Panic Meter

(Nothing in this post was created using any sort of generative AI)

We are just under the halfway point in the regular season, meaning it's time for a check in with every team and see if they should be panicking. Each rating out of 10 (10 being the absolute highest level of concern) will be based upon a number of factors, including but not limited to, preseason expectations, current record, points for, points against, and injuries. These factors will contribute to teams with the same or similar records having different numbers on the scale. Let's see if you should be panicking about your team.

Coke Withdrawals - 2

The Coke Withdrawals are currently tied for the best record in the league at an impressive 5-1 and even have the tiebreaker in points for giving them the top seed. The Withdrawals have been led by several key players including Josh Allen, Bucky Irving/Rachaad White, Javonte Williams, DK Metcalf and Tucker Kraft. These guys have been very productive and consistent for this team putting them into the top 3 in the league in points scored, a big reason for their 5-1 record. This team should have almost no reason to panic, except for one small area of their team. I feel as though the wide receiver position has been a little weak for them. DK Metcalf has been very good, but aside from him, no wide receiver has been as consistent as him. Zay Flowers has had some very good weeks but a couple single digit point weeks give you less confidence about starting him every week (especially without Lamar Jackson). Jakobi Meyers was one of the big offseason acquisitions for this team, but hasn't had a double digit point week since week 2. Hard to feel good about starting a player that rarely gets to 10 points. Elic Ayomanor started off hot but has since cooled down, and the reverse is true about Josh Downs who is starting to heat but still not fully confident in starting him just yet. This team has been great through the first 5 weeks and does not seem like they will be slowing down, but if there is anything they should worry about, it would be some wide receiver depth.

PoohShiesty9 - 3

Another 5-1 team that has very, very little to complain about. Some people might say they are frauds, or have gotten lucky with the lowest points against in the entire league (full 50 points less than the next team), but that is not what I would say. This team has had two big injuries that has hurt their points for, Tyreek Hill and Lamar Jackson, but they still have the star power to will them to wins. Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Kyren Williams, Travis Etienne, and a pleasant surprise in Keenan Allen have all been performing well enough to get this team 5 wins through 6 weeks. There have been some struggles though. Brock Bowers has not been the same player with Geno Smith at quarterback, and Jerry Jeudy and Travis Hunter have not been good enough to fill in as flex options or during bye weeks. While Dallas Goedert has been amazing this season, this team still has some holes with their flex depth, and their running back depth as well. With Austin Ekeler unfortunately going down for the season, this team only has Ray Davis as a backup/fill in for bye weeks, which is less than ideal. I gave this team a 3 because despite their success, running back depth should be a real concern for management. If one of Kyren or Travis goes down, they could be in some real trouble.

The Pollard Express - 4

This was the hottest team in the league during the first month going 4-0 in September, but have cooled off going 0-2 in October so far but the panic meter shouldn't necessarily go crazy right now. The big reason for the fall off this month is the injuries that are piling up. Quentin Johnston, Dalton Kincaid, Garrett Wilson, Emeka Egbuka, and DJ Moore have all gotten hurt during the last two weeks. This has been devastating for the team leading to the two straight losses and even putting up a low 118 points in week 6. The main reason not to be too panicked about this poor injury luck is the depth this team has, and the amount of talent at the running back spots. Despite all those injuries, this team is still starting Jamar Chase and AJ Brown, with players that have a decent floor in Wandale Robinson and Hollywood Brown. Even with 4 injuries to wide receivers, this team still has the depth to have 4 more starting, that is crazy depth. In addition to the depth, this team has stellar running back play with two of the best fantasy RBs in Devon Achane and James Cook. To add to that depth, Tony Pollard hasn't started many games but still averages 12 points on the year giving another decent floor play every week to keep this team stable. I gave this team a 4 on the panic meter because while they can easily bounce back from the 2 losses, the injuries are surely concerning to the ceiling of what the team can accomplish.

Njigbas In Paris - 4

Voted the best team in the league during the offseason is not off to the hot start they wanted. 3-3 and 4th in the standings isn't bad, but with some things happening with the roster, there is some reason to panic. Let's start with the good. Josh Jacobs, Jaxon Smith Njigba, Drake London, and Trey Mcbride are balling the fuck out. All four of them have a chance at being the #1 player for their position. With those 4 in the lineup, it's hard to bet against this team in any given week. Team will get even better with the reinstatement of Rashee Rice off his suspension. He will surely give a big boost to this team that it so desperately needs in the flex spots. Now for the concern. Chase Brown is completely useless without Joe Burrow at QB. Chase is just not a good enough talent to overcome the poor play from the QB (Browning and Flacco), along with the poor offensive line they have. Until Joe Burrow returns, Chase will continue to have poor weeks. In addition, Isiah Pacheco has not been what I predicted at all. My hot take was that he would be a top 10 fantasy running back this year and that looks awful through 6 games. Averaging a measly 8.25 points per game simply is not enough for a team with championship aspirations in this league. Lastly, Breece Hall has been solid but is quite limited by his team. Justin Fields is not a good passing quarterback and defences can focus on stopping the run more. Breece has managed a solid 14.3 points per game with 3 different games of at least 18.5 points but has 2 games in the single digits. Breece is too inconsistent to be a reliable RB2. This team will ultimately be fine and will make the playoffs, but I think the running back room should be addressed before it becomes a bigger problem.

Rome Wasnt Built In a Day - 0

For a team that came into the season with zero expectations, being 3-3 after 6 weeks is like a 100th percentile outcome. I had very little reason to believe my team would be sitting 5th in the standings and even 4th in points for. This team has seen a breakout in Rome Odunze, Jordan Mason take over the Vikings backfield, Jake Ferguson become a god without Ceedee Lamb, Waddle return to form with Tyreek Hill out, a Deebo Samuel resurgence, and Rico Dowdle turned into Ladainian Tomlinson for 2 games. This team has gotten quite a few breaks to go their way to help them get to 3 wins, but major weaknesses are still present. The running back room is disgustingly bad with Jordan Mason, Rico Dowdle and Rhamondre Stevenson as the main 3, and Jordan Love is still not the franchise QB this team needs. Despite these weaknesses, this team has surpassed expectations by so much that there is not reason to panic over anything related to the season outcome. Playing with house money at this point

Welcome to the Naberhood - 2

The Naberhood is sitting pretty with a 3-3 record and currently in the playoff picture at 6th. A respectable top 5 in points bodes well for this team continuing their success, despite a devastating injury to Malik Nabers. The Naberhood still has multiple elite point scorers in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Bijan Robinson, Quinshon Judkins, and even Baker Mayfield and JK Dobbins have been scoring really well this year. This organization should be feeling great after winning 3 straight games putting themselves in a good position to compete for a playoff spot, but there are a couple small things to worry about. Obviously, losing Nabers early into the year really hurts this team's potential and leaves the flex spot open to lesser players but they've seemed to push through that adversity. The other thing to note is that Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet are splitting touches and snaps in a way that completely ruins both players. Neither of them can be confidently started as long as both of them are healthy and that will hurt this team as long as they are playing together. Other than that, this team should not be worried at all, elite guys are scoring points and that's what really matters for this team.

Tony Dorset - 6

The reigning champs have come into this season quite slow for what some were projecting them to be. A lot of that can be attributed to the really poor injury luck this team has had. George Kittle, James Conner, Omarion Hampton and now Puka Nacua might be missing time. Having 3 to 4 players of that caliber miss time is brutal for this team especially when some of your better players have not been performing to their capabilities, i'm looking at you Saquon. Saquon currently sits at RB12 on the year averaging 16.2 per game (16th), which is quite far from what we just saw him put up last year. This drop of 8 points per game has been quite disastrous for a team that needs him to be elite to stay afloat. Currently sitting at 3-3 and one spot out of the playoffs, the management should be panicking a little bit over the roster underperforming even with several key players missing (Jake Tonges has been a very good fill in player). If Puka has to miss a game this team will be forced to rely on Chris Olave and Xavier Worthy to fill in those points which will be hard to do. I could see this team moving one of their two first round picks this year to try and upgrade a position or get another player in to help them compete right now, but something should be done to try and improve the struggling roster that is only 7th in points for (1st last season).

CMC Revenge Year - 8

Starting out 2-4 after making it to the finals last season is surely a disappointing start for this organization. Team name proves to be correct as Christian McCaffrey is having a huge bounce back season as the RB1 through 6 weeks. Roster is also being carried by Jonathan Taylor who is the RB2 right behind CMC creating a nasty duo that terrifies opponents. The part where this team is struggling, is the two young stars from last season not performing to their potential. Ladd McConkey and Brian Thomas Jr. were putting up monster performances last season, but are now struggling mightily. They are right next to each other in points as WR 25 and 26 on the season but have only eclipsed 20+ points once each and both have multiple single digit performances. The ceiling is not where people had projected it, and the floor is much lower as well. This, along with the inconsistent performances from Davante Adams and Courtland Sutton have added to the struggles this team is facing. This team is 8th in scoring this year, and the panic should be real for a team that was expected to compete this year. They should look to make some drastic moves if they want to be back in the finals once again.

Mahomies Over Mahoes - 4

A 2-4 start is certainly not ideal for the team I said would make the playoffs this year. Tee Higgins had been ruined with the Joe Burrow injury (Flacco might change that), Devonta Smith is inconsistent on the mess that is the Eagles, but other than those two this team has good players. Ashton Jeanty has shown he can be great even on a bad team, D'Andre Swift and Jaylen Warren have proven to be valuable players, Travis Kelce still has some juice left in the tank, and George Pickens is like a god out there. For a team that is 9th in points for, I am still optimistic for this roster. Pickens' production might dip a little with Lamb coming back, but I believe they built good chemistry during the last few weeks that he should still be quite productive. Higgins and Smith are reasons to be worried about the team, but everything else has been a big positive. I think if this team finds a way to upgrade from Smith and/or Higgins they could very well be in playoff contention.

Skattebeast - 10

This is as bad as it gets. 0-6 is a historically bad start in this league and just two losses away from tying the worst losing streak in league history. Derrick Henry has been very bad for his standards, Terry Mclaurin was bad for a couple games then proceeded to miss the next 3 and maybe more, Chuba Hubbard got injured (and maybe lost the workhorse role), and Trey Benson got injured in the first game he started. This organization should just start a fire sell as many players as they can. Tetairoa McMillan, Tyler Warren, Cam Skattebo, and Jayden Daniels should remain on the team, but everyone else should be available for trade. This team should be stacking up as many draft picks as possible and hope that they can draft great talent (might be time to start looking at prospects like Jordyn Tyson and Jeremiyah Love). This team simply can't get worse and should be focusing on the future rather than the right now.