Vampire League – Week 5 to 6

The madness continues. Games moved and games postponed for a second week in a row. Did our Count mount the offensive during the chaos?

Week 5 saw Stormula come up against the main man himself: Murf, and his Vampire Hunter Henry squad. The Vampire was coming in strong, and the scoreline was looking bleak for the commissioner. But could his depleted squad mount a valiant effort and defeat the demonous Daywalkers?

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

The Buccs fell to the might of the Bears on Thursday night, and perhaps this was a sign of things to come as Tampa Bay are obviously Murf’s team. He had their defensive unit in play for the TNF game, and they did pick up 7 points for their efforts. I interception, 3 sacks and a forced fumble gave a little boost. But the 20 conceded points took the shine off their achievements. On the Daywalkers, the recently pilfered Mike Evans battled back from an injury to provide the Count’s team with the lead heading into the Sunday games. His 5 catches for 41 yards and a touchdown may not have helped the Bucs to victory. But it certainly gave Stormula the edge into the weekend. 

SUNDAY NIGHT GAMES 

A slightly reduced schedule came into play, and with Aaron Rodgers out of action, Murf’s replacement Carson Wentz was forced to the front line. His 2 touchdown and a 2 point conversion game did give a decent 19.42 points. But the Vampire has access to the wire, and he brought in Ryan Fitzpatrick for the matchup – sacrificing Cam Newton for the week. And what a change it was. 350 yards and 3 touchdowns for the hairy veteran. That accounted for 27.6 points. So the Vamp had the victory in the QB department.

A returning Le’Veon Bell was the best that Murf’s lineup could muster. His 60 yards on the ground and 1 reception for 7 yards gave 7.7 points. And again, the season’s injuries have led to gems being found on the waiver wire. The Daywalkers put out Mike Davis – already becoming a legend in his own right – and he cleaned house. 29.9 points – the biggest point score in the contest. 89 rush yards and 60 air yards. Not to mention his receiving touchdown. James Robinson continued his appearances for the Daywalkers with another 9 points. Austin Ekeler left unable to play, he was left out there as a space filler for Vampire Hunter Henry.

Stormula also some extra players taking part on Sunday, due to the later games. But some weren’t able to help as much in stretching that lead. Greg Olsen managed only 1 reception for 20 yards – a disappointing 3 points. Jason Myers was the only kicker playing due to the VHH kicker being on bye week, but only kicked three extra points for an extra 3 points.

However, the Vampire’s defense paid out. And what a return the Colts DST had. One forced fumble, one defensive touchdown, 2 interceptions and 1 sack. 12 points for a DST is a big thing in this league! 

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Tight Ends saw only one player compete – and it was in an area where VHH did manage to pick up the positional victory. Jared Cook bagged himself a touchdown on his return from injury. His 52 additional yards gave him a solid 13.2 points. With only the one game left to go, the Daywalkers led 99.6…to 47.32.

TUESDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

At this point, the Count’s actual points were well ahead of Murf’s predicted points. This was a foregone conclusion. There were just the formalities of who the Vampire would pick. And, of course, there were three players left to play for pride. Or perhaps, showing off to their new master?

John Brown, the last remaining player on the Daywalkers, didn’t play. So that put the ball firmly in Murf’s court. And his Wide Receivers, Stefon Diggs and the returning AJ Brown, did their hardest to close the gap. Diggs caught 10 of his 16 targets for 106 yards and 20.6 points. Brown caught 7 of 9 for 82 yards and a touchdown. But those 21.2 points added to Diggs’ were not quite enough. The gap closed to just over 10 points – but that’s where it ended. The Vampire claimed another victim for the record, and another minion for the Daywalkers.

And thus the Count’s devious scheme came into focus. The Vampire’s ability to use the waiver wire allowed him to draft Brown in before the weekend’s fixtures. And, knowing that he had a sizeable lead, he placed Brown in as a patsy, ready for the swap. It was the plan all along. And, as one Buffalo Wide Receiver went out, another one came in. Stefon Diggs was the new recruit to the army of darkness.

So the Vampire stands in 5th place, at 4-1. But who will he face next. The answer lies directly above him…

It’s the fourth place Razor Sharp Fangios.

My team. 

VIC-TORY FOR THE DAYWALKERS?

The Razor Sharp Fangios (Fangios for short) lost their first game last week. The reorganised games and the bye weeks hit the team hard and they lost the kicker and the defense. Only one of the available players, Derek Carr, are on bye week this week, so there could be a chance for the team.

The only available Quarterback is Kirk Cousins who, after a slow start, has picked up the pace. Also in the team is Cousins’ main man Adam Thielen – who has benefitted from that recovery. The Fangios RB group seems to be one of the only teams in the league who hasn’t been affected by injuries or COVID. Joe Mixon and Miles Sanders are the lead backs, with Devin Singletary and JK Dobbins around as cover. The Wire Receivers see Thielen, Robert Woods and CeeDee Lamb form a formidable trio – but fourth receiver Courtland Sutton has been ruled out on IR. Second Tight End Blake Jarwin also faces a season on the sidelines, so Tyler Higbee has been the ever-present Tight End stand in. Brandon McManus is the kicker, and the Green Bay Packers finish off the Fangios lineup. 

It will be interesting to see the outcome of this match. Now that Stormula has got a plethora of pieces at his disposal, could it be a conundrum of too much choice? The Count has been thinking about some solid strategy, but could there be scope for overthinking now?

One thing’s for sure,

You don’t count out the count!

Rob @CowsillRob