All right, how many “old timer” fantasy readers are out there? I’m talking the guys and gals who used to mail in their fantasy rosters to their buddy, who then had to score them by hand like a baseball program. And then came Yahoo Fantasy Sports, which was like a dream come true. I kept drafting David Boston and hoping his hulking frame would bring me the fantasy glory. Then, ESPN came around, and everything kind of stagnated for another decade while fantasy managers sat on message boards and shouted at each other about Peyton vs. Eli Manning. Then, a new, brazen upstart came around: Fantrax. They didn’t have an internet search giant (remember when Yahoo was that?) or a massive Disney parent company supporting them. They were just: Fantrax. (sounds of air whooshing from my mouth, the sound of which was at one time a sound of awe and is now the sound of terrifying Covid emanation). And Fantrax wasn’t just about being a platform. Fantrax was all about having fantasy players that would join up with you and kick your ass into next Sunday. Try that, Disney! 

Welcome to the top of the Razzbowl, Mick Ciallela of Fantrax! 

Week 3 Highlights

It shouldn’t surprise anybody that Mick has been riding the fantasy wave that is Dak Prescott, who is on pace to throw for 6,700 yards and become the King of Norway in 2021. However, it’s his sneaky combination of Packer backs that has thrust him into the fantasy spotlight. Take a look at his team below: 

For those Razzbowl fans who are struggling, it’s worth noting that Mick’s team didn’t even rank in the top 10 in scoring in Week 4. He’s just been having very steady weeks powered by fellow first-teamers, Tyler Lockett, Justin Jefferson, and David Johnson. And, did we mention Robust RB? Mick clearly read the Razzbowl Guidebook, wherein I listed the fact that all the top finishers in the 2019 Razzbowl used the Robust RB strategy. Mick went ahead and doubled down on that strategy, going ‘Hyper RB’ by taking running backs with his first four picks while drafting out of the #6 spot, following with Tyler Lockett and Dak Prescott. 

That said, a modified 0RB team has powered its way into second place. Rob Norton, who flashed an Alvin Kamara/George Kittle powered team, has been riding Calvin Ridley and Allen Robinson to the second-best score in the Razzbowl. 

Last week’s #1 team, led by Joey Wright (who does, indeed, own both Frogs AND My Dinner With Andre) fell to the number three spot. He’s been giving out weekly updates on his fantasy successes on his Twitter account, and it sounds like he’s having a good year. That’s what happens when one stays away from Saquon Barkley. 

FAAB-ulous Finds

This past week, teams went hog wild for the Packers tight end, Robert Tonyan. Tonyan went for a full $10 FAAB in a Razzbowl Qualifier, and for $5 in a Razzbowl Main Event. Tonyan was followed by Tim Patricks, D’Ernest Johnson, and somehow Justin Herbert was still out there in 10 leagues.

In terms of the most overpaid FAAB in Week 4, I give that award to Mark Thomas in a Razzbowl Qualifier league, who spent $3 on Dwayne Haskins. For those of you that might be out of the loop, Haskins lost his starting job this week and will be replaced by another check-down passer, Kyle Allen. Best of luck, Mark!

And, just to tease our own JB Barry, there’s an extremely valuable player that got dropped in one of the Razzbowl Qualifier Leagues. Guess you’ll need to sort through the data to figure out who it is!

The Halfway Mark

So, the Razzbowl is a weird, somewhat pear-shaped contest that has a cutline coming up. Basically, if you don’t make the cut, your season is done and we hope you continue shopping with Razzball (try out our mango lassi, it’s great!). If you do make the cut, then you go into rounds where you have to choose your lineup every week. And, by the time you read this, the Thursday night game will have finished, hopefully nobody caught The ‘Vid, and we’ll be nearly halfway through Razzbowl season. 

If you like what we’re doing and want to support the Razzbowl and the people who organize it (Donkey Teeth) and the people who write about it (me) or any of the other people who told you how to win it (not JB, he’s keeping secrets!), then support us with an ad-free membership or a Roto membership. 

As I noted in my quarterbacks roundup, Rudy’s DraftKings DFS optimizer came very, very close to predicting the winner of the Mega Millionaire roster last week. Fantasy sports is all about odds, and doing your best to improve those odds. Rudy’s projected stack (the Dallas Cowboys) and starting running backs (Alvin Kamara and Ronald Jones/Mike Davis) would have gotten managers 80% of the way to a big pay day. With the price of Rudy’s projections being literally $1/week over a full week of the season, it’s a price that hits even when the rosters might miss. 

Good luck in Week 5!