Another week down, and we have only three weeks left until our season comes to an end. Time really flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?

I know we just finished a wonderful, democratic convention of rules deciding, but I have one more for you all. What I'm here to do today, before we get into the newsletter, is to convince you all that a 6-man bench should be adopted with the IR slot next year.

How I learned to Love The 6-Man Bench

I trust you all know that I only want what's best for this league, so hear me out. I did some analysis of how much we've used the bench since 2019. I categorized players into four categories: Starters (defined as starting at least half the games in that season), Bench Players (defined as starting less than half the games in that season), Defenses/Kickers, and Duds (defined as being on a roster but never starting for that season). I looked at how many of each category have been on rosters.

From there, I derived the typical roster composition of a team by taking the average number of each type of player per team over a season, and scaling it for a 16-man roster.

What this graph is saying is that, in any given week, a team can be expected to have 10-11 players on their roster that are Starters or Bench, 3 that are a Defense or Kicker, and the other 2-3 are players are Duds, simply filling a roster spot, never to see the field. Why, I ask, would we not mitigate this crime? Not only would a 6-man bench increase waiver quality, thus giving all teams more options to improve based on their needs, it wouldn't take away from roster quality at all. Theoretically, even with one less bench spot the chances are that there would still be at least 1 Dud on a roster at any given time.

So, that's the roster itself, but what about who actually makes it to the starting lineup? There are 90 starts per week (9 per team), 1,350 (or 1,260 in 14-week seasons) per season.

As displayed in the chart above, 78% of the starts come from Starters or Defense/Kickers, and only 22% from the Bench. Not only would reducing the bench to 6 improve waivers without sacrificing roster quality, it would also have a minimal impact on a team's actual starting lineup.

Gentlemen, I trust you have heard me out with the strong attentiveness and respect that I know you all honor me with. We don't have to decide now, let it fester in your mind. Ask your wives, girlfriends, parents, pets, see what they think, but do not let this proposition go gently into the good night. Thank you, and have a good day.

Newsletter Stuff

Annyyyywaaaayyyssss let's do this shit. Collin edged out Mike in a close battle of the top teams, Garrett's playoff odds took a blow, Hurts won Austin some cash, and the playoff dream stays alive for ya boy lets gooo. Also as of typing this, John Luke is projected to win the top score weekly cash reward, which would mean everyone officially made some money back this year. If he doesn't win it, I'm leaving this here just to remind him what could have been. Finally, Tyler, you are the weakest link (of the remaining Survivor pool, that is), goodbye.

Tuesday morning edit: Congrats JL, you didn't blow it. Also, as of now there are a billion different combinations of wins/Top5s left, so I can't really break down playoff odds yet, but look for that next week maybe (even then it's like 60 million so still maybe not, I'll play with it).

Playoff Hunt

Three weeks left, 6 points on the table for every team. A lot of the scenarios/locks depended on Monday night's results, so it's early and if there are some errors forgive me, but here's what I'm tracking.

• Collin has >6 points over the 5th place team, and secures his playoff spot
• Mike has 5 points over the 5th place team, and can secure next week, TK (4 points over) can secure with help
• Austin has 2 points over 5th place, and currently owns tiebreakers over both Jake and Tyler (but plays Jake again), but lost the season series against John Luke and Ryan
• Jake, Ryan, and Tyler, and John Luke are all 2-3 points below 4th place and well in the hunt
• Garrett is down 4 points from 4th place and needs to be perfect and then some to have a chance
• Nathan is, officially, eliminated from playoff contention

100 watch

99 Wins

• TK

98 Losses

• Garrett

Recaps

Jake 130.04 - 129.5 Nathan (Game Score: 85)

That's what I call a revenge game baby. Recall in week 3, when Jake lost to Nathan by .26 points because of fucking Javonte Williams (a game that spurred Nate to change his team name)? Well the roles were reserved this time, with a .54 point victory going the other direction. It was a nail-biter though. Michael Pittman Jr and Matthew Wright combined for 29.1 on MNF to compliment the 20+ point games from James Conner and Amon-Ra St. Brown, but it was juusssttttt short. Jake's production came from the top of his roster, with Kyler Murray (28.24) and Austin Ekeler (25) doing the bulk of the leg work. Nathan's season may be over, but the win and Top5 from Jake launch him to 5th place and well within striking distance of a playoff spot with Garrett, Tyler, and Austin left to play.

TK 145.2 - 116.86 Garrett (83.1)

TK needed this one. Despite scoring the 2nd-most points in the league, including scoring the highest on 3 different occasions, with 9 Top 5s, TK has been at or below .500 since week 6. Those losses have kept him below Mike, but this week TK broke the barrier and pulled into a tie for 2nd thanks to Collin's win. TK can thank four 20+ point games from Lamar, Justin Jefferson, DK Metcalf, and Nick Chubb for his big victory, and looks like he has a spoil of riches with Garrett Wilson putting up 26 on the bench as a WR4/5. Garrett can at least thank Justin Herbert giving it his best on a 34-point outing, but both RBs combining for 6.6 was just not going to cut it when facing off with someone who puts up 140+. Garrett's playoff hopes are hit hard, and he'll need a miracle to make it now.

Ryan 121.32 - 147.06 John Luke (81.6)

Christ John Luke you better be offering Josh Jacobs some special massages after this one. 51 points is good for the 3rd most points scored by a RB since 2019, and it helped John Luke finally win some money on the year after 11 grueling, cashless weeks. Ryan didn't even have a bad game, but damn what is he supposed to do against 51 fuckin points man? Ryan has seven players break 10 and Josh Allen put up 32.92 and Ryan still lost by 26 points. That's just bad luck at that point. Ryan and JL both are vying for a playoff spot, but they face different journeys. Ryan has the top two teams queued up over the next two weeks while John Luke has the bottom two.

Tyler 104.02 - 142.42 Austin (73.5)

Tmo Tmo Tmo... Champions can't flounder on the big stage like this. Tyler sat in 4th place and had the opportunity to fight off one of his chief competitors, and put up a limp dick 104. 5 players scoring under 10 and only Geno Smith (23.32) breaking the 20 point mark wasn't near enough to top Austin, who had seven players get to double digits, including 35.82 from Jalen Hurts to win the weekly challenge. Tyler's road is a little rocky, with high-scoring TK next and a hot Jake team after that before he closes out the season with JL. Austin's is even worse, with #2 Mike and #3 TK on deck before a big week 15 matchup with THE WARRIOR, JAKE.

Collin 121.8 - 120.7 Mike (72.3)

In this battle of top teams, Collin juuussttt barely managed to hold off Mike for a 1.1-point victory, but I'll be damned if Miles Sanders (33) didn't give it his best shot on Sunday night. Collin, who had a down day for his high-scoring team, was crushed by an almost instant exit from Travis Etienne (0.3), had to wait until Monday night to determine the fate of his Top 5 point, but the win secured his spot in the playoffs. A strong performance from Collin's whole bench bodes well, seeing how Kupp will likely not return due to the Ram's poor performance on the year. Mike, who sites 5 points above 5th place, should secure a playoff spot in the next two weeks, barring a complete collapse, but the playoffs run through House Ramsayer right now, and Mike finishes the regular season 0-2 against him.