Week 2: Finding Identity

Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap-up! With 2 weeks in the books, teams have gotten into the swing of things with the season well underway and many have already found a solid team identity, or a trash one. The power rankings reflect this development with not much change at the top and bottom of the rankings, with minor fluctuations in the middle. (Maybe that just means I'm much better at judging everyone's fantasy team than I actually am at fantasy). Either way, let's dive into the week 2 power rankings and listen to Kurt complain as to why he isn't first.

Power Rankings:

1. The Juice is Loose: Another 140 point week to tack onto last week's 130 point victory, GM Kelly maintains his #1 spot due to sustainability and depth. 
2. Bigpapihugetime: GM Kurt boasts the greatest starting lineup for the moment, but minimal ooptions behind them. (While his greatest RB becomes a measly flex the moment Gordon returns).
3. Scoregasms: Potentially the most undeserved 0-2 team in history, GM Brody put up another decent performance while both Hopkins and Williams had slow games. 
4. Kraft Beer: Despite a fantastic performance to gain their first victory of the season, GM Ian and the Krafties lost both of their franchise QBs for extended time. 
5. Romanian RAPOs: 0-2 but an impressive 117 point performance despite an injured star RB who should be returning to full health. GM Michael will be hoping for a softer matchup in the future although next week is against the top ranked Juice Boxes.
6. Tittsburgh Feelers: GM Matt and the Feelers faltered week 2 after their strong season debut. Both RB Mack and WR Watkins returned to their previous values and their Week 1 glory might be that of a one hit wonder.
7. Miking Mikes: 2 strong performances warrants a higher ranking but with all 3 of starting RBs nursing injuries and Questionable for week 3, GM Darren and the Mikes' rise up the rankings will be put on hold, at least for now.
8. Belichick Yo Self: Perhaps the most undeserved 2-0 team in league history, 2 wins without eclipsing 110 points and currently in 8th in total points scored.
9. Leprechaun Soldiers: GM Connor still searching for trades guys
10. The Underachievers: Carried by their QB Mahomes and an explosion from RB Jones, GM Dom has question marks everywhere else on the roster.
11. 5 Year Plan: "August is trash by the way"
12. Mr. Nice Guy: Yikes

Week 2 Matchups:

The Juice is Loose (2-0) extended their win streak to 2 as they knocked off Scoregasms (0-2) 139-101. Another electrifying performance by QB Lamar Jackson gave GM Kelly and the Juice Boxes 13 point advantage at the QB position over GM Brody's QB Matt Ryan. Furthermore, an odd flop game from star WR Hopkins and lead RBs Williams and Carson were capitalized by RBs Cook and Chubb who combined for 45 points while RB Breida added onto the scoring with 16 points of his own. Despite the strong performance by TE Olsen to give the Scoregasms an early 13 point lead Thursday night, the rest of the team struggled to contain the overflowing Juice Boxes, who broke loose for another victory. GM Brody will be looking for his first win next week against much softer competition while GM Kelly will be aiming to continue his teams hot start and advance to 3-0. 

Bigpapihugetime (2-0) dominated yet again, outscoring Romanian RAPOs (0-2) 141-117. While the RAPOs kept PACE with GM Kurt's high flying offense with QB Wilson and WR OBJ matching Prescott and Julio of the Papis, the TE and FLEX position was where GM Kurt began to break away. TE McDonald came alive in week 2 with 16 points on 2 TDs while RB Ekeler continued his breakthrough with 19 points of his own, while RB Mixon struggled yet again with an ankle injury, being kept below 4 points yet again. GM Michael will be desperate for his first victory while GM Kurt will look to remain unbeaten in week 3.

Belichick Yo Self (2-0) emerged victorious in another low scoring game against Tittsburgh Feelers (1-1) 109-97. WRs Adams and Kupp gave bounce-back performances after their week 1 slip ups and were led yet again by RB Henry who put up another big game of 18 points. The return of AB for the Feelers provided a bright spot to keep things close, however the rest of the team could not hold their weight and instead relied on WR Golladay to make it interesting. Another disappointing fantasy game from QB Mayfield on Monday night sealed their fate as their last hopes of a comeback died out with many missed throws. GM Matt and the Feelers will look to bounce back in week 3 against GM Dom and The Underachievers.

The Underachievers (1-1) had a freebie matchup this week as they faced GM Grafton and his crumbling set of Mr. Nice Guys (0-2). The 106-73 point thrashing could have been a lot worse if GM Dom's players had actually performed, but instead QB Mahomes and RB Jones did virtually enough on their own to secure the victory combining for 64 points (60% of the total points for The Let Downs). For the Nice Guys, a disappointing showing from CMC on Thursday Night was just a foreshadowing as only fellow RB Michel was able to surpass 15 points over the weekend. GM Grafton will be looking for the Hard Reset button and hoping the old saying "nice guys finish last" is actually just talking about August.

Kraft Beer (1-1) easily defeated 5 Year Plan (0-2) 119-96. The only thing really worth noting from this matchup was GM Ian's New England Defense, which over half of GM August's week 1 points with 39. While rival RBs Barkley and Zeke both matched each others 20+ point games, the supporting cast around them was mediocre at best. On the bright side, GM August's 5 Year Plan is well on its way to a 2024 championship as he is learning all the ways to lose now. 

Miking Mikes (2-0) bested Leprechaun Soldiers (1-1) in an well rounded and unexciting 105-93 point victory. A small scare Sunday Night almost cost the Mikes the game as QB Wentz hobbled off with an injury, allowing WR Ridley to close the gap for the Leprechauns with 19 points, however Wentz was able to return to close out the game. a 20 point performance from TE Andrews was the key to victory for GM Darren while the RB struggles continue for GM Connor as RB Jones pooped out a 1.4 point disappointment in the loss. 

Weekly Awards:

• Oh Boy! Play of the Week:

GM Darren wins the Play of the Week for starting TE Mark Andrews who blew up for another 19 point game. Andrews replaced incumbent starter O.J. Howard who put up a nice goose egg on the bench. GM Darren can look into the mirror if he is searching on where to credit the victory, great play sifting through the mess to find the right play.

• Murphy Mixup:

In contrast, GM Connor can be pointing to himself for the blame in his loss against GM Darren, as his RB position was all mixed up this past week. RB Mostert was a Must Start but was left on the bench as RB Jones II put up a solid 1.4 points. If only RB Mostert had gotten the start, then GM Connor would have gotten the victory.

• WTF Waiver Wire:

GM Ian picked up QB Big Ben as a plug in play starter... and then he suffered a season ending elbow injury. Back to the waiver wire he goes.

Wildcat Matchup of the Week:

GM Darren will be looking to hold off GM Ian in this week's Wildcat Matchup as the (2-0) Miking Mikes take on Kraft Beer (1-1). Both teams have suffered some injuries in key positions this past week, and the story of the game will be how they fill in replacements. GM Darren and the Mikes have a trio of Questionable RBs while WR Desean Jackson is expected to miss multiple weeks, making the FLEX decision difficult for this week. Meanwhile, GM Ian is left without a QB as both his Passers fell to major injuries this past weekend with QB Brees expected to be out for 6+ weeks after thumb surgery while QB Roethlisberger ended up on IR to miss the rest of the season with elbow surgery. Interestingly enough, this will hurt star WR Thomas' production as he will be operating for the Mikes without QB Brees, leaving the floor open for RB Barkley and Fournette to steal the show. 

That's all for the Weekly Wrap-up! Thank you everyone for tuning in and may the force be with you all in your Week 3 matchups!