Week 12 Preview

Scoring was back up in week 11, with big time performances from the likes of Jonathan Taylor and Austin Ekeler.

Winners

Marshfield (5-6), North Point (8-3), Batavia (8-3), Bestine (7-4), Fransburg (6-5), Madtown (4-7)

Prediction Record

Week 11: 3-3

Overall: 36-30

2022 Divisions (if they were made today)

It’s the same as last week! No movement! Are the divisions beginning to crystallize?

Week 12 Matchups

The Silver Division is SO TOUGH! The Colliders have won 4 in a row and the best they can muster is 3rd place. Meanwhile, nobody in the Gold division has a winning record. It’s unfortunate that half of the playoff spots will be taken by unworthy teams this year.

Fransburg (6-5) @ North Point (8-3)

Adam continues his “Help Josh Out by Beating the Teams In Front of Him” Tour this week. Fransburg has the worst division record in the Bronze, so they are going to have to win this division outright. The margins are narrow, but they are the second highest scoring team in the league so they’ve got that going for them. Jonathan Taylor, fresh off a 44-point game, is making the case for league MVP. Aaron Rodgers battled through his COVID toe to score 25 points, and his connection with Davante Adams is enviable.

Tom counters with Austin Ekeler, who has been a world beater this year. They also get Cordarrelle Patterson back. Will it be enough, though? James Conner is on the bye, and D’Ernest Johnson is back on the bench where he belongs. Last week I got a little excited about a poor performance by Kyle Pitts. I may have even resorted some crude language (I believe the phrase was, “Suck it, Tom.”) So, I don’t want to get out over my skis again and predict a North Point demise. However, they don’t seem to have the firepower necessary to go toe to toe with the high scoring antics of Fransburg, who seem to be peaking at just the right time.

Look for Fransburg to do Batavia a solid. That will earn Adam a Christmas card from Colliders’ HQ for sure.

Batavia (8-3) @ Holley (3-8)

The lack of scoring is finally catching up with Holley, who now finds themselves on the outside looking in. That means Culver City is going to make the playoffs for the second year in a row with a record that’s underwater. Will they be able to string together another championship run? God, I hope not.

The Colliders catch a break with this matchup, as Kamara is likely to miss again since he plays on Thanksgiving, and CeeDee Lamb is concussed. Devin White also showed up on the injury report with a quad injury. Fortunately, Justin Jefferson seems to be stepping up, and even Mike Williams managed to score after taking a month off from visiting the end zone. Batavia was pleasantly surprised by the play of defensive end Sam Hubbard, who has climbed to 6th in scoring among DEs (and he’s the 2nd highest paid player at the position so it’s about time).

Mac Jones’s feeble 8.8-point outing was the best among the Colliders QBs, so he’ll get the nod again, and Batavia will try to solve the QB position yet again next offseason. God, Trevor Lawrence sucks SO HARD.

All of this is to say: even though the Colliders are in rough shape, it’s not like they’re Holley-level incompetent. Holley’s best player is Kirk Cousins, and any success he has will likely be blunted by Justin Jefferson being on the receiving end of his passes. So while it won’t be pretty, the Colliders should win this one, and cross their fingers that they are at full strength for the final two weeks against North Point and Cleveland. INTENSE!

Bestine (7-4) @ Tooz Town (5-6)

We have a lot of fun in this column talking about how the GIMB are checked out, and every time I write something like that Matt emails me to protest that he’s submitted a lineup. The GIMB are aggressively average, so they don’t deserve the scorn that say a Holley Hawks does. Still, part of the reason they lost last week was because they started Kyler Murray. Matt did not get the memo that Kyler Murray was not playing. And so it goes.

Bestine has suffered from the total collapse of their quarterback, Joe Burrow. He seems to have “burrowed” into a hole to hibernate for the winter, amirite? Hopefully he’ll return to his 2-3 TD floor and do away with this “actually win the game in real life” nonsense. Joe Mixon having a career season is not helping Burrow’s cause. Ha, Tooz Town would probably be a much better team with Joe Mixon on it. Ah, but they’ve got Devin Singletary so it’s all good.

The Banthas suffer from a lack of depth at both RB and WR, so it’s tough to see them pulling this one out. 113 points might be enough to get over on Holley, but Tooz Town will be a tougher matchup. Tooz Town didn’t get it done last week, but they probably will this week.

If they submit a lineup, that is.

Madtown (4-7) @ Marshfield (5-6)

Break up the Marauders! It seems like just moments ago they were 1-7 and look at them now! Still in last place!

Justin Herbert boomed last week with 24 points, and DE Josh Allen continued to dominate. It’s a good thing Dalvin Cook hasn’t faced consequences for his domestic assault yet, because he’s literally their only running back. He’s been rejuvenated since it was revealed he was an asshole – perhaps it’s been beneficial for him to finally take off the mask. At any rate, if he were to ever face consequences and miss time, it would be up to David Johnson (13 carries, 18 yards last week) to carry the load. Outside of Cooper Kupp and Diontae Johnson, they have no wide receivers. Gabriel Davis (3.6 ppg) has started five times this season.

Marshfield won’t need much to defeat Madtown – McCaffrey and Mixon should give them what they need, and their defensive tackle is a beast. With the win, the first-place Pirates will go to 6-6, which is much more respectable for a playoff team than the other bozos who are going to make it in.

Linn County (4-7) @ Culver City (3-8)

Once upon a time Linn County was battling for first place in the Bronze Division. Four consecutive losses later, not so much. They do run into a bit of good luck, with Patrick Mahomes on the bye (though, to be fair, Mahomes only scored 3.88 points last week). The Krakens will wheel in Matt Ryan (in a wheelchair…he’s old and bad is what I’m saying). Ryan’s last two outings were -2.15 points and 0.45 points, but he does draw the Jaguars this week. If they can block Josh Allen, then Ryan should bounce back. If not, it might be another dismal outing.

Part of the Lumberjacks slide has coincided with quarterback Josh Allen cooling off. This week he plays the Saints on Thanksgiving. The Saints are down to 4th string at every position, so it could be a big day. But some of that success might be in the form of throwing to Stefon Diggs, who is on the Krakens. Always tough to root for your QB to throw to anyone but his number one receiver.

Hey, has anyone noticed what Elijah Moore has been up to lately? He’s averaged 14 points per game over the last five. He seems to be having his Odell Beckham-late-rookie-season-surge. Turns out that he was a great pick at 1.12, and should give the Krakens some hope for the future. Since the Krakens will probably make the playoffs, he might even fuel another championship run like Odell Beckham did for the Banthas solitary title in 2014.

Look for the Krakens to pull out the W this week, and position themselves for a run.

Oregon Dream Team (5-6) @ Cleveland (8-3)

Oregon took a tough hit last week. Their loss plus a Fransburg win has them on the outside looking in for the playoffs. Things don’t get easier this week, as they face a talented Cleveland squad looking to rebound from a loss to the (r)EvoLUtion.

Cleveland starts a rejuvenated Cam Newton this year, which is an upgrade over the previous QB play. Nick Chubb has played well, and they’ve been pleasantly surprised by Devonta Smith. The big question this week is whether or not punter Pressley Harvin (drafted 5.07) can rebound from his worst outing of the season.

I predicted big things from Ryan Tannehill last week, as he faced the hapless Texans. Not only did he lose, but he threw four interceptions. That’s annoying as a fantasy owner. Will he fare better against the Patriots? Will Carson Wentz start instead? These are the tough choices that Tim faces this week.

They won’t have CEH this week, thanks to the bye, but Najee Harris is a guaranteed 12 points (seriously, just look at his performance this year. Model of consistency.) Josh Jacobs’ best game came in week 1, and he’s struggled since. Deebo Samuel is still good, but Hollywood Brown and Michael Pittman are a bit inconsistent. At least George Kittle is back. He’s scored a touchdown in each of the last three games.

This one might come down to the play of the defense. I certainly like Roquan Smith’s matchup against the Lions on Thanksgiving. Give the win to Cleveland (unfortunately for me.)

Well that’s a wrap. Hopefully those of you who are traveling have made it safely to your destination. I’m looking forward to cooking a 22-lb turkey tomorrow with all the fixings. And though none of the football games are particularly interesting, especially if Kamara and Lamb don’t play, I’ll likely have them on in the background. The regular season is winding down, and the final two weeks are important division games. Should be insane!

Some of us will be looking forward to the offseason while others will be gunning for the trophy. Where is the trophy, anyway? Did Marcot ever give Enright his mailing address?

As we roll into Thanksgiving, I will just say that I’m grateful for all of you. This is hands down my favorite fantasy league, and I enjoy the camaraderie and trash talk that goes into playing with all of you. It has helped me avoid the following situation:

Enjoy the games everyone! And if you’re so inclined, you can put what you’re thankful for in the comments. For example, “I’m grateful for my fantasy football acumen, which has allowed me to largely overcome losing the best player in the league to a season-long injury.”

© 2021, Josh Hammond. All rights reserved.