TRADE 6: They Might Be Giants

A small deal went down yesterday, as Pawnee and Phoenix shuffle their rosters.

PHOENIX ACQUIRES: RB WAYNE GALLMAN
PAWNEE ACQUIRES: QB DANIEL JONES

Wayne Gallman slots in as Saquon Barkley's handcuff, providing short term value and an insurance policy for the Uprising. With Phoenix moving on to Kyler Murray for week five, Daniel Jones heads to Pawnee where he will try to supplant Baker Mayfield under center. This deal could end up being a minor exchange, or something more substantial- time will tell!

Trade 5: Le'Veon Wears His War Wound Like A Crown

The 4-0 McFlys and the 0-4 Rum Ham link up for a predictable deal where South Philly ships a premium asset out for a talent infusion. It's a sensible deal for both sides with the results to speak for themselves.

HILL VALLEY ACQUIRES: RB LE'VEON BELL
SOUTH PHILLY ACQUIRES: RB DAVID MONTGOMERY, WR DJ CHARK & LB PRESTON SMITH

The big prize is obviously Bell, the thirteenth overall pick in the draft a month ago. Bell is a marquee talent, but in an underpowered offense his upside may be limited. Still, with a versatile skillset and no other premier weapons to compete with for touches, Bell coming out of his bye week immediately improves the league's top team, teaming with Dalvin Cook to give the team bankable every week starters.

It's been a horror show in South Philly this September, as the team has not won a game, barely scoring at all, and facing possible relegation. Give the Rum Ham credit- they're playing the hand dealt to them and doing what they can to remain relevant, even if they are only scrounging to make the consolation bracket. Montgomery offers a similar floor to Bell, a capable back without  while DJ Chark is no world beater, he's an unquestioned starter for the Rum Ham. Until Tyreek Hill returns, he is the team's primary threat, as sad as that sounds. Preston Smith is a boom/bust sack threat that will be a weekly dice roll.

XI: Week Four Recap

Week four sees Hill Valley stay in control, South Philly continue to sink, and everyone else start to separate: Four 3-1 teams (SAV, JSC, OTB, HCM), four 2-2 teams (MAL, NYF, PAW, BIN), and four 1-3 teams (SPC, CRT, PHX, DVH) all jostling for position. As always, eight wins is the magic number, with seven wins often coming down to a tiebreak (head to head in a two way tie, total points in a multi-team tie) so banking those victories is vital.

Week 4 Matchups

 

• Phoenix Uprising203.50HoChiMinhLeadFarmers223.31
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• Binghamton Snipers173.49Hill Valley McFlys224.28
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• Deputy Van Halens140.63NJ Sanitation Crew221.05
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• Tommy’s Boys170.20South Philly Rum Ham135.38
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• Mar-a-Lago Grabbers172.80South Park Cows215.08
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• New York's Finest181.98Savannah Petes226.80
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• Carmel RudyTuesdays174.60Pawnee Pride222.26
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WEEK 4 POWER RANKINGS:

1. SAV 227: The Petes have been dominant to start the year, scoring over 200 in all four games and leading even the undefeated McFlys by 75 points to date. 
2. HVM 224: The Champs roll on by way of riches (six players with 17+ points) overcoming rags (six players with less than 5 points) to take home win number four.
3. HCM 223: Tactical sunday night grab of CB Mike Hilton sealed this one, blocking their opponent out of points that would have forced the result to state correction review.
4. PAW 222: The Pride bounce back to even their record, and undraft edge rusher Shaq Barrett is a major reason why. Questions about Ekelers role going forward remain.
5. JSC 221: Crew at Work, reeling off three straight wins while streaming at quarterback, a daring strategy that has often been underutilized in the Larkspur Bowl.
6. SPC 215: Well, they can't take this one away! The Cows break into the win column at last, fifth in overall points to date. Kelce/Hooper looks like the best jumbo package in the league.
7. PHX 204: Despite their best effort of the season, the Uprising fall and leave little room for error if they want to push their playoff streak to ten. Good news: Melvin returns!
8. NYF 182: The team had not shot in this one, despite new acquisition Todd Gurley nearly matching dynamic quarterback Lamar Jackson on the stat sheet. 
9. CRT 175: Carmel has looked adequate every week, but needs to find that top gear to mount a playoff push in the midseason... Jamie Collins looks like an MVP candidate. 
10. BIN 173: YoYo-ing between wins and losses, the Snipers have held tough despite some early season injuries, but if Davante Adams misses time, they'll be hard pressed to bounce back.
11. MAL 173: Grabbing two out of the gate then dropping back to .500, MAL gets a chance to feast on South Philly in week five and get back that loving feeling.
12. OTB 170: Their worst effort by far, and yet they come out victors, a serendipitous bit of scheduling nirvana. Most weeks you need more than 15.9 from WRs, but Chubb got it done. 
13. DVH 141: The pitfall of pairing a QB and WR1 is that when their offense stalls, so does yours. Watson/Hopkins bottom out and a quality ground game couldn't save them.
14. PRH 135: With baseball over, the Rum Ham can focus on football, or else, they're going to be switching into golf mode pretty quickly. Winter golf. It's a thing, probably.

WEEK 4 TEAM OF THE WEEK:

• QB Aaron Rodgers HVM (30.38) This is the Rodgers Hill Valley expected when they drafted him 71st overall, 3rd slinger off the board. 468 total yards and a pair of scores works fine.
• RB Nick Chubb OTB (42.6) An absurd stat line, with 183 yards and three scores, Chubb powered the Tommy Boys to their third straight victory almost unilaterally. 
• WR Chris Godwin HVM (40.8) This is the Godwin Hill Valley expected when they drafted him 42nd overall, #2 WR to date. It's like the champion McFlys know what they are doing!?
• TE Austin Hooper SPC (21.5) Hooper may be the second option to Kelce on the Cow offense, but don't tell him that; nine catches for 130 yards in a dominant performance.
• DL Jadeveon Clowney NYF (17.85) It took him about a month to acclimate to a new defense, but Clowney appeared to get the hang of it in week four and took a pick all the way home.
• LB Joe Schobert HCM (26.5) Old Shoe swarmed in this one, tallying seventeen total tackles, two for a loss and one sack in a big time performance in a tight matchup. 
• CB Janoris Jenkins CRT (26.6) Jackrabbit picked off two, flicked off three more, and added four tackles to his stat sheet just to show you he could. He can. He will. He did.
• SS Jabrill Peppers PHX (26.6) His pick six was the exclamation point on a game where he score six tackles, defended a pair, and got into a postgame altercation about uniform numbers.
• K Josh Lambo PAW (16.0) Four field goals and a couple of PATs make Lambo your week four golden booter.

B-DIVISION POWER RANKINGS:

1. MANITOBA MOOSECREW 993.11 (+234.93) Surging into first
2. NITTANY LIONS 956.20 (+142.80) Clunker, with Chubb regrets
3. TORONTO LES TRES PETITES 878.69 (+255.03) Moving up into contention
4. BREWTANG KILLA BEEZ 864.96 (+153.53) Toiling at the bottom

Ohio defeats South Park

The Cows cannot catch a break.

After losing on review in week one, and by six points in week two, they are now 0-3 on the season, dropping to 13th place, with five of the six teams ahead of them in the standings behind them in points. Ohio are the benefactors this time, surging to 2-1 and fourth place just ahead of Week Four's kickoff.

The Cows lost half a point on a missed tackled by KJ Wright, while Ohio ended up going up by .3, making this a .8 point swing. Losses by Tommy Boys' Von Miller, Marcus Williams, and Joe Mixon were nullified by the contributions of Harrison Smith and Khalil Mack.

OTB 232.89 OVER SPC 232.39

South Park faces the high scoring Mar-A-Lago Grabbers in week four, desperate to get (and keep) a victory. Ohio faces the bottom feeding South Philly Rum Ham, who happy company in the winless bracket for at least a few days.

Trade 3: Injuries Mounting

We've got a blockbuster deal, with the league's top overall pick (after suffering a high ankle sprain) on the move.

PHOENIX ACQUIRES: RB SAQUON BARKLEY, WR JARVIS LANDRY & TE GREG OLSEN
NEW YORK ACQUIRES: RB TODD GURLEY, WR MIKE WILLIAMS & WR DEMARCUS ROBINSON

Saquon's injury will likely keep him out four to eight weeks, and New York decided not to gamble, moving the super talented back for former workhorse Todd Gurley. Gurley's load has been lightened in the early going, though he's shown much of the same tenaciousness that has made him a marquee playmaker the past four years. The Finest might be content to see him settle in as a RB2, or they may expect him to ramp up to RB1 status- either is preferable for the immediate future. Along with Gurley, the Finest upgrade their WR corps with Mike Williams (traded for the second time in two weeks) and Demarcus Robinson, who followed up his monster week two with a respectable sequel in week three.

Past Saquon, who should not be expected to return until he is 100% healthy, the Uprising add elder statesman Greg Olsen to solve their woes at tight end. Olsen has seen heavy targets through three weeks, though at 34 years old and coming off a pair of injury shortened seasons, how long he can withstand the intensity of the pro game is uncertain. After losing Hunter Henry in week one, and seeing Jimmy Graham post a couple of empty box scores since, Phoenix had to make a move. New York was compelled to sell high due to the presence of a younger, more explosive weapon named Darren Waller on their roster.

Meanwhile, while Mike Williams has the skillset and measurables of a number one receiver and the billing of a number two, Jarvis Landry is slot receiver with a penchant for YAC that has aquiesced to a lesser role this year. For two players with strikingly different games, they were drafted in the same neighborhood, with Williams at 44 and Jarvis at 56. Sources say this third player was the sticking point in negotiations, with the deal being arrived at when these names were exchanged.

Phoenix is tripling down on its early season injuries- having already shed Cam Newton, they have Saquon joining AJ Green on the uncertain timetable list, while Melvin Gordon holds out and Darius Leonard remains in concussion protocol, now on the shelf over a week; Meanwhile waiver claim Tevin Coleman is suffering from an ankle malady of his own. The Uprising, at 1-2 and 13th in overall points, are betting on themselves to survive the early season with a chance to claim a playoff spot late. Bold strategy Cotton!

XI: Week Three Recap

There's just one team left at the top of the mountain, the defending champion McFlys, now perfect at 3-0. There's been some good fortune for Hill Valley, having won on review and only ranking fifth in overall points- but where it matters most, they have delivered. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the South Philly Rum Ham drop to 0-3, a nightmare season threatening to spiral out of control early.

Between the two teams are a sea of 2-1 and 1-2 teams all looking to jostle for position in the early going: Those two wins team will fight to make September a winning month, while those one win teams need to focus on evening up their record in week four, then focusing on building upon it with the remaining nine weeks of the season.

OF NOTE: South Park and Ohio's battle was decided by less than a point, and could end up going either way pending stat corrections, which finalize on Thursday morning.

Week 3 Matchups

 

• Phoenix Uprising153.84Hill Valley McFlys224.55
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• Binghamton Snipers221.07Deputy Van Halens173.84
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• HoChiMinhLeadFarmers246.81South Philly Rum Ham153.81
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• Tommy’s Boys231.99South Park Cows232.79
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• Mar-a-Lago Grabbers213.96Savannah Petes257.52
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• New York's Finest199.28Pawnee Pride181.50
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• Carmel RudyTuesdays225.14NJ Sanitation Crew241.21
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WEEK 3 POWER RANKINGS:

1. SAV 258: Keenan Allen stood out in this high scoring affair, but Savannah has looked all around great out of the gates to start the year.
2. HCM 247: After splitting a pair of forgettable performances, the Lead Farmers came out blazing in week three, decimating the woeful Rum Ham and surging over .500. 
3. JSC 241: The Crew did work in week three, from the unstoppable Mike Evans to the playmaking cornerback duo of White and Lattimore. 
4. SPC 233: The Cows are in the win column for the moment, but with less than a point margin of victory, could end up overturned again. It'd be a tough break for a good team.
5. OTB 232: Flipside, Ohio loses a heartbreaker for the moment. Denzel Ward's late breaking inactivity hurts them a ton; Playing Dak over Russell went poorly as well.
6. CRT 225: Carmel has looked good in the early going, but only has a single win to show for it, victims of the toughest schedule (724 PA to date) and it's not even close. ADVERSITY!
7. HVM 225: This one was never in doubt for the McFlys, who cruise despite leaving a ton of points on their bench; Fantastic depth at this juncture likely means an impending deal. 
8. BIN 221: Phillip Lindsay rumbles to a victory for Binghamton, who will look to pick off Hill Valley in a week four showdown between 2018 playoff teams. 
9. MAL 214: Despite the loss, the Grabbers performed well yet again and show every indication of contention this season with Patrick Mahomes at the helm.
10. NYF 199: Winning is nice, but losing Saquon Barkley for a month or two hurts: The longer estimate wouldn't have the All-World back until playoff time.
11. PAW 182: The Pride got a nice performance almost across the board, but letdowns from Baker Mayfield and Cameron Wake prevented them from making a game of it.
12. DVH 174: The Van Halen swoon continues, staying in the cellar of these rankings while dropping a second game. The offense is good! The defense is terrible!
13. PHX 154: A pathetic showing by Phoenix, who invested a lot of draft capital in players who do not play. A second straight zero from Jimmy Graham warrants legitimate criticism.
14. PRH 154: South Philly made it up to 12 last week before lapsing into the bottom rung on the ladder- although playing Taylor Gabriel would have made it respectable, at least.

WEEK 3 TEAM-OF-THE-WEEK:

• QB Patrick Mahomes MAL (30.76) Another week, another 300+ yards and 3 TDs from Mahomes, who benefits from Russell on the bench and Danny Dimes on the wire. 
• RB Alvin Kamara SAV (35.6) Rebounding from a quiet week two, the beast with the nose ring was his typical highlight reel self in the Petes victory with 161 yards, 2 TDs.
• WR Mike Evans JSC (49.1) Illness hindered him early this season, but on the third Sunday our lord and savior Mike Evans ascended to his glory most high, 190 yards and 3 TDs.
• TE Evan Engram SAV (24.5) Engram showcased all that elite potential that has had him sitting just below the cream of the crop at a barren position the last few years. 113 & TD.
• DL Calais Campbell HCM (31.5) The Lead Farmers' patience paid off in spades here, where the 6'8"behemoth took over the game, scoring three sacks and seven tackles.
• LB Jamie Collins CRT (26.5) Collins continues to be a one man wrecking crew, just an utterly disruptive force all over the field. 7 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks... yes, he's all the way back.
• CB Donte Jackson BIN (29.75) Two picks, two flicks, and five tackles the Snipers' 19th pick follows up two solid performances with a fantastic one. 
• SS Vonn Bell HVM (24.15) With Hasean Clinton-Dix on the wire, Bell is the pick here- scoring 9 total tackles, a PD, and a fumble returned for a TD he was a difference maker.
• K Mason Crosby HVM (10.00) A pair of forty yard field goals and a trio of PATs seal the award for Crosby in a quiet week for kickers. 

B-DIVISION POWER RANKINGS:

1. NITTANY LIONS 806.40 (+275.66)
2. MANITOBA MOOSECREW 757.18 (+304.08)
3. BREWTANG KILLA BEEZ 712.44 (+245.02)
4. TORONTO LES TRES PETITES 624.16 (+267.24)

Trade 2: DEEBO

Moments after the bombshell that Antonio Brown was jobless once again, under mounting controversy, the Grabbers washed their hands of the troubled wideout.

PAWNEE ACQUIRES WR ANTONIO BROWN
MAR-A-LAGO ACQUIRES WR DEEBO SAMUEL

The Grabbers weathered the initial Storm with Brown and were rewarded with a 15.4 outing last week. Had they made the decision to deal him shortly thereafter, they'd surely have reaped a greater reward. With his value plummeting (odds are, Brown doesn't play another down this season) the Grabbers did well for themselves, adding an electric rookie that actually outscored Brown in week two. Deebo Samuel is unlikely to be a weekly contributor, but with a substantial role and room for target growth, he's more than worthy of a roster spot, and weekly volatility is preferential to a black hole.

For Pawnee this is a massive swing for the fences- unlikely to connect, though stranger things have happened. Should AB get his name cleared, he it's certainly plausible that another team would take a chance one of the most talented receivers on planet Earth, regardless of his increasingly apparent unhinged persona. Short term it means the Pride expect Alshon Jeffery to suit up on Sunday, as the team has no other substitute on the roster until Golden Tate returns from suspension in week five. It's a risk/reward scenario that the championship or bust franchise feels confident it can stomach. Time will tell!