Well 2 weeks in, and your resident doctor is 1-1 in his weekly matchups. At the moment, that matches up with 10 of you, in addition to 7 undefeated and 7 winless squads. We shall see if any of that changes come Thursday. But as of now, there are 2 week 3 matchups between undefeated opponents. One matchup includes the victor of last week's (correctly predicted mind you) Monster Matchup. So in an attempt not to give him as big a head as his opponent, this week's Monster Matchup will focus on the undefeated divisional matchup between the St. Louis Duffers and the Wyoming Headhunters. Although in retrospect, I guess the Headhunters wouldn't mind 2 big heads in his conference… But I digress.
This showdown consists of 2 differently designed squads. The Duffers are sending out 2 quarterbacks, 3 running backs, 4 wide receivers, and a single tight end and kicker on offense. The Headhunters are employing a 2 quarterback formation, with 3 running backs, 2 wide receivers, 3 tight ends and a kicker. On defense, the Duffers are loading up their secondary, with a single defensive tackle, defensive end, and cornerback, while sending out 4 linebackers and 4 safeties. The Headhunters are using a much different strategy, backing up his belief that the battles are won in the trenches. They are using a formation of a single defensive tackle, cornerback, and safety, with 3 defensive ends and 5 linebackers.
Each team has a strong quarterback, along with a questionable number 2. However, the comparisons really end there. The Headhunters' RB trio of Adrian Peterson, Darren McFadden, and Marshawn Lynch has been incredibly fortunate for their team. A few weeks ago many would have predicted that none of the 3 would be starting at this point in the season. However, Peterson proved that there are superheroes, and Lynch has been blessed with a lengthy legal process. The jury is still out on whether McFadden will be playing this week, as he still has to get out of bed each day, which gives him a 47% chance of his knee exploding. Regardless, these 3 should easily be able to cover the Duffers' trio of Benson, Reggie Bush, and Pierre Thomas. However, The Duffers should compensate with a stronger receiving group. Andre and Stevie Johnson, in addition to Bowe and the Steve Smith that has a resume longer than 1 line, should be able to easily outproduce the Headhunters' duo of Demaryius Thomas and Malcolm Floyd. However, the Headhunters will once again counter with a trio of tight ends against the Duffers' lone representative, although in my increasingly convincing medical opinion none of these tight ends will be the difference maker in this matchup. All things considered, the offenses have the potential to put up very similar numbers.
The defenses should end up being the deciding factor this week. Both have strong linebacker groups. The Duffers were led in week 2 by Clay Matthews' 3.5 sack performance against the Bears. The rest of his linebackers have averaged just under 20 points a game. However, the Headhunters have the edge at Linebacker, with an impressive group (trust me- I'm a doctor). The Duffers group of safeties should combine for a good 60 points, but the Headhunters should be able to counter that with their trio of pass-rushing defensive ends.
After many varieties of alternative (and often self-prescribed) medications, I took a long nap. When I woke up, the winner of this week's Monster Matchup had come to me. The Duffers should put up another solid showing this week, which they are showing is just par for their course, but it will not be enough to take down the Headhunters. They will maintain their place among the Roster Wars undefeated. And just let me know if you're ever interested in reattaching some of those heads you're collecting. I charge the best prices around.
Until next time, and good luck to everyone not playing the Pigskins this week!
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