Week 4 with the Master

Week 4 is here, signaling the arrival of bye season.  After an abysmal 2-5 (5-9 overall) record in week 2, there were discussions between PSAS PR department and Sun Tzu's deputies.  Neither parties revealed details of these discussions, and social media was buzzing with speculation.  It's clear that Master Sun is eagerer than ever to prove his might.  Time to get serious.  No more pictures of pretty women, folks!

UPDATE (9/26): Blockbuster trades are more common in PSAS than in real football.  One took place on Wednesday between Commish and Colonel.  Arian Foster and James Jones enters the Poupon bottle, while rising star Gio Bernard and Brandon Marshall join the bankerz.

(2)  TakingTigerMountain (3-0) vs (4) BldgDW3LL1NGTh1nk1ng (2-1)

This is a matchup highlighted by Brees-Graham vs Romo-Dez.

The Mountain is back at a familial spot atop the rankingz after TTM inked the highest scoring total of this young season in netting a whopping 150.99 points despite Spiller recording a negative point and Jared Allen dropping a goose egg.  The Brees-Graham aerial attack once again delivered, and Antonio Brown finally connected with Big Ben in scoring over thirty points.  It's hard to imagine that Daniel's crew can keep this up, however, with injury questions and vultures looming around Spiller and Matthews.  Bernard Pierce can lose his touches any time with Ray Rice itching to get back on the field. 

BDT escaped a scare Monday night in beating out Monique and the Girlz.  They rode out Chicago defense to the max in week 3, despite Finley starting his bye one week early.  Dez is clearly Romo's boy this season, providing the philosopherz with a solid foundation.  For this week, the boyz desperately need Ray Rice to play against the meshy Buffalo defense not only to take away touches from Bernard Pierce but also to fill the bye-week voids left by DeAngelo and Finley.  Willis McGahee and Scott Chandler just won't cut it.

-TTM by 8

(1) Polk High Panthers (3-0) vs (2) HomeSpunNeckBloodz (3-0) (headliner of the week)

One of these teams will taste defeat for the first time this season in week 4. 

Megatron and AJ continue to carry the Panthers on their shoulders.  Gradually they are getting some help on the ground.  Fred Jackson stuck his tongue out to the owners that dismissed his value again, and BenE-G is putting up numbers despite Gio Bernard's emergence in Cincy.  Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez didn't connect in week 3; with HSNB breathing down the neck, the Panthers need the Atlanta duo to come through.

The perpetually underrated Bloodz may finally get the recognition it deserves if they can defeat the Panthers.  The task is somewhat daunting this week for the spinnerz.  Many of their starters have injury concerns or are losing touches to returning starters.  It looks like the owner is toying with the idea of benching Cutler in favor of Andy Dalton.  Some favorable titrations are also required here to maintain undefeated status beyond this weekend. 

-PHP by 2.5

(7) Dijonnaise All-Stars (2-1) vs (11) The Goslings (1-2)

Expansion Bowl features two teams that had their streaks ended in week 3.  Colonel Mustard's seedlings finally were punchless in their first loss.  Fitz-Marsh-Cruz trio were underwhelming, as was A-Rodg.  Colonel also left some significant points on the bench.  At least, Gio Bernard is looking like a solid starter week in and week out.  Consistency is the issue moving forward onto the bye season, and the Colonel faces a difficult task of finding A-Rodg replacement for week 4.  Their backup QB as of now is Weeden.  Ouch.

The Goslings celebrated their long-awaited first win in PSAS in week 3.  They clearly have an upward momentum now with Bilal Powell looking to be the feature back for the Jets.  Shady McCoy continues to shine light in Philly.  Once Luck establishes an elite fantasy status, the Goslings may very well turn out to be the gem of this expansion.     

-Goslings by 4.5
UPDATE (9/26): Colonel Mustard took on an overhaul of the roster, and they sent their budding star Gio Bernard and Cutler's boy packing to the commissioner's office for Arian Foster and James Jones.  On paper, the value seem to be there, and anytime you acquire a top 5 running back it should be good.  However, Gio has a greater long-term value in this inaugural dynasty season than Foster, who's touches are more threatened than ever.  James Jones is facing his bye, so he's not available to show us which of his performances (dud, stud or middle of the line) is his true self this week.  The good news is that at least he'll be done with the bye.  Still too many questions.  If I were to grade this trade, the Mustards get a C-minus. 

(8) Tusken Raiders (2-1) vs (6) ThePelicanBrief (1-2)

The Sand People dismantled Lyfestylez in week 3 despite collecting total of 0.5 points from their kicker and team defense combined.  Jamaal Charles is still running and catching, and Cameron Jordan is emerging as the offensive weapon of the Browns.  Thief receivers can put up big numbers, and RGIII is ripe for picking.  Things are starting to bubble in the Planet of Two Suns.

The Brief struggled to score points with Hakeem Nicks held to a goose egg in his return to hometown Charlotte.  At least he and Eli are poised for a bounce back.  There are still injury concerns brewing here.  Chris Ivory and Vernon Davis are both favoring their hamstrings.  Their backups are consistently inconsistent.  Oh, and Randy Cobb is on a bye. 

-TR by 4.5

(10) AEthernauts (1-2) vs (13) Pr1m0rdi4lLyfestylez (0-3)

These two teams haven't gotten off to ideal starts to the season before heading into the bye season.  A win here is crucial not just for the psyche but to keep the playoff hopes alive.

The space travelers got a jump start thanks to Eric Berry's pick-6 on Thursday night and never looked back in their decisive win over the Trix in week 3.  Their 128 points outing was the second highest scoring of the week, despite having four players score 1 point or less (including two goose eggs).  DeMarco had a monstrous game against the Rams (26.9 points).  Cam Newton also had his best game of the year.  Now he and Steve Smith are on a bye.  Alex Smith is certainly not as dynamic as Cam, but he has proven that he can win games in SF or KC.  Can he do the same for the Nauts? 

As for the Lyfestylez, only if they had a tight end!  Well, things in PSAS are never that simple, but it's at least a starting point.  They have a bunch of handcuff running backs on their roster, and it may be time to sift through the list in search of a tight end help.  With bye weeks already here, avoidance is certainly the wrong tactic. 

-AE by 8

(5) GrossmanSachs (1-2) vs (12) Trichotillomaniacs (1-2)

Both teams are looking to end their two game losing streaks.  These two teams are perpetually predicted to be one of the highest scoring teams yet has been consistently underperforming during their losing streaks.  

This looks to be the same QB match up as the one in the making in Mile High City, with Mike Vick poised to start his first game for the Trichs following two consecutive single-digit games by star QB Colin Kaepernick.  Yes, Kap is being benched, and rightfully so.  Vick had his worst game of the season so far in week 3, yet fantasy wise his legs more than compensated for the pick-6 he threw in his 15-plus pts performance.  Things didn't look good in SF, as Vernon Davis was held out of the game and Kap clearly lacked receiving targets other than Boldin, resulting in fantasy points more fitting for elite LB than average QB.   The comfort in the Far East is that often RBs are a good hedge for QBs in fantasy football.  Frank Gore finally showcased his elite running skills in the first quarter before the Niner's amusingly failed to hand the ball to him in the second half.  The Niner's have admitted they made a mistake and reiterated their intention to utilize Frank the Tank to max in the coming weeks.  Adding that to both MJD and DMC scoring TDs to compensate for their respective lack of rushing yards, and finally the General can rest Stevan Ridley on the bench.

The commissioner's side was on the wrong end of the Toyota Tundra Blowout of the week in week 3.  TTM scoring over 150 pts aside, the Bankerz was once again underwhelming, failing to crack 100 points in the collapse.  The commissioner must be sweating a bit, as it's hard to pin point what's really going wrong here.  Manning and AP are stellar as ever.  Their receivers are at least being targeted and scoring well above goose eggs.  Sea Bass and Pittsburg defense have much room to improve, considering their reputation, but they are essentially role players  Arian Foster is the big question mark here.  He looks like he's finally healthy, yet increasingly Ben Tate is being thrown into the Houston lineup more by Gary Kubiak. 

-GS by 2.5

UPDATE (9/26): All good things must come to an end, and it came sooner than expected.  AP/AF running back tandem was possibly the best that PSAS had ever seen.  Apparently the commish was tired of worrying about the Foster issue.  The office sent him packing to the Dijon Land along with James Jones on the bye for another RB/WR pair.  In comes Gio Bernard, who's future looks to be bright as the starz.  Still, he's a rookie in a similar timeshare with BenE-G in Cincy, so it's a downgrade for the moment.  The dynasty's long-term upside, however, is immense, plus they get a bonus roster-fill for the bye week.  Good move, commish, B-plus.

(9) Phat Girlz (1-2) vs (14) SanFranciscoFerries (0-3)

Another match between two underperformers to wrap up this week.  Too early to play for pride, but both teams need a win here to avoid doing so in the near future.

Monique's girlz came within points of an upset in week 3, and seem to have the pieces to fight through this bye season.  They still need D-Bowe to produce points as long as breakout receiver Cecil Shorts continues to play for Jacksonville.

SFF has been hit by injuries in the last couple of weeks.  Things may finally be looking brighter in the infirmary.  Bush seems set to play this Sunday, and Lacy is coming back after this week's bye.  Words out of New England is that Gronk is also close to making a return this week, although we won't find out until a couple hours before game time on Sunday.  Ferries released underachieving TE Celek, so it looks like they are rolling the dice here.

-SFF by 2.5

Sun Tzu is a former headcoach of the Trichotillomaniacs.  This season, he has been providing weekly PSAS matchup analysis for ESPN Far East