Well everyone, I hope your Week 7 hasn’t taken too much of a toll on your fantasy teams. With all the injuries and byes, I have seen some interesting lineup decisions this week. Some worked out well, and some…not so much. Personally, I was on the right side of some of those decisions, but I was also on the wrong side almost as much. But, that’s the challenge we face in this game we play. Let’s dive in and discuss what I learned watching this week’s games.

Any Given Sunday

Say it however you want…Any given Sunday…That’s why we play the game…the fact of the matter is…it’s true. It is incredibly rare that a team is so dominant, or so bad that you simply know what is going to happen with them every week. There is a reason why we don’t see many winless, or undefeated teams. It is a very difficult challenge to win every single game, and statistically speaking, it is hard to lose every game as well.

This year, I think we are seeing a unique shift from the past few seasons. The NFL has begun to see a lot more parity than we have been accustomed to. None of the best teams are infallible, and none of the worst teams are beyond redemption. And, there are far more teams that are simply competitive. This is a great thing for the NFL. We are getting to see fanbases get excited that haven’t had a reason to be excited in a long time. I believe that it is good business to have a lot of good competition. It gets stale and boring when the same storylines play out year after year. This year has seen some new stories develop, and I think that it is a great step for the league.

Pitchers Duels

We are in the height of MLB Playoff season, so I thought it might be topical to reference one of my favorite types of baseball games for this segment. If you are watching games this year and think that scoring is down from the past few years…you are absolutely right! Teams simply are not scoring as much this year we have been accustomed to seeing recently. But, we need to ask ourselves why? I think there are a couple of explanations for it. Much like everything in life, the NFL seems to operate in a cycle. Over the past few years we have been at the peak of the cycle where offenses are dominant. I think this can be explained by a couple of key factors. 1) We have seen some incredibly talented offensive play callers be elevated into leadership roles. And 2) We have seen some incredibly talented quarterbacks enter the league and be NFL ready. 

But, what tends to happen over time is this…defenses catch up. Eventually, the incredibly talented defensive minds in the NFL see enough film on what the offenses have been successful with that they find ways to counter it. And, we begin to see some incredibly talented defenders enter the league that help tip the talent balance back a bit. I think this is what we have begun to see this year. This is also great for the league. While everyone loves scoring, we also like to see big time defenders making big time plays. And, don’t get me wrong, I think that the defenses will make strides, and look good for a while. But, it is a cycle, and eventually the offenses will once again be dominant for a time.

Fantasy Focus

The NFL has done a great job of embracing the fantasy and gambling community over the past few years. The league has begun to understand that much of the growth of the game is due to the popularity of fantasy leagues and scratch gamblers. But, has it begun to impact the integrity of the game? I have pointed out some concerns about officiating in this article on a couple of occasions this season, but maybe there is more to it than I think. 

I have seen a couple of different fan bases this week cry foul about the officiating, and in doing so they have pointed the finger directly at the gambling side of the game. Apparently, late in the game a couple of calls went one direction that allowed the sportsbooks to come out ahead. Personally, I believe that Vegas wins enough…they don’t need any help. But, as I looked at it, I could see how they could make the argument. 

As the relationship between the NFL, and the sportsbooks grows and becomes more apparent and obvious, the league is going to have to do a very good job in being transparent about things. If there is a lack of transparency, it could become a slippery slope and it could be the beginning of the end.

Well, that’s it for my weekly observations. I, as always, greatly enjoyed watching the games this week. I hope you did too. Regardless of  your fantasy outcomes this week, it’s only one week. We have to do it all again next week. As always, if you need assistance with roster decisions please reach out on X(Twitter) @2fatguysff