GFL Dynasty - Week 5 Write-Up

What planet is this?!

Mama Mia, week 5 in the books already eh boys? We're rollin right on through as we always do, and things are starting to shape up to feel mostly as we'd expect them to be. But you know that ain't the way this cookie crumbles, we still have room for plenty of surprises and wrinkles in time and space to observe. No more undefeated teams! The NFL's best, and Lake Erie Brothers both suffered their first loss in week 5. Cincinnati has a new Joe in town too! Let's check it out gang.
Well folks, it happened. Dreams of the perfect season for two teams capable of getting the task done, both coming up short just 5 weeks into the season. First it was the Eagles losing to the stampede of the Denver Broncos. I won't lie, I love seein Philly lose just as much as the next schmuck but this one did surprise me a bit. Guess it surprised the players too, leading to the star trio of Barkley, Hurts and AJ Brown to have a little chat afterwards. To be a fly on the wall for that convo, am I right fellas? But hey, at least they didn't lose the dream to their division rival, not to mention one that pained Bills fans for damn near 20 years. Ain't no other way round it, losing to the stinky Pats hurts, no Jalen. The Bengals did end up making a trade for a QB! Enter Joe Flacco, the OG QB Joe, lookin to pump some life into this offense without their star under center. The hectic week of ball came to an end with a gift wrapped Chiefs loss, with the curly ribbon on top and everything, the works I tell ya. For as much crap as I've given Trevor Lawrence this year, he did what he had to do to get the job done, and for that, we are grateful. I'll say this though, if you woulda told me before the season started that the Chiefs would be 2-3, Ravens 1-4 and the Colts 4-1 at this point, I'd have thought ya came from the future er somethin. Where even are we anymore?
Over in the GFL we're startin to see our two divisions move in different directions. The Garage being the more top heavy of the two, with it looking to be RSC fighting with the Golden Bills for first place in the division the rest of the way, while Redzone and the Sloppiest Lobsters duke it out for that coveted final playoff spot. Meanwhile the Basement continues to be a close race as it is every year, and with 3 teams sitting at 3-2 behind the 4-1 Coxsackie Calves, things are all but clear as to who can separate themselves and claim that Division title. Somethin tells me we could have one, if not even both teams missing from there ending up at .500 or better, it would certainly be one of the most Basement things to happen that's for sure. Of course anything can change with da snap of ya fingers, so if you haven't already, it's time to lock it in! Plenty of road left to clean things up.
Instead of having four teams on a bye last week, we only got two this time round, so plenty of football to be played, and hopefully not too many of your studs are on a bye this week! We can't use that excuse till at least week 8 or somethin! Let's turn up the heat and jump into the action!

sloppiest lobsters (190.12) DEF. supreme court (87.32)

GUILTY AS CHARGED! Unlike most of our PRIMETIME games so far in GFL8, this one was far from close. In fact, this was our first game of the season with a 100+ point victory! That's only the 10th occurrence in GFL history, another notch in the belt for the schedule makers. Let's dive into the stenographer's notes.

As expected when this case was brought before us, GM Sloppo and his Lobsters were found guilty of murdering Supreme Court. That being said, there was some room left for interpretation when the Lobsters lined up with 3 rookies, 2 of them making their GFL debuts, but Dillon Gabriel came up big, leading the QB room with Lamar Jackson and Brock Purdy sidelined from injuries. Rachaad White scored twice in Bucky's absence, with additional TDs coming from Saquon Barkley, Nico Collins, Deebo Samuel, Rashid Shaheed, and Travis Kelce. If that wasn't enough, kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn was actually their top scorer on the week hitting 8 total kicks for 24.1 PTS. As evidenced by the autopsy, it was a massacre.

While the verdict may not have gone their way, GM Court does deserve some credit. Despite making his first appearance on the short-list of biggest blowouts, Supreme Court has done a surprisingly decent job treading water in the Points For department. I'll be honest, I kind of expected a sub-50 PT week already, but they've done a solid job putting together some respectable lineups (when they remember to fill them) and keeping their opponents honest. Spencer Rattler had one of the best games of his young career, leading the Saints to victory without turning the ball over. Tyquan Thornton should be an exciting enough boom/bust player for them to root for. And how about AJ Barner, the late week free agent addition who had a legacy game posting careers highs in targets, receptions, yards, and TDs with 2 scores in this one. A year 2 breakout is not out of the question for this kid who has shown some flashes in the redzone.

Despite the quick, unanimous verdict from the jury, GM Court is entitled to an appeal and thanks to his friends in the big house he'll get it expedited this coming week as he completes his back 2 back with the Lobsters. I'm not sure what to expect in terms of new evidence, but they'll need a real smoking gun flip the script in this one.

Q1
After weeks of media pundits labeling you as a potential "fraud," how did it feel to take down the Basement's top contender in Week 5?
A1
"Classic media behavior. It does feel good, but, we know our opponent was pretty beat up. We're looking forward to a rematch this week. Our guys are just getting going."
Q2
You've suffered from inconsistency in the WR room so far this year, but with Brian Thomas Jr., Calvin Ridley, and Devonta Smith coming off some of their best games of the season do you think they've corrected course?
A2
"I do. We knew the start of the year was going to be bumpy, I think it's only up from here."
Q3
Sweeping the back to back vs 4th and Medium would put you right back on the league's radar as a potential contender. Who are you looking at to be the difference maker in this one?
A3
"As always, all our eyes are on the Jaguars, but this week particularly I'll be watching this connection grow between Calvin Ridley & his new QB."

primetime - week 6

Hail Gary (3-2) @ 4th and Medium (3-2)

[H2H Tied 7-7 All Time]

[4TH 4-3 vs HAIL in Dynasty]
[HAIL def. 4TH Week 5]

Here we go ladies and gentlemen, here we go. It's week 2 of the Hail Gary vs. 4th and Medium back to back and we saw Hail Gary take down the Basement favorites last week. It came down to Monday night and GM Medium is all too familiar with Monday night losses. Granted this one looked far more likely than some others he has been hit with. The Basement is looking even more like a bloodbath this year as we now have 3 teams sitting at 3-2. Every team is battling it out for those 3 spots so this matchup right here..... you already know..... has massive standings implications.

Hail Gary has been called many things in their time. A band of bullies, a fraud, a poser, a loser, you get it. This team may be all of those things who knows but the only thing for certain is they are right in the thick of this race. Patrick Mahomes knows how to win and he is in the GFL Hall of Fame for a reason. That man shows up when you need him most and Gary needs him more than ever this year with how the depth on his team is performing. Even this past week when he won three of those flex options were below 9 points. They're going to need more from that group if they want to play with the big dogs. That and CMC has to continue siphoning the health of other 49ers.

4th and Medium has had a rough go at it early this year, whether it is high scoring losses, injuries, trades they should have made, etc. it has all culminated in GM Medium handing the reigns to Assistant GM Decks for a week. With GM Medium back in the firing range, will this team show up and perform well enough to split the back to back with Gary? I know Puka Nacua will, I know Bijan Robinson will, but outside of those top 2 studs there are a lot more questions with some of these guys than in the past few years. All that being said this squad has scored the most points in The Basement and are going to have to lose a lot more in order to be dethroned as the top dog in The Basement.

As I touched on before The Basement is a bloodbath this year. Every divisional win and loss is going to stack up and I know both of these guys want to win this one bad. GM Medium hopes he can split the season series to stay over .500 and Hail Gary hopes to continue showing he is not, in fact, a fraud. See both of you GMs out on the court this weekend, I will be watching closely for those sweet, sweet standings implications.

ALSO IN WEEK 6

1PM:

Golden Bills (4-1) @ Orangeville Ducks (1-4)

[H2H Tied 3-3 All Time]

[GOLD 2-1 vs ORNG in Dynasty]

Sloppiest Lobsters (1-4) @ Supreme Court (0-5)

[SLOP 5-3 vs CORT in Dynasty]

[SLOP def. CORT Week 5]

4PM:

Coxsackie Calves (4-1) @ Rickety Stool Co. (4-1)

[RSC 3-2 vs CALF All Time]

[RSC 2-1 vs CALF in Dynasty]

Tuckahoe Turtles (3-2) @ Redzone (2-3)

[TUCK 5-4 vs REDZ All Time]

[TUCK 3-1 vs REDZ in Dynasty]

Standings/Predictions

Don't forget to head over to the Standings/Predictions Page each week to read what the writers think about your team and see how you're stacking up in the Predictions Leaderboard.

What's the Deal?

Our investigative journalists are still digging for an explanation behind 4TH GM Medium's appointing of AGM Decks as lead playcaller for Week 5. Is the pressure to perform causing this "super team" to crack?