It started with 10 teams then was cut down to 6 then to 4 and now only 2 remain for the most prestigious Fantasy Football Championship there is...the ever elusive WANE MCGARITY BOWL! This year's matchup features the two time champion Albert Rodriguez and his Channel 4 News Team taking on Leland Lawrence's Twin Killers. Let's take a look at the Tale of The Tape.
Channel 4 News Team
vs
The Twin Killers
Albert Rodriguez Channel 4 News Team
4th Seed (7-6)
Two Time Defending Champion
How He Got Here: The same way he always does. He wins just enough games to make the playoffs and then rides Tom Brady all the way to the championship. After week 8, Albert was actually 3-5 in the midst of a 3 game losing streak. He then proceed to win four out of his last five to secure the #4 spot in the fantasy playoffs. The only difference in his journey this season is that Albert made no trades this time around depending mostly on his own draft picks and a couple of waiver wire pick ups to lead the way. He's an amazing 7-0 in the playoffs, having never lost in the Pay League Era. He's also our only champion having won the Ken-Yon Rambo Division and beating Drew in the finals in 2010 by only 8 points and then as a 6th seed last year he beat the #1, #2, #3 seeds in route to a blowout win against me in the finals. As the 4th seed this year, he barely got past Dad, lead by Tom Brady and a unbelievable 41 point defensive performance by the Seahawks. He then beat the #1 Seed and overall favorite Matt, by 18 points though it was closer than the score indicates. He'll now do his best to remain our only champion and become a 3 time Wane McGarity Bowl Champion.
Key Drafted Players
Tom Brady (1st Round)- Brady's been Albert's QB 3 years in a row, but this was the first time Albert actually drafted him. He was having an okish season but when it mattered, Tom Brady has come up HUGE in the fantasy playoffs, justifying being the 7th overall QB.
Brandon Marshall (3rd Round)- Man has Marshall been a stud. Going to the Bears and reuniting with Jay Cutler was a blessing. Marshall has had monster game after monster game and as a 3rd round pick was definitely one of the biggest values of the fantasy season.
Trent Richardson (4th Round)- Read my draft recap. Even in the 4th round I HATED this pick. I couldn't be more wrong. Richardson became a legit top fantasy back as a rookie and was another home run pick by Albert. I stupidly took Fred Jackson over him and Darren Sproles and Michael Turner were also drafted before Richardson. Getting an RB1 this late is a huge advantage. One of many reasons Albert's here in the title game.
Demaryius Thomas (5th Round) Seriously, I said Albert had the worst draft on paper?! He killed the middle rounds grabbing basically two legit WR #1's and RB #2 in rounds 3-5. Great job here. Thomas would be an awesome #1 on any team but as a #2? Man, just lethal. Albert will not be able to replicate this team again, that's for sure.
Key Waiver Wire Pickups
Seattle Defense- What else can you say about it. One of the most consistent defenses out there and ironically Leland dropped them.
Mikel LeShoure- When Willis McGahee went down, Albert picked up LeShoure who has been more than serviceable as a RB #2.
Lance Moore- He's up and down, but he's found his way into the starting lineup against a overrated drafted Dwayne Bowe.
Season Setbacks
The Willis McGahee Injury- McGahee was a more than serviceable #2 Running Back but his season ending injury threw a wrench in to Albert's running back plans. He's had to go with Mikel Leshoure who is maddening inconsistent and went with David Wilson last week who didn't do much. That wild card #2 RB slot is definitely one of the few weaknesses on Albert's team.
Underperforming Jimmy Graham- If there was one high draft pick that really didn't pan out it's Graham. Picked 14th overall, Graham just hasn't lived up the expectations based on last season's breakout season. He's been hurt as well. You start him every week hoping for the best, but for the most part, Albert's been disappointed with his play.
Season Highlights
102.5 Point Blowout Win Against Ryan in Week 2- 156.5-54, the biggest beat down in league history and one that I think will stand for a long long time.
57.5 point win against Drew in Week 4- Two weeks later, Albert obliterates Drew by almost 58 points.
Season Lowlights
105-71 loss to Mike Posey in Week 3. Bad, bad loss to a weaker team. Scoring from the previous was cut in half.
168-147.5 loss to Leland in Week- How bout this? Albert scores 147.5 points and gets BLOWN OUT because Leland scores the most points in league history. How fitting that this ended up being a finals preview
Record Setting Performances
Biggest Blowout All Time (102.5 points)
Largest Margin of Victory 2012 Season (33.83)
Biggest Defensive Performance All Time (Seattle Seahawks-41 points)
Most Receiving Yards In A Week 2012 Season (505 yards, Week 4)
Most Field Goals in a Week 2012 Season (5, Week 1)
Leland Lawrence The Twin Killers
3rd Seed (7-5-1)
Last Season: Lost in the Final Four to Me
How He Got Here: Ah Yes the man of mystery. "The Internet Guy" known fondly in our fantasy circles. When we expanded the league to 10 teams last season, I sent out an invite to anyone interested in the Blowout Cards Message Board Forum. Leland answered the call. He was the wild card, how would he do, how would he play the game? Questions that were quickly answered as Leland not only made the playoffs but won a playoff game against Kenny and lost to me in the 2nd round by only 3 points. He wasn't able to place last season, losing to Ryan in the 3rd place game, but the man of mystery was a mystery no more. He knew how to play the game. I invited back this year for another round and off the bat lady luck smiled on him with the #2 pick which he used on Ray Rice for the 2nd straight season. He would then trade him to me just like last season. Leland ended up making a couple of big blockbuster trades with me, trading me Ray Rice, and Eric Decker for C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson, and Rob Gronkowski. He also traded me Eli Manning, Victor Cruz and Fred Davis for Matt Ryan, Jordy Nelson, and Andrew Hawkins. Those were huge trades as C.J. Spiller and Matt Ryan are huge reasons Leland is in the finals and he made it with Gronk and Jordy Nelson missing a huge chunk of games with various injuries. The emergence of rookie running back Doug Martin also is a big reason Leland made it this far. Leland didn't start the season to hot he was 2-3 after 5 weeks, but then proceeded to win 4 in a row, and went 5-2-1 to finish the season. He lucked out and drew Mike Posey in the 1st round and easily defeated him then took on the weaker of the two bye teams in Ryan, and in a thriller beat Ryan by 7.5 points. He beat Albert earlier in the season by scoring a league high 168 points in a shootout win and now he looks to do the same on a much bigger stage.
Key Drafted Players
Julio Jones (2nd Round)- Not going to lie, it's been a roller coaster with Julio, with his bizarre road/home splits, and also minor injuries, but overall you're looking at a top 6 wide receiver despite all of this, and his play was crucial in advancing to the championship game.
Doug Martin (4th Round)- A gamble that paid off BIG TIME. Martin was the 18th running back at the back end of the 4th round. He's the 3rd ranked running back behind only Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster. He exploded with a 53 point game earlier in the season and has been very solid all year.
Key Transactions/Waiver Moves
Trading for C.J. Spiller and Gronk- The first major trade of the season. I was growing impatient with the injuries to my running back situation and knowing that when Fred Jackson came back he was going to split carries with C.J. Spiller no matter HOW badass Spiller is made throw up a huge blockbuster deal early in the season that basically gave Leland, Gronk and Spiller for Ray Rice and Eric Decker. Gronk was a force to be reckon with when healthy, and despite injuries and a timeshare Spiller is still a top 10 back and Fred Jackson's injury could't come at a better time (that sounds bad) as Spiller has the backfield basically all to himself.
Trading for Matt Ryan and Jordy Nelson- Another panic move as I didn't buy Matt Ryan's fast start and decided to "upgrade" at receiver for Victor Cruz and I thought Eli Manning would be almost just as good as Matt Ryan. WRONG. Though he fell off a little bit, he is still a top 6 QB and his playoff performance last week was crucial. Eli on the other hand is downright terrible. He's the 18th ranked QB and fantasy and real life has bombed big time. When healthy Jordy's been a beast. He just hasn't been healthy all season. If Leland had his full healthy team with Gronk and Jordy, I think he would've run away with the title. To make it this far without them shows the quality of the rest of his team. As for Victor Cruz, he came back to earth big time. He hasn't been bad, but he surely was too much of an upgrade over Jordy Nelson.
Picking Up T.Y. Hilton- This was a nice under the radar move for Leland. You could go as far as to say Hilton is Leland's #2 with Jordy Nelson out. He's been more than a capable backup also contributing to last week's narrow win against Ryan.
Season Setbacks
Injuries, Injuries, Injuries- If there's one thing that has plagued Leland is injuries to key players. Jordy Nelson and Gronk have both missed extended periods of time. Those are two big time losses, especially Gronk who is hands down the best Tight End in fantasy football. Imagine Leland's team with these two fully healthy....scary thought.
Season Highlights
The "All Giants" Game vs Me in Week 3- I'd never seen it before. 4 position players in the same fantasy matchup. Leland used Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Andre Brown, and Martellus Bennett against me on a Thursday night when they played the Panthers and what was a big time risk turned to a big time reward. Thanks to the play of those 4 more specifically Andre Brown, Leland nudged out a 9 point win against me. One of the best tactical moves made of the season.
The Shootout Win vs Albert in Week 8- This wasn't even the Doug Martin 53 point game. Leland's guys went straight up OFF in this week. Gronk-30 points, Matt Ryan-23, Julio-20.5, Doug Martin-33.5, Giants D-22. The best team scoring performance in league history. Oh and not to mention, Albert scored 147.5 points himself, so they combined for the highest combined score in league history. This is our finals folks.
Season Lowlights
Week 4 and 5 Blowout Losses to Kenny and Matt- This was early in the season but man losing by 41 points in back to back weeks. That's badddddd.
The Infamous Tie Game in Week 12- In retrospect it obviously doesn't matter, but at the time this was huge for Leland as well. Leland was still in contention for the #1 seed and a win would keep in the running. Instead I erase a 28 point lead with Bryce Brown and we end tying which did no good for me but gave Leland hope for that 2nd bye until......
Loss To Kenny in Week 13- Again, now it doesn't matter cause Ryan's playing for 3rd. while Leland's in the Championship, but at the time if Leland would've beaten Kenny, and Ryan lost, he would've gotten the #2 seed and a bye. Instead, Kenny blows him out and even though Ryan did lose, he kept the bye.
Record Setting Performances
Highest Score in League History (168 points, week 8)
Highest Individual Score in League History (Doug Martin, 53 points, week 9)
Matchup Stats
All Time: Leland leads Series 2-0
Last Matchup: Leland Beat Albert 168-147.5 in Week 8
Position Matchups
QB
Tom Brady (Channel 4 News Team)
vs
Matt Ryan (The Twin Killers)
Overview: Both have super nice matchups. Brady's got the better chance of maybe getting sat out because the lead might be to big but it IS the Patriots. If there was ever a time Matt Ryan needed to have a huge game this is it. The Falcons actually play tonight and this could be a major determining factor as to who wins. I think I'll give the slight edge here to Leland as I really do think this game won't be a total blowout and the Patriots have a better running game than the Falcons. Gonna be Real Close.
Advantage: Leland slightly
WR
T.Y. Hilton (The Twin Killers)
Julio Jones (The Twin Killers)
Torrey Smith*(The Twin Killers)
vs
Demaryius Thomas (Channel 4 News Team)
Brandon Marshall (Channel 4 News Team)
Lance Moore (Channel 4 News Team)
Overview: This is where Albert has to win and win big. On paper, he obviously has the much better receiver core. Torrey Smith is questionable so Leland might need to scramble and find a backup to replace him. T.Y. Hilton has been good, but pales in comparison to Thomas and Marshall and is probably on the level or little bit higher than Lance Moore. Julio Jones is going to have carry the majority of the load tonight, but this is one area where I think Albert has the clear cut advantage.
Advantage: Albert
RB
Doug Martin(The Twin Killers)
C.J. Spiller(The Twin Killers)
vs
Trent Richardson(Channel 4 News Team)
David Wilson* (Channel 4 News Team)
Overview: And this is where Leland needs to win big. Leland has the obvious advantage here with Spiller and Martin both top 10 backs and both with good matchups. Trent Richardson might be scoring, but his yardage has been going to down week to week, and against a tough Denver Defense, it's not an ideal matchup at all. Still not sure if Albert is going David Wilson/Mikel LeShoure, but neither are consistent enough to be 100% confident in.
Advantage: Leland
TE
Martellus Bennett (The Twin Killers)
vs
Jimmy Graham (Channel 4 News Team)
Overview: You would think the obvious advantage is with Albert, but Graham has been pretty average all season. Still there's no way you're benching him and he's still got more upside than Marty B. who is tied to Eli Manning and you never know what you are going to get from Eli.
Advantage: Albert
Kickers and Defenses: Albert's playing Seattle's D against the 49ers but with the cornerback position in turmoil it might not be a great play as you think. Leland's defense is Denver and this could be a double bonus for him as he could get a good Denver D performance and shut Trent Richardson down. Kickers are kickers, you never know what you're going to get from them.
Final Predictions
Yahoo Says: Leland wins 112-103
I say: Leland wins, it's gonna be a heavyweight fight with both guys pulling out all the stops, but I'll give the slight edge to Leland here. Hopefully it's better than the embarassment I went through last finals.
Other League Notes: I think Matt easily wins the 3rd place game, I think Drew takes the Michael Wiley Loser Bowl, and Mayra will beat me making me officially dead last for the season. Why not?
