Round 2 Playoff Awards

Thursday Night games are over and I usually do a big write up on the Wane McGarity Bowl Preview so let's get to the Round 2 Awards.

Wane McGarity Stud Of The Week

Pierre Garcon (Danny's Little Giants)

7 receptions, 129 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 21.5 points

If Jamaal Charles qualified he'd be the no brainer for his record setting performance, but alas he doesn't so I'll give the award to the guy that lead my team in scoring. Garcon could be primed for a repeat performance as he gets the hapless Cowboys D next. I sure hope that will happen!

Michael Wiley Dud Of The Week

Coby Fleener (Welcome 2 Goodburger)

0 receptions, 0 yards, 0 points

 

 Goose eggs SUCK. Especially in the semi finals. Especially when you lose by 2.5 points. Such a disappointing effort from a usually reliable player.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Of The Week

Ace Sanders (Welcome 2 Goodburger)

2 receptions, 17 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 8 points

 

Ace Sanders was a giant gamble as Posey is thin at receiver depth with the loss of Wes Welker for the week and lo and behold he scores. He might not have done much else, but 8 points is good enough for a WR4 at best.

Tony Romo Bad Decision Award

Mike plays Jason Campbell over Tony Romo

 

Fitting the biggest Tony Romo Bad Decision Award handed out so far involves...Tony Romo. No Need to rehash the story. Campbell over Romo will live in Wane McGarity Bowl infamy.

 

Week 2 Results: One Step Closer To The Title

It's always great to make the final four. The "money round" so to speak, as you are guaranteed to at least play for your money back even if you lose. Of course the chance to play for the biggest prize of them all awaits those who pull of the victory. 4 try, 2 succeed. It was your typical chaotic playoff weekend, with so much at stake, all the hard word owners put in their teams, all with a possibility of coming to an end. We now know who will be facing each other in the 4th Wane McGarity Bowl. Without further ado....the results


Not Even Lying (2-0)                   77
The Bad Robofies (0-1)                59.5

We'll start with the most anti-climatic of the matchups. Here's why Kenny took the risk of playing Mayra in the 1st round. Had Kenny stuck to his guns and played it out, he would've faced me in the 2nd round and gotten DESTROYED. Instead, despite a low score of 77 (Dad special still in effect) he handily beats Dad who could only put up 59.5 points. The Thursday night Demaryius play was an indicator of Kenny's potential low scoring, and Shane Vereen and Charles Clay didn't help matters combining for 3 points but Dad lost Donald Brown early and never recovered. 6 players scored 7 or under for Dad, including Andre Johnson, Anquan Boldin, JIMMY GRAHAM, Ray Rice and of course Brown. Just a brutal week for Dad's guys to come crashing down to earth. Colin Kaepernick led Dad's team in scoring with 20. Kenny's guys did a little bit better in the afternoon games and Rashard Jennings led and saved the day with 2 TD's and 23.5 points. Despite 3 turnovers, Drew Brees managed a Rushing TD, and Passing TD, to salvage his day for 20 points. Calvin Johnson was AWFUL by his standards, and dropped numerous balls. Good thing he was already in the driver's seat for the win. The magic ride for Dad has officially come to an end but what a ride it was. It was amazing to see week after week, Dad pull off victories that no one thought were possible. It was another great season for Dad. His 2nd 10 win season, a record 8 game winning streak (can't see that being broken anytime soon), a 1st round bye, and still a shot at placing 3rd in the consolation game. I'm sure there are plenty of other teams who would take that kind of season in a heartbeat so definitely still a very successful season. He still seeks his first playoff win, but every year Dad has gained experience and knowledge and becomes an even better fantasy player. This is a guy who picked up the game with zero knowledge 3 years ago, and now he's in the final four. Very impressive if you ask me.  Congrats Dad, you are a formidable opponent indeed! As for Mr. Bybee, well congratulations are in order for him too. He picked up his first playoff win last week and now is one step closer to the ultimate prize...the Wane McGarity Bowl  Championship. There's no doubt if there's a team that can win it all, it's Kenny's. For Dad, he'll be in the 3rd place game, and hey placing is still a high honor in our league. He'll be ready to go as well.

Game MVP

Rashad Jennings (Not Even Lying)

91 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD's, 3 receptions, 12 receiving yards, 23.5 points

 

Danny's Little Giants (1-0)               102.5

Welcome 2 Goodburger (1-1)           100

What...A.....Game. Just wow. You can't get any more dramatic with a trip to the finals on the line than this semifinal between me and Mike. Remember, I had already fucked up and started Montee Ball over Chris Johnson (who natrually, OF COURSE, scored a TD and ended up with 16.5..just so PREDICTABLE THAT HAPPENS). Mike made an equally questionable move. I thought at first it was a mind game. Jason Campbell over Tony Romo. No way right? I know Romo's been kinda lethargic lately but can you really bench him in the semifinals for Jason Campbell? Well apparently you can because Mike did it. It's not as out of this world as you would think, but it's verrrrrry risky. It is the Bears Defense, which sucks. Unfortunately Campbell blew (though AGAIN OF COURSE, with the game basically done, the Bears gave up a 45 yard score to JOSH GORDON, so Posey double dipped on the play. It was in the last damn minute that happened. So damn cruel) and finished with only 12 points, while that TD Gordon caught totally saved his day, as he was held in check all day. The day actually started big time in Posey's favor, 3 straight TD's, Tony Gonzalez, Ace Sanders (YEP, SERIOUSLY), and Marshawn. I thought I was in for a lonnnnng day espcially because LeSean McCoy SUCKED (remember that snow game where he ran for a franchise record against a way better defense just last week? Yeah..he didn't come close to that), but it was my RECEIVERS of all players who started hitting it big. Garcon, V-Jax, Marshall, all TD's and Garcon and Marshall had huge games with 129 and 95 yards respectively. Tony Gonzalez and Marshawn had great games on Mike's side with Marshawn scoring 20 and Tony Gonzalez 15. The only dud was Coby Fleener who had a big 0. Can't have that a game decided by the slimmest of margins. So basically  I was up 2.5 going into the afternoon games. I had Witten, Posey had Zac Stacy and Jarrett Boykin...and on the first drive for the Rams Zac Stacy gets....HURT. Yep, doomed right? No way, he came back the next series, and later scored a 40 yard TD ,and ended up with 20.5 points. Because the Packers were playing SHITTY COWBOYS DEFENSE, AND EVEN WITH MATT FLYNN, Jarrett Boykin STILL put up a respectable 6 catches for 83 yards. Luckily Witten came through pretty huge with a TD of his own and scored me 15 points. So allllllllllll I need is 14 points from TWO PLAYERS (MY FUCKING QB BEING OF THEM) on you guessed it....MONDAY NIGHT...and it's off the title game I go!!! Any other owner would be thrilled!! 14 points?! Realllllly? And of of your players is Matthew Stafford?! He can do that himself! 14 points?! Torrey Smith? Against the Detroit Lions Secondary that routinely gets BURNED by big plays? So I'm celebrating this baby being done by the 1st half at worst right? Then you remember....Monday Night and Me this season. Jacquizz Rodgers...T.Y. Hilton, Drew Brees, Pierre Garcon, ZACH MILLER...it's been A NIGHTMARE for me when my matchup comes down to Monday Night this year. In fact, all 5 of my losses are due to Monday Night disappointment and it's of the CRUELEST FORM. The, "we make you watch the WHOLE DAMN GAME until we completely just SUCK YOUR SOUL OUT sometime in the 4th quarter and leave you to die". But...not this time right? WRONGGGGGGGGGG. Stafford was TERRIBLE. He had 2 points at HALF. I was still losing at half by like 7 points. 3.5 per guy no big deal right? Not the way the Lions offense was playing. I cut the lead to 3.5 and then BOOM Stafford pick...down 6 again. So aggravating...this is REALLY going to go down like this? Again  Torrey Smith catches a ball at the end of the 3rd quarter and the lead is 2.5. Lead gets to 1.5 and what DOES STAFFORD DO AGAIN.....PICKKKKKKKKK! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! BACK UP TO 3. This whollllllle time by the way Torrey Smith is stuck on 69 yards..a catch would be 1.5 points so naturally he NEVER CATCHES ANOTHER BALL AGAIN. Finally on what looked like the last drive for the Lions, down 3,  I needed a miracle. It was going to be hard to get 75 yards passing, but if he could somehow get a passing TD and for ONCE let me break this unbelievable shitty curse all would be forgiven. So they drove...and drove and all of sudden I'm down 100-99 with Stafford needing just 4 YARDS PASSING to tie (which I win via tiebreaker, I'd take it). 1st and 2nd down come and go....nothing. I got a baddd feeling about this. 3rd and 9 and......gotta be kidding TOUCHHHHHHHDOWN TO JOSEPH FAURIA!! I'M UP 104-100!!! THAT'S THE BALL GAME!!!! Stafford actually managed to remind me he was still a fuck by throwing ANOTHER INTERCEPTION, so my win turned to a 2.5 point win, but a win nonetheless and with that a 2ND TRIP TO THE WANE MCGARITY BOWL!!!! Holy crap what a game. I definitely earned that one. One of the best played fantasy football matchups in our league's history. So now..it Me Vs  Kenny....for the major prize. Fucking crazy. For Mike, man, I've been there, shitty break. It could've been me. Instead of Campbell over Romo, Ball over Johnson would've been the main headline. He took the gamble, it didn't pay off. What could've been though...I'm definitely OK with the decision as this post would've been something like you've never seen before had I lost. Mike will take on Dad in the 3rd place game (I'm guessing with Romo this time) while Me and Kenny duke it out for WANE MCGARITY BOWL!!! It's gotta go better for me than in 2011 when Albert beat my ass DOWN.

Game MVP

Pierre Garcon (Danny's Little Giants)

7 receptions, 129 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 21.5 points

 

Other League News: If anyone paid attention there actually were a couple of highlights of the consolation bracket matchups this week. First of all Jamaal Charles went OFF for a what would be a Wane McGarity Bowl Record 55 points had this not happened in the consolation round. He scored 5 TD's and Matt easily dispatched Leland to take on Eugene (who took out Drew) in the 7th place game. Hey pride is pride, get that W guys. That means Drew and Leland will face each other for the 9th place game. 4 teams seasons officially ended this week. The 11th place game was decided and Ryan took home honors meaning that Albert is officially last place this season. From 3 straight finals appearances(and 2 titles) to last place, you can bet Albert will be ready to rectify this situation next season. Also, there was a little smack talk going on between co workers Mark and Mayra for that 5th place game. Mayra got the best of Mark and finishes officially 5th place. I think co-worker bragging rights were actually the bigger prize of it though!

Round 1 Playoff Awards/Thursday Night Overview

Yikes....well that was an ugly Denver performance last night, and it affected two of the teams left standing. I took a shot at Montee Ball and boy did I whiff. Seriously, I'm so relieved he had 6.5 points because he had 0 in almost 3 quarters of the game. The Denver offense as a whole was surprisingly putrid against a pretty bad Chargers Defense. Part of it was clock management as the Chargers were able to eat up chunks a clock with long run first drives. Still, when the offense was out there it just didn't click at all. Kenny was expected a huge game from Demaryius Thomas. He scored less than Montee Ball. Thomas was held to 4 catches for 45 yards. Not a great start at all, and now doubts start creeping in. Is Dad going to do it again? Honestly, the Ball performance does nothing to sway my opinion on my matchup, I thought I was going to lose and this confirms it. It's a horrible score for a running back. As for Kenny, I still think he's fine, however, it does raise a tiny bit of concern as Thomas is one of Kenny's top 3 players. The "playoff defense" of Dad strikes again. Here are the Round 1 Playoff Awards.

Wane McGarity Stud Of The Week

Drew Brees (Not Even Lying)

313 Passing Yards, 4 Passing TD's, 28 points

 

Apologies to Josh Gordon as he gets screwed out of this award yet again but I think based on the real life matchup (Panthers) and closeness of the fantasy matchup, Brees' performances had more of an impact. Kenny needed each and every one of these points to defeat Mayra and Brees was great with no turnovers against an elite Panthers defense.

Michael Wiley Dud of The Week

Dez Bryant (Bigger Balls)

2 receptions, 12 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 8 points

 

Down 11.5 points at half, a Mayra win was in the bag. I mean 5.5 points from Alshon Jeffrey and Dez Bryant would be a no brainer right? Jeffrey did most of the heavy lifting with 84 and a score in the 1st half, and while Dez did score,he only had 2 catches for 12 yards and because the game became a blowout, he'd be the one who was counted on doing the heavy lifting in the 2nd half. He did.....NOTHING. 0 catches. 0 points. 2 catches for 12 yards, another horrible performances that helped cost Mayra a chance at the semi-finals.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Award

Jacoby Jones (Welcome 2 Goodburger)

4 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 1 kickoff TD, 11 points

 

This was out of left field play that worked out for Mike. The receiving yards aren't much, but a Kickoff Return TD helped turn this desperation play into a solid one. Plays like these helped cushion Mike's lead against Mark.

Tony Romo Bad Decision Award

Kenny plays Jared Cook over Charles Clay

 This was looking like the biggest MISTAKE of the playoffs. Kenny who has rolled with Charles Clay all season, decided because of the matchups to sit him and play Jared Cook against the Arizona Cardinals. It was a very bad decision. Clay ended up with 2 TD's and 24.5 points on Kenny's bench. Jared Cook? 3 catches, 49 yards, 5.5 points. At halftime in the Bears-Cowboys game on Monday Night all Kenny could do was keep going back this decision as the main reason why he thought he was going to lose. Luckily he survived, but the only reason he had to go through all this drama was this almost costly decision.

Round 2 Matchups and Predictions

We are down to the final four. There were no upsets in round 1, seeds 1-4 are all still intact. The winners of the semi-finals go on to the big game. Here are the semi-finals and predictions

(2) Danny's Little Giants (0-0) vs
(3) Welcome 2 Goodburger (1-0)

Playoff Record
Danny's Little Giants: 2-2
Welcome 2 Goodburger: 1-1

Matchup Stats
All Time Record: I lead series 5-2
Last Matchup: I beat Mike 108-69.5 in Week 3

Key Players
Danny's Little Giants: Matthew Stafford (Ravens) Brandon Marshall (Browns) Vincent Jackson (Bucs) Pierre Garcon (Falcons) Torrey Smith (Lions) LeSean McCoy (Vikings) Jason Witten (Packers)

Welcome 2 Goodburger: Tony Romo (Packers) Josh Gordon (Bears) Marshawn Lynch (Giants) Zac Stacy (Saints) Tony Gonzalez (Redskins)

Wild Card
Danny's Little Giants: Difficult matchups for Brandon Marshall and Vincent Jackson. Who's going to be my #2 RB. New QB for Garcon

Welcome 2 Goodburger: Wes Welker out with concussion. Production from rest of receiving core.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: I win 106-93
I say: Mike wins. Yep, it's the pessimist in me. I've seen my team perform horribly for 3 straight weeks. I lost to two non playoff teams and would've only beaten Mark by 3 points had I finished 3rd. My top WR's have tough matchups, my other WR has a new QB throwing to him, and I have no real RB #2 as I have no clue who I'm going to use (right now Montee Ball is in and he plays tomorrow). I know Welker's out and Mike's using Ace Sanders and Jarrett Boykin, but right now I need my team to prove me wrong. They haven't in a month.why would they now?

(1) The Bad Robofies (0-0) vs
(4) Not Even Lying (1-0)

Playoff Stats
The Bad Robofies: (0-2)
Not Even Lying: (1-1)

Matchup Stats
All Time Record: Series is tied 2-2
Last Matchup: Dad beat Kenny 126-78 in Week 9

Key Players
The Bad Robofies: Colin Kaepernick (Bucs) Andre Johnson (Colts) Jimmy Graham (Rams)

Not Even Lying: Drew Brees (Rams) Calvin Johnson (Ravens) Demaryius Thomas (Chargers) Shane Vereen (Dolphins)

Wild Cards
The Bad Robofies: Kaepernick/Boldin combo needs to come up big. Lottery tickets in Cordarrelle Paterson, Rod Streater, and Donald Brown. Ray Rice performance.

Not Even Lying: Burelson bounce back? Who's the #2 RB?

Predictions
Yahoo says: Kenny wins 108-89
I Say: Kenny wins. This is the matchup Kenny wanted and it's obvious why. On paper it should be no contest. But guess what? Dad's defied odds all year. I don't think I've ever seen a bigger #1 seed who was such an underdog than Dad. Dad lead the league in fantasy points against and it's not crazy to think it can't happen again. Conventional wisdom says it doesn't, and Dad has a TON of risky plays. He'll need a couple of those guys to hit big, but hey no one thought Dad had a playoff team much less a team that finished 1st, won a record 8 straight in a row, and got a bye. Maybe it's destiny, maybe it's luck, who knows, but whatever it is Dad will need it to advance past a pretty good team. Kenny's hoping to end the magical ride. We'll see what happens.

Round 1 Playoff Results: Road To The Final 4

What a crazy, snowy unpredictable week we had in the 1st round of the Wane McGarity Bowl Playoffs. 4 teams duked it out to see who would advance to play me and my dad in the semi-finals. There was plenty of drama and intrigue to go around. Let's get to the results and see who's in and who's season has come to an unfortunate end.


Passion De La Puente (1-0)               106.5
Shock The Monkey (0-1)                     90

The score is actually closer than this matchup was. Posey had this wrapped up by the end of the afternoon games on Sunday. If not for Matt Forte blowing up for 26.5 points, it would've been a huge blowout. Outside of Forte, Mark's team pretty much reverted back to the team that lost 5 games a row before winning the last regular season game. Gronk did nothing in the 1st half, then got hurt and suffered a season ending injury. That was a huge blow to Mark and he never recovered. Nick Foles played decent despite the weather. A rushing TD saved his performance as he only had 179 passing yards, 1 passing TD, and a interception. Victor Cruz continues to be awful and did nothing of note and never scored another TD after week 4. This guy is a late season fantasy killer. He did it to me last year and now he did it to Mark. Only Brian Hartline scored double digits besides Forte and Foles. For Mike, Josh Gordon was held in check for the most part in the 1st half, but then EXPLODED and once again went off 151 yards and a  TD for 27.5 points. This guy is carrying Posey's team and if he can't be stopped, he'll be a main reason Posey wins a fantasy title. Jacoby Jones was a good spot start as he had a return TD, Wes Welker added a TD (but suffered another concussion and could be doubtful for Thursday Night's game which would be a significant blow to Posey's team). Zac Stacy, Marshawn Lynch, and Tony Gonzalez all added TD's as well. Only Coby Fleener didn't score a TD this week. With game well in hand, Romo added 3 TD's though the yardage sucked for 16 total points. Mike gets his first playoff win and will now play me in the next round while Mark's season comes to an end. It might have been a disappointing ending, but making the playoffs in your first year in is definitely an accomplishment and the season has to be viewed as a success. Mark now has year to think about Keepers and hope to build from the success he had this season.

Game MVP

Josh Gordon (Passion De La Puente)

7 receptions, 151 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 34 rushing yards, 27.5 points

Not Even Lying (1-0)                          118
Bigger Balls (0-1)                               106.5

The gamble PAID OFF.....BARELY. This was the matchup of the week and was full of so many unbelievable twists and turns. First of all right off the bat Bobby Rainey scored an 80 yard TD for Kenny and minutes later Big Ben found Emmanuel Sanders in the endzone for a TD. It looked like it was the beginning of a blowout for Kenny. The weather though forced Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson to have horrible games. They combined for 7.5 points. It looked like Mayra would take full advantage of this especially after Mayra got the double dip Antonio Brown/Big Ben TD. That game ended very crazy. On the last play of the game, the Steelers did multiple laterals and it ended up in the hands of Antonio Brown, at first glace it looked like he scored a TD, but upon closer look he BARELY stepped out of bounds. That was a huge letdown for Mayra as Roethisberger and Brown would've been credited for the TD's and Mayra could've won off that play. Kenny also made what could've been a season ending decision. He benched Charles Clay, who he's basically played all year, for Jared Cook based on the matchups. Clay ended up with 2 TD's and 24.5 points while Cook had a measly 5.5. How he still overcame that disaster it amazing. Shane Vereen was a PPR MONSTER with 12 catches for 153 yards and a rushing TD. The Broncos/Titans was important as Mayra had Moreno and Kenny had Thomas. Moreno had 19 points while Demaryius had 17.5. Mayra also got a TD from Vernon Davis and all that was left was Drew Brees for Kenny versus a tough Panthers D and Darren Sproles, Dez Bryant and Alshon Jeffrey for Mayra in what was expected to be a shootout. Brees was terrible Monday night against the Seahawks and no one knew what to expect going against an equally tough Panthers Defense. In the first quarter,  Brees had passed for  1 yard (to Darren Sproles). He played brilliantly though. 300 passing yards, 4 passing TD's, and Sproles did little so Kenny went up 36 points going into Monday Night's Cowboys/Bears game. Never say never though right? The very first drive, Dez scores a TD and at the end of the half Alshon Jeffrey caught an AMAZING TD PASS and the lead was cut 11.5. Things looked beyond bleak. It was given that Dez and Alshon could combine for 11.5 points in the 2nd half right? WRONG. The game became a blowout, the Cowboys basically quit and the Bears started just killing clock by running the ball. Mayra got 0 POINTS in the 2nd half. NOT ONE. So Kenny survives what was a knock down drag down fight against a very formidable opponent. He gets his wish and will take on Dad for the right to play in the Wane McGarity Bowl. With the win right there, it's a very disappointing loss for Mayra. Every time it looked like she had the advantage Kenny answered. She came so close, and at half time I really thought she had it in the bag. Football is so unpredictable though. She had a great season, and hopefully next year she'll be able to improve and not just make the playoffs but win a game. She'll take on Mark in the super depressing 5th place game.

Game MVP

Drew Brees (Not Even Lying)

313 Passing Yards, 4 Passing TD's, 28 points (Vs Carolina)

Other League Notes: In the Michael Wiley Loser Bowl, obviously Ryan didn't care, hell I'm not sure Leland cared, but Ryan played an inactive Delanie Walker and lost to Leland by half a point. Albert's nightmarish season continues as he loses to Eugene yet again and will now play Ryan in the 11th place game. From the Finals to the Last Place Finals. That has to suck.

Week 13 Awards

The Thursday Night Game between Houston and Jacksonville was irrelevant from a fantasy standpoint so there's nothing to review. Here are the final regular season weekly awards for week 13.

Wane McGarity Stud Of The Week

Alshon Jeffrey (Bigger Balls)

12 receptions, 249 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD's, 42 points

Believe it or not, this was even the 1st or 2nd best scoring performance of the week. Both Eric Decker and Josh Gordon scored more, but out of the 3, Alshon's performance was the most fantasy relevant and helped clinch a playoff berth for Mayra. Eugene had Decker and while it was great performance, it was in a meaningless game, and Posey still lost despite getting 43 from Josh Gordon. Alshon's 42 helped beat a heavily favored Kenny team and set up a rematch in Round 1 of the playoffs.

Michael Wiley Dud Of The Week

Marshawn Lynch (Passion  De La Puente)

45 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 12 receiving yards, 6.5 points

 

I dunno what it is about Monday Night Games, but Marshawn has been allergic to success on them. For the 2nd time, he scored under 10 points, last time it was against the Rams. You would've thought with a big lead, he'd be able to get some garbage time yardage, but nope, stopping the run was the only thing the Saints were able to do. He's one of the reasons why Mike couldn't take advantage of my loss and nab the bye himself.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Award

Zach Miller (Dr. Light's Robots)

5 receptions, 86 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 16.5 points

  

The only way to write this story better, was the ending. It ended up not mattering, as Mayra and Mark won their respective matchups. Had they not, though, this would've been the most dramatic way to clinch a playoff spot since Matt Schaub drove 99 yards in 2010 for Drew against Matt, which cost Kenny a playoff berth. Literally minutes away from gametime, Matt had to scramble to find a Tight End as Jordan Reed was ruled inactive late in the day. Matt curiously decided on Zach Miller, who honestly isn't really part of the passing game, and I thought was someone I didn't have to worry about. DEAD WRONG. He quickly caught a 50 yard pass before scoring a TD. It took basically the whole game, but finally in the 4th quarter Miller caught the ball that gave Matt a 1.5 lead and win. This could've cost me my bye had Mike or Kenny won. What could've been.....

There is no Tony Romo Bad Decision Award

What Happened?? A Look At The Teams That Didn't Make The Playoffs

At the beginning of each fantasy football season, everyone believes they have a shot at Fantasy Gold. All 12 teams believe they have the team that will end up the Wane McGarity Bowl Champion. But to put it blunt, shit happens, and with only 6 teams making the playoff cuts, that leaves 6 other teams out in the cold and the big question is...WHAT HAPPENED? Was it bad drafting, trades, bad schedules, injuries, not picking up those key free agents? There's got to be a reason right? Well, I'm bored and I'll try to deduct what I think happened to the 6 unfortunate teams that are vying for a less coveted title...The Michael Wiley Loser Bowl.

#12 Eugene (Springville-Warrior)
Record: 4-9

What Happened?
-Julio Jones Season Ending Injury: This was huge and probably the biggest blow to Eugene's team. Julio Jones was done after week 5 and as Leland's best wide receiver and 2nd round pick, it was a huge gap that unfortunately no wide receiver was able to fill.

-The Trent Richardson Trade: As a reaction to Julio Jones going down, Eugene dangled Trent Richardson who at the time still had value. He turned down Josh Gordon and V-Jax, and settled on a Chris Johnson/Kenbrell Thompkins combo. Now in hindsight, the trade wasn't necessarily a killer as Trent Richardson is straight up droppable now, but he ended up trading Chris Johnson and dropping Thomkpins. Josh Gordon would've been a hell of a lot better alternative hell even V-Jax would've been.

-Lack of Consistent Receiving: Ties in to the Julio injury. Outside of Julio, Eugene had a maddeningly inconsistent group of wide receivers. Eric Decker was the best of the group and the defacto #1 but in his last 7 games he failed to produce 10 fantasy points in 5 of those games (though he admittedly went off for 25 and 45 in the other two). Julian Edelman, Chris Givens, Eddie Royal, Darrius Hayward-Bey, it was basically one of the weakest core group of receivers in the league.

-DeMarco Murray Injury/Production-Murray as Eugene's best running back missed two games due to injury and in the games he played had 7 games of under 15 fantasy points. As the lead back, that's not elite production.

#11 Ryan (Hoosier Daddy)
Record: 4-9

What Happened?
-Horrible 1st Half Start: Ryan started the season 1-5 and none of his losses were even close. The combination of a horrible Tom Brady start, a bad Stevan Ridley start, no real startable Tight End, and a crappy Marques Colston did him in. Even after the two huge trades he made with me, it was too late the salvage the season.

-Bad Luck 2nd Half Schedule: The trades with me dramatically improved Ryan's team. Unfortunately he always seemed to be outscored on weeks he did great. He lost to Kenny by 1, while scoring 118 points, lost to Drew by 5 the next week while putting up 107.5, lost to Dad by 2 points in a low scoring affair, and lost to me by 20 despite putting up 109 points. All that happened in the 2nd half of the season. The 3 losses by 8 points is critical and if he would've have picked those up, he'd be starting at a 7-6 record and possibly a playoff berth. Just one of the "not in the cards" seasons for Ryan.

#10 Leland (Next!!!!!)
Record: 5-8

What Happened?
-C.J. Spiller #1 Draft Pick: Hands down the worst #1 pick in the history of the league. A huge reason that Leland's season went down the drain. What a bust. Yes, last week (when it didn't matter) he went off, but it was too little late, the damage had been done. Spiller was beyond awful. He was oft injured and even when healthy was severely outperformed by aging veteran  Fred Jackson. After that 140 yard, 1 TD performance last week, he's still the 29th ranked running back this season. Just a brutal blow and since we're a keeper league, there's a solid chance he's not even kept. For a #1 pick not even to be kept...that's insane.

-Sleeping on the QB during the draft-Leland admitted he kinda fell asleep at the wheel during the draft regarding his QB situation. He thought he could play the waiting game, but he waited a little too long and was force to go with Jay Cutler as his starting QB. Not happy with that situation, before Week 1, he traded away with Kenny who had strategically drafted Matthew Stafford after already having Drew Brees as trade bait. The trade for Stafford basically cost Leland his 2nd and 3rd round picks as he shipped Randall Cobb and Chris Johnson in a deal for Stafford, Lamar Miller, and James Jones. Miller was another fantasy expert dud. He never got out of a timeshare with Daniel Thomas until now, because of Thomas' season ending injury. He's now fodder on my bench. I think Leland was doomed anyway, as Cobb would suffer a season ending injury, and CJ2K hasn't lived up to his potential either. Stafford would be later shipped to me. Just a move that took too much depth away from Leland's team and combined with Spiller and reason #3 was just too much to overcome.

-GRONK: Leland was the team that decided to gamble on Gronk. Supposed to be only at minimum maybe 2-3 week injury, Gronk took forever to come back. Using a high draft pick, he left a glaring weakness on Leland's roster. By the time he came back, Leland had sold low on him and traded him to Mark for Jason Witten. Pretty much a wasted draft pick and NOW Gronk is back to being a top 2 tight end.

-Bad Draft/Lack of Talent/Scoring: Looking at it, it was just a bad draft in general. Looking at back, it's actually a pretty brutal draft, consisting of busts and injury prone players. Look at the first 10 picks. Spiller (bust/hurt), Chris Johnson (not living up to potential), Cobb (Traded but lost for year) Montee Ball (Bust, especially in round 4, though he looks good now, I have him on my bench now) Gronk (Injury prone, then sold low) T.Y. Hilton (Traded away, but hasn't lived up to potential) Miles Austin (beyond irrelevant and injury prone, traded away) Deandre Hopkins (very inconsistent rookie) Jay Cutler (Injury prone) and Danny Woodhead (Best of the bunch). His best pick was his Keenan Allen pick in the last round, but he ended up cutting him and Drew got him and used him. It's no wonder Leland was last in scoring, the talent was severely lacking combined with trades he had to make. He only scored over 100 once all season and it was in week 2. He only scored even 90 one more time (naturally beating me in the process, lol). Just wasn't enough to get it done.

#9 Albert (Channel 4 News Team)
Record: 5-8

What Happened?
Top Heavy Team: Honestly, this is a head scratcher. How does a team with Peyton Manning, A.J. Green, Alfred Morris, and Frank Gore finish with a 5-8 record and go on a 4 game losing streak to finish off the season? I guess if you had to point out something, is it wasn't a super balanced team. Albert was using Scott Chandler types of Tight Ends after Jermichael Finley got hurt, and T.Y. Hilton and Mike Wallace though intimidating, weren't week to week consistent players. Maybe he should've used one of his running backs (he also had Le'Veon Bell on his bench who is more than suitable as a RB #2) as  trade chip to improve the depth.

Came up Short In The Last 3 Weeks: Albert was 5-5 going into week 11 with 3 straight favorable matchups. My Dad, Ryan, and Eugene. Surely he could take 2 of these to clinch a spot. Nope. His team was beyond awful against my Dad, scoring only 55 points, Frank Gore and Alfred Morris couldn't combine for 10 points two Monday Nights ago, thus losing to Ryan 1.5 and the easiest matchup of all, Eugene, was a disaster. His team went absolutely insane, and though Albert put up good points, Eugene's team played out of it's mind and won easily. Not taking advantage a friendly schedule down the stretch is what ultimately did the former 2 time champ in.

#8 Drew (I'm A Paul Heyman Guy)
Record: 6-7

What Happened?
-Unlucky Luck: Another head scratcher because Drew had the best RB duo in the league in Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush. Maybe ff Drew had a slightly better fantasy QB, he might be looking at a playoff berth. Bottom line, Luck hasn't cut it this year in fantasy land. The loss of Reggie Wayne made it even worse. He's still a top 10 QB, but his performances was pretty lackluster (9 games under 20 points, 5 of those under 15). More consistency at the QB position would've been nice.

-Same Skilled Wide Receivers: Is too much depth a bad thing? It can be, when you have no idea who to play, because noone absolutely stands out. Drew had probably the most deep receiving core in the league by numbers and on paper. Michael Floyd, Kendall Wright, Keenan Allen, Cecil Shorts, Danny Amendola, and Hakeem Nicks. That's 6 legit starters. The problem is...there's no clear cut #1 on this team. Nicks and Amendola are always tempting because of their past, while you never what what your young receiver core was going to do. Drew was bound to some weeks play the wrong receiver. It would've been nice to clear out some of that depth and consolidate to get a star receiver. Unfortunately that never happened.

-Bad Heartbreaking Losses:  Drew had no problem putting points up, in fact he put up more points than my Dad who finished 1st. It was those gut wrenching losses that piled up and did him in. A 2.5 point loss to Eugene, followed by a 9 point loss to Mark when he had a 3-1 advantage that Monday Night, followed by a half point loss to Mayra because Austin f'n Pettis of all people caught a pass. All those happened in a row. He gets one of those wins back, he makes it. That simple. Horrible way to miss the playoffs.

#7 Dr. Light's Robots (Matt)
Record: 6-7

What Happened?
-QB Carousel: One of the things that plagued Matt at the beginning was playing the wrong QB. Matt would rotate between Vick and RGIII (and Nick Foles on one occasion) and it never seemed to work. It seemed like he always picked the wrong guy. It's not a great situation to be in when you have to consistently 2nd guess your QB play.

-Underproduction of WR's: The Roddy White Situation just killed Matt. He kept playing despite being injured, Matt felt obligated to play him and week by week he would suck. Matt's receiving core just hasn't been the best all season. Even Aaron Rodgers injury affected Matt, as Jordy Nelson saw his production drop. Matt made a trade for Marques Colston, but it was too little too late.

-Heartbreaking Losses: Despite the first two reasons, two losses stand out as why Matt didn't make it at the end. The 4 point loss to Dad, when he played Nick Foles (Concussed in the Dallas Game) over RGIII (who outscored Foles by like 20 points) and the 1 point loss to Drew two weeks ago, when RGIII needed 6 points to win and finished with a ridiculous 4.5. If it wasn't for those, Matt would've made the playoffs in dramatic fashion by beating me with a Zach Miller catch in the last minutes of the 4th quarter. Instead, it  goes as a cool, but otherwise meaningless win. Fantasy Football....what a cruel bitch.

The real explanation is there is no explanation why these teams didn't make it. It just happens. Someone has to win, someone has to lose. Sports are unpredictable as is Fantasy Football. You just never know how the season is going to turn out.