One week is in the books and while some teams looked hot, others did not. Let’s take a look at my predictions last week and how they fared against the real thing.
Week 1 Recap
Chad vs Kelvin
Chad wins 193.35 to 192.05
Man, my joking about this game being unimportant and uninteresting aged like milk. These was what you want to see out of a fantasy football game. High scoring, close, and a lot of ebbs and flows. The projections were a rollercoaster throughout Sunday afternoon, ranging from Chad projected to smack Kelvin to the eventual tight contest it ended up being. Chad’s team had great showings from Josh Allen (39.45 points), Davante Adams (31.1 points), and Michael Pittman Jr. (28.1 points). Despite the loss, Kelvin has a lot to look forward to. His top three players were Saquon Barkley (39 points), Cooper Kupp (32.8 points), and Lamar Jackson (26.55 points), while he left players such as Cordarelle Patterson (29 points), Kareem Hunt (25.2 points), and AJ Dillon (22.1) on the bench. This is very similar to the high powered offense we saw from Kelvin’s 2021 team. Last year he ended up flaming out but we’ll see how it goes from here.
Last week’s prediction: It’s Chad, but in a closer than expected game.
The call: We’re calling this prediction a phat dub. 1-0.
David vs Tyler
Tyler wins 157.6 to 142.95
This game looked like an ugly struggle for most of Sunday. The game was fully decided on Monday night when Javonte Williams clutched out the win for Tyler vs DK Metcalf. Despite the low outputs from QB Tom Brady and RB Travis Etienne, Tyler put up some good points this week, with Ja’Marr Chase (29.9 points) being his shining star. Things didn’t go as smoothly for David, who saw his second round pick, Tee Higgins, suffer a concussion early Sunday afternoon, leaving him with a whopping 4.9 points on the day. Everyone else on David’s team put up solid numbers, unfortunately DK Metcalf just couldn’t get the job done for him. David’s bench, outside of Clyde Edward-Helaire and Marquise Brown, didn’t instill much hope, but it’s still only Week 1. Interesting to note this was just David’s second time ever losing a season opener (2018 vs Andrew)
Last week’s prediction: The Pick: I’m taking Tyler in a game where the scoreboard doesn’t reflect how close the game was.
The call: Calling it another win for me. 2-0
Ryan vs Conner
Conner wins 164.65 to 135
It’s never fun to say that Conner had a pretty great Sunday, but he did. Justin Jefferson (40.4 points) posted over 150 yards in the first half alone, Nick Chubb (21.7 points) predictably ran all over the Panthers defense, and the Steelers defense (24 points) took the ball from Joe Burrow 5 times on Sunday. In between the big performances were some concerning duds, such as 2.2 points from Rams WR Allen Robinson or 11.9 points from the best tight end in the game (not according to me), Darren Waller. Ryan’s team really hopped aboard the struggle bus this week. While Patrick Mahomes notched him 40.1 points, two of his three RB/WR flex spots gave him less than 5 points a piece. Bills TE Dawson Knox (1.5 points) only catching one pass isn’t super encouraging either. A great showing from James Robinson (22.1 points) and Antonio Gibson (22.8 point) is promising though. He also had solid performances from Miles Sanders (21.1 points) and Michael Thomas (22.7 points) on his bench.
Last week’s prediction: Ryan, for obvious reasons, but this could be a game of inches.
The call: While I definitely called for a Ryan blow out for drama reasons, I probably was never going to pick Conner regardless. Chalking up my first pick’em L of the season. 2-1.
Andrew vs Brent
Andrew wins 184.35 to 142.05
I’m not sure if spectating this game as a third party was as brutal as being directly involved in it, but this game sucked. Thursday night’s lackluster performance from Cam Akers (0.6 points) was almost directly made up for by Stefon Diggs (30.1 points) catching a long bomb TD. The carnage did not stop there. Jalen Hurts (30.55 points), Jonathan Taylor (35.7 points), and Travis Kelce (27.1 points) all had convincingly dominant fantasy performances. Despite this, projections stayed relatively close in the early Sunday games. Once Kelce went on his tear, James Conner started scoring TDs again, and Terry McLaurin caught a 49 yard TD, this game was out the window. De’Andrew Swift (31.5 points) and Brandin Cooks (15.2 points) tried to save me from the sunken place, it was not meant to be. Early game injuries to Elijah Mitchell (5.3 points) and Keenan Allen (10.6 points) looked to be the final bullet in my chances this week. While other teams that put up equal or worse scorelines have some reason to be hopeful and optimistic, I’m not sure the same can be said for me. Elijah Mitchell has been ruled out for two months, calling into action one of Rashod Bateman (16.9 points), Darnell Mooney (1.8 points), or Breece Hall (11.3 points) from my bench. Keenan Allen is also likely out for at least Thursday night.
Last week’s prediction: Andrew in a blow out.
The call: Spot on, like usual. If I’m good at nothing else, I am good at predicting my own demise. 3-1.
Week 2 Preview
Brent vs David
Current ESPN Proj (as of 9/13/22): 54% David
This is game could be really ugly. Historically, it probably has David winning in a big way. Justin Herbert is looking nice and efficient again and is playing against the Chiefs this week. While Kansas City did shut the Cardinals down for the most part, division games are different beasts. Najee Harris is on schedule to play on Sunday vs the Patriots but Tee Higgins status for this week is still unknown. I’ll be completely frank with you, I have no idea what to make of David’s roster at this point. I’m going to let him accrue some more data against me this week and I’ll get back to you. My roster may be an even bigger mystery. Without Keenan Allen or Elijah Mitchell, my best bet would appear to be both Najee and Higgins missing time this week, which is not a good thing to bank on. De’Andre Swift and Kyler Murray will have to carry hard to avoid a disastrous 0-2 start for the second straight year.
The pick: David, but I sure hope it’s at least a close one
Kelvin vs Andrew
Current ESPN Proj (as of 9/13/22): 53% Andrew
Kelvin could be good this year? Maybe! Saquon Barkley has certainly given hope that this could finally be the year Kelvin is a contender. This week is going to be another tough test though, as Kelvin faces off against Andrew. This should be a high octane game, but I’m looking out for big performances from Saquon Barkley, Cooper Kupp, and (bold, but perhaps wishful thinking) D.J. Moore. On Andrew’s side, it’s fairly obvious who I’m expecting big games out of. This could really have the makings of an upset, but I think it’s fated that Andrew will win this time.
The pick: Begrudgingly, Andrew.
Tyler vs Ryan
Current ESPN Proj (as of 9/13/22): 53% Ryan
This is the first game of the Week 2 slate where an 0-1 team is projected to win over a 1-0 team. Ryan, as expected, has already made the proper moves to his lineup. CeeDee Lamb? Benched. Miles Sanders? Started. I would never say I’m expecting a good game out of Miles Sanders or Antonio Gibson, those games rather just seem to…happen. That being said, Philadelphia just ran all over Detroit, which is good news for Gibson and Sanders is going up against the Vikings and they’re not allowed to be happy for long. On Tyler’s team, I’m paying extra attention to what Tom Brady does this week against the Saints. They’ve seemingly had his number since his move to Tampa, which is good. I am actively praying on his downfall. George Kittle may return to action and it will certainly be interesting to see what he does with Trey Lance. Chase Edmonds also strikes me as an interesting play, but what does my dumbass know? I’m bad at fantasy football.
The pick: Ryan, I think Patty takes him over the top this week.
Chad vs Conner
Current ESPN Proj (as of 9/13/22): 56% Chad
Chad put up a commendable performance in Week 1, coming just shy of a 200 point game. Conner’s team also showed out in a big way last week. Justin Jefferson and Nick Chubb will have to carry hard for Conner as there are several matchups on Chad’s side that I like. Josh Allen and Davante Adams are always going to be big game threats, especially this week vs Tennessee and Arizona respectively. If Matt Rhule can drop out of clown school, I think we also see a big day from Mr. McCaffrey as well.
The pick: Chad, but it could be another close one.
