FLoF Bowl (week 1)

I am going to make at least an initial stab at the prediction for week 1. I will revisit with a revised version of my positional observations and my prediction after this weekend (yes, it is a cop-out).

Drow vs. Dynasty

Drow begin the defense of their title this weekend, with a back-to-back appearance in the Big Game. Including this game, the Drow have now appeared in 5 FLoF Bowls, winning 2 of them to date.

Despite being in their inaugural season, the Dynasty is heading to their first FLoF Bowl.  The recent addition of Payton Manning will make this team a tough out, although some holes in their roster could be a real concern.

Initial positional observations:

QB – Brees (Drow) vs. Manning (Dynasty): Advantage – Dynasty. Brees has a great matchup at PHI. It has all the makings of a high scoring game, but N.O. worries me on the road, where Brees has been less than stellar. The weather could make a difference here as well. On the other side, Manning has been epic this year. Regardless of the opponent or location, I’ll give the advantage to Peyton.

RB – Lynch (Drow) vs. McCoy (Dynasty): Advantage – Dynasty. This one is hard to call as the opponent for Lynch hasn’t been determined yet. I could change my mind here, but I do know McCoy has been great this year, and he is presented with a great matchup at home, and if the weather is bad, McCoy could see a good bit of action. I think Lynch could be big at home if the right opponent comes to town – if I’m Drow I’m rooting real hard for the Saints this weekend.

WR – A.J. Green (Drow) vs. V. Davis (Dynasty): Advantage – Drow. Here is where the offensive advantage for Dynasty starts to even out a little. Green has a great matchup this weekend, and the Drow do have another WR (Decker, Cobb) to start. On the other side, Davis has been good, and he also has a good matchup, but I don’t think he is a better start than Green, never mind the fact Dynasty to date doesn’t have a second starter.

K – Prater (Drow) vs. No one (Dynasty): Advantage – Drow. Easy call. Drow has one, Dynasty doesn’t. Was sort of surprised Dynasty didn’t bother with one. There are some to be had. However, even if he does add one for next week, I still like Prater better.

DF – Wagner, Trevathan (Drow) vs. Burfict, Kuechly (?) (Dynasty): Advantage – Push.  All these players have had ups and downs. Too close to call here.

DB – E. Thomas, Berry (Drow) vs. Reid (?) (Dynasty): Advantage – Drow. Both players for Drow have been solid, sometimes even stellar. Reid is okay, but nothing special. Dynasty also doesn’t have a second DB in there either.