Date: 9/13/17
Mitch Little Director of Communications
Email: littl2me@dukes.jmu.edu
Twitter: @mitchlittle15
Game Recap
Things started off quite bleak for the Las Vegas Spades as they saw running back Kareem Hunt but up a whopping 48-point performance against the Patriots on Thursday Night Football. Luckily their top QB Tom Brady put up a dreadful 6.68 points, so the Spades still had hope. Hunt’s performance appeared to be insurmountable as the Sunday games came and went the Spades were still down over 20 points with two players remaining for both teams going into Monday. The Spades stud quarterback Drew Brees was one of those players however and with him on your team, you can never be counted out. Brees had a weak first half putting up less than 10 points. He came back strong however and finished the game with 32 points, giving the Spades there first lead in this fantasy showdown. The Fuegos needed the Broncos defense and running back CJ Anderson to outscore Spade’s receiver Demaryius Thomas by 11 points to regain the lead. Thomas put up a solid 11 points however and The Fuego’s final two players were only able to manage 12.8 points combined. After a lopsided start the Las Vegas Spades came back with a 147-136 victory.
Matchup Preview
- The Patriots usually boast a strong defense, but they started off on a sour note in 2017 giving up the most points to any fantasy Quarterback and running in the league. Fantasy superstar Drew Brees will try to capitalize on the weak secondary and put up big numbers this week.
- The Spades look forward to the return of Dolphins running Back Jay Ajayi, who was unable to play last week due to Hurricane Irma. Ajayi was the first running back drafted by the Spades and should have a big impact
- There was a switch at defense for the Spades this week, after Pittsburgh fared well against the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. They will go with the Oakland Raiders defense who has a plus match up against a weak Jet’s offense.
- The Honolulu Honey Badgers also have a new player in their starting lineup who missed last week because of the Hurricane. That player is receiver Jarvis Laundry, who has been one of the NFL’s top slot receivers the past couple seasons.
- Antonio Brown lead all receivers in fantasy points and yards week one, and the Las Vegas Spades hope he keeps that up this week with a tough match up against the Vikings defense.
- The Spades made a potentially significant waiver pick in running back Kerwynn Williams, who will replace pro-bowler David Johnson, who is out 2-3 months with a wrist injury.
- Dak Prescott looks to become the first QB in NFL history to throw 5 or less interceptions in his first 500 pass attempts of his professional career. He currently sits at 498, so if his first 2 passes are not intercepted by the Broncos on Sunday, the record is his.
- Mathew Stafford had a huge game in week one but is up against an elite Giants defense this weekend. The Honey Badgers saw Stafford have success against a tough Arizona secondary last week, and will hope he can continue that trend on Sunday.
Las Vegas Spades Season Notes
- Picked up running backs Kerwynn Williams, Tarik Cohen and receiver Cooper Kupp who was added to the lineup for this week’s matchup.
- No injury updates
- The Las Vegas area was awarded more than 2.4 million dollars by the federal government for their anti-terrorism efforts.
- The people behind the construction of the Raiders future stadium in Las Vegas are meeting this week and talk is they are trying to speed up the construction process.
- An armed robbery took the police on a wild chase that ended up with a handful of arrests and the recovery of over twenty stolen guns, a grenade, marijuana plants and prescription pills.
- The unemployment rate in Las Vegas rose to 4.9% in August, from 4.7. Still good news however, as that number is significantly better than the 5.5% the city was at in August 2016.