Nathan's Nits - Week 8

Start/Sit Thoughts 

My five spot Tuesday drop was cathartic. But I think it was a strategic blunder. Each player you drop at Wednesday noontime is a control. They can act like their own individual pickup list. When you don't have them on your roster to drop, you end up with no third DP or kicker, and end up having to drop a couple of players you just paid for. I probably won't be doing that again.

X, Circle, X, Right Stick Right, Right Stick Left, Right Stick Right, X, Triangle

• Alan: Eli vs. Big Ben. Probably a coin flip but I’ll talk about the match ups. Issues with your FLEX. MJD at RB, SJax at FLEX (if he can’t go, you can plug in AirWolf for the SNF game).
  
  
  Your quarterback depth chart isn't so much a situation as outright disaster. Who knew, though? Both these guys were startable (when healthly) last year. Philly has been terrible against the pass this year, so I think your process was correct starting Eli. Big Ben had to west coast it against an underrated Oakland defense.
  
  My FLEX comment was something you actually corrected between noon and one. Well done. You always want your later game players FLEXed, when possible. This gives you...wait for it...maximum FLEXibility. Har har.
  
  Performance: Manning went for 9.7 points. Its always REALLY bad when a QB scores less than double digits. These dudes are supposed to be our bread and butter. Roethlisberger wasn't considerably better in a joke of a game out in the bay area. 13.1 points. Totally cosmetic, wouldn't have mattered.
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Ben: good work being full strength when everyone is struggling with byes.
  
  And then you go out there and post the weekly high with 130.9 points. I guess you're paying for it a bit when some iffy plays in Week 10 due to the bye week gauntlet.
  
  
  
  
• Chad: Cole Beasley is an interesting play, and an indication of where we are (14 teams, injuries, bye week hell). As with Alan, your FLEX game could use some work. Give yourself an option to roll out Givens if need by swapping Da Bees and Amendola.
  
  
  Beasley, white boy slot receiver, had been getting more involved in the Dallas passing game in recent weeks, ranging between 4.4 and 10.7 points over the past three weeks. That make him a somewhat viable desperation play during BYE hell.
  
  I have no idea what my other comment was about, other than some more FLEXy comments that seem completely off base looking back on it. IGNORE.
  
  Performance: 1 for 8 for Cole. 0.8 points. Ouch. Worst output since the first three weeks of the season when he wasn't really playing. Givens or Dobson would've worked much better, and I think you have to start playing the later or you'll make yourself a liar.
  
  
  
  
• Russ: just like Ben above. Reed vs. Gonzo, though. Gonzo is being jammed and bracketed with no Jones/White on the outside. Reed screams upside in a potential shootout in Denver. Not sure you got this one right.

  
  

  And by just like Ben I mean good work avoiding one of the trickier bye weeks. And just like Ben, you got after it with 126.8. This Newton/Nelson/Moreno trio is nasty when you can add Shady, Fitz, and Gonzo to it. Scary good.
  
  Performance: I hate to nit pick but I mean that's why I'm here. Reed was good for 9 points on your bench was Gonzo was frustrated to the tune of 2.6. Its these little tweaks that are going to help avoid postseason disappointment.
  
  

  
  Derrick: you’re looking pretty good at RB when you’ve got Hillis and Thomas on your bench. Signs of life.
  
  And it was your RBs that came through for you. FJax with 12.1 and Ridley with 13.9. Thomas and Hillis went 9.4/8.5 respectively, which is decent on your bench. You made the right calls and do indeed have good depth at RB. But WR/TE/DP let you down and you lost to the Rookie. No one wants to do that.
  

  
  

  Rookie: FauriaTateBell sounds like some weird new sex move. Edelman vs. Tate?

  
  

  Fauria is the definition of boom bust. Except its all bust and unpredictable booms. Enjoy that dry bagel with no liquid to wash it down. Tate had a huge game and won this contest for you. With Rice down for the year, you just lucked into Seattle's #1 pass target. Bell is gonna get his, too. With your two Raiders playing well, there are signs of life in Nthville.
  
  Performance: Edelman sucked for 0.7 while Tate taunted his way to 21.3. Right call.
  
  

  

  
  
  Joe: Graham is active so you have to play him. But it don’t feel right. Jerrell Freeman is officially worth rostering on a bye.
  
  What a jealous thought on Sunday morning. I'd love to have this problem. Graham plays a handful of snaps and does his usual thing: 15.7 points. Which is his fourth highest game of the season. Graham is averaging more points per game than all TEs and WRs. He's only behind Megatron and Dez in pure points because he's already had his bye. Dude is straight sick.
  
  Paul: bye week city. No true options to consider.
  

  
  

  And it showed. Bagel by Sproles hurt. Manning and Burfict were the only ones to show up.
  
  
  

  Norris: Brady benched. Damn straight and about time.
  
  
  And then Geno went for 5 points. But don't worry, Brady got 8.1. What to do, man?
  
  
  

Week 8 Numbers

All Play

• A two horse race, but Ben is trying like hell to make it a three way. Probably not the first time.
• Mark/Nathan/Paul pretty even. Scratching and clawing for the playoffs.
• After some downs and ups from Joe, Mark has now taken over Mr. Consistency (lowest deviation). When you're near the top of the table, that's a good thing. Means you're a hard out.
• Three way race to the bottom between Alan, Norris, and Derrick.

Luck

• Everyone coming back to the pack a bit. No one over 1.00 on either side.
• Chocolate Squirrel is the most "is what he is" team.

Jenna

• Jenna's on her fourth man in the six weeks I've been tracking her. Only Mark and Ben have doubled her over.
• Chad is further away than last week, while Kirk made up a little ground.
• For a touch of context, some information on the weekly gap betwen the highest and lowest scoring teams:
• Highest: 85.0 in Week 8 (Ben 130.9, Norris 45.9)
• Lowest: 51.9 in Week 5 (Patrick 125.8, Norris 73.9)
• Average: 65.7

Hotness

• Kendall is right to be worried about Ben and Russ. But Mark and I have made some noise, too.
• No wonder Norris changed his name.