Heinbail Dynasty League Season 3, Week 4— Whatever, I Don’t Even Care!

Week 4 feels like the official point at which it becomes hopeless for some, and no turning back for others.

If you’re 0–3, you are almost guaranteed to miss the playoffs. There has never been an 0–3 team that’s come back to make it. It’s almost peaceful coming to that realization and accepting that your season is, for all intents and purposes, over.

If you’re not…well, then Week 4 means one step closer to the trade deadline, where you have to decide if your team has what it takes to make a deep push — and if not, what you need to acquire to make it happen.

Nick’s Picks — Week 4

Bill Clinton’s Balloons (3–0) vs Bill Cosby’s Sleepers (2–1)

ESPN Line: Cosby -168.3

FP Line: -154 Cosby

HDL Line: -18.05 Clinton

Keys to the Game:

• Bell’s back! How much will they use him?
• Falcone and Chris suffering from depth issues

This is a pretty big match as Dave and Scott try to maintain their undefeated start and take a huge lead in the league. Coming off a battle for the high score last week, I really only see one team here that looks set to repeat that performance. What it comes down to at the end of the day is: Coleman probably won’t score 3 TDs, White probably will still look rough, and Crowell probably still sucks despite whatever numbers you want to throw my way.

Clinton wins 176–155.

The Mr. Peanuts (2–1) vs Jordan Cam eron Jordan (0–3)

ESPN Line: -24.5 Peanuts

FP Line: -24 Peanuts

HDL Line: -16.65 Peanuts

Keys to the Game:

• Dez being out could catapult Beasley’s production
• Head likely to start 3 rookies, all of whom could go off
• Takin’ advantage of those “no Brady Blount” points

So this is pretty funny. Last year Head went on a similar streak that led to him trading for Charles. At the time people said it could be a huge mistake because he wasn’t scoring very much, he just happened to get lucky with who he was playing.

And here we are again with Head at 2–1 and looking to probably be 3–1 by next Tuesday. And while there might be some hesitation to not repeat the mistakes of the past, there are a few reasons why I think Head could be a legitimate playoff team. Last year he was scoring almost last in the league with the fewest points against. This year he has only 3 more teams with more points than him in 3 games. This is not his 2015 team; instead this is a Frankenstein unit that, much to my detriment, has the ability to beat any team any given week and could be a legitimate playoff contender.

I didn’t talk much about this match because Head should win it pretty easily. I just find it funny how much of a repeat this feels of last year, except this year he actually has a decent team that is scoring the 4th most in the league.

Anyway, Head wins 160–142.

Fleeced or Famine (2–1) vs Jon Dorenbos’ Magic Show (0–3)

ESPN Line: -19.8 Famine

FP Line: -10 Famine

HDL Line: Famine -26.55

Keys to the Game:

• How consistent can Marvin Jones be?
• How many more players on Dorenobos’ roster can get hurt?
• Will Dez and Sammy play decoy?

Mealey has been hesitant to get too excited about his roster, but if some of his recently upward trending players prove to be legitimate, they could have a top 5 roster. Couple that with a 2–1 start and some seriously downward trending teams across the league, and Mealey is looking like as close as you can get to a lock for the playoffs. Will he hit the market to make sure he’s competitive when he gets there?

Fleeced wins 182–155

Hogan’s Heroes (1–2) vs Schweddy Rawls (1–2)

ESPN Line: -23.2 Hogan

FP Line: -24 Hogan

HDL Line: -19.75 Hogan

Brett had a solid score last week in his first win, but its hard to see a repeat of that performance any time soon. While Marino has struggled a bit, I can’t imagine many of the players on his roster (Cooks, Hurns, Crabtree) are likely to continue disappointing. He probably doesn’t have quite what it takes to make the playoffs, but more than enough to win in Week 4.

Hogan wins 168–149.

MathewsMarcus LukeJohn (1–2) vs Uhhh WATT! YEEAAHH! (1–2)

ESPN Line: -14.6 Watt

FP Line: -3 Watt

HDL Line: -2.35 Watt

This game should be pretty fun to watch. Losing Williams is going to leave a massive hole in Galante’s roster, one that he is hoping Jeremy Hill will be able to consistently fill despite not doing much of anything consistently since 2014.

On the flip side, Cleve has his own problems with disappointing runningbacks, as well as a Gronk suffering from being a decoy and not having Brady.

Add to that Galante has 3 WRs capable of putting up HUGE scores, and you have yourself a super close game.

Cleve wins, but barely — 161–158

Match of the Week

Specter Ross LITT (3–0) vs Scott Sterling’s Face (2–1)

ESPN Line: Sterling -10.4

FantasyPros Line: Sterling -6

HDL Line: Sterling -3.55

Keys to the game:

• How can Forte hold up against Seattle’s defense?
• Doug Baldwin probably isn’t actually WR7, and AROB and OBJ almost definitelty around WR25 and WR22 respectively
• Which old man will the Altbaums check out of the nursing home to fill their second FLEX this week?

QB: Specter — Gotta love Luck against Jax

RB: Draw — I’m not happy about this, nor do I actually believe it, but the Altbaum’s RBs are putting up great points

WR: Sterling— I suspect this will be the week we see just how deadly this group can be

TE: Sterling—Easy choice, Dwayne Allen simply hasn’t looked good outside week 1

FLEX: Sterling— The biggest issue is figuring out which people to play

IDP: Specter—A very strong unit unless the damn Chinese get involved again

Not only is this likely the highest total scoring game this week, it has some serious implications beyond this week as well. If the Altbaums lose they risk losing ground to Falcone and Chris who are likely to be nipping at their heels all season. If Calhoun loses, suddenly he risks being 2 games behind Mealey in a division he was supposed to run away with.

It goes without saying, but obviously neither team wants to lose. However I think this game is more important for the Altbaums, because after this they face Hallahan and Lederer, and if they dropped 2 in a row they could find things getting tight halfway through the season. Plus Calhoun simply has a much easier schedule to get through the end of the season, whereas the Altbaums will have to get through the divisional gauntlet once more.

Sterling wins 191–188, but it’s gonna be close.