FCF 2022: Predictions for Johnny Manziel, Terrell Owens in Week 5
While the NFL is busy dominating the spring news cycle with its schedule release, Fan Controlled Football is carving out a niche as a viable spring league. FCF is different than other spring startups and different enough to stand out from traditional indoor leagues.
Perhaps most importantly, though, FCF has been willing to evolve. The fan-driven, esports-adjacent entity is in its second season, or as it has been dubbed season v2.0. The league expanded to eight teams this year, and it recently moved past its fantasy-football-style weekly drafts to lock offensive skill rosters.
This past week, FCF even executed its first trade.
Fans still control the action on the field and augment the rosters with weekly defensive- and offensive-line drafting, but squads are building identities and adding to the fan-owner experience.
The race for the playoffs is on, and here, we'll dive into everything you need to know for Week 5, including the full schedule, latest buzz and predictions. Those newer to FCF can check out our Week 4 preview for a recap of rules, team owners, format and roster information.
Let's get to it.
Week 4 Scores, Season Schedule and Standings
Week 4 Scores
Bored Ape FC 28, Glacier Boyz 20
Knights of Degen 42, 8oki 18
Beasts 28, Zappers 0
Kingpins 28, Shoulda Been Stars 18
Standings
Bored Ape FC 4-0
Knights of Degen 3-1
SB Stars 3-1
Beasts 2-2
8oki 2-2
Glacier Boyz 1-3
Kingpins 1-3
Zappers 0-4
Remaining Schedule
Week 5: Saturday, May 14
Week 6: Saturday, May 21
Week 7: Saturday, May 28
Playoffs: Saturday, June 4
Championship: Saturday, June 11
Week 5 Schedule and Live Stream
Saturday, May 14
Shoulda Been Stars vs. Zappers, 1 p.m. ET
8oki vs. Kingpins, 3 p.m. ET
Bored Ape FC vs. Knights of Degen, 7 p.m. ET
Glacier Boyz vs. Beasts, 9 p.m. ET
Live Stream for All Games: DAZN, NBCLX, Twitch, fuboTV and the FCF app
Latest Buzz and Predictions
In FCF's first season, and for part of v2.0, fans drafted new rosters each week. While they could pick "franchise" players to lock, there was no real need for trades because rosters were rotating. That changed with the updated roster format, and earlier this week, we had a trade.
Arguably the league's biggest star, NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, was dealt from the Zappers to the Knights of Degen in a three-team deal.
From the official FCF website:
"The first-ever trade in FCF history has taken place and it involves OG Teams the Zappers and Beasts and Ballerz team The Knights. The three-team deal was proposed by the team's owners and then sent to a vote by the fans who had the ability to veto the trade for their team—but ultimately each team's fans decided to lock it in for their squad as they focus on building out their rosters for the stretch run of FCF Season v2.0."
The Knights dealt quarterback Dentarrius Yon and wideout Isaiah King and received Owens and wideout Jacoby Herring. The Zappers dealt Owens and picks No. 1 and 16 in the Week 5 draft to get King, quarterback Jason Stewart and picks No. 5 and 12 in the Week 5 draft. The Beasts dealt Herring, Stewart and the fifth and 12th picks to receive Yon and the first and 16th selections.
The trade could also affect one of the league's other big names, quarterback Johnny Manziel. The former Cleveland Browns draft bust has played sparingly for the Zappers, even though backup quarterbacks are required to play every third series at a minimum. He has completed just five of 11 pass attempts for 74 yards with one rushing touchdown.
Manziel also suffered an unspecified injury in Week 4, which will likely lead to Stewart platooning with Kelly Bryant this week.
Meanwhile, Owens and Herring—who have combined for 224 receiving yards and six touchdowns—should provide a boost to the Knights. They've been chasing Bored Ape FC for the top spot in the standings and have a critical matchup with them Saturday night.
Look for the Knights to make things interesting for the stretch run, while the winless Zappers continue floundering with Manziel on the sideline.
Predictions
SB Stars 28, Zappers 18
8oki 38, Kingpins 28
Knights of Degen 42, Bored Ape FC 38
Beasts 28, Glacier Boyz 26