Add/Drop/Trade/Kill/Destroy*: Nathan's Nits

Week 9 Start/Sit Thoughts

I don't have a ton to say because I was on the road during the noon to one Sunday hour when I typically make my start/sit notes. Me and the fam were on the way back from a short trip to Va Beach to see family. If you think having all four Sanford boys in one house is a big party then you'd be wrong and I'd honestly question how well you really know us. At least we got to watch Clemson demolish us on Rookie's iPad. I'll try to pad this week's post with some playoff picture thoughts (thanks for the implied pressure on the message board, K.)

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Nathan: Considered benching VJax with his horrible match up, but his upside is still greater than Steve Smith. Stills gets the late nod with Colson's deactiviation. Decided to drop Foles for a DP as I'm more intrigued by Keenum.

Weirdly, Tampa jumped all over Seatlle (IN SEATTLE) early, but VJax wasn't a part of it. Mike Glennon actually looks pretty competent sometimes. I figured Stills would get more targets with Colston out, but I forgot that Colston has sucked this year and it didn't factor. Stills is quintessential boom/bust, and I knew that. Gotta take the lows to catch those highs, RIGHT!? And then there is Foles, the seven touchdown man. Guess that was, uh, a mistake. Although I still am liking Case as my backup cube.

Uhhhhhh

Performance: Vincent Jackson was smothered to the tune of 2 for 11, Still showed his floor (and his ass) with 3 for 35 while Smiff was a marginally better 5 for 52 on the bench. Classic low water mark (hopefully) for the BEAR. Foles only scored 45.6, Keenum dumped 28.6 on my bench while RG3 handed the ball off to his fullback for three short yardage scores. YEAH FANTASY FOOTBALL!

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Chad: When the flip are you going to start Aaron Dobson? Or is this weekly nugget in the Nits enough to have you keep him on your bench in some strange spurt of spite?

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Riley Cooper on Derrick's bench. Ouch. At least you didn't drop him!

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Patrick: Strange move to keep Stephen Tulloch on your bench on a BYE week, only to dump him at Wednesday FAAB. Waste.

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Geno Smith screwed, Mark, and in a way, all of us competing for Jenna. If Geno had been good in Week 8 when Brady sucked, Norris probably would've kept Tom Terrific on his bench. That would have allowed Mark to win this past week. These are the dominoes that have to fall to land in the basement of the Luck Table. At least Jenna is there to soothe your wounds. Truly one of the landmark rule changes we've made.

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Norris: I'll take Spiller if you don't want to play him.

Playoff Picture

Here are my quick hit thoughts about each team heading into the last four weeks of the regular season. I'll post the relevant numbers for each team, along with comments on their future schedule and my own subjective chance of making it to the postseason.

Juris United (3-6)

All Play Record: 26-91 (14th); 717.7 points (14th); High: 116.2 (12th); Low: 49.6 (13th); STD DEV: 20.69 (3rd); Luck: 1.00 (T-2nd); Hotness: 76.6 (13th); Jenna: 9th of 9, 233.4 points back.

Other than above average luck and a touch of explosiveness, Alan doesn't have much going for his team. His best player is Demaryius Thomas, but he doesn't have much around him. Juris suffered from below expectation seasons from Eli Manning, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Steven Jackson. Its going to be hard to find three keeper worth options here without some trading/waiver wire savvy.

Record against current playoff teams: 1-3; Everyone else: 2-3

Lowest score in a win: 80.6 (Week 7 against Derrick's 72.7); would've only defeated KAG and two other CKL squads that week.

Highest score in a loss: 96.8 (Week 5 against Patrick's 125.8); not terribly unlucky, would've only defeated five other teams.

Future Schedule (18-18): Kendall, Rookie, Norris, Paul. 5-6 would be impressive, although not impossible.

Playoff chance: 0%

Long-term Outlook: post-apocalypse nuclear cloud cover gloom

At least Alan is in Wine Country with his lady friend.

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Kick Azz Giants (1-8)

All Play Record: 30-87 (13th); 774.1 points (11th); High: 110.5 (13th); Low: 55.5 (12th); STD DEV: 16.81 (9th); Luck: -1.31 (13th); Hotness: 85.1 (11th); Jenna: 6th of 9, 177.0 points back.

The best you can say for Derrick's team is: they're not quite as horrible as they look. He has some interesting pieces with Gronk, Kaepernick, and the Jackson Duo (Fred and DeSean). But the pieces rarely come together. But he does have keeper options.

Record against current playoff teams: 0-4; Everyone else: 1-4

Lowest score in a win: 99.5 (his only win, Week 6 against Patrick); he went 8-5 in all play that week, a season best.

Highest score in a loss: 110.5 (Week 1 loss to Russ' 122.9) Its tough when your season high performance doesn't earn you a double yoo. Derrick would've defeated five other teams in the CKL's explosive opening week scoring anomaly.

Future Schedule (18-18): Nathan, Mark, Chad, Kirk; all members of the scratching and clawing for a playoff spot contingent. 1-12 is terrifyingly possible.

Playoff chance: 0%

Long-term Outlook: you're dead, but you might get to kiss Demi Moore if only you can find and inhabit Whoopi Goldberg's body.

Wasn't allowed to watch this as a kid; would never watch this as an adult.

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Wonderous Blunderbuss (or whatever he changes it to next) (3-6)

All Play Record: 36-81 (12th); 740.4 points (13th); High: 118.3 (11th); Low: 45.9 (14th); STD DEV: 25.03 (1st); Luck: 0.23 (7th); Hotness: 74.7 (14th); Jenna: 8th of 9, 210.7 points back.

Norris' CKL arc has been very interesting. He slow played his first season, which payed dividends when he made the playoffs in his second year. But injuries and suckitude have caught up to him and he's having a real downer of a year. Brady underperforms (generally), Julio goes down for the year early on, and nothing else really works. He is at least a high variance play, and can snag an unexpected win or two here or there, but he's definitely looking ahead to next year, and has been for a while.

Record against current playoff teams: 1-2; Everyone else: 2-4

Lowest score in a win: 87.5 (Week 4 over Rookie's 84.8); he went 5-8 in all play that week, so decently lucky.

Highest score in a loss: 107.8 (Week 1 loss to Nathan's 124.8) Only would've won four games in the previously mentioned high scoring Week 1.

Future Schedule (22-14): Ben, Chad, Alan, Russ; Alan is the only reasonable expectation at a win. Could look to play spoiler against Chad, though.

Playoff chance: 0%

Long-term Outlook: temporarily sleeping with fat chicks until your mojo is found. Its out there, don't worry.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis Rex (3-6)

All Play Record: 39-78 (11th); 761.2 points (12th); High: 108.9 (14th); Low: 66.3 (9th); STD DEV: 13.88 (13th); Luck: -1.00 (T-11th); Hotness: 84.8 (12th); Jenna: 7th of 9, 189.9 points back.

Its been a season to forget for Rookie, from a tragically misguided name change to pathetic on field performances. Look at those numbers. He has nothing going for him. This is more of what I had in mind when Rookie was invited to join the league. He is a fantasy baseball player. That is his fantasy identity. The fact that he has won a cup and I haven't is one of my demons. Looking at his team, at least he has.....yugh...uh...Philip Rivers? Geez Rookie, who are you going to keep? You're better off blowing it up and selling your keepers for whatever draft picks you might be able to get. Are we looking at putting Rookie permanently in the cellar? I'm open to arguments I'm wrong.

Record against current playoff teams: 1-4; Everyone else: 2-2

Lowest score in a win: 88.6 (Week 8 over Derrick's 79.5); nothing special, as he would've won against five other CKL teams that week.

Highest score in a loss: 107.8 (Week 5 loss to Mark's 111.3) Coin flip luck, as he would've defeated half the league that week.

Future Schedule (17-19): Paul, Alan, Kirk, Patrick; Alan and Patrick are conceivable, but Kirk and Paul will be playoff tough. Much like Alan, getting to five wins from here would be a boon.

Playoff chance: 0%

Long-term Outlook: once hotshot 2007 Merlot that has turned to vinegar. Will be put under ground for a long while in hopes age will be kind. Its a long shot.

Rookie could be a comi-tragic Paul Giamatti if he got in touch with his angst.

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Voodoo Brown (5-4)

All Play Record: 52-65 (10th); 852.5 points (9th); High: 127.8 (7th); Low: 69.3 (8th); STD DEV: 16.45 (10th); Luck: 1.00 (T-2nd); Hotness: 109.8 (3rd); Jenna: 4th of 9, 98.6 points back.

With Joe we've moved past the teams with no chance of making the playoffs. Most of VB's numbers don't indicate a playoff team, but he does have two or three factors working in his favor. First, and most importantly, is his second place standing in the Luck Table. After years of brutal luck, its nice to see him on the other end of the stick. He also is getting hot at the right time, and is only two or three weeks out of the Jenna at this point. But with his five wins, he's just a few permutations out of the current playoff field. Much more about Voodoo Brown later.

Record against current playoff teams: 2-2; Everyone else: 3-2

Lowest score in a win: 69.3 (Week 6 over Norris' 54.7); Ah, Sweet Lady Luck! Nothing like a win when you'd have only beat three teams.

Highest score in a loss: 93.6 (Week 2 loss to Patrick's 94.6) Cunt hair contender. About right though; he would've lost to seven other squads.

Future Schedule (24-12): Kirk, Nathan, Ben, Kendall; WOAH. His luck might be up. That's a murderer's row of playoff locks and hopefuls. No gimmes there. He'll need luck and performance to earn a playoff spot.

Playoff chance: 15%; I want to go higher but that schedule is rough. I even bumped it up a bit because I think Joe can whip the Brown horse down the Jenna home stretch.

Long-term Outlook: more Cups.

You've got friends on the other side.

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The Sexy Badasses (5-4)

All Play Record: 53-64 (9th); 870.2 points (8th); High: 134.7 (2nd); Low: 62.0 (11th); STD DEV: 21.50 (2nd); Luck: 0.92 (4th); Hotness: 93.2 (7th); Jenna: 3rd of 9, 80.9 points back.

Kirk is right on the edge. He looks like a playoff team as often as he doesn't. I'm afraid his high variance days are behind him though, as he lost a ton of explosion with Rodgers sidelined. AP continues to be his workhorse, and could be enough to keep him in the win total and Jenna conversations. He'll need Vernon Davis to continue his occasional week-winning performances while getting much more from his disappointing WR corps. His roster reflects his numbers: you can make a case for him being both really good and fatally flawed. He thinks he's already out of it, which of course isn't true, but can prove to be a disastrous attitude if it keeps him from acting. Fire your bullets, Kirk. What are you waiting for?

Record against current playoff teams: 2-3; Everyone else: 3-1

Lowest score in a win: 62.0 (Week 3 over Alan's 49.6); Thank the schedule drawing because Kirk would've only beat Alan and Derrick this week.

Highest score in a loss: 95.8 (Week 5 loss to Ben's 103.1) Deserved. Only four beatable teams this week.

Future Schedule (16-20): Joe, Kendall, Rookie, Derrick; I'd say this week's game against Joe is bigger than expected. Win, then go chalk in the final three you're looking at 8-5 and a decent chance at a spot. Lose two or more and you'll have to count on making hay in Jenna.

Playoff chance: 30%; you're set up considerably better than Joe because of the schedule and your current Jenna lead over Voodoo. But will the QB position screw you?

Long-term Outlook: decent high school tennis player that needs to develop a backhand.

Not that kind of backhand you dope.

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Glitterfist Lasersnakes (4-5)

All Play Record: 55-62 (8th); 851.8 points (10th); High: 125.8 (8th); Low: 72.0 (6th); STD DEV: 19.70 (4th); Luck: -0.23 (9th); Hotness: 90.0 (9th); Jenna: 5th of 9, 99.3 points back.

Enigmatic squad here. Patrick has a middle of the pack team that, if anything, has slightly below average metrics. He actually has a really good looking set of players, but they're getting dragged down by sucky Ray Rice. He has top 10 players across every position except RB. Which might be enough. But for now, I expect more of the meh-y same from the 'snakes. Actually, looking at it deeper, Patrick has only lost to playoff teams and Derrick. So there it is. If he would've defeated Derrick, he'd be in MUCH better shape.

Record against current playoff teams: 0-4; Everyone else: 4-1

Lowest score in a win: 75.8 (Week 7 over Norris' 60.0); Not too shabby, considering the only glitter bombable teams that week were Norris and Derrick.

Highest score in a loss: 117.3 (Week 1 loss to Kirk's 134.7) Week 1 was brutal. Patrick would've taken most, going 8-5 in all play.

Future Schedule (20-16): Russ, Ben, Mark, Rookie; Making a playoff run is going to be extremely difficult. Being behind the eight ball in both win/loss and Jenna standings, and facing a tough three game run. Patrick might finish 5-8, and that's counting on him blowing out Rookie in Week 13 in frustration.

Playoff chance: 5%; you're not mathematically eliminated, but you're Aron Ralston's arm and you forgot your pocket knife.

Long-term Outlook: medicinal marijuana card

beep beep beep beep beep

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THUNDER BEAR (4-5)

All Play Record: 65-52 (7th); 905.4 points (7th); High: 124.8 (9th); Low: 72.8 (5th); STD DEV: 16.01 (11th); Luck: -1.00 (T-11th); Hotness: 91.5 (8th); Jenna: 2nd of 9, 45.7 points back.

Epiphany: I'm the Glitterfist Lasersnakes with 50 more points. Sobering. And just like Patrick, I've only lost to one non-playoff team: the GLITTERFIST LASERSNAKES. Oh man my Friday afternoon head is going to explode.

Record against current playoff teams: 0-4; Everyone else: 4-1

Lowest score in a win: 104.1 (Week 2 over Alan's 66.0); Shit, that's not luck. I went 10-3 that week in all play.

Highest score in a loss: 100.6 (Week 4 loss to Ben's 126.6) Totally cool with this, as I was only 7-6 in all play. Coin flip.

Future Schedule (16-20): Derrick, Joe, Paul, Chad; Very simple. I lose to Derrick and I'm console bracket toast. Win and live to play three de facto playoff games in a row. IRON SHARPENS IRON.

Playoff chance: 15%; I think this is about right, equal with Joe. I have a slight edge in Jenna but am short a win. I have about a 40% chance of beating each of Joe, Paul, and Chad. So, odds are I'm looking at the Conso. This is tough to type.

Long-term Outlook: three-legged dog

Thinks he has all four limbs. Which is both his greatest strength and most merciless weakness.

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Barclay Street Bruisers (5-4) - Current 5th Seed

All Play Record: 67-50 (6th); 909.8 points (6th); High: 130.3 (4th); Low: 62.5 (10th); STD DEV: 19.38 (5th); Luck: -0.15 (T-8th); Hotness: 88.5 (10th); Jenna (PLAYOFF TEAM NOT CURRENTLY IN THE STANDINGS): 41.3 behind

This is a playoff contender profile. But Paulie is trending the wrong way. Not hot. Not lucky (although not terribly unlucky, either). Is generally good with some explosiveness, though. Those factors will help. Beyond Peyton (which might be enough for the 'offs alone) the Bruisers have some unproven pieces. But they have upside. Its crucial he starts to point back up down the stretch.

Record against current playoff teams: 2-2; Everyone else: 3-2

Lowest score in a win: 85.7 (Week 2 over Derrick's 80.2); Lucky. He could've defeated Derrick or Alan. That's it. And that seems to be a common theme.

Highest score in a loss: 113.9 (Week 1 loss to Kendall's 152.9) Someone has to lose to the CKL season-to-date high score right? Only six wins on the table that week for Paul.

Future Schedule (16-20): Rookie, Russ, Nathan, Alan; two winnable games, two toss ups. 8-5 would be MUCH better than 7-6.

Playoff chance: 40%; Paul is currently in the playoff field, which helps, and he is in better Jenna position than anyone else listed so far. He has the edge over Nathan, Kirk, Joe, and Patrick. But it could very easily slip away.

Long-term Outlook: Katy Perry; a few more short-term hits are possible, but as a person is a cold fish that is improved WAY too much by makeup.

Looks like keeping Danny Woodhead. Don't keep Danny Woodhead.

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Double-O Daddy (5-4) - Current 4th Seed

All Play Record: 69-48 (5th); 924.6 points (5th); High: 129.0 (6th); Low: 69.8 (7th); STD DEV: 18.11 (8th); Luck: -0.31 (T-10th); Hotness: 99.1 (4th); Jenna (PLAYOFF TEAM NOT CURRENTLY IN THE STANDINGS): 26.5 behind

Better profile than Paul. Hot at the right time of year. In striking distance of Jenna if it comes to that. In the best position of all the teams in the 4-5/5-4 scrum. Might have some QB issues (join the club) but is good-to-great everywhere else.

Record against current playoff teams: 1-3; Everyone else: 4-1

Lowest score in a win: 98.6 (Week 7 over Joe's 89.8); Bummer. 9-4 in all play is a recipe for a win.

Highest score in a loss: 97.1 (Week 5 loss to Kendall's 105.0) It's hard to beat the Pink Nightmare. 6-7 all play soothes a touch, as you're a coin flip to winning or losing no matter how the schedule goes.

Future Schedule (16-20): Mark, Norris, Derrick, Nathan; Chad has to get the wins he should (Norris and Derrick) because the Mark and Nathan contests are going to be dogfights. Another team looking to get three wins down the stretch to get in.

Playoff chance: 45%; Chad has the best chance of making the playoffs outside the top three. He can't stumble down the stretch, but then again, none of these guys can.

Long-term Outlook: Chevy Pickup Commercials

Boring. Solid. There when you need him.

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The Champeens (4-5) - Current 6th Seed

All Play Record: 74-43 (4th); 951.1 points (4th); High: 120.0 (10th); Low: 88.6 (3rd); STD DEV: 10.54 (14th); Luck: -1.69 (14th); Hotness: 111.0 (2nd); Jenna; 1st of 9; 45.7 ahead of 2nd

The Champeens are a playoff team. Only the quirkly bad luck of scheduling could prevent them from a rightful place in the postseason. They're full of top ten positional players and functional depth. The Jenna rule was enacted for this exact team. They're showing each other a good time right now, but Mark has to keep scoring. Razor's edge and all.

Record against current playoff teams: 1-2; Everyone else: 3-3

Lowest score in a win: 109.1 (Week 8 over Nathan's 93.5); Great number. 10-3 that week.

Highest score in a loss: 115.0 (Week 4 loss to Russ' 130.1) Swallow that loss when you would've won against nine other CKL teams. Yum.

Future Schedule (17-19): Chad, Derrick, Patrick, Ben; While the schedule is mixed for the Peens, Marks is in a weird spot where the schedule doesn't matter. Mark could lose all four of these games, so long as he outscores everyone else down the stretch.

Playoff chance: 60%; The Champeens are running hot. While they probably won't win out to guarantee their spot with an 8-5 record, they probably will win the Jenna. They have better than a coin flip's chance of making it.

Long-term Outlook: Beautiful Garden

Doesn't everyone think of pretty flowers when they think of Mark?

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Jesus the Moose (7-2) - Current 2nd Seed

All Play Record: 81-36 (3rd); 1,012.6 points (2nd); High: 134.7 (2nd); Low: 92.0 (2nd); STD DEV: 15.93 (12th); Luck: 0.77 (5th); Hotness: 117.4 (1st); Jenna (PLAYOFF TEAM NOT CURRENTLY IN THE STANDINGS): 61.5 ahead

High scoring, hard to kill, and the hottest team in the league, Ben's Jesus the Moose has every reason to be thinking about back-to-back Cups. Megatron, Beast Mode, Brees, and Frank Gore are the core to one of the scariest teams this season. I can't come up with a likely scenario where they aren't in the playoffs. They should be there and go deep. Championship game or bust.

Record against current playoff teams: 2-2; Everyone else: 5-0

Lowest score in a win: 103.1 (Week 5 over Kirk's 95.8); Impressive. 8-5 that week.

Highest score in a loss: 92.0 (Week 1 loss to Chad's 121.1) Second lowest score of the week'll do that to you. Has six or more all play wins every other week, including five in the double digits.

Future Schedule (16-20): Norris, Patrick, Joe, Mark; He won't beat himself, so these other teams will have to do it on their own. Ben should be 9-2 in two weeks and firmly in the field. Joe and Mark could give him trouble, but by then its about seeding.

Playoff chance: 95%; The only reason I don't go 100% is because of the slight possibility for catastrophic injuries and point total collapse. He would win the Jenna right now if he needed to, but I'm guessing he'll be very much in play for a bye.

Long-term Outlook: Steve Jobs

You've spent your time tinkering in the garage. Never again.

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The Magic Stick (7-2) - Current 3rd Seed

All Play Record: 83-34 (2nd); 983.8 points (3rd); High: 130.1 (5th); Low: 81.1 (4th); STD DEV: 18.35 (7th); Luck: 0.62 (6th); Hotness: 96.9 (6th); Jenna (PLAYOFF TEAM NOT CURRENTLY IN THE STANDINGS): 32.7 ahead

Russ doesn't have quite the same striking total profile of JtM, but this is a damn good squad. He's all top-six scorers (and Larry Fitz). His early season trade with Big Joe is the reason for the success. He's hit on every piece of that swap. Much like Ben, Russ is in a relatively secure place for a postseason berth. He's not quite as safe, but he should still easily be in.

Record against current playoff teams: 2-1; Everyone else: 5-1

Lowest score in a win: 82.7 (Week 7 over Kirk's 82.2); Kinda lucky; only 5-8 in all play that week.

Highest score in a loss: 97.1 (Week 2 loss to Ben's 134.7) No shame here. Could've defeated seven non-Ben teams.

Future Schedule (16-20): Patrick, Paul, Kendall, Norris; Much like Ben, two and two is probable and will likely land him in the playoffs. But the route might be different. Paul will give him a tussle in two weeks while Kendall isn't easy to defeat, ever.

Playoff chance: 85%; Just a touch worse than Ben's percentage, but Russ'll be there. Could he go 1-3 and lose in the Jenna? Yes, but its not very likely.

Long-term Outlook: gonna need shades

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Pink Nightmare (8-1) - Current 1st Seed

All Play Record: 89-28 (1st); 1,016.5 points (1st); High: 152.9 (1st); Low: 96.9 (1st); STD DEV: 18.53 (6th); Luck: 1.15 (1st); Hotness: 99.1 (5th); Jenna (PLAYOFF TEAM NOT CURRENTLY IN THE STANDINGS): 65.4 ahead

Championship profile. No other way to put it. Five first places. Just filthy sick. The team has been tweaked but its only better. #1 RB Jammy C. #3 QB Tony Romo. A.J Green. Ben Tate doing his handcuff thing. Jordan Reed best rookie TE ever. Swoon.

Record against current playoff teams: 3-1; Everyone else: 5-0

Lowest score in a win: 97.4 (Week 9 over Rookie's 78.7); only sub-.500 all play week of the season, at 6-7. Ridiculous.

Highest score in a loss: 96.9 (Week 7 loss to Ben's 118.0) Only loses when he totals his lowest output of the season. Still went 8-5 in all play.

Future Schedule (16-20): Alan, Kirk, Russ, Joe; Schedule doesn't matter much when you're this good, but I know he wants to take the next two so the Russ contest in Week 12 doesn't have a ton of bye week expectations. Joe will probably need the Week 13 contest, but seeding could still be at play.

Playoff chance: 99%; Someone give me a scenario where Kendall misses out. I don't see it.

Long-term Outlook: Perma-target

Voodoo Brown's Turn Around

A couple of weeks ago, in the Week 7 Nits, I stated that the likely playoff teams would consist of six of the following seven teams: Kendall, Russ, Paul, Ben, Nathan, Mark, and Chad. Joe’s Voodoo Brown was 11th in All Play and had a positive luck rating (for a change). He was 125.0 points back in the race for Jenna. I thought he was all but dead.

After starting the season one and three, Joe’s crew has won four of five and is one of the hottest teams in the league right now. He’s definitely in the playoff conversation, all up in the six team mix at 5-4 or 4-5. How did he shape this turnaround? Let’s take a deeper look.

Here is Joe’s Week 1 starting lineup core vs. his Week 9 group

QB Andrew Luck QB Andrew Luck
RB Trent Richardson RB Ryan Mathews
WR Mike Williams WR Josh Gordon
WR Steve Smith WR Keenan Allen
TE Jimmy Graham TE Jimmy Graham
FLEX Isaac Redman FLEX Zac Stacy

The only pieces that are the same are Graham and Luck. Understandably so. Graham is the most valuable player in FF this year, while Luck is the #9 overall QB and #6 on a points per game basis. Solid.

How did Joe go about improving his lineup? Well, for one thing, he traded with me. We swapped underacheiving second year running backs, Trent Richardson from Voodoo; Doug Martin from THUNDER BEAR. While Trent has started (and wildy underperformed) for BEAR, Doug Martin got hurt a few weeks backs. Even worse, right? Maybe not. Knowing Doug wasn’t going to start meant Joe has to look elsewhere for his running back production. In a way, that’s easier (and certainly more advantageous) than rolling Martin out there week after week, only to underperform. Sure, he might’ve gotten going had he not busted his shoulder, but looking at the Bucs, that’s doubtful. Crazy as it sounds, Mike James has outplayed him by a large margin.

Joe and I have a more recent trade, where I sent Keenan Allen, a budding WR1, for Steve Smith and Andre Brown. This is me trying to find a replacement for Trent Richardson. And it improved Joe’s WR position greatly.

He picked up Andre Ellington from Kendall for Chris Ivory. Jury is still out on that one, but he looks to have acquired some explosive upside. And he gives the Brown a very nice RB depth chart.

He got rid of Mike Williams before he went on season-ending IR and got Josh Gordon, another WR1, as part of the package. That has to be a Herschel Walker contender at this point.

He also acquired Ryan Mathews, a totally serviceable FF back, for the future value of Percy Harvin. Percy might help Alan next year, but certainly not in the playoffs this year.

He started off the year with the huge trade everyone knew had to happen after his double-down on QB/TE draft strategy. His blockbuster with Russ is emphatically a win for The Magic Stick (who sent Tannehill, Steve Smith and Trent Richardson for Cam Newton, Tony Gonzalez and Knowshon Moreno). I take back my earlier Herschel Walker comment; THIS trade should win it. But even though Joe lost this trade, it provided him the flexibility he needed to make additional moves.

One other huge addition that needs to be mentioned is Zac Stacy. Joe snagged him for $5 on a Friday FAAB back on October 4th. I bid $3. Funny how it seems like I’m helping Joe out big time this season. Zac Attac has started four of the last five games for Voodoo Brown, and has been an RB1 play the last two weeks. (I really wish ESPN would let us sort by fantasy points scored over a specific time frame. Yahoo! does this so it can’t be that hard.)

Joe took my Bold Flavors mantra from last season and is making it work big time right now.