It was the best of starts, it was the worst of starts. Some recovered well, some recovered poorly. Some had many injuries, some had few injuries. It has been a successful season, it has been a terrible season.

The Fantasy regular season is 14 weeks long, which means that we are nearly halfway to the playoffs. Our season so far has had 2 distinct phases, almost feeling like 2 micro-seasons in 1:
–In the first 3 weeks, Zac was unbeatable and Blake could do no wrong. Chelsea had a very strong start, while Jean & Joe held strong in the middle of the pack. Veronicca started winless, while Kayla & Josh struggled to put together a winning roster.
–In the second 3 weeks, Veronicca & Jean went 3-0 and Josh waivered his way out from the bottom. Zac fell from grace, Joe & Kayla have been devastated by injuries, and Blake’s luck pulled a 180. Chelsea has been reliable but not perfect.

The result? A level playing field. Jean is in the best position, but behind her there are five players at .500 and two more that are just 1 win away from even. Now in the trenches of the BYE weeks, expect the unexpected: every week the score starts at 0-0 and every game could be anyone’s game.

This is a competitive league where every single player is within striking distance of the playoffs.

Let’s take a look at the forecast heading into Week 7:

(1) JEAN – Planet earth Clueless
Record: 5-1
League Rank: 1st (previously 3rd)
What we’re seeing: a brutal collection of BYEs await Jean in W7 as almost a quarter of her roster rests. With fewer options available to her, will she be able to string together another win? It might come down to the matchup of Aaron Jones against a terrible Denver run defense.
Next: vs Josh (3-3)

(2) CHELSEA – Team NFChel
Record: 3-3
League Rank: 2nd (previously 2nd)
What we’re seeing: injuries have been creeping into center stage for Chelsea, with 3 reliable players missing time. The real matchup to watch is D/ST, where Chelsea is forced to play a strong Eagles defense against a brutal Miami offense. Immovable object vs unstoppable force–whichever gives in first will decide Chelsea’s record leaving W7.
Next: vs Joe (2-4)

(3) ZAC – Randy Savage
Record: 3-3
League Rank: 3rd (previously 1st)
What we’re seeing: Zac has a handful of the best players in Fantasy, but the drop-off between top tier to second tier has cost him 3 losses in a row. Tagovailoa, Pollard, and Hill have been monsters, but down the roster his players have averaged single-digit performances. Zac’s highs are atmospheric, but his lows are subterranean. In W7, a cocktail of injuries and BYEs threaten to leave him with a nasty hangover below .500.
Next: vs Blake (3-3)

(4) VERONICCA – Team NachoTaco
Record: 3-3
League Rank: 4th (previously 6th)
What we’re seeing: with 4 players resting and another starter projected to miss due to injury, Veronicca doesn’t have a lot of options this week. She can pull off a win if PHIL-MIA is a shootout (midweek O/U is 52).
Next: vs Kayla (2-4)

(5) JOSH – Commissioner of Chaos
Record: 3-3
League Rank: 5th (previously 7th)
What we’re seeing: more than half of Josh’s roster were not there on Draft Day, and 6 of those 9 new faces are in the top ten for their position. Early injuries forced Josh to yard sale his way into a stronger squad. A slate of favorable position matchups leans in his favor in W7.
Next: vs Jean (5-1)

(6) BLAKE – Jordan’s Love
Record: 3-3
League Rank: 6th (previously 4th)
What we’re seeing: Blake took some risks on Draft Day, and the margin call has contributed to a series of losses for his Fantasy squad. Blake’s top two point earners from the last 3 weeks were not in his starting lineup on Week 1. Explanation? An Ekeler injury and a good-but-not-great Packers offense. With Ekeler back and a slate of bounce-back predictions, Blake is hoping to claw back a winning record from a down-trending Zac.
Next: vs Zac (3-3)

(7) JOE – Terra Firma DaBears
Record: 2-4
League Rank: 7th (previously 5th)
What we’re seeing: no way around it, W6 was rough for Joe: with the lone spotlight settling on Justin Tucker’s strong vibrato at the bottom of his lineup. There are a host of reasons for the situation: injuries, unfortunate matchups, and good-ole surprises. Perhaps continued management, one or two Waiver pickups, and a change in luck (it’s got to change eventually, right?!) will help him weather the storm until Jefferson’s hamstring heals.
Next: vs Chelsea (3-3)

(8) KAYLA – Winnersville Prancing Pandas
Record: 2-4
League Rank: 8th (no change)
What we’re seeing: if Joe’s luck is bad, then Kayla’s can only be considered abysmal. Despite putting up a respectable number of Fantasy points from her healthy players, her roster can never stay completely healthy through the weekend. And now she’s looking at a week with Burrow, Hopkins, Higgins, and Cincinnati’s D/ST all on BYEs, not to mention Khalil Herbert’s ongoing ankle issues and Anthony Richardson’s season-ending injury in W5. Facing a weakened Veronicca might give some reprieve.
Next: vs Veronicca (3-3)

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I have discontinued the JB+. It was a cool idea (fun fact: it was almost perfect over the past two weeks at predicting outcomes that weren’t impacted by injuries), but the metric took way too long to prepare. Maybe some day I can find a way to more easily export data from ESPN, but until then I don’t have the bandwidth to manually export.