It looks like the Tirades will finally get RB Christian McCaffrey back in the lineup (and TE T.J. Hockenson), but is it too late?
It appears that the Tirades might have RB Christian McCaffrey back this week (he'll be going up against the Bucs in Tampa if he does), but he was also questionable for the season opener and then missed the next 10 weeks, so...
This could be the making of another Rivalry Week in the JSFL as the brothers Lambert tangle, brothers-in-law Bob and Ron do the San Juan Capistrano two-step, and rivalries old and new dot the slate — Jordan battling Pringle, the Recliners playing host to the Invaiders, and the Gerbils and Matty doing their little dance in the Habitrail Dome.
It is tough to pick a Game of the Week from those offerings, but we might as well address the elephant in the room — the hoped-for return of All-World RB Christian McCaffrey. Ron mortgaged the season for this scenario, and that was before going "all-in” on Ja’Marr Chase a few weeks back.
Also back on the Tirades’ roster is TE T.J. Hockenson, recovering from a brutal-looking torn ACL last season. All of those chips appear to be in play this week as the Tirades go “all-in” to try to rally from two games back in the Shitty Teams Division to make Bob’s final weeks of the regular season as miserable as is humanly possible.
Great to have a brother-in-law you can go the mats with. And, take him down is likely what Ron will have to do because, and I hate writing this but, “if the season ended today,” Ron would be on the outside of the playoffs looking in.
Winning the division might be his best and maybe only hope to stay alive as the calendar flips to December. If they finish in a tie, Bob has a huge team scoring advantage (Band Aids have amassed 912 points so far, the Tirades 767). Bob and John have the only two teams above the 900-point barrier in scoring so far. John checks in with 908 points. The Spread Beaters and Packers are this season’s “tough-luck” teams so far as the only two to have more than 900 points scored against them (Packers 922 points against, and 908 against Pringle’s team).
And, speaking of those playoffs, the four teams with the best odds to advance, according to ESPN, are the Recliners (95 percent likelihood), Band Aids (82 percent), Rangers (79 percent) and WTNE (45 percent), in that order.
The wobbliness of WTNE’s standing leaves the door open for the next string of contenders -— the Invaiders (36 percent), Spread Beaters (27 percent), Tirades (25 percent), Gerbils (8 percent) and Who Dey (3 percent) — in that order. The Packers (1 percent) hold down the final spot (so, you are saying there is a chance?). Jeff has to run the table to get to 7 wins and hope for the total collapse of every team ahead of him.
The Power Rankings can be found on the league’s home page (on a desktop computer) on ESPN, below the most recent transactions. The percentage probability number is also on the desktop Full Standings page. I would not want you thinking I just make up these numbers.
The NFL had its trade deadline to deal with this week, and no major fantasy player moved at the deadline, if you don’t think WR Mike Williams is fantasy relevant. Just like the NFL, the JSFL also has its own deadline looming later this month (midnight November 29).
One final early Sunday start
The NFL starts the week Thursday with the Bengals travelling to the Baltimore to take on the Ravens. The slate of international games finally comes to an end this week with a thrilling match between the Giants and Panthers from Munich at 6:30 a.m. PST (yawn, I think I will sleep in). The week wraps with the Dolphins traveling to SoFi Stadium Monday to take on the Rams.
Four teams take a powder this week (Cleveland, Green Bay, Las Vegas and Seattle) and four more are off next week (Arizona, Carolina, N.Y. Giants and Tampa Bay) before byemaggedons loom in Weeks 12 (Atlanta, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, New Orleans and N.Y. Jets) and Week 14 (Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, New England and Washington). Adjust accordingly.
Here's a look at the week ten matchups.
Game of the Week
Tirades (4-5) vs Band Aids (6-3), betting line is “pick ‘em”: The team Bob is facing this week is vastly different from the one he faced back in Week 4 (Band Aids won that one, 94-77, led by Lamar Jackson’s 24). Looking at the core of Ron’s new team — McCaffrey, Chase and QB Josh Allen — brings a busload of firepower he did not have six weeks ago. Those upgrades of McCaffrey and Chase bring the Tirades on an even keel with the Band Aids. The stat geeks at ESPN do not give any noticeable advantage to either team this week. Lamar, the league’s top-ranked QB, gets a slight nod at home against the Bengals while Allen travels to take on the Colts. Chase, the top-ranked wide receiver in the league, gets a slight edge at Baltimore while Amon-Ra St. Brown travels to Houston. Bob also gets a slight edge with WR Terry McLaurin over DeAndre Hopkins. This one kicks off with the Thursday night game as Lamar takes center stage in what might be another shootout with the Bengals (with Ron’s WR Chase on the other side of this game Vegas puts the over/under at 52). The only other edge goes to Ron with RB Aaron Jones at flex against RB Kareem Hunt. These two likely won’t be addressing holiday cards while this one unfolds. Expect a lot more colorful language being share. Toss a coin. Take the Band Aids by 1.
The Close Ones?
Spread Beaters (4-5) vs WTNE (5-4), betting line is another “pick ‘em”: Two “pick ‘em” games to start the slate? Brutal. Some of the brightest stars in the league gather to fight this one out and try to determine who will have a leg up as the playoff contenders shake out over the coming weeks. Jordan gets the nod at QB with Jayden Daniels hosting Pittsburgh, RB Alvin Kamara hosting Atlanta, and WR Puka Nacua hosting Miami. Pringle gets the stats edge with WR Tyreek Hill at SoFi on Monday night, RB Brian Robinson at flex and the Chargers’ defense. The two best RBs in the league (Pringle’s Derrick Henry and Jordan’s Saquon Barkley) are a statistical tossup, as is this game. Toss another coin. Take the Beaters by 1.
Invaiders (5-4) vs Recliners (8-1), Invaiders favored by 5. I don’t doubt Chris’ likely chance to run away with this one, again (as the Recliners did in Week 7 in a 96-53 win). The Recliners get the stats edge with both RBs (Bijan Robinson and Joe Mixon), WR (Garrett Wilson) and defense (the New York Giants in Munich early Sunday morning). The Invaiders get the nod at QB with Brock Purdy, the other WR (Malik Nabers in Munich) and RB Rhamondre Stevenson at flex. My boys always seem to underperform when the pressure is on, unless Bob’s QB finds Mark Andrews early and often Thursday night. Take the Recliners and 5.
Rangers (6-3) vs Packers (1-8), Rangers favored by 2: The two brothers Lambert tango once more in this one. Jeff is coming off of his first win of the season and is expected to give brother John all he can handle once more. The Rangers have the edge at QB (Jalen Hurts), RB (Kyren Williams), TE (George Kittle) and the Baltimore kicker (Justin Tucker). Jeff gets the edge at both WR positions (George Pickens and Deebo Samuel; is there a rule that you can’t start Steelers against John?). Jeff also gets the edge with WR Darnell Mooney at Flex and the Chiefs’ defense. The wild card in this one continues to be WR Amari Cooper, still carrying a questionable tag in the Bills’ game at Indianapolis, and still looking to build chemistry with his new QB, Josh Allen. We think they figure it out this week. Take the Rangers by 2.
The Blowout?
Who Dey (3-6) vs Gerbils (3-6), Gerbils favored by a bunch (nearly 15 as of this writing): Matty looks to be the team facing the biggest impact from this week’s bye schedule as he loses both of his starting QBs (Green Bay and Seattle) and his tight end (David Njoku). Look for some waiver-wire work before Sunday morning, but it may not matter as the Gerbs are heavily favored. Chuck rolls into this one with favorable matchups at QB (Minnesota or Kansas City), RB Jahmyr Gibbs at Houston, WR Drake London at New Orleans and TE Dalton Kincaid at the Colts. Matty gets a statistical edge at RB with D’Andre Swift, WR Justin Jefferson, RB James Cook at Flex, the league’s best defense (Minnesota) and kicker Jake Bates (Detroit). Take the Gerbils by 10.
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