Tiiite End Jammers (4-2)Don’t look now but our 2014 champs are back on track again! After a lost 4-8-1 season last year, Jammers are leading the league in points at 113.2 ppg and basically cakewalked through their first five weeks, before a matchup against Battle Angel in WK6. Still, Lei has be excited about his prospects for two championships in three years as LeVeon Bell is back from suspension and more importantly, DeMarco Murray is back as a fantasy force!
In addition, new quarterback Andrew Luck has found a rhythm with Antonio Brown and Demaryius Thomas quickly. Most of the draft additions from this year have been glued to the bench, and for good reason, as Jammers are poised to take control of the conference without touching any of his core. Watch out for the Tiiite Ends!
LA Buffy (4-2)
Despite a draft day trade that moved away the #1 overall pick, Buffy has emerged stronger than last year. All four of their wins have been century games for them, and they had a 116.2 - 112.2 barnburner against Athena Nike in WK2. They are riding the Cam Newton and AJ Green connection, along with TE Greg Olsen, who is actually the #3 overall WR/TE, one slot above Green. Who needs Rob Gronkowski when Olsen is so good? Oh wait, Rob Gronkoski is back himself, and now Buffy is playing two monster TEs, just like the real life Patriots. The ground game is powered by old men Matt Forte and Frank Gore, and that should be plenty.
To be honest, the Ezekiel Elliot trade now looks even worse in retrospect, as Russell Wilson is only a bye week replacement, Doug Baldwin and Jordan Reed have been up-and-down, and Thomas Rawls was already cut for a defense earlier in the year. None of those additions have helped Buffy get to where they are, and they could have had Elliot leading their backfield. Hindsight right? Sure, Gronk is back, but this trade is increasingly looking like Elliot for Gronk…
Chunky Monkeys (3-3)We predicted a backslide for Evan’s team this year and our prediction looks prescient. While 0.500 ain’t bad, three wins is all the games Monkeys lost last season. A WK6 145.5 - 92.8 win against Fat Jubas handed the Spunky Misunderstood Genius leader their first loss of the season, and maybe that portends better things for Monkeys during the second half of the season. After all, they haven’t really been bad, just missing a decent ground game. Their leading rusher is Latavius Murray, who has been out since WK4. Charles Sims? Injured reserve. Theo Riddick? Injured and cut. Jerick McKinnon? Not AP’s replacement. The only stalwart has been Giovani Bernard, and outside of a return to form by Jamaal Charles, this ground game is weak.
Luckily, the air attack is fantastic! Julio Jones is otherworldly, Marvin Jones has been the best receiver in Detroit, Randall Cobb finally is back on track, and the multi-talented Terrell Pryor is the NFL’s most exciting player. With waiver wire pickup Matt Stafford coming in at #3 in the QB rankings, Monkeys could take their early season so-so performance and go right back into contention if they can find a better running attack.
Dirty Birds (3-3)
The defending champion curse lives! The Dirty Birds took a 54.5 point crap in WK1 and things haven’t gotten much better from there as Adrian Peterson and Sammy Watkins both hit the IR, and first round pick Golden Tate was almost cut until last week’s explosive game (on the bench). While 3-3 is better than last year’s putrid start, Jon’s back-to-back title hopes will depend on finding some more bodies to put in the lineup, as injuries have ravaged this squad.
The good news is Matt Ryan is the top ranked quarterback in the game, LeSean McCoy has been the second-best running back, and Odell Beckham has rediscovered his love for the game. Plus there’s the top ranked Vikings defense, which is averaging 15.0 ppg, five full points above the next closest team. If some receivers can be found to add to this team, Dirty Birds could return to the playoffs, although it’ll be a struggle. Also, the not-so-secret secret is out: Todd Gurley sucks!
Athena Nike (2-4)You would think adding the next Emmitt Smith would do wonders for your win-loss record. Nope! Frank’s team has only recorded two wins this season as they came out of the gates 0-3, after facing off against conference foes who all scored 116+ against him. A 1.9 point win in WK4 was offset by a 0.4 point loss in WK6, and Nike is swimming at the bottom of the standings. Also, it’s looking like another season for Kevin White, who has a luxury condo on Frank’s IR spot.
The good news is that this team could heat up at any moment. DeAndre Hopkins, Amari Cooper, and Jimmy Graham are still top tier targets talent-wise, and DeVante Parker was looking strong for the first few weeks. The out-of-the-backfield pass catching prowess of Tevin Coleman is a nice complement to Ezekiel Elliot, and Athena Nike could be a steady quarterback — can a mysteriously declining Aaron Rodgers take over for #2 ranked QB, Ben Roethlisberger? — from righting the ship this season.
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