Week 9 Preview: First Meets Second

By Mel AIper, CTDB Analyst

First place plays second place this week, and the board is a mess around them. The Chunky Monkeys sit at 13-3. Gang Green is two games back at 11-5. The Jail Yard Boyz are third at 10-6 after hanging 174 last week. Three teams are stuck at 8-8, and LA Buffy is 3-13 with another injury pile to dig through. Pittsburgh and Tennessee are on bye, which already punched holes in three lineups that haven’t been fixed. Thursday night in Baltimore locks before dinner on the West Coast, and the Monkeys and Gang Green both have players in that game.

Last week’s preview board went 4-1. The miss was Battle Angel. Are you riding that kind of week, or fighting it?

Matchup of the week: Chunky Monkeys vs Gang Green

The series is tied 3-3 since 2021, and Gang Green has taken the last two, including a 116-to-112 squeaker last year. This is the first time these two have met with the league’s top two records on the line. They don’t see each other again until later, so this one sets the tone for the stretch run.

Coach Evan is running Trevor Lawrence at quarterback tonight at Baltimore, with Bhayshul Tuten — who just dropped 28.9 — still on the bench as questionable with an ankle and foot. Lawrence has cleared 15 in five straight games he’s played. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has caught at least five passes in every game this year and is coming off four straight weeks of 19 or more. Brock Bowers is back in the lineup. The landmines are at receiver: Rashee Rice and Christian Watson are both listed as questionable, and Germie Bernard is on the Steelers’ bye. The Giants defense came off the waiver wire Wednesday and is starting.

Coach Greg’s side is carrying even more medical tape. Christian McCaffrey, the keeper, missed Wednesday with a hamstring. Garrett Wilson is in the concussion protocol and is on the bench. Michael Wilson is starting with two broken ribs. Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers play tonight behind undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano, with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley both out. Josh Allen is still the best player in this league when he’s right — 15 or more in seven straight — and he doesn’t kick off until Monday night in Minnesota.

Pick: Monkeys. The dog days of football are here and the questions on both sides are real, but Gang Green has three of them in the skill spots, and Allen can’t erase a Thursday hole by himself.

A Squad Called Blitz vs Jail Yard Boyz

Bay Area week. The Boyz lead this series 8-4 and have won the last two, including a playoff meeting last December. Victor’s team just put up the highest score of Week 8 and gets Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely and Woody Marks back from byes. Drake Maye has cleared 28 in five straight. Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are both humming. The Jaguars defense plays tonight against Fagnano, and Ka’imi Fairbairn walked into the kicking job Wednesday for $3.

Coach Thien has the talent — Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor, CeeDee Lamb, Drake London, Brock Purdy — but the kicker slot is still Chris Boswell on the Steelers’ bye. That is a zero until somebody moves. Denzel Boston is questionable in the third receiver spot, and Emeka Egbuka (foot) is on the bench at about a coin flip for Sunday.

Pick: Boyz. Maye is too hot, Nabers is back, and an empty kicker is a gift.

Philadelphia Phreaks vs custom J

The computer’s team won the Brother Bowl last week and still can’t catch a clean week at quarterback. Lamar Jackson, the keeper, needs thumb surgery and is headed to injured reserve for at least four games. The earliest return is Week 14. Josh is running Kyler Murray, who is questionable with a hamstring for Monday night, and the projection on him right now is a blank. Tony Pollard, who just dropped 27, is on the Titans’ bye. D’Andre Swift and Jonah Coleman are carrying the backfield, and Adonai Mitchell came in Wednesday for $2.

GM Ping is rolling. Kirk Cousins has cleared 15 in all eight games and dropped 36 last week. Jahmyr Gibbs, Puka Nacua and Justin Jefferson are all starting. The worry is Saquon Barkley, who missed Wednesday with hamstring and back issues and is still in the flex. Jake Elliott is questionable too. Even so, Custom J is projected nearly 40 points behind, and that gap is mostly the quarterback hole the AI drafted into.

Pick: Phreaks. Hang in there, Josh!

Crunch Bunch vs City of Angels Masterminds

Eddie won last week’s pot by losing with 113.4. This week he has to clear the bye board first. Jaylen Warren and Wan’Dale Robinson are both still in the starting lineup on Pittsburgh and Tennessee byes. Kenneth Walker III and Quinshon Judkins are healthy. Amon-Ra St. Brown is limited with ribs and expected to play. A.J. Brown looks out again, and Kyle Monangai is trending toward a fifth straight miss. Jordan Love has cleared 15 in all eight games. Joe Burrow, who just hung 54 on the bench, is still there.

Coach Marcus has his own question list. Breece Hall is limited and trending toward a return. Deebo Samuel missed Wednesday, and Shanahan would be surprised if he plays. Travis Kelce is questionable. Dak Prescott has cleared 15 in all eight, and James Cook is back on a heater. Ryan Flournoy cost $15 on Wednesday after Davante Adams went on IR. Parker Washington locks tonight.

Pick: Masterminds. Fix the byes and this is a coin flip. Leave them, and it isn’t.

Battle Angel vs LA Buffy

Buffy has lost six straight and the roster is leaking. Jeremiyah Love is on injured reserve in a starting running-back slot. DK Metcalf is still in the lineup on the Steelers’ bye. David Montgomery is ruled out. DeVonta Smith has not practiced. Cam Skattebo is day-to-day. Tyler Allgeier is the lead back in Arizona now and just dropped 33. Matthew Stafford is active. Nico Collins and Marvin Harrison Jr. are healthy on the bench and need to move up.

GM Will is healthier. The Williams trio — Javonte, Kyren, Jameson — is all starting again. Josh Jacobs is rolling. Bryce Young is under center. George Pickens was limited with a hamstring and is expected to play. Jakobi Meyers is cleared for tonight. Chris Olave is back from the Saints’ bye and waiting on the bench. The Angels lead this series 4-2 and have taken the last two.

Pick: Angels. Buffy has to clear IR and a bye before this is a game.

Transactions

Wednesday’s run spent $40 across five teams. Gang Green led it at $20: $19 for Mike Washington Jr. as McCaffrey insurance, and $1 for Matt Gay to replace Jason Myers at kicker. The Masterminds paid $15 for Ryan Flournoy after Adams went down and cut Rashod Bateman. The Boyz spent $3 to bring Fairbairn back at kicker. Custom J got Adonai Mitchell for $2 and dropped the Commanders defense. The Monkeys swapped the Patriots defense for the Giants’ for free. Buffy, the Angels, Blitz, the Bunch and the Phreaks all stood pat — and two of those quiet teams still have bye-week zeros sitting in starting slots.

This Week’s Pot 

This week’s prize goes to the owner of the highest-scoring player left on any bench. Last week Joe Burrow hung 54 for the Bunch and never left the pine. Watch the quarterbacks on the bench — Burrow again, Patrick Mahomes on Buffy, Jared Goff on Gang Green, Bo Nix on the Angels — and anyone who sits a hot running back for a questionable one. Set the lineup. The one you sat is the one that pays.

Week 8 Recap: Brotherly Shove

By Mel AIper, CTDB Analyst

With the regular season in full bore, Gang Green is storming back and are just two games back of the Monkeys with a 11-5 record after its third straight 2-0 week, and the Jail Yard Boyz have the third spot to themselves at 10-6 after posting the best score of the week. Behind them it’s a pileup: Blitz, Battle Angel and the Phreaks all at 8-8.

This past week, the headliner was the Brother Bowl, and it went to Josh. Custom J pushed past Eddie’s Crunch Bunch with two running backs in the high 20s and a quarterback slot that never got on the field. Elsewhere, a free-agent quarterback outscored five Eagles by himself, and one receiver played through two broken ribs and won a game. More on that below. 

The games

Custom J 123, Crunch Bunch 113

Custom J won the Brother Bowl on the ground. Tony Pollard ran for 27, D’Andre Swift for 27 more, and Jonah Coleman, a 13th-round rookie who picked up a bigger role in Denver once RJ Harvey went to injured reserve, added 18. Trey McBride caught 17, Ladd McConkey came back from the concussion protocol with 11, and the Commanders defense, a 2-dollar Wednesday claim, gave 12. That was enough to cover a zero at quarterback. Lamar Jackson, back from three missed games, hurt his right thumb on Baltimore’s first offensive snap and went straight to the locker room.

Coach Eddie got a strong game from Jordan Love, the 5-dollar pickup, who threw for 30. Jaylen Warren ran for 21 and Tucker Kraft caught 14, but the Bunch’s receivers never got going. Amon-Ra St. Brown had 9, Tetairoa McMillan 9, and the Broncos defense and Will Reichard combined for 1. A.J. Brown sat with his knee. Custom J has now won four straight in this series and is 5-2 against the Bunch since 2021. The rematch is Thanksgiving weekend. Pass the stuffing carefully.

Chunky Monkeys 158, A Squad Called Blitz 100

The Monkeys' Jacksonville stack did the heavy lifting this week. With Tyler Shough’s Saints on a bye, Trevor Lawrence threw for 28 and Bhayshul Tuten ran for 29, and came out of it on the injury report. Brock Bowers caught 25, Jaxon Smith-Njigba 21 and Luther Burden III 15, and Christian Watson added 13 and came out with sore ribs. 

Blitz got real production from unexpected places. Chuba Hubbard ran for 21, Harold Fannin Jr. caught 18 at tight end, and Jayden Daniels, picked up for 3 dollars on Thursday, threw for 19. But Blitz's keepers didn’t show. Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor and Drake London combined for 14, CeeDee Lamb had 9, and the Browns defense, a 10-dollar Thursday claim, scored 1. The Monkeys have won three straight in this Bay Area series and lead it 8-3 since 2021. Blitz has slipped from a share of third into the 8-8 crowd.

Jail Yard Boyz 174, LA Buffy 91

The Boyz cashed in the Bengals passing game. Tee Higgins caught 33 and Ja’Marr Chase 26, and Drake Maye threw for 28 with Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely and Woody Marks all on byes. Bucky Irving ran for 21, the Jaguars defense, a 1-dollar claim, scored 19, and Matthew Golden and Dalton Kincaid added 17 each. The 174 ranks 16th among 920 team scores in this league since 2021. It isn’t even the Boyz’ best this season. They put up 194 in Week 5, the second-best score in this league since 2021.

Buffy's disappointing season continues and this week was no different. Tyler Allgeier, an 11th-round pick, ran for 34, and Tyler Bass, picked up off waivers Wednesday, kicked 14. The rest didn’t follow. Matthew Stafford threw for 12 and came out with a sore arm, Jeremiyah Love managed 2 before hurting a new part of his ankle, and DK Metcalf and Tre Tucker combined for 1. The Boyz now lead this series 7-6.

Philadelphia Phreaks 129, Battle Angel 89

Kirk Cousins, signed for free three Fridays ago, threw for 37, the best score by any starter in the league. GM Ping started five Eagles, Saquon Barkley, Makai Lemon, Dallas Goedert, Jake Elliott and the defense, and together they scored 31, less than Cousins alone. The rest of the roster made up the difference: Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 24, Puka Nacua caught 20 and Justin Jefferson 12.

The Angels needed the depth that carried them past the Monkeys a week ago, and it wasn’t there. Josh Jacobs ran for 20 and Jameson Williams caught 15, but Bryce Young threw for 14, Kyren Williams had 12, and Javonte Williams, last week’s star, managed 6. George Pickens caught 6, and the Seahawks defense closed it out with minus 2 on Monday night. The Angels posted the lowest score of the week. The Phreaks have now beaten them seven straight times.

Gang Green 120, City of Angels Masterminds 111

The game of the week came down to two Allens and a pair of broken ribs. Josh Allen came back from the Bills’ bye and threw for 33, and Braelon Allen, a waiver pickup, ran for 22. Michael Wilson caught 23 for Gang Green and said afterward that he broke two ribs in the game. Blake Corum and Derrick Henry added 13 each, which covered 2 from Kyle Pitts Sr. and a zero from Zay Flowers, a keeper. Flowers was the target on the first-snap throw that ended Jackson’s day, and the Ravens offense never recovered in a 36-10 loss at Buffalo.

Coach Marcus lost with the best lineup his roster could give him. Dak Prescott threw for 24, James Cook III ran for 17, and DeMario Douglas, a 12-dollar claim who started in place of Breece Hall, caught 15. Malik Washington had 13 and Brandon Aubrey kicked 12. Travis Kelce and Ashton Jeanty gave 9 each, while Tyler Warren and Parker Washington combined for 7 with Davante Adams out for weeks after hamstring surgery. Gang Green had lost the last two meetings, both in 2025, and now leads the series 8-4.

Heroes and Zeros

Heroes are the players who gave their teams far more than anyone could count on. Zeros are the stars and keepers who started and gave back almost nothing.

Heroes. Cousins, a free agent, led all starters with 37. Allgeier went for 34 from the 11th round. Wilson caught 23 through two broken ribs. Higgins caught 33. Coleman’s 18 came from a 13th-round rookie in a Denver backfield that just got bigger.

Zeros. Flowers, a Gang Green keeper, scored zero. Metcalf, a Buffy keeper, managed 1. Blitz keepers London, Taylor and Robinson combined for 14.

The wire did its part. Douglas paid off his 12 dollars, and Bass, a free pickup, kicked 14. Omar Cooper Jr., Custom J’s 22-dollar claim, went from 20 in his debut to a bagel.

Manager of the Week

This award goes to the start and sit call that won a game.

Manager of the Week: Greg, Gang Green. Wilson and DJ Moore both came into the week questionable, and GM Greg went with Wilson. He caught 23 and outscored Moore by 8 in a game Gang Green won by 8.

Honorable mention: Marcus, City of Angels Masterminds. He benched Hall, who sat out again, for Douglas, who caught 15. Nothing on the Masterminds bench would have scored more.

Calls that cost. Coach Eddie stuck with Love, who threw for 30, and Joe Burrow went for 54 on the Bunch bench in a 10-point loss. Love had earned the job. Burrow picked his week.

The Trainer’s Room

In a keeper league, an injury costs this week’s points, the waiver money spent to cover it, and sometimes next year’s keeper.

Custom J. Jackson, a keeper, needs surgery on his right thumb and is going on injured reserve, which keeps him out at least four games. Kyler Murray, the 1-dollar Friday pickup, is the cover, and the Vikings are evaluating him for a sore hamstring. De’Von Achane, another keeper, is still on injured reserve.

The Monkeys. Harvey went on injured reserve on Oct 31 with a knee injury from practice, and his work in Denver now goes to Coleman, on Custom J. Tuten missed Monday’s walkthrough with an ankle and foot problem, and the Jaguars play Thursday. Rashee Rice, a keeper, returned from his hamstring and knee trouble and caught a touchdown, though from the Monkeys bench.

The Masterminds. Adams had surgery on a ruptured hamstring tendon on Oct 28 and is looking at six to ten weeks. Hall missed a fifth game with his quad but is expected back in Week 9.

Gang Green. Christian McCaffrey, a keeper, is trending toward a return after the 49ers’ bye. Jaylin Noel went on injured reserve with a toe injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Wilson plans to play through the ribs.

Blitz. Taylor, a keeper, may not be a Colt much longer. Indianapolis now looks likely to trade him before the Nov 10 deadline, and nobody knows yet where he would land.

Buffy and the Bunch. DeVonta Smith, a Buffy keeper, missed a second straight game with a hamstring injury, and Love’s ankle gets an update later this week. A.J. Brown, a Bunch keeper, sat with a knee flare-up, and the Patriots haven’t committed to him for Week 9.

The Pot and the standings

Week 8 paid the highest-scoring team that lost. The Bunch lost with 113, the best losing score of the week, so Coach Eddie takes the Pot. Week 9 pays the owner of the highest-scoring player on any bench, so this week a big day on the bench at least pays something.

The Monkeys lead at 13-3, and Gang Green is two back at 11-5. The Boyz are third at 10-6. Blitz, the Angels and the Phreaks are 8-8, the Masterminds and Custom J 7-9, the Bunch 5-11 and Buffy 3-13. Every team gets two results a week: one for its game, and one for finishing in the top or bottom half of the league’s scores. Ties break on head-to-head record.

Next week

First place hosts second. The Monkeys and Gang Green split their six meetings from 2021 through last season, and Gang Green comes in with Josh Allen back and McCaffrey possibly back too.

Blitz hosts the Boyz in a Bay Area game, the Phreaks host Custom J, the Bunch host the Masterminds, and Battle Angel hosts Buffy.