Week 3 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2020 Edition

Quarterback

MVP: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)

The big showdown between the NFL's previous 2 MVP's ended being a dud because only 1 of them really showed up. Mahomes was simply incredible as he led the Chiefs to a commanding victory over a Ravens team that had the top ranked defense in football coming into this week-throwing for 385 YDS and 4 TD's while adding 26 YDS and another TD with his legs. Mahomes has a home matchup with the Patriots in Week 4. 

Honorable Mentions: Russell Wilson (Seahawks), Josh Allen (Bills), Dak Prescott (Cowboys)

LVP: Gardner Minshew (Jaguars)

The sneakily consistent fantasy asset Minshew dropped the ball big time in a prime matchup against a soft Dolphins defense, throwing for 275 YDS, committing 2 brutal turnovers (an INT and a lost fumble) and failing to reach the endzone. Minshew will be on the QB1 bubble when he takes on a Bengals defense that has surprisingly allowed the 3rd least fantasy points to QB's to start the year.

Dishonorable Mentions: Lamar Jackson (Ravens), Matt Ryan (Falcons), Cam Newton (Patriots)

Running Back

MVP: Alvin Kamara (Saints)

The Saints may have finished on the wrong side of a shootout with the Packers on Sunday night, but Kamara was quite possibly the best player on the field. The entire offense ran through the 4th year running back and the Packers simply had no answer for him as he sliced them up for 197 scrimmage YDS (58 rushing, 139 receiving) and 2 TD grabs on only 19 touches. Any doubt that Kamara is back to 100% health after his injury-riddled 2019 campaign has already been squashed with his ridiculous start to 2020 and given his pass-catching ceiling/redzone prowess, he seems to be on a path to be the fantasy MVP if he can stay healthy.

Honorable Mentions: Derrick Henry (Titans), James Robinson (Jaguars), Dalvin Cook (Vikings)

LVP: Leonard Fournette (Buccaneers) 

Fantasy owners who plugged Fournette into their lineups after his excellent Week 2 performance got burned in a big way with his Week 3 no-show against the Broncos. Not only did he fall behind Ronald Jones in the RB pecking order again, he did next to nothing with the 9 touches (7 CAR/15 YDS, 2 REC/7 YDS) he received in this easy blowout win. Usage seems like it's going to be a huge issue for Fournette in an offense that has been feeding different people every week and he won't be a recommended play in non-desperations situations unless that philosophy changes.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Melvin Gordon (Broncos), Mark Ingram (Ravens), David Montgomery (Bears)

Wide Receiver

MVP: Tyler Lockett (Seahawks)

Russell Wilson was lights out once again in Week 3 against the Cowboys and Lockett ended up being the top beneficiary of his strong play-hauling in 9 catches for 100 YDS and 3 TD's. Lockett is the most reliable target in a passing offense that is looking flat-out unstoppable at the moment and he could end up creeping onto the WR1 radar sooner than later if this offense continues to dominate through the air.

Honorable Mentions: Allen Robinson (Bears), Michael Gallup (Cowboys), Allen Lazard (Packers)

LVP: Marquise Brown (Ravens)

A career-worst passing performance from Lamar Jackson (97 YDS) and an ugly drop in the 1st quarter helped contribute to Brown's very poor outing (2 REC/13 YDS) against the Chiefs last night. Brown has been very quiet since his 101 YD outing in Week 1 and he'll be a risky start in Week 4 against a Washington secondary that hasn't allowed a WR to pick up more than 68 YDS against them through 3 weeks.

Dishonorable Mentions: Julian Edelman (Patriots), Darius Slayton (Giants), Brandin Cooks (Texans)

Tight End

MVP: Travis Kelce (Chiefs) 

It only took 3 weeks for the fantasy tight end leaderboard to get silly as Jimmy Graham, Tyler Kroft and Robert Tonyan topped the scoring at the position this week. As a result of that madness, Kelce's solid, TD-free line (6 REC, 87 YDS) against the Ravens was enough to power him to the top of the list of guys that actually appeared in more than a few Week 3 lineups. Kelce could be in line for some tough sledding in Week 4 when a Patriots defense that has completely shut down Mike Gesicki, Greg Olsen and Darren Waller over the past 3 weeks comes to Arrowhead.

Honorable Mentions: Mike Gesicki (Dolphins), Zach Ertz (Eagles), Jonnu Smith (Titans)

LVP: Darren Waller (Raiders)

Bill Belichick clearly watched Waller's Week 2 tape and decided that he wasn't going to allow his team to get beat like that. Waller was completely taken out of the game, managing only 2 garbage time catches on just 4 targets (for reference purposes, he was targeted 24 times in the prior 2 games) for 9 YDS on an afternoon where the Raiders passing attack struggled to produce outside of a couple drives in the 1st half. It would be a big surprise if he didn't make more of an impact against the Bills in Week 4.

Dishonorable Mentions: Mark Andrews (Ravens), Evan Engram (Giants), Austin Hooper (Browns)

Defense/Special Teams

MVP: Colts 

There's perhaps no greater gift in football right now than getting the opportunity to play the Jets and boy oh boy did the Colts D take glee in their good fortunate this week. Indy straight up crushed the spirit of Sam Darnold and co. for 4 quarters, picking up 3 INT's, 2 sacks, a safety and 2 TD's in a runaway 36-7 victory on Sunday. This surging group gets the Nick Foles-led Bears in Week 4.
Honorable Mentions: Buccaneers, Patriots, Browns

LVP: Saints 

Aaron Rodgers, Allen Lazard, Aaron Jones and the rest of the undermanned Packers offense stormed into the Superdome and laid waste to a Saints defense that picked up just 1 sack and 0 takeaways in a 37-30 loss. Dennis Allen's group has been pretty horrible through 3 weeks and it may be worth starting to look elsewhere if you're in an 8-10 team league.

Dishonorable Mentions: Chargers, Cardinals, Bears

2020 NFL Power Rankings: Week 4

()=previous ranking

1.(1) Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) Week 4 opponent: New England Patriots

2.(3) Seattle Seahawks (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Miami Dolphins

3.(4) Green Bay Packers (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

4.(6) Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Tennessee Titans 

5.(5) Buffalo Bills (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

6.(2) Baltimore Ravens (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Washington Football Team

7.(7) Tennessee Titans (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

8.(9) New England Patriots (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs 

9.(13) San Francisco 49ers (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

10.(14) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

11.(10) Los Angeles Rams (2-1) Week 4 opponent: New York Giants

12.(16) Chicago Bears (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

13.(12) Arizona Cardinals (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Carolina Panthers

14.(8) Las Vegas Raiders (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Buffalo Bills

15.(18) Indianapolis Colts (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Chicago Bears

16.(11) New Orleans Saints (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Detroit Lions

17.(15) Dallas Cowboys (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Cleveland Browns

18.(20) Cleveland Browns (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

19.(19) Los Angeles Chargers (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

20.(17) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

21.(29) Miami Dolphins (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Seattle Seahawks

22.(26) Carolina Panthers (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

23.(21) Washington Football Team (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

24.(24 ) Houston Texans (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

25.(31) Detroit Lions (1-2) Week 4 opponent: New Orleans Saints

26.(23) Philadelphia Eagles (0-2-1) Week 4 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

27.(25) Atlanta Falcons (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Green Bay Packers 

28.(28) Minnesota Vikings (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Houston Texans

29.(30) Cincinnati Bengals (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

30.(22) Denver Broncos (0-3) Week 4 opponent: New York Jets

31.(27) New York Giants (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

32.(32) New York Jets (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Denver Broncos

Quick Movie Reviews: The Babysitter: Killer Queen, The Devil All the Time, Unpregnant

 The Babysitter: Killer Queen: The Babysitter was a trashy fun horror comedy that ended up being one of the titles responsible for kickstarting Netflix's commitment to producing old school B-movies. Killer Queen-the sequel that probably no one involved with the production ever expected to happen- keeps the schlocky good times rolling. The second unfortunate series of events that leads to a bumbling teenager (Judah Lewis) facing off against a murderous Satanic cult (Robbie Amell, Andrew Bachelor, Hana Mae Lee, Bella Throne) features punchlines that often end in spectacularly gory deaths, plot twists that are varying degrees of stupid and a couple of sweet moments that add a very small emotional core to an otherwise proudly vulgar product. Comic splatter titles like this are pretty much unicorns in the current film landscape and if director McG and this game cast-which also includes Emily Alyn Lind, Ken Marino, Leslie Bibb and series newcomer Jenna Ortega-are able to keep that jokingly nasty spirt in tact, this could turn into a nice little lowish budget franchise a la Saw or Paranormal Activity.   

Grade: B

The Devil All the Time: As uneven as it is, The Devil All the Time can't be accused of not striving for excellence. Antonio Campos tries his damnedest to paint a dense portrait of despair, corruption and how religion can be weaponized to commit or justify evil acts in two small, poverty-stricken towns on both sides of the Ohio/West Virginia border over the course of 15 years (1950-1965), but the substance that the film is seeking to convey just never quite materializes as it uses its non-linear storytelling approach to zip through character and plotline introductions in an effort to race towards the finish line when all of its moving parts finally converge.

On the other hand, the execution of everything else is pretty much stellar across the board. Campos creates an Southern Gothic-inspired atmosphere that really showcases the ever present grimness of the world these characters occupy, the acting ensemble anchored by a gruff yet subtly heartbreaking Tom Holland as a young man whose entire entire existence has been defined by unfathomable loss and a sickeningly sinister Robert Pattinson as a preacher whose not as righteous as he appears to be shows up in a big way and the few scenes where things stray into pure thriller territory are remarkably intense. While the strength of what it gets right makes it easy to get frustrated about the missteps that prevent it from reaching the greatness that's so clearly in sight throughout the film, it's still an admirable, ambitious attempt to tell a complex story that has more positives than negatives.   

Grade: B

Unpregnant: As the United States is very likely heading down a path where the future of legal abortion access is in danger with the impending appointment of pro-life justice Amy Kony Barrett to the Supreme Court, the timing of Unpregnant's release ended up being downright chilling. Although it's largely a breezy, sometimes overtly comedic movie about two former friends (Haley Lu Richardson, Barbie Ferreira-who pass the buddy movie chemistry/likeability test with flying colors) reconnecting as they embark on a road trip from Missouri to New Mexico that just happens to feature a place where Richardson's character can receive the abortion she wants as a final destination, it does an excellent job of highlighting the infuriating and downright sickening obstacles women have to go through to get this  procedure done. 

The entire reason the plot of the film is put into motion is because Missouri doesn't allow women who are under 18 to receive abortions with parental consent, which inspires the 17-year old protagonist that hails from a religious family who wouldn't sign off on getting it done to embark on a 20+ hour drive to a place where she could. While Unpregnant isn't directly based off a true story, things like this happen all over the United States with alarming frequency and are likely only going to get worse if red states get the green light to further restrict abortion access with the prospective overturning of Roe v. Wade in a right-leaning Supreme Court. Unpregnant may drop the ball with some tacky, contrived melodramatic scenes that are unrelated to the abortion plot and its occasionally overly absurd road movie hijinks that take away from its otherwise grounded nature, but the importance of seeing a film tackle this topic in a lighthearted, easily relatable way and reinforce why this country needs to make abortion more readily accessible at a moment in time where a woman's right to choose is in peril can not be understated.         

Grade: B  

2019 in Movies: Revisited

It became clear about halfway through the year that 2019 was going to be a very special one for movies. The heavy volume of high quality projects spread across genres and the entire release calendar felt like that special kind of gift that continues to be rewarding long after you received it. As the 'Rona continues to ravage 2020's slate and I've gone onto discover additional gems such as Doctor Sleep, One Cut of the Dead and Richard Jewell in recent months, 2019's cinematic excellence has only become more stunning. Titles that are of the caliber of Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit and John Wick-Chapter: 3 don't tend to come around very often and the fact that they all managed to come out during the same time period is pretty unbelievable. Best of all, there's still heavily acclaimed titles including Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Klaus and Dark Waters that I've yet to watch that could only further add to 2019's ridiculous resume. Here's my revised ranking of 2019 movies featuring 21 new titles, some big positive/negative movers and a realization that 1917 doesn't hold up particularly well at all.  

137.(116) Joker (D-)

136.(115) Arctic (D)

135.(114) Captive State (D)

134.(new) The Fanatic (D)

133.(113) Velvet Buzzsaw (D+)

132.(112) Miss Bala (D+)

131.(111) Gloria Bell (D+)

130.(110) The Kitchen (D+)

129.(109) The Lion King (D+)

128.(108) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (D+)

127.(107) Glass (C-)

126.(106) Brightburn (C-)

125.(105) It: Chapter Two (C-)

124.(104) Motherless Brooklyn (C)

123.(103) The Last Black Man in San Francisco (C)

122.(new) 21 Bridges (C)

121.(102) Pokemon Detective Pikachu (C)

120.(101) Teen Spirit (C+)

119.(100) The Kid Who Would Be King (C+)

118.(99) Hellboy (C+)

117.(98) JT Leroy (C+)

116.(97) The Best of Enemies (C+)

115.(96) Triple Threat (C+)

114.(95) Unicorn Store (C+)

113.(94) Murder Mystery (C+)

112.(new) Black Christmas (C+)

111.(93) Five Feet Apart (C+)

110.(new) The Intruder (C+)

109.(92) Alita: Battle Angel (C+)

108.(91) Shazam! (C+)

107.(90) Someone Great (C+)

106.(new) Little (C+)

105.(89) Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (B-)

104.(87) Wild Rose (B-)

103.(88) Serenity (B-)

102.(new) Last Christmas (B-)

101.(86) Angel Has Fallen (B-)

100.(new) The Mustang (B-)

99.(85) Late Night (B-)

98.(84) The Hustle (B-)

97.(83) The Dead Don't Die (B-)

96.(82) Godzilla: King of the Monsters (B-)

95.(new) Wine Country (B-)

94.(81) Pet Sematary (B-)

93.(80) The Peanut Butter Falcon (B-)

92.(79) Men in Black: International (B-)

91.(78) How High 2 (B-)

90.(new) Where'd You Go Bernadette (B-)

89.(new) The Addams Family (B-)

88.(77) Waves (B-)

87.(76) Aladdin (B-)

86.(75) Anna (B-)

85.(74) Queen & Slim (B-)

84.(73) Fighting with My Family (B)

83.(72) Point Blank (B)

82.(71) Paddleton (B)

81.(70) Charlie's Angels (B)

80.(new) Avengement (B)

79.(69) The Farewell (B)

78.(68) A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (B)

77.(58) 1917 (B)

76.(new) Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (B)

75.(new) Dora and the Lost City of Gold (B)

74.(66) Climax (B)

73.(65) Cats (B)

72.(64) Isn't It Romantic (B)

71.(new) Spies in Disguise (B)

70.(new) Pain and Glory (B)

69.(63) Stuber (B)

68.(62) Gemini Man (B)

67.(61) Ad Astra (B)

66.(60) Spider-Man: Far from Home (B)

65.(new) Black and Blue (B)

64.(59) Escape Room (B)

63.(67) Ready or Not (B)

62.(57) Crawl (B)

61.(56) Shaft (B)

60.(new) Little Monsters (B)

59.(55) The Dirt (B)

58.(54) 6 Underground (B)

57.(53) The Art of Self-Defense (B)

56.(52) The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (B)

55.(51) Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly (B)

54.(50) The Upside (B)

53.(49) Polar (B)

52.(48) Happy Death Day 2U (B)

51.(47) Hail Satan? (B)

50.(46) The Perfection (B)

49.(45) Rambo: Last Blood (B)

48.(44) Brian Banks (B)

47.(new) Midsommar (B)

46.(43) Ma (B)

45.(42) Hustlers (B)

44.(41) Little Women (B)

43.(40) Always Be My Maybe (B)

42.(39) Family (B)

41.(38) Jexi (B+)

40.(37) Captain Marvel (B+)

39.(36) Dark Phoenix (B+)

38.(35) Between Two Ferns: The Movie (B+)

37.(34) The Irishman (B+)

36.(33) Little Woods (B+)

35.(32) The Lighthouse (B+)

34.(31) Bombshell (B+)

33.(30) Terminator: Dark Fate (B+)

32.(28) Us (B+)

31.(29) Brittany Runs a Marathon (B+)

30.(27) Cold Pursuit (B+)

29.(new) Richard Jewell (B+)

28.(26) Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (B+)

27.(new) One Cut of the Dead (B+)

26.(23) Luce (B+)

25.(25) Child's Play (B+)

24.(24) Ford v. Ferrari (B+)

23.(new) Doctor Sleep (B+)

22.(22) Rocketman (B+)

21.(21) Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (B+)

20.(20) Triple Frontier (B+)

19.(19) Knives Out (B+)

18.(18) Toy Story 4 (A-)

17.(17) Good Boys (A-)

16.(16) Avengers: Endgame (A-)

15.(15) Hobbs & Shaw (A-)

14.(14) Jumanji: The Next Level (A-)

13.(13) Parasite (A-)

12.(12) Honey Boy (A-)

11.(11) Booksmart (A-)

10.(10) The Beach Bum (A-)

9.(9) Zombieland: Double Tap  (A)

8.(8) Just Mercy (A)

7.(7) Dolemite is My Name (A)

6.(6) Long Shot (A)

5.(5) Uncut Gems (A)

4.(4) Jojo Rabbit (A)

3.(3) Once Upon a Time in.. Hollywood (A)

2.(2) Marriage Story (A)

1.(1) John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum (A)

Week 2 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2020 Edition

Quarterback

MVP: Dak Prescott (Cowboys)

Prescott was put in an ideal fantasy situation when the Cowboys went down big early against the Falcons and per usual, he delivered big. The 5th year quarterback threw for 450 YDS/1 TD and added another 3 scores on the ground as he served as the catalyst for the Cowboys preposterous 40-39 comeback victory. He'll have a legit chance to repeat as the top fantasy quarterback in Week 3 when the Cowboys travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on a very burnable Seahawks defense.

Honorable Mentions: Cam Newton (Patriots), Josh Allen (Bills), Russell Wilson (Seahawks)

LVP: Kirk Cousins (Vikings)

The 2020 season is off to a nightmare start for Cousins. He followed up his dismal Week 1 showing against the Packers with an even worse outing against the Colts that featured no garbage time statpadding (113 YDS/0 TD's) and a plethora of picks (3). With a pop warner-level offense and horrible receiving corps outside of Adam Thielen, there's no reason to roster Cousins at this juncture. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Deshuan Watson (Texans), Drew Brees (Saints)

Running Back

MVP: Aaron Jones (Packers)

It didn't take Jones long to remind fantasy owners of the type of awe-inspiring explosions he's capable of. The Packers entire offensive attack against the Lions ran through Jones, as he registered 236 scrimmage YDS (168 rushing, 68 receiving) and 3 TD's (2 rushing, 1 receiving) on the afternoon Whatever concerns there were about rookie A.J Dillon cutting into his workload have already been squashed, so keep firing up Jones as a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside.
Honorable Mentions: Alvin Kamara (Saints), Nick Chubb (Browns), Leonard Fournette (Buccaneers)

LVP: Nyhiem Hines (Colts)

After having a sizable role in the Colts offense following Marlon Mack's early exit from last week's game against the Jaguars with what ended up being a torn Achilles, Hines surprisingly went back to being an afterthought-registering just 1 reception for 4 YDS as rookie Jonathan Taylor was treated as the bellcow back versus the Vikings. While Hines is worth keeping around for now,  he'll be a very questionable start until some clarity is provided surrounding his week-to-week usage.

Dishonorable Mentions: David Johnson (Texans), Todd Gurley (Falcons), Zack Moss (Bills)

Wide Receiver

MVP: Calvin Ridley (Falcons)

Ridley continues to make the pundits that hyped him up as a breakout candidate look smart after  hauling in 7 catches for 109 YDS and 2 TD's against the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. As long as he continues to be the preferred the vertical threat and redzone target in this high-powered offense, he'll a fixture on the WR1 map.

Honorable Mentions: Stefon Diggs (Bills), Terry McLaurin (Washington Football Team), Julian Edelman (Patriots)

LVP: Julio Jones (Falcons)

While Week 1 saw multiple Falcons receivers feast, Jones was surprisingly left out of their latest explosive performance against the Cowboys. The 5x All-Pro remarkably caught only 2 passes for 24 YDS on a day where Matt Ryan was at his best. He'll look to rebound against the Bears respectable secondary in Week 3. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Allen Robinson (Bears), Will Fuller (Texans), Adam Thielen (Vikings)

Tight End

MVP: Tyler Higbee (Rams)

Higbee was only marginally more productive in Week 2 against the Eagles (5 REC/54 YDS) than he was in Week 1 against the Cowboys (3 REC/40 YDS). What ultimately made that pretty pedestrian reception/yardage output noteworthy was that 3 of those catches were TD's. While consistent production will be hard to come by in an offense that spreads the ball around, this performance does indicate that Higbee's a preferred redzone target of theirs-which will make him worth starting most weeks including in Week 3 against a banged-up Bills defense that just  allowed Mike Gesicki to have the best game of his career thus far.  

Honorable Mentions: Darren Waller (Raiders), Mike Gesicki (Dolphins), Jonnu Smith (Titans)

LVP: Rob Gronkowski (Buccaneers)

Gronk's comeback tour REALLY isn't going well. He failed to haul in his only target of the afternoon against the poor Panthers defense as his old friend Tom Brady spent most of the day throwing downfield to Mike Evans and checking down to their running back committee (Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, LeSean McCoy). With Chris Godwin returning to the lineup after missing this week with a concussion, Gronkowski's odds of receiving any notable chunk of the target share are about to get even lower. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Mark Andrews (Ravens), Austin Hooper (Browns), Chris Herndon (Jets)

Defense/Special Teams

MVP: Ravens

Through 2 weeks, the Ravens D doesn't seem to be missing Earl Thomas at all. They secured 4 sacks, an INT and a fumble recovery TD in their easy 33-16 win over the Texans on Sunday. This punishing group will receive their first really stiff test of the 2020 season against the Chiefs in Week 3. 

Honorable Mentions: Colts, Steelers, Buccaneers  

LVP: Bills

The absence of Matt Milano at inside linebacker and the crippling Miami heat go to the Bills on Sunday-as they surrendered 28 points while registering just 3 sacks and 0 takeaways against a questionable Dolphins offense that was wretched against the Patriots in their previous game. Following this potentially heat-based flop and domination of the pathetic Jets offense the previous game, their Week 3 date with the surprisingly efficient and sometimes lethal Rams offense should provide a good answer of where this group is really at right now.  

Dishonorable Mentions: 49ers, Titans, Chiefs

2020 NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

 ()=previous ranking

1.(1) Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

2.(2) Baltimore Ravens (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs 

3.(5) Seattle Seahawks (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

4.(4) Green Bay Packers (2-0) Week 3 opponent: New Orleans Saints

5.(6) Buffalo Bills (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

6.(9) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Houston Texans

7.(8) Tennessee Titans (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

8.(12) Las Vegas Raiders (2-0) Week 3 opponent: New England Patriots

9.(7) New England Patriots (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

10.(11) Los Angeles Rams (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Buffalo Bills

11.(3) New Orleans Saints (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Green Bay Packers

12.(12) Arizona Cardinals (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Detroit Lions

13.(10) San Francisco 49ers (1-1) Week 3 opponent: New York Giants

14.(22) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Denver Broncos

15.(20) Dallas Cowboys (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Seattle Seahawks

16.(16) Chicago Bears (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

17.(17) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Miami Dolphins

18.(23) Indianapolis Colts (1-1) Week 3 opponent: New York Jets 

19.(18) Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Carolina Panthers

20.(31) Cleveland Browns (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Washington Football Team

21.(19) Washington Football Team (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Cleveland Browns

22.(21) Denver Broncos (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

23.(15) Philadelphia Eagles (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

24.(24) Houston Texans (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

25.(25) Atlanta Falcons (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Chicago Bears

26.(26) Carolina Panthers (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

27.(27) New York Giants (0-2) Week 3 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

28.(13) Minnesota Vikings (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Tennessee Titans 

29.(30) Miami Dolphins (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

30.(28) Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

31.(29) Detroit Lions (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

32.(32) New York Jets (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

2019 in Music: Revisited

In January, I mused about 2019 wasn't an overly spectacular year for music. Eight months later, I feel a bit differently. There were several career-best efforts (Lana Del Rey's Norman Fucking Rockwell, Alleageon's Apoptosis, Shadow of Intent's Melancholy) some inspired revitalizations from acts that I had completely written off (Children of Bodom, Whitechapel, Korn) and a few records that have significantly grown on me in recent months (Gunna's Drip or Drown 2, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's Infest the Rats' Nest, While She Sleeps' So What?). While that's not grounds to declare 2019 a revelatory year, it's certainly enough to make it more notable than I had thought it was when I was writing my initial year-end list. 

With that retrospective take in mind, here's an updated look at the musical offerings of 2019 which incudes 3 new entries (w/quick blurbs) and a top 25 that features some pretty prominent movement.  

()=indicates ranking on initial year-end list

EP's:

6.(6)Drake-The Best in the World Pack (C)

5.(5)Future-Save Me (C+)

4.(4)Lil Nas X-7 (B-)

3.(3)Kevin Abstract-ARIZONA baby (B)

2.(2)$ucideboy$ and Travis Barker-Live Fast Die Whenever (B)

1.(1) Action Bronson and The Alchemist-Lamb Over Rice (B)

LP's: 

106.(103)ScHoolboy Q-CrasH Talk (D+)

105.(102)Hootie & the Blowfish-Imperfect Circle (D+)

104.(101)Kanye West-Jesus is King (C-)

103.(100)Charli XCX-Charli (C-)

102.(99)Tyler, the Creator-IGOR (C-)

101.(98)James Blake-Assume Form (C-)

100.(97)Yelawolf-Trunk Muzik 3 (C)

99.(96)Pile-Green and Gray (C)

98.(95)PUP-Morbid Stuff (C)

97.(94)Baroness-Gold and Grey (C)

96.(93)Sharon Van Etten-Remind Me Tomorrow (C+)

95.(92)Hath-Of Rot and Ruin (C+)

94.(new)Lil Keed-Long Live Mexico (C+)

Young Thug protégé Lil Keed doesn't have enough personality or general mic skills to justify releasing a 20 track/nearly 65 minute record. A lack of overly memorable flows or beats lead to all of the tracks bleeding together after the opening stretch of the record and it makes for a bloated effort that isn't particularly fun, catchy or interesting. 

93.(91)Jackboys-Jackboys (C+)

92.(90)Vampire Weekend-Father of the Bride (C+)

91.(89)Beast Coast-Escape from New York (C+)

90.(88)Secret Band-LP2 (C+)

89.(87)JPEGMAFIA-All My Heroes Are Cornballs (C+)

88.(86)Foals-Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1 (C+)

87.(85)Future-The WZRD (C+)

86.(84)Wristmeetsrazor-Misery Never Forgets (C+)

85.(83)Offset-FATHER OF 4 (C+)

84.(82)The Number Twelve Looks Like You-Wild Gods (C+)

83.(81)Trippie Redd-A Love Letter to You 4 (C+)

82.(80)Angel Olsen-All Mirrors (C+)

81.(79)Thaiboy Digital-Legendary Member (B-)

80.(78)Soilwork-Verkligheten (B-)

79.(77)Camilla Cabello-Romance (B-)

78.(76)The Black Keys-“Let's Rock” (B-)

77.(75)Kevin Abstract-ARIZONA BABY (B-)

76.(74)DaBaby-Kirk (B-)

75.(new) Roddy Ricch-Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial (B-)

Roddy Ricch is the latest young rapper with an intriguing, dynamic set of musical skills (wide range of flows, ability to craft catchy hooks/melodies, solid legit singing ability) and serious potential that just hasn't put it together yet. The handful of show-stopping standouts ("The Box", "War Baby", "Start wit Me", "High Fashion", "Moonwalkin") are ultimately overshadowed by the sizable chunk of competent yet nondescript pop rap/trap tracks that surround them. That being said, this is still a respectable debut LP for Ricch that he'll hopefully be able to build off on his next effort-which has a chance of being released before the end of this year. 

74.(73)King Princess-Cheap Queen (B-)

73.(72)Royal Coda-Compassion (B-)

72.(71)Taylor Swift-Lover (B-)

71.(70)Caroline Polachek-Pang (B-)

70.(69)DaBaby-Baby on Baby (B-)

69.(68)Fallujah-Undying Light (B-)

68.(67) Antagonize-Slip Death (B-)

67.(new) Doja Cat-Hot Pink (B-)

Hot Pink is the musical equivalent of a pure power hitter in baseball. There are a lot of ugly strikeouts, but when it connects, it's a true spectacle that's dazzling to behold. Is this formula maddening at times? Absolutely. However, sitting through some stinkers becomes much more forgivable when there's pieces of pure, radiant gold buried between them. Consistency really is Doja Cat's worst enemy at this point and if she can put out an album worth of tracks that are the same quality of the magical disco pop banger "Say So" or the deliriously energetic "Won't Bite", she'll be in business moving forward.  

66.(66)Amon Amarth-Berserker (B)

65.(65)Injury Reserve-Injury Reserve (B)

64.(64)Maggie Rogers-Heard It in A Past Life (B)

63.(63)Exhumed-Horror (B)

62.(62)Fit for An Autopsy-The Sea of Tragic Beasts (B)

61.(61)EARTHGANG-Mirrorland (B)

60.(60)Inculter-Fatal Visions (B)

59.(59)Freddie Gibbs & Madlib-Bandana (B)

58.(58) Car Bomb-Mordial (B)

57.(57)Trippie Redd-! (B)

56.(53)As I Lay Dying-Shaped by Fire (B)

55.(56) Thy Art is Murder-Human Target (B)

54.(54)Weyes Blood-Titanic Rising (B)

53.(52)Knocked Loose-A Different Shade of Blue (B)

52.(51)Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats-Anger Management (B)

51.(50)Hozier-Wasteland, Baby! (B)

50.(49)Fleshgod Apocalypse-Veleno (B)

49.(48) Big K.R.I.T.-K.R.I.T. IZ Here (B)

48.(46) Carnifex-World War X (B)

47.(30) Killswitch Engage-Atonement (B)

46.(44) Blood Incantation-Hidden History of the Human Race (B)

45.(43)City Morgue-City Morgue Vol.2: As Good as Dead

44.(42)Despised Icon-Purgatory (B)

43.(45)Rings of Saturn-Gidim (B)

42.(47)Kelsey Lu-Blood (B)

41.(39)Young Nudy & P'ierre Bourne-Sli'mierre (B)

40.(38)Carly Rae Jepsen-Dedicated (B)

39.(41)Megan thee Stallion-Fever (B)

38.(32)Venom Prison-Samsara (B)

37.(36) Post Malone-Hollywood's Bleeding (B)

36.(35)Born of Osiris-The Simulation (B)

35.(34) Billie Eilish-When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (B)

34.(33)Lil Pump-Harverd Dropout (B)

33.(40)While She Sleeps-SO WHAT? (B)

32.(31) BROCKHAMPTON-GINGER (B)

31.(29) Korn-The Nothing (B)

30.(28)Equipoise-Demirgus (B+)

29.(27)The Callous Daoboys-Die on Mars (B+)

28.(26)Critical Defiance-Misconception (B+)

27.(25)2 Chainz-Rap or Go to the League (B+)

26.(24)Itacha-The Language of Injury (B+)

25.(23)Counterparts-Nothing Left to Love (B+)

24.(22)Sadistic Ritual-Visionarie of Death (B+)

23.(20)Periphery-Periphery IV: HAIL STAN (B+)

22.(19)Slipknot-We Are Not Your Kind (B+)

21.(55)King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-Infest the Rats' Nest (B+)

20.(21)Norma Jean-All Hail (B+)

19.(17)After the Burial-Evergreen (B+)

18.(16)Tove Lo-Sunshine Kitty (B+)

17.(37)Gunna-Drip or Drown 2 (B+)

16.(15)Ariana Grande-thank u, next (B+)

15.(14) Danny Brown-uknowwhatimsayin? (B+)

14.(18)Shadow of Intent-Melancholy (B+)

13.(13)Sturgill Simpson-Sound & Fury (B+)

12.(12)FKA twigs-Magadelene (B+)

11.(11)Moon Tooth-Crux (B+)

10.(10)Young Thug-So Much Fun (B+)

9.(9)Anderson. Paak-Ventura (B+)

8.(8)Banks-III (A-)

7.(7)Thank You Scientist-Terraformer (A-)

6.(6)SeeYouSpaceCowboy...-The Correlation Between Entrance and Exit Wounds (A-)

5.(5)Children of Bodom-Hexed (A-)

4.(4)Whitechapel-The Valley (A-)

3.(3)Denzel Curry-ZUU (A-)

2.(2)Allegaeon-Apoptosis (A)

1.(1)Lana Del Rey-Norman Fucking Rockwell! (A+)