The horror…the horror…

Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz recites these words before his death in Apocalypse Now, which many historians consider to be one of the more accurate depictions of the Vietnam War. Football is a simulacrum of war, of the battlefield and of attrition. For every victory, there’s a loss. Healthy finishes are balanced by tough injuries. For every career started, there’s a career on the fritz. And it all plays out on our TV and is discussed on social media. Were you a bit embarrassed the last time you stubbed your toe, or slipped on some ice and fell, or biffed it at the gym? Now we’ve got the 8K 120 FPS hyper-zoom of injuries to the likes of Jerry Jeudy. We’ve got Aaron Rodgers crashing in real-time, his State Farm commercials reminding us of what could be if Rodgers went and hosted Jeopardy or did insurance commercials full time like Peyton Manning. It’s OK to lose the love of the game. It’s OK to admit your mortality. It’s not OK to look at Jordan Love and blame him for your downfall. For every commander that wins a battle, there’s another commander that loses. And what we’re left with is a story of the winners — but nobody’s perfect. 

Let’s get everybody caught up on the stats and slates that made the news for Week 1 of the fantasy football season. As we go through, I’m going to focus more on players that you might want to add — you don’t really need me to recap Patrick Mahomes, do you? (If you do, please tell me)