Week 1 Recap

Trash Pandas vs Achilles Heels

I made a huge mistake in week one of the Thunderdome Fantasy Football league but, thankfully, it didn’t come back to haunt me.

I drafted Justin Herbert to be my QB1 and I felt confident that I could trot him out there every week and get a solid showing. Yet, I allowed myself to be convinced by a fantasy football blog that Trevor Lawrence was the safer play in week one.

All Herbert did was put up 47 fantasy points, while Lawrence managed a pedestrian 13. That’s 34 points on my bench. That could’ve spelled doom. Lucky for me, my opponent’s quarterback was equally pedestrian.

My running backs, including my top pick Jahmyr Gibbs, were disappointing. I was outscored at the running back position 17-12, but I more than made up for that at WR & TE.

I know Gibbs will eventually put up big numbers for me, and I truly believe that TreVeyon Henderson will eventually.

Neither Marvin Harrison Jr nor Rome Odunze had monster games, but they were both solid and both scored touchdowns. They also appear to be in line for plenty of targets this season.

The MVP of week one, however, was Brock Bowers, who put up 17 points, despite exiting the game with an injury and not scoring a touchdown. I outscored my opponent’s tight end by 16.

It’s always nice to start off the season with a victory, but this one was especially sweet. Achilles Heels are aptly named, from my vantage point, because I hadn’t beaten them since entering the league.

Finally, after 5 straight losses (4 in the regular season, 1 in the playoffs), I’ve slayed the dragon.

Week 2 Preview

Trash Pandas vs Mike’s Magnificent Team

ESPN gives me a 46% chance of winning this matchup, I think I can get that closer to 50% with a move at flex.

As of this writing, I have Jerome Ford slotted in as my flex play, but he will not be there come Sunday. He was nearly non existent in week one, and I’m not expecting much from him moving forward as Dylan Sampson gets more touches and Quinshon Judkins eventually hits the field. Ford is certainly on the chopping block for me, but I’ll keep him rostered for now, until someone emerges worth taking a shot on.

My draft day plan was always to have Jordan Addison fill the flex spot, but I had to navigate the first three weeks as he served his suspension. In the meantime, my options for week two are Quentin Johnston, DeAndre Hopkins or Darnell Mooney.

I have waiver claims in for Johnston & Hopkins, dropping Mooney in both cases. Mooney is my fall back should both waiver claims fail.

I think the keys for me this week are 1) Getting more production out of my RBs, especially Jahmyr Gibbs. 2) Brock Bowers continuing to make TE a dominant position for me. 3) My flex play getting closer to double digit points.

It’s tough matchup for the Trash Pandas this week, but I can see avenues to pulling off the win and moving to 2-0.