Yes, yes, dear readers. You are not mistaken. Last week’s installment of your favorite official Razzball-sanctioned 2021 RazzBowl Cutline Tournament Update does not, in fact, exist. I was on vacation to the beautiful Central Coast of California, sampling pinot noir and chardonnay from some of the region’s finest viticulturists. Not that you care about that! No, no — “get on with the RazzBowl Update, Steve!” I hear you yell at your screen.
Fine then. On we go!
The Waiver Report
So, something interesting — or actually, specifically not interesting — about a Better Ball format like the RazzBowl is that as we get on to this point in the season, many many teams who would otherwise be active in FAAB bids are out of money. Others have been keeping their powder dry, ready to pull the trigger on that one player they believe will see them through past the Cutline, and beyond.
This week’s FAAB activity was relatively predictable and not exceptionally interesting. Lots of $1 and $2 bids, lots of the same players getting picked up in every league: Demetric Felton, D’Ernest Johnson, Khalil Herbert, Devontae Booker. But there were a few surprises to call out:
In one league, one owner has been waiting to strike… and did so this week, bidding the full $10 season-long allotment on Kadarius Toney. The good news? They won the player! The bad news? There was no runner-up bid.
In several leagues, Kalif Raymond was snapped up for $1… in at least two other leagues, however, he was dropped to make room for a winning bid.
And finally, we have to talk to everyone in League 12. Cordarrelle Patterson was still on the waiver wire in that league. The manager who won his services this week bid the full amount — against a $2 runner up. Hard to know what people are thinking, but there are definitely still managers in that league with unspent FAAB budget…Â
Rising & Falling
Let’s take a quick look at the big movers — both up and down — on the Overall Leaderboard this week.
With a score of just over 220 points, The Athletic’s Jake Ciely had the best Week 6 in the tournament, behind huge days by Joe Burrow, Darrell Henderson, Joe Mixon, CeeDee Lamb, Noah Fant, and others. You know you had a good week when Jalen Hurts’ 28+ points end up on your bench. Jake, unfortunately, still finds himself outside the Top 100 Overall, even though this monster week also resulted in the largest jump up the standings, 99 spots to #109.Â
On the other side of that coin, the week’s weakest showing goes out to RotoBaller’s own Dennis Sosic, whose team managed just 77.9 points. Due to a combination of injuries and still rostering Cam Newton, Sos pulled down goose eggs at both the QB spot, and one RB. Better luck next week, Sos. That performance dropped him just 13 spots, however, and the mark for the largest negative rank change this week goes to Sosic’s Fantasy Six Pack colleague A.J. Applegarth, who dropped 78 spots to #138. Applegarth is one of this season’s cursed First Overall Pick players, who indeed sits and watches as CMC doesn’t suit up week after week.
Fun bit of trivia: without looking, can you guess how many managers who had the first overall pick in their drafts are currently in the Top 50 in the RazzBowl Overall Standings? Hit me on Twitter if you know. Don’t peek. Peeker.
The Top Ten
Mitch Bunker grabbed the top spot in the Overall Leaderboard after the games of Week 5, and after another excellent performance — 167 points — he has held on for the second week and remains your overall leader. Other names familiar to this column also remain in the Top Ten: Tim Heaney at #3, Bobby LaMarco at #5, Nick Spencer at #6, Kev Mahserejian at #8, Kenyatta Storin at #9, and tournament co-creator BDon sticks around at #10. Congratulations to all of these multi-time Top Ten managers: this kind of consistency isn’t easy, and it isn’t a fluke!
That leaves three newcomers: in second place, fan Robert Goldman has arrived with a 208-point Week 6 performance, thanks in large part to Kyler Murray, Jonathan Taylor, Najee Harris, and Adam Thielen. OK he “arrived” last week, but since I missed that update, this is the first time I’m seeing his name, and putting it down here.
Actually new to the Top Ten, as he moved up 8 spots from #12 to #4 this week is another fan, John Young. With Derrick Henry, Darrell Henderson, Darrel Williams, and Najee Harris at running back, it’s no surprise why!
New to this column, but not to the Top Ten, Razzball’s own THE Joey Wright moved up two spots to #7 overall this week, and Derek Carr along with a receiver corps of CeeDee Lamb, Antonio Brown, and Courtland Sutton are a big reason why.Â
Congratulations to the entire Top Ten, but remember: Top three in your league, folks. That’s what matters most. Teams as low as 85th overall are currently sitting third in their league, so don’t fixate on the Top Ten.
Until next week, readers! Cheers!
