News:

Welcome back to year 19 of Clan McDonald fantasy football. This detail may make some of us feel old. It may remind some of us of a time when Tony Romo, Kurt Warner and Greg Olsen weren’t just popular TV analysts, they were on our rosters and winning us games. Good times…

This pre-season has been relatively drama free, which is nice. We had the Scary Terry mini hold-in and AOB had to sweat McCaffrey for a couple days but otherwise, pretty uneventful.

Speaking of uneventful, the Brawlers and Rosstitutes seem to be the only squads not bitten by the “Week 1 bug”. It’s a common virus that makes the rounds every September but usually you just need to drink extra fluids and get some extra rest and you’ll be fine.

In terms of housekeeping, I wanted to remind people of the Western football game October 18th and (again) league dues.

Random thought of the week:

An early check-in on the new defensive scoring system suggests scoring may be down a little but it’s a pretty small sample size. Denver led the way with 16 points and the 12th ranked team (LV) posted 9 points. Scanning the stats, I don’t really have any objections to the relative rankings of the teams and their Week 1 results. Points and yards allowed still matter, as do defensive plays. I think I like that the scores are less volatile (i.e. You’re not watching points slip away late in games). If anyone has thoughts I’m happy to listen but I see no reason not to finish the season “as is” and revisit next year if necessary.

Shark move of the week:

I will give a collective honourable mention to anyone who took a “fantasy elite” QB early this year. It’s something I’ve occasionally done (and often not done) but if I had to guess, you may be up against it all year if you don’t have one. Granted it could be a year where guys like Fields, McCarthy, Williams and Penix sustain what they did in Week 1, which is turn “okay” real QB play into “pretty good” fantasy points. One thing’s for sure, Piper is looking good with a Lamar / Fields combo right now.

There were some sharks in the lottery ticket category this year as well and the top shark has to be Brandon, who is currently sitting on Penix, Bill Croskey-Merritt and the riddle wrapped in an enigma, Quinshon Judkins. Every time I hear his name I think of that old World of Warcraft video (LEEEEEROYYYYYYYY JENNNNNNKINNNNNNNS!!!) but I digress…

Still there must be one weekly winner and I won’t over think it. This week’s shark award goes to Ken and his 165 point start. In short, he’s already got a 50% point lead on most of the league and when we get down to Week 13, that often matters.

Guppy move of the week:

In the interest of brevity, I will give this award to myself. Most people have the good sense not to get too cute in Week 1 and just roll out your (mostly) healthy starters. Not me though. I had to get a “feeling” just prior to kick-off about Tyrone Tracy and Breece Hall. Honestly, I’m unable to think of a time when a last minute premonition didn’t blow up in my face – and here I am again.

I should mention one runner up however. I’m not sure why Ceilidh would start the Bills DEF against the Ravens. She would have fared better if she started her other DEF.

Smack talk award of the week:

We had some pretty good work in the chat this week. I received my annual “Neil’s back” trade offer, which was fun and I enjoyed him planting his flag on Chris Rodriguez too! It’s definitely still early but the good news is, Chi Chi is now on waivers Neil so you should scoop him up!

This week I think I’m leaning towards the Piper though with the Pig’s Nose scotch. He seemed to be saying “In a pig’s eye” more than a pig’s nose but it’s important to remember pigs can find truffles. Time will tell if Chris Rodriguez is a truffle or a toad stool…

Welcome to fantasy hell award of the week:

In the absence of a “star player out for the season” type event, I think this week it’s just those of us with some bigger name players who seemed to be playing Week 4 of the pre-season instead of Week 1 of the actual season.

10 points from ARSB and AJ Brown is a bit ‘o a kick in the knackers but Chase, Higgins, Pollard and Pacheco combining for a staggering 24 points is like a quadruple kick in the knackers. That’s the kind of knacker staggering that will stagger you worse than finishing off a bottle of Pig’s Nose on a Saturday night by the fire pit!

Good luck in Week 2!