Mid-Season: The Knights Who Say Ni

In our second mid-season look, we take a look at The Knights Who Say Ni, home to our last two title winners! [2015 Mid-Season]

Another Bad Creation (5-2)
Our defending champs are poised atop the division and in a good place to defend their title. They haven’t exactly been doing it in grand style though, as they seem to be playing down to the level of their competition quite often, and have faced one of the easier schedules in the league so far. Still, with only three winning teams left on the schedule, a postseason spot should be within easy reach for them.

Playoff hero Kirk Cousins again leads this team in scoring, and he’s relied on Jordan Reed and Stefon Diggs to generate a passing game — to hit-and-miss results. The actual best receivers on this team have more likely been Michael Thomas and Terrelle Pryor, who have been much steadier, albeit slower to get into ABC’s lineup. The big question for ABC seems to be at running back, where TJ Yeldon and Jeremy Langford has floundered. Perhaps two good weeks from Jacquizz Rodgers will be enough to steady the backfield, but it’ll be hard for ABC to advance far if Rodgers suddenly takes a dive. Can the champs repeat? I guess we’ll find out soon!

P Funk All Stars (5-2)
Having already doubled last year’s win total, and then some, P Funk started the season 3-1 and is suddenly in contention for a playoff spot. The David Carr to Amari Cooper connection has been fruitful so far, although Carr has been slipping a bit recently. At least Tavon Austin has finally figured out how to use his multiple talents in a big way, and is third on this team in scoring. The problem is, DeVante Parker hasn’t really lived up to preseason hype, and there’s also been a hole at running back.

The good news is, James White has been picking up steam ever since Tom Brady returned, and he’ll likely take the starting gig from Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles, neither of whom can find much consistency. 2016 #2 overall pick Laquon Treadwell has been an absolute non-factor — as is Ameer Abdullah, who is back on IR — but P Funk can afford to wait on him. Paolo’s team has a two game lead on any wild card chase, so should get into the postseason, but he’ll need his Raiders twosome to step it up over the back half of the season.

Jedi Knights (3-4)
As the top scoring team in the division, Jedi should have more than three wins. However, they’ve been pounded by one of the tougher schedules in the league, and actually have a higher PA than PF. WK7’s 1.5 point loss to P Funk dropped them behind in the division chase and now they’ll have to play catch up. Still, last year’s division winner shouldn’t be counted out as there’s still hope yet.

Interestingly, this is one of the few teams not led in points by a quarterback. Eli Manning has been erratic all season so it’s TY Hilton who have led this team in points. Even TE Greg Olsen, who has been simply amazing, outranks Manning in total points scored. Emmanuel Sanders has been perfect as a third receiver and he’s been a steady source of catches and yards. The run game though, is troubled. Danny Woodhead was lost for the season early on, and although Matt Asiata has been better recently, 55 yard weeks aren’t likely to move the needle much. If Chris Washington can take over in the backfield for the Redskins, that would really help out the Knights’ playoff chances. Strangely, Marshawn Lynch is still on this roster. Does Chris know something we don’t about Beast Mode’s (un)retirement plans?

Original Salt (1-6)
Our 2014 champions are back in the cellar. After accruing just three wins last year, it’s possible Original Salt doesn’t even get there this season. They’re averaging a league worst 59.9 ppg, and their lone win came against one of the other worst teams in the league. With Ben Roethlisberger hitting the sidelines for awhile, Reno’s team can book a suite for the Toilet Bowl right now. Also confusing, why did 2016 #3 overall pick, Jonathan Stewart, get cut three weeks ago, and just returned to the field last week for two touchdowns?

There are a few bright spots for this team though. Old hand Anquan Boldin has been better than excited, while Matt Forte started off the season very hot. And now Spencer Ware seems to have taken charge of the backfield in Kansas City, and has put up excellent numbers recently. Plus, there’s a chance Isaiah Crowell will serve as a nice RB2 down the stretch, giving OS a good running game. Beyond those guys though, there’s not a whole lot to look forward to the rest of the way. Maybe if Big Ben can return soon, OS will vie for a Toilet Bowl win and a number one overall pick?

Mid-Season: Ohana

It's just about halfway through 2016 already, so let's take a look at our divisions one-by-one, and week-by-week. We'll start with the Ohana division, which still remains the toughest division around! [2015 Mid-Season]

100 Acre Wood Pooh Bears (4-2)
Leading the league in scoring at 103.25 points per, J and Jayvee’s team is riding last season’s playoff breakout, David Johnson, and 2016 #1 pick Ezekiel Elliot to pole position in Ohana division. After last year’s disappointing 6-7 campaign, Pooh Bears are headed straight back to the top again. Aside from the wonderful running duo, this team also features Antonio Brown and a fleet of hit-and-miss wides doing intriguing things: Brandin Cooks, Mike Evans, Doug Baldwin, Marvin Jones, and Sterling Shepard.

The on-field leader on the team has changed, from Carson Palmer to Cam Newton, but that should be fine, even if Newton isn’t exactly on last year's MVP form. The only weakness for this team so far has been at TE, where Antonio Gates has been injured and overtaken by his understudy in San Diego. We’re not anticipating any slowdown from here till the postseason for Pooh Bears, and another championship is squarely in their sights.

Fockers (3-3)
Hong’s team stumbled out of the gates 2-6 last year and ended up flailing around in the Toilet Bowl. Now they are back into division contention, despite the inability of Dez Bryant to return to the field. Fueling their attack is a return to form by Andrew Luck, and the ground game of LeGarrette Blount and the freshly returned LeVeon Bell. As they wait for Bryant, Demaryius Thomas has been okay leading this team, even as his fantasy dominant days are likely over. The good news for Fockers is that Jimmy Graham has finally become his old self with the Seahawks, and is a top flight tight end option once again. With injuries dotting his bench, GM Hong could look to field a better defense and kicker too, and then he could use the second half of the season to lock up a postseason appearance. Long live Fockers!

Italian Stallionz (3-3)
Well, getting blasted by 168.5 points last week surely didn’t help Stallionz Points Against numbers, but WK6 was an aberration, as Porta’s team has mostly faced a soft schedule. Their three wins have come on sub-75 point weeks from their opponent. Unfortunately, once the opposing team hits 90+ points, it’s good night for Stallionz. Still, they are at 3-3 and squarely in the playoff mix. After finishing 5-8 last year, that’s good news.

Marcus Mariota has solidified himself as a top ten quarterback, even though he is still very irregular. The surprise of the year has to be Michael Crabtree, who has found the fountain of youth in Oakland and has been great so far this season. Add in the Falcons’ duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman in the backfield, operating for the number one offense in the NFL, and Porta is in decent shape. If Brandon Marshall can stay hot, and new tight end Jack Doyle finds some more consistency, the outlines of a competitive team are here. Stallionz need to take it up a notch for the rest of the season to insure a smooth ride to the playoffs.

Squirtle Squad (2-4)
Our defending division champs stumbled out of the gates winless in three games, and things were looking bleak.  Injuries decimated this team early, as Keenan Allen and Adrian Peterson were both lost for the season. Fortunately, Tom Brady is back! He’ll replace Tyrod Taylor and that will be a major upgrade for this offense, obviously. Along with that, Lamar Miller and Randall Cobb are showing signs of life and if they can kick it into gear, Squirtles could rise quickly.

Of course, GM Brian will need to work the waiver wire to find some other parts, as this entire bench is full of red injury statuses. Rookie Will Fuller was looking great for a few weeks, but has fallen behind Allen Robinson on the Squirtles depth chart. In a competitive division, will Tom Terrific be enough to pilot this team back to the postseason after getting knocked out of the first round last year?