PHASE 7 - Split 4 Recap (Weeks 7-8)
PHASE 7 - Split 4 Recap (Weeks 7-8)
Long Live the King. Peyton’s reign continues, Gronk’s ascension persists. Five games to go in our 2nd to last regular season writeup, 5th-8th all have 5% or less odds to get into the playoffs and identical 2-6 records, it’s a certified mid-off. A disparity in parity never seen before, if you will. With seeding all that’s left to play for at this stage, who will end their year strong?
Injury report (Split 4)
Jameson Williams (STC, SSPD)
Christian Kirk (ITS)
Allen Lazard (MIKE)
Zack Moss (GMEN)
Peyton’s Forehead Shiner (7-1)
Thanks to a host of great games, chiefly from King Henry and his trio of Lions, Peyton coasted by Sledge Hammer for a rebound victory. With 1st place hanging in the balance in Week 8 and the mathematics not on his side heading into Sunday night, Peyton pivoted to the alphabet instead, reciting his ABCD-L-A-M-Bs to a victory. Seriously, a behemoth 39 point outing from CeeDee (who averages 33+ PPG after bye weeks the last 5 seasons) gave him enough to sweep Suh-Tang in the regular season, with Peyton having won their last 4 matchups.
The two managers he squares off against this Split are a combined 0-8 with their losing streaks. Is This Soccer could pose an issue as he looks to rebound with some advantageous matchups. He follows that game up against a GMEN that has run cold as of late. All time, he’s 31-12 from this point in the season onward, and 22-6 since 2020. Excluding his glorious 2022 tank job, 30-5. No matter how you slice it, he’s notorious for ending the season strong. We’ll see if that trend holds moving forward.
Bradshank Redemption (2-6)
Bradshank takes down Gronk in a Split 4 stunner. The same could not be said for her Week 8 game, losing to Odell despite another solid outing. Having hit the league average score in nearly every game this season, it’s more of the same frustrating matchup luck that’s plagued her all season. If there was ever a Patient 0 as to why we prefer Best-Ball formats, this would be it.
To her benefit, she’ll only face off against a playoff team in 2 of the final 5 games. Playing Sledge Hammer and ITS in Split 5, this is a perfect chance to double her win total. Bradshank has all the tools necessary to leave 2024 better than she found it, and we have every belief that’ll come to pass.
Odell’s Rusty Hip (5-3)
Valkyrie continues to slay any opposition in her path, earning a 4th consecutive victory, ending Split 4 with a 200 point tear to win the season series against Bradshank.
Averaging over 200 points in the last month makes her the highest scoring manager the last 2 Splits.
The hardest road is finally here. This is the most important Split of the season for her, as she’ll take on Gronk and Suh-Tang, two managers directly above her. While it’s looking exceedingly unlikely anyone takes the #1 Seed from Peyton, there’s considerable value in besting the other managers, if not solely to avoid facing off against him in Round 1.
She’s lost to both of these managers so far. However, they’ll be up against a very different squad than the one they faced in September. If she gets through that, she has a date with Peyton waiting for her to start the final Split and a higher seed to boot.
Pull The Lever, Gronk! (6-2)
After losing 2 out of her last 3 and an upset in Week 7 to Bradshank, she secured a bona-fide Top 3 TE in Trey McBride, a crucial piece in sealing her dominant victory over the GMEN, with her Eagles duo combining for 50+ points as she soared to a win. In our second to last Split, she plays a white hot Odell and an ice cold Sledge Hammer. Only 1 more win is needed to tie her best season ever in the league. The Witch has more than enough in the tank to end this season on fire, with exceptional performances from the Jalen + AJB duo and Kyren’s continued rise to fantasy glory.
Nico Collins hasn’t played football in a month, yet he’s still WR14 on the season. If he returns healthy for her playoff run, may god help us all. Already primed for her best season ever, i
t’s giving revenge vibes for me, sweetie.
Team GMEN (2-6)
After being dogwalked to the tune of nearly 100 points by his own daughter, he gets more of the same treatment from his daughter-in-law, falling 0-2 this Split. This gives him a 3rd straight loss after winning consecutive games last month.
We knew he was due for a month straight of playoff contenders, as next Split he faces the #1 and #3 seed in Peyton and Suh-Tang. It’ll be tough to project a win for him in Split 5. At 2-6 with these tough matchups on the horizon, I think it’s appropriate to close the door on his 2024 postseason chances. We had solid expectations from this roster heading into the season, but it’s continued to underwhelm us and Captain America.
Sledge Hammer (2-6)
Thanos brings his five-game losing streak to an end, surpassing the league average weekly score for the first time this season. While an impressive outing for his Bucs-centric roster, the victory remains somewhat hollow at 2-6.
Even taking the injuries into account, there’s just no depth on this roster to sustain it like other teams have been able to this season. This was our biggest post-draft concern as we noted in the writeup and it seems to have really shown its true colors.
He’ll be up against Bradshank and Gronk in Split 5, continuing as the underdog in both games. We’ll see if we stand corrected heading into the final 3 weeks here soon. With some bye-weeks littered across his next month of games, it’s hard to foresee where his next win will come from, if it does.
Suh-Tang Clan (6-2)
The longest win-streak of the season finally comes to an end. After narrowly extending it in Week 7 against his fellow James-in-arms, Vision couldn’t foresee the outing from Peyton’s stars in Week 8. It seems Peyton had an electric game-winning hail-Mary of his own to match Jayden Daniels, as Suh-Tang loses to CD Lamb at the finish line.
With players like Jayden and Garrett Wilson, he’s created a sustainable surge to the top of the standings. The first game of Split 5 versus the GMEN should offer more of the same success we’ve seen from him this year.
In Week 10, he’ll see a rematch against an Odell he’s already bested, albeit with a team that is scoring far more points than he and everyone else. Although the peripherals of his squad do validate much of our pre-season analysis, we’re happy to have been proven wrong when it comes to his overall record. With only another win needed in the books for his 2nd playoff appearance, congratulations are in order.
Is This Soccer? (2-6)
Much like the British Empire, this squad has fallen into absolute ruin. Is This Soccer drops 5 games to put himself out of playoff consideration. While we were proven incorrect about some of his depth, the results stayed the same in the end, as he hasn’t put in the effort to front his best team each week and make any necessary roster changes.
It looks like he won’t get a chance to correct his playoff woes this year. As the weather gets colder, his ability to win seems to freeze with it. Historically, his team is 7-21 from Split 5 through the end of the season. Taking on Peyton and Bradshank these next two games, it’s looking quite possible we see even more despair.