News:

Week 3 was a pretty wild ride in a hobby that is no stranger to wild rides but whether you were curb stomped or defeated by the narrowest of margins, the result is the same. Week 3 is over and Week 4 beckons – or at least that’s the attitude we need to have, right?

I am usually hesitant to look at the standings in Clan McDonald after a mere three weeks of play and ascribe any significant meaning to them but looking at the scores a couple teams had and the points lead they are quickly amassing, it’s hard not to see this as a two team race – at least for the time being. Still, some teams are getting some fantasy-relevant players back soon (from injuries and suspensions) and we’ll see if it shifts the balance of power in the NFL a little bit or not. We’ll also be watching to see if anyone can defend against Miami or cover Keenan Allen…

Random Thought of the Week:

As I said to those in attendance on Saturday, we are fortunate to play in a fantasy league where most of us have met and/or can put a face to a name of everyone else or have some connection by “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” standards at least. It’s even nicer when we can meet up once a year, have a few pops and take in a football game as we did this past Saturday at Western Homecoming.

Shark Move of the Week:

If Scott was ever looking to rename his team, “I’m not dead yet!” would probably work. Keenan Allen and Raheem Mostert led the way in his line-up to 198 points and let’s face it, those guys were not exactly the most likely candidates to be on the cover of Madden 2023. But if that wasn’t enough, he also had Adam Thielen on his bench, who many thought was on his way to the glue factory this season. With Cousins and Thielen in his line-up, he would have been flirting with the highest score ever recorded in Clan McDonald.

Guppy Move of the Week:

Sometimes we hang ourselves with an abundance of rope, as Neil did this week by having three QBs to choose from yet still managing to start the worst of the three. What’s that old saying? If you have three QBs you don’t have any?

Sometimes though, we are sunk by excessive confidence in a single choice, such as my vaunted “set and forget” Dallas defense. I had to watch Dallas live on Sunday with BK, Ceilidh and the Piper (a Cowboys fan) as the ‘Boys absolutely stunk out the joint against the deadly Arizona Cardinals (who have no Kyler or Nuk or anyone really). How do you explain a points variance of 42 points in Week 1 to zero points in Week 3? No, you really can’t.

Smacktalk Award of the Week:

Lots of worthy candidates for the Week 3 smack award. Neil was alternating between taking the high road and the low road but it was nice to see him mention the Clan McDonald social outing.

It was also nice to see a fairly rare sighting of the Brown Dawgs entering the chat too. In the end though, I think I have to give the award to AOB for pointing out that Neil’s squad could use a bit of good old fashioned 70’s inflation. It would certainly beat the shrinkflation I’m experiencing currently.

Welcome to Fantasy Football Hell Award of the Week:

I am generally a fantasy optimist or if I can’t find the sunny side of the street, I can at least embrace the chaos and the knowledge that the fantasy magic 8-ball is going to spit out another random answer to shake up the recipients of reward and punishment. Still for those of us currently in the “have not” section of the standings, things seem a little bleak, or as the band Suicidal Tendencies once sang, How will I laugh tomorrow when I can’t even smile today?

Many of us are hovering around that 325 point level after three weeks. Compared to the teams at the top, we are more or less a full week’s worth of points behind. Is it just me or does that seem like a lot?