Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 8

Welcome to the second half of Boz Cup 12! At the halfway mark Michael is threatening to run away with the title, and we have a huge game between him and second-place Paul. More on that a bit later.

There's a huge glut in 2nd-9th, with every team either 4-3 or 3-4. Josh M is struggling with a lackluster title defense at 2-5. But it is still very easy for everyone else to either finish in the money or playing in the Toilet Bowl.

Matt has fallen the last two weeks, and now faces some injury problems. Meanwhile Paul has rocketed upward with a 3-game streak. Shane has staged a mini-comeback as well, while Wendell and Chris are fading from contention.

But the Boz Cup has a funny history of being closer than people expect. No team ever runs away with the title after a fast start. Greg is nodding vigorously.


Here's a look ahead at Week 8 matchups:

Last week predictions: 4-1

Paul 4-3 (90-71) vs Michael 6-1 (82-79)
Michael has a slim 11-10 series edge, but Paul has won the last 2 and 4-of-5.
This game is important for Paul but also for the league behind Michael. If Michael wins, he is 7-1 with a minimum 2-game lead over everyone and possibly three depending on how Matt and Shane perform. If Paul wins, then he is just a game back and the whole pack moves a bit closer. This is the most important game of the season thus far. And who has the edge? Michael takes a hit if Jimmy Graham can't play, and Paul has a large advantage at running back, and a smaller but still decided advantage at WR. This could come down to MNF, with Russell Wilson and the Hawks D for Paul, and Steven Hauschka for Michael. But it shouldn't matter, look for Paul to win and keep the Cup chase exciting, because that's what happens in the Boz Cup.

Josh V 3-4 (80-81) vs Chris 3-4 (71-90)
Josh is 12-6 against Chris, and is on a 3-game win streak.
Josh has massive bye problems plus injury issues, which may be just what Chris needs to get back on track. Chris has scored the fewest points in the league by a wide margin, but despite that look for him to get past Josh this week. Too many byes.

Matt 4-3 (30-19) vs Wendell 3-4 (89-72)
Wendell leads 3-2, but Matt won the most recent game.
Michael Vick returns, and none too soon for Matt who has been in a tailspin without him. He has some bye problems, though Wendell does too. The terrible backups RBs playing this week cancel each other out, which should leave Matt to triumph because his Eagles are facing the terrible Giants D.

Josh M 2-5 (29-20) vs Rob 3-4 (65-96)
Josh is 3-1 against Rob, but Rob won the last game.
Byes and injuries are ravaging Josh this week, and it doesn't seen likely he'll be able to hold up against Rob. Solid matchups should allow Rob to coast to an easy win.

Shane 4-3 (83-78) vs Greg 3-4 (78-83)
Greg is 15-6 against Shane, one of the most lopsided series. And Greg is on a 7-game win streak, the longest active series streak.
Greg has truly severe bye issues this week, almost as if his draft planned to take this week off. Shane will take it, of course, all the way to 5-3 and a game behind Michael. Hard to see how Greg even fields a team this week, but he has total point tiebreakers to think about.

Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 7

Time for Week 7, the last game of the first half of the Boz Cup season! The Seahawks already have their win this week, and Paul reaped the benefits with Russell Wilson and the Hawks’ D in his lineup, giving him a nice start to an important game against Matt.

 

Michael is alone in first, after a poor performance by Trent Richardson on MNF held Matt just short of a win that would have kept him tied. As it stands, Michael was the only team of the top 4 in last week’s standings to win. He’s 5-1, his best start ever to any season, with Matt sitting at 4-2 and a glut of teams at 3-3.

 

When asked about his fast start, Michael said “I’d like to remind everyone to pay the $100 league dues.”

 

Only two teams on a bye this week, so most teams are at full strength (ignoring injuries). That should make for a nice, high-scoring week. When asked about his bye week issues, Josh V said “Wait, what day is it?”

 

 

 

 

Here's a look ahead at Week 6 matchups:

Last week predictions: 3-2

Paul 3-3 (89-71) vs Matt 4-2 (30-18)
The series is tied 2-2, but Paul has won the last two games.
Paul is making yet another midseason surge. Will Matt be his next victim? Not likely, with Drew Brees on a bye. Looks for Matt to overpower Paul and move to 5-2.

Josh M 2-4 (29-19) vs Michael 5-1 (81-79)
The series is tied 3-3, with Josh M having won the last meeting.
Josh helped Michael immensely with a close win over Matt last week. Will he continue to help Michael by losing this week, or will he become the season’s giant slayer? Michael’s secret weapon, Jimmy Graham, is out this week and DeMarco Murray is hurt, so Josh has a good chance. But overall, Michael’s quarterbacks are driving his bus while Josh’s QBs are inconsistent. Look for Michael to win again, moving to 6-1.

Chris 3-3 (71-89) vs Greg 2-4 (77-83)
Greg leads 13-8 all time, but Chris won the most recent game.
Greg lost his must-win game last week, and Chris’ squad is on life support after a promising start. Chris’ injury problems are completely unreasonable, which is too bad. Look for Greg to pull out a win.

Josh V 2-4 (79-81) vs Rob 3-3 (65-95)
Rob is 14-7 against Josh, the only series where he has a winning record. Rob has won the last 4 meetings.
Rob has dominated this series, but Josh appears to hold the edge in matchups if he can somehow get a kicker into his lineup before Sunday. Ultimately, Josh still has a strong team that appears ready to make a run if he can get out of his own way. Josh should be able to pull this week out.

Shane 3-3 (82-78) vs Wendell 3-3 (89-71)
Shane is 15-6 against Wendell, one of the most lopsided series. Wendell won the last meeting.
Shane pulled out a win last week despite bye issues, so he should be poised for a nice run, right? To do so he’d have to get through Wendell, who’s promising squad is showing some cracks at WR. Shane has WR problems of his own, but he should overcome them this week for a win.

Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 6

Tonight is the first game of Week 6. The Bears are going to emasculate the Giants on national TV. Hide the children!

 

Matt and Michael are still in front at 4-1 and are the two highest scorers. Only two squads sit at 3-2, Wendell and Chris (Chris despite having the lowest-scoring team). And poor Josh M, the two-time defending champ, is bringing up the rear. We caught up with Josh after practice Wednesday to ask him about his team being in last place, and he said "Fuck you." Which ironically is exactly what Chris told us when asked why his team has scored so few points.

 

Injuries and bye problems abound this week. Calvin Johnson (sadly) and Stevan Ridley (mercifully) are the latest to go down. Depth is a problem for most teams, so expect overall scoring to dip in the coming weeks.

 

It continues to be a QB's league, with 9 of the top 12 scorers QBs. The only non-QBs? Jimmy Graham (whom everyone made fun of drafting in Round 2), Jamaal Charles (whom Paul immediately declared a mistake pick), and LeSean McCoy. Michael and Matt both have 3 members of the top 12, which is not a coincidence.

 

When asked why his draft was such a success, Michael said "Fuck you."

 

 

Here's a look ahead at Week 6 matchups:

Last week predictions: 3-2

Paul 2-3 (88-71) vs Wendell 3-2 (89-70)
Wendell is 15-5 all time vs Paul, and has won the last two games.
Paul seems to be rounding into form in midseason, but Wendell looks strong as well. the matchups seem pretty mixed, so the edge goes to historical trends. Wendell will pick up a win to keep pace with the leaders.

Josh M 1-3 (28-19) vs Matt 4-1 (30-17)
Matt is 2-1 versus Josh, and won the last meeting.
In a battle of expansion owners, Matt has pulled ahead in overall win percentage with his early success this season. Would it be very Boz Cup-esque for Josh to knock off Matt? Yes, yes it would. Can it happen? It can, and it will.

Rob 2-3 (64-95) vs Greg 2-3 (77-82)
Greg leads 13-7 all time, but Rob won the most recent game.
Is this a must-win game? It's early to think that way, but the loser could be 3 games out of first come Tuesday. This one should come down to MNF, but look for Rob to fend off a late charge by Greg.

Michael 4-1 (80-79) vs Josh V 2-3 (79-80)
The all-time series is even at 10 apiece, with Michael having won the last game.
Michael is riding high, and his superstar Peyton Manning faces the woeful Jaguars this week. Can he capitalize? Probably so, considering Josh forgot to put Cutler into his lineup before kickoff. Josh also has some injury issues at WR. Look for Michael to improve to 5-1, his best ever Boz Cup start.

Shane 2-3 (81-78) vs Chris 3-2 (71-88)
Chris is 11-9 versus Shane, and has won the last 2 matchups.
Shane has severe bye issues this week. Can Chris continue to win while scoring few points? It appears so, because at present Shane represents no threat at all. Despite his own issues, look for Chris to continue his run.

Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 5

 

Week 5 starts today with Buffalo versus Cleveland, a titanic matchup with major fantasy implications! (not really)

 

Matt and Michael are in front at 3-1 and are the two highest scorers, a huge glut sits at 2-2, with Paul and Josh M bringing up the rear at 1-3. The league is wide open once again!

 

Scoring is led by Peyton Manning, who was Michael’s first round pick. Jimmy Graham is 5^th in scoring, whom Michael drafted in the 2^nd round. When asked about his amazing foresight in drafting Manning, Michael said “It was a mistake, I should have taken CJ Spiller and Steven Jackson. My 25 mock drafts composite and round-by-round values chart said so, but I didn’t follow it. I fucked up!”

 

Matt is dependent upon the Eagles combo of Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy. When asked after practice Monday about what he’ll do during the bye, Matt said “What’s a ‘bye’ week? There are bye weeks? No one told me!”

 

Josh M won Week 4. On his scoring outburst, he said “I’ve won the last two years, I have to start 0-3 just to make it challenging for me. The other coaches are so terrible.”

 

Josh V barely missed out on the weekly and had to settle for second. He didn’t sound happy about it when we caught up with him, “I wish I was Paul Rickey. I wanna be Paul Rickey so bad. Life would be so much better if I was Paul Rickey.”

 

 

Here's a look ahead at Week 5 matchups:

Paul 1-3 (87-71) vs Shane 2-2 (81-77)
Paul is 13-7 all time vs Shane, and Paul won the last matchup.
Paul has had a rough start to the season, but he normally gets back on track and finishes in the playoffs. Will he do it again? Shane’s squad gets Cam Newton back from a bye, but his weakness at RB with Adrian Peterson on a bye is significant. Paul is catching Shane on the right week, and will win the matchup.

Josh M 1-3 (28-18) vs Wendell 2-2 (88-70)
Josh is 3-2 vs Wendell all time, with a 2 game winning streak.
Wendell has some serious bye week problems at RB, plus an unoriginal team name. Josh M has decided to start the season, so watch out. Josh will climb up to 2-3.

Rob 2-2 (64-94) vs Chris 2-2 (70-88)
Chris leads 11-9 all time, but Rob won the most recent game.
Chris has some RB problems and injuries at WR, but Rob has severe bye week problems. This will likely be to lowest scoring matchup of the week, but look for Rob to pull out the cheap win.

Matt 3-1 (29-17) vs Josh V 2-2 (79-79)
Matt leads 5-1 all-time, but Josh V won the last meeting.
Matt’s Eagles have a great matchup against the Giants. Will that be enough to take the win? Josh V is at full strength as well, but Matt’s best is better than Josh’s best this season. Matt will win easily and move to 4-1.

Michael 3-1 (79-79) vs Greg 2-2 (77-81)
Michael leads the series 16-5 all time, and won the last two matchups.
Michael has dominated the historical series and holds a big edge in projected points. Meanwhile, Greg has some matchups problems and injury issues. This one is easy, Michael will move to 4-1.