FFC North
The current division leader is the Pool of the Dead who sit atop the division at 3-1. Their sole loss came to Ernie’s Rubber Duckies with whom they split the season series 1-1. This may be an important tie breaker to remember later in the season. Even at 3-1, Pool of the Dead is facing an uphill battle in the middle part of the season. Their first round pick Saquon Barkley was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain which was supposed to be anywhere from a 4-8 week injury. By accounts he is progressing well and hopes to beat the timetable back, but that’s not the only issue with this team. The quarterback Baker Mayfield has been an interception machine and is tied for a league high six interceptions through the first four games. The Pool entered week 4 as the third lowest scoring team in the league who have also had the lowest points scored against them.
The two 2-2 teams in the division are interesting: Ernie’s Rubber Duckies and Team Banana Boat. I personally believe Team Banana Boat has the most talented team top to bottom and has arguably the best running back duos of CMac & Ingram. When you factor in Carson Wentz and Amari Cooper, this team really had the best first four draft picks of the entire league in my honest opinion. That is a solid foundation where at least two out of the four are going to put up big numbers in any given week. This is my pick to win the FFC North. The star of the Rubber Duckies is not an individual player but their team defense: the Patriots defense is averaging over twenty fantasy points a game outscoring many first round picks. When you factor in Matt Ryan, Calvin Ridley and Todd Gurley, they have the capacity to score a lot of points alongside the Patriots defense. I’m also not counting out an Antonio Brown comeback in 2019. The Banana Boat have been inconsistent with either insanely high or low scores but own the tiebreaker over the Rubber Duckies and Korriban Warriors.
The Warriors at 1-3 finally got one in the win column. They have had a frustrating start to the season that was compounded by the Drew Brees injury that saw them turn the ball over to Mason Rudolph. It’s far too early to count anyone out at this point in the game, but it will be difficult to climb out of a 1 -3 divisional record hole. The other frustrating thing to think about is Austin Ekeler, who has been the best player on the team, might see his work slashed in half with the return of Melvin Gordon.
My preseason pick was the Pool of the Dead, but I think Team Banana Boat is the favorite to win this division now.
FFC East
After starting a perfect 4-0 in divisional play, the reigning and defending champion Mahomies Deezflated Nuts have started their conquest for the ultra rare back to back championship seasons. After one quarter of the NFL season, it’s clear this is the best team in the league and easily the favorite to win it all at this point so far. When you look at the draft day trade they made to acquire two first round picks and then go two whole rounds without a pick, it was a risky strategy that paid off amazingly when they nailed both picks with David Johnson and Patrick Mahomes.
The Kitties and the Goat have had frustrating starts to the season. When you look at the roster on paper and the level of talent they have, it doesn’t quite match the record they have in the standings. You do have to factor in the level of competition within the division and the fact that three total losses from these two teams have come from the powerhouse Deezflated Nuts who looks unstoppable. For the Kitties, the story has been the quarterback conundrum. With two top 5 quarterbacks entering week 4, the Kitties have been rotating and playing the matchup (usually correctly) but at some point you have to wonder if they will continue to roster both or trade one to strengthen another position. Speaking of trades, the People’s Goat made an excellent one two weeks ago to acquire Joe Mixon and Chris Godwin who tore it up against a top tier Rams defense. Melvin Gordon is back in the house and the team is never going to be stronger than it is entering Week 5 at full power, so look for the Goat to be competitive outside of the division to get back into the mix.
This looks like another runaway for Mahomies Deezflated Nuts who look to go back to back for the championship.
FFC South
This is easily the most challenging division to assess at this point when all teams are 2-2 and nobody has really emerged as the best team in the division. These first four weeks have shown me that no team in the FFC South can consistently score a lot of points. Dr. Jenious looked really strong after Week 3 with two monster weeks, but have now had two bad weeks and crucial losses to Bruce Almightys which is obviously going to be a big tiebreaker to consider later in the season. My preseason favorite in the FFC South, Da Moon, looked like the best team on paper but things have changed with two of their star receivers. Not to sound like a broken record, but obviously Juju and Michael Thomas take slight hits to their production with team injuries to their quarterbacks. Both UPS and Bruce are in the bottom 5 for points scored and have suffered slow starts to the season. I expect some of their star players to have some positive regression to the mean and we saw that a little bit with Nick Chubb last week.
Dr. Jenious and Da Moon feel like the two stronger teams in the division after two weeks (if you look at points scored). Russell Wilson once again keeps playing like a top 5 QB even without his rushing yards. The return of Devin Singletary will be some much needed help to their running backs, because Duke Johnson has not gotten the volume to be a reliable back. When you look at the Craters, you have to think “When are we going to see the old Aaron Rodgers who can drop 40 points on any Sunday”? This team desperately needs a jolt of offense from somewhere and Mr. Rodgers fits that bill.
Bruce Almightys have not gotten dividends on their wide receiver core, but with the return of Michael Gallup (who looked like a legitimate WR2 before his injury) that should help things out a little. DeAndre Hopkins can’t be in a slump forever, he’s just too talented so this is a team that has its best weeks ahead of them. The frustration with UPS has been turnovers and Jared Goff not really making that step. I have said that Jared Goff should be an MVP caliber QB every year with the situation he’s in. Who else has a more perfect situation: offensive line, weapons on the edge and slot, Todd Gurley, Sean McVay and a top 10 defense to give you short fields and plenty of possessions.
I honestly have no idea who is going to win this division but I am going to stick with my pick of Da Moon’s Huge Craters.
FFC West
The West is always a tough division that goes down to the wire. After the first quarter of the season, the Wolfpack look like the strongest team in the division. In fact I would venture to say the Wolfpack have the best shot at challenging Mahomies Deezflated Nuts with the return of a healthy TY Hilton. Top to bottom I love the roster and depth at wide receiver. The Wolfpack beat the PGD twice, beat Lin Sanity once but lost against the Spartans in the one game they have played so far. That represents a lot of opportunities for tiebreakers and interesting scenarios late in the season. The most encouraging sign for this team has been the rock solid fantasy superstar Dalvin Cook who has shown he is entirely matchup proof. Not even Kirk Cousins can stop Cook.
The two 2-2 teams, the PGD and the Spartans, will heavily contest this division and I imagine it’s going to go down to the last week of the regular season. Head to head the PGD have the tiebreaker so far, but remember the Spartans have the lone win against the Wolfpack. Both teams are incredibly well balanced and have the biggest question at quarterback. The PGD have found a consistent running back option in Aaron Jones who continues to find the endzone enough to keep him in low end RB1 consideration. Once this team gets AJ Green back, that is going to be a big boost to a wide receiver group that is already pretty decent. I love the Spartans young wide receiver group of DJ Chark and Terry McLaurin who have proven to be some great late round draft steals. I think quarterback management is going to be the key for the PGD and Spartans who have some talent on the bench but difficult decisions managing them forward.
Odell Beckham has really been a disappointing 2019 fantasy prospect for Lin Sanity who find themselves at 1-3 and at the bottom of the division. After a couple of close games in this young season, this team certainly has the talent to hang around with the rest of the division but have just had bad luck from the wide receivers. This team has shown it’s not afraid to make big trades and shake up the roster, so I don’t think this team is done taking final form for the season yet.
This looks like one of the most competitive and talented divisions this year and it’s going to go down to the wire. In the preseason I predicted the Wolfpack to win the division and PGD to make a wildcard. I still like my predictions from there.
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