Päevatoimetaja:
Margus Hanno Murakas

LIS, WHIT & THE NFL Kümnes nädal. Keegi kusagil tegi häid otsuseid ja keegi kusagil tegi halbu otsuseid

Foto: NFL
Copy

Miami gamble lõppes sellega, et möödunud pühapäeval jäid vigastuse tõttu väljakult eemale nii QB Tua Tagovailoa kui tema söötude lemmiksihtmärk wide receiver DeVante Parker. Paanikas langetasin dumbass otsuse ja võtsin Baker Mayfieldi (Cleveland Browns) asemel Miami backup QB Jacoby Brissetti, kes lõpetas mängu 8 punktiga, so that was cool. Kui mänginuksin ükskõik kelle teise vastu, oleks minu 146.01 fantasy punkti toonud kindla võidu. Ent meeskond nimega Italian Wolves kellegi Vito eestvedamisel suutis välja panna rivistuse, mis teenis kokku 175.08 punkti ja nii ma jälle kaotasin - Vito tõusis liigas teiseks, mina kukkusin kaheksandaks. Üsna lollakas tunne, kuna punktiarvestuses on minu tiim highest scoring, lihtsalt võitudest jääb vajaka, nah.

Aaron Rodgersi vaktsiinisaaga jõudis vahefinišini kui NFL tegi 300k trahvi Green Bay Packersile ja mõnikümmend tuhat meeskonna erinevatele vaktsineerimata mängijatele liiga covid-reeglite rikkumise eest Rodgers omakorda käis kaks raksu Pat McAfee saates seletamas, et ta on “kriitiline mõtleja”, mitte mingi lamemaalane ega antivaxxer. Rodgersita üsna säratult mänginud Green Bay kaotas ning hetkeseisuga pole veel sugugi kindel, kas QB sel pühapäeval Seattle Seahawks vastu väljakule saab. Kolm kohtumist vigastuse tõttu vahele jätnud Seahawks QB Russell Wilson on aga kõigi eelduste kohaselt active ning Seattle jaoks must win mäng saab põnev olema.

Odell Beckham Junior saigi Clevelandist tulema ning võib nüüd esimest korda karjääri jooksul vabalt uut kodu valida — viimase uudise kohaselt valis selleks Los Angelesi. Browns võitis 41-16 Cincinnatit justkui kinnituseks, et saavad kenasti hakkama Odellitagi.

Carolina jätkas kaotuslainel jäädes 24-6 alla New England Patriotsile. Running back Christian McCaffrey on vigastuspausilt küll tagasi, kuid mängujuht Sam Darnold vajub iga nädalaga aina sügavamale mülkasse. Kasinad söödujardid, 11 interceptions (see on siis kui vastaste kaitsemängija ründemängijale mõeldud söödu endale rabab), ja üleüldiselt muudkui üks sitt otsus ajab teist taga. Oleks badass move ja kui Carolina selles liinis mingigi põhimõttelise muudatuse teeks ja just praegu oleks selleks sobivaim hetk. Nimelt maandus Darnold õlavigastusega injured reserve nimekirjas, ehk teisisõnu mängust 4-6 nädalat eemal. Kas Cam Newtonile on juba helistatud, et ta koju kutsuda? Jah, on küll. Helistati ja pakuti ühe aasta eest kümme miljonit.

It was one of those weeks where you are reminded that anything can happen in football. Let's just say I bet a lot of people lost money on what should have been surefire bets, and a few lucky bastards made some bank on longshots. By far the biggest shocker was the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars beating the 5-2 Buffalo Bills in a low scoring 9-6 game. Going into the game, the Bills were 15.5 point favorites, making the Jaguars win the fourth biggest upset loss in the NFL since 1966. There didn't appear to be any secret as to how the Jags pulled it off: they just wanted it more. More heart combined with Buffalo turnovers was all it took. It was, however, a day of firsts: the first time in NFL history that a quarterback was intercepted by a player with the same name. That's right folks, Jaguars defensive lineman Josh Allen intercepted Bills QB Josh Allen and it made Twitterverse go wild.

After the game, Buffalo Josh Allen was blunt: "We played like shit and it starts with me. This loss stings, but we will be better because of it." I believe you, Josh. I believe you. Allen is currently a frontrunner for League MVP, along with the likes of Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady. He has over 2200 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions. Let's compare these numbers to Panthers QB Sam Darnold, who has 7 TDs and 11 interceptions. Thank god we don't have to be tortured with Darnold's bewildered presence (he looks lost most of the time) for the foreseeable future, as he is out with a broken bone in his throwing shoulder.

Ahead of last week’s matchup, my opponent was projected to win 145 to my 127. Well thank god projections are like plans: the universe laughs at them. That's right, I am officially on a 2-game winning streak and have moved up two spots to 9th place, toppling the Great Britain 69ers (so funny, this guy) 113-96. NY Jets QB Mike White, who I picked up from waivers, was clearly a one-hit wonder, earning me only 7 fantasy points in the Jets' 30-45 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. I was an idiot to start him anyway, but I thought maybe, just maaaybe, Mikey could pull off a miracle a second week in a row. Silly Whitney. But my receivers totally came through for me, with Hunter Renfrow (Las Vegas Raiders) and Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings) both getting 17 points. Running backs Christian McCaffrey (Panthers) and Josh Jacobs (Raiders) both brought in 14 fantasy points - not bad for McCaffrey, considering it was his first time playing since Week 2. For Week 10 action, I needed to pick up a new quarterback ASAP, as Daniel Jones and the NY Giants are on a Bye Week. Through waivers I got San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo and dropped Jets QB Mike White. I also added some receiver muscle to my squad, picking up New Orleans Saints WR Deonte Harris. There are a shit ton of injuries and Covid-related reasons every week as to why many players are unable to play. Players being out always makes it that much more likely that anyone can beat anyone on any given Sunday. We have 5 weeks left in our fantasy league and there are many 4-5 and 5-4 records. Lisette is currently in 8th place and I'm in 9th. Literally anything can happen...

Paljudel minu meestel on sedapuhku bye week, aga õnneks leidus igale positsioonile ka mõni hea asendus. Iseäranis loodan Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsonsile, kes Atlanta Falconsi vastu võiks kirja saada igati tugeva tulemuse. Kicker Zane Gonzalez (Carolina Panthers) peaks oma endise meeskonna Arizona Cardinals vastu samuti hea mängu tegema, ehk isegi sedavõrd, et jätan ta endale päriseks. Running back Nick Chubb (Cleveland Browns) sai positiivse covid-testi, kuid et tegemist vaktsineeritud mängijaga, on tema naasmiseks vaja vaid nelja päeva ja kaht järjestikust negatiivset testi, sestap pean pöialt, ehk mu punktimasin siiski pühapäeval mängib. Chubbi järel on Team Tallinn RB depth chart õigupoolest päris korralik: Melvin Gordon (Denver Broncos), Devonta Freeman (Baltimore Ravens), Jordan Howard (Philadelphia Eagles) ja Devin Singletary (Buffalo Bills). Gordon oleks ilmselt parim valik, kuna Denver mängib tugeva söödukaitsega Philadelphia vastu ja kui õhumäng ei õnnestu, võib running back selles matšis vabalt võtmeks osutuda. QB Brady on õnneks tagasi, möödunud nädalal sain selle positsiooni pealt hädised 8.46 punkti ja rohkem selliseid numbreid näha ei taha, öäk.

Et Carolina mängib sel pühapäeval hilisemas satsis, saame sissejuhatuseks vaadata mõnd teist kohtumist. Mind isutaks muidugi Browns vs Patriots, aga Whitney ilmselt keeldub seda vaatamast (“Because Mac Jones sucks, that’s why!”) ja suurele ekraanile läheb küllap Jets vs Bills. Alvar Loogi rõõmuks hoian pöialt Jetsile, ehk panustan viieka võidulegi.

I have decided to pick a "Dirty Play of the Week". I think everyone in the NFL galaxy, besides New England Patriots fans (who we all hate anyway), would agree that this week's notoriety is solely deserved by Pats rookie QB Mac Jones. So this is what happened: my man, edge rusher Brian Burns, sacked Mac and forced him to fumble the ball. As Burns tried to get up, Jones grabbed and twisted his ankle, bringing Burns to the ground in pain.

After the game Mac claimed he thought Burns had the ball and it was his job to tackle him. To anyone seeing this, who has even a half a lack of sense, you can see that this is clearly not the case. Besides, it's illegal to try to twist someone's ankle, PERIOD. What is especially troubling is how Jones clearly sees that he's injured Burns, and he just walks away without a care in the world. So far the league hasn't passed down even a fine, which is complete bullshit. Had Burns done this to Jones, I promise he would have been fined and suspended for at least a game. 100%. The double standard is not lost on defensive players in the NFL either. Burns had this to say: "It would be nice to have an apology, Mac, but it's not going to happen. I wish all my D-end brothers happy hunting. That's all." I look forward to seeing Jones get what he gives.

Lis, Whit & The NFL on iganädalane artiklisari Ameerika jalgpallist, muuhulgas tuleb juttu fantasy football liigast, tutvustame NFLi meeskondi ja mängijaid ning teeme panuseid tulemustele - often stupid, sometimes lucky.

Tagasi üles