Week 8 was pretty amazing from a fantasy perspective. It's like all the things that should happen actually did happen. Drew Brees connected with Brandin Cooks on a long scoring strike. So did Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton. And Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb. And Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. And on and on.
Tom Brady threw for five scores, and that wasn't even best in his conference. It's almost like 100 combined yards and a score was a disappointing day for a running back or receiver. And 250 yards and two touchdowns for a quarterback would have him looking over his shoulder wondering if he'll be benched. Maybe it wasn't that bad, but everybody had big games.
Well, not everybody.
Jordy Nelson owners might be wondering if their invitation to the scoring party got lost. And if you started Julius Thomas, what happened? How about Marshawn Lynch or Andre Johnson? Those guys are still good, aren't they?
Other players are hit and miss, but in a week full of impressive stats, where was Michael Floyd? At least Vincent Jackson caught a pass. So did Greg Olsen. Brandon Marshall caught three, if you care. But if your guys disappointed this past weekend, it has to be extra frustrating. Because events happened in week 8 that will have ramifications going forward.
First of all, some owners may have earned a win with just one player carrying their entire mediocre lineup. That elevates them at a bad time if you're struggling for a playoff spot. You think your 4-4 looks better than theirs just because you have a balanced, stable team? Nope. Right when you needed some momentum, some chumps got lucky and crashed the party.
But wait; there's more. They might have set records this week with their point totals. They might even have caught up with you in total points, which is often a tie-breaker when determining wild cards. So even if you find yourself in a logjam for a post-season berth, you might really be at the bottom of the pile.
Feel bad enough? I'm not done yet. You know those players you were considering making trade offers for so you can make a push for the playoffs? Some of them just got real expensive. And you might have competition at the table now, since all of a sudden average teams see themselves as contenders. Not to mention that some of the players you wanted to trade away might not look so great now. Why would anyone give you a good offer for Julio Jones when they have the awesome Brandon LaFell in their lineup? And don't even think of moving Eric Decker. You can start someone off the waiver wire and get better numbers than him.
Even if you want to make a move for Calvin Johnson or A.J. Green, their owners might not even need your help. They might have replacements that are doing better, anyway. Megatron makes for some solid depth behind Sammy Watkins, doesn't he? Why should anyone trade you LeSean McCoy when they can just keep him on the bench and roll with Mark Ingram?
But hey, it's just one week, right? Sure, but that doesn't make the trading easier, or the records better. But it does mean that the sturdier fantasy teams should perform better over time. And you still have quite a few games left to see that happen.
So if you missed the scoring party this weekend, you might want to skip SportsCenter for a few days. You might have to re-evaluate those trade offers. And you might not have the cushion you wanted going into a stretch run.
But you still have a decent team, and maybe you're due for some of those amazing highlights in a week or two. So if you feel like the only owner who didn't get a piece of the scoring pie, may your serving come this weekend. Here's to double portions, too. Good luck this week.
Did you get smashed by (or somehow survive) an avalanche of points from a mediocre opponent? Share your stories below.