For Reals Guys League Weekly Posts: Week 3 Recap!

Week 3 started out with a bang in the SF and LAR game. Todd Gurley, Sammy Watkins, Carlos Hyde and Pierre Garçon all made the team's that started them feel great. Unsurprisingly every team that had 1 of them - aside from my dad, who went against Ory the Gurley owner - won their matchup. Starting out with 20+ points from a player seems to definitely help 🤔. That of course wasn't it, there was a lot of strange happenings this week, including the Dolphins losing to the Jets, the Broncos losing to the Bills, and the Raiders getting decimated by the Redskins. Who knows what the answer is, are the Jags really that dominant? Is Diggs the best WR since Randy Moss? Does a broken joint make Howard even better? Will every single week make different players seem garbage and others seem godly? That's my guess. This game causes more confusion than a painting of a floor on a ceiling.

TOP 5

QB:

Tom Brady (90 points)

Something that makes a lot of sense, and finally Alex Smith isn't number 1. Cone's investment is making sense, Brady in the first round is now putting up numbers (45 in week 3!). Their defense still looks pretty bad, and that can only mean that Brady is going to have to throw it, and that's always a good option for them.

Alex Smith (74 points)

He's still here, and he's been providing consistency. He has 18 points the last two weeks, and is still being carried by that ungodly first week. His team looks good though, and that consistency will probably continue, there are better options but he lets you know what you're getting.

Aaron Rodgers/Drew Brees (69 points)

Rodgers is getting better as the season is getting deeper, improving his numbers each week. Brees is playing consistent, and for Brees that means 20+. The studs are showing up finally, and if they keep it up then their owners can probably be happy. There's not much to say except here they are.

Matt Stafford (67 points)

After that first amazing week he's been okay. His left tackle is just absolutely garbage, and it hurts. That means going deep won't ever be easy for him, and I don't think the offense can get into a huge groove, but Stafford is good. He might actually provide some consistency this year, and that's new and great for him.

Carson Wentz (65 points)

His worst game so far, but against a good D. His schedule isn't awesome, but suddenly they may have a run game and with the way he throws it downfield that could help. RIP Sproles though.

Funny enough, Wilson scores 40 and couldn't even crack this list. That's awful awful for the first two weeks. Maybe that means something is looking up for him? Also missing out on Matt Ryan for an early pick.

Kareem Hunt (94 points)

Well week 1 helped, but he keeps doing it. He has scored more than the QB1. The Chiefs are dedicated and this has been an amazing year. Barring injury even if he starts doing absolutely nothing I have a hard time seeing him dropping out of the top 12. Shits been wacky, except for him, so guess we will see.

Todd Gurley (82 points)

This dude killed the 9ers. He could have had 6 TDs in that game too, ridiculous stuff. I'm thinking this is absolutely the easiest part of his schedule though, it really gets brutal from here. There is no question though, he actually looks better in this season then he did last season.

Chris Thompson (69 points)

Well, it kept up. He killed the Raiders, and he literally is scoring once every 7 touches. It's doubtful that he can keep that up, but if he does it's something special. It's Chris Thompson bough, someone that I think Matt has had on his bench since 2014.

Ty Montgomery (58 points)

Nothing huge but something solid. Those catches seriously help in our league, and if the Packers keep winning they probably won't shy away from him much.

Devonta Freeman (56 points)

Atlanta won on some weird bollocks call against the Lions, but Freeman is really showing that he was worth the money. Coleman is there but at this point that seems more helpful to Freeman than hurtful. Good news for him all around really, and he looks good.

Stefon Diggs (69 points)

Hahahahahahah, Andrew. You could have beat me by like 90 damn points. Week 1 and week 3 were huge and now he holds the number 1 spot thus far. Sammy Sleeves is still out, but does it matter? Was this a bad day for TB D or was it Keenum actually looking his way and Diggs capitalizing?

Antonio Brown (67 points)

Minnesota held him to 11, but he looks the part of the Steelers offense. Bell got a TD but didn't get a ton of yards, Brown however just catches 10+ balls every chance he can and if there's a TD to go with that it's gravy.

Tyreek Hill (53 points)

Boom or bust? More boom than bust? A WR being supported by Alex Smith? Matchup dependent? We will see in the next two weeks with Washington and Houston up the next couple weeks. As a Raiders fan, I'm rooting against his production.

Larry Fitzgerald (51 points)

33 points in MNF. Look, we know he can do it, but can he do it consistently? He certainly did it in the spotlight, and the rest of his team slowly dying probably helps boost his stock.

AJ Green (50 points)

Look this guy on a bum ass team actually is doing okay again. Was it the OC or did Dalton have a moment of clarity? Green is wonderful, but he's still on the 0-3 Bengals with Dalton throwing him the ball.

Rob Gronkowski (50 points)

After the stinker of week 1, Gronk is back where he belongs. Him and that Brady flexibility workout are looking as Gronky as ever. He has enough points to be WR5 on the year.

Zach Ertz (48 points)

17,14,17. Dudes got it figured out I guess. Wentz likes him and gives him consistent targets. His yardage this week was down, but he did catch a TD.

Jason Witten (44 points)

1 catch for 3 yards. Well, he fell down to earth, and he fell far. As a testament to him, he's still number 3 on the year with a 1 point outing. The dude is incredibly old.

Delanie Walker (37 points)

Pretty bad that the TE4 is averaging just over 12 points. TEs aren't all doing great. Delanie had a tough matchup against Seattle and it showed, he gets Houston next though so there may be some silver lining there.

Charles Clay (35 points)

When he gets a TD he is good, when he doesn't he is bad. It's hard to say there should be trust in a Buffalo player, but I guess after Shady he's probably the best?

Where is Kelce? Where is Reed? Where is Graham? What is TE?

D/ST

Lions

What in the hell is this? The Lions are number 1? I actually legitimately don't know what to say to this.

Jaguars

I think this list is actually just more for the lols. Jags did dismantle a garbage looking Baltimore offense.

Steelers

Just mediocre enough to not get -6 points. Maybe after week 1 defenses just suck.

Redskins

Yeah they really screwed the Raiders. They good or were the Raiders just playing like garbage?

Rams

Still number 5? The 9ers scored 39 points on em.

Game Write Ups

Chris Cone versus Jake Yorke

Cone comes up with another solid outing despite literally doing an exodus on his bench. Chris, having players on your bench doesn't count against you, and bye weeks will be flying up real soon.

Jake: -6 from a defense really sucks doesn't it. I feel your pain. Let's say you play Jimmy Graham instead of Kelce, you win. I think your team is fine, there's just logjams for you. With the TEs switching off on 1 point weeks, that could be a fun carousel. You almost played the right RBs but Powell scored more than Buck Allen and White. Ravens RBs and Patriots RBs are going to be tough to handle me thinks.

Cone: I just want to hear why you are dropping your bench, I mean I won't tell you it's awful, you've won 2 in a row now. That Brady pick we gave you shit for seems to be working out, 45 is a goddamn revelation. Your WRs scare e hell out of me, but Brady, Leo Four, and Gore are doing alright for you. Hope you pick up someone good, and it's not someone too good.

Cone wins 116-105

Yuriy Yedinak versus Daniel Smith

Yuriy great looking team doesn't look all that good. Well actually, it looks pretty good but it's not impossibly good.

Yuriy: Melvin Gordon got hurt, but only after putting up a good game. Freeman did great, and your WRs did alright if unspectacular. Aside from benching Hogan and playing Cam you made all the right plays. Your TE position seems scary, and if you don't have anyone blowing up consistency can be cool, but it can also be frustrating. Incredibly frustrating.

D Smith: oh hey look, your WRs actually showed up. AJ Green had a great game and Michael Thomas provided points to help bring Hydes heroic Thursday a W. Your RB2 spot is scary as all get out, Forte, Kamara, or Peterson? Sproles is dead so it might be a bit scary for you, and Forte broke a toe or finger so..... a nice victory all the same, bringing Yuriy closer to the rest of your division.

D Smith wins 132-92

Ory Yaslinskiy versus Oscar Meyer

What a game! So many points scored, a late comeback and some crazy high points. You were both 0-2 heading into the game, it truly was the 9ers versus the Rams.

Dad: I might actually tell you that Pryor is single-handedly making your team worse. He hasn't done anything and he doesn't look motivated to get better. Gillislee is good, but Patriots plan differently for every game. Howard and OBJ both paid off this week, which must be refreshing. Watkins had a huge day, but his schedule doesn't get any easier. You keep playing the wrong D each week, and that TE slot is a gigantic hole for you. But don't feel bad, if Howard and OBJ keep playing like that you will win some games.

Ory: DangeRuss and Gurley did that for you. That's some ridiculous stuff. CMC might be good with the others getting injured, but maybe he gets more tough defense? Relying on anything Panthers is just not a good look really right now. Evans eventually has to put up better points right? Kearse might not be as great as he seemed to be, but one bad week doesn't make it too terrible. Your ST slots are garbage, but a wins a win.

Ory beats Oscar 144-135

Jared Grube versus Alex Gomez

All these 2-0 teams sure look great huh? The battle of two juggernauts early in the season left both of them looking like dwarves.

Alex: ouch eh? That's gotta have you missing DJ. Crowell is just this way man, he ain't great and right now they just don't get leads. Golladay is not getting a good number of snaps, and Maclin almost got a concussion in a stupid London game that didn't make any sense. Chris Carson was your best back and as such you left him on your bench to save him embarrassment from being on your team this week. You were the metaphorical Raiders this week, a strong undefeated team just coming out completely limp and without life. You need a fire, and I'm not certain where it comes from man.

Jared: Kareem and Zeke are carrying you, so I guess you don't have to worry much. Cooper is looking really good and definitely a WR in the Julio range huh? Speaking of Julio, is he what you've been hoping for? Tyreek is performing the best of your WRs, and the Chiefs look good so something favorable your way. Your bench doesn't actually look strong, when Blount is your best non-QB that's a bit scary. 3-0 is always a good start, and it helps your playoff chances a lot. Just don't pull a Buffalo Bills and look good early and ONLY early.

Jared wins 116-77

Valeriy Shishkin versus Matt Burke

The highest scoring player was on the bench, and that sums it up.

Matt: you should probably take Chris Thompson and put him in one of your RB slots. I know I know, "but it's Chris Thompson," well I'm just saying, I don't want to keep bringing this up man. It makes my write ups feel like Griundhogs Day, only your the hole and Chris Thompson is the groundhog. The good news is your weakest position is QB, the bad news is your TE and D positions aren't giving you any positive traction.

Val: Rodgers made a good day for your squad great. Ajayi was the weakest link, and that can be frightening, but I'll leave the decisions up to you. Jeffrey appears to be boom/bust, but it isn't like 9 is bad. That KC D is a good pickup, but question, when will both of your top 2 picks play well at the same time? Ever?

Val wins 139-99

Andrew Gomez versus Nic Meyer

Well, in the end I got completely blown out so whatever.

Andrew: whatever bro, you benched Stefon Diggs. GG, feel shame, bad win, Larry Fitzgerald is better at football than you are at fantasy, CJ Anderson has more syllables in his name then you, Higgins.

Seriously though, if you can hope for more weeks like that you probably should.

Nic: it's because my week was set up with Kupp and Baltimore D. At least I have some good players.

Andrew wins 168-106

PLAYER PROFILE

(POWERED BY JAKE YORKE)

MATTHEW BURKE

Here at my apartment in Eugene, we sometimes wonder what makes the fantasy players of For Reals Guys league tick. Well one of our top statisticians and former league champ Jake Yorke brang us some sweet sweet statistics and an idea of what to do with them. So we are pleased to present you with our first player profile, on a player that is the returning champ, a college grad, and overall a good dude.

Are current reigning champ seems to be having something of a super bowl hangover with a current 3 game losing streak, which at this point means a huge 0-3 record. If we were to have a cold reading of this leagues fantasy teams I could 100% tell you which team was Matt's just by listening for the names Phillip Rivers and Greg Olsen and finding out which bench Chris Thompson is on. Matt's all-time win record is totally dank with .420 overall (tune in during future weeks for everyone's overall win percentage). Throughout his history he has a fairly solid 126.68 point per game average, which is something that I'm certain Matt would kill for right now, which if he played Chris Thompson he could have.

His best regular season w/l total is 7-6, or just 1 game over .500, that means that this guy who hasn't won 8 regular season games has more championship wins then: Alex, Ory, Oscar, Andrew, Jared, and Yuriy. When Matt has made the playoffs, he's won 4 games and only lost 1. So if we were to compar e him to an NFL team, his closest comparison would probably be the NY Giants. He never does just plain awful, and he doesn't do anything crazy but sometimes as a huge underdog he can come up big, as it currently shows by the trophy he has in wherever the heck he is.

This is MATT BURKE.

POWER RANKINGS