DaUnderdog (1-3) vs Pack Attack (0-4)
There are two matchups this week where a winless team is going up against a 1-3 team. The significance in these games is that the winless teams kind of need to figure out a way to get a win and A LOT of them if they want to turn their season around. The first of these two games is Pack Attack vs. DaUnderdog who is coming off their first win of the season and are trying to build some momentum towards relevance again in the league. DaUnderdog may be getting back one of their top RB’s in L. Bell this week which would be a big boost for them as they try to win two in a row and send Pack Attack to their first ever 0-5 start! This is one of the oldest and longest standing rivalries in the league. Neither team is where they expected to be 4 weeks into the season but a win here for either of them may just be what they need to turn their season around. Who will it be?
Prediction:
Check out the Yahoo predictions for this one!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 19
- Record: Advantage Pack Attack at 11-8
- PPG Avg: Advantage Pack Attack 125.18 vs 110.10
16hrs Ahead of You!! (1-3) vs Big Papa (3-1)
The injury bug has hit 16hrs Ahead of You as they will likely be without their top WR (J, Jones) and top RB (N. Chubb) for this one. Those are two players that are very difficult to replace in lineups but on the flip side they may be getting back two other players in AJ Brown and R. Mostert who as of now are in their starting lineup and had been out each of the past two games. For Big Papa they continue to win and their team overall is looking very healthy. If there is a bit of a concern that I have around this team it would be the play of their RB’s and specifically K. Drake who through 4 weeks has not performed equally to the place that he was drafted. Also to some level you could say the same for C. Edwards Helaire as he is currently the 13th ranked RB in the league and behind guys like J. McKinnon and James Robinson. The silver lining here is that despite that Big Papa is 3-1! So if those two RB’s get going… watch out league!
Prediction:
This would obviously be a different game if 16hrs was at full strength but they aren’t and I don’t see enough weapons for them to compete with Big Papa. I think Big Papa cruises in this one and sends 16hrs to their 4th loss in a row!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 16
- Record: Advantage Big Papa at 11-5
- PPG Avg: Advantage Big Papa 118.58 to 100.72
BIGBOY! (3-1) vs PackerFANatic7 (2-2)
Both of these teams are coming off big wins last week. BIGBOY! is a stat correction away from being 4-0 and looks like a team that is starting to build some momentum. PackerFANatic7 is stuck right in the middle and is continually tweaking their roster trying to find the right pieces that will get their team into contention.
Prediction:
I expect this to be a close game but I also expect that BIGBOY! comes away with their 4th win of the season. PackerFANatic7 would need another herculean type of effort from J. Mixon or one of their stud RB’s if they want to pull this one off. The matchups however don’t seem to be in their favor so hence the reason I am going with BIGBOY! in this one!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 3
- Record: Advantage BIGBOY! at 2-1
- PPG Avg: Advantage BIGBOY! 129.29 to 100.30
Bossman (3-1) vs teamAlaska (3-1)
Game of the week! The two teams that come in #2 and #3 in the standings and are currently #1 and #2 in points scored. No doubt this is the game to watch this week as two of the top two teams through 4 weeks will be going head to head. teamAlaska really has been on a roll so far this year. They did have their lowest scoring game of the year last week but that was still 122 points. If there is any question mark I would have for this team it would be this. Are they riding and relying too heavily on two key players in R. Wilson and A. Kamara? These are two of the very best players in the entire NFL so the answer might be yes and actually that might be just fine as if there are two players that can keep this up for the entire year I think these would be two that can! I am also interested to see how this Bossman team responds to some adversity as they had been cruising through the league through three weeks and then all of a sudden they have to deal with some injuries and now are playing one of the better teams in the league in teamAlaska. This is kind of how Bossman does things though. It rarely looks pretty on paper but somehow that win column keeps going up. Can they do it again this week?
Prediction:
I think teamAlaska makes a statement in this one! R. Wilson is going to have another huge day against a young Vikings secondary and Kamara will continue his dominance as well. I also think there is one other thing that is looming large in this one and that is that I don’t think the Bills / Titans game will be played this weekend and that severely hurts Bossman as they would be without one of their top weapons in J. Allen. I think teamAlaska comes away with a huge win regardless of if J. Allen plays or not and they stake their claim as one of, if not the best team in the league!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 13
- Record: Advantage Bossman at 7-6
- PPG Avg: Advantage Bossman 118.98 to 110.87
HHH (3-1) vs pack slayer (1-3)
I just mentioned in the preview ahead of this one how solid teamAlaska has been through the first four weeks and interestingly enough I could probably say the same things about HHH with one exception. They have not had that breakout / dominate game where they go off and score 180pts. What they have done though is that they have been extremely consistent. Their lowest scoring game was last week at 124pts and their highest scoring game was in week two at 142 pts. This is a good team that will be looking to put that loss last week in the rear view mirror! pack slayer has been hurt by the injury bug but last week they were aided by an injury as K. Hunt becomes the featured back in the leagues #1 rushing offense. This will really make a difference when this team gets C. McCaffrey back but for now they are just trying to weather the storm! This is a winnable game and one that they need in order to start inching their way back up the standings!
Prediction:
I just talked about how good and consistent HHH has been but this might be the week we see them dip in that production. A. Jones is on a bye which hurts this team but they have had others step up all year. pack slayer really needs this game and I expect them to come out swinging! I am going to go with the upset here and pick pack slayer to get the win!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 9
- Record: Advantage pack slayer at 5-4
- PPG Avg: Advantage pack slayer 117.09 to 111.67
Rapids Plungers (1-3) vs Sportsfreak (0-4)
Sooo… this is an important game and records tell A story but not always the ENTIRE story and that is the case for both of these teams through 4 weeks. I usually look at points scored as a barometer and injuries of course. So here is what I mean.. if you look at Rapids Plungers and you see the 1-3 record you are not impressed but then you look at the fact that this team has scored the 6th most points in the league despite the fact that they had a rough 89 point week in there. You may see 1-3 but others may see a team ready to string together some wins and rise up in the standings. For Sportsfreak, the injury story is a tough one here as they have been without their top pick for 3 of the 4 weeks (D. Adams) AND not to mention they have the most points scored against them. So I might sound like I am making excuses for these teams which I am not because if they are feeling sorry for themselves they can just look at Pack Attack’s first four weeks BUT I am saying that these teams have some hope that they can turn things around yet this season and make some noise in the coming weeks!
Prediction:
I think the narrative is going to hold true for one team in this one. I expect that Rapids Plungers continues their hot scoring streak and puts up solid #’s AND where the narrative holds true is for Sportsfreak is that I once again think they are solid and put up OK #’s but not enough and they ultimately fall short once again. Rapids Plungers gets win #2 and let’s everyone know that they won’t let go of that championship trophy without a fight!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 12
- Record: Advantage Rapids Plungers at 9-3
- PPG Avg: Advantage Rapids Plungers 135.48 to 127.79
U Don’t Know (4-0) vs Starrfavrerodg (3-1)
I know there can only be one game of the week but if there could be two this would be the 2nd. The reason this one is not is simply because I think the game between the top two scoring teams in the league is going to be a bit more exciting then this one. So if you read the preview before this one you know that records don’t tell the whole story and the same can be said in this one however in the opposite direction. There is always one team each year that gets to play teams at just the right week and wins a lot of games despite having a team with some shortcomings. This year through 4 weeks I would say that is Starrfavrerodg. Why? #1 they have the 2nd fewest points scored against them in the league this year #2 they have the 9th most points scored and #3 the combined record of the teams they have beaten is 2-10. Now, I say this not to bash Starrfavrerodg but to simply point out the facts BUT the one fact that matters the most is that they are tied for 2nd in the league with 3 wins and they get a chance to prove they can beat a good team this week against the undefeated U Don’t Know team. Things are a bit more clear with U Don’t Know through 4 weeks. There team is good, there record is good and they look like a championship contending team.
Prediction:
I have bragged up the depth of this U Don’t Know team by saying they can beat you in so many ways. They now will get the chance to prove it as one of the top players through 4 weeks in A. Rodgers is on a bye. Starrfavrerodg is going to have trouble fielding a full team as it stands since injuries and bye weeks are affecting about all of their bench players. Even without Rodgers, I have more trust in the supporting cast for U Don’t Know. U Don’t Know moves to 5-0 and stays atop the league!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: N/A
- Record: N/A
- PPG Avg: N/A