declared inactive hours before kickoff. Had he been swapped out for LaFell, the Zombies would have pulled off the win.
Week 8 Preview
The bEARs are in a bad spot with all of the week 8 byes. They'll have to make some room on their bench pretty quick, or essentially forfeit the match. ACL will take any advantage they can get, as they continue to rely on their 2nd and 3rd stringers after a brutal first half of the season.
These teams have a long road ahead of them if they hope to grab a wildcard spot. Neither is yet eliminated, but something needs to change or they'll be looking do next year's draft to start the rebuild process.
One of these two teams will emerge from this week with 3 wins, so that's something! The Zombies will have to find a solution to their Fournette problem, but hopefully he's back after the bye. The Ddy's look to be rolling out a 2TE set with Cook and the seemingly reformed ASJ.
Despite having three bye players in the lineup, the TDs are still projected 4pt favorites over Runner Runner. Both teams are in the hunt for division lead, and need to avoid every loss possible to that end. TD's Fitz stock took a heavy hit last week with Palmer's injury. Will that be what it takes to tank the team?
Fate has not been kind to the Friends this year. They once again find themselves in an incredibly close matchup, projected less than a point apart. The byes do not seem to effect either team, so they should both be close to full strength. This will be the match to watch this week. A win for the Friends puts them solidly in the wildcard race, with a chance at overtaking Runner for a guaranteed spot. A win for the Munnies could put them ahead of TDs in the hunt for the bye.
I know I haven't been as active with the blogging, guys, and I'm sorry for that! I will try to do better, but I hope you all are still enjoying the league, and haven't given up! Nobody has been mathematically eliminated, yet, so strange things can still happen. Good luck!
