Week 8 Breakdown

X's & O's: A Team-by-Team Breakdown

Breaston My Face (7-0)
MJD is back at the RB1 position, and after a week off remains the second leading scorer for running backs in LFP Fantasy.  With the cheap addition of Ricky Williams at the RB2 slot, it looks like Jared's squad has become that much better after an undefeated start, a scary prospect to be certain.  Strategically speaking, this should be business as usual in Week 8, with no key players out on bye weeks and decent match-ups across the board there shouldn't be any need for a QRW Utility usage (QB, RB, or WR in the Utility slot), and I'd bank on seeing two defenses pending free agent moves.  Jared is going for the league record of 8 consecutive wins, currently held by Craig's 2006 squad who did it twice that season.

My Team Blows Again (5-2)
Coming off of a week where he had to deal with a ton of bye weeks, Jason now has to deal with another four of them.  After burning a QRW Utility usage in Week 7 look for some movement on the TE/K/DEF department in Free Agency this week, as he fills holes at TE and Utility caused by the aforementioned bye week issue.  The Peyton/ADP duo is a no-brainer, but it's a tossup at the RB2 position.  Baltimore and Nate Burleson should return to action in Week 8, and there won't be too much mystery as to what we'll see from this squad lineup-wise.  J-Jak is looking to distance himself from the pack this week in the East.

LFP Phreaks (4-3)
Two glaring aspects for this team in Week 8:  RB2 and WR1.  Pierre Thomas has been very inconsistent behind DeAngelo Williams, so this may need to be addressed in the form of adding another running back to a short stable.  Beyond that, the best WR on the team Randy Moss is sitting down for his bye week and leaves a big gap with the inconsistent play at the position for this team.  It will be interesting to see if Terrell Owens will be trusted to fill in or if more help will be required.  Kevin Curtis remains injured and on the active roster, likely running out of time as a fantasy player, so there is certainly space to be filled.  Starters look fairly clear for the week, with a two-TE situation looking likely at the Utility slot since Gostkowski sits with Moss.  Harris needs to come back strong after another division loss in Week 7, barely hanging on to the West Division Wild Card at the moment.

Fister?  I hardly know her. (4-3)
Kyle's team has no bye week issues as he faces a division opponent, allowing him complete freedom to play the match-ups in front of him.  The biggest question mark for Week 8 will be whether or not Megatron is ready to go against a pathetic St. Louis team, and that would be a shame for the #7 overall pick to miss this one.  Kyle's riding a nice win back into a tie for second place in the West.

Hail to the Chefs (4-3)
Tony is hurting a little on account of byes heading into Week 8.  Tom Brady, Dwayne Bowe, Jeff Reed, and Pittsburgh all sit down in a crucial divisional game against the team right behind him in the standings.  Favre should get his first start appropriately against the Packers back at Lambeau for the first time, and the RB situation is wide open for the four healthy backs on his roster.  Donald Brown's injury  in Indy shouldn't play much of a role in this week's decision-making, but he might use that to fill a potential hole in his receiving corps this week with Pierre Garcon's production diminishing.  Look for a kicker search in Free Agency, and don't be surprised to see a QRW Utility usage of a third running back in an important game.  Tony comes off of a loss which took him out of first in the East Division.

Party Animals (3-4)
The WR situation will be the one to watch for Vicki's team this week, as she loses both Wes Welker and Hines Ward to their bye weeks, not to mention Cedric Benson at RB and Heath Miller at TE.  Drew Brees is the no-brainer key for this offense the rest of the season, and the RB situation seems fairly obvious with Westbrook's concussion lingering after Monday Night Football.  With Carlson at TE and Crosby at K, the team looks pretty well intact despite the bye weeks, and free agency should be focused on potentially filling the WR slot if there are any bargain players to be had (ala Miles Austin in Week 7).  Vick is looking to ride a two-game winning streak and huge point outputs back into the wild card lead if she can win in Week 8.

I Stiff Armed Your Mom (2-5)
Craig is hoping that things will start coming together, and counts heavily on Frank Gore flourishing in the second half thanks to a potentially renewed passing game.  As Santonio Holmes heads out on his bye week, T.J. Houshmandzadeh looks to return to the lineup against Dallas, clearing up any issues at WR.  RB is where it may get interesting based on match-ups though.  Matt Forte has a good match-up with Cleveland and could see the RB2 spot behind Thomas Jones because of Mendenhall's bye week and San Francisco's trip to Indy.  Cooley's bye week/injury leaves a hole at the TE spot, but Free Agency should clear up the situation, if not a trade with a TE heavy team.  Craig comes off a big walloping at the hands of the Party Animals, and looks to knock off Jared's squad before he can tie the old 2006 record for consecutive wins set by none other than Craig himself, and a big win it would be for the Stiffies.

Lynnhood Curbstompers (2-5)
J.J. has a couple of big play-makers on the bench with bye weeks in Clinton Portis and Santana Moss,  but the only glaring hole will be that RB2 spot vacated by Portis.  Felix Jones hasn't produced much since returning from injury, so it will be interesting to see what route is taken for the week in trying to fill the spot.  Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin provide enough depth at the WR3 position, but Free Agency will undoubtedly be used to fill the DEF spot that Tampa Bay proved incapable of filling before their bye week.  I would expect to see both Hasselbeck and Warner in the lineup using a QRW Utility usage to try and win an important divisional match-up with Kyle and stop the three game skid.

Show Me Your TD's (2-5)
Gas comes off a nice division win against J.J. and has no bye week issues to deal with.  I wouldn't anticipate seeing a QRW Utility usage with only three remaining for the season, but his style hasn't necessarily been conventional, or informed, to this point.  Depth is good at just about every position, so it will be interesting to see if Chris Johnson comes back in at RB, as well as to see what combination of WR's make-up the starting line-up in Week 8.  Good week to look forward to as Gas need only play the match-ups and watch his team put points up.  The TD's are looking to break 100 for the second time this season in an important division game to get back into the mix in the West.

Angry Asians (2-5)
Statistically the worst team in the league, Wong plays an important game against the first place team in the East, but has only Roethlisberger on a bye in Week 8.  The biggest spot to address will be the RB2 position behind S-Jax who has a great match-up against Detroit.  Tomlinson and McGahee have not taken the reigns on a starting spot, but my guess would be to see what McGahee can do after LT's inability to get in the end zone was highlighted last week.  There is enough depth at WR to find a starting three that will compliment Rodgers against Minnesota, and I'd venture a guess that we will see Wong's first QRW Utility usage here in Week 8.  Wong hasn't won since Week 4 against this very same J-Jak team, and looks to re-enter the race in the East with a win.


Week 8 Betting Lines
801 Breaston My Face -25.1
802 I Stiff Armed Your Mom +25.1


803 My Team Blows Again -27.01

804 Angry Asians +27.01



805 Hail to the Chefs +6.51

806 Party Animals -6.51



807 Fister?  I hardly know her. -6.4

808 Lynnhood Curbstompers +6.4



809 LFP Phreaks -16.28

810 Show Me Your TD's +16.28

Good luck to everyone in Week 9!

-Commish