JimmyJam Football League Week 2 Recap

The Dottsville Toasters love the Eagles, so it’s fitting his fantasy team mimics their actions.

Twice in two weeks, the Eagles have trailed heading into the second half, and twice they have come back and won. Last night’s win against the Colts was quite amazing, and I can’t recall a time when I saw a Philadelphia team come through in the clutch.

They needed a turnover to keep Indy from making a two-score game, and they got it. They needed to drive down the field and tie the game, and they did just that. They then needed a stop on the ensuing drive to keep Indy from getting into field-goal range, and they forced a three-and-out. And finally, they needed to drive down the field and score the game-winner.

Yes, that happened, too.

At 2-0, I’m feeling pretty good about my Eagles.

So are the Toasters, who also is 2-0 after completing his second straight Monday Night Football comeback. In Week 1, all it took was a long TD pass to Calvin Johnson. This week, it took a little bit longer, but Darren Sproles and Trent Richardson scored plenty enough to give him a win over division rival T-Money.

The Toasters aren’t alone in the undefeated ranks as Houserville, Fear and Loathing and yours truly, the Jammers, are also 2-0.

Fear and Loathing is the biggest surprise after another big point total week, fueled by his running backs and lone QB, Andrew Luck. He has yet to add that second quarterback that will — and I had to look it up — be needed in Week 10 when Andrew Luck is on the bye.

The 0-2 Slackers said over the weekend that I am "just lucky" — he was bitter about getting his butt kicked — but maybe he’s right. The non-division schedule is all picked at random, and Week 10, I play Fear and Loathing.

I’m sure by then he’ll get a backup. I mean, he has to, right?

And speaking of backups, the Channel 4 News Team will be using a lot of them. My apologies.


Jimmy Jammers 112.1, Sunday Slackers 66.2
SILENCE OF THE GRAHAM: Can Parker doubt me anymore? He bashed my team right after the draft. He bashed it again when Ray Rice was booted. And he bashed it again moments before kickoff on Sunday. Then, he got bashed by nearly 50 points. It’s the second straight time my Jammers have routed him by 45 points, and the controversial draft strategy came through. The idea was, draft Jimmy Graham and minimize the impact of Drew Brees. Well, Graham scored 25.8 points, Brees had 22.8. I’d say it worked.

HYDE AND GO SEEK: He touted Carlos Hyde as the rookie who would explode Sunday. Well, only 0.7 points isn’t exactly an explosion. If that’s an explosion, Terrance West’s 15.4 points on Sunday should be considered the Big Bang.

JAMMER BACKS: How on Earth did I wind up with two RBs in the lineup against Parker? That was never, ever the plan. But West and Darren McFadden each hit double-digits, joining Graham, Jeremy Maclin, Dez Bryant and Andy Dalton. Each starter had a TD and they totaled eight as a collective. Parker had just four, two from Brees — both to Graham — and two to Alfred Morris.

GREEN MEANS NO-GO: A.J. Green was one of many crazy fantasy injuries. He left after no catches and that hurt Parker big time. So much so that he claimed that he would have won if Green didn’t get injured. Losing by 46 points and with passes coming from my QB, I’m not sure how he can even quantify that crazy statement.


Fear and Loathing 115.8, World of Noise 66.2
FEAR FOR REAL?: It’s kind of crazy how well this lineup has come together. He has the No. 1 QB, the No. 2 and 3 RBs, the No. 4 WR and the No. 4 TE. The duo at RB, DeMarco Murray and Le’Veon Bell, both hit double-digits for the second straight week. Murray has now rushed for 100 yards each week, amassing 285 yards and two TDs. With 19.9 points last week and 22.5 in Week 2, he’s clearly a huge reason why Fear is undefeated. His health will be key to Fear’s run toward a possible division title.

BUSH-WHACKED: Maybe when I asked Craig if he wanted to fix his draft mistake he should have said yes. Reggie Bush has scored a total of just 11.2 fantasy points in two weeks. I don’t believe this will continue, but it’s surely not the start the Noise wanted to see.

CRYIN’ RYAN: Matt Ryan fell apart in Week 2. From 44 points to 17, that is an RGIII-like drop. This too shouldn’t persist, but nevertheless, it just piled on top of all the things that went wrong for the Noise in Week 2.

TIED AVOIDED: If the Noise would have played at the Slackers, they would have tied 66.2-66.2. And that would have been a shame. If you score 60-some points, you should lose; not tie.


Chalupa Batman 97.3, Philly Cheese Steaks 93.9
THE DILEMMA: Philly Cheese Steaks is an Eagles fan, as if his name didn’t give it away. So when Cody Parkey took the field for the Eagles to kick the game-winning field goal, a part of him had to be looking at the fantasy score. He was trailing by 3.4 points. A Nick Foles TD, or even another 70 yards passing would do the trick. So when the field goal was kicked and a miss would force overtime where Foles could feasibly get those points, he had to be in a real pickle. Nevertheless, the kick was good — twice — and Chalupa Batman bounced back big time.

WRONG WAY 'ROUND: Remember when I wrote about Rivers running into a dam? What I meant to say was, “Damn, Rivers!” Philip Rivers scored 33.7 fantasy points against the Seattle defense, amassing 284 yards and tossing a trio of TDs to Antonio Gates.

DON’T BE FOOLED: Chalupa got the win, but it wasn’t pretty. With 66.2 points from Rivers, the Bills defense, kicker Kai August Forbath — hey, that’s the same amount Parker and Craig scored all together — it’s a bit scary moving on. He got single-digits once again from his FLEX, two WRs and TE. He’ll need that change quickly.

FORCED IT WITH FORSETT: As it turns out, the Steaks shouldn’t have made the move of dropping Darren McFadden for Justin Forsett. The difference was 5.2 points, and that was the difference between winning and losing this week.


Real Houserville 112.7, Jawz Attack 104.7
NEW SCREENPLAY: It’s like the entire roster went to Amity for the weekend and half of them were eaten by a mammoth shark. It’s a great idea for Jaws 8 or 9, or whatever they’re on now. I mean, I has to be better than that NFL movie on Draft Day, right? Forced to go with several backups, the Attack lost by eight points. It was certainly a tough way to lose. Now, all he can do is look back at the draft and wished he never selected Adrian Peterson.

SETTLING IN: Aaron Rodgers took a week to settle in to Houserville, but with 40.8 points, he’s proven his worth. That’s the No. 1 draft pick Houserville selected.

SUNDAY NIGHT RALLY: Jawz got 36 points alone from touchdown passes from Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall on Sunday night. Altogether, Cutler and Marshall totaled 58.8 points on Sunday, but it just wasn’t enough to come back.

WHO CARES ABOUT DEFENSES AND KICKERS?: Well, apparently Houserville does. The Cardinals defense and kicker Dan Bailey combined for 34.3 points for Houserville. The Cards got a long return TD, two sacks, two fumbles, two INTs to post 15.3 points, and Bailey nailed four field goals and a pair of extra points to score 19 points.


Choo Big TeeDees 84.1, Jerkin’ My Kirk Herbstreit 76.8
UNFORTUNATE TIMING: In a matchup that was decided by less than eight points, it’s unfortunate for the Jerk that his RB, Knowshon Moreno, left after just 0.4 points, while Mark Ingram scored 17 points before breaking his hand. Both owners will be without those RBs for a while, but they each have viable RBs left on the roster.

WHY EVEN START’EM?: Jerk got a big ZERO from Marques Colston. Zero. I mean, what could be worse? How about the negative-0.2 points? That’s what Hakeem Nicks scored for Choo. His one catch for negative-4 yards led to a score that made Choo wish he left the roster spot blank. Fortunately for him, it didn’t cost him.

CAPTAIN KIRK REPORTING FOR DUTY: Kirk Cousins scored 24.4 fantasy points Sunday and his time has come. RGIII is down for the count and Choo officially has a backup QB. He’ll still have to keep Colin Kaepernick as the Choo starting QB for the time being, but he at least has a viable option if something goes wrong.


Dottsville Toasters 98.6, T-Money 76.1
HOLY SPROLEY: And the No. 1 running back in fantasy football after two weeks is … Darren Sproles? I knew that he’d be a big difference maker for the Eagles, but I thought that would be in the form of a few key first downs, punt returns and perhaps a few big TDs over the span of 16 games. Instead, he’s as pivotal as LeSean McCoy. And in fantasy, he’s had 20.3 and 26.2 points in back-to-back weeks. Toasters can only hope that this continues, and so do I.

TRANSFORMED: Megatron returned to Earth Sunday, scoring 9.5 points. After Week 1, we thought we were about to see a great run to start the season. As it turns out, the Giants just suck.

UT OH, ROMO: T-Money is now 0-2 after getting just 14.5 points from Tony Romo. The QB had 17 in Week 1 and he’s now ranked 27th among fantasy QBs. Makes you wonder if Ryan Tannehill or Chad Henne will get the call soon.


Team Boyer 106.3, Graybill’s Generals 90.3
CONFESSION TIME: I’ll admit, I was wrong about Jeremy Hill. He scored 16 points and was worthy of a start. That said, I stand by what I said. C.J. Spiller and Mike Wallace should be starting, not Donnie Avery and Hill. Avery scored just two points for Boyer. Spiller had 20 and Wallace had 12.6 on the bench. Boyer was lucky it didn’t cost him.

JORDY PARTY: Jordy Nelson was a big reason those roster blunders didn’t hurt him. He had a field day, scoring 31.7 points on nine catches for 209 yards and a TD. He’s ranked No. 1  in fantasy at WR after one week, and after his great season in 2013, I think it’s safe to say that his second-round selection was warranted.

THE REAL McCOY: One would think that if Darren Sproles is ranked No. 1 in fantasy at RB, LeSean McCoy must be underperforming, but that’s not the case. He’s posted double-digits in back-to-back weeks, including 17 points last week. The dual backfield is really working out for both the Toasters and the Generals.


Chinese Organ Thieves 85.6, Channel 4 News Team 68.1
MURPHY’S LAW: Man, it all went wrong for the News Team. RGIII scored 3.7 and then dislocated his ankle. Jamaal Charles scored 1.4 and then suffered a high ankle sprain. Both are out for a while and they picked the worst week to do it. The Thieves had a sub-par week and this was a easy win if RGIII and Charles stay healthy and hit their projections.

MILE HIGH TRIO: Peyton Manning, Emmanuel Sanders and Julius Thomas all led the way again, scoring a combined 52.8 points. If it wasn’t for the 17.3 points from the Washington defense, it wouldn’t have been enough against a depleted News Team. That would worry me a bit, but I have to believe that for most weeks in 2014, he’s going to get 50 to 60 points from those three. As long as a few other players come through, he'll keep winning.

SAINT BERNARD: Giovani Bernard had a great week. I’d trade a QB for him, but News Team is going with Geno Smith. (Good luck.) But with Charles down and out for a while, Bernard will play a pivotal role in keeping the News Team in the race. But, at 0-2, it’s an uphill battle. As we know, News Team isn’t afraid of 0-2. He’s finished 8-5 after starting 0-5. Two losses don’t bother him. But when "two losses" not only depicts your record, but it also describes the status of your starting QB and RB, you may be in trouble.

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