Lizama League · est. 2011 · season sixteen · week 8 of 14

Week 8 Preview

The first seed plays the second and the third plays the fourth, and one of them is a coin flip. Benji and Oriol are separated by 0.7, with Josh Allen sitting on Benji's bench at 23.7. Meanwhile the commissioner is favored by 7.3 over the only team with a better record, which this page reports through gritted teeth.

Week 8 matchups

Projected starter totals from ESPN, refreshed Wednesday. A starter on bye projects for nothing, and eight of them are in lineups right now.

First against second

Joe · 6-1 Photofreak 117.2

Uriel · 5-2 Balrogs 124.5

Uriel favored by 7.3 · 241.7 combined

Joe leans onJaxon Smith-Njigba WR · 22.0 proj

Uriel leans onDrake Maye QB · 23.6 proj

Watch list: Carnell Tate (questionable)

Uriel by 7.3 over Joe, on a five-game winning streak and with no flagged starter, which is exactly what the person who wrote this tool would want printed here. Carnell Tate is questionable for Joe and plays Tennessee against Uriel's Bengals defense, so a Titans touchdown cuts both ways. Josh Jacobs sits on Joe's bench at 15.1 while Tre Tucker starts at flex for 10.8.

Two byes each

Misa · 4-3 Obsidians 81.1

Sam · 2-5 Mean Machine 94.1

Sam favored by 13.0 · 175.2 combined

Misa leans onJoe Burrow QB · 22.1 proj

Sam leans onDerrick Henry RB · 18.8 proj

Watch list: Isaiah Likely (bye), Eddy Pineiro (bye), A.J. Brown (questionable), Malik Nabers (bye), Kendre Miller (bye)

Sam is favored by 13 while starting Malik Nabers and Kendre Miller, both on bye. Misa is starting Isaiah Likely and Eddy Pineiro, also both on bye, and is projected for 81.1, the lowest in the league, with 82.5 on the bench and James Cook III at 18.8 in it. The bench is projected to beat the lineup, which gets fixed by Sunday or becomes a recap award.

Quarterback on bye

Dan Robot · 3-4 Dan Robot 131.9

Mario · 2-5 Stairway to Seven 85.4

Dan Robot favored by 46.5 · 217.3 combined

Dan Robot leans onJavonte Williams RB · 19.9 proj

Mario leans onJustin Jefferson WR · 17.9 proj

Watch list: DeVonta Smith (questionable), Matthew Golden (questionable), Christian McCaffrey (bye), Brock Purdy (bye)

Dan Robot by 46.5, the widest line of the week. Mario is starting Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, both on bye, with Jordan Love on the bench at 17.1. The bot is 46-30 against the field, the best all-play record in the league, for a team nobody manages.

Sunday night hope

Tayler · 1-6 Terrible Towel, Mediocre Picks 110.8

Toño · 3-4 Seitseman 132.1

Toño favored by 21.3 · 242.9 combined

Tayler leans onJayden Daniels QB · 22.8 proj

Toño leans onLamar Jackson QB · 22.2 proj

Watch list: George Pickens (questionable), Jaylen Waddle (questionable), DJ Moore (questionable), Lamar Jackson (questionable), Tyler Warren (questionable)

Toño by 21.3, with Lamar Jackson, DJ Moore and Tyler Warren all questionable. Tayler won for the first time last week and has Jayden Daniels at 22.8 on Sunday night. Tee Higgins and Tony Pollard meet in Cincinnati, so one of these two managers is guaranteed a bad hour.

Game of the week

Oriol · 5-2 Firebreathing Platypuses 112.1

Benji · 5-2 Suzaku 111.4

Oriol favored by 0.7 · 223.5 combined

Oriol leans onJa'Marr Chase WR · 21.5 proj

Benji leans onKyren Williams RB · 17.9 proj

Watch list: Ja'Marr Chase (questionable), Amon-Ra St. Brown (questionable), Brock Bowers (questionable), Emeka Egbuka (questionable), Kyle Monangai (questionable)

Oriol by 0.7, third seed against fourth, both 5-2. Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Brock Bowers, Oriol's three highest-projected starters, are all questionable. Benji is starting Baker Mayfield at 15.7 with Josh Allen on the bench at 23.7, and Deshaun Watson plays against Benji's Steelers defense in Cleveland.

Most projected

Yael · 3-4 Potatoe 134.9

Jordi · 3-4 Windwaker 88.9

Yael favored by 46.0 · 223.8 combined

Yael leans onJahmyr Gibbs RB · 24.6 proj

Jordi leans onCeeDee Lamb WR · 20.0 proj

Watch list: Jahmyr Gibbs (questionable), Braelon Allen (questionable), Nico Collins (bye), Aaron Jones Sr. (questionable), Woody Marks (bye)

Yael by 46, behind 134.9, the highest projection in the league, and Jahmyr Gibbs at 24.6, the highest-projected player, questionable. Jordi is starting Nico Collins and Woody Marks, both Houston, both on bye, with Saquon Barkley on the bench at 14.1. Potatoe has scored 879.4, second most in the league, and is 3-4; four finals have taught this franchise patience, and it deserves a week that pays it back.

Game of the week

Seven tenths and a bench

Benji and Oriol are both 5-2, the third and fourth seeds, and separated by 0.7, the tightest line on the board. Oriol's three best starters are all questionable. Benji's best quarterback is not starting at all.

0.7Oriol over Benji, the tightest line on the board

23.7Josh Allen, projected, on Benji's bench

15.7Baker Mayfield, projected, in Benji's lineup

3Oriol starters questionable: Chase, St. Brown, Bowers

One of them can fix this with a single tap before Sunday. The other has to wait on three injury reports.

Manager spotlight

Three managers nobody has carded yet this season.

Suzaku Benji

111.4 vs Oriol underdog by 0.7 · they project 112.1

Leaning on Kyren Williams, RB, 17.9 projected · vs LAC, Sun 4:05 PM ET

5-2 · seed 4L1 streakall-play 34-4334% in one game

5-2 with 633.6 scored against, the fewest in the league, and 34-43 against the field. 34.4% of the lineup is in Tampa Bay against Atlanta, quarterback, receiver and kicker, and the quarterback is not Josh Allen.

Photofreak Joe

117.2 vs Uriel underdog by 7.3 · they project 124.5

Leaning on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, 22.0 projected · vs CHI, Mon 8:15 PM ET

6-1 · seed 1L1 streakall-play 44-33

The first seed at 6-1, and an underdog for the second week running, this time by 7.3 to the commissioner. Jonathan Taylor and the kicker are both in Indianapolis against Jacksonville, the same game as Uriel's Parker Washington and Cam Little, so that afternoon is a head-to-head inside the head-to-head.

Mean Machine · 2 rings Sam

94.1 vs Misa favored by 13.0 · they project 81.1

Leaning on Derrick Henry, RB, 18.8 projected · at BUF, Sun 1:00 PM ET

2-5 · seed 11L2 streakall-play 30-472 titles27% in one game3 flagged starters

The defending champion is 2-5, the eleventh seed, two losses running, and favored by 13 anyway, because the opponent has the same bye problem. Two starters on bye and 62.1 on the bench, DK Metcalf and T.J. Hockenson among it.

Power rankings

Record and all-play combined, weighted 40/60. All-play is your record against every team each week, not just the one you were scheduled against - it is what your season looks like with the schedule taken out.

#	Team	Record	All-play
1	Photofreak Joe	6-1	44-33
2	Firebreathing Platypuses Oriol	5-2	45-31
3	Balrogs Uriel	5-2	45-32
4	Obsidians Misa	4-3	46-31
5	Suzaku Benji	5-2	34-43
6	Potatoe Yael	3-4	45-32
7	Seitseman Toño	3-4	42-35
8	Stairway to Seven Mario	2-5	42-35
9	Windwaker Jordi	3-4	24-53
10	Mean Machine Sam	2-5	30-47
11	Terrible Towel, Mediocre Picks Tayler	1-6	18-59

Fix before kickoff

8 starters on bye across four lineups: Sam, Misa, Mario and Jordi have two each.
Mario: Brock Purdy on bye at quarterback, Jordan Love on the bench at 17.1.
Benji: Josh Allen on the bench at 23.7, in a game with a 0.7 line.
Misa: the bench, 82.5, outprojects the lineup, 81.1.

Worth knowing

Carolina at Green Bay on Thursday holds 7 league starters, Yael's Bryce Young and Benji's Tetairoa McMillan among them.
Oriol starts the Panthers defense in that same game, so the tightest matchup on the board starts on Thursday.
Uriel is the only manager with no flagged starter. The commissioner would like that noted. It has been noted.
Two lines are 46 points or wider: Yael over Jordi, and Mario's against the bot.