We're here once again...championship time. It's time for the 4th Wane McGarity Bowl which pits me and Kenny against each other. This is probably the most personal finals matchup in the small history of the Wane McGarity Bowl as me and Kenny go wayyyyys back. We've known each other since 8th grade, and you won't find two people more competitive than us. We've had many thrilling encounters in other fantasy sports before, but never in football and never with so much on the line. The winner gets it all, the cash, the title, and the bragging rights for life. "The Best Friend Bowl" should be one for the ages.
Wane McGarity Bowl IV
The Best Friend Bowl
Danny's Little Giants (Chris)
vs
Not Even Lying (Kenny)
Chris Puente (Danny's Little Giants)
#2 Seed (8-5)
3rd Place Winner (2010)
2nd Place Winner (2011)
How I Got Here: By doing what I do best. Assembling the best team I possibly can via trades. It's pretty much a known fact that by the time the season is over most of roster will have been traded away from opening day. It's how I operate. The results have been pretty good negating 2012. I started the season on fire with a 3 game winning streak, then went cold real fast losing 3 in a row. Of course my achilles' heal is losing heartbreakers and this year was no different. 4 of my 5 losses were 5 points and under. The one loss that wasn't, was a blowout loss to Kenny. Probably the biggest trade I made to help deepen my team was trading Marshawn Lynch to Mike for Brandon Marshall and Vincent Jackson. Adding Pierre Garcon and Torrey Smith to those two gave me a pretty lethal receiving core. The addition of Matthew Stafford and Jason Witten via trades also helped strengthen the rest of my squad, led by LeSean McCoy. I rode a 5 game winning streak, before losing two a row to close the season, but because of points I still got the coveted bye and made the playoffs for the 3rd time out of 4 seasons. I was able to survive Mike in the semifinals beating him by 2.5 points, and advancing to my 2nd Wane McGarity Bowl where I hope to do a lot better this time around after getting annihilated by Albert in 2011.
Key Drafted Players
LeSean McCoy- One of only two players left from my original draft, I hit the jackpot with McCoy at pick #4. In a year where there were sooooooo many running back busts, I lucked out and got arguably the 2nd best running back in the game today behind Jamaal Charles. McCoy's been my main guy and I'm hoping for at least one more 1st round performances before the season is all said and done.
Pierre Garcon- The only other player I kept was my 5th round pick. The good thing about PPR is Garcon hasn't been disappointing like he has in standard leagues. He catches at least 5 balls a game, and had his biggest game of the season last week when I needed it the most. He's got another favorable matchup against the Cowboys this week and I'm counting on a great performance yet again.
Key Waiver Wire Pickups: I really don't have any on my squad and if I did I traded them away as part of packaged deals. All my starters are a combination of my own guys or trades I made.
Key Trades
I traded Marques Colston and Marshawn Lynch to Mike for Vincent Jackson and Brandon Marshall- I had earlier traded away half my team for Marshawn Lynch which was a regret, so I wanted to get some depth back. This deal literally took a whole day to complete but at the end of the day I got the receiver depth I so desperately needed.
I traded Tom Brady, Greg Olsen, Torrey Smith to Leland for Matthew Stafford, Jason Witten, Emmanuel Sanders- I got impatient with Tom Brady and swung for the fences in this deal. I would end up reacquiring Torrey Smith a couple weeks later anyway, so this was another good deal that help stabilize my team.
Season Lowlights
The David Wilson Saga-Right off the bat this was a bust when my 3rd round pick, David Wilson, fumbled twice and was promptly benched. He would never be relevant again. Wilson screwed me over and I thought I was for sure cooked early since I had no legit RB#2 now that he was a failure. He ended up getting hurt and I traded him as a thrown in to Ryan in the Marshawn Lynch trade. Still can't believe I was able to overcome that mistake.
3 game losing streak-I went from being 1st place to being almost out of the playoffs after suffering a 3 game losing streak in the 1st half of the season. It felt like the shitty luck was coming back because two of those losses were to Dad and Albert by 5 and 2.5 points respectively. My thoughts sitting at 3-3 at the time? "Here weeeee go again"
2 game losing streak to end the season-I was in prime position for the bye after winning 5 in a row and was 8-3 with lowly Leland on the horizon next. A win against him all but assured the bye for me. Typically, it didn't happen as I lost by half a point that week. Now, I had let Mike and Kenny back in for a shot at the bye, and once again I failed to win, as I lost to Matt by 1.5 points. Luckily for me Kenny and Mike lost as well, and I kept my #2 bye. Still, didn't exactly go into the playoffs confident about my teams chances.
Season Highlights
3 game winning streak to start season-There's no better way to start of a fantasy football than to keep winning, and for the first three weeks of the season that's exactly what I did.
5 game winning streak in crucial stretch of season-I was legit nervous after falling to 3-3, and felt like every game was a must win from here on out. I was able to pull away from most other teams by going on a 5 game winning streak which at the time was only behind Dad's winning streak (which went to 8) in longevity. This helped me secure a bye in the playoffs.
Highest Point Scorer- At 1330.50 points, I lead the league in scoring this year. This is important because it was the tie-breaker between me Kenny and Mike for the #2 seed and bye.
#2 in Fantasy Points Against- Everyone talks about Dad and his "magic powers" but how about mine? I was actually 2nd in fantasy points against this season allowing only 1061.5 points on the year. The closest to me? Mark at 1145.50.
Kenny Bybee
Not Even Lying
4th Seed (8-5)
How He Got Here: Kenny basically employs the same strategy as me but also is a little better at making waiver wire moves and using those guys on his team. It's pretty crazy that Kenny made it this far, because it seemed like the fantasy gods were against Kenny all season. He started the season 0-2 before picking up his first win in week 3. He lost Randall Cobb to a season ending injury, then he lost Doug Martin to a season ending injury as well. Martin had been a bust anyway, but was Kenny's first round pick so there he went wasted. He then made a trade for Trent Richardson, but just like Doug Martin, Richardson was a total bust and that didn't work out at all. Probably the biggest trade that paid off big time was Kenny trading Antonio Brown and Knowshon Moreno to Mayra for Calvin Johnson. Calvin had some very good games for Kenny down the stretch and his 1-2 Demaryius Thomas and Calvin Johnson combo is the deadliest in the league. Facing a loss in the last game of the regular season, Kenny decided to take a very big gamble and basically purposely fall to to 4th for a chance to play my Dad in the 2nd round. It was not a lock and he had to play Mayra in the 1st round, but he felt his best way to the finals was to go through Dad. The strategy worked, as he barely got by Mayra before beating Dad easily and cruising to the Finals. Kenny's hoping to add a title in his first ever Wane McGarity Bowl appearance.
Key Drafted Players
DeMaryius Thomas- Kenny's 2nd round pick. Thomas would be the best receiver on any other team, but on Kenny's he's a WR #2 thanks to Calvin Johnson. Because of the offense he plays in and his talents, Demaryius is always a good bet for a monster game. He'll be one of the keys in Kenny's quest for a championship.
Drew Brees-His 3rd round pick. You can't get too much better with Brees as your QB, who's basically a lock week in and week out to put up nice numbers.
Key Waiver Wire Pickups
Rashad Jennings-Kenny was on top this pickup the minute he saw Darren McFadden was going to miss time and so far he's been his best running back since he's gotten him.
Shane Vereen- Despite what happened last week, Vereen has been a pretty valuable add and stash for Kenny. He'll need to step it up this week if Kenny wants to win it all.
Key Trades
Kenny traded Antonio Brown and Knowshon Moreno for Calvin Johnson- The biggest and most impactful trade Kenny made. Mayra needed RB help and this ended up being a win win for both teams as Kenny had excess running backs at the time. To be able to trade for the league's #1 receiver doesn't come along often, so Kenny took advantage of the rare opportunity.
Season Lowlights
0-2 start-Not only did Kenny get off to a bad start, he got blown out by Mark and Mayra to start the season. It was looking to be start of a very lonnnng season for Kenny, but as you can see he bounced back just fine.
Injuries-Kenny traded for Randall Cobb, than lost him to a season ending injury. Same with Doug Martin and same with HIS replacement Mike James.
Season Highlights
Two 3 game winning streaks-The majority of Kenny's wins came off an early season 3 game winning streak and late season winning streak.
1st playoff win-Kenny made the playoffs back in 2011 but lost to Leland in the 1st round. This season, he was able to beat Mayra for his 1st playoff win. He would go on to defeat Dad for win #2.
Matchup Stats
All Time Record: Kenny leads 4-3
Last Matchup: Kenny beat me 106.5-83.5 in Week 4
Position Matchups
QB
Matthew Stafford (Danny's Little Giants)
vs
Drew Brees (Not Even Lying)
Overview: Both guys are elite QB's, but Stafford comes into the Championship game in a bit of a slump. His last two games have been horrific and I'm hoping he can bounce back against a New York Giants team that has little fight left. For the 2nd time in this playoffs Kenny has to hope Drew Brees can shred the Panthers Defense. He did last time, though this time it's on the road where Brees' stats have been somewhat disappointing compared to at home. I think Kenny's got the better QB here and also he's not in the kind of slump Stafford has been on.
Advantage: Kenny
WR
Pierre Garcon (Danny's Little Giants)
Vincent Jackson (Danny's Little Giants)
Brandon Marshall (Danny's Little Giants)
Torrey Smith (Danny's Little Giants)
vs
Calvin Johnson (Not Even Lying)
Demaryius Thomas (Not Even Lying)
Emmanuel Sanders (Not Even Lying)
Marvin Jones (Not Even Lying)
Overview: Here's where it gets tricky. Kenny owns the top two receivers on either team in Demaryius and Calvin. That's a huge advantage. However he fills the rest of his team with WR #4's so the depth isn't there. The matchups are great for all four of Kenny's receivers as well. For me, I have legit number 1 in Brandon Marshall, and three high to low end #2's in Garcon, VJax, and Torrey Smith. I have better depth though Kenny has a better top heavy 2. The one thing I loved when looking at the matchups, was my receviers and who the play. Garcon gets the hapless Cowboys, VJax the Rams, Torrey Smith the Pats and Brandon Marshall the crappy Eagles. My only concern is Marshall not playing much if the game doesn't mean anything in real life to the Bears. I think overall it's a push in the WR Dept.
Advantage: Push
RB
LeSean McCoy (Danny's Little Giants)
Chris Johnson (Danny's Little Giants)
vs
Rashad Jennings (Not Even Lying)
Shane Vereen (Not Even Lying)
Overview: I have the 2nd best running back in football and also a guy who's a top 15 back in Chris Johnson. Kenny has a waiver wire pickup (albeit a successful one) and one of 4 Pats running backs they use (again, he's the best one though, especially in PPR). McCoy has a PRIME matchup against the Bears, but again I worry he won't get a full workload because the Eagles game might not mean anything. Chris Johnson still gets the volume and is heavily involved in the passing game as well and should do OK against Jacksonville. Shane Vereen gets the Ravens and he's coming off a brutal game against Miami. He should bounce back while Rashad Jennings matchup is great against the Chargers. Still, given the talent and who's more reliable, I give the RB advantage to me.
Advantage: Me
Tight End
Jason Witten (Danny's Little Giants)
vs
Charles Clay (Not Even Lying)
Overview: Witten's definitely the most consistent and battle tested of the two. Charles Clay had 24.5 two weeks ago and then was held to half a point last week. Very inconsistent. He has a good matchup this week against Buffalo, but you just never know how much he'll get targeted. Witten has a great matchup against the Redskins, and he's been scoring TD's galore recently. I give the Tight End advantage to me.
Advantage: Me
Final Predictions
Yahoo Says: I win 115-97
I Say: I win but only dependent on a couple things. The Bears-Eagles game must mean something. I need a full workload from both Brandon Marshall and Lesean McCoy. If I get this, I should definitely be on track to win. If not, it'll be a huge hit as those are my top two guys and it could give Kenny the opening to take advantage and take the title.
Other League Notes: I think Mike will beat Dad for 3rd place. Dad's team is just struggling to much and Mike has a team that can easily outscore Dad.
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