Week 4 2017: @ Unstopa-Bo

Starting Lineup:

QB: Drew Brees

WR: Antonio Brown

WR: Keenan Allen

RB: Ezekiel Elliott

RB: Christian McCaffrey

TE: Charles Clay

Flex: Tyreek Hill or DeVante Parker

K: Greg Zuerlein

D/ST: Green Bay

Last week El Pollo Loco was able to notch another W, pulling out the 137-119 victory over TPD to stay atop the West at 2-0-1. It was another balanced effort with all of Loco's stars showing up and most of the complementary players doing their part. Antonio Brown lead the way with 28, but Loco has to be most excited about Christian McCaffrey's performance. He finally flashed some of the potential Loco thought he had taking him on draft. The question still remains if he can continue to play at the level for multiple weeks, but for now Loco feels more comfortable about his RB2 spot.

This week Loco goes on the road to face a division rival in Unstopa-Bo. UB got his first win last week bringing his record to 1-2, but the season is still young and he is still very much in the thick of things in the West with a 1-1 division record. Last week's 113 point total was UB's season high, but he does have some fire power. Brandin Cooks went off last week with 33 points and looks like he is finally acclimated to the Patriots offense, which is bad news for Loco. UB has firepower at the other WR position with superstar Mike Evans. I asked GM Josh Cermak which player on UB he is most concerned with this week he told me, "We know that Bo has a pair of stud WRs, but we need to watch out for Ajayi this week. He's a great RB with an amazing matchup and could spell trouble for us this week."

Coming off a good week the question still remains whether or not Loco can be consistent week to week. It is something they have struggled with their entire MFFL career. This year they started hot in week 1 to turn around and have a down week in week 2. They bounced back last week and they hope to keep the momentum going in an important division game. Loco expects his stars to show up, but there is a shake up to this weeks lineup. Loco hopes that Charles Clay and possibly DeVante Parker (game time decision) can provide a spark stepping into the lineup for the first time this season.

Although Loco is still undefeated this is a big game for them trying to establish a consistent product and build on there division lead. Look for UB to compete in this game he owns a 6-4 record versus Loco and has made the championship game in back to back season.

Week 3 2017: vs. The Perpetual Dyanasty

Starting Lineup:
QB: Drew Brees
WR: Antonio Brown
WR: Keenan Allen
RB: Ezekiel Elliot
RB: Christian McCaffrey
TE: Martellus Bennett
Flex: Tyreek Hill
K: Cairo Santos
D/ST: Tampa Bay

El Pollo Loco enters week 3 unbeaten. However, not in the fashion you would imagine as last weeks match up with Imposing Monstrosity ended in a 103-103 tie. This marks the first tie in franchise history for Loco. It was a down week across the board as only 4 players scored in double digits and Antonio Brown and Ezekiel Elliot combined for 16 points. As disappointing as the score total was for Loco they can't be too disappointed being able escape with a tie. A tie that keeps them undefeated and atop the West division. A tie that sets up a battle of unbeatens. Of course that other unbeaten is none other than 2-0 The Perpetual Dynasty. TPD has been a juggernaut in the league and this season they are defending their first MFFL title. TPD and Loco know each other very well being rivals for the first five years of the league, but this will be their only meeting this year. Both managers have a lot of respect for each other, but TPD holds an 8-2 record over Loco so don't think that Loco doesn't want to give TPD his best shot.

A lot of TPD's success can be attributed to his WR corps over the years. So it is no surprise that he has another stellar set of WRs. This week his starters (at the time of this post) are Odell Beckham Jr., A.J. Green, and Amari Cooper. Oh and his QB is Tom Brady so TPD is bringing a lot of fire power to this match up. Evident by his 151 point total from last week. His gameday managing is arguably the best in the league sitting players that other managers wouldn't dream of so you know he will have his optimal lineup on the field for gametime.

As mentioned above Loco didn't have a great week last week with his stars having down weeks. However, the arrow is pointing up this week for Antonio Brown with a much better match up. Zeke has another tough match up this week, but you gotta think 8 rushing yards could be a career low for him. Outside of his stars Loco has good match ups for Christian McCaffrey, Martellus Bennett, and Tyreek Hill. Loco will need every one to play well in order to keep up with TPD this week, but they really want to see McCaffrey play well.

The experts expect this to whitey tighty tight projecting a score of 132-131 in favor of Loco. Although with their success in the league and Loco specifically we would argue TPD is the favorite. Expect a high scoring close affair and great sportsmanship in this one.

Week 2 2017: @ Imposing Monstrosity

Starting Lineup:

QB: Drew Brees

WR: Anotonio Brown

WR: Keenan Allen

RB: Ezekiel Elliott

RB: Christian McCaffrey

TE: Martellus Bennett

Flex: Tyreek Hill

K: Cairo Santos

D/ST: Oakland

El Pollo Loco is coming off a week 1 win for just the second time in 6 years beating I Love Brock n' Roll 138-80. Brock took a devastating blow losing David Johnson to a wrist injury for the foreseeable future. You gotta feel for that franchise. However, Johnson would not have been enough to take down Loco that put on a balanced team effort. Loco looked strong in week one and now they sit alone on top of the West division for the first time in franchise history. However, the talk around Albuquerque this week has been: will this be the same Loco? It is true that Loco has had big games in the past just to turn around and disappoint the very next week. But something seems different about this Loco team. GM Josh Cermak told me, "this team just seems to have a confidence that our teams in the past lacked". This seems like a confident bunch indeed, but will they be able to keep the offense rolling this week?

Loco's week 2 opponent will be league newcomer Imposing Monstrosity. Stros lost a heartbreaker to La Flama Blanca in the closest matchup of the week. It was a down performance in which their stars Leveon Bell and Rob Gronkowski never got going. Don't expect that to happen this week as Gronk has a much better matchup this week and Bell has another week to get into football shape after reporting just before week 1. Stros also added another piece in Stefon Diggs via trade last night and it appears he will be plugged right into the starting lineup.

Loco showed a balanced attack in week one with Antonio Brown and Tyreek Hill leading the way with 30 and 27 points respectively. Everyone else in the starting lineup contributed without anyone having a really bad week. If Loco wants to turn the tide this season being able to have consistent weeks like that will be the key. Heading into week 2 Cermak expects Drew Brees to lead the charge with a better matchup this week and playing at home. Additionally, Loco likes what they saw from Christian McCafferey and they expect him to take another step forward this week.

The experts don't expect this one to be very close projecting a final score of 135-121, but with Stros' stars having better matchups this week they should have a much better week. Don't be surprised when this one comes down to the wire. 

Week 1 2017: vs. I Love Brock n' Roll

Starting Lineup:

QB: Drew Brees

WR: Anotonio Brown

WR: Keenan Allen

RB: Ezekiel Elliott

RB: Christian McCaffrey

TE: Martellus Bennett

Flex: Tyreek Hill

K: Cairo Santos

D/ST: Buffalo

The fantasy season is finally upon us as we kick off the 6th season of the fabled MFFL tonight. Last year was another disappointing season for El Pollo Loco. Finishing with another sub .500 record and missing the playoffs. However, last year was a new low for Loco as they missed post season play completely finishing in the bottom two of the league. Going into the off-season Loco new that they had to drastically change something to succeed in this league. Set up with the 3rd pick in the 2017 draft they did just that, changed up their strategy. For the first time ever Loco drafted a position other than RB in the first round taking WR Antonio Brown. Loco tends to wait on QBs and this year they took Drew Brees in the 3rd round. They also shocked the entire league by taking a risk on RB Ezekiel Elliot in the 2nd. That pick will pay off for at least week one as Elliot will suit up.

Enter Loco's week 1 opponent I Love Brock n' Roll. They finished dead last in the league last season one game behind Loco. However, they owned Loco sweeping them 2 games to none and Loco is looking to get revenge on BnR. This series has been close throughout the leagues short history with the overall record standing at 5-5. So it will most likely be a close game. When speaking to Loco GM Josh Cermak earlier this week he told me, "This may be Brock n' Roll's best team yet. They definitely have star power with David Johnson, Matt Ryan, and Amari Cooper". BnR does look good on paper set to be lead this week by Johnson, Ryan, and Houston D/ST all with great matchups. Expect BnR to put up big numbers this week.

Loco will be lead by some fire power as well led by the aforementioned Brees, Brown, and Elliot. Elliot will play this week while the NFL deals with his appeal. Speaking with Cermak about the Elliot situation he said, "It's great to have Zeke for week 1, but that means it's a must win for us. It feels weird to say must win in week 1, but with 6 games hanging over Zeke's head we don't know how long he'll be available for us so we need to take advantage of when he is on the field". With guys like Brown and Brees Loco doesn't have to lean on Elliott. Loco also has explosive guys in Christian McCaffrey and Tyreek Hill so watch out if this offense gets a rhythm. 

The experts expect this one to be close projecting the score to be 127-126 in favor of Loco. So be sure to tune in for kickoff tonight because you won't want to miss a minute of the action.