With my busy schedule in August, it’s impossible for me to write up long, thought out predictions prior to the season (although I’m going to have more free time next year). But, I had some rankings. Let’s see how bad I did.
#1 MOLLIPOP (BOB)
WHAT I SAID THEN
Pollard me, while I Diggs Bob’s Chubb. His backfield makes me horny and Bob will easily begin a new playoff streak and compete for a fifth title.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Well, Chubb’s got knocked out for the year, Pollard has been dog shit the last five weeks, thus what was expected to be his strength (his backfield) has proved to be a dumpster fire. Add in injuries from Rodgers and Richardson, plus diminished results from Waller and what we got was a team that has managed to only outscore Burrier on the season.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 11 out of 12
#2 BUKAYA SAKA (COLBY)
WHAT I SAID THEN
No, asking for 600 points per week by Colby’s backs is not asking too much. Colby should be able to put forth a meaty title defense in 2023.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Well, McCaffrey and Etienne have averaged over 600 per game and the top-two backs in fantasy. What I didn’t expect was for A.J. Brown to become the top receiver in football. Quarterback was never impressive and with Cousins gone for the year, its borderline a concern, but it’s solvable. Colby is well on his way to defending that title.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 1 out of 12 (first in both points and breakdown)
#3 THIS IS THE YEAR (ERIC)
WHAT I SAID THEN
It all comes down to Conner. Will he be a hole all season? If he can be even a middle-of-the-road RB2, Eric is golden.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Connor wasn’t a hole. He was alright, but now he’s out, but he’s not the reason why Eric has struggled this year. And we’re not going to blame Mixon either, who has been average at best. Both Justin Fields and Ja’Marr Chase have struggled and the former is now hurt. Chase and the Bengals are rebounding now. If Fields can come back and start running the ball, Eric could easily end the year as a top three team.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 8 out of 12 (fifth in points scored and the best is probably yet to come).
#4 TWO-HEADED RUSSIAN ATTACK (ROB M)
WHAT I SAID THEN
Week one prediction, Rob’s QB gets outscored by about 250 points; but he wins every other position. That will be his life for at least a little while.
WHAT HAPPENED?
My concern for Masterson was quarterback play and it certainly hasn’t been great. His arms are 9th in completions and yards (1,804), 11th in passing touchdowns (9) and tied for the most interceptions (8). However, he’s not winning at every other position as well. Henry and St. Brown have been good, but Dobbins got knocked out for the year and Wilson lost his quarterback. At least Hall is starting to play like a RB1 and Thielen is making up for Wilson’s lack of production. However, the key to Rob’s championship hopes will be the return of a guy I never thought about prior to the season (Achave).
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 7 out of 12
#5 THE DICK-TATERS (RICH C)
WHAT I SAID THEN
We’re going to learn a lot about Walker in week one. It’s going to be either really good news or bad news. No middle ground.
WHAT HAPPENED?
I put a lot of Walker’s shoulders and he has panned out. Currently, he’s a third-string All-Robio back, averaging 230 per contest. At this moment, I have Calderon ranked fourth in my rankings, which is one-step up from my preseason ranking. That’s not bad considering Barkley missed time and both his receivers, Waddle and Smith, have not lived up to my expectations. It helps that Tua has played like an MVP, Mike Evans has been borderline WR1 and even Kittle has managed to put up some numbers.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 4 out of 12 (Rich is nearly right on target)
#6 AI BUILD ME A TEAM (DON)
WHAT I SAID THEN
Don is a 61% favorite to win in week one over Burrier. That’s the highest percentage of the week. With Robinson and Jones, I get it.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The first three weeks of the season were fantastic, especially that first game. Robinson looked good and Aaron Jones looked great. Even when Jones got hurt, Mostert stepped in and dominated that void. He looked like a contender. Yet, now that #6 ranking seems too high. Don has dropped four straight. Jones is still not 100%, Robinson is not getting enough touches in Atlanta and even Mostert has come back to earth. Deebo was Don’s only good receiver and he’s out and tight end has remained a problem child throughout.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 9 out of 12 (He’s only that high because of the fantastic start)
#7 REAL MEN PRODUCE PORN (GRIFF)
WHAT I SAID THEN
Fun fact, Griff faces Mollipop in week one. Juicy. In fact, he’s even the favorite to win. I think CBS is on crack, which would explain why the site hasn’t spent any money to change a single thing about its interface in 20+ years.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Let by Jefferson and Lamar, Griff shook off a weak week one and looked like a contender, thanks to unexpected stars like Allen and Collins. However, his running backs have struggled, so when Coomer lost Jefferson, he simply doesn’t have enough pieces to pick up the slack. The squad is a load of average, with no player other than the QB predicted to score at least 160 each week.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 6 out of 12 (However, over the last month, no team has been worse)
#8 FOOTBALL (JEFF)
WHAT I SAID THEN
Little scares me about this squad, but I could really be underestimating what James Cook is going to do as the starter in Buffalo.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Well, I should have been scared of Tyreek Hill, the best pair of hands in football and Mark Andrews continues to be Kelce-lite. Nacua made the problem of no Cooper Kupp go away and I clearly underestimated James Cook, who is 10th in fantasy points among receivers.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 2 out of 12 (Six spots off, which makes Jeff my biggest underestimation)
#9 THE GENIUS (MATT)
WHAT I SAID THEN
Neatock needs Hurts to do exactly what he did last season. Ride ‘em, Matty. Ride ‘em!
WHAT HAPPENED?
Hurts has been good and his 325 per game has been second best among arms. The problem is, holy hell Matt’s backs are bad. Stevenson has been bad and Sanders has been worse. Matt’s receivers aren’t doing much better. Adams keeps disappearing and Hopkins had vanished until this week. Evan Engram has been meh. With a roster full of disappointment, it’s sorta amazing that Neatock has won four games this year.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 10 out of 12 (Matt is actually dead last in breakdown)
#10 THUNDERPANTS (RICH B)
WHAT I SAID THEN
CBS has projected that Mattison will only score 145 this week and has only his QB (Allen) scoring over 200 in week one. I don’t buy it, but that’s still not good.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Sadly, predicting Mattison would score 145 proved to be an overestimation. While Josh Allen has been pretty good this year, Rich’s backs have not. Jacobs is looking like a one-hit wonder and Mattison has been simply bad. All of Rich’s man receivers, London, Watson and Godwin had WR1 potential, but all have played like trash for most of the season. Worse yet, Burrier has done nothing on the wire to improve this squad.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 12 out of 12 (Dead last in points scored)
#11 DUDELOVE (MICHAEL)
WHAT I SAID THEN
Career 1,000 yard rushing or receiving by Mike’s backs and receivers? One. That truly is a lonely number.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Michael’s team has proven to be a lot better than I projected. With Akers being a bust and Ridley coming up so short so often, right now, it looks like only two players will rush or receive 1,000 yards. Olave is on pace to just surpass 1,000 yards receiving and then there’s Swift, who is proving to be Mike’s best player. He could finish with around 1,500 total yards if he stays on the field. Still, shocking he hasn’t unloaded one of his two quarterbacks.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 3 out of 12
#12 TRAVIS & TAYLOR… (ROBIO)
WHAT I SAID THEN
The only thing worse than my two starting receivers is my starting RB2. Of course, learning that Kelce is now hurt only adds to my misery. This was a brutally bad draft only saved by my two keepers. Looking forward to the defending champ putting me in my place in week one.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Outside of one great game, my receivers have been awful and with Kamara, Taylor and Ekeler all out, I began the year an expected, 0-4. However, once Kamara came back and so did Ekeler, my team started to win (four straight). It even helps that Burrow is playing like Burrow again.
CURRENT POWER RANKING: 5 out of 12