A month in and some storylines are taking shape at the top and bottom:
Manitoba has had a pair of eight win seasons to their credit and won a playoff game in both of their appearances, so they have the grit- now, half way to matching their best win totals, their goal will subtly shift from securing a playoff spot to ensuring their roster is optimized for maximum postseason noise.
Mar-A-Lago has started strong before, only to sink into the mid-season murk and end up in the bottom third. This week's meek win was not encouraging to that point, but they have banked four victories already and their stocked roster has but a single weak point: The tight end. There's a bunch of those available on the wire, coming off big games.
Meanwhile, Pawnee and Hill Valley remain defeated, a combined 0-8 for two teams that have collectively appeared in six Larkspur Bowls, squaring off against each other in the fairly recent (but increasingly distant) past. This is not totally unprecedented- both squads missed the playoffs in 2017 and 2014, but to not have a single win between them could signal a changing of the guard.
In between a month of perfection and the utter lack of success, we have ten teams still trying to distinguish themselves. Philadelphia has won three straight to get to 3-1, their first time finishing September over .500 since 2016- that year they (as the Saskatoon Sasquatch) started 4-0 only to drop their next six games and finish 6-7. They'll look to avoid a similar fate this year.
Phoenix and South Park are both fortunate to sit at 3-1 despite ranking in the bottom five in total points to date. The Cows were due for some good fortune in this regard, after pacing the league in points in 2020 but settling for a ho-hum 6-7 record. Behind them Deputy and Carmel both win to even their records again, while Binghamton and HCM City sink back to .500; The Lead Farmers have hit the skids lately after a pair of inspiring victories to start the season.
Our defending Champs get on the board, the Sanitation crew notching a win to score even with Ohio and Savannah, each at 1-3. The Petes, 3-10 a year ago, have now dropped three straight and need to be cavalier about moving one of their elite quarterbacks for a marked upgrade to their lineup before their season slips away.
QB: PATRICK MAHOMES (SAV) 34.12
Another terrific performance from Mahomes, five touchdowns and over 300 total yards while his supporting cast lets him down. He's been worth the 15th overall pick thus far, but at 1-3 it's clear he cannot win alone.
RB: CORDARRELLE PATTERSON (PRH) 38.15
The Swiss-Army knife did most of his damage at his natural WR position, but his late-career (this is his 9th season!) transition to a 6'2" scatback has proved fruitful- especially this week, where he scored three touchdowns on 11 touches, for a total of 116 yards.
WR: TYREEK HILL (MMC) 48.80
The game-breaker keeps breaking games, here catching 11 of 12 balls thrown his way for 186 yards and three flips into the paint. There's just no comparable deep threat in the game, a guy who can go over the top a dozen times a game and just have the defense unable to counteract him in anyway.
TE: DARREN WALLER (PAW) 15.70
With Knox (BIN), Cook (OTB), and Schultz (CRT) benched and Uzomah, Alie-Cox, and Maxx wire fodder, Waller gets the salute, catching four balls for 50 yards and a touchdown. The TE position is traditionally TD dependent, with needy teams chasing last week's points; Waller is one of the handful of guys who is always part of the game plan.
DL: QUINNEN WILLIAMS (MMC) 18.50
After a quiet couple of weeks, 2019's #3 overall pick has been blowing up offenses the last couple games, stuffing the stat sheet with seven tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Interior lineman can sometimes do a monstrous job without accruing numbers to show for it, but the elite talents usually figure out a way to get theirs. Williams is one of those.
LB: CJ MOSLEY (MMC) 22.50
Mosley was an upper echelon linebacker from 2014-2018 before a pair of lost seasons left him something of an enigma. Returning from injury (and an opt-out during the pandemic) he has picked up right where he left off as a tackle machine capable of swarming to make a play anywhere on the field.This week: 13 tackles and a sack.
CB: TREVON DIGGS (BIN) 25.15
What Diggs is doing this season is borderline insane. After snagging a pick in each of his first three games, he took two in his fourth, a pace that's unsustainable- not due to a lack of talent, but because pretty soon quarterbacks are going to stop throwing near him. 23 return yards, two more pass disruptions, and four tackles round out his line.
SS: QUANDRE DIGGS (PRH) 20.75
A converted cornerback that has now lost eligibility at the position, he's plenty capable of being a pure safety as evidenced by his seven tackles, two defensed passes, and pick. With double digit points in three of four contests, he's rounding out a very capable defense for the 3-1 HAM.
PK: TYLER BASS (OTB) 16.00
Eight kicks, eight balls through the uprights, four field goals and four PATS. That'll do, Bass.
