The Rad Dynasty: 2023 Season, Week Twelve Recap

Week 12 was just as chaotic as we could have expected. In this league, literally anything can and does happen week in and week out. But before we get into that, let's give a shout out to player of the week Josh Allen for Bluth Company. His 339 yards passing, 81 yards rushing, and 3 total TDs gave Bluth a much needed 43.66 points this week. Congrats!

My Team 151.98 (4-8) vs Dynastic Dan (5-7) 122.88

Any chances I had of making the playoffs are pretty much dashed with this loss. Such a tough three game stretch. Narrow loss to the #1 team, 1 point loss, and now a loss to the lowest scoring team in the league, coming in on a 6 game losing streak. It doesn't get any worse than that. I can't even be mad about this loss, as my team stunk it up all across the board. I didn't deserve to win, no matter who I was up against.

You all should be happy now, I can take the focus off of my team and focus on some real contenders in these recaps. And that sure as heck ain't Dynastic Dan or My Team. Time to begin preparing for next year!

Ned's Rollers 158.05 (9-3) vs TDs or Bust (7-5) 157.96

This was easily the closest game this week, and may be the closest finish in league history (I'll have to check the record books at the end of the year). Ned's rollers squeak out the narrow finish. It all came down to Monday night, as Montez Sweat and Jordan Addison did just enough to carry this team to victory.

The goose egg from Hunter Henry on TDs or Bust really hurts. If he gives them even just one catch, they win. Despite the loss, TDs or Bust still hangs onto the fourth and final playoff spot for the time being. Next week they play against BDB's Jet Setters, which should be a massively important game as both teams will come in tied at 7-5. It is almost a playoff game.

Turd Ferguson (6-6) 141.44 vs TBone's Terrific Team (4-8) 126.24

My brother Chris keeps his season alive with a 15 point win against Timmy's team. Dak Prescott again had a giant game for Turd Ferguson, scoring 40.24 points. On the losing side, Tyreek Hill (22.4) and Derrick Henry (20.10) were the high scorers.

Turd Ferguson has a crucially important game against Bluth Company next week. Both teams come in tied at 6-6, and just a game out of the final playoff spot. A loss will pretty much be it for either team. Tbone looks to play spoiler to Ned's Rollers, as both teams meet for the first time next week.

BDB's Jet Setters 148.80 (7-5) vs Thunder Thighs (3-9) 105.48

I have to give BDB's team a hand for far out-performing my expectations this season. I remember early in the year, I saw some injured/bye week players left in the lineup from time to time, and I was nearly ready to count this team out. But they've hung in there and have come out fighting week in and week out. Today his wide receiver core did a bang up job, with Stefon Diggs (16.4), Keenan Allen (15.6) and Brandin Cooks (15.2) all having big games.

This was a completely uninspired performance from Thunder Thighs, as they move back into sole possession of last place in the league. Jonathan Taylor (21.1) had  good game, but now he is injured. Amari Cooper is hurt, too, and left this matchup with just 2.6 points. Nothing has gone right for Thunder Thighs this year. Next week, they play against My Team in a game that should have some major draft order implications.

 

Alice in Horns (7-5) 199.42 vs The Killing Fields (6-6) 111.80

Wow, what a turn of events this is. In week one, The Killing Fields beat Alice and moved into first place, a spot they hung onto for a long time this season. But they've been on a major skid, losing five of their last seven games. They now sit in 7th place, playoffs seemingly just a pipe dream at this point.

Alice is headed in the opposite direction. as they have now won their second in a row after a three game skid briefly knocked them out of the top four playoff spots. Now Alice sits in third place with three games left, but all three games left (Show me the TDs, Bluth Company, and Dynastic Dan) are all fairly difficult games.

Bluth Company (6-6) 178.06 vs Show me the TDs (8-4) 153.13

This was a very important matchup, as Bluth Company keeps their season alive. I think I remember seeing projections at one point during this game, and Show me the TDs looked like they were going to win big. But that sure did turn around. This was a tough loss for Show me the TDs, as although they maintain possession of second place, the now stand just one game of being knocked out of the playoffs entirely. Their matchup next week against Alice is going to be absolutely pivotal. After that, things get significantly easier for them as they play bottom feeders Dynastic Dan and My Team.

Player of the week Josh Allen led the way for team Bryan, while Mike Evans and his 22 points led the way for Sean's team.

As per tradition, I will post the updated league standings below. Three games left, can you believe that? Also, if you haven't seen my post explaining how next year will work, I advise you can look over it HERE. 

As far as this year's playoffs, the closest thing to looking like a sure thing is ned's team. If he can beat TBone, he is pretty much a lock for the playoffs, barring any crazy tiebreaker stuff down the road. The remaining playoff spots are truly up for grabs. Show me the TDs, Alice, TDs or Bust, BDB, Bluth, The Killing Fields (if he can be bothered to set his roster moving forward), and Turd Ferguson are all very much in the playoff hunt as well. 

Looking ahead at the future of the Rad Dynasty

Hi everyone. With only three weeks left in the regular season, I am sure some of you are wondering how next year is going to work in this league. Many of you have never played dynasty before, so I will explain things as thoroughly as I can. The fun of dynasty is team building and seeing how these teams evolve over the years. Hopefully you have enjoyed my recaps and my attempts to keep this league fun, and I can get every single one of you to come back for at least next season so we can follow through on the experiment.

Anyway, the regular season for the Rad Dynasty ends after week 15. All teams that didn't make the playoffs will have their rosters locked. Yahoo will have a "consolation" tournament for all the losers, but please note that these consolation games will bear no official standing in the Rad Dynasty history books. Aside for pride purposes, they mean absolutely nothing.

The top 4 teams will make the playoffs. Week 16 is the first round of the playoffs. The two teams eliminated will immediately have their rosters locked. Week 17 is the championship round, where a winner will be crowned. The final game of the week 17 championship matchup is the Packers vs Vikings night matchup on December 31st. As soon as that game is complete, the scores will be tabulated and we'll have a winner in year one of this league. Yay. The very next day, January 1st, the rosters for the final two teams will be locked.

Starting from January 1st, everyone in this group will have exactly SEVEN DAYS to send me a list of all the players you want to keep for next season. You can keep up to 20 people from your roster. Keep in mind, that next season I am reducing rosters from 25 to 24 players, just to give people a few more waiver wire options next year for bye/injury purposes. It's only one spot for twelve teams, so it shouldn't make too much of a difference. But it will make a difference.

If you do not send me a list in seven days, I will automatically just pick the top 20 point scorers from your team to carry over, regardless of position. If you choose, please keep in mind that you can keep fewer than 20 players, but you must keep at least 15. How will this work in the draft next season? Let me explain.

The draft for next season will be in August of 2024. The players available to take in the draft will be incoming rookies from college, and any player that was left unrostered after this current season ends. So, for example, if I choose not to keep Elijah Moore - he will go into next year's draft and can be picked up by anyone.

How does the draft work if there is an imbalance of players? Let's say My Team keeps the bare minimum of 15 players. TBone keeps 17 players. BDB keeps 20 players. The rest of the rosters will be filled by drafted players until they reach 24 players. So My Team would have 9 draft picks, Tbone would have 7, and BDB would have 4. But this doesn't mean that My Team has an unfair advantage when it comes to the draft. No, no. Everyone, regardless of how many players they keep, will select in the first four rounds of next year's draft.

The draft order is determined by reverse order of the standings. The team picking first in the first round is the worst team. The team picking at the end of the first round is the champion. Keep in mind all the various tiebreaker rules that I have outlined in the past, when it comes to the standings. The draft is not snaking, so in the second round, the worst team picks first as opposed to the champion picking first again, etc.

The first four rounds of the draft are solely determined by last year's standings. Every single team gets a pick in these first 4 rounds. The rest of the rounds depend on how many people you kept. So if you kept 20, you only get these 4 picks and then you are done drafting. If you kept 17 players, you pick in the first 4 rounds, and then rounds 5, 6, and 7 of the draft. And then you are done drafting. If you kept 15 players, you pick in rounds 1 through 13 of the draft. And then you are done drafting.

This may sound a little complicated but I promise you it will make sense in the end.

In the off season, you can make verbal deals with other players to trade draft picks with one another. These deals have to be run through me, and I can adjust the draft order accordingly. They can't be done through Yahoo. Any deals involving picks must involve a 1-1 ratio of draft picks and players. So if I am acquiring a second round pick and a player from BDB, I have to send a draft pick and a player back. I can't just acquire like three draft picks for one player, or two draft picks for one pick. Just due to the way Yahoo is set up, they have to be even.

If you make a deal, both parties must contact me saying they agree to the deal, and I will make the changes on the game's Yahoo page, and send an announcement to all players. Please keep in mind that I as commish hold veto power for any trades I find to be unfair. If you are trying to trade Christian McCaffrey and a 3rd for Christian Watson and a 7th, I am denying that.

When the draft comes around next year, I will again send out a refresher on how this works. If you are having trouble following, all you need to know for now is that:

WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE END OF THE SEASON, YOU MUST SEND ME A LIST OF 15 TO 20 PLAYERS TO KEEP.

That is all you need to know, at the bare minimum. Once you do that, you don't even have to think about this league until August 2024.

As always, I am here to answer any questions you may have. I want this to be a smoothly run league where everyone understands what is going on. Full transparency from me, too. I think I've laid everything out as well as I can.

Oh! As far as changes for next year. I already mentioned trimming rosters down from 25 to 24. That's not too big a change. Someone had mentioned eliminating a tight end spot earlier in the year, but I think I am going to keep the double TEs for now. It really makes everyone have to use their noggin due to the lack of good options at the position. This is meant to be a tough league, and finding two quality tight ends is a part of that toughness.

The only real change I am contemplating is perhaps tweaking the IDP scoring. Right now, IDP are a bit overpowered. We're having random linebackers scoring more points that Jaylen Waddle on a weekly basis. Some games are completely determined by the strength of a team's IDP. Maybe 1.5 points per tackle is a bit too high. The average on Yahoo is just one point. Maybe my settings are too high. I don't want to mess with anyone who has built their team around IDP, though. But I am thinking of dropping it down to like 1.25 points. Nothing drastic, but something that perhaps shifts the onus just slightly more back to the offense. I would also drop assisted tackles from a full point to .75 points. The yahoo league average is .5 points for an assisted tackle, afterall.

To balance this, I would slightly shift the scoring for what I would consider an "impact" play. Move an interception from 2.5 to 3 points. A safety from 2.5 to 3. A fumble recovery from 2.5 to 3.

Would anyone be opposed to those changes? I really think it is the way to go. Remember, year one was an experimental year in the league to test how things were going. I think if anything, 2023 has shown how overpowered IDP are with these current settings, and I think it essential to reel them back down to earth next year. Unless anyone throws a fit, I will go ahead and do that next year.

I can't think of anything else you might need to know for next season. As much as I want to expand the playoffs, I like how tough it is to make the postseason in this league. It makes things so much more competitive than leagues where half the teams make the playoffs. I also thought of maybe adding divisions in an attempt to create some rivalries, but I want this to be a league where everyone plays everyone at least once in the regular season.

If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions - send them my way! I'll be coming in with my week 12 recap probably tonight or tomorrow.

Editing in what my list of keepers would look like if I made them today (note that this isn't a final list, and is subject to change. This is just an example).

1 Justin Herbert

2 Anthony Richardson

3 Ja'Marr Chase

4 Jaylen Waddle

5 Jahmyrr Gibbs

6 Da'Von Achane

7 Jaylen Warren

8 Roschon Johnson

9 Zach Charbonnet

10 Kyle Pitts

11 Pat Freiermuth

12 Michael Mayer

13 Jahan Dotson

14 Jayden Reed

15 Quentin Johnston

16. TJ Edwards

17. CJ Mosley

And then I would have 7 picks in the draft to fill out the rest of my roster.

Players going back into next year's draft pool from my roster would be:

1 Elijah Moore

2 Jonnu Smith

3 Brandon Aubrey

4 Jonathan Allen

5 Kenny Moore III

6 Khalil Herbert

7 Michael Wilson

8 Jordan Hicks

9 Joshua Palmer

10 Ernest Jones

The Rad Dynasty: 2023 Season, Week Eleven Recap

Well, I am a day late and a dollar short with my week 11 recap. It is Thanksgiving week and I have been super busy, so you all will have to settle for a truncated version this week. Sue me.

Coming in as the player of the week is Trevor Lawrence for TDs or Bust, with his 36.18 fantasy points. He threw for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for another 2 TDs. Good job finally showing up this year, TLaw!

Since week 12 has already started, I'm not going to spend too much time recapping anything. My team (Dynastic Dan) lost by one point to a team that I've outscored this season by over 150 points. My running back Da'Von Achane left the game with an injury after carrying the ball just one time. You couldn't have given me just one more goddam point? More bad luck for Dynastic Dan. What the fuck else is new? Meanwhile, Show me the TDs and TDs or Bust sit in 2nd and 3rd place respectively despite my team outscoring the both of them this season. I'm pretty much out of the running now, especially since it looks like I'm going to lose to last place, 3-8 My Team in week 12. Time to start planning for next year!

For record keeping purposes, here is the week 11 scoreboard.

...and here are the updated standings. Just a note: for the first time this season, my head to head tiebreaker rules are coming into play. Thunder Thighs is actually still in last, despite Yahoo showing them ahead of My Team. My Team won the head to head matchup earlier in the season. These two teams play again in week 13, so if Thunder Thighs wins and ties the season series, THEN it goes to points scored as the tiebreaker. If My Team wins and goes up 2-0 in the season series, they hold the tiebreaker if they should end up tied at the end of the year. The more you know.

In case you are wondering about the first place tie, ned's rollers won the season series with Show me the TDs 2-0, so they hold the tiebreaker. So them being in first place is accurate. As for the other ties? They all involve more than two teams, so that tiebreaker is decided by points.

The Rad Dynasty: 2023 Season, Week Ten Recap

For the second week in a row, Dak Prescott takes home player of the week honors for Turd Ferguson. Dak passed for 404 yards and 4 touchdowns, which resulted in 45.86 fantasy points for his team. Dak becomes the first player to ever win player of the week twice in The Rad Dynasty, so there's a little trivia for your history books!

Since we're talking about Dak, lets jump ahead to that matchup...

Turd Ferguson (5-5) 187.26 vs Thunder Thighs (2-8) 148.77

Dak was the star of the day for Turd Ferguson as they pulled away for a win against pesky Thunder Thighs - whose playoff hopes have been pretty much smashed with this loss.

Aside from Dak, Chris Olave (19.9), Tyler Boyd (15.7) and kicker Dustin Hopkins (14) were the high scorers for Turd Ferguson. He also had a strong effort from his IDP, who combined for 42.5 points

On the losing side, Austin Ekeler (19.5) and Jonathan Taylor (14) had strong games, while the IDP scored a combined 47 something points. Thunder Thighs had a solid week, and could have beaten a number of teams this week. Just got stuck with a bad matchup!

Next week should be awesome, as my brother Turd Ferguson squares off against 6-4 TDs or Bust. with a win, Turd Ferguson can further contribute to the logjam in the standings by tying him up with Perry at 6-5.

Thunder Thighs attempts to topple ned's rollers, in an atypical battle of worst vs first. Thunder Thighs is no pushover.

Speaking of ned's rollers: *sigh*  I guess we better talk about...

ned's rollers (8-2) 187.37 vs Dynastic Dan (5-5) 163.62

There goes the four game win streak. Honestly, I have no idea what went wrong here. I got off to such a great start this week. At one point, I was predicted by Yahoo to win by over 30 points. I didn't pay much attention to the live scores Sunday, but looking at early returns, I thought I had this one in the bag. My phone was blowing up with touchdown and big play notifications. And then, something happened.

It was late afternoon/early evening, and me and my wife were going out to dinner. The late game between the Lions and Chargers was wrapping up. I kept getting all kinds of Justin Herbert TD notifications. I pull out my phone to see how much I was winning by, and my jaw dropped.

I was in the red, with Yahoo showing me a teeny win percentage compared to 90 something percent for ned's rollers. WTF? What happened? My phone was blowing up all day. But apparently ned's team blew up even harder. My dreams of a 6-4 start and a five game win streak were crushed. So what did happen, exactly?

The late games. Ned's team absolutely exploded in the late games. Kenneth Walker: 19.2 points. Javonte Williams: 19 points. Dalton Kincaid: 13.6 points. Bobby Wagner: 17.25 points. Jesse Bates: 18.5 points. But mainly it was CeeDee Lamb who acted as judge, jury, and executioner with his 34 points.

My team performed well, but a goose egg from Jahan Dotson (who scored 21 and 15 points the last two weeks when I didn't start him - go figure) was an absolute killer. I also got nothing from my tight ends, who combined for 5.1 points. Ouch. Otherwise, this performance should have been good enough to get me a win. I would have beaten all but two teams this week - and of course I was matched up against one of them. That's been the story of my fantasy football life this season. I'm in seven different leagues and my teams in each league are near the top in points allowed in every single goddamn one of them. Am I about to go on another "I hate fantasy football" rant?

I suppose I can focus on the positive - even though it feels like I've wasted multiple great weeks this season. Justin Herbert had 36.42 points and was the second highest scorer in fantasy this week. JaMarr Chase (20.9), Jaylen Warren (18), Jahmyr Gibbs (24.7), C.J Mosley (16.5), and TJ Edwards (14.5) all had stellar games. Even further: my team is about to get healthier with Da'Von Achane Khalil Herbert, and Pat Freiermuth all about to come back from IR. My schedule is also very favorable for the next two weeks before I hit a murderer's row at the end of the season. If I can win these next two games and go to 7-5, anything can happen. But I think if I lose even one of them my season is over.

TDs or Bust (6-4) 145.10 vs Tbone's Terrific Team (3-7) 119.36

Not much to write about this game, as it was a tale of two teams moving in opposite directions. TDs or Bust seems to have recovered from their recent slide and are now in a third place tie with The Killing Fields. Tbone's team has now lost their 4th in a row after a 3-3 start.

TDs or Bust managed to win despite another dud performance from Trevor Lawrence, who scored 3.6 fantasy points. Noah Brown led the team in scoring with 20.7 points. TBone's team had giant performances from Amon-Ra St. Brown (26.5) and Brian Robinson (24.7). Unfortunately the rest of the team didn't show up to play - including a goose egg from KJ Osborn and a horrible game from Derrick Henry (2.5). 

BDBs Jet Setters (5-5) 147.58 vs Alice in Horns (5-5) 124.63

I think this would qualify as a fairly decent upset. Alice started the year 5-2 but this loss is her third straight, and she now sits at 5-5. BDB's Jet Setters is a team that I keep wanting to discount every single week - but they continue to find ways to win games and hang in the playoff race. 

Sam Howell (30.18) and Keenan Allen (35) were the heavy lifters for BDB's team. Alice had steady performances across the board, but were done in by a goose egg from Jalen Pitre, an injury to Diontae Johnson, and poor performances from the tight end spot.

Alice has a good chance to snap her losing streak next week against My Team, while BDB looks to move above .500 against Dynastic Dan in a battle of two teams tied at 5-5.

Show me the TDs (7-3) 135.05 vs My Team (104.37)

Show me the TDs continues to hang onto second place in the league standings, despite being only the 8th highest scoring team in the league. This initially looked like it might be a close fight, as My Team fielded a full lineup for the first time in a while. Show me the TDs was only favored by a mere 9 points.

But it was more of the same for My Team, as they still barely managed to reach 100 points. It just hasn't been a good year for this team, as their projected stars like Calvin Ridley and Tony Pollard have failed to produce. Nick Chubb and Aaron Rodgers' injuries right at the start of the year didn't help either.

Show me the TDs didn't have a particularly good week, as their kicker Matt Prater led the way with 18 points. Trey McBride is looking like a good breakout tight end candidate after a 17.10 point game. Sean's IDP even managed to put together a respectable game with 32 points, despite a goose egg from Micah Parsons.

Show me the TDs plays The Killing Fields next week in a game that has massive playoff implications. Circle that one on your calendar, folks. 

The Killing Fields (6-4) 157.86 vs Bluth Company (5-5) 154.73

I complain about my luck, but Bluth Company has been hit with some bad, bad luck this season. They are the second highest scoring team in the league, but sit three games out of first place with a mere 5-5 record. They lost this game by 3. The last game by 2. They also have a 5 point loss and a 9 point loss from earlier in the season. They even managed to lose a game where they scored 187 points. This is a team that could easily be sitting at the top of the standings if a few unlucky bounces had gone their way.

You must give credit where it is due, however, as the Killing Fields had a very solid game. They outscored projections by 27 points. Geno Smith had one of his best games of the season with 28.06 points, but it was The Killing Fields IDP who really killed it in this game. Three of his four starters had 20+ points. They combined for 72 points, which is just a massive total coming from the defense. I remember commenting earlier in the year how the IDP were so awesome for this team, but I questioned if they could do it all season long. Well, they have been doing it all season long.

Bluth Company was led by TJ Hockenson (24.9) and Christian McCaffrey (17.2) but their IDP were outscored by 27 points in what turned out to be just a 3 point loss.

Per tradition, I am posting a picture of the standings below. Just click on it if it is showing up too small. The top 4 teams would be locked into the playoffs if they started today. I have a feeling that one or more of these five 5-5 teams right behind them might have something to say about that, though. Things are not looking too good for the bottom three teams in the standings.

The Rad Dynasty: 2023 Season, Week Nine Recap

Week 9 of the Rad Dynasty is now complete - and what a week it was. After the dust settled, ned's rollers and Show me the TDs found themselves sitting atop the standings. Everyone else continues to slug it out, and there are now five teams tied at 5-4 for just two playoff spots. There are a few 4-5 teams that aren't out of it yet as well.

Before we dive any deeper, let's give a shoutout to this week's top scorer: Dak Prescott for Turd Ferguson. Dak had 34.36 fantasy points, as he threw for 374 yards and 3 TDs. The player of the week would have been CJ Stroud and his 51.8 points for Bluth Company - but alas he was left on the bench, so he is ineligible for this award. Drat.

Now it's time for this week's recaps. We'll start with my matchup, as we often do. I think this song epitomizes my season thus far. Enjoy.

Dynastic Dan (5-4) 145.64 vs Turd Ferguson (4-5) 115.56

The first battle of the brothers back in week 2 went down to the wire, but unfortunately for Turd Ferguson this was a more lopsided affair. With the win Dynastic Dan takes a 2-0 lead in the all-time series. But more importantly: I've now won four in a row and move above .500 for the first time this season at 5-4.

Things started off poorly for Turd Ferguson when Quay Walker was ruled out at the last second for the Packers, and he ended up starting an inured player at linebacker - one of the biggest point scoring IDP positions. He ended up with not only one, but two goose eggs at IDP when Sam Hubbard also failed to score. IDP were the story of the game in this one, as Dynastic Dan outscored Turd Ferguson 70 to 11.50.

Dak Prescott, AJ Brown, and Chris Olave had solid games for Turd Ferguson, but Keontae Ingram and his 0.8 points really dragged this team down. Good luck figuring out that Cardinals backfield with James Conner out! Just an all around performance to forget. 

Dynastic Dan is lucky his IDP did all the heavy lifting, as the offense did not show up. Jaylen Warren and freaking Jonnu Smith were the only players who scored in double figures on the offensive side of things. Everyone else was MIA.

Next week, Dynastic Dan takes on first place ned's rollers in what should be a great matchup, while Turd Ferguson looks to even their record against 2-7, but suddenly resurgent, Thunder Thighs.

Thunder Thighs (2-7) 177.50 vs TBone's Terrific Team (3-6) 107.48

Thunder Thighs wins their second straight after an 0-7 start. The offensive explosion was led by Amari Cooper, Austin Ekeler, and Taysom Hill - who all scored 20 or more points. Former Badgers Jonathan Taylor (15.4) and Jake Ferguson (18.6) were right up there as well.

TBone's team had an uncharacteristically bad performance from its receiving core, as Tyreek Hill and Tyler Lockett both had bad games. Doesn't help that Amon Ra St. Brown was on a bye week as well. Timmy's team could muster little offense at all as they went down quietly here. 

Next week, Tbone plays TDs or Bust in a week 2 rematch, while Thunder Thighs looks to make it three in a row vs Turd Ferguson.

ned's rollers (7-2) 151.18 vs Alice in Horns (5-4) 124.32

These two teams came into week 9 separated in the standings by just one game, but after the win ned's rollers retains sole possession of first place, while Alice drops into a five way tie for the third and fourth playoff spots. 

Jalen Hurts and CeeDee Lamb did the heavy lifting for ned's team. Ned has to have one of the best tight end tandems as well, with Dalton Kincaid and Mark Andrews. His IDP came to play as well, scoring a combined 52 points.

Alice had three standout performances - Joe Burrow (26.32), Diontae Johnson (18.5), and Rhamondre Stevenson (20.9). Otherwise, the rest of her team was quiet in the loss. A combined 2.9 points from the tight end duo of Travis Kelce and Mike Gesicki was probably not what Alice was hoping for. Alice will try to get back on track and avoid dropping to .500 next week when she plays BDB's Jet Setters.

TDs or Bust (5-4) 131.32 vs Bluth Company (5-4) 127.52

These two teams came into this matchup on opposite trajectories. After a hot start, TDs or Bust has been struggling, while Bluth Company has been red hot after a slow start. That changed this week, as TDs or Bust was able to eke out a four point win.

This one was back and forth all weekend long. TDs or Bust came into Monday night with a four point lead. Bluth needed Breece Hall to outscore Garrett Wilson by four or more, but in a weird twist - both players scored exactly 9.5 points. This allowed TDs or Bust to hang on for the narrow win.

Dalton Schulz and Josh Allen had big games for Bluth Company, while unlikely names Demario Davis and Taylor Heinicke did the heavy lifting for TDs or Bust.

Both teams are now tied in the standings at 5-4. Bluth faces off against The Killing Fields next week in what should be a really good matchup, while TDs or Bust has a more favorable matchup against TBone's team.

Show me the TDs (6-3) 148.27 vs BDB's Jet Setters (4-5) 125.70

BDB had the chance to move above .500 if they won this game - and for much of the weekend it looked like they were going to. But in the end, it was a couple of IDP from Sunday's late Dallas/Philadelphia game that sealed the win for Show me the TDs. Kevin Byard and Micah Parsons combined for 28.25 points to seal the deal. Those points turned out to be the difference maker in what finished as a 23 point game. 

Show me the TDs hangs onto their second place standing with the win, despite being ranked seventh overall in points scored. This is a team that continues to find ways to win. They'll look to keep things going in week 10 against the lowest scoring team in the league, My Team. Speaking of My Team...

The Killing Fields (5-4) 129.5 vs My Team (3-6) 92.5

This game was a lot closer than it should have been, considering My Team left FIVE players on bye in their lineup. If this team fills those spots - and let's say they score 10 points each - they win. Easily. I'm a little bit at a loss as to what to do here. It is clear that this team isn't paying attention, as this has been an ongoing thing for weeks now. Since it is mid-season, I can't really do anything now for the sake of fairness. Do I replace the manager after the year ends? I'd hate to lose my uncle Pete from this league, as he was one of the people I was most looking forward to playing with. Do I keep him and hope for a better commitment next year? Do I bump his first round draft pick to the bottom of the first round due to my "anti tanking" rules? It's not like he is tanking on purpose. He just has other stuff going on in life. But at the same time, would letting him keep what will surely be a high draft pick be fair to the other teams that are trying hard, but legitimately not performing well (such as Thunder Thighs and TBone's team)? Decisions, decisions. I suppose those are questions better answered later.

Anyway, The Killing Fields won despite another subpar performance. This team started out so strong, but has really been floundering lately. This is their second straight game scoring under 130 points. Patrick Mahomes and Cole Kmet were the only two offensive players to show up this week. His IDP again had a strong performance. They are literally carrying the team this season.

My Team actually overperformed this week, despite all the blank holes in their lineup, scoring 19 more points than projected. Starting a QB, WR, TE, DB, and LB surely would have led this team to a win this week. Ja'Whuan Bentley and Joe Mixon were the high scorers with 26 and 15.3 points respectively.

I'll post an updated look at the standings below. There is still a giant clustermug at the top of the standings. Ned's Rollers and Show me the TDs sit at first and second place, but their lead is slim as there are seven teams right behind them at either 5-4 or 4-5. I think ned's team is in good shape, particularly if they beat Dynastic Dan next week. Show me the TDs' lead is much more precipitous.

My Team and Tbone's team are starting to fall out of things. Thunder Thighs is only 2-7, but their team is showing major signs of life. If they run the table they would finish at 8-7. Who knows, with the logjam at the top of the standings, this could be good enough for a playoff berth. Crazier things have happened, right? Personally, I am hoping for a late season surge from my own team as people start to come back from IR. De'Von Achane, Pat Freiermuth, and Khalil Herbert should all be coming back soon. Despite winning four in a row, I don't think my team is ready to contend just yet. Maybe the addition of these three can keep the wins a coming.

The Rad Dynasty: 2023 Season, Week Eight Recap

Week eight is officially in the books, and wouldn't you believe it - we're more than halfway through the regular season. Just seven games left, and the race for those elusive four playoff spots is still very much up in the air.

Speaking of "in the air" - how about Sam Howell's week eight performance? His 397 yards passing and 4 TDs earn him player of the week. He racked up 38.98 fantasy points en route to leading BDB's team to a major upset win.

BDB's Jet Setters (4-4) 148.18 vs The Killing Fields (4-4) 127.44

The Killing Fields is in a bit of a free-for-all following a hot start. They have now lost three in a row. Hard to think this team was in first place just two weeks ago. Now they're 4-4 and in a five way tie for fifth. If the playoffs started today, they'd be on the outside looking in. 

In addition to Sam Howell's big numbers, BDB's team was paced by Travis Etienne (24.4 points), Patrick Queen (17), and Saquon Barkley (14.3). The Killing Fields had a day to forget, as Patrick Mahomes was abysmal with 5.64 points. Davante Adams had 1.6 points and Gerald Everett laid a goose egg in the loss. The Killing Fields IDP continued to shine, however, combining for 72 of their 127 points. So just 55 points came from the offense and kicker. Ouch. They'll look to bounce back against the suddenly dormant My Team - who come in having lost 5 of 6 games.

Dynastic Dan (4-4) 165.97 vs Tbone's Terrific Team (3-5) 150.76

Whoomp! There it is. I'm officially back in the race with my 3rd straight win after starting the season 1-4. Not out of things yet! I've climbed into 6th place and am just one game in the loss column out of the playoffs. A big factor in my turnaround have been the play of my big three: Justin Herbert (30.02), Jaylen Waddle (21.6) and  Ja'Marr Chase (20.2). This is what I drafted these guys for: to put up big numbers. They're all young, too. Hopefully they can keep it up for my team for years to come.

Tbone's team suffered a big blow when Kirk Cousins was lost for the season with an injury. He put up 23.86 points in the loss. Tyreek Hill had 22.7, and Derrick Henry had 14.2.

The real story for this game came down to Monday night. I was up by a tiny margin, but Timmy was favored to win because he had Amon-Ra St. Brown going up against Jahmyr Gibbs for my team. I was prepared to take the tough luck L because every time I've gone up against St. Brown in fantasy this year he's had a big game, while Jahmyr Gibbs has only had one fantasy relevant game all season long. BUT - it turned out to be the opposite. Gibbs had a massive game with 27.4 points, while St. Brown was held to 13.8. It ended up being a 15 point win for me, but this game was much, much closer than the final score would indicate. I had two separate "down to the wire: lead change" notifications from Yahoo as the Monday night game was going on. Hats off to Timmy for driving me to the absolute brink this season. Beat me in week one, and lost a nailbiter in week eight. Since our season series it tied 1-1, if we wind up tied in the standings the tiebreaker goes to whoever has the most points. 

 

Turd Ferguson (4-4) 168.96 vs Alice in Horns (5-3) 158.82

I think this qualifies as a fairly large upset. Alice's team has been on a roll this season. They are the third highest scoring team in the league, and have had at least a share of first place almost all season, it seems. Turd Ferguson was 3-4 and coming off a blowout loss to Show me the TDs.

But it was Turd Ferguson who pulled away in this one. AJ Brown continued his stellar play with 29 fantasy points. Dak Prescott (37.56) and Kareem Hunt (13.2) led the offense in scoring, while Crix's IDP combined for a mammoth 53.5 points.

Alice had to endure a poor showing from Puka Nacua who only had 5.8 fantasy points in the loss. Darren Waller left with an injury, scoring only 0.9 points - which definitely hurts. Joe Burrow and Alvin Kamara had big games to keep things competitive, but it just wasn't enough as Alice drops to 5-3.

Alice looks to bounce back in week 9 in what should be a fantastic game against ned's rollers, who are the first team to sit solo in first place all season long. Turd Ferguson plays Dynastic Dan in a brotherly rematch of their week two affair, where Dynastic Dan eked out a five point win. Whoever wins will improve to 5-4 and will be in great shape down the stretch, while the other team will sit at 4-5 and have a lot of work to do. Should be an absolutely pivotal game for both team's playoff chances.

ned's Rollers (6-2) 201.26 vs Show me the TDs (5-3) 162.86

Show me the TDs' luck finally ran out as they had a great scoring game but still lost by 40 points. Hard to win when your opponent scores 200! 

ned moves into sole possession of first place with the win and with Alice's loss. ned got 70 points from two players - Jalen Hurts (35.36) and CeeDee Lamb (35). The rest of the roster exploded, too, as Jordan Addison, Chris Godwin, Mark Andrews, Dalton Kincaid, Jake Elliott, Bobby Wagner, Fred Warner, and Montez Sweat all scored in double figures. Sheesh!

Show me the TDs had a pretty good offensive showing, despite the L. Tua Tagavailo, Josh Jacobs, and David Njoku all had big games. Michael Pittman, Mike Evans, and the IDP showed up too. Just wasn't good enough, unfortunately, when your opponent scores 200. They have a great chance to bounce back against BDB's team next week. 

Thunder Thighs (1-7) 152.19 vs TDs or Bust (4-4) 132.13

Thunder Thighs is finally off the schneid as they pick up their first win of the season. It comes at the expense of TDs or Bust, who is now just 4-4 after a 3-0 start to the season. The good news for Perry's Team? Because of the logjam at the top of the standings, they are still only a game out of the playoffs.

Only one offensive skill player failed to crack double figures for Thunder Thighs - and that was Nico Collins with 5 points. DeVonta Smith (19.4), Austin Ekeler (19.8), and Taysom Hill (21.96) led the way for Thunder Thighs.

It was a bit of a down game for TDs or Bust. Garrett Wilson (14.1), Rachaad White (14.4), and Sam LaPorta (15.7) had big games, but Trevor Lawrence continues to have an underwhelming fantasy season, scoring 4 points below his projected average. 

Thunder Thighs looks to make this a winning streak next week when they take on TBone's Team. TDs or Bust has a tough challenge in front of them as they take on second place Bluth Company.

Bluth Company (5-3) 192.01 vs My Team (3-5) 127.08

It's been a weird season for Bluth Company, as they are the highest scoring team in the league, but they also give up the second most points in the league. After a 1-3 start, they've now won four in a row to put themselves firmly into second place in the league.

Their blowout win against My Team was a much needed breather for them. Eight players scored 14 or more points for them, led by Josh Allen with 33 and Christian McCaffrey with 27. This is a team that does not look like it is slowing down anytime soon.

My Team continues to sputter after a strong start out of the gates. They have now dropped three in a row and sit in 11th place in the standings, only one spot ahead of 1-7 Thunder Thighs. Statistically, this was an okay game for them. They overperformed their scoring projections and have good performances up and down the lineup. The goose egg at the linebacker spot hurts, though. And it is tough to win a game when your opponent scores 192 points. 

An updated look at the standings is provided below. Ned stands alone in first place at 6-2, despite giving up the most points in the league - which is quite impressive. Following ned in the standings: a three-way tie for 2nd at 5-3, a five-way tie at 4-4, two teams tied at 3-5, and a 1-7 team. So it is still (almost) anyone's game! 

I am still liking Bluth's chances to win this entire thing here in year one, but as we've seen so far this season: literally anything can happen! Next week should provide a little clarity on the big picture, as several of these ties in the standings look to be broken. In such a tight race, every loss moving forward is going to loom large for these teams.