Tumultuous final week of offseason brings dramatic week 1 rematch

In the weeks since the draft, the Horsemen locker room had been quiet. Quiet in that there wasn’t any drama and everyone was going about their training regimen and getting to full strength – and quiet in that Le’Veon Bell wasn’t cutting up and giving us sneak peaks of his latest sub-par rap release. There was never any inkling of a thought that he might not make it in before the big week 1 rematch against Strictly Southern… until suddenly all they had was doubt. Due to concerns that he might be overworked this season, he decided to play some games that might alter the prospects of an undefeated season for the Horsemen – and would potentially sit out one or many weeks.

But, as has been the case for the three straight championship seasons, it’s just next man up.

While it would be fantastic to have the 2nd highest scoring running back in franchise history… and while Le’Veon would surely appreciate the opportunity to score another 23 points to surpass Matt Forte as the greatest of all time… the flex roster spot now appears to be up for grabs between a strangely white running back , a longtime Horseman receiver and a 2 tight end set.

This week will also mark the debut of big-time new Horsemen acquisitions of Cam Newton and Leonard Fournette.

Strictly Southern has also seen their share of drama this off season. In April they sent DeAndre Hopkins packing to 3rd and Unpredictable in exchange for a bounty of players: DeVante Adams, T.Y. Hilton and Christian McCaffrey. And as the summer approached, rumors began swirling that the player they acquired in exchange for Dalvin Cook at the trade deadline to shore up their lineup for a run at the championship may have been involved in a home invasion robbery of his ex-girlfriend. They call him ‘shady’ for a reason. They would also exchange Dez Bryant for JuJu Smith-Schuster in a post keeper trade, sacrificing a 2019 keeper spot, but looking like a genius when Dez would eventually be released by the Cowboys. And up to the final week of the preseason they still weren’t done – acquiring broke down Greg Olsen for Marvin Jones and sending OJ Howard to free agency to bring on Jared Goff.

It may seem like a bunch of unnecessary moves for a team that just reached the championship, but they appear more primed than ever to make a run.

Nah, not really.

Despite losing arguably their best player, the Horsemen are 16.2 point favorites marking the 24th straight game in which they were favored to win.They are currently projected with a 72.4% chance of victory by ESPN.

In other action…

• Straight Laced @ Dangerous Angels – Despite a heated battle, we will not get to see our first expansion victory. Behind a massive day by Eric Ebron, the Laces emerge victorious.
• Heavy Pistols @ Drunken Aces – Another opportunity for an expansion victory will disappoint. The Aces are a truly terrible franchise, but not nearly as terrible as the Heavy Pistols aspire to be.
• Extreme Baby Throwers @ Closet Hillbilly – The lord giveth and he taketh away. While they lost McKinnon for the year, they were gifted a starting run back through Le’Veon’s absence and the Closet Hillbilly will roll XBT in their first matchup as Dainty South competitors.
• 3rd and Unpredictable @ Nosebleeds – In the game of the week, two Dainty North powers will take this one to the wire with Unpredictable beginning their season on top and the Nosebleeds fighting from behind again.
• Legs With Holes @ Bumpy’s Berries – Worst team ever, meet decent team. If there was ever a team that might go without a victory it is this year’s Legs With Holes as they build for 2020. They may squeeze one out at some point this year, but it won’t be in week 1.

 

The playoff picture remains wide open as it often does when no games have been played.