Last week Count Chocula was beaten soundly by a team reluctant to part with Todd Gurley. I have two thoughts on the loss.

1. Silver lining is it keeps the chase alive. With Gurley, winning the title would be a near foregone conclusion (barring massive injuries).

2. In the best Forrest Gump voice I can muster, "That's all I have to say about that."
Now at 2-3, with one of my two victims, Alvin Kamara, on bye, I'm growing increasingly desperate for that next win. That next kill. The longer it takes to claim another victim, the longer the odds of a playoff berth get, especially in the heart of bye season. Next week I'm down Tyler Lockett, Jordy Nelson and James Conner (and soon he might be relegated useless). In Week 8, I'll be without Ezekiel Elliott, Calvin Ridley and Austin Ekeler. An 0-3 mark in that stretch will leave me at 2-6 and likely having to run the table to make the playoffs.

This is my best shot for the next month at claiming another victim. Even without Kamara my team/matchup looks like this:

Count Chocula – 0.0

QB – Jared Goff
RB – Ezekiel Elliott
RB – James Conner
WR – Calvin Ridley
WR – Tyler Boyd
TE – George Kittle
Flex – Tyler Lockett
Flex – Jordy Nelson
K – Ka'imi Fairbairn
DEF – Pittsburgh

Bench:

Alvin Kamara
Tarik Cohen
Austin Ekeler
Robby Anderson
Geronimo Allison
Antonio Callaway

Villain Team – 0.0

QB – Andrew Luck
RB – Tevin Coleman
RB – Phillip Lindsay
WR – Antonio Brown
WR – DeSean Jackson
TE – Jordan Reed
Flex – Mohamed Sanu
Flex – Ito Smith
K – Harrison Butker
DEF – Green Bay

Fortunately, my opponent's bench also includes Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, Mark Ingram and Devonta Freeman – yes, he has a monopoly on Saints and Falcons players. So, as I said earlier, this could be my last great shot to add star power.

With a tight matchup projected, I'm quite torn in the final minutes before kickoff of whether to role with Nelson, Cohen or Ekeler as my last flex. A brief moment of insanity also led me to consider turning to the waiver wire for a quarterback with Goff playing in the white stuff in Denver. Crazy as it may sound, I believe the Cali QB who has spent his whole life in "The Golden State" may struggle a bit in the snow. Given the competitiveness of my matchup, I want the highest possible floor and I'm not sure Goff offers it. We'll see though as I can't bring myself to bench him for C.J. Beathard – even if I love the idea of my QB deciding things against his defense tomorrow night.

One other factor has me sweating this matchup – this next week is the last that a Vampire automatically receives the top waiver priority. If I can't get a win or make the right claim, I'll be in trouble.

Here's hoping for a victory that delivers Antonio Brown or Michael Thomas (torn because one will have had his bye week and the other entering his). If I can land one of the two, next week's diary may open with another Forrest Gump quote: "That's good! One less thing."