WRBL Week 3, 2021

 Wisconsin Rapids Bro League

Week Three

Our Seventh Official Season of blaming Cole Walters for the shortness of a Wisconsin summer.

Current Standings (with regular season won-loss streaks)

Steven Nett Division

Team ChowHounds (Darrin Aschebrook) 3-0 W4

Scott's Many Endeavors (Nick Zurawski) 3-0 W3

Yeezy Taught Me (Nathaniel Hoefs) 1-2 L2

Todd's Plan (Andy Todd) 1-2 L1

Tanner Glaza Division

Take Mahomes Country Roads (Ryan Dougherty) 1-2 L1

SNEEN MACHINE (Tyler Sneen) 1-2 W1

Tax Paying Homeowner (Alec Swanson) 1-2 L2

Colieveland 96ers (Cole Walters) 1-2 W1

Week Three Final Scores

DARRIN defeats RYAN  135.14-117

NICK defeats ALEC  124.88-102.74

SNEEN defeats ANDY  149.18-119.22

COLE defeats HOEFS   161.14-120.34

Heroes of the Week: WR Mike Williams (33.2), WR Davante Adams (31.2), WR Cooper Kupp (30.6)

Waiver Wonders: WR Emmanuel Sanders (26.4), TE Dalton Schultz (26.0), QB Sam Darnold (25.26)

What-if of the Week: If Ryan would have started RB James Robinson (25.4) over WR Amari Cooper (5.6), he would have beaten Darrin by 1.66.

USA TODAY Sports
Waiver Wonder: WR Emmanuel Sanders (5 catches, 94 yards, 2 TDs)

Upcoming Week 4 Match-ups & NFL Schedule (in CT)

Nick v. Cole

Andy v. Darrin

Sneen v. Ryan

Alec v. Hoefs

Thursday Night Football: Jacksonville @ Cincinnati 7:20 PM

Sunday NOON: Washington @ Atlanta

Houston @ Buffalo

Detroit @ Chicago

Carolina @ Dallas

Indianapolis @ Miami

Cleveland @ Minnesota

NY Giants @ New Orleans

Tennessee @ NY Jets

Kansas City @ Philadelphia

3:05 PM: Arizona @ LA Rams

Seattle @ San Francisco

3:25 PM: Denver @ Baltimore

Pittsburgh @ Green Bay

Sunday Night Football: Tampa Bay @ New England 7:20 PM 

Monday Night Football: Las Vegas @ LA Chargers 7:15 PM

Bro...

Three weeks into the 2021 NFL season and already the flukiness of week #1 is showing itself. The Eagles looked like the next exceptional offense with an NFC East crown on their minds back on September 12th, only to look like absolute dog shit on Monday Night Football in Dallas this week. They are not alone in giving fans false hope. Hell, they aren't even the only team from the state of Pennsylvania to drive their fans up a wall with their ineptitude this September. The Steelers are WASHED and hiding in plain sight with star weaponry like Najee Harris, oft-injured Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster keeping some terrible towel wavers blindly optimistic when their poisoned o-line can't give Ben Roethlisberger (the NFL's current interpretation of Mike Myers' Fat Bastard character from the Austin Powers film franchise) three seconds to release five-yard ducks. The Pittsburgh defense is presently riding on whether or not Minkah Quitz-Patrick feels like playing in coverage on a drive-by-drive basis. None of those negatives seem to feel as bad as what's going on in Chicago right now somehow. The Justin Fields era maybe could have waited until the Bears had an offensive line of their own as the rookie was under pressure every single down, taking 9 sacks, completing 6 passes and gaining 1 single net passing yard. It was an embarrassing effort all around and with Nick Foles' trade block lack of advertising, it's honestly shocking Matt Nagy didn't just take more eye-rolling from armchair head coaches by rolling the Super Bowl MVP out there to give his trade value SOME merit. I wonder if the Steelers would deal Big Ben and a 7th for Foles. That's not as asinine as it sounds but, that's also never happening and I'm on crack right now.

The media will have plenty of time to assess those three losers and their tugging at fans heartstrings all season long. Now, it's time to focus on the even more plentiful three-weak surprises like this incredible list of five teams that remain undefeated...

- Los Angeles Rams

- Denver Broncos

- Las Vegas Raiders

- Arizona Cardinals

- Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers logo she tells you not to worry about.

In a way, we sort of all saw this version of an upgraded Rams' offense coming with Jared Goff exiting for the much more electric Matthew Stafford and that is where the list of predictable 3-0 teams ends. Kyler Murray has proven to be fully healed from his lower body injuries that slowed down his 2020 productivity and the veteran additions of A.J. Green plus J.J. Watt look like classic cases of "so far, so good" because who knows how long those two can stay out of the medical tent. Overall, the Cardinals are greatly improved yet have had an extremely beneficial schedule to this point with this week's game at the LA Rams a clear highlight of the weekend ahead in both reality and fantasy. Another hot national game in LA sees the undefeated Raiders rolling into their old stomping grounds after three consecutive close victories looking to take down preseason favorites, the 2-1 Chargers. The Raiders have made some extremely bold choices in benching recent draft choices like the inactive #4 overall pick from 2019, DE Clelin Ferrell and playing veteran journeymen and lower-drafted rookies that have earned the right to play like LB Denzel Perryman and CB Nate Hobbs respectively. These moves have paid off on defense and the offense is actually delivering on the theories of what they could be with Henry Ruggs drawing attention deep and Bryan Edwards being a must-cover all over the field as Hunter Renfrow is turning into what Cooper Kupp was before Cooper Kupp became Randy Moss. It all seems a little bit too perfect though, when Peyton Barber (a man averaging 3.5 yards per carry over his first four seasons) goes off for 100 yards as they run out the clock in Miami against the Tua-less Dolphins. The Broncos may have benefit from playing the Jets, Giants and Jags (a combined 0-9) but, the offense remains effective enough and the defense has allowed 8.7 PPG so I'm still high on this team despite the loss of WR K.J. Hamler to a torn ACL and their upcoming true test versus the Ravens in rookie WR Rashod Bateman's likely debut. 

Those teams all seem at least somewhat legitimate with reasons to doubt they'll last that don't overshadow the magic of what they're accomplishing thus far. The one team I refuse to be sold on are the Panthers, beating the Jets, Saints minus a ton of coaches and the Texans minus Tyrod Taylor. I'm not going to badmouth the fluke 3-0 start any further than that as at the end of the day, they are still 3-0. No, the problem with this team lies in the inevitable regression ahead now without breakout rookie CB Jaycee Horn (on IR) and RB Christian McCaffrey (out indefinitely with a bad hamstring from carrying this offense the past four years). Those losses would seem to be too much to bare as Sam Darnold has yet to succeed without a star running back to keep things close and the Jeremy Chinn-Shaq Thompson-Brian Burns trio is great but that defense is absolutely a cornerback short from playoff contention minus the #8 overall pick. I suppose Richard Sherman is just one call away but, is that even a call worth making at this point? It's not like the 49ers were rushing to their former pro-bowler when Jason Verrett's injury seemingly left them with zero great defensive backs. Hell, the Chiefs think that Josh Gordon is a wiser investment at this point and they've been trotting out multiple former draft busts (relative to their expectations from the teams that drafted them) in Mike Hughes and DeAndre Baker, getting torched to the tune of a 1-2 record (last in the super competitive AFC West) in the process.

David Eulitt/Getty Images
Despite a breakthrough fantasy performance, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire again had a costly fumble in another close Kansas City loss.

Undefeated teams are still thriving in the Bro League as well. Both Team ChowHounds and Scott's Many Endeavors remain unbeaten, taking down two 1-1 teams that never put up any serious threat. Nick's effort was greatly aided by A.J. Brown leaving in the first quarter with a bad hamstring and Z was able to overcome a second consecutive pedestrian showing by Tyreek Hill (perhaps the addition of Josh Gordon opens things up for Hill going forward?), downing Alec in the process. Ryan also failed to squish together the two extremes of the standings with a trio of reliable vets failing to crack double-digit showings (Julio Jones, Amari Cooper & Rob Gronkowski) as Darrin rode the hot hands of Brandin Cooks, Adam Thielen and always-hot Derrick Henry to a very convincing 3-0 start. The only fantasy player with a legitimate gripe this week is Nathaniel Hoefs. He would have at least walked away with the moral victory of a hypothetical win if CMac weren't sidelined by halftime Thursday night. Unfortunately, this week-to-week injury was the first indicator that this simply would not be Nate's week. Cole came to this week DETERMINED for his first win, desperate enough to start Derpy Daniel Jones as a streaming option against the porous Atlanta defense. The Giants may have stunk up the joint but, Cole probably lit one up in celebration after seeing Big Ben shovel the ball Najee Harris's way 18 times, completing 14 for 102 yards. My favorite part of Andy's seemingly annual waiver wire pickup of James White this season was his one touch before needing to be carted off. Classic instant waiver-to-starter move by the fantasy football gods. DeShawn Wynn is laughing at me somewhere and Sneen is too, as the benefactor of the ill-advised lineup changes made in week three by Todd's Plan. The Machine is 1-2 and my team is beginning to look very sandwich-y with keeper Antonio Gibson not being nearly the factor in Washington's passing game that Austin Ekeler (who I let go of, despite being a 12th? rounder) has been for LA and Sneen's Machine.

We're still a couple of weeks away from byes as they start later than ever before in week 6 so all 32 teams remain in action after three incredibly action-packed weekends already. Week 3's slate looked pretty underwhelming and there was some BAD football but, even the bad football was still close and interesting (see: that awful Giants-Falcons game). By comparison, week 4 looks great with no ignorable duds after the noon slate. In the Bro League, two 1-2 teams look for the defibrillator to reignite the positive charges they felt on draft night as Cole and I look to take down the two 3-0s, Nick and Darrin. Cole's instant regret in benching Josh Allen last week likely signifies his spot in the lineup going forward even though Cole is now 1-0 with Jones. Me? I'm just sort of hoping Elijah Mitchell comes back to clear up my backfield weakness and maybe the Titans keep Tannehill's arm active instead of resorting to running Derrick Henry 40 times like fatigue just doesn't exist for dudes built like the MVP candidate. What happens between Alec and Hoefs is anybody's guess as both A.J. Brown and Christian McCaffrey will likely miss this week with injured strings of ham. No word on how their steaks or porkchops are doing but, I'm sure Alec and Nate are okay with these two studs missing one game as opposed to putting up duds and risking further meat puns. Finally, we have a matchup of last season's championship between the 1-2 Take Mahomes Country Roads and the 1-2 Sneen Machine. Neither owner is outright elated by their sub-.500 squads thus far and despite a miraculous 16.2-point showing from veteran WR Cordarrelle Patterson in the RB-slot for the first time ever, Sneen would much rather see the reliable Dalvin Cook alongside Ekeler in his lineup against Patrick Mahomes and company. The 2020 championship matchup may actually be a long-term loser-leaves-town matchup in the grand scheme of things. Every week matters in fantasy football, even the ones where one just says "Sure, I'll go Daniel Jones, James White, Cordarrelle Patterson, etc." so tread carefully as the waiver wire gains importance with each body that gets carted off before the byes. The wind of autumn makes the water choppier round these parts.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Don't forget the Jacoby Brissett revenge game against the 0-3 Colts on this weekend's exhilarating schedule of games, Nick won't!

Scoring Leaders

QB

Tom Brady 85.48 (Sneen)

Kyler Murray 85.2 (Hoefs)

Patrick Mahomes 80.2 (Ryan)

Lamar Jackson 69.54 (Nick)

Russell Wilson 67 (Andy)

Aaron Rodgers 47.16 (Darrin)

Josh Allen 33.86 (Cole)

Joe Burrow 28.92 (Alec)

Derek Carr 21.24 (Alec)

Daniel Jones 16.54 (Cole)

RB

Derrick Henry 77.8 (Darrin)

Aaron Jones 63.3 (Ryan)

Christian McCaffrey 58.4 (Hoefs)

Austin Ekeler 56.9 (Sneen)

Najee Harris 53.2 (Cole)

Ezekiel Elliott 50.2 (Nick)

Nick Chubb 47.3 (Ryan)

Alvin Kamara 45.9 (Darrin)

Joe Mixon 43.5 (Nick)

Antonio Gibson 38.4 (Andy)

Dalvin Cook 37.2 (Sneen)

David Montgomery 37.2 (Alec)

Jonathan Taylor 32.1 (Alec)

Chris Carson 31.3 (Nick)

Saquon Barkley 25.1 (Cole)

Damien Harris 25.1 (Andy)

Alexander Mattison 23.1 (Hoefs)

Miles Sanders 17.3 (Nick)

Josh Jacobs 17 (Darrin)

Cordarrelle Patterson 16.2 (Sneen)

Clyde Edwards-Helaire 12.8 (Hoefs)

D'Andre Swift 11.8 (Cole)

Kenyan Drake 10.5 (Ryan)

James Robinson 8.4 (Ryan)

Raheem Mostert 2 (Cole)

James White 0.6 (Andy)

WR

Cooper Kupp 91.2 (Hoefs)

Adam Thielen 63.1 (Darrin)

Davante Adams 61.9 (Cole)

Keenan Allen 52.8 (Andy)

Tyreek Hill 52.7 (Nick)

CeeDee Lamb 50.3 (Hoefs)

DK Metcalf 50 (Alec)

Amari Cooper 49.9 (Ryan)

Terry McLaurin 48.1 (Nick)

DeAndre Hopkins 46.8 (Darrin)

Stefon Diggs 44.1 (Hoefs)

Brandin Cooks 43.5 (Darrin)

Calvin Ridley 43.5 (Andy)

Justin Jefferson 39.34 (Alec)

Mike Williams 33.2 (Sneen)

Robert Woods 31.2 (Sneen)

Mike Evans 29.9 (Andy)

Allen Robinson 24.6 (Sneen)

A.J. Brown 22.5 (Alec)

D.J. Chark 16.8 (Cole)

Chris Godwin 16.2 (Alec)

Tee Higgins 16 (Cole)

D.J. Moore 15.4 (Sneen)

Julio Jones 13.6 (Ryan)

Ja'Marr Chase 13.4 (Sneen)

Michael Pittman Jr. 13.3 (Ryan)

Courtland Sutton 8.7 (Cole)

Tyler Lockett 7.1 (Andy)

DeVonta Smith 3.6 (Ryan)

TE

Travis Kelce 66.9 (Andy)

T.J. Hockenson 49.3 (Alec)

Darren Waller 48.4 (Hoefs)

Logan Thomas 33.7 (Cole)

George Kittle 32.6 (Darrin)

Mark Andrews 31.6 (Sneen)

Noah Fant 29 (Nick)

Kyle Pitts 19.4 (Ryan)

Rob Gronkowski 9.5 (Ryan)

K

Brandon McManus 38 (Alec)

Justin Tucker 34 (Sneen)

Tyler Bass 29 (Cole)

Harrison Butker 21 (Darrin)

Matt Gay 20 (Nick)

Younghoe Koo 17 (Hoefs)

Jason Sanders 16 (Andy)

Daniel Carlson 13 (Ryan)

Greg Zuerlein 10 (Nick)

Josh Lambo 1 (Ryan)

DF

Denver Broncos 35 (Andy)

New Orleans Saints 24 (Ryan)

Cleveland Browns 23 (Nick)

Pittsburgh Steelers 16 (Hoefs)

Arizona Cardinals 15 (Cole)

Los Angeles Rams 14 (Cole)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 (Alec)

Carolina Panthers 10 (Darrin)

San Francisco 49ers 7 (Nick)

Baltimore Ravens 4 (Sneen)

Indianapolis Colts 3 (Ryan)

Washington Football Team 3 (Darrin)

Hypothetical Standings (Top 4 scorers win, bottom 4 lose)

Scott's Many Endeavors 3-0

Yeezy Taught Me 2-1

Team ChowHounds 2-1

SNEEN MACHINE 1-2

Todd's Plan 1-2

Take Mahomes Country Roads 1-2

Tax Paying Homeowner 1-2

Colieveland 96ers 1-2