Codes’ Corner
Beast is for real?: Beast’s fit in PML was questioned pretty early on as he hasn’t been very active and missed his first games set time (he missed another one but the reason seemed valid so) in his first game he looked pretty good but lost to Greeny. Which raised more eyebrows… however he’s done a great job bouncing back and is on a 3 game win streak beating players like Kingmike, Vet (who was on a streak at the time), and Deebo. He’s looked pretty dominant while doing so, Josh Allen has an 11-5 TD-INT ratio which is solid for a first season in PML. He plays Tbandit next week, let’s see if he can continue his streak.
Cammy wasn’t a product of Burrow: last cycle a lot of people said cammys success came from burrow. However we saw when burrow was benched/hurt/suspended that Cammy can get it done with the backups. Yet the critics were not moved by that and wanted to see more. 4 weeks in and Cammy/Baker duo is leading the league in passing yards, 3rd in TDs, and has minimal turnovers. I don’t wanna jump the gun too fast, but I think cammy is on his way to beating the Burrow merchant allegations.
Island cam taking over PML: Kingmike even though he’s 0-4, has started a new trend in PML… the island cam. It’s basically where you change the camera as if you were player locked when using a cornerback/safety. Kingmike got a lot of backlash when first using it, but then Wimmy and Z used it and people started to open up to the idea. Wimmy even got a pick 6 with it and the chat went crazy. However, I think it’s trash… it gives you no benefit/advantage over the normal cam and if anything puts you at a DISADVANTAGE. I think kingmike is paying Z and Wimmy to use the cam so people get off the “Mike is tanking” wagon. I’m onto you baldy
FanDUM
Joe Montana: Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to another segment of Gridiron Emotions! Where I travel around the league, fanbase to fanbase and take a look at how fans around the league are feeling in regards to their team. Last week we covered a variety of fans, we saw just about everything. From depressed fans, to ecstatic fans, and even some stalker fans. This week, we kick off the show with Brandon. Brandon, coming from Vegas. Who seems to be going through a roller-coaster of emotions with the Raiders this season. Talk to be, B. What’s going through your mind, as your team sits at 1-4.
Brandon (Las Vegas Raiders Fan): Joe, I’ve been following this team since my early twenties. Now I’m in my early thirties. I’ve never been as confused as I am now, the rate we’re going this might be more confusing than the Henry Ruggs season, and we even made the playoffs that year! I’m being told by analysts around the league that we should be tanking and are. I don’t get why, we have one of the best coaches in the league and a solid roster that Coach Mike can work with, yet we’re 1-4? Maybe one win was all we needed to get the season back on track. I don’t know, Joe.. This league is too competitive for us to be 1-4, and this far behind in the race. It’s starting to look like I put more time into my outfit and face-paint for games than Coach Mike does for his team in practices.
Joe Montana: Listen, thank you Brandon. We’re all confused as you are, how this team is struggling with one of the better coaches in the league. Maybe the tank for Caleb? Who knows. All I know is that we have better things to focus on than deprived fans in Las Vegas. Moving on, if I’m reading correctly, we have Jonah. Jonah, from Baltimore. Jonah, how are you feeling man? You must be feeling good. That’s two in a row for your ravens now.
Jonah (Baltimore Ravens Fan): Hey Joe! Thanks for having me. To be honest, things were looking dark. Real dark, at the start. We paid Roquan and Lamar the bag, neither have looked too crazy and to be honest.. Still don’t. So, Coach A-Rod has to fix that up. But overall? Considering the games we dropped, and in the manner we did. I couldn’t be happier, the season remains alive at 2-3 in a tight division. Hopefully we can keep this winning streak going to keep a chance at the division alive.
Joe Montana: Thank you for the words Jonah. We’re wishing you and the Ravens the best going forward with the season, great squad and would be unfortunate to not see them succeed throughout the course of the season. Up next, our second to last caller for the day, we have Darnell. Darnell, claims to be a Rams fan. Not your typical type of fan though. I’ll let Darnell explain that part. Darnell, take it away.
Darnell (‘LA Rams fan’): Well, you see Joe. The thing with me is, I’m just a Rams fan for this season. How does that work, you may wonder? Well, it’s quite simple. Where my first-round draft pick in fantasy goes, that’s where I go. Simple as that really. Last year it was Mahomes, year before that was CMC, this year it’s Kupp. So, go Rams! Coach Cook is doing a great job, getting his players open and winning games. Because apparently we’re supposed to suck, so keep doing what you’re doing Cook. I would like a little more Kupp productivity going forward, he was good this week but always room for improvement. He’s the guy for your success man, keep finding him. Otherwise, if Kupp projects downwards in-terms of stats. You lose a fan. Take that how you want, Coach Cook.
Joe Montana: Well, ladies and gentlemen, if there’s one thing I can promise you will find out all sorts of things about modern day fans on this show. Today, we discovered Darnell and how he feels in regards to his new team in the Rams so far five weeks into the season. To wrap off this week’s segment, we bring you a rare sighting from Detroit, a happy fan, in Kyle.
Kyle (Detroit Lions Fan): Man, you’re totally right Joe. It takes a lot to get some happiness in Detroit in terms of sports, but man are we getting just a glimmer of it right now, this season. Best part yet, it’s carrying over from last season. Where we just missed the playoffs. It’s so good to see our team finally being somewhat relevant. I’m thirty eight, two kids and a wife. The last time I saw thing team have a winning season, I might’ve been in high-school learning about my body in health class. So it’s good to see us finally heading in the right trajectory. We’re a young team, with lots of potential and just need to execute on it. I’m hoping we can see greatness sooner rather than later.
Joe Montana: So sweet. Almost made me shed a tear, please don’t break these Lions fans hearts, Detroit. Well folks, that brings us to the end of another episode of Gridiron Emotions. This time around most of the fans seemed to be satisfied five weeks in, with how their teams are doing. Quick shout-out, we want to give to the Eagles for picking up a win last week before getting throttled again this week. You know, a glimmer of hope for the fans over there after last week’s reactions but, we’ll see how everything unfolds going forward. And, with that folks – that brings us to the end of yet another jam-packed segment in the Unified Power Rankings. My name is Joe, you already knew that though – take it easy.
Chargers (4-0): Codes is the last unbeaten team in the AFC, it’s a nice way to head into the bye week but during the bye week, the Chargers need to dial up some defensive plays to stop the rush because they are currently ranked 27th in the league.
Rams (4-0): Suddenly at 4-0, Donald and Kupp look like they’ll be Rams for the rest of the season as Cook will now turn his attention to a deep playoff run. Pretty sure we all expected this.
Cowboys (3-0-1): I mean, nobody wants to tie. But the Cowboys showed out against one of our top users week 4. Granted there is a roster disparity playing the Patriots, these are prove me games for Drama and the Cowboys train keeps on rolling and each week more and more are jumping on.
Seahawks (3-1): Seahawks head into bye week sitting pretty at 3-1 before games against the Bengals, Cardinals, Browns, Ravens, and Commanders. Must be nice.
Vikings (2-1): Captain Kirk had nearly a perfect day as The Vikings roll over the Panthers. Two takeaways. Chandler only getting 5 carries after some big performances l- and Jefferson taking a backseat to Addison and Oliver. Nevertheless the Vikings forced Bryce Young to throw the ball 45 times, which is always a good thing in Madden.
Packers (3-1): HypeMike just turned Aaron Jones into an Xfactor with wrecking ball and jukebox. Scary times in the NFC North for sure. Defenses will have a difficult time scheming up a way to stop this offense.
Bills (3-1): Beast has shaken off the rust adding onto his three game winning streak. Josh Allen is looking very accurate and is averaging over 300 yards per game through the air. Dalton Kincaid leads the team in receptions and his name has been dropped as a player to watch for rookie of the year.
Texans (3-1): Houston.. Do we have a problem? No one, and I mean no one expected Kingke to lose to the Steelers. It’s only one loss though and as we’ve seen so far this season, he is miles ahead of the competition in his division.
49ers (3-1): The 49ers are not getting the credit they may deserve. Why? Because the winning margins aren’t enough to satisfy everyone given the talent on the roster. At 3-1, I think they’re just fine. The ‘Prove Me Bowl’ takes place week 5 against the Cowboys. Lets see who’s for real.
Patriots (2-1-1): We have our very first tie of the cycle, which is better than a loss, but I think we will see this tie come back to impact playoff standings late in the season. New England is going to make the playoffs, check on that in a few weeks.
Browns (3-1) Heading into the bye week, Mali is 2-1 in the division, the loss last week to the Ravens hurts, but he’s still 3-1, which is impressive. However, he can’t let up on his division mates. Coming off of the bye, he plays 3 out 4 games against the NFC West, this will tell us how his team matches up against quality competition.
Dolphins (2-2): Miami has to be upset with themselves this week after losing a close game to Buffalo. They are absolutely killing it on the ground, but Tua has been unable to really move the ball through the air. When he has been asked to pass the ball, he hasn’t been a reliable factor and eventually Miami’s one pony offense is going to fail them late in the game.
Steelers (2-2): Curt has been extremely impressive the past couple weeks taking down two former playoff caliber coaches. He has looked sharp in the passing game and his decisions on defense have made sense, he’s calling plays that fit the scheme of his defense. He has an opportunity against the Ravens this week to get ahead in the division race.
Saints (2-2): I was firm on my stance that JC would walk away with the division every season. The consistency just hasn’t been there as they dropped games to the Panthers and Buccaneers this season- divisional games at that. Season is still young but those are games that Saints needed to win. They head into Gillette Stadium as 3.5 points underdogs against a hungry Patriots defense.
Buccaneers (2-2): Cammy pulls the upset and takes down JC and the Saints who were coming off a victory against the Packers. People better start putting some respect on Cammys name as he is proving last cycle wasn’t just a fluke. (Better Cammy? Now we’re on track).
Chiefs (2-2): Another loss to an opponent that Kansas City was expected to win against, can Matigy play to his opponent, or is he overlooking some of the coaches in PML? Whatever the case, he can’t lose to many more if he wants to contend for the division.
Jets (2-2): Who are the New York Jets? We have seen them lose two in a row and bounce back to defeat an opponent that was expected to win by double digits. Aaron Rogers, in all his wisdom was able to pull the wool over the eyes of Patrick Mahomes last week, good for him.
Falcons (2-2): Coach Nef was beating himself up after ‘playing the worst game or the season’. His expectations are high and his self accountability is through the roof. Has a chance to climb back above .500 against the Texans this week. Word on the street is they’ve labbed a lot this summer. Lets see who learned more- or who hid more.
Colts (2-2): CB has the number one ranked defense against the pass and he was able to keep the game close against the Rams, I think if he finds a way to consistently score more than three touchdowns a game, we’re going to see the Colts compete for the AFC South.
Commanders (2-2): They gave the Eagles their first win of the season while playing absolutely terrible after a failed 4th down conversion. That conservative play calling is what propelled the Commanders the first 2 weeks of the season. They didn’t take the points, aired the ball out, and paid the price.
Bears (2-2): Jefe loses in what many were calling the ‘Tank Bowl’. As far as the game went, the Bears win a nail biter against the Broncos in a matchup between two top users on a rebuild. This could ignite Jefe as he looks to transform from a koala to a bear and make a push after a medicore quartermark of the season.
Jaguars (1-3): Bandit is finally on the board after securing a close victory over the Falcons this week. The Jaguars have been playing one-sided football so far in four games. They have a top ten defense, but offensively, they struggle to move the ball down the field. Once they get their offense going, expect to see the Jaguars in the playoff race.
Lions (1-3): Fallen has gone through a difficult stretch of the schedule with a 1-3 record. He has a 4 week stretch now of winnable games that could throw the Lions back into the mix of things if they’re able to clean up on the this.
Eagles (1-3): Eagles speed options his way to a win. Count em, not 1, not 2, but 3 speed option touchdowns inside the redzone. Will be interesting to see what Eagles user will do since they’ve patched the speed option. Tough game ahead against Cook and the Rams.
Ravens (1-3): Baltimore Raven fans are not accustomed to losing and so far in his career, Lamar Jackson has more wins than losses, so Arod needs to pull it together and bring this beloved franchise some more victories after defeating the division leaders this week. The Browns are going to be their toughest competition in the division, so match them in wins versus common opponents, and we’ll see the Ravens in the playoffs this season.
Titans (1-3): Dlloyd has some weight lifted off his shoulders after getting his first victory of the season.He has a chance to double up this week when he takes on the Colts. Will Levis looks like the guy in Tennessee, so the Titans should trust the hot hand of the rookie to help them string together a few more victories.
Broncos (1-3): Sitting at 1-3, DK is really simulating the real life Broncos. Turnovers didn’t plague Denver this week, it was inaccurate passes and the inability to punch the ball in the endzone or convert points in the redzone. You have to be able to put points up on the board to win close games.
Bengals (1-3): Another close loss for the Bengals in heartbreaking fashion and Joe Burrow has thrown 11 interceptions and is on pace for 46 interceptions on the season. Goose is going to have to run the ball more and give Joey B a break, ranking 26th in the league in running the ball is not ideal.
Panthers (1-3): The Panthers sit at 1-3, while the Bears sit on a potential top 5 draft pick. The offense isn’t necessarily playing bad, it’s more the defense holding them back as they’ve given up a league high 41ppg. That is tough for any offense to keep up with.
Giants (1-3): 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The Giants are struggling with Daniel Jones under center as they have now dropped two straight. The offense ranks amongst the bottom 4 in all offensive categories. I know this team was in a rebuild, but I thought we had hope in the Giants competing for a wildcard berth.
Raiders (0-4): It’s gotta be tough for Raiders fans. Seeing Derek Carr traded to New Orleans and then bringing in Jimmy G, there was some slight hope before the start of the season, but no one could have predicted this kind of start. The Raiders are the last winless team in the AFC, and it’s looking dreary for them this week because they have to take on the Green Bay Packers, good luck.
Cardinals (0-4): Believe it or not, the passing offense ranks number 9 in the league. The defense is playing at a top 5 level. Overacheiving? They have no wins to show for it, but Ques gotta like how the young kids are playing as they audition for roles next season.
