Week 4 Recap

With four games coming down to MNF, three of which ended up within 10 points of each other, this was by far our most entertaining week of the season. My Matchup of the Week was decided by 2.3 points, which is two weeks in a row that I've called a close game. In the sports world, we call that a streak. Speaking of streaking, can anyone stop Alan? I'm on deck, but my team is ravaged by injuries and byes. We could very well be living in a world where Alan is 5-0.


Playoff Odds

After Week 4:
100% (2/2) of 4-0 teams made the playoffs
60% (6/10) of 3-1 teams made the playoffs
45% (9/20) of 2-2 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/6) of 1-3 teams made the playoffs
25% (1/4) of 0-4 teams made the playoffs

After Week 5:
100% (1/1) of 5-0 teams made the playoffs
78% (7/9) of 4-1 teams made the playoffs
60% (6/10) of 3-2 teams made the playoffs
21% (3/14) of 2-3 teams made the playoffs
17% (1/6) of 1-4 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/2) of 0-5 teams made the playoffs

The playoff odds are starting to show a clear delineation between contenders and pretenders. Anyone that finishes this week above .500 is looking pretty good. Anyone below .500 needs some serious help. We surprisingly have no matchup between 2-2 teams, but for a team like Esco (who has only outscored 4 teams), this week can be huge in terms of banking wins.


Team of the Week - Levine

I can't give Bennett credit for starting his studs, and weirdly benching Yeldon for Dwayne Washington. I can't give my team credit when my team is really just Julio and friends. And I can't give Alan more credit because he's honestly starting to get pretty full of himself.

That leaves Levine, who sits at 3-1 despite only outscoring Weissbard and Bruno. However, he now has Leveon back in the fold, and got past the Lacy/Cobb byes unscathed. To his credit, he's been all aboard the Will Fuller train, and now has one of the deepest teams in the league (other than that abomination at QB).


Best Lineup Decision of the Week - Ajay picking up and starting Dak Prescott over Jacoby Brissett

There were no start/sit decisions that won games this week, so I'm going to give the award to Ajay for showing restraint and not getting carried away with the Pats hype. Granted, guys like Brian Hoyer, Alex Smith and Case Keenum would have won the game for Ajay as well, but not all Pats fans made the same wise decisions.


Worst Lineup Decision of the Week - Zacherman starting Gronk over Cameron Brate

I had a similar issue with Barnard starting Edelman (who at least had a chance of playing QB) over Crabtree, but I don't understand why you would start anyone involved with the Pats passing game under Jake Brisket. Obviously Martellus Bennett had a big day, but with Gronk still banged up, it seems like a big risk to take a goose egg at TE when you have a serviceable backup available. At 1-3, Z is two roster moves away from 3-1, which has to hurt almost as much as it will to start Brady next week.


Biggest Surprise of the Week - Weissbard won!

I honestly didn't think it was going to happen, unless he maaaaybe beat Bruno, but Weiss actually won a game. Not only that, but he beat a previously overconfident Barnard team while voluntarily keeping his highest scoring player on his bench. Cheers to you Weissbard, you now have the same amount of wins as AGD and Marco.


Biggest Matchup of Week 5 - BAM vs. Marco

No obvious choice this week, so I'll pick a game where each team has a lot at stake. As previously mentioned, the difference between 3-2 and 2-3 is 39% in playoff odds, so BAM can put themselves (and their very solid roster) in a good position moving forward. By doing so, they would essentially end the season for Marco, who was up 40 points after last Thursday's game, only for Julio to crush his dreams. Given that Marco has yet to score less than 82 points, but still sits at 1-3, I think his luck turns this week and he keeps his season alive.