A few weeks back, we had our first taste of six teams on bye, and that surely stunk. This week starts another five-week stretch of challenging byes facing us.
Packers high-scoring RB Travis Etienne Jr. is one of the stars are sitting this (bye) week out.
Several of the league's leading scorers – Christian McCaffrey, Travis Etienne and Amon-Ra St. Brown – take a seat this week while the rest of the NFL plays on.
After several upsets last week, there are still two clear-cut favorites to make the postseason dance. ESPN gives the Shit Talkers’ Band Aids, 6-2 after last week’s loss, an 80 percent chance to hold on to its playoff spot.
In the Silent Division, the 6-2 WTNE hold a 74 percent chance of playing into late December. The next team with the best odds of moving on are the Packers, at 5-3, are given a 65 percent chance of staying in the hunt.
After those three, things get a little murky. Four more teams are considered still in the mix. The 5-3 Blazing Saddles are given a 47-percent chance of locking down the fourth and final playoff spot, slightly better than the 45 percent odds for the 5-3 Rangers, and the 41-percent chance for the 4-4 Spread Beaters and Invaiders.
The star-less lineups of the Tirades and WTNE notwithstanding, there is an interesting slate of games to peruse as Week 9 dawns Thursday night. Bring. It. On.
Next week (Week 10), several more stars – Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and Tua Tagovailoa – all take the week off. And buckle up as four more are off Week 11 and the final six byes of the season fall during the push for the playoffs in Week 13.
The NFL trade deadline passed on Halloween and Derrick Henry, surprisingly, still resides in Tennessee. Henry also still resides in a Spread Beaters uniform and now has 29 days to change teams or become a free agent at the end of the season. Expect the trade rumors to notch up as Thanksgiving nears. Jonathan Taylor and Justin Jefferson also are the other two big, looming free-agents-to-be.
NFL schedule gets challenging again
The slate kicks off with a dud Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers (John might be the only one watching) host the Tennessee Titans. Four more teams – the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars – have a bye in Week 9, leaving half of the Tirades on the bench. And, just to further complicate things, there is another early game Sunday in Frankfurt (6:30 a.m. kickoff West Coast time) when the Dolphins and Chiefs go at it.
Four more teams have a bye next week (the Chiefs, Rams, Dolphins and Eagles) which means the Spread Beaters will be scrambling to field a team.
Game of the Week
Band Aids vs. Spread Beaters, Beaters favored by 7: At first glance, it appears the division-leading Band Aids are the favored team with scoring edges in 5 of the 9 starting spots. But, looks can be deceiving. The Spread Beaters carry scoring edges at both WR positions (Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown over Tyler Lockett and injured Puka Nacua, listed currently as questionable as of this writing). ESPN also favors Matt’s defensive choice (Atlanta hosting Minnesota after Kirk Cousins was lost for the season in Week 8). The Vikings traded for Arizona QB Josh Dobbs at the deadline Tuesday but appears to be starting Jaren Hill until Dobbs is up to speed with the new playbook. Bob will get an early morning wake up as two of his key players take the field in Germany in Mahomes and Miami RB Raheem Mostert. The Band Aids also are given the scoring edge at tight end (Mark Andrews vs. T.J. Hokenson) and at flex (Darrell Henderson Jr. of the Rams vs. Isiah Pacheco of the Chiefs. I am not sure I trust the ESPN projections for the Atlanta defense at home against a QB making his first NFL start (Editors Note: as an Atlanta area resident, I would double down on that doubt. The Falcons are a mirage), but I make it point to never pick the Band Aids. Why break from tradition now? Take the Spread Beaters and 2.
Best of the Rest
Packers vs. Blazing Saddles, Pack favored by 5: Both teams come in with the same 5-3 record. The Pack, unfortunately, will have one hand tied behind his back as Etienne is on the bye. It may not matter. The Blazing Saddles carry the RB edge with Jonathan Taylor and suddenly resilient Joe Mixon over Emari Demercado of Arizona (if you have never heard of that name before) and Devin Singletary of Houston. The Pack gets the edge at QB (Josh Allen over Dak Prescott) at both WRs spots (Ja’Marr Chase and Mike Evans over Davante Adams and Chris Godwin) and flex (Adam Thielen over Amari Cooper). You know the mantra, never bet against the Pack. Take the Pack and 5.
WTNE vs. Gerbils, WTNE favored by 1: If there was ever a time to bet the underdog Gerbils and pray they get their first win of the season, this might be the week. The bye schedule severely crimps WTNE this week, but will it matter? Jordan still carries a heavy scoring edge in five of the starting positions – both WRs (DJ Moore and Jordan Addison), RB2 (Jerome Ford), tight end (David Njoku) and flex (Jayden Waddle). The Gerbils only get a scoring edge at QB (welcome back to relevance Joe Burrow) and RB1 (another big welcome back to Austin Ekeler). Fight on if you are a Gerbil fan. It looks like you will have to wait another week for your first win. WTNE by 5.
Dog of the Week
Tirades vs. Invaiders, Invaiders favored by 20: When you draft San Francisco players heavily, you get kicked in the teeth when the scheduled bye rolls in. Ron is, gulp, counting on Geno Smith, Gabe Davis and Hayden Hurst to be his scoring leaders this week. He has two scoring edges in the 9 starting spots – Cooper Kupp at WR1 and the Eagles defense. ESPN favors the Invaiders in this one in five other starting spots. Unless the Invaiders go back to not scoring TDs again, this one should be over early. Take the Invaiders and 10.
Do we really have to watch?
Recliners vs. Rangers, Rangers favored by 3: The Rangers are expected to get back on the winning track after having a 4-game streak stopped last week. The Rangers are heavily favored at five of the starting spots and the Recliners in only three. Look for Jalen Hurts, Josh Jacobs and Breece Hall to score enough to leave the Recliners without a comeback chance. Take the Rangers and 3.
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