Year End Awards: Michael Wiley All Dud Team & Dud of the Year

Busts, Disappointments, Duds, they all mean the same thing in the world of fantasy football, and it's always inevitable that for some reason or another, players just don't live up to their wildly high expectations. For those who drafted them, it's a near death blow that can cripple your franchise for the season. Here's a look at the Dudliest of the Duds. I took into consideration, the player, the reason (I tried not to pick guys like Jamaal Charles, who probably would've have a great season, but tore his ACL in week 2), the relative draft position, and how it effected the team that had them. Here's the Michael Wiley All Dud Team.

QB-Philip Rivers (Dr. Wily's Robots)

QB Rank: 9

Overall Rank: 17

Acquired: 3rd Round (21st overall)

On the surface, this might not look like a dud. I mean, at the end of the day, Rivers finished with an overall rank of 17, but ranks don't always tell the whole story. Rivers was the 5th QB taken in the draft, and first pick of the 3rd round. Rivers finished 9th overall and 5 quarterbacks drafted later than him finished better, and another one Mark Sanchez overall was just two spots below him. Rivers was brutally bad the first half of the season, so bad, that Matt basically went the whole year with Eli Manning who he drafted 80 picks later in the 11th round and was one of the QB's that finished higher than Rivers. Usually you would play the 3rd guy you drafted for your team, luckily for Matt, Eli had the season of his life, otherwise Rivers would be a prime candidate for Dud of the Year.

WR-Andre Johnson (Da Boyz)

WR Rank: 70

Overall Rank: 212

Acquired: 1st Round (8th Overall)

Yes part of this is injury related, but that's a big problem. He can't stay healthy. Andre Johnson is always a big injury risk, and this year he basically wiped out his entire season by missing 9 games during the fantasy season. Even when he was out there, he wasn't exactly setting the fantasy world on fire and definitely not what you would expect the first receiver taken in the draft to produce. There were 69 receivers better than him and he was a big reason why Cindy finished dead last this season.

WR-DeSean Jackson (The_Twin_Killers)

WR Rank: 31

Overall Rank: 97

Acquired: Via Trade with Me along with Mario Manningham for Hakeem Nicks, Traded by Dad to me for Eric Decker and Brandon Lloyd, 3rd Round (22nd overall)

Here's a guy who managed to get traded twice for his "potential" only for the other team to actually get the better of the deal. DeSean Jackson was primed for another great season, but a couple things happened. Jeremy Maclin emerged, and DeSean publicly made it known he was upset with his contract situation and his play on the field sure showed everyone how unhappy he really was. He was 6th receiver taken overall in the draft by my dad (2nd pick in the 3rd round) and my dad was able to sucker me into a two for one by giving me Jackson for Eric Decker and Brandon Lloyd.  That trade ended benefiting my dad more than me, and after a few games of basically nothing, I swung a deal to get Hakeem Nicks for DeSean and Mario Manningham. The 6th overall receiver taken, shouldn't be the 31st overall ranked receiver. Maybe a change of scenery will help out DeSean, but for 3 teams in this league, we were all left with a bad taste in our mouths.

WR-Mike Williams (The_Twin_Killers)

WR Rank: 49

Overall Rank: 140

Acquired: Via Trade with Ryan for LaGarrette Blount, Drafted by Ryan in 4th round (34th overall)

 Yet another one of Leland's wide receivers. I never bought into Mike Williams, despite a nice rookie campaign. Looks like I was right. Now all Ryan managed to do was turn him into another bust in LaGarrette Blount, but the fact that is all he could get for Williams shows how bad he was. Guys like Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant, Marques Colston, Dwayne Bowe, were all available and that's just the receivers. He was definitely not worth the 4th round pick.

RB-Chris Johnson (The Bad Robofies)

RB Rank: 17

Overall: 44

Acquired: 1st Round (2nd Overall)

Probably the biggest no brainer in recent memory. You'll never see Chris Johnson drafted in the 1st round much less 2nd overall again. How my dad survived this pick is beyond me, but not only did he survive, he stuck with him all year. Yes, he had a mini resurgence, but for the most part he was dreadfully awful. The 2nd overall pick of the draft shouldn't be ranked below 16 other running backs. Looks like CJ took the money and run.

RB-Peyton Hillis (Channel 4 News Team)

RB Rank: 38

Overall Rank: 155

Acquired: Free Agency, previously traded from Zach along with Johnny Knox to Kenny for Jeremy Maclin, Jordy Nelson, and Deangelo Williams. Drafted 3rd round (23rd overall)

Honestly a bigger travesty than Chris Johnson. He basically help destroy two teams, and yet the irony is he ended up on the bench of the eventual champion. Hillis was another guy I just never bought into. He was taken in the 3rd round, and had a couple of mediocre  games, before Zach traded him to Kenny for what ended up being the catalysts of his team. Zach stole Jordy Nelson, and Jeremy Maclin (while also getting DeAngelo Williams as a throw in) from Kenny in this trade, and all three had way better seasons than Hillis, who Kenny used for like only 2 or 3 games before cutting him loose completely. The Madden Curse continues unfortunately and it took Zach and Kenny with it.

TE- Dallas Clark (Dr. Wily's Robots)

TE Rank: 36th

Overall Rank: 226

Acquired: 6th round (60th overall)

Yes there was no Peyton Manning, but Clark was supposed to be safety valve for whoever was at helm at QB. Whether it be Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter or Dan Orlovsky, Clark was still supposed to get his. But alas, he became non existent, and there were 35 tight ends better than him. You know how hard it is to have 35 tight end outproduce you? Matt stopped using him after a couple weeks. It was just a big fall from grace for the 4th Tight End taken overall. That's right he was taken before Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski.

Michael Wiley Dud of the Year

Peyton Hillis-RB

CJ was definitely a dud, and had higher draft expectations due to his draft position, but my dad still managed to finish with a 9-4 record despite him. Hillis on the other depleted Kenny's receiving core, and provided nothing of value. He was supposed to help out his running back problem and instead added to it. Unlike CJ, Hillis was just flat out dropped, the only player in the top 3 rounds to be dropped for a non-injury reason. Congrats Peyton Hillis, you officially suck!

Year-End Awards: All-Rookie Team & Rookie of the Year

It's time to announce the Year End Awards for our league. Now the criteria is specifically for this league only so for example Andy Dalton had a great rookie season, but since he was never used as a consistent fantasy player in our league, he was not eligible for consideration. To be considered eligible you had to have been a significant player used in our league. First up will be the All-Rookie Team.

QB-Cam Newton (Hoosier Daddy)

QB Rank: 2

Overall Rank: 2

Acquired: Via Free Agency

There's only 1 rookie QB that was used and made a huge impact and it was Cam Newton. His dual threat of running and passing the ball made him not only the best rookie QB in fantasy, but overall the 2nd best player at any position in fantasy football. Also, he saved Ryan's season, as Ryan had drafted Peyton Manning, and was left with just Joe Flacco as his backup. The minute Ryan picked up Newton, he started rollin, and got Ryan to a 9-4 record and a #2 seed bye. Ryan finished 3rd, and most of the praise can go to Cam and his mind boggling rookie stats.

WR- A.J. Green (Dr. Wily's Robots)

WR Rank: 12

Overall Rank: 50

Acquired: 13th round (121st overall)

Matt might have had a disappointing season, but A.J. Green was definitely a bright spot. While other teams were drafting backup tight ends and defenses, Matt managed to snag Green in the 13th round. When Kenny Britt went down, Green stepped up and arguably became Matt's best receiver on his team. He was a top 15 receiver and top 50 overall player. He destroyed the myth that rookie wide receivers don't produce in year 1.

WR-Julio Jones (Channel 4 News Team)

WR Rank: 22

Overall Rank: 73

Acquired: 7th round (65th overall)

Julio Jones was another rookie wide receiver who busted the "rookie wide receivers are horrible" myth. Despite missing a few games, Jones still managed to finish in the top 25 at his position and top 75 overall. Not too shabby when you considered he missed 3 games in the fantasy regular season. To add to his resume he had, Julio Jones was the 3rd best receiver in our league over the past month, which included 3 playoff games. Playoff games of 22, 14, and 16 were huge in helping Albert secure his 2nd straight fantasy championship.

RB-DeMarco Murray (Take Dat Wit Chu)

RB Rank: 28

Overall Rank: 82

Acquired: Via Free Agency

The fantasy football running back position was pretty thin as really only a couple players actually had an impact. DeMarco Murray was the best of the bunch, and hadn't been for the broken ankle he suffered against the Giants, he would've no doubt at the very least led Kenny to the next round. Even though his sample was relatively small, he still managed to rank in the top 30 at his position and 82nd overall. He helped rejuvenate Kenny's dreadful running back situation and kept Kenny competitive for the rest of the regular season.

RB-Mark Ingram (The Bad Robofies)

RB Rank: 43

Overall Rank: 167

Acquired: 4th round (39th overall)

Is it a little bit of stretch? Sure, and many can argue relative to his draft position he was overrated, but on my dad's ragtag team, he actually did provide value when he played. He also secured the winning point in Dad's amazing comeback win over Leland in the regular season. His overall ranks at position and overall might now show it, and he has missed 5 games due to injury, but make no bones about it, when he was in my dad's lineup he was effective.

No Tight End qualified for All-Rookie Status, also there wasn't a 3rd receiver who qualified, though if Torrey Smith was actually used more, he would've more than likely made it.

Wayne McGarrity Bowl Rookie of the Year

Cam Newton-QB

Was there any doubt??

Wayne McGarrity Bowl Finals: Albert takes the Title for a 2nd straight year

Channel 4 News Team     132
RuggedRaymontHarris    57

This was a laughable anti-climatic joke of a final. Every single thing that could go wrong went wrong for my team and it shows as I put up the worst Championship score in our league's history. 57 points, Arian Foster and Tom Brady put up 51 by themselves. My team decided to just give up on the most important week of the year. V-Jax was hurt and questionable and it showed in his stats. Nicks was horrific and dropped more passes just like he did last week, Antonio Brown had Charlie Batch throwing to him and did nothing. Even Ray Rice, who demolished the Browns last time around,  was great by anyone else's standards, but not by his own with 18 points. The biggest blow to the gut? Tony Romo being pulled out after throwing a total of two passes, cause of a hand injury and also because the game was meaningless. A 0 at the QB position....in the finals.....unreal. My 2nd leading scorer? A tie between Neil Rackers and Brent Celek with 11 points. Disgustingly bad. LeSean McCoy was a blessing all year..until this week where he apparently suffered an injury and was held to 4 points. I can handle losing, but this was beyond losing. Now I take solace in the fact that I don't think it mattered if Romo and McCoy played to their full potential because just like they have all playoffs, Albert's guys went OFF again. Led by Wayne McGarrity Bowl Finals MVP Tom Brady, who rallied from a horrible 1st half to end up with 29 fantasy points, the damage started on Thursday  with Arian Foster and his 22 points and Albert never looked back. Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, Steven Jackson, (in an ironic twist, it was a win-win for Albert cause Albert had Pittsburgh D so Jackson still got his, while Pittsburgh kept their shutout), and Jermichael Finley all contributed and had championship caliber performances as evidenced by the final score. Just an embarrassing ending for me and my team, but hey, all credit to Albert's team who through excellent drafting and one great trade for Brady, managed to bounce back for a lousy end to a regular season to dismantling the #1, #2, and #3 seeds of the playoffs. It also goes to show, that being a paper champion doesn't matter, it's about playing the actual game. Fantasy football is an unpredictable game, and nothing is ever guaranteed. Congratulations to Albert on his 2nd consecutive Fantasy Football Championship.

Wayne McGarrity Finals MVP

Tom Brady (Channel 4 News Team)

304 Passing Yards, 1 Passing TD

17 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TD's

29 Pts 

Other News: Ryan won the 3rd place game against Leland 136-116. First time for Ryan to place in our league. Zach beat Mike 91-75 to capture 7th officially. It has already been confirmed that Zach will not be back for next season. Matt will at least end his bitter disappointing season on a win, as he beat Cindy 76-66. If Cindy actually cared and checked she would've taken out the inactive Andre Johnson for Reggie Wayne but it is the 9th place game so it's totally understandable. Here are the final official league Standings

1st- Albert (Channel 4 News Team)

2nd-Me (RuggedRaymontHarris)

3rd- Ryan (Hoosier Daddy)

4th-Leland (The_Twin_Killers)

5th-Dad (The Bad Robofies)

6th-Kenny (Take Dat Wit Chu)

7th-Zach (Shredders)

8th-Mike (Salt & Vinegar Chips)

9th-Matt (Dr. Wily's Robots)

10th-Cindy (Da Boyz) 

The Wayne McGarrity Bowl Finals Matchup and Prediction

#1 Rugged Raymont Harris

vs

#6 Channel 4 News Team

Yes it's finally here, 10 teams battled it out for one reason and one reason only, to be the champion of the Wayne McGarrity Bowl. All the time spent on waiver wire pickups, trades, lineup decisions etc. was all for this one shot at glory. For me and Albert, here's our chance at the ultimate prize. For Albert, it's a chance to become a repeat champion. Who's going to take it all this year? Here's a in depth look at the finals.

Chris Puente (aka Me) RuggedRaymontHarris

#1 seed (9-4)

Last Season-3rd place

How I got here: Shrewd trading actually. Turning quantity and depth into quality helped me end up achieving not only a 9-4 record but a #1 seed (2nd year in a row) and a 1st round bye. Unfortunately for me, losing Greg Jennings (#1 WR) was a huge blow, and it showed, as I barely beat Leland in the 2nd round to get to the fantasy football championship.

Albert Rodriguez (Channel 4 News Team)

#6 Seed (7-6 record)

Last Year: League Champion

How he got here: What a roller  coaster ride. Albert started off on such a bad start, first having the computer autopick his first pick (lucky for him it was Arian Foster), then going two weeks in a row with starting an inactive player and going 0-2. Things were looking a little bleak for the defending champion until a little trade for Tom Brady shook things up. Albert traded away Matt Schaub and Steve Smith for Brady, and a core of Calvin Johnson, Tom Brady, and Arian Foster helped him get back in the playoff chase. He had a rough end to the regular season (3 straight losses), which made him the #6 seed, but that was nothing but a number because he has STEAMROLLED past both my Dad and Ryan with ease to get here. A 2nd straight championship is looking very good right now.

Players By Position

Quarterback

Tony Romo(RuggedRaymontHarris)

vs

Tom Brady (Channel 4 News Team)

Overview: Romo has been ON FIRE lately, but so has Brady, and lest we not forget Brady threw for over 500 YARDS last time they played Miami. Romo, on the other hand was awful against the Eagles the first time around. I doubt either extreme will happen, but I will still give the edge to Tom Brady this week.

Advantage: Albert

Running Backs

Ray Rice(RuggedRaymontHarris)

Lesean McCoy (RuggedRaymontHarris)

vs

Arian Foster (Channel 4 News Team)

Steven Jackson (Channel 4 News Team)

Overview: Probably the only position advantage I have. I say that even after Arian Foster already went nuts and had 22 points with his TD and 158 yards rushing. The big thing is Steven Jackson plays a tough Steelers defense while McCoy and Rice have prime matchups that they have exploited already in the Cowboys and Browns. I'll really need to take advantage of this situation if I want to have some semblance of a chance to win.

Advantage: Me

Wide Receivers

Hakeem Nicks (RuggedRaymontHarris)

Vincent Jackson (RuggedRaymontHarris)

Antonio Brown (RuggedRaymontHarris)

vs

Calvin Johnson (Channel 4 News Team)

Dez Bryant (Channel 4 News Team)

Julio Jones (Channel 4 News Team)

Overview: Here's where Albert just runs away with it. Albert's been so deep at WR, that he was able to trade Steve Smith and still not skip a beat. He has those big playmakers that could have MONSTER games anytime and all 3 have great matchups. Me on the other hand, have a problem with each receiver in my lineup. Nicks faces Revis, V-Jax is hurt and there's a possibility he won't play, and Antonio Brown has Charlie Batch now throwing to him. Not good at all. I think Albert has the decisive advantage here, and this big weakness, will open it up big time for Albert.

Advantage: Albert

Tight End

Brent Celek (RuggedRaymontHarris)

vs

Jermichael Finley (Channel 4 News Team)

Overview: Mercedes Lewis, Jermaine Gresham, Kellen Winslow, Fred Davis, Vernon Davis.. tight end has been a weak spot on my team all season. I could never seem to pick the right one, and just when it looked like Fred Davis would be an every week starter, he gets suspended for the rest of the season. This week I'll use Brent Celek, who's been hot as of late. Albert has the disappointing Jermichael Finley but with Greg Jennings out, he might end up being the #1 target for the Packers. I give the slight edge to Albert on this one.

Advantage: Albert

Kickers and Defenses: I already used Neil Rackers and he got me a decent 11. Albert is using Jason Hanson, and the good thing for him is that points will be scored there. Defense is very tricky. The Steelers have a prime matchup against the shitty Rams, and I'm rolling the dice and playing the Titans D against the Jags. I know the Titans blew last week, but it's a high risk high reward play I have to make.

Final Prediction: I hate to sound doom and gloom but I gotta say that Albert wins this, and there's a great possibility it's a blowout. My receiver situation is a mess and will get exploited and even though I have great RB plays, Albert already got 22 from Foster. You add Brady, Calvin, Dez, and Julio and there's just no way for me to compete. Maybe if I had a healthy V-Jax and Jennnings, but i don't and I don't think my replacements will be good enough to win. Albert gets his 2nd straight Fantasy Football Title, and I'll have to settle for 2nd place.

Other Note: Despite Ryan's Houston Defense sucking, I'm still gonna say he beats Leland in the 3rd place game. This is the week you want to have Mendenhall and his team overall is stronger than Leland's.

2nd Round Playoff Awards

Wayne McGarrity Stud of the Week

 Calvin Johnson (Channel 4 News Team)

Megatron had a disappointing last few games as of late, but more than made up for it when it counted the most. Calvin's 200+ yard, 2 TD performance helped Albert advance to his 2nd straight fantasy football championship.

Michael Wiley Dud of The Week

Mike Williams (The_Twin_Killers)

In a matchup as close as the one between me and Leland, every point counted and Mike Williams provided 0 points. He had not one catch against the Cowboys. In a matchup that was decided by 3 points, this was a huge blow.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Award

Seattle Seahawks Defense

Even though he lost, you can't fault Ryan's guys for putting points up. Ryan smartly took a risk and sat his Texans defense for the Seahawks who were playing Caleb Heine and the Bears. It wound up being his best play of the week as the Seahawks provided a jaw dropping 30 points. 

Tony Romo Bad Decision of the Week
Leland Playing Mike Williams

Like I said earlier, every move and decision is critical, especially when you lose a close one. It's easy to play the what if game when the game is over, but it's those decisions that can win you or lose you the game, and in the case, it lost Leland a chance at the title. If Leland had played either Mario Manningham or Torrey Smith, I'd be fighting for 3rd place and twenty bucks. Instead he chose Mike Williams (which trust me, as a Cowboys fan, I thought would've been a decent play cause our secondary is THAT BAD), and his reward was 0 points. I won by 3 points, so playing Manningham (5 points) or Smith (13) would've sealed the deal. It's always difficult to survive a  zero, but it's a little harder to swallow knowing that you had the players to avoid that zero.

Round 2 Results: Next Stop Championship Finals

Well, the final four battled it out this past weekend to see who would be playing each other in the Championship Finals and it didn't disappoint. We had one blowout and one dramatic win. Here are the results of Round 2 and who advanced to the ultimate stage.

RuggedRaymontHarris (10-4)     100
The_Twin_Killers (9-6)                   97

Overview: Hats off to Leland's players in the playoff run because despite the loss of his best running back, his team has been big time competitive and he was verrrrrrrrrrrrry close to advancing to the Championship Finals in this gritty close scoring affair. Leland couldn't ask for a better start when Roddy White busted out with over 130 yards receiving and 2 TD's for 25 points. Tony Romo had 25 points of his own Saturday night, but something that would become huge later but at the time seemed insignificant was Mike Williams being held to zero points against the Cowboys. If Leland plays either Mario Manningham or Torrey Smith instead, I'm cooked but instead he stuck to his guns and at the end of the day it cost him dearly. It was close throughout the day and there was some HUGE disappointments on my side including Hakeem Nicks dropping 2 TD's (one was a 54 yarder) and also having one called back. Nicks would finish with 74 yards and for Leland Ahmad Bradshaw got a meaningless TD (not for him of course) with mere seconds left in the Giants-Redskins game that saved his performance. Leland's Achilles Heal all year has been lack of receiver depth and it did him in here too as besides Mike Willams, Desean Jackson had only 2 points. Matthew Stafford had a HUGE game to keep Leland in the thick of things with nearly 400 yards passing and 4 TD passes. Unfortunately with Matt Forte out, Leland needs all of his other main guys to pick up the slack and Rob Gronkowski just didn't do it this week. He was held to 50 yards receiving. For me, Romo and LeSean McCoy (3 TD's) pulled more than their weight, while everyone else was just average. Only Ray Rice had double digits and even that was way below Rice's standards (50 rushing/receiving). I was down two points going into last night's game with Antonio Brown left, and things looked pretty bleak until the last drive of the 1st half where Brown finally caught a couple passes and got me 5 points to seal the deal. Definitely a hard fought and hard earned win and my hats off to Leland and his team for an unbelievable run. After placing 3rd last year, this will be my first trip to the finals and hopefully I have the weapons to win my first football championship. Definitely the best playoff match of the round.

Key Players

Tony Romo (RuggedRaymontHarris) 249 passing yards, 3 passing TD's, -1 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 Fumble Lost, 25 points

LeSean McCoy (RuggedRaymontHarris) 102 rushing yards, 3 rushing TD's, -5 receiving yards,  1 fumble lost, 26 points

Matthew Stafford (The_Twin_Killers) 391 passing TD's, 4 passing TD's, 5 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost, 29 points

Roddy White (The_Twin_Killers) 135 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD's, 25 points

Disappointing Players

Mike Williams (The_Twin_Killers) 0 catches,  0 yards, 0 points

DeSean Jackson (The_Twin_Killers) 28 receiving yards, 2 points

Rob Gronkowski (The_Twin_Killers) 53 receiving yards, 5 points

Jonathan Stewart (The_Twin_Killers) 43 rushing yards, 8 receiving yards, 4 points

Hakeem Nicks (RuggedRaymontHarris) 73 receiving yards, 7 points (Two Dropped TD passes, One TD Called back due to holding)

Ray Rice (RuggedRaymontHarris) 57 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards, 10 points


Channel 4 News Team (9-6)     129
Hoosier Daddy (9-5)                 105

Overview: Just how important was that loss to Cindy? Ryan's score would've beating Leland or me, but because of that loss he ended up in Albert's bracket as the #2 seed. Them's the bitter breaks in fantasy football. Really it was just Albert's guys going off again and basically having this one in the bag even before Ryan's guys finished. Albert's on a roll in the playoffs, easily beating both my dad and Ryan and now he'll try to defend his title against me. With the exception of Jermichael Finley (8 points) Jason Hanson and Pittsburgh's defense  all of Albert's guys had 10 or more points including Calvin Johnson just EXPLODING with 200 yards receiving and 2 TD's. Arian Foster (19 points) and Tom Brady (26 points) also were huge and when all three of Albert's big studs go off, it spells trouble. Julio Jones, Dez Bryant, and Steven Jackson all contributed nice games as well. For Ryan he had a nice balance of scoring and even had a sneaky surprise play in Seattle's Defense which netted him 30 points. Unfortunately for him, outside of Cam Newton (18 points) noone else really stood out. They didn't suck, they just didn't provide enough power to defeat Albert. At least Ryan has a shot at a 3rd place finish which is still respectable and he should be favored against Leland. It's better than nothing but still a bitter pill to swallow.

Key Players

Cam Newton (Hoosier Daddy) 149 passing yards, 2 passing TD's, 55 rushing yards, 18 points

Seattle Seahawks Defense (Hoosier Daddy) 8 points allowed, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 2  Defensive TD's, 30 points

Tom Brady (Channel 4 News Team) 320 passing yards, 2 passing TD's, 2 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 26 points

Calvin Johnson (Channel 4 News Team) 214 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD's, 33 points

Arian Foster (Channel 4 News Team) 109 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 58 receiving yards, 1 fumble lost, 19 points

Quick Notes: The rest of the league actually was in action too, as the 5th place  game and 1st round of the consolation bracket happened this past week. I'm not gonna do complete recaps because honestly, no one (even the competitors themselves) cares. So here's a quick recap. I don't know who's had a worse season based on expectations, Kenny or Matt, but they didn't do anything to help their case this week. Kenny got blown out by my dad in the 5th place game so he officially finishes 6th. His season ironically and rightfully ended with his final play being the overrated Baltimore defense. Matt, on the other hand, lost in the consolation to 3 win Zach, and will now play in the 9th place game. What a big downfall for a team considered to be a favorite to win it all. He'll face Cindy who had an actual competitive match against Mike Posey that ended in a tie. Did I mention Cindy played inactive Andre Johnson??? Neither of them care, but Posey had the tie breaker so he moves on to play Zach in the 7th place game.

2nd Round Matchups and Predictions

Well, we're down to the final 4 as me, Leland, Albert, and Ryan are all that's left of the field of 10.  We're one step closer to the Championship. So close, you can taste it. Here are the matchups for the 2nd round of the playoffs.

RuggedRaymontHarris (0-0) vs
The_Twin_Killers (1-0)

Matchup Stats
Last Matchup: I won 97-82 in Week 9
All-Time: I lead series 1-0


Already Played
The_Twin_Killers- Roddy White


Key Players (Opponent in Parenthesis)
RuggedRaymontHarris- Tony Romo (Tampa Bay) Hakeem Nicks (Redskins) LeSean McCoy (Jets) Ray Rice (Chargers)
The_Twin_Killers- Matthew Stafford (Raiders) Rob Gronkowski (Broncos)


Wild Cards
RuggedRaymontHarris- Vincent Jackson (Ravens) Antonio Brown (49ers) Bengals Defense (Rams)
The_Twin_Killers- Mike Williams (Cowboys) DeSean Jackson (Jets) Ahmad Bradshaw (Redskins) Jonathan Stewart (Texans) Lions Defense (Raiders)


Yahoo Revised Projection Says: Leland wins 102-99
I say: Leland wins, the Roddy White performance (136 and 2 scores) was big time huge, and  that puts me way behind from the start. Combine that with the loss of Greg Jennings, and not so desirable matchups for V-Jax, Antonio Brown, and LeSean McCoy plus uncertainty as usual at the tight end position and it's just not looking good for me yet again. Last year Vincent Jackson scored 29 points for Drew on a Thursday night and did me in, and it looks like a Thursday night play will do me again. The 25 pt cushion plus Matthew Stafford and Gronk, I believe will just be too much to overcome and it looks like I'll be playing for 3rd place for the 2nd straight years.


Channel 4 News Team (1-0) vs
Hoosier Daddy (0-0)

Matchup Stats
Last Matchup: Albert won 104-94 in week 10
All-Time: Albert leads series 3-2


Already Played
Channel 4 News Team- Julio Jones
Hoosier Daddy- Maurice Jones-Drew


Key Players
Channel 4 News Team- Tom Brady (Broncos) Calvin Johnson (Raiders) Dez Bryant (Tampa Bay) Arian Foster (Panthers) Steven Jackson (Bengals) Jermichael Finley (Chiefs)
Hoosier Daddy- Cam Newton (Texans) Mike Wallace (49ers) Jimmy Graham (Vikings)


Wild Cards
Hoosier Daddy- Anquan Boldin (Chargers) Jabar Gaffney (Giants) LaGarrette Blount (Cowboys) Rashard Mendenhall (49ers)


Yahoo Revised Projections Say: Albert wins 110-92
I say: Albert wins. Matchups play a heavy part and for Ryan, most of his main guys have terrible matchups. In fact, he might not use Mendenhall and us LaGarrette Blount since the 49ers have yet to allow a rushing TD all year. Mike Wallace is against the 49ers as well, and Cam Newton faces a tough Texans defense. MJD needed more than 11 points for Ryan to keep up, and it doesn't help that WR # 3 Julio Jones got 14 points of his own. Albert's got the more favorable matchups and it looks like Albert will be making the finals for the 2nd year in a row.

1st Round Playoff Awards

Wayne McGarrity Stud of The Week

Rob Gronkowski (The_Twin Killers)

Gronk has been a beast this year, and when it counted it most in the 1st round of the playoffs, he came up HUGE. 160 yards and 2 TD's to lead Leland's team in scoring and help him pull off the upset. He also broke Antonio Gates single season TD record. Not a bad day at all for Gronk.

The Michael Wiley Duds of the Week
Jason Witten (The Bad Robofies)
Chris Johnson (The Bad Robofies)

Two of Dad's studs that he really needed to come through, came up as small as possible this past week. Witten's been in a big time funk, and this week was no exception, only 12 yards receiving. Chris Johnson looked like he was going to be rejuvenated after a couple of nice weeks, but reverted back to his bust self with only 60 total yards. In the playoffs, you can't afford games like this from your big guns, and these two helped send my dad packing from his very first playoff match.

Tony Romo Bad Decision Award
Kenny's Decisions

Kenny struggled all week on which receivers to play, and unfortunately this was a big factor in his loss. He decided he didn't wanna go all Cowboys (which is understandable) so he chose Miles Austin who did alright, but if he plays Laurent Robinson he wins the matchup. Also two weeks ago, Kenny picked up Seattle's Defense with the intent of playing them against the horrible Rams. Instead, he went with old faithful in Baltimore against the Colts. Another decision that had he originally gone with his intended play, he would've won as Seatlle outscored Baltimore by 7. The curse of fantasy football strikes again, and once again Kenny will play for 5th place instead of competing for the fantasy title.