The Pros And Cons Of Week One (Fantasy Football)

One player being traded caused multiple Fantasy Football outcomes this week. But first, a trip down memory lane…

Fine readers of the Going For 2 fanbase my name is @TheBLeagueSays and I am 100% certain I would try to tackle as many people as possible for $90 million guaranteed. I’d put on weight, not lead in with my helmet – the whole thing! Not sure how good I would be but I am a ‘try-er’ and gosh darn it I would try! And thank you for the awesome feedback and conversations following last weeks Pros and Cons – it seems to have struck a chord with the audience, Robert Kelley is certainly not the prettiest option and the votes were in; Adrian Peterson gets the nod in Washington and amongst the masses and Kelley may have to wait his turn; and I am absolutely looking forward to seeing how this plays out! Also, I am looking forward to addressing Week 1 with you. Once again please remember that the articles I bring to you will be based on the Pros and Cons of players or scenarios the Fantasy Football Community has split ideas on heading into future fixtures for your matchups.

So before we get started – Thank you, and enjoy!

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10 years ago was a great time to be alive. The Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy sent the world into a Global Recession. The average cost of a new house was $238,880 and $40k a year got you by easily. The Sex and the City girls pumped out a feature film… Oh! And Barrack Obama was elected President of the United States!

10 years ago Ben Roethlisberger signed an 8 year $102 million dollar contract and was the highest paid player in Steelers history and was now the seventh Quarterback in NFL history to go over the ‘$100 million club’ while claiming he wanted to be a Steeler for life like the Marino’s and Elway’s of the world. He did lead them to victory against the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, so I would probably say it wasn’t a bad investment in the end on the Steelers behalf – especially when your star delivers.

How the times (and cash) has changed. Kind of…

But, did you know…

• That also in 2008 that Writers in Hollywood went on strike against their Studios, Networks, and Production Companies by demanding a percentage of revenue instead of a fixed fee for internet content? I find it interesting to know that 10 years ago people went on strike because they felt their contribution to entertaining millions of people felt undervalued by taking a ‘stand’. Imagine hating on someone for believing in their self-worth (and probably the hours upon hours of unrecognized hard work and sacrifices hidden from the masses) in a career field shorter than most? Crazy right?!
• That this week, when just about over 1100 players were cut from the NFL this week; and Brock Osweiler stood tall and was not one of them. He has made just about $42 million, in 7 seasons while starting 23 out of 43 games and has a 31:27 Touchdowns to Interceptions? Meanwhile, Khalil Mack has had 40 Sacks and 231 Tackles and had to essentially go on strike, get traded a week before the season starts before the former 2016 Defensive Player of the Year got paid… Talent wins out, right? Right? Yeah, right…

Go on lad, give us one more! Ok then – how about this… Did you know:

• That also back in 2008, the highest paid linebacker was Ray Lewis, which was earning him around about $9 million a season. How the times have changed though! Something tells me he may have been worth a fair bit more if his prime was right now…

So, what’s your point Ventura?

Well, this week we saw a parallel of two players, who on the Defensive side of the ball are pure thoroughbreds born to cause havoc and wreak destruction on Offensive Lineman and Quarterbacks alike. Aaron Donald was valued by The Rams (6 years, $87 million in guaranteed). They love him, they see a future with him and they see success with him leading the charge. And with this love, The Rams acquired Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Ndamukong Suh in the process also to make his job even easier. Not a bad setup if you ask me!

Khalil Mack, well, he had a bumpier ride. Mack held out to see if he could renegotiate a new deal similar to what Aaron Donald did. Mack instead got himself traded to Chicago as a result, who then paid Mack (6 years, $90 million guaranteed) in the process.

But imagine holding out to make sure you get what you feel like you are worth only to be neglected? At least something happened for Mack and Donald alike. Imagine being Le’Veon Bell right now? No contract. Your teammates (like leaders Maurkice Pouncey and Ben Roethlisberger; ironically still one of the best-paid players since his first mega-deal 10 years ago) starting to grow impatient with Bell no-showing before their Week One matchup. Fans losing out on seeing a superstar of the game ball-out. Everyone has it out for him it seems. How long this holdout goes? No idea to be honest with you.

What we have seen is a domino effect of what can happen as soon as one player moves, stays or no-shows. This can follow a positive or negative path and varies the outcomes for many players. But all three players have caused the ripple effect moving forward.

So, what are…

THE PROS

Of Khalil Mack: Chicago! Good lord! What a move! I love, love love this trade by The Bears! In a division with three of the highest paid Quarterbacks in the league, why would you not do everything in your power to destroy them and even the playing field while you’re new Head Coach and second-year Quarterback gain more adhesiveness? How about draft Roquan Smith? Great move. How about trade picks to Oakland for a proven beast in Khalil Mack? Unreal. He is going to win Mitchell Trubisky more time on the field. Open up better areas for Special Teams to work too. Jordan Howard will benefit from this if the Bears can run the clock better also. How about Kansas, Denver and the LA Chargers not having to deal with Khalil Mack anymore? Everyone in the AFC West not named Oakland must be happy this week! A stack of winners out of this relocation.

Of Aaron Donald: Jared Goff and The Rams must be pretty happy. One of the best pass rushers in the game not lining up for the Raiders in Khalil Mack, allowing Goff more time in the pocket to hit new recruit (and Pros And Cons favorite Brandin Cooks) or less stress on the OL for lanes to open right up for Todd Gurley. Suh and Donald are going to hurt teams through the middle forcing the opposition to take to the air. Peters and Talib will do everything possible to claim as many takeaways as they can. The Rams have possibly a Defence strong enough to match (or better) Jacksonville and Minnesota, and in the later months of the season could take them to the holy grail itself. Stability with Donald is the winner here.

Of Le’Veon Bell: James Conner – We should really know more about you. We know you went to college for Pittsburgh, we know you have had a hell of a life already beating Hodgkins Lymphoma and now being cancer free. And we know you sat back for a year watching the master LeVeon Bell work at his craft – possibly the best Running Back in the game today. That’s all well and good. Wanna know what’s great? Even if it is for just one week that Bell holds out, James Conner right now has the keys to the AFC North with the Steelers backfield as the starting Running Back. When one door closes another opens up right? Have at it lad – make a name for yourself!

Well, we’re waiting for…

THE CONS

Of Khalil Mack: As the kids would say: ‘John Gruden, wyd?’. Did I do that right? I think I did? Slang for ‘what (sic are) you doing?’, right? No really? What are you doing? What is anyone in charge of the Raiders doing? Is there, in fact, anyone in charge of the Raiders at all? Can anyone answer me? What just happened to the Raiders this offseason? Two years ago Derek Carr was in MVP conversations and now he’s lucky to get an MVP Deluxe Carwash and Wax without being ridiculed (yeah, save the planet Derek – do it by hand like the rest of us!). I mentioned previously about the effects of a good (even great) Defence can do for a run game, the opposite can be said when you take pieces away; this may hurt Marshawn Lynch. Less time on the field, maybe chasing larger scores – this could at times limit his usage. Seriously though, the Raiders need to go to Vegas already and start moving forward again. This needs to stop.

Of Aaron Donald: To be honest, at some point The Rams have to go all the way. All these players are going to destroy the salary cap before Jared Goff gets off his Rookie Deal but then what? If The Rams haven’t got the job done by winning a Super Bowl and within the next two to three years end up paying mega-bucks to Goff then guys like Donald, Suh, Peters and hey maybe even Todd Gurley may have to make way for the former Number One overall Draft pick Jared Goff and his eventual new deal. The window is short and the NFC is stacked; the pressure is on.

Of Le’Veon Bell: I love you. Do what you need to do – believe in your self-worth and contribution to your team. But this hurts. I just want to see you out there being the uber talented, skilled, unique unit that you are. But the longer this goes, the worse it will get.  Man, I miss Football, this is just way too sappy…

2018 PROJECTION

Khalil Mack – Mack moving to Chicago is a huge deal. Surprisingly for a team who went 5-11 in 2017, The Bears boasted a Top 10 Fantasy DST last season and I look for that to improve with Top 6 potential.

Aaron Donald – Donald staying where he is, plus the added firepower The Rams added this offseason leads me to believe that the L.A Rams will finish as the Number 1 DST in Fantasy Football this season. Their NFC West division (I feel) got weaker, and they are going to tear through most teams. Jacksonville now sees the returns of Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson and I feel like the AFC South becomes closer than what people think.

Le’Veon Bell – There are whispers of him turning up this weekend before Round 1 begins. I have no doubt he shows up… Eventually. I mean what were you really expecting me to say here? How about this; Ezekiel Elliott finished 2017 as the RB10 overall in Standard Scoring and Half Point Per Reception whilst only playing 10 games due to a six-game mid-season suspension. So even if Bell misses a few games how badly will it hurt your team? Bell still finishes and an RB1 across all scoring formats for me. You just have to ride it out.

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SUMMARY

I could tell you that The Rams will win the Super Bowl this year and Donald could be the MVP. There is a good chance of this happening. Seattle is on the mend from losing key players on both sides of the ball. Arizona is doing Arizona things – like give Mike Glennon and Sam Bradford relatively big money whilst letting Tyrann Mathieu walk. And San Francisco could be anything. They could contend. Or they may be another year away. The Rams have gone #ALLIN it seems, and it’s Super Bowl or bust for me. Big money has been spent on big time players – they have to get it done now.

I could also paint you a rosy picture that Bell signs a massively front-loaded 5-year deal that makes him the highest paid Running Back in the league. However… I know that The Steelers are worth $2.25 billion dollars and (just stop, don’t slap me with the salary cap talk in regards to Bell – I get it), are undervaluing one of – if not, the – cog that makes the Steelers on the field work. Yes, DeAngelo Williams had some success when Bell was unavailable in the past. James Conner may provide a similar outlet too. The fact that an Organization as such is telling someone they aren’t worth it because the position is devalued then they probably should have made a better effort two years ago to get Bell a better deal. The whole thing screams of the ‘Kirk Cousins/Washington contract’ saga. Bell will likely find a new home (may even get traded this year if he signs his Franchise Tag tender) next season.

I could tell you that everything will be ok eventually in Oakland… And well, it will be. Once they move to Las Vegas – this is true, none of their madness stops until they bounce out of town. And it’s clear that they are cleaning out their house and have brought in blow-up furniture to get them by over the next period of time. Save money. Acquire Draft capital. So dropping mass amounts of money into Mack – no matter how much we think he could end up a Hall of Famer – on their end does not make sense. Mack is more or less a victim of circumstance. If they weren’t moving, my money is on him being a Raider for life. They are literally preparing to hype up a new market and save money in the process. For me, that’s it.

What I will say is – thank you for being on the offseason ride with me over the past couple of months. It’s Round 1 and I couldn’t be more amped up. Set your lineups accordingly and check out the DFS and Weekly Content all the hard-working staff is pumping out to get you best prepared. Also – download the Going For 2 app, then and rate, review and share with your loved ones. You all deserve it!

I want to thank you for getting this far and taking in everything I have presented. You can as always follow and find me at @TheBLeagueSays and offer any view or conversation about this. Let’s all get better together!

Once again, Thank you and Enjoy!

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