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Re: 2007 FIRST Fantasy Football
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Week XII Pregame Analysis
Horray for Turkey Day! :D
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Rank Team W-L-T Pct. Pts. Streak F.Rank ChangeRhode Island Dynamic (7-3-1) vs. sigmakittens (1-9) It’s fleet o’ receivers vs. fleet o’ backs. Welker, Wayne, and Hall will probably provide the bulk of points for Rhode Island, which makes it a rough trip for the Sigmakittens because they’ve lost LaMont Jordan for this week and possibly the season. Defense and kicking could go either way, so the Kittens best chance is to take those two categories and pray that Manning and Dillon don’t supplement the Dynamic’s score too much. Koko's X-Cats (7-4) vs. {} (4-6-1) Here’s a game that could go either way depending on how real-life matchups shape up. If {} (I can’t give them a nickname, it’s a pregame!) can get Ronnie Brown and Marques Colston holding on to the ball this week, it could be enough to offset Larry Johnson for the X-Cats. If that doesn’t work, {} needs Losman to perform like he did last week. Where this game’s fate will lie is the Steelers vs Ravens. If the Ravens are as nasty as they’ve been all season, it’ll just be more points for McNair, Stover, and Reed; all of them are on the X-Cats’ roster. Stevies Scapegoats (3-8) vs. Cooney Quest (2-8-1) A pity a game like this couldn’t have happened earlier in the season. Despite both Cooney and the Scapegoats being eliminated from the postseason, this could shape up to be very exciting. Cooney needs a large score to back what will most likely be excellent conglomeration; Vick playing against New Orleans is the best chance for this (and if Vick does well, chances are, so is Cooney’s Atlanta DEF). The Scapegoats have Favre (seriously, how do you get that pronunciation from F-A-V-R-E?) playing at Seattle, so that’s not going to be a great source of points. It’s my opinion that the Scapegoats best chance is actually in Cooney’s fault. The higher Cooney’s score gets, the easier this win becomes. Indiana Ironmen (6-5) vs. Eat My Shorts (7-4) LaDanian Tomlinson versus Oakland. Yikes. In all seriousness, that could be enough right there for EMS. It may have to do too, because Stallworth has no QB to throw to him and Brad Johnson isn’t all that good. Brady will be taking to the air against the Bears for the Ironmen, so his passing TDs and yards should be above average. The Ironmen also have Chad Johnson at Cleveland and a much better defense than EMS. It could go either way, but EMS really needs Tomlinson to do well. Evil Trav's Minions (7-4) vs. Cromer Smash! (4-6-1) The Minions are going to be missing Donovan McNabb. But they have a secret weapon: Jon Kitna. You heard me, I said Jon Kitna of the Lions. He’s not McNabb, but he can hold his own (and has been better than the Smash’s Delhomme too). The Minions also have the services of Barber and Gore, and if either one has a big day (my money is on Barber in Tennessee), the Minions will win. The Smash have gotten a recent one-two combo with Branch and Parker, but if the aforementioned Delhomme doesn’t put up points, they won’t win. RPI10 (3-8) vs. Nor Cal Crushers (9-2) This is the period of time when Nor Cal is at their weakest. But even if Kevin Jones doesn’t play on Thursday, even if they’ve lost Portis to the IR, and even with David Carr being hit-or-miss, the Crushers still have Taylor, Jackson, and Boldin. And don’t get me started on their killer defense. The only hope I can give RPI is that they have Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress playing at Tennessee, and they could get tons of points from that hookup. But that’s just about the only way RPI is going to win. stantheman (9-2) vs. T-Hawks (6-4-1) Eddie’s official pick for game of the week. This game looks exciting. In the offensive arena, the T-Hawks bring Marion Barber, Jeremy Shockey, Steve Smith, and his partner in crime, Keyshawn Johnson. STM brings Maroney, Gates, Walker, and Ward. These matchups are dead even. So where does the edge go? Well, Ward may not play this week, and even if he does, he will be playing at less than optimal. The T-Hawks also have a slight advantage on defense. But where the real edge lies is at the QB spot. Phillip Rivers gets a nice and tender Raiders defense to pass against, while David Gerrard has only had one good week in his four starts. And if that’s what the battle comes down to, the T-Hawks will win. FIRST Force (3-7-1) vs. Meatball Artists (5-6) On FIRST Force, I see a good defense and Tony Romo. The other half of their team is severely lacking though. The Artists have Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson, but are also lacking a middle offense. FIRST Force is going to have to nickel-and-dime their way to victory, while the Artists need to outdo the Force on defense. Silver Lobos (7-4) vs. Boilers 1529 (4-7) Something tells me that the Boilers are going to be eliminated this week. Forget their not-so-great defense; their offense, at best, is just as good as the Lobos’. Brees, Dunn, and Glenn are going to need excellent games if they want to keep the Boilers’ playoff hopes alive. The Lobos have Cincinnati, Cato June, Darrent Williams, and Lofa Tatupu making up their defense and are guaranteed to give out plenty of points. Where they are most likely to lose would be if Maurice Jones-Drew, Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson, and Adam Vinatieri all have off days. But keep in mind that even if that is the case, the Lobos still have Carson Palmer as insurance. The Very Fast Blitz (5-6) vs. Amazin' Blue (7-4) Both teams need this one badly. Amazin’ Blue is on a three-game losing streak, and if they’re not careful, could fall right out of the playoffs. And their mediocre roster isn’t going to be helping things any. Houshmandzadeh and Holt have favorable matchups for them, and they can win if their defense steps up. The Very Fast Blitz are on the outside looking in, and really don’t want a loss. Their defense has been a running gag this season, but has improved over the past couple weeks. But despite having Gonzalez, Owens, and Westbrook, their only favorable matchup is Alex Smith at St. Louis. This one could truly go either way. As fun as that was, I think once a year is enough for me and pregame analyses. Luckily, Ed's back next week. We'll see if I was even remotely psychic after these games are over and I go back home to postgameville. Until then, have a fun, safe, and gluttonous holiday weekend. :) |
Week XII Postgame Analysis
Something tells me I should’ve put J.J. Arrington in…
Okay, before we start, we have a change in scoring that drastically alters the playoff picture (and this time, I’m not trying to build up the drama; I really mean it). You’ll notice that the Dynamic/{} game last week tied, putting {} on the brink of elimination and giving Rhode Island a half-game lead over the fourth through eighth place teams. Well, somewhere along the line, Ronnie Brown’s fumble got taken away (I’m still not sure how; even the box score says he still has a single fumble). Net result: a -3 points subtracted from {}, which, as all us math people know, subtracting a negative number gives a positive 3 points to their final score, making them edge out the Dynamic. So going into this week, the Dynamic were still in third with their high fantasy score, but {} got bumped up to eleventh and now a lot less hopeless for the playoffs. It also ruined the nickname I gave {} that week. See, this is what happens when I actually get my reviews up on time. Of course, this postgame review would’ve been up a couple days ago had I remembered there was a game yesterday (and I STILL would’ve had the EMS/Ironmen game wrong)… sigmakittens (1-9) d. Rhode Island Dynamic (7-4) 62-61 Who would’ve thought Joseph Addai would get four TDs? This left Peyton Manning with one passing touchdown for Rhode Island. Lucky for them, that touchdown was to their own Reggie Wayne. Welker, Wayne, and Hall did their jobs. “Defense and kicking could go either way, so the Kittens best chance is to take those two categories and pray that Manning and Dillon don’t supplement the Dynamic’s score too much.” Combining both categories, the Kittens took that 39-36. Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But the Dynamic’s Manning and Dillon combined for a total of 4 points. It left the door open for the Sigmakittens’ upset. {} (5-6) d. Koko's X-Cats (7-4) 53-45 The X-Cats must be thrilled to have Larry Johnson on their roster right now, because his 14 was all the scoring they got. Murphy’s Four-Leaf Clovers were lacking a bit on offense with only Donald Driver’s 10 being of any significance. But defense was where this game was won, with Seattle’s 12 and Antoine Winfield’s 13 being the key to MFLC’s now five-game winning streak. Cooney Quest (2-8-1) d. Stevies Scapegoats (3-8) 53-39 “It’s my opinion that the Scapegoats best chance is actually in Cooney’s fault.” I expected for Cooney to have a higher average score, but no big scores. Instead, they get two big scores (Brandon Jacobs with 14 and Michael Vick with 10), but a very low average. The rest of their offense was a hindrance, and their defense couldn’t carry them. In the very game which cost the Scapegoats the QB battle came their biggest score this week; Josh Brown with 14. The defense took it from there, combining for 30. And not counting Edgerrin James, the Scapegoats offense wasn’t a hinderance, giving mostly solid numbers. Sadly, this game was meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Eat My Shorts (7-4) d. Indiana Ironmen (6-5) 72-71 Ugh, way to go, Yahoo. This is the second tie in as many weeks that you’ve broken with scoring changes well after the games were over. Which is sad too, because both teams really deserved this game, and a tie would’ve been the perfect ending. I mean, look at the top of EMS’s scorecard (er, don’t look at Stallworth). Tomlinson, Brad Johnson, and McAllister combined for 55 on their own. The Ironmen’s scores were a bit more conservative with their only double digit score being Baltimore rolling all over the Steelers for 23 points. But look at their six other players who scored at least five points. Sadly, Donald Driver lost a point sometime in the middle of the week, leaving him with 9 points, and leaving the Ironmen with their unfortunate situation. Evil Trav's Minions (7-4) d. Cromer Smash! (4-6-1) 67-29 Well let’s see here, the Smash had a decent defense. That defense finished with a combined 23. I’m drawing this out because that’s all I can say about the Smash. I can count their offensive totals on a six-fingered hand. “The Minions also have the services of Barber and Gore, and if either one has a big day (my money is on Barber in Tennessee), the Minions will win.” Gore had 14 and Barber had 6. Chris Cooley adding 10 was enough for victory. The rest was just gravy. RPI10 (3-8) d. Nor Cal Crushers (9-2) 61-57 The only thing on Nor Cal’s roster less reliable than David Carr is Charlie Frye. You can tell by the -5 he added to the Crushers' scorecard. “…the Crushers still have Taylor, Jackson, and Boldin.” That’s 32 points. But their “killer defense” I went on and on about in my pregame analysis wasn’t so killer. In fact, RPI took the defensive scoring by 10. They also had two 8s from Burress and Bennett and a 9 from Rudi Johnson leading their offense. I think this also qualifies as an upset. But the Crushers at least clinch a playoff spot. stantheman (9-2) d. T-Hawks (6-4-1) 71-53 “In the offensive arena, the T-Hawks bring Marion Barber, Jeremy Shockey, Steve Smith, and his partner in crime, Keyshawn Johnson.” In this corner: 23 points. “STM brings Maroney, Gates, Walker, and Ward.” And in this corner: 26 points. Defenses were tight enough where STM needed to take the QB fight. I figured Phillip Rivers would pwn the Raiders defense, but all he did was put up a goose egg for the T-Hawks. David Gerrard may be inconsistent, but he managed 11 fantasy points in his loss this week. It pushed STM to both victory, and once again, first place. FIRST Force (3-7-1) d. Meatball Artists (5-6) 97-68 “On FIRST Force, I see a good defense and Tony Romo.” Oh yeah. Said defense (consisting of San Diego, Adrian Wilson, Charles Tillman, and Lance Briggs) had a grand total of 42 points. Tony Romo had more than half of that at 27. Beyond Stephen Jackson’s 16 and a couple good defensive scores (which they really needed to outdo their opponent in to have a chance at winning), the Artists were more on the low scoring side. Half their team couldn’t clear 5, and with the amazing performance FIRST Force put out, the Artists couldn’t keep up. Silver Lobos (7-4) d. Boilers 1529 (4-7) 92-53 “Something tells me that the Boilers are going to be eliminated this week.” I may as well start there. As you can tell by just plain looking at the score, the italicized text is 100% accurate. “Where [the Lobos] are most likely to lose would be if Maurice Jones-Drew, Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson, and Adam Vinatieri all have off days.” Harrison sure had an off day (for those of us still in shock about Addai scoring four times), but the other three combined for 37. “But keep in mind that even if that is the case, the Lobos still have Carson Palmer as insurance.” I know, making my job easier by quoting pregame analyses is wicked fun. :p That “insurance” was worth 16 more points. They didn’t need it, but insurance is always nice to have. The Very Fast Blitz (5-6) d. Amazin' Blue (7-4) 92-28 I mean seriously, how in the blue shades (see what I did there? :D) of that place I can’t mention without the Chief Delphi censors swarming all over me like a fly on manure did Joseph Addai hit the end zone four times? Rhode Island suffered for it; so did Amazin’ Blue. Actually, even if you took away Addai's 34 fantasy points, the Blitz still would’ve dominated this game. I mean, the Blue may have gotten 9 from Leinart (and to be fair, Houshmandzadeh as well), but that only decent score is meaningless unless the rest of your team steps up. Like the Blitz’s Owens, Westbrook, and Minnesota. They all hit double digits. If you like lopsided games, this is the one for you. Code:
Rank Team W-L-T Pct. Pts. Streak F.Rank Changez=Mathematically Eliminated If the Change column looks odd, it's because unlike what last week's standings say, due to the scoring change, {} would've been in eleventh last week, not fourteenth (note that the Dynamic would still have been in third). Well that was a mess and a half. I'll be back before gametime on Sunday with the Playoff Picture. Let's just pray that no more scores change. |
Playoff Analysis: Pre-Week XIII
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Rank Team W-L-T Pct. Pts. Streak F.Rank Changez=Mathematically Eliminated Playoff Picture: The losses from the Dynamic, X-Cats, Blue, T-Hawks, and Ironmen left the bottom three playoff spots wide open to everyone in the top 12. Unless noted, fantasy scores are not considered.
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Re: 2007 FIRST Fantasy Football
As far as I can tell, there’s no massive scoring changes this week! Also, those Thursday games on the NFL network are really starting to annoy me. Anyhow, I’ve been busy most of the week and am coming down with a cold as I type this, so the postgame analysis will be a bit on the short side this week.
Meatball Artists (5-7) d. Rhode Island Dynamic (7-5) 67-62 As Peyton Manning falls, so do the Dynamic. Rhode Island was led by Corey Dillon hitting the end zone three times, but their middle-offense was underperforming. Whereas the Artists had two non-scorers. But they turned it up on defense, and a New England 15 kept their slim playoff chances alive. sigmakittens (2-9) d. Koko's X-Cats (7-5) 66-54 The Sigmakittens are all of a sudden giant killers. This is the second week in a row they’re trying to be playoff spoilers. This week’s victory was brought to them by DeAngelo Williams’s 15 and a bunch of players that wouldn’t stop scoring (with the exception of Brian Griese who didn’t play, everybody on the Kittens scored at least 4 points). The X-Cats offense looked like it would keep up with a Norwood 15 and McNair 9. But three players didn’t contribute positive points and the X-Cats defense didn’t score high enough to prevent another Sigmakittens upset. Cooney Quest (3-8-1) d. {} (6-6) 78-53 So, who had Reggie Bush this week? Why, it was Cooney. Finally, they get that big score they need to win games (even if it comes in week XIII). That solid 32 from Bush added to Vick’s 12 gave the Quest a high score for Murphy’s Hopeful to shoot for. But three things that stick out on the Hopeful’s roster were three 0s in key positions. Their defense looked awesome, combining for 36. But with Bush getting almost that on his lonesome, this was Cooney’s game all the way. Stevies Scapegoats (3-9) d. Eat My Shorts (8-4) 74-63 Another playoff hopeful getting beat by someone already out of it. We already know EMS has LaDanian Tomlinson, and he got 21 this week. But LT isn’t a guarantee of victory, especially when you have a -7 coming from Brad Johnson (IOW, they should’ve used Trent Green. :p). Most of the Scapegoats’ scoring came from the defense (a total of 46), and Josh Brown’s even 10 put them ahead for the win. Indiana Ironmen (6-6) d. Cromer Smash! (4-7-1) 44-42 Sebastian Janikowski missed three field goals this week. Note the closeness in score. It was bad enough that the Smash only got points from Delhomme. But their kicker clearly cost them the game. The Ironmen were underwhelming this week, but everybody scored, with eight players taking in at least 3 points. The Ironmen didn’t have their greatest week, but they’re still alive in the playoff race. Evil Trav's Minions (8-4) d. Nor Cal Crushers (9-3) 54-50 It’s official: Jeff Garcia owns us all. The Crushers looked victorious after Sunday with both the offensive and defensive leads. But Philly hadn’t played yet. Garcia did an exemplary job filling in for McNabb on Monday Night, giving the Minions 19 points, and clinching them a playoff spot. T-Hawks (6-5-1) d. RPI10 (4-8) 89-66 It’s big scoring versus big scoring. This match came down to who could churn out more big scores. RPI came with Eli Manning and David Thornton (who?). The T-Hawks came with Detroit’s kicker (for some odd reason, that was a good thing this week), Marion Barber (definitely a good thing) and Mike Vrabel (not a good thing if you hate the Patriots). Not only were the T-Hawk’s scores higher, but there were more of them. FIRST Force (4-7-1) d. Boilers 1529 (4-8) 58-38 A very meaningless game in the big picture, this game came down to the defense. Both offenses were very even (albeit low scoring). But FIRST Force’s defense scored huge, netting them 36 points, 20 more than the Boilers’. For what it’s worth, this was a pretty interesting win for FIRST Force. Amazin' Blue (7-5) d. Silver Lobos (8-4) 76-57 Amazin’ Blue was on a four-game fall from grace, so they really needed this one. Luckily, other than Harrison’s 15 and Jones-Drew’s 11, the Lobos had a below-average week for them. All but two players on the Blue had 6 or more points, including Holt and Houshmandzadeh combining for 25 fantasy points. Now both teams go into Week XIV fighting for a playoff spot. stantheman (10-2) d. The Very Fast Blitz (6-6) 77-70 The Blitz were looking to make their position in the playoff race better; STM was looking to be only the second team ever to clinch the #1 Seed Award before Week XIV. Both teams were fighting like they wanted it too. The Blitz looked excellent with 18 from Gonzalez, 11 from Westbrook, and a defensive 26… which Chicago almost equaled on their own for STM (with 25 points). STM also had 10s from Urlacher and Gates, and were topped off with 13 from Garrard. All hail the #1 seed. Code:
Rank Team W-L-T Pct. Pts. Streak F.Rank Changey=Clinched #1 Seed z=Mathematically Eliminated Only one more team's fate was decided this week as we welcome the Minions to the playoffs... but more on that in the playoff picture which will be up by gametime on Sunday. |
Playoff Analysis: Pre-Week XIV
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Rank Team W-L-T Pct. Pts. Streak F.Rank Changey=Clinched #1 Seed z=Mathematically Eliminated Playoff Picture: Um... so not much has changed. The eleventh through thirteenth place teams are going to have a rough time because at best, they can only hit eighth (and it's so unlikely it's not funny; more on that later). For everyone else, there's five playoff spots available. All in all, half the teams not already in the playoffs and not technically eliminated will be left at the roadside. For this first part, I haven't included fantasy points.
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Week XIV Postgame Analysis
You know, when I woke up Sunday morning, I wasn’t exactly thinking “Devin Hester is going to decide my fate”… Anyhow, I was even busier this week, and I still have a bit of a cold, so I’ll keep this short.
Boilers 1529 (4-9) d. Rhode Island Dynamic (7-6) 82-47 With their high fantasy score, all Rhode Island had to do is win to make the playoffs. Instead, they bomb so badly that now, they’re only getting a share of the Top Gun award. Peyton Manning and Dante Hall both got 11s and Neil Rackers scored 10. But they literally stopped there. Drew Brees scored 30 against the Cowboys (I died a little watching that game), but what really gave the Boilers the win were the five players who scored at least 8 points. So Rhode Island was left hoping the X-Cats and Ironmen would lose. Meatball Artists (6-7) d. Koko's X-Cats (7-6) 81-49 Hmm… this game looks almost exactly like the first one. Anyhow, with the Dynamic’s loss, the X-Cats were now in position to steal a playoff spot. And in an awful similarity to the first game, the X-Cats got 10s from both Steve McNair and Devery Henderson and Matt Stover scored 9, but that was prettymuch all the X-Cats got. The Artists’ large scores were split into twin 18s from Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson and 12 more were added by Julius Jones. So the X-Cats miss the playoffs. Cooney Quest (4-8-1) d. sigmakittens (4-9) 64-52 Welcome to the Toilet Bowl, which surprisingly, didn’t stink. Cooney took it’s game plan to another level: dismal low scores, but plenty of high scores. E.J. Henderson, Reggie Bush, Atlanta, Keith Brooking, and Thomas Jones all cleared 10. Unfortunately for the Sigmakittens, only McGahee and Lewis did that. Their lower scores were better than Cooney’s, but their lack of higher scores plopped them back into last place. Eat My Shorts (8-5) d. {} (6-7) 58-44 I could just say that LT (LaDanian Tomlinson, not Lawrence Taylor) gave EMS the win which secured their playoff spot, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating too much. His 24 provided a nice backbone for his four teammates who also scored at least 6. Donald Driver and J.P. Losman combined for 26 for Murphy’s Eliminated, but they didn’t have the auxiliary scores to back them up. Stevies Scapegoats (4-9) d. Cromer Smash! (4-8-1) 52-41 You know what they say: offense wins games (the Smash’s Willie Parker and Eddie Drummond versus the Scapegoats’ Brett Favre and Edgerrin James), defense wins championships (well, okay, not exactly with this game’s participants, but you get the point). The Scapegoats outscored the Smash by 10 on defense, ending the season with their third straight win. Indiana Ironmen (7-6) d. Nor Cal Crushers (9-4) 79-64 Game of the week. With both the Dynamic and X-Cats losing, the Ironmen would definitely be in the playoffs with a victory. Nor Cal knew this, and brought their A-game. They had Kevin Jones, Josh Scobee, London Fletcher, Jacksonville, and Dareell Jackson all hit double digits (though just to prove that the Crushers are cursing their players, they lost two more of them to the IR). The Ironmen had been thoroughly owned after Sunday and had no hope of winning with their one player playing on Monday. Rhode Island was going to take the last playoff spot, and the Ironmen were heading home. But unfortunately for the Dynamic, the Ironmen’s one player on Monday Night Football was Devin Hester. Yes, THAT Devin Hester. His miraculous 28 points pushed Indiana over Nor Cal, giving the Crushers their third straight loss, sending the Dynamic back to Newport for the postseason, and securing a playoff spot for the Indiana Ironmen. I mean, seriously, how exciting was that? Evil Trav's Minions (9-4) d. T-Hawks (7-5-1) 74-51 With all the drama that happened above, the T-Hawks could also celebrate their arrival into the playoffs (in the #8 spot, nonetheless; they’re practically guaranteed a first round win). Which is good for them, because whatever they brought to the Minions, the Minions fired back harder. Jeff Garcia continues to own us all, and Frank Gore and Braylon Edwards each contributed their fair shares. The T-Hawk’s only good scores were Philip Rivers and Jason Hanson. But while they lose, they still hang on to their playoff spot. RPI10 (4-9) d. stantheman (11-2) 92-52 Before this game, I probably would’ve said two, maybe three sentences about this game, and moved on. But this upset is too good not to elaborate on. RPI’s offense finally came together, with Eli Maning, Plaxico Burress, Rudi Johnson, and Dave Rayner hitting double digits, and a defensive 31 put them in the lead. STM played a decent game, But you could tell that with only Gates’s 18 standing out on the scorecard, that this game was RPI’s. Not that this game meant anything… Amazin' Blue (8-5) d. FIRST Force (5-7-1) 90-61 Amazin’ Blue were already in the playoffs, but with my constant bashing of them in the past, I guess they felt the need to show me my erroneous ways. FIRST Force was a very good opponent too. They brought it on defense, totaling 34 on the lower portion of the scoreboard. But the Blue had that covered, combining for 40. And with the offensive powerhouse that was Holt, Houshmandzadeh and Leinart (yes, I said Leinart), Amazin’ Blue showed why they belong in the playoffs. Silver Lobos (8-5) d. The Very Fast Blitz (6-7) 97-57 So, it looks like Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars and Lobos has a good shot at Rookie of the Year. I mean, he only scored more than a third of the Lobos’ already high score (adding 34). Only one other player was in double digits (Shawne Merriman with 12), but only one of the Lobos missed scoring over 5 points. The Blitz’s best attribute this week was their defense (‘bout time) with 31, but they lacked offensive power. This time, the Lobos demonstrate why they are in the playoffs. Code:
Rank Team W-L-T Pct. Pts. Streak F.Rank Changey=Clinched #1 Seed z=Mathematically Eliminated I unfortunately can't add the standings since I can't change from WYSIWYG to Standard upon previewing my post (I'm assuming it's a bug since I could do it last week) and reformatting everything would just take way too long (EDIT: well, an edit in Standard mode seems to do the trick, even though it's an annoyance). I'm also not doing the second half awards, because it dawned on me that they'd be mostly redundant with the end-of-the-year awards coming in less than a month. I do have time for a brief playoff picture though. Here are the teams playing for the Kamen Bowl: stantheman (11-2) vs. T-Hawks (7-6-1) It's #1 vs. #8. In other words, the T-Hawks are going to win. :D In all seriousness though, STM won against the T-Hawks in Week XII, and the T-Hawks have lost four out of their last five. Though for the record, the #1 Seed has never won in the first round in the FIRST Robotics Fantasy Football League... Silver Lobos (9-5) vs. Eat My Shorts (8-5) There's a reason the Lobos are ranked higher, and it's due to a rather considerable fantasy point margin. Thenagain, in Week I, EMS beat the Lobos by 9. But that was an eternity ago, and the Lobos have since shown repeatedly that they can win big. Nor Cal Crushers (9-5) vs. Amazin' Blue (9-5) In another rematch from an eternity ago, back in Week I, Nor Cal creamed the Blue. And while it looked like the Blue were going to fall right out of the playoff race, they rebounded in the last two weeks with big wins. Meanwhile, the Crushers have lost three straight (all by less than 15, mind you), and their squad is succumbing to injuries. Evil Trav's Minions (10-4) vs. Indiana Ironmen (8-6) First off, let me say that I am completely in the Ironmen's fanclub after what happened in Week XIV. These two teams have never faced off. That being said, the Minions have won three straight, and never really were in any trouble throughout the season. The Ironmen are in the playoffs thanks to luck, and really, what good would luck be if it just stopped after one week? I personally think that this game could go either way, and nothing against the Minions, but I REALLY want the Ironmen to go all the way. :) Alright, I'll be back in a few days for the Round-I postgame. |
Re: 2007 FIRST Fantasy Football
My team is imploding. Warner got benched early in the season. Portis is on IR. Kevin Jones is on IR. Darrell Jackson is out indefinitely. Chester Taylor was hurt last week. Terrence McGee missed a game or two the last few weeks.
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Re: Week XIV Postgame Analysis
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So far so good with Gore and Gramatica though, so we'll see. |
Playoffs: Round I Postgame Analysis
Kamen Bowl Quarterfinals
stantheman (#1) d. T-Hawks (#8) 59-55 It’s #1 versus #8. And in a big upset, STM wins! :p I’ll even back my upset claim here by saying the T-Hawks should have won. Had Phillip Rivers done more than diddly (I believe his -3 actually qualifies as less than diddly, if that’s possible), the T-Hawks would have kept the tradition of #8s winning in the first round. Though to be fair, they were only kept so close because of Marion Barber’s 17 and their defensive 25. For a #1 seed, STM doesn’t have many high scoring games, but they keep winning. This week, they have Javon Walker (10), Lawrence Tynes (11) and Jermaine Phillips (12) to thank. As good of a fight as the T-Hawks put up against the #1 seed, STM proved that they were, indeed, The Man. Kamen Bowl Quarterfinals Silver Lobos (#4) d. Eat My Shorts (#5) 91-51 Allow me to quote myself for a moment: “There's a reason the Lobos are ranked higher, and it's due to a rather considerable fantasy point margin.” This was actually more of a mismatch than the seed numbers show. Now, I know what you’re saying: “EMS has LT!” That’s all well and good, and his 22 would’ve been a significant boon had the rest of EMS done something. Even Santana Moss and Deuce McAllister combining for 16 was helpful, but they were outmatched. The Lobos were firing with all cylinders. That 22 that Tomlinson got? Already nullified by Marvin Harrison’s 22. The 16 in receiving? Outdone by Tennessee’s 21 (gotta love it when your offense is off the field for twenty minutes because the defense is so darn good). The rest of EMS who did nothing? Meet the rest of the Lobos (Jones-Drew, Holmes, Vinatieri, and June combined for 42). The Lobos advance in the most lopsided game this week. Kamen Bowl Quarterfinals Amazin' Blue (#6) d. Nor Cal Crushers (#3) 53-51 I suppose momentum is more important than placing. The Blue went into this week having won their last two games. The Crushers were on a three game losing streak. And to quote Cory himself, “his team is imploding” thanks to injuries. A good deal of Nor Cal’s starters are either out, or playing hurt. On the plus side, this allowed them to play Jake Cutler, who scored a respectable 12. Their defense also played well for a total of 25 points. But injuries made it so that the Crushers were forced to play someone who didn’t, and that 0 was costly. Amizin’ Blue had the high scores this match, including Pittsburgh’s 18 in their trouncing of the Panthers. Jeff Reed was also a benefactor in that game, kicking for 13 more. Michael Turner’s 10 put the Blue to a tie (which everybody knew would be broken on Monday). If you were watching this one closely, it was a very exciting game, with Amazin’ Blue moving on. Kamen Bowl Quarterfinals Indiana Ironmen (#7) d. Evil Trav's Minions (#2) 70-60 Ironmen fans unite! Seriously, what else can be powering the Ironmen? Well for starters, the Pro-Bowl snubbed Tom Brady (I have to rub it in) scored 10. But where they really won the game was on defense. Baltimore and Antonio Pierce led the Ironmen’s defense to 33 (that, and 6 more points from offensive players making tackles). Compare that to 11 on the Minions’ side, and you can really see the difference. They tried to keep up with a Frank Gore 15 and a Tiki Barber 11, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Ferrum the Ironman (the Ironmen’s mascot; please tell me somebody else gets this joke) is dancing on the sidelines, because the Ironmen have pulled off another one. So, here are the teams who lost this week; they’ll be playing in their own little consolation tournament. T-Hawks (#8) vs. Eat My Shorts (#5) These two teams fought in Week IX. It was the second-to-last victory in a five-game undefeated streak for the T-Hawks; they’ve now lost five out of six, and EMS is looking to take out some anger on them. EMS won four out of their last five in regulation. Despite their hiccup in Round I, they are very capable of winning this one. Nor Cal Crushers (#3) vs. Evil Trav's Minions (#2) Talk about quick rematches… the Minions took this game back in week XIII, but bear in mind that it was a very close game, and both teams had prettymuch clinched by then. This time, it really could go either way. And here are the teams still fighting for the Kamen Bowl. stantheman (#1) vs. Silver Lobos (#4) Now this is one we haven’t seen before. STM successfully broke the #1 seed curse, but it was by a small margin – like the majority of their victories this season. The Lobos are the exact opposite, wining their Round I game by a lot. Three of their last four games have broken the 90-point mark, meaning this’ll be a tough fight for STM Amazin' Blue (#6) vs. Indiana Ironmen (#7) Back when Amazin’ Blue were winning seven straight, smack dab in the middle of that streak (Week V) was a convincing win against the Ironmen. The Blue have now won three straight, but the Ironmen, after first making the playoffs, then pulling off the upset in Round I, have all the momentum in the world. Also keep in mind that the aforementioned Week V game took place before Amazin’ Blue’s “fall from grace”. And now that the unbiased portion of this is done: Go Ironmen! |
Playoffs: Round II Postgame Analysis
It’s semi-final time. Go Ironmen!
I-am-JVN Bowl Qualification T-Hawks (#8) d. Eat My Shorts (#5) 37-36 Ugh, the one week Tomlinson doesn’t score is the one week it would’ve made a difference. EMS was really looking for the now single season record holder of touchdowns to do his thing; sadly, all he got was yardage. And in a low scoring game, their 12 from McAllister needed some backing up. The T-Hawk’s leading score of 15 from Kansas City had backing up: Phillip Rivers defeated the Seahawks (I watched that game, a very good watch) adding another 11 points. The rest of both teams’ players didn’t add much, so that was the difference. I-am-JVN Bowl Qualification Evil Trav's Minions (#2) d. Nor Cal Crushers (#3) 61-31 It’s official: Nor Cal’s injuries have finally reached their peak. They’re stuck relying on Jay Cutler, and while he did have a respectable 9, that was their highest score. Their defense only combined for 14, and the rest of the offense had less than Cutler did. The Minions only real pain was at the QB spot, and we all know how Jeff Garcia did against the Cowboys last week (probably better I didn’t watch that game). The Minions only got better from there, with a Frank Gore 15 and a Ladell Betts 17. They even won the defensive battle, something I’d figure the Crushers would’ve won. This game was all Minions. Kamen Bowl Semifinals Silver Lobos (#4) d. stantheman (#1) 100-65 I get to quote myself again! “Three of [the Lobos’] last four games have broken the 90-point mark, meaning this’ll be a tough fight for STM.” Make that four of their last five. While STM had some remarkable scores from Furrey, Brooks, and Phillips (12, 15, & 10, respectively), the lower half of their team left something to be desired (you know, like higher scores). The Lobos were devastatingly awesome this week anyway, just barely hitting triple digits (Yahoo added half a sack on Thursday). Leading this charge was likely Rookie of the Year Maurice Jones-Drew and his 21 points. Marvin Harrison did enough despite that nasty loss at the Texans to add 18. Then you have the defensive trio of Adam Jones (12), Lofa Tatupu (11) and Shawne Merriman (also 11). STM played their usual good game, but they played it against a much superior Lobos this week Kamen Bowl Semifinals Indiana Ironmen (#7) d. Amazin' Blue (#6) 59-36 Ahh, Amazin’ Blue finally went back into “fall from grace” mode. You knew it had to happen sooner or later. It doesn’t help that they were facing the surging Ironmen either. The Ironmen’s victory easily came on defense, with a combined 32. It doesn’t hurt to mention Brady’s 9 and Kaeding’s 8 either. Amazin’ Blue’s one good score came from Houshmandzadeh’s (is it sad I know how to spell that?) 10. Their defense had nothing going, just like their offense. So one more victory, and the Ironmen will have done the impossible. Which leads us to Bowl Week! EddieMcD Bowl (sponsored by me) Eat My Shorts (#5) vs. Nor Cal Crushers (#3) Yes, I named the lowest bowl after myself. Deal with it. :p Anyhow, between Week V and Week XI (which incidentally was the last time Nor Cal won), the Crushers had only one loss, and guess who it was to? Yep, EMS. And this was pre-injuries. Nowadays, Nor Cal is hurt badly, and EMS is looking to score one last win. This should be a down-and-dirty matchup. I-am-JVN Bowl (sponsored by Friends of JVN) T-Hawks (#8) vs. Evil Trav's Minions (#2) If this matchup seems oddly familiar, it’s because the Minions creamed the T-Hawks in the last week of the regular season. By all rights and means, it should’ve knocked the T-Hawks out of the playoffs (the Dynamic and X-Cats both losing their final three games is the only reason the T-Hawks are still playing), and I see no reason why this game would be any different. Leverette Bowl (sponsored by the CD Caption Contest) stantheman (#1) vs. Amazin' Blue (#6) I think Amazin’ Blue is back to falling from grace at this point. If they do manage to pick it up for this last game, we could have a very tight matchup. But if that doesn’t happen, all STM has to do is play the way they’ve been playing all season, and this Bowl is theirs’. Kamen Bowl Championship IV (sponsored by the KCS) Silver Lobos (#4) vs. Indiana Ironmen (#7) The final two. All the numbers say the Lobos have this one in the bag. Just like all the numbers had the Ironmen back in tenth, just like all the numbers had them losing to the Minions, and just like all the numbers had Amazin’ Blue going to the finals. I seriously believe that the Ironmen can win this match. Nonetheless, after Sunday night’s game, we’ll have a champion. I’ll be back for the final postgame review next week. Until then, Go Ironmen! :D |
Re: 2007 FIRST Fantasy Football
You wanna know the crazy thing? I am the Ironmen...........Silver Lobos is my dads team. Is that insane or what? Father and son in the final game. Needless to say, he's not getting any help from me this week! lol
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Playoffs: Round III Postgame Analysis (Bowl Week)
Yay, Bowl Week!
EddieMcD Bowl (sponsored by me) Nor Cal Crushers (#3) d. Eat My Shorts (#5) 57-33 It’s about time the Crushers crushed someone (I mean, it’s bad enough they’re stuck in a bowl named after me :p). How did they do it? The casual observer would say defense, and they’d be on the right track. This is the first week in a long while that Nor Cal’s defense has been at full strength, and they showed it with a combined 32. Let’s not knock their offense though, who, other than two goose eggs, all scored at least 6 points. EMS’s problem (other than Nor Cal getting their groove back) is that they were WAY too reliant on LT this postseason, and they suffered due to it (he only had 3 this week; someone please point me in the general direction of the idiot(s) who projected him with 22 points…). Santana Moss’s 12 alone won’t do it. So in conclusion, a team that’s been around all four years of this league wins the bowl named after its commissioner. Irony FTW. I-am-JVN Bowl (sponsored by Friends of JVN) T-Hawks (#8) d. Evil Trav's Minions (#2) 80-67 I have to say, I didn’t see this coming. But if you look at the Minions' roster, you can see that the only player who truly had to fight for his future was Tiki Barber. He contributed 31 points, but that was the Minions’ only double digit score. Four other players scored more than 7 points, but the T-Hawks really brought it this week. I mean, 15 from Jason Hanson at Dallas (I cried a little during that game)? Asante Samuel finally became a big scorer with 10. And let’s not forget Steve Smith and Phillip Rivers, who played in prettymuch meaningless games this week, going for 17 and 10, respectively. I think this qualifies as an upset. Leverette Bowl (sponsored by the CD Caption Contest) stantheman (#1) d. Amazin' Blue (#6) 56-20 Amazin’ Blue fell harder than Michigan in the Rose Bowl this week (I am so dead for that…). Their best score was Jeff Reed (a kicker, mind you) and his 5. Moving along quickly, STM played as usual. Their highest score was Mike Furrey with 12 at Dallas (again, I cried a little during that game). They were backed by a defense combining for 24 and half the team clearing 5. STM actually had the third-lowest score of all teams this week, but a bowl win is a bowl win. Kamen Bowl Championship IV (sponsored by the KCS) Silver Lobos (#4) d. Indiana Ironmen (#7) 90-65 In the end, there can be only one. May it be the Ironmen… I learned something this week: this was a father/son matchup. I myself was rooting for the son. Sadly, Vader bested Luke this time around. The Ironmen did fight well. Leading the way was a pretty nasty defense worth 36. But the Lobos did the defense thing better. Adam Jone’s (who?) 20 and Cato June’s 10 led a defensive 40. And then, where the Ironmen were lacking on offense, the Lobos dominated. Palmer and Jones-Drew combined for 30, and Vinatieri and Harrison both had 9s. The closest Indiana could get was Kaeding’s 9 and Rattay’s 7. I cried a little watching this game unfold (wow, I did a lot of crying this week…), but the silver Lobos fought VERY hard during the post season. Five of their last six games, the Silver lobos have scored at least 90 points. And this time, their 90-point effort wins them the Kamen Bowl. Hats off to the Lobos. My Ironmen lost :(. But congrats to the Crushers, T-Hawks, STM, and the Silver Lobos for their bowl wins, and props to the Ironmen for making it as far as they did. I’ll have awards going up in the next week or two, as well as a possible season recap, plus a brief agenda for next season (mostly so I can remember once the league is formed next season, but maybe it can spur a bit of discussion). |
End-of-Season Awards
My January was busy, so I set aside the date I was going to post the fantasy football awards. That date was February 11th, the day of the Pro Bowl… except for some odd reason, the Pro Bowl was moved to a Saturday. Anywho, here’s the best of the best this season. We start with personnel awards.
Most Valuable QB: Peyton Manning (Rhode Island Dynamic) Um… I really can’t give this to anybody else. Yes, I know Rhode Island just barely missed the playoffs, but three of their last four losses were by less than 5 points, and the highest QB on a playoff team had 84 fewer points (heck, the next closest QB period had 53 fewer points). Peyton Manning was the one constant for Rhode Island this season, even if their season ended on a sour note. Best Running Game: LaDanian Tomlinson & Deuce McAllister (Eat My Shorts) LT absolutely dominated the second half of the season, securing EMS’s position in the playoffs (now if only they won something there…). McAllister had a big year with the Saints’ surge this season, providing another source of points for EMS. Best Receiving Game: Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Dante Hall, & Reggie Brown (Rhode Island Dynamic) Again, I know Rhode Island missed the playoffs, but no receiving corps came close to these four this season. They were all in the top 20 in fantasy points, with a combined 5906 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 405 total fantasy points. Keep in mind that the Dynamic tied for the highest fantasy score this season, and 43% of that high fantasy score were these four. Most Valuable Kicker: Nate Kaeding (Indiana Ironmen) Ah, finally a simple one. Kaeding led all kickers in fantasy points. The Ironmen won the silver medal. It’s not a coincidence. Okay, the Ironmen had more than just a kicker, but the extra scoring is what got them to the playoffs in the first place, and that extra scoring is thanks to Kaeding. Then we move on to awards that are about more than one player/entity. Most Productive Offense: Silver Lobos They didn’t dominate in any particular category, but when it came to total offense, our champs took control. Their four biggest scorers were Carson Palmer, rookie Maurice Jones-Drew, Marvin Harrison, and Adam Vinatieri, and they all hit triple digits. The rest of their offense wasn’t dazzling, but they also didn’t drop the proverbial ball. Most Dominant Defense: Nor Cal Crushers When you have two of the top three defensive players (Terrence McGee and London Fletcher-Baker), and two more in the top 15 (Donnie Edwards and Keith Bulluck), this award is prettymuch a gimmie. Add middle-of-the-pack Jacksonville as their DEF, and you have a dominant defense. And now, the FIRSTified awards: Judges’ Award; Rising from the Ashes: Indiana Ironmen Much to Rhode Island’s dismay… Okay, it wasn’t a “long distance comeback”, but it was an exciting one nonetheless. Back in Week X, the Ironmen were in tenth. They didn’t budge until Week XIII… where they move up a whole one slot to ninth. Even with the Dynamic’s loss in Week XIV, the Ironmen looked out of it. That was before Devin Hester (for the last time, yes, THAT Devin Hester!), a returner, scored twice on Monday Night in St. Louis. It was literally how they got their upset win that week, and into the playoffs. Now this alone wouldn’t be enough for an award like this. But then they took that playoff birth, and took it all the way to the finals, where even in their loss, played an excellent game. If that’s not excitement, I don’t know what is. Judges’ Award; Excellence in Analyses: Koko's X-Cats Just reminding Ed that he’s appreciated. :) Every week, he provides his perspective on the matchups that are about to occur. They’re always a good read, and are useful when making my postgame reviews as well. #1 Seed Award (hereby renamed to The Man Award): stantheman If you watched STM play all season long, they were actually quite dull. There were no fantastic wins, nor fantastic losses. But they were easily the most consistent team this season. They kept winning and wining, and they even managed to clinch this award before Week XIV. That’s why the judges (i.e., me) have seen fit to rename this award in their honor. Top Gun Award (hereby renamed to The Commissioner’s Award for Fantasy Points): Nor Cal Crushers Their wins were big and their losses were small. At least until they got to the playoffs, but the playoffs are meaningless when it comes to this award. We can tell that by the fact that my team (Rhode Island Dynamic) tied with Nor Cal for the number one spot in fantasy points, yet failed to even make it to the playoffs. And let’s face it, something as bad as tying for the lead in fantasy points and still failing to make the playoffs could only happen to me. That’s the reason for the rename. Irony FTW. Featherweight in the Finals: Amazin' Blue We’re going old-school here with an award not seen since 2000. This award goes to the team with the fewest fantasy points to make the playoffs. Why is this important? Because that means the team was more concerned with wining than making it look good. I may have ragged on the Blue quite a bit this season, but that doesn’t take away the fact that they won enough to secure the number 6 seed. EddieMcD Bowl Winner: Nor Cal Crushers I have to admit, I was a tad disappointed that the Crushers lost their first two postseason games after their domination in the regular season (see above), but I’m really glad they at least won their bowl game. You all saw how Nor Cal played all season long, and this award, while probably not the game they would’ve wanted to win, is the culmination of their efforts. I-am-JVN Bowl Winner: T-Hawks Props to the T-Hawks: they held on to the last playoff spot against the fierce competition of the X-Cats and Dynamic. They also pulled off an incredible upset against the Minions to win this bowl game. Leverette Bowl Winner: stantheman STM’s one playoff loss came to the eventual champion, so it wasn’t that bad. As the number one seed (and officially “the man”), they won twice in the postseason, including a total routing in this bowl game. Kamen Bowl IV Runner-Up: Indiana Ironmen I already spoke about the awesomeness that was the Ironmen up top. They shouldn’t have made the playoffs, but they turned that around, making it all the way to second place, and gaining themselves a few fan(atic)s along the way. Kamen Bowl IV Champion: Silver Lobos In five of their last six games, postseason included, the Silver Lobos cleared the 90-point mark. Nobody came close to that type of run at any time this year. And half of it was in the playoffs, when it mattered the most. It’s no surprise these Lobos are the alpha wolves this season, and they’ll be taking home a (hypothetical) shiny trophy to show for it. Well, I finally got an end-of-season awards done. I have to admit that it’s a bit lacking, but hopefully by next season, it’ll be all fleshed out. I welcome any and all suggestions for improvement. Speaking of next season, there’s a couple things I’m going to be experimenting with in other fantasy leagues. The main two things are the possibility of a live draft, and using commissioner approval for all trades. I’ll bring these issues up over the summer when registration opens up. I had a great year with you guys, and I hope to see you all back next season. :) |
Re: 2007 FIRST Fantasy Football
I thought you had forgotten! Lol.........great analysis and everything, thanks for all the work you put into it! See ya next year!
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