Git Sum

Last week we looked at The Moose Knuckle, the current strongest division in the league. This week we’ll take a look at Sum Dum Goy, arguably the second best division this season. [2015 Keepers]

Mandalorian Warriors (4-1-1)
The Warriors were pegged for a huge rebuilding year as almost all of their current assets had been moved away in recent seasons — and a mid-draft trade of CJ Anderson didn’t look like a “win now” move. Well, six weeks in, the Warriors are leading the Eastern Conference in wins and have scored the fourth most points in the league. The resurgence has been led by, of all people, Larry Fitzgerald! Fitz has scored double digits in all of his games, with an average of 18.4 points and 5 TDs accrued. Across from him is Julian Edelman, who is averaging a nifty 17.6 points of his own in just five weeks. And ugh, who is TE Gary Barnidge and why is he putting up scores of 19-16-23-16.5 points in the last month?!

With these three to throw to, it’s been okay that Drew Brees has been pretty average. Or that there’s not much of a run game here — although Karlos Williams was looking great until his recent injury. The Warriors find themselves with a fierce passing attack after moving out all of their starting running backs (LeSean McCoy, Anderson, Chris Ivory), and are winning more for it. Is Matt’s team back to contender status so soon? Sure looks like it!

Detroit Players (4-2)
Ariel’s team looked like they would have one of the best running attacks in the game with three keeper-ed RBs, plus rookie Ameer Abdullah. Mostly, that’s been true, although the running leader in the clubhouse has been surprising. Mark Ingram has grabbed the starting reins and is the #4 RB in fantasy this season, posting a 13.9 average. DeMarco Murray and Jeremy Hill have both taken a step back this season, but both are still capable of alternating big games. Abdullah has been very erratic, but he will have plenty of time to find his footing on this team.

And the passing attack has been very good, featuring AJ Green and Jarvis Landry, a terrific duo. With Martavis Bryant making his season debut behind a huge 28 point week, it’s safe to say that Players could have some of the best position players around. Except for a slight hole at quarterback, where Sam Bradford is in constant danger of being replaced by James Winston, who has been turnover prone, but steadier on the scoreboard than Bradford.

Strangely, Players have scored less PF than PA, owing to their two losses being gigantic blowouts. And two of their wins have been very close: An one point win last week, and a nail biting 0.5 point win in WK1 versus Squirtle Squad. With a strong rotation and steely nerves, Players look like they’ll easily hit the post-season this year after missing out last year.

Sweep the Leg Zabka (2-4)
After starting off 2-1, Alan’s team has lost four in a row, albeit to three very strong teams. They aren’t too far back and could make a push for a post-season berth if they can get their running game in order. The passing game is looking great, as both Andy Dalton and Eli Manning are having fantastic seasons. In fact, Dalton has emerged as the #2 QB in the game, and has taken over for Eli, who is at #8. Trade bait for someone?

Odell Beckham Jr. and Rob Gronkowski form an enviable 1-2 receiving punch and Gronk has been, predictably, the best TE by a wide margin. Beckham has had two dips but is definitely not suffering from any sophomore slumps, unlike Sammy Watkins, who can’t seem to get the ball, or stay healthy. And as for that running attack, Latavius Murray and Jonathan Stewart are averaging close to double digits, but have been up and down. Also, let’s not overlook the best kicker in the game, Stephen Gostkowski, who is blasting 13.8 points in his last four games.

With a top passing attack, a great kicking game, and maybe a little bit of ground game to finish out games, Sweep the Leg could get right back into the post-season hunt, and we’re not ready to count them out!

Shogun of Harlem (2-4)
Hope floats for the other 2-4 team in this division too, as Shoguns started off 0-4 and didn’t score more than 84 points in the first month of the season but has picked up two consecutive wins and is averaging 100.25 ppg in that span. What’s changed? One name: Arian Foster! Okay, not everything good can be laid at the feet of Foster, but his return has helped steady the backfield. Alfred Blue was nigh useless and the previous top running back scorer was a lone big week by Seahawks’ Thomas Rawls.

But now Foster can combine with Tyler Eifert (having a great year as the #2 ranked TE), a pretty solid Jeremy Maclin, and the fantasy stylings of dual threat QB Tyrod Taylor — replacing the injured Tony Romo — to get this team some much needed wins. Coach Mike has already started seventeen players this season, a huge number, so some lineup steadiness could help them climb out of the cellar. There’s still a lot of regular season left to play and Shoguns are clearly trending up!

Moose is Loose!

I was going to do a “best teams so far” article but we might as well turn this into divisional reviews because, shockingly, The Moose Knuckle has three of the leagues top teams! A division long mocked for its ineptitude suddenly sports one undefeated team and two other squads with sterling 4-1 records. So let’s start our weekly division look with The Moose Knuckle shall we? [2015 Keepers]

MoRRie’s Pogiboys (5-0)
The cream of Maize and Blue this season is averaging 110.3 points per game and opened the year by taking down three teams who now have winning records. Before the draft, Alvin had pinged me asking about Devonta Freeman and I gave him a lukewarm answer, even as a die hard Falcons fan. Well, five weeks in and Freeman is leading the entire league in total points scored, with 24.0 per. Along with a tremendous Tom Brady (averaging 25.5 points over four games), Pogiboys is sitting very pretty. Adding to the riches, Pogiboys also have breakout candidate Allen Hurns coming on too!

Not all is right, of course, as the mid-draft trade for LeSean McCoy has been a disaster, Eddie Lacy has been slow to start (again), and Calvin Johnson has been pedestrian, with Megatron being outscored by the likes of John Brown. But hey, keeper holdover Travis Kelce has looked quite good and between Brady, Freeman, and the top ranked Broncos defense, there doesn’t seem to be much that can slow down this team. So here's our early season favorite and it's on the playoffs for Pogiboys! *jinx*

Hungry Hungry Ouroboros (4-1)
Want to know how one of the worst teams of the last few seasons started off the season 4-0? Well, look no further than PA, which gave Ouroboros a soft start to the season, and even after last week’s 74.5 - 81.5 loss to division mate Team Cameltoe, Jon’s team is still facing the weakest schedule in the land, with opponents averaging a measly 68.3 points. To be fair, Ouroboros has put up 91.7 points per matchup, which puts them as the fourth highest scoring team this season. For a team coming off a 4-9 season, it’s been a huge improvement.

Matt Ryan has been erratic at the helm but he’s led this team in scoring, while Giovani Bernard has been quietly effective. It didn’t take long for first overall pick Todd Gurley to make his mark on the NFL and it looks like he’ll permanently take over Joseph Randle’s starting spot. In fact, this team suddenly has a bunch of mid-tier RBs, with Isaiah Crowell on the bench as well as Rashad Jennings. The receivers have been boom and bust, but Eric Decker, Torrey Smith, Martellus Bennet, and the ghost of Tavon Austin have all had at least one huge game. With Gurley coming on, and a stiff Cardinals defense, Ouroboros could be in the fight for their first post-season berth post-ownership change!

Team Cameltoe (4-1)
Nipping at Pogiboys and Ouroboros’ heels is Felipe’s team. Aside from a WK3 blowout loss to Alvin, Camelot has been pretty good. A lot of that success can be attributed to Julio Jones’ incredible start to the season and the contributions of wideout Jordan Matthews. The past two weeks have also featured 21.5 and 34.5 point showings from Doug Martin, which has given the ground team some life. And that’s good because the mid-draft trade for CJ Anderson has been an absolute disaster. I guess two firsts and a second buy 3.9 ppg these days… Keeper Lorenzo Taliaferro has been a mess too. So, um, let’s hope Muscle Hamster keeps churning!

Actually, wait, how is this team winning so much? Russell Wilson has been barely above average, and tight end prospect Josh Hill has already been cut. I guess with Jones, Martin, and Matthews that’s been enough to keep Cameltoe in the hunt! With last week’s takedown of Hungry Ouroboros, Felipe has a leg up in the H2H tie-breaker, and Cameltoe should remain competitive in the fight for a division title.

Ann Arbor Bamfers (1-4)
Not everyone can be a winner right? Bamfers are averaging 66.8 points per game, second lowest in the league, with their one win coming against fellow bottom dweller P Funk All Stars in WK4. Still, Bamfers put up a fight against division leading Pogiboys last weekend and they’re not going to just roll over... After all, there’s still our inaugural Toilet Bowl to prepare for!

Old man Frank Gore has led this team in scoring, and he seems to have found his footing in Indianapolis after a rough first two weeks. The main problem for this team has been at the top, with Colin Kaepernick starting four games before finally getting benched for the superior Philip Rivers last week. Rookies Melvin Gordon and Nelson Agholor have yet to make much of a mark, and Golden Tate has been catching a lot of balls, but none for touchdowns, or much yardage. Overall the Bamfers just need their rookies to show some promise over the course of the season, and to maybe play spoiler for the rest of The Moose Knuckle contenders to make this a successful regular season.