Cutty: Game done changed.
Slim Charles: Game’s the same, just got more fierce.
Who are a couple of guys you have been impressed with through the first couple of weeks that were maybe off your radar coming into the season? @HaitianKid79
QB: Grant Wells (Marshall) truly came out of nowhere for me. Not only do I think he has the requisite NFL tools as a thrower, but he’s also an extraordinary athlete that can win with his legs, which is what we care about for fantasy purposes.
RB: Ulysses Bentley IV (SMU) was a name that buzzed a bit in deep dynasty CFF circles, but the assumption by most was that he was probably a year or two out from bearing good fruit. After two games, he’s at 30-276-5 rushing and two catches. @DevyDeepDive does a great job cutting up and analyzing players, and here is a look at his week two performance.
The added bonus is he used the slow jamz that you and Mrs. Theddy like to rock to when the kids are out at the neighbors for a slumber party! At 5’10” and 184 pounds, Bentley is currently too small to be considered a viable NFL prospect, but he’s got a few years to put on 20 pounds and adjust to life as a collegiate runner.
WR: I knew of Austin Watkins (UAB) last year, he had 1,000 yards, but I didn’t take him seriously as a CFF or NFL prospect. Whoops. He looks great this year. Most recently, Watkins went 7-183-1 last night. He also made Feldman’s freak list this summer, “Sammy’s (Watkins) first cousin is quite a receiver too. The 6-3, 205-pounder had 57 catches for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns last year, including a career-high 167 receiving yards at UTSA and 10 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown in the New Orleans Bowl against Appalachian State. This Watkins has run a 4.47 40, bench presses 365 and squats 500 pounds.”
Who are the best candidates for seniors with Not Great NFL prospects that take advantage for the new rule to come back for another year? @atldan
D’Eriq King, QB, Miami
Sam Ehlinger, QB, Texas
Those are the two guys that most naturally come to mind when I think about collegiate mega fantasy producers that could have naysayers at the NFL level, which could result in an extra year. I’m sure they won’t be the only ones, nor are they PROBABLE to return, but this is the most organic answer that I can give and feel decent about.
Staying local. A recent redraft I was in saw Gibbs go rd 2 and Mason rd 24. Are Mason owners suddenly in for a long season of relegation as Gibbs sees bellcow status? @CFFNate
Here is a look at Patenuade’s RB1 performance as an OC:
Coastal Carolina RB:
2012: 166-921-10 (28-247-0 rec)
2013: 276-1729-27 (23-153-2 rec)
2014: 234-1534-20 (33-289-1 rec)
2015: 222-1346-16 (40-403-3 rec)
2016: 183-1156-16 (20-190-2 rec) (9 games)
Temple RB:
2017: 156-604-5 (14-75-0 rec)
2018: 210-1098-13 (8-52-0 rec)
Georgia Tech RB:
2019: 172-899-7 (7-43-0 rec)
Without having listed all of the RB2’s from those years, it’s pretty clear that he prefers to use a bellcow. Will it be Gibbs? I’ll take it back to your question; I don’t feel confident enough that it will be that I would consider taking him in the 2nd of a redraft league. I would much rather take Mason in the 24th. He may be done for the year, or he may play this week. I don’t know and can’t seem to find any info on it, but Gibbs’ cost is too rich for my blood.
Will Georgia Tech compete for a Natty in the Sims era? @TheSFGiantsGuy
Nope! However, they may beat Georgia once. Now that this offense is fun again, they should attract top talent in the Metro-Atlanta area and continue to get skill guys out of Florida. The talent gap between the Jackets and Dawgs, or any other true CFP contender, is vast, but it should close considerably over the next few years. One issue that Tech will always have is their rigorous academic requirements. Georgia Tech feels a bit like Twitter’s team right now. Lay a dud against a hapless Cuse team, and they will be turned on in a heartbeat!
Auburn -8 or Kentucky +8? And why will UK win the game outright? @ShootersShoot34
Auburn returns Nix at QB, but Gus brought in new blood to help him coordinate the offense. Nix played like a true freshman last season that was attempting to navigate SEC waters for the first time. There were some flashes of good, but more bad than good. That needs to be graded on a curve, but he did enough good that when combined with his high school film and pedigree can create optimism for this season. Unfortunately, his whole line is gone. They return one guy who started last season. That is going to be problematic against a UK defensive front that rates to be excellent. The Cats return the majority of their defense that was great last season. They were nearly impossible to throw on, and while Auburn should improve with Nix in year two and Morris imprinting upon the offense, I don’t think this is a good matchup for the Tigers in week one. I’ve mentioned it before, but a consistent theme in team’s first games is bad OL play. Auburn has a brand new group playing against a group that is both experienced and talented across from them. This is also good news for the Cats who aren’t built to play catch-up. They will be more capable this year with Touchdown Terry being a better thrower than BOWDEN, but they need to take games into the fourth quarter and be able to lean on their line. Speaking of their line, they may have a top-five OL in CFB. They return almost everyone, and they were phenomenal last year. Terry should be able to run a bunch of what LB did last season, and they have a very talented three-headed monster at RB. Good news for Auburn is that they were so tough to run on last year. Bad news is they lose a 1st rounder in Brown, and Davidson was a player as well. Even with those losses, this should be a good DL. Auburn always has talented big boys on the line. They will win some battles this week but should lose most in the trenches. I think Seth Williams can have success winning individual battles and help Nix as he did last year, but I don’t think a recipe for success in the SEC is losing the trench battle on both sides, especially when you are a TD+ favorite. In what should be a low scoring, field position game, the Cats have a real weapon at punter. I’ve got the Cats at a few numbers from +8 to +10, and I think they have a good shot at the outright. Found local with Aub TT at 28.5 and went under. I don’t see Aub getting 29. Implied is 28.5-21. Popular dog gets it done, 23-17 UK.
This weekend Mulbah Car or Darrius Pinix Jr? @Wvschorn
This question got easier to answer after Car, and the Cougars’ game was again canceled. He would have been my choice, but assuming you are left with Pinix, he will have to do.
Is Bama -27.5 a lock? @CarmineJLorenzo
I’m hesitant to call anything a lock in general, and especially now that we are in the COVID-era. That being said, here are my thoughts on the game:
Bama loses some great players on offense. I don’t have the figures in front of me, but I believe I count four first-rounders on offense in the last draft? I don’t think this offense will be quite as explosive, but I think they can still be amongst the country’s best. The line should be tremendous, there are still two R1 WRs out wide, there is a top-five RB in the country, and the options at QB are solid. I’m a believer in Mac Jones, and he will get the start this week. I don’t think he will be Tua, but he has grown on me a bunch since he arrived on campus. While I’m not particularly optimistic about the Missouri offense to start the year or how they match up against Bama’s defense in this game, I do think they should have a good defense and could test Bama a bit in this one. The key for them hanging in there will be how effectively the Tiger offense can sustain drives and give them breathers. The QB1 for Missouri is still a ? but I would be surprised if it wasn’t TCU transfer Shawn Robinson. He’s a big dude and terrific runner that has a good arm. I think he can do some things similar to what we see Cunningham and Ville do. That’s the offense that Drinkwitz most recently ran at App State. How much will he vary from that? TBD, but App State is one fo the unique places in the country where you run their offense. Period. Drink also spent some time with Gus and running Boise’s scheme. They have a couple of good backs and will want to run some outside zone/stretch and let whichever QB gets the nod distribute in the quick game. Bama has FR at both 1 and 2 at their STAR and JACK positions on defense. One name I want to mention is the JACK Will Anderson. Bama always has talented freshmen that get some buzz outta camp, but I’m not sure I can recall a guy that’s being talked about like Anderson. He will need to be dialed in to combat the OZ heavy offense I think Mizz will employ. There were stretches of last year where it seemed Missouri had one of the worst SEC offenses of the decade. The new staff should help, as should some transfers on the OL and at WR. I could see this team growing into the year, but I don’t see many areas where they rate to have wins against Bama. Number has gotten too rich for me, but I’m not interested in the dog. I’ll go 38-13 Bama.
