Bloggers of Seattle Fantasy Football League: Week 1 Recap

TYLER HOGG VS. JORDAN NEWBERRY

FINAL SCORE: Hogg 144, Newberry 102.4

Over the years, quarterbacks have greatly lost their value in the fantasy football community. Owners often wait until the late rounds to get their quarterback, and often that works, but not for Jordan Newberry this week.

Despite receiving a combined 43.6 points from David Johnson and Joe Mixon, Newberry’s team was ultimately let down a poor eight point, four interception performance from Matthew Stafford.

A good showing from Stafford wouldn’t have taken Newberry to a win alone, however. Earlier in the week, Newberry picked up Steelers interim starting running back James Conner, but benched him in favor of Alex Collins. Conner went for 34.2, while Collins scored a minuscule 6.9.

Sodo Mojo’s Tyler Hogg, on the other hand, showed why he may have the best receiving corps in the league. Julio Jones, Stefon Diggs, and Emmanuel Sanders combined for 71.6 points, ultimately leading Hogg to the victory.

Both owners’ defenses performed horribly, with Newberry’s Chargers scoring -3 and Hogg’s Saints putting up -9. Gross.

Hogg also received a big boost from his quarterback, unlike Newberry. 424 yards and three touchdowns later, Philip Rivers totalled 29 points to seal the deal.

TY GONZALEZ VS. DANIEL HAUG

FINAL SCORE: Gonzalez 139.7, Haug 125.3

Daniel Haug finished the match with three players cracking 20-plus points, but a pair of underwhelming performances from Sammy Watkins (5.1) and Amari Cooper (2.8) gave Ty Gonzalez an opportunity to get back in it.

Backed by an incredible 16 reception game from Saints receiver Michael Thomas for 38 points, Gonzalez was gifted solid performances across the board from all 10 of his starters.

The difference in this match was the three starters that finished with less than five points for Haug, while Gonzalez’s lowest scorer, Mohamed Sanu, put up 5.8.

After the terrible defensive showing from both Newberry and Hogg, Gonzalez and Haug were on the opposite side of the spectrum. Gonzalez’s Eagles defense and Haug’s Rams defense combined for 24 points.

Other than Thomas, Gonzalez did not have another player that reached the 20 point threshold, which kept things close. Getting 17.6 points out of Ezekiel Elliott after a slow start was a big boost and ultimately the difference in this match.

JIM DALESKE VS. BEN RHODES

FINAL SCORE: Rhodes 120.7, Daleske 104.4

One of the uglier matches of the week, Sodo Mojo readers Ben Rhodes and Jim Daleske struggled to reach the finish line. Rhodes ultimately came out the victor, with some help from some poor lineup management by Daleske.

Unfortunately for Daleske, he clearly didn’t get the memo that Le’Veon Bell is at odds with the Steelers. Daleske, who selected Bell first overall, left the running back in his starting lineup though he never even showed up to the facility.

Pair that with a zero point performance from Charles Clay and that spelled doom for Daleske. However, he was still able to crack 100 points with great outings from Mike Evans (27.7), Demaryius Thomas (18.3), and the Baltimore Ravens defense (17).

It wouldn’t be enough, though, as Kirk Cousins (20.4) and Kenny Stills (26.6) carried Rhodes to the win. The biggest assist, of course, came from the Bell mishap, though. Sometimes that’s all you need to get in the win column.

COLBY PATNODE VS. LUKE ALLEN

FINAL SCORE: Patnode 128.2, Allen 117.3

Saints players clearly love Sodo Mojo writers, as Alvin Kamara’s 43.1 point performance put co-site expert Colby Patnode over 12th Man Rising contributor Luke Allen for the win.

A bit of bad luck played a huge role in Allen’s defeat, however, as Marquise Goodwin (0) was injured early and Travis Kelce (1.6) was unexpectedly silent. Aside from that, Allen outperformed Patnode with six starters putting up 10-plus points, including a 23.7 point outing from Todd Gurley.

Patnode was put in a difficult spot when Doug Baldwin exited early with an injury, finishing the day zero points. But Kamara’s huge day and a late 20.9 point game from Golden Tate got him over the hump.

The Goodwin injury and Kelce’s disappearance was ultimately too much for Allen to overcome. However, he had also left T.J. Yeldon (15.9) on the bench in favor of Goodwin, though Yeldon’s success was relatively unpredictable given that it took a Leonard Fournette injury to put Yeldon in action.

A bit of a clunker on both sides, leaving Patnode and Allen to deal with injuries to key players for the coming weeks. We’ll see how it affects their teams down the road.

LEE VOWELL VS. TODD VANDENBERG

FINAL SCORE: Vowell 156.5, Vandenberg 101.4

The battle between 12th Man Rising co-site experts, Lee Vowell and Todd Vandenberg were on the complete opposite sides of the scoring spectrum this past week. While Vandenberg posted the lowest score of any team, Vowell was the second-highest scorer and won by the greatest margin.

What it simply boiled down to for Vandenberg was a whole lot of bad luck. Not only did Vowell have three players with 20-plus point games, Kenyan Drake (9.6), Zach Ertz (9.8), and Chris Hogan (2.1) failed to produce for Vandenberg.

Ironically, Vandenberg had the highest scoring player of the match in Aaron Rodgers (24.9). But Russell Wilson (20.4), Saquon Barkley (20.8), Dion Lewis (22), A.J. Green (19.2), Cooper Kupp (17.8) were just too much for Vandenberg’s team to handle.

Vowell also received significant production from some unlikely sources in Tyler Lockett (14.9) and Greg Zuerlein (16), which served as the icing on the cake.

The one low point for Vowell, however, was losing Greg Olsen to injury with no expected return date. This could be a problem for Vowell as he looks to fill his flex spot in Olsen’s absence.

GRANT BRONSDON VS. JEFF NOONEY

FINAL SCORE: Bronsdon 173, Nooney 145.4

If you thought Lee Vowell had a great match, just wait until you see the week Lookout Landing’s Grant Bronsdon had.

Seven starters with 10-plus points, including three over 20. The biggest contributor of all, of course, being Tyreek Hill and his insane 42.3 point, three touchdown performance. Bronsdon needed every bit of it, as Sodo Mojo contributor Jeff Nooney gave him everything he could handle.

Nooney posted the third highest score of the week, yet walked away with a loss. His team, led by Drew Brees’ 31.6 point game against the Bucs, put him in position to win almost any game this week; but the fantasy football gods are often rarely kind, and Nooney experienced that firsthand.

The Chiefs-Chargers 38-28 shootout was key in Bronsdon’s success, as Hill, Keenan Allen, and Melvin Gordon combined for a whopping 94.7 points. Sheesh.

What’s even scarier is how well Bronsdon’s bench did this past week. Randall Cobb (29.2), Adrian Peterson (22.6), and DeSean Jackson (31.6) all missed Bronsdon’s starting lineup; had they started, Bronsdon would have easily put up well over 200 points on the day.

WEEK 2 PREVIEW

With the first week now in the books, we turn our attention to week two, which sets us up with some exciting matchups. But first, here is how our power rankings/standings shape up after week one’s action:

1. Grant Bronsdon (1-0)
2. Lee Vowell (1-0)
3. Tyler Hogg (1-0)
4. Ty Gonzalez (1-0)
5. Colby Patnode (1-0)
6. Ben Rhodes (1-0)
7. Jeff Nooney (0-1)
8. Daniel Haug (0-1)
9. Luke Allen (0-1)
10. Jim Daleske (0-1)
11. Jordan Newberry (0-1)
12. Todd Vandenberg (0-1)

Now, a look at what’s to come, including an exciting matchup between two 1-0 teams and a lot of opportunity for these 0-1 teams to get back into the mix.

Ty Gonzalez (1-0) [Proj. 128] vs. Todd Vandenberg (0-1) [Proj. 113.6]

Lee Vowell (1-0) [Proj. 135.9] vs. Colby Patnode (1-0) [Proj. 133]

Luke Allen (0-1) [Proj. 131] vs. Daniel Haug (0-1) [Proj. 136]

Jim Daleske (0-1) [Proj. 96] vs. Grant Bronsdon (1-0) [Proj. 133]

Jeff Nooney (0-1) [Proj. 128] vs. Tyler Hogg (1-0) [Proj. 128]

Ben Rhodes (1-0) [Proj. 94.3] vs. Jordan Newberry (0-1) [Proj. 122.7]

Who do you think will win this week? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook or Twitter!