Week 2

Over the years the debate has raged on whether the supposed Week 2 "hangover" is a real event or not... and I have to say based on 2024, the jury is still out. Coming off the unprecedented opening day points barrage, it was close to a certainty that whatever followed would be a step back, and that's exactly what we saw, although we did make the 300pt mark.... 300 right on the button in fact,  in this first round of intra Divisional match-ups.  While scoring may have been down, the entertainment value was definitely not. Two games came down to Monday night nailbiters, with both proving to be hold on wins, with OT avoided in each,  courtesy of the Falcons unlikely late show in Philadelphia. Perhaps the more improbable  of the pair was the Garthdee Gryphons holding off the Laurel Lions in the Pittodrie Division, while the 2 Minute Drillers had to watch the Arnhall Dolphins come all the way back to level the scores,  before grabbing success with the final score of the week. The defending BA Div's champions win ensured they joined the Westburn Blades as the only 2-0 outfits League wide, after Stuie's charges easily saw off the Craigo Coyotes challenge in  a big Pittodrie Div clash . The Bayler's upset win over the Lions was his first of the young campaign, and he was joined by coach Butter as the only non winning coach in his respective Division to get off the mark. In Darren's case that came on the back of a 36-14 slamming of the reeling Argyll Apaches. Over in the previous winless Granite Div , the Jesmond Chiefs looked impressive in seeing off the Caledonia Express, while the defending champion Kincorth Killers were solid in dispatching a Scunthorpe Steelers outfit that just hasn't got going thus far. Andy and Adam are the only two HC's still waiting for their first win of 2024. With two ballclubs at either end of the 100% spectrum, that leaves a meaty 8 sides sitting on 1-1 , which suggests we may be in for real nip and tuck campaign in the 11 weeks to follow. Outside the two 2-0 teams, it's the Jesmond Chiefs , Wellington Rising and possibly the Kincorth Killers who are being touted as early season favorites at this juncture. On an individual level Justin Tucker continued his climb up the all time scoring ladder reaching a career 1400pts this week , with every possibility Legatron will pass both Tom Brady* and Peyton Manning this term to be the new No 1 League all time scorer. While Wk 1 ensured we are well on track for some new aggregate scoring records this year , the actual spread by position is interesting. This week Kickers again led the way with another big weekly total, but what is going at QB ? A 42pt haul was the lowest single week aggregate since Wk 4/2010, with only 23 occasions in League history when the pot was smaller. Wideout scoring is up....so clearly we are just not plugging in the right guys. The other storyline thus far is the high number of injuries to top players. No fewer than 7 players taken in the top 30 have some sort of injury diagnosis already that means they will lose at least 1 to 2 games or more while the potential loss of Tua has significantly changed the Miami fantasy outlook. Injury is always a  factor.... but it seems to have bitten deeper this term at such an early stage. All that said, things are warming up nicely as we stick on the early season path. 12 games down...73 to go. Keep the faith !!!

 

It's Just Capital For The Drillers As London Wins It

Wideout Drake London hauls in the winning score for the Drillers.

Good day to you all. My first report of the new season is the BA Division clash between the two Minute Drillers and the Umpire's Dolphins; both teams won their first game of the season, so something had to give this week. It all kicked of on Thursday night at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and safe to say, the Drillers contingent of  'phins  - not the Arnhall 'phins, but the Miami ones...do keep up please -  failed to turn up. The highy rated Tyreek Hill went scoreless, being held to 24 yards by the Bill's D, and De'Von Achane was limited to one receiving TD. Three points to the Commish. Onto the early games on Sunday when Arnhall made short work of the three point lead when Bailey Grupe (is that not a cocktail? "one part chocolate liqueur, one part grenadine, one part Andrews Liver Salts, a dash of Domestos topped of with peel of roadkill...")  kicked five first half extra points, and the Umpire strikes back ! David Montgomery powered up the middle from the one to extend that lead, then Grupe kicked a short field goal and after the end of the early games, Arnhall led the Drillers 14-3. Sadly for Coach Sutherland, Rhamondre Stevenson remained suited in the dressing room, so his one yard TD run didn't count. (Why did you mention it then ? -Ed). Onto the late games, and indeed, the late, late game, and could Coach Compost maintain his lead ? In a word : no. The Commish was hellbent on getting career win #301, and get it he did. Kyren Williams ran in from the 4 yard line for a TD, but it was the boot of Harrison Butker that did the real damage and sealed the deal. Two field goals  - one from the 51 -and two extra points for a net 10 points, then  CJ Stroud, who has astonishing poise and patience for a QB with only one year under his belt, ended the Sunday proceedings with a TD toss giving the Drillers a very healthy 23-14 lead going into Monday nights game.... but if anyone can claw back a 9 point lead, Jalen Hurts can, and by golly by gosh he almost did. One TD run and one TD pass drew the Umpires outfit level at 23-23, and Jimbo - like the Falcons - needed a Drake London reception with 38 seconds left in the game to win. Phew. I said, phew. What does it all mean ? The Drillers move to 2-0, and face old adversaries, the injury hit Argyll Apaches. Why do the Apaches always seem to be prefixed "injury hit", just like Jimmy Greaves thought that Hamilton Accies Nil was the real name of the fitba' team? If it aint Derrick Henry then it's Lamar Jackson. Or Chris McCaffrey and Jordan Love, both now on IR. The Drillers/Apaches rivalry is the most played match up in the ALFF, and next weeks encounter will be their 58th meeting.  Aint that something? Wish I could remember who leads the RSS.  The Dolphins, who were looking for their first 2-0 start since 2017 also face Division rivals in the shape of Wellington Rising, and one of them will be consigned to 1-2....bring it on!

 

Rising Success Is Evan Sent

DB Chamarri Conner romps 38 yards to paydirt for a Welly DST score.

Thoughts that the Wellington Rising were the Week 1 victims  of the quirks of the opening day fixture were underlined in red here as coach Butter's boys posted another impressive 36pts...and this time won with room to spare. In truth this all Bon Accord Division clash was penciled in as a Welly win as early as Thursday night as the injury hit Apaches barely stumbled out of the blocks with a sub par 4pts from kicker Jason Sanders at Hard Rock Stadium but the Rising  still had to win it...and they did so, with more than a hint of aplomb. Jordan Love's Week 1 injury impacted both team selections, the Geacher forced into fielding back-up Daniel Jones at QB , while in the other war room the NZ coaching staff decided WR Christian Watson would be less likely to make an impact than replacement Jaylen Waddle. The last named was the first player in action for the Rising on Thursday night and although ultimately he put up a goose egg, just 4pts from direct opponent Jason Sanders in South Florida truly set up the " Dazzer's game to lose" narrative that became the headline as it became clear Christian McCaffrey was not suiting up for the Apaches any time soon. With CMC out , Geronimo stuck with a 4 WR set, listing  Zamir White as his lone back but Vegas were not impressed. Even allowing for the unfancied Daniel Jones outscoring his direct opponent Jayden Daniels in the season's first ALFF/NFL QB mano a mano the pundits saw few other avenues to a home side success....and so it proved. To the surprise of some ( self included) Jones did indeed win out against the scoreless rookie, throwing 2 short TD tosses but the support around him was sparse at best. Rashee Rice was the only Brave pass catcher in that 4 man formation to register on the board (44 yard TD grab) by which time the Kauri King was out of sight. Early on Wellington were best served by RB combo Derrick Henry & James Conner ( 3 and 5 yard TD runs respectively) but ultimately won out thanks to a 21pt haul from Arrowhead where kicker Evan McPherson booted 4 FG's and an XP en-route to 15(2)pts while Darren's KC defence chipped in a nice 38 yard fumble return for a TD. Nico Collins 28 yard counter in the NBC phase ( along with a single point for Geacher's Chicago DST) rounded out the scoring as the Kiwi's romped home 36-14. Week 3 hands Darren a golden opportunity to fully recover from the pain of being the only BA loser on opening weekend with a win over the Arnhall Dolphins guaranteed to see the NZ combo looking back over his shoulder at a minimum of two of their Div opponents. Their Henry/Conner duet at RB  has the look of the best balanced in the League and has the ability to carry a more experimental QB game through the peaks and troughs of rookie learning. Evan McPherson also looks to be in the groove after an iffy start  and welded to the running game will ensure the 2022 champions are one of the sides to beat this term. Before the Rising had left the Reservation the gathering gloom in Campbeltown was crashing down on coach McGeachy Snr's side  like the latest landslide on the A83. With Love out , the departure of CMC means Geronimo has lost 2 of his top 3 picks ( 2 in the top 26 picks League wide)  with less than 2 games played. Don't be shocked to see the veteran coach try something radical in an attempt to arrest an alarming early season narrative. Darren's fourth straight win the fixture give him an 8-3 lead in the RSS.

 

 

Killers Show Champion Touch

D K Metcalf outruns the coverage to bag a 56 yard receiving score for Kincorth.

The ALFF fixture computer opted to gave us a week two match between two sides who had lost their season openers. The Kincorth Killers went head to head with the Scunthorpe Steeles as both teams looked to post one in the win column. The Killers made just the one change to week one with Zay Flowers replacing Courtland Sutton as a wide man. The Steelers, meanwhile, introduced Jameson Williams and Malik Nabers as wide outs in place of Mark Andrews and the injured Puka Nacua. In came Jason Myers at Kicker after a less than impressive total from Younghoe Koo in week one. All the relevant action in this one came Sunday night. Two, big plays fired up the Killers for this one and they never looked back. Dak Prescott connected on a 65 yard pass on his way to 29 of 39 for 307 yards and 2 interceptions.  DK Metcalf doubled that lead with a 56 yard grab, This needed a reply from the Steelers and they looked to Matty Stafford for some leadership. He connected on 34 of 57 attempts for 307 yards and 2 interceptions; but crucially no points. That made a hard job even more difficult. Hall scored on a 26 yard run and rookie Malik Nabers pulled in a 4 yard pass ( his first in League circles) , but this was never going to be enough. Zay Flowers scored on a 8 yard catch and Saquon Barley ran in a 2 point conversion. The Kickers cancelled each other out. Myers hit through the uprights from 44, 38 and 31 yards as well as 2 PAT's, whilst Justin Tucker connected on FG's from 48, 42 and 32 as well as 2 PAT's of his own. That 11 point haul took Tucker past 1400 career ALFF points ; he is only the third player to manage that feat. The defending champions are off the mark and now looks at the Jesmond Chefs as their main challengers in the division. This is Andrews 6th straight win over Adam and he now leads the RSS 7-6. Week three the Jesmond outfit come calling. The Steelers are off to a slow start but have been over this course on many occasions. They will be worried about the form of Stafford and hope that this is just a blip. Week three sees them take on the Express, with both teams looking for a first winning performance. 0-3 is not the end of the world but it does make things more treacherous. This is the time when you need your star men to stand up and be counted.

 

 

AK 41 Guns Posse Down

Alvin Kamara canters in to score on a 57 yard catch and run for Jesmond.

The Jesmond Chiefs might have been on the wrong end of Week 1 turkeyshoot but it was all sweetness and light in coach Potts Snr's first intra Division match-up as the rookie HC swept to a big 45-24 over the stalled Caledonia Express and improved to 1-1 , thanks largely to a vintage dose of Alvin Kamara. The Wick based head honcho resisted the temptation to make any sweeping changes to the side that lost that high scoring season opener, but there were places in his starting line-up for Najee Harris at RB2 and Zach Ertz at WR. The more experienced Mini Mac had more to demand in terms of improvement from his side  but similarly opted for minimal tinkering, Week 1 SOW candidate kicker Brandon Narveson getting the nod ahead of the more seasoned Daniel Carlson. The pre-match analysis pushed this as a tight, close contest but very quickly it became obvious that that would not be the case. A trademark 5 yard TD scamper by RB Alvin Kamara at Jerryworld was followed by a 57 yard catch and run (to paydirt) by the League single game scoring record holder and that was just the start as the supposedly washed up ball carrier went on to add two further rushing TD's (12 and 7 yards). With specialist Cameron Dicker weighing in with a nice on average 8pts in Carolina (2 XP's and 2 a pair of 40ish yard FG's) and the Jesmond total was quickly soaring. WR Davante Adams added three more with a surprise late 1 yard score in Baltimore and Uncle Alex's completed a stunning early Sunday session with 39pts in the bag after his Cleveland D capped a domination of the Jaguars offence with a handy safety to boost their total to 4pts. With Lamar Jackson only able to effectively tie with opponent Davante Adams thanks to a single 8 yard strike the Posse were already in an early Sunday  hole that just was too deep to climb out of. Debutant kicker Brandon Narveson did give his coach something positive to focus on with a triple FG (46, 42 & 34 yards), 10pt contribution but a double blank at RB snuffed out any faint hopes the Express could come blasting right back at their Divisional rivals. Rookie Marvin Harrison's stunning scoring brace performance in the late Sunday window was another nice moment or two for coach McConnachie the Younger but with 2pts from his Denver DST, a final total of 24 was All She Wrote for Andy's boys. Two Patrick Mahomes scores for the Chiefs (both ALFF & NFL) gave the scoreline its final 45-24 look. They might "only" be 1-1 but the Jesmond Chiefs are already being touted as one of a small bunch of early season favorites with the defending League champions the Kincorth Killers their biggest hurdle to getting that Granite Div title they owned in successive prior seasons back on the Jesmond flagpole. Their 78pts thru 2 games in best in the League and all the more threatening in the more consistent manner they have been gained. Alvin Kamara is not going to go gangbusters every week, but Mahomes will surely step things up after a slowish start and Dicker has the promise to provide a consistent weekly foundation. The Posse slide to 0-2 and now face an early "must win" match-up with fellow GDiv strugglers the Scunthorpe Steelers in a testing Week 3 encounter. Looking a little deeper the Boot Hill mob did drop back a fraction this time out, but in reality they are not that far away. The problem right now is QB Lamar Jackson , who is yet to get balling.... but with no viable back-up coach McConnachie Jnr is wedded to his top pick as things stand.

 

 

 

Tua Much ?? QB Switch Bites Lions

George Kittle 7 yard TD grab was huge in this contest.

Kia ora, fit lyk and welcome in to the 4th and Forever ALFF recap with your host/guest writer, Stuart Bothwell. A little foray away from the podcasting medium and into the fantasy football recap world under the 4AF banner. Darren Butter shall not be joining me in this sure to be horrendous display of wordsmithery, as he is too busy indulging in his favourite pass-time of losing to me in various other fantasy football leagues. To the matter at hand then and week 1 marked the first set of intra-divisional match-ups, including the squeakiest of squeakers between the Not-So-Magnificent Bayler Boys and the Hapless Hamiltons; It's Gryphons VS Lions! After a lacklustre start to the season for Joey Burrow out of Cinci, the tables were turned to Tua to take the lead on Thursday night in what would prove to be a game-changing decision. Tua got off the mark with a 3 point pass to De'Von Achane, however, the Dolphins signal-caller was concussed AGAIN on a scramble up the middle and was out indefinitely from the 3rd quarter onwards. This was counteracted by Tyler Bass's 4 PATs and a field goal to total 7 for coach Donnie. On to Sunday and the Gryphons' Josh Jacobs was getting an absurd amount of touches and yards, but no tuddies. CeeDee Lamb broke out of the tackles of two defenders to take it 65 yards to the paint. For coach Jamesie, Travis Etienne breathed a little life into proceedings with a 4 score from 4 yards out. Into the later games and in the surprising Niners loss to the Vikes, Jake Moody came back down to earth with 2 PATs and a boot for 5 points to the Laurel Boys, which was near-neutralized by George Kittle's first TD of the year for Garthdee. With the contest poised at 19-14 heading into Monday Night Football, the Lions would have been hoping for a roar from DeVonta Smith and their Philly D, however, they produced a bit of a beta-level grumble. Smith did his part with AJ Brown out of the line-up, grabbing a TD on a toe-tapping 7 yard strike. Now here is where things get a little interesting with the new defensive scoring rules : The Eagles defence actually enabled the Lions to TAKE THE LEAD in this one at one point, then as points added up, it was reduced to a tie, before their points contribution was nullified entirely, handing victory back over to the Crimson one and his crew with a score of 19-17. Looking back over the weekend, coach Hamilton will be rightly rueing his decision to move from Burrow to Tua. Had he stuck with the Blonde Bombshell (Can we call guys that? Sure we can. It's 2024!) then he would have netted an additional 3 points and snuck the victory. Instead, it's a surefire contender for sleeper of the week. James still has the RSS 13-6 at this point, but it's not quite gone all his own way in recent contests. For a rundown of the week that was, the week that will be and some general nonsense in-between, go to https://fourthandforeverfootball.podbean.com/ or search for the 4th And Forever Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Radio Rhynie,...pretty much most places you get your podcasts, and look for the orange logo. Not the other ones who stole our name. ACCEPT NO PRETENDERS!

 

Coach Rooney. We Have A Houston Problem !

Blades WR Justin Jefferson completes his amazing 97 yard TD scamper.

It looked on paper like the Week 2 Game of the Week but it proved to be just another day at the office for Youngblood as his Westburn Blades cruised to 32-18 triumph over Week One poster boys the Craigo Coyotes to snatch an early one game lead in the Pittodrie Division scramble. The tie was poised nicely at 18-13 in the Mangy Dogs favor as we hit an intriguing NBC finale in Houston, but an array of Coyotes starters could not move the needle at all when it mattered most and the Blades cashed out as kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn put the home side on easy street with his record setting second successive triple FG outing. The Thursday omens did point to a Westburn success story as Craigo QB Josh Allen was held to just a 17 yard score in the TNF action at Hard Rock and the lucky white routine gathered momentum ahead of Sunday kick-off when CMC's surprise IR injury definition allowed Stuie the luxury of promoting stashed RB Jordan Mason ahead on injury doubt Kenneth Walker. Isaiah Likely got the nod ahead of D J Moore at the former NZ outfit's  WR3 slot. Coming off a record setting 55pts on opening weekend there really wasn't much coach Rooney was needing to alter, but a fit again Brandon Aiyuk was too shiny an object to pass over and the addition of the WR was the only thing of note in the final Coyote line-up. If Week One was like a can't go wrong night on the fantasy pinball machine then this time round was more like playing a dodgy coin pushing machine at the Carnie's for the Angus based combo. Other than kicker Brandon Audrey, who posted another impressive 15(4)pts, it was nothing but zero's on the Mangy Dogs card with Jerome Ford, Brandon Aiyuk and the Baltimore DST all coming up empty. Coach Bothwell Jnr got a nice 12pts combined in the Twin Cities including a remarkable 97 yard TD grab from WR Justin Jefferson that preceded Jordan Mason's 10 yard TD run setting up that Houston showdown mentioned above between the Coyotes Texan trio of Joe Mixon, Stefon Diggs Tank Dell and the Blades FG artist Fairbairn. As we saw that all went Youngblood's way.... and he now sits along with the Commish as one of only two side at 2-0. If there is a problem at the new Knife Drawer it's the continued slow start for QB Jared Goff ... and maybe just a little over reliance on his kicker at this point... but surely its a matter of time for either/and or Goff and Jonathon Taylor to find their respective grooves. With Jefferson showing he can ball with Sam Darnold throwing him the pigskin and Jordan Mason likely a long term starter, then the rest of us need to get worried about Westburn's potential. It was a classic big score comedown for coach Rooney. Josh Allen didn't have to get out of 2nd gear in Miami, so his "dip" is nothing to be concerned about while his Texans squad were actually facing one of the League's tighter defence's in Da Bears. There is no need to panic... but that Week 3 clash against the Lions has a game of destiny feel about it. Stuie now leads the RSS 4-1 having swept the '23 series.

Sleeper of the Week

Coach Geacher the Elder thought his 18pt miss on Derek Carr was a week 2 shoe in for SOW.... and it would have been had the Monday night finale in the pivotal Lions v Gryphons tie not panned out the way it did. Coach Hamilton's decision to start QB Tua Tagovailoa ahead of Week 1 selection Joe Burrow only cost him 3pts... (3pts scored instead of 6) .. but those 3pts could loom large in the final Week 13 picture in what promises to be a titanic Pittodrie Division struggle.

 

Play of the Week

Justin Jefferson (Westburn Blades)  came very close with his eye catching 97 yard score.... but ultimately he squeezed out by QB Prescott (Kincorth Killers) 65 yard scoring toss to CeeDee Lamb (Garthdee Gryphons).

Player of the Week

No contest here. It was almost like a blast from the past as RB Alvin Kamara (Jesmond Chiefs)  ran with poise and pace en route to a 4 TD , 24(3)pt effort. For the record the 4 TD's that earned the rock carrier the Week 2 Player of the Week came from 5, 12 and 7 yards on the ground with a 57 yard scoring reception coming after the 5 yarder. 

 

Stats All Folks !!

 

Justin Tucker (Kincorth Killers) reached 1400 RS points with his 1st FG (48 yards) at Baltimore on Sunday.  He is the first Kicker to that mark and the 3rd player overall (Tom Brady*, Peyton Manning).

 

Ka'imi Fairbairn (Westburn Blades) became the 1st kicker in League history to have back to back games with 3 bonus FG's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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