Week 13 Matchups and Predictions

And so all the drama and intrigue of the last week of the regular season for fantasy football is basically gone as the only thing left to determine is actual seeding. Even that though seems to be anticlimactic as most of the playoff teams like Ryan, Mike, and Mayra have doormat matchups that they should win easily, while the only real matchup that's anyone's game is Alex vs Albert, which has major seeding implications. The real fun starts next week, but before we get there, let's finish up the regular season once and for all.


Bigger Balls (7-5) vs
Bay Area Tanners (4-8)

All Time Record
Mayra leads series 4-2

Seeding Implications For Mayra
If Mayra wins: She can finish as high as 3rd and as low as 5th depending on Alex and Mike winning/losing and in Alex's case his total points. Albert can't catch her on points, so him winning wouldn't matter to her seeding.

If Mayra loses: She can finish as high as 4th and low as 6th depending on who wins between Alex and Albert and Alex's total points.

Key Players

Bigger Balls: Matt Ryan (Chiefs) Antonio Brown (Giants) Amari Cooper (Bills) Jay Ajayi (Ravens) Lamar Miller (Packers) Matt Forte (Colts)

Bay Area Tanners: Jameis Winston (Chargers) Brandin Cooks (Lions) Mike Evans (Chargers) Brandon Marshall (Colts) Jordan Reed* (Cardinals)

Wild Cards

Bigger Balls: Nothing stands out really

Bay Area Tanners: Jameis over Eli. Reed's health. RB Production

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Mayra wins 106-102
I say: Mayra wins. Mayra has a team that I really don't think has to worry about seeding because she's dangerous no matter what seed her team is. I still think she takes care of business against me because let's face it..pretty much everyone else has.

Woe Is You (8-4) vs
BigBadBob (1-11)

All Time Record
Dad Leads Series 5-2

Seeding Implications for Mike
If Mike Wins: He secures 3rd seed. No one can get to 9 wins

If Mike Loses: He can finish as high as 3rd and as low as 5th, only because the loser of Albert/Alex guarantees there will be a 7 win team in the playoffs. If Mike somehow loses, his seeding would be depend on Mayra winning and the winner of Albert/Alex with total points involved.

Key Players

Woe Is You:  Derek Carr (Bills) Odell Beckham Jr. (Steelers) Stefon Diggs* (Cowboys) Jonathan Stewart (Seahawks) Todd Gurley (Patriots)

BigBadBob: Cam Newton (Seahawks) Devante Adams (Texans) Emmanuel Sanders (Jaguars) Frank Gore (Jets) Devonta Freeman (Chiefs)

Wild Cards

Woe Is You: Stefon Diggs health. Pryor on bye. Taylor Gabriel play.

BigBadBob: Tough Matchups for Cam and Gore

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Mike wins 95-90
I say: Mike wins. This COULD be a trap game, but I think Posey pulls this off and gets win #9. After scoring his highest points of the season, I think Dad's guys like Emmanuel Sanders and Devante Adams come down to earth and combined with tough matchups for Cam Newton and Frank Gore end up coming up just a bit short in an upset bid.

SCLSU MudDogs (7-5) vs
Channel 4 News Team (7-5)

All Time Record
Alex Leads Series 2-1

Seeding Implications For Alex
If Alex wins: If Alex wins he can finish anywhere from as high as 3rd place to as low as 5th place depending on Mayra and Mike winning/losing and their total points.

If Alex loses: If Alex loses he can finish as high 5th and low as 6th place depending on Mayra winning/losing and her total points.

Seeding Implications for Albert
If Albert wins: If Albert wins he can finish as high as 3rd place to as low as 5th place depending on Mayra and Mike winning/losing and their total points.

If Albert Loses: He'll finish 6th place. Regardless of Mayra were to lose or not, he's not close enough in points to beat Mayra if she were to lose.

Key Players

SCLSU MudDogs: Drew Brees (Lions) Larry Fitzgerald (Redskins) Julian Edelman (Rams) Le'Veon Bell (Giants) Carlos Hyde (Bears) Jimmy Graham (Panthers)

Channel 4 News Team: Andrew Luck (Jets) Doug Baldwin (Panthers) Jordan Matthews* (Bengals) T.Y. Hilton (Jets) Jordan Howard (49ers) LeSean McCoy (Raiders) Tyler Eifert (Eagles) Doug Martin (Chargers)

Wild Cards

SCLSU MudDogs: Tyler Boyd production

Channel 4 News Team: Luck/Hilton health. Jordan Matthews health

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Alex wins 117-115
I Say: Alex wins. Man this is tough. This is basically the most important matchup of the week as playoff seeding affects both teams. These two teams are really evenly matched and both have great talent. I'll give the slight edge to Alex only for injury concerns on Albert's side. Luck and Hilton should play, but Matthews is still a question mark. As close as close can get for me.


Hoosier Daddy (10-2) vs
THE SPOILER (5-7)

All Time Record
Drew Leads Series 7-2

Seeding Implications for Ryan
If Ryan wins: Ryan can secure the #1 seed with a win and either Eugene losing or Eugene winning but total points being lower than Ryan, If Eugene wins and ends up with higher points, Ryan will be the #2nd seed. He'd still have a bye.

If Ryan loses: Ryan can still secure the #1 seed if he loses, if Eugene loses too and has his total points be lower than Ryan. If Ryan loses and Eugene wins, Ryan's the 2nd seed. He'd still have a bye.

Key Players

Hoosier Daddy: Ben Roethlisberger (Giants) Michael Crabtree (Bills) Demaryius Thomas (Jaguars) Mark Ingram (Lions) Ezekiel Elliott (Vikings) Greg Olsen (Seahawks)

THE SPOILER: Kirk Cousins (Cardinals) Allen Robinson (Broncos)

Wild Cards

Hoosier Daddy: Will Greg Olsen snap out of his slump? Thomas Rawls bounce back?

THE SPOILER: As usual just like all season, his whole damn team

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Ryan wins 105-81
I Say: Ryan wins. This SHOULD be a slam dunk win, which means Ryan will be scoreboard watching Eugene's matchup to see if he wins and scores more points than him to determing the #1 and #2 seed. Not only are Drew's guys just totally inconsistent, his best plays (Cousins and Robinson) have terrible matchups. I just can't see Drew's squad outscoring Ryan.

Light's Broken Bots (4-8) vs
Shock The Monkey (4-8)

All Time Record
Mark Leads Series 3-2

Key Players

Light's Broken Bots: Tom Brady (Rams) Jordy Nelson (Texans) Kelvin Benjamin (Seahawks) Rob Gronkowski* (Rams)

Shock The Monkey: Dez Bryant (Vikings) Latavius Murray (Bills)

Wild Cards

Light's Broken Bots: Gronk's health. RB Production

Shock The Monkey: DeMarco Murray on bye. Tough matchup for Dez and Jamison Crowder. Dart throw plays everywhere.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Matt wins 96-85
I say: Matt wins. This game has no implications for anything, strictly for pride as both teams are not playoff bound. Who knows who wins this matchup, Mark has a lot intriguing guys but I'll just go with the more stable team in Matt.

Rocket Man (10-2) vs
No Soup For You (5-8)

All Time Record
Eugene leads the series 3-2

Seeding Implications For Eugene
If Eugene wins: He can finish as the #1 seed if either Ryan wins and Ryan's total points are less than his or if Ryan loses. If Ryan wins too and has more points than Eugene, Eugene finishes as the #2 seed. Either way he'll have a bye.

If Eugene loses: He can finish as the #1 seed still if Ryan loses and Ryan's total points are less than his. If Ryan wins, Eugene is the #2 seed and will still have a bye.

Key Players

Rocket Man: Aaron Rodgers (Texans) DeAndre Hopkins (Packers) Julio Jones (Chiefs) Melvin Gordon (Bucs) Travis Kelce (Falcons)

No Soup For You: Philip Rivers (Bucs) Michael Thomas (Lions) Randall Cobb (Texans) David Johnson (Redskins)

Wild Cards

Rocket Man: Production for Boldin/Dixon/Parker

No Soup For You: James White usage

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Eugene wins 110-93
I Say: Eugene wins. This won't be as easy as the others have plus it's a sibling rivalry game. Remember in Week 2, Eugene won by less than 4 points. Players have changed since then but I think it'll still be a harder fought matchup than the predictions indicate. I'll still give the edge to Eugene as Leland using double tight ends with guys as inconsistent as Ebron and Ertz along with guys who can bust greatly in Cameron Meredith and James White could really lead to a low scoring game on Leland's part.

Week 12 Results: Playoff Teams Are Locked In

 

No need to worry about scenarios and who gets in who doesn't next week. Though seeding is still up for grabs, we officially know which 6 teams are in the playoffs. Since Albert and Alex both won to get to 7 wins and Drew and Leland both lost, it officially eliminates everyone else in contention as there's no way the 6 teams out of playoff contention can get to 7 wins so your playoff teams are Ryan, Eugene, Mike, Mayra, Alex, Albert. 5 of those 6 teams weren't in the playoffs last year, Eugene is the only returning playoff team. Pretty crazy. The byes are pretty much a forgone conclusion too as Ryan and Eugene basically have those locked up. Whether it's the #1 or #2 seed remains to be seen but they can be rest assured they can take a well deserved break in Week 14. So here's the results of Week 12.

SCLSU MudDogs (7-5)                  125.80

Bigger Balls (7-5)                             92.06

HUGE WIN for Alex here, not only because of his Week 1 loss to Mayra in which he put up BIG POINTS only to lose because Mayra was the highest scorer that week, but this win officially clinches a playoff spot for him. What a great job by Alex in managing his team as he was the only team out of the league to start fresh from scratch and not keeping anyone, which was a huge disadvantage to start the season. Also, luckily that loss against Ryan won't bite him the ass, as he makes the playoffs regardless of that loss. Alex has been on fire the past three weeks, putting up big points each week. Once again leading the way was Drew Brees who was MAGNIFICENT with 310 passing yards, 4 passing TD and a rush TD on his way to nearly 37 points. That combined with his Thanksgiving plays and guys like Carlos Hyde, Delanie Walker, and Julian Edelman all chipping in with at least 12 points a piece helped secure the easy win. All of Alex's guys scored at least 7.3 points. For Mayra, a little disappointing considering the fast Antonio Brown start. Unfortunately only Matt Ryan put up more than 20 points as 5 of her 8 players scored under 10 points, including disappointing performances from Amari Cooper, Matt Forte, and Lamar Miller. When your big guns can't get it done, it's really hard to win. The loss officially takes her out of bye consideration, but she at least also clinches a playoff spot and she'll definitely be one of the top teams in the playoffs. Seeding still matters for both of these teams as Alex and Albert face each other, while Mayra takes me on to finish off the regular season.

Game MVP 

Drew Brees (SCLSU MudDogs)

310 Passing Yards, 4 Passing TD's, 1 Fumble Lost, 1 Rushing TD, 36.50 Points

 

Hoosier Daddy (10-2)                115.84

Shock The Monkey (4-8)          100.76

The score got closer than it was thanks to a outta nowhere performance for Mark for Tyreek Hill who had 3 TD's (1 Rushing, 1 Receiving, and a Punt Return) and scored an amazing 28 points. Sucks it was ultimate for nothing, but valiant effort from Mark nonetheless. Outside of that and Latavius Murray though, Mark just didn't have the firepower to compete with Ryan. Michael Crabtree bounced back from a horrific game and went 8 for 110 and Mark Ingram was AMAZING with 167 total yards and 2 TD's. That Ingram/Elliott combo can kill you by themselves on some weeks. I talked about Zeke and Big Ben's big games Thanksgiving night so Ryan didn't need much more from the rest of his team but it is concerning that Greg Olsen had yet another quiet game. He hasn't really provided the punch Ryan was hoping for when he traded for him. Also Thomas Rawls was supposed to be an X Factor but he was basically a non factor this week. He still should be the guy, but it's going to be really disappointing if he doesn't have the impact Ryan is expecting him to have. So Ryan officially clinches a bye and should end up clinching the #1 overall seed next week when he faces Drew. Mark's just playing out his disappointing season and he'll take on Matt next week.

Game MVP

Mark Ingram (Hoosier Daddy)

146 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD, 21 Receiving Yards, 1 Receiving TD, 29.2 Points

 

BigBadBob (1-11)             123.84

Bay Area Tanners (4-8)   109.16

Well...it was bound to happen...law of averages..and I'm really not surprised it's against me since that's the way this season has gone. I'd be more upset had Drew beaten Albert, because this would've cost me a playoff chance, but since at the end of the day this game is meaningless to me it doesn't hurt that bad. Don't get me wrong, I hate that it happened but a small part of me is glad Dad won't have to go winless all year...just wish I wasn't win #1. Look up the record book on our league page yourself. You'll see I have the highest Points Against Per Game in the entire 7 year history of the league this year. Just how things are going to be and sure enough this is Dad's highest scoring week of the season by far. Thanks to Cam Newton, Devonta Freeman, Willie Snead (getting a bullshit TD Pass..I mean good god that's how bad it's been) and Devonte Adams Dad was finally able to secure Win #1. No ranting..no threatening to quit..I'm too exhausted from this season to do any of that. There's just literally nothing I can do when I beat my projected points week after week yet play a team who goes bonkers scoring wise. What killed me was receiver play (Cooks getting not only getting a zero but getting 0 targets and Sterling Shepard not catching one pass and just having a 22 yard run). Mike Evans was great, Eli was decent but still against the Browns underwhelming, and Brandon Marshall was great compared to what he has been but it wasn't enough to overcome 2.2 points combined from 2 guys. So congrats to Dad for finally getting a win in the book. He'll take on Mike next week while I finish my season off against Mayra.

Game Co-MVP'S

Emmanuel Sanders (BigBadBob)

7 receptions, 162 receiving yards, 1 Receiving TD, 25.70 Points
Devonte Adams (BigBadBob)
5 Receptions, 113 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving TD's, 25.80 Points

 

Channel 4 News Team (7-5)       118.42

THE SPOILER (5-7)                    88.56                                    

This was the crucial matchup for most of us to stay alive in the playoffs and despite a solid start for Drew, he just couldn't keep it up and Albert's guys came through big. After Andrew Luck was ruled out with a concussion, Drew decided to block Albert from Ryan Tannehill and Carson Wentz by picking them up and forcing him to play a lesser option. It was a great strategy...it just COMPLETELY backfired. Albert went with Trevor Siemian who played LIGHTS OUT with 368 yards and 3 scores for over 32 points. LeSean McCoy also was great with 134 Total Yards and 2 scores. Jordan Howard had a nice yardage game and Tyler Eifert added a score for good measure. For Drew, nothing even worth talking about really outside of Kirk Cousins. Huge win for Albert, as I really think he's a darkhorse as far as title contenders go. He did this without Luck and only a half of T.Y. Hilton. He's got an important matchup against Alex with seeding implications on the line, while Drew finishes his season against Ryan.

Game MVP

Trevor Siemian (Channel 4 News Team)

368 Passing Yards, 3 Passing TD's, 32.02 Points

 

Woe Is You (8-4)                   112.6

No Soup For You (5-7)         95.88

So the Championship Curse continues as for the 4th straight year last year's champion will miss the playoffs entirely. It just goes to show you why in this game, you can't solely look at teams on paper. I really believed Leland was going to steamroll through the league this season and maybe lose 1 or 2 games along the way. I thought keeping Todd Gurley in the 6th and David Johnson in the 14th round was going to be super deadly. I thought he drafted super well and had no real weaknesses. It just never came together. Gurley was a MASSIVE disappointment and his receivers were inconsistent week to week. When he finally got a dominant receiver in A.J. Green he got hurt. Just one of those seasons. He got a MONSTER game from Michael Thomas (9 for 108 and 2 scores) and Philip Rivers had a solid game with 3 TD's and of course once again like all season David Johnson carried the load with 161 total yards and a score, but the rest of Leland's team did little to nothing. At the very least, you know Leland's keeping David Johnson in the last round again and Michael Thomas becomes an intriguing keeper prospect as well. Leland's good at this game and he'll find a way to compete next season. For Mike, his run has been so impressive considering the major injuries he's deal with. Beckham bounced back from a terrible game last week to for 96 and 2 scores and Jonathan Stewart had his best game of the season with 96 rushing yards and 2 scores. Tim Hightower salved his day with a 50 yard trick play TD off a Willie Snead pass and finished with 105 total yards. Todd Gurley continues to be disappointing but at least put up more than 10 points. Derek Carr put up almost 20 points and Terrelle Pryor had 6 receptions for 131 yards to round out Mike's winning week. Mike's team is the another reason you can't write off a team on how it looks "on paper". His team doesn't look that intimidating, yet he just keeps winning. He plays Dad next week and is in pretty shape to secure the #3 seed in the playoffs. For Leland, he'll finish off his season against his brother who's locked into a bye.

Game MVP

Odell Beckham Jr. (Woe Is You)

6 Receptions, 96 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving TD's, 24.6 Points

 

Rocket Man (10-2)                   96.92

Light's Broken Bots (4-8)        96.04

Sometimes it's just your year...and sometimes it's not. That basically to applies to both of these teams and Eugene survives a disappointing week and pulls off a bye clinching win by less than a point. For Matt, it's just one of those years again. It just never got going. Gronk's constant injuries, Jamaal Charles never really getting back on the field, Tom Brady's suspension, Josh Gordon basically quitting football, Matt had deal with a ton of roadblocks and it got the best of his squad this year. All day Sunday it was looking like Matt was primed to win even with Gronk getting a zero because he left the game with a back injury. Besides Gronk, all of Matt's players had solid double digit points, led by Tom Brady who had 286 and 2 scores. It was going to come down to the wire with Aaron Rodgers vs Jordy Nelson and unfortunately for Matt, Jordy got his yards (8 for 91) but the TD's went to Devante Adams and Eugene was able to squeak out the narrow win. It wasn't a pretty win for Eugene, as Julio Jones struggled and honestly no one was amazing (Rishard Matthews and Travis Kelce was the best players besides Rodgers putting up 13.9 and 14.10 points up respectively) except you guessed Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has definitely been Eugene's MVP so far and he put up another monster game with 313 yards 2 scores and 26 rushing yards. This is also the 6th straight game of 25 points or more which is just insane. Luckily for Eugene, he'll get a well deserved break in Round 1 of the playoffs but as what seed is still to be determined. He still has a chance to finish as the #1 seed but worst case scenario he'll finish #2. He'll take on his brother Leland next week, while Matt finishes his season against fellow non playoff team Mark.

Game MVP

Aaron Rodgers (Rocket Man)

313 Passing Yards, 2 Passing TD's, 26 Rushing Yards, 25.12 Points

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day Overview/Week 11 Awards

 

Well, it was definitely a crazy day in regards to football yesterday. With 3 games in tow, there a ton of plays throughout the league. There's still a lot of football left to be played, but man, this is shaping up to be a heated playoff race for the last two seeds. I'll start off with my guys playing and man did it not start off great initially. I traded for Jordan Reed and Eli Manning this week so I could try to ensure myself as much as possible a win against my Dad to keep my playoff hopes alive. Those dreams seemed to be dashed quickly when Jordan Reed suffered what was thought to be a broken collarbone early in the game. His arm was in a sling and he had only gotten me 2.5 points for the day. I was already thinking "great...what a wonderful trade" and things were falling into place that indeed I was going to lose to my Dad. On top of that, Rob Kelley, who saved my ass last week, just wasn't getting the job done, partly because the Redskins were passing a TON (he's not the passing down back) and also because the Dallas Run D was surprisingly effective. So I was just concentrating on the Cowboys getting the win, trying to stay positive and think that all it would take was my Dad underperforming and maybe it'd still have a shot. Then..Jordan Reed actually CAME BACK and boy did he come back IN A BIG WAY. He ended up with 10 catches for 95 yards and 2 scores and scored nearly 27 points! Not only does that help me against my Dad, but I need POINTS in a big way, so it was a HUGE performance and it could be the 2nd straight game a Redskins player saves my ass. Kelley did nothing with only a little over 5 points, but that's ok because I survived Frank Gore who did nothing himself and didn't even finish with 4 points. Great start for me, but it's far from over. Still worried about my matchups overall. Ryan needed a bounce back week after a terrible performance and he got it in spades as Ben Roethlisberger threw for 3 TD's and Zeke did it yet again over 100 total yards and 2 scores. I know I keep repeating it, but it never gets old...ZEKE IS AN ABSOLUTE STUD.  Mark's not really going to stand a chance this week and he's already used two plays himself in Jamison Crowder and Dez. Both were good but not great and I'd be shocked if this matchup wasn't a blowout win for Ryan now. In a must win week for Leland against a pretty good opponent, it was a bad as a start as you can have. He got a zero from Eric Ebron and though I'm not ready to write the week off for Leland just yet, it's not a great start at all. Alex and Mayra are once again looking like a shootout match just like Week 1 with both using two plays a piece and both having disappointing plays (Theo Riddick for Alex, Jason Witten for Mayra) and amazing games from the usual suspects (Antonio Brown wants everyone to remember just how dominant he is in the fantasy game with 91 yards and 3 scores, and Le'veon Bell also doesn't want people to forget he's right up there with David Johnson and Zeke as he had 142 total yards and a score). I have feeling this is going to a close game with tons of points being scored. Last but not least, for my sake (and his own) I reallllllly need Drew to live up to his team name and play ultimate spoiler to Albert this week. It's one of the many things I need to happen to keep my playoff hopes alive. It wasn't looking good initially as Drew was a 15 point underdog off the bat, and then had mediocre starts from Kyle Rudolph and Adam Thielen to start off his day. Luckily putting Kirk Cousins in for Carson Palmer worked out GREAT as Cousins tore up the Cowboys for nearly 450 yards and 3 scores and over 33 points. That along with Cole Beasley's decent game and Albert getting a bad T.Y. Hilton game (playing with no Luck then also got hurt in the 2nd half and never came back) puts Drew in the driver's seat in his matchup. It's crazy because right now everything is aligning how I need it to for a chance to survive. Drew's up on Albert, Mike hasn't started playing Leland, but a zero play for him is a good start, and I'm beating Dad right now. Like I said, I'm tempering my expectations because there's A LOT of football that needs to be played still, but I mean if that's the way this week is going to start I'm certainly not going to complain. Should be a VERY interesting week. Onto the Week 11 Awards.

Wane McGarity Stud Of The Week

Rob Kelley (Bay Area Tanners)

 

The guy who single handedly won me the week with an out of nowhere performance. Even though I probably won't make the playoffs, he at least provided me some hope and made football interesting for another week.

Michael Wiley Dud Of The Week

Ben Roethisberger (Hoosier Daddy)

 

How do you NOT score even 9 points against the CLEVELAND BROWNS? Well Big Ben managed to do that. He's one of the main reasons Ryan had his worse week of the season. Luckily, Ben's already made it to Ryan this week with a 3 TD performance.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Award

Rob Kelley (Bay Area Tanners)

 

Yep..Fat Rob wins again. I took a gamble and benched Todd Gurley (I know how crappy he's been but still it's really hard to bench him for a guy with such a little track record as Rob Kelley) for Kelley thinking the upside was on Kelley's side....then TODD GURLEY SCORES A 20 YARD TD ON THE FIRST DRIVE OF THE DOLPHINS-RAMS GAME. I was sick to my stomach. I couldn't believe that I might have made two very stupid decisions that could cost me the game. Luckily Rob Kelley MORE than redeemed my decisions by going off for over 31 points and scoring me a crucial win against Mike. 

Jay Cutler Bad Decision Award

Mark Plays Vernon Davis over Gary Barnidge

 

Sometimes a bad decision isn't a dumb one or a cute play gone wrong. It's just simply a decision that didn't work out. Mark barely lost by 2 points to Albert this past week. Gary Barnidge had been struggling and Vernon Davis seemed to be more involved in the offense despite sharing time with Jordan Reed so Mark went with Davis. Barnidge didn't do much but scored a TD and even without the TD his two catches for 23 yards would've given Mark the win. Vernon Davis...got shutout.

 

 

Week 12 Matchups and Predictions

Well...for at the very least one more week..there is a rebirth of sorts for some of us who thought we were finished for the year. Sure there's a high percentage chance that we'll be done after this week, but hey if you have a chance, why not root for it? This week should be very interesting with byes/playoff spots and yes even Dad has something to play for....that ever elusive win #1. Here's this weeks matchups and predictions.


Bay Area Tanners (4-7) vs
BigBadBob (0-11)

All Time Record
I lead series 4-3

Who Needs This More?
Well a couple of days ago I would've said Dad since I was playing for nothing, but with a slim shot at still making the playoffs, I do, though I'm sure Dad wants it just as much so he can avoid going winless all year.

Key Players

Bay Area Tanners: Eli Manning (Browns) Brandin Cooks (Rams) Mike Evans (Seahawks) Brandon Marshall (Patriots) LaGarrette Blount (Jets) Spencer Ware (Broncos) Jordan Reed (Cowboys) Robert Kelley (Cowboys)

BigBadBob: Cam Newton (Raiders) Emmanuel Sanders (Chiefs) Frank Gore (Steelers) Devonta Freeman (Cardinals)

Wild Cards

Bay Area Tanners: Tough Matchups for Mike Evans/LaGarrette Blount. Let down for Robert Kelley? Will Brandon Marshall FINALLY get it going?

BigBadBob: Will Cam Newton finally play like an elite QB? Tough matchup for Devonta Freeman. Production from guys like Dennis Pitta, Rashad Jennings, Willie Snead

Predictions
Yahoo Says: I win 105-96
I Say: I win. Part of me just THINKS Dad is due. It's been 11 straight weeks of losing. He's bound to get a win you would think and he's got all hands on deck this week with no byes. I have the better team though, and I believe I SHOULD win..actually going with me for a change.

Bigger Balls (7-4) vs
SCLSU MudDogs (6-5)

All Time Record
Mayra Leads Series 3-0

Who Needs The More?
Alex does..his playoff spot is more in jeopardy than Mayra's. Mayra hasn't officially clinched, but she's basically a near lock to make it even with a loss this week.

Key Players

Bigger Balls: Matt Ryan (Cardinals) Antonio Brown (Colts) Amari Cooper (Panthers) Jay Ajayi (49ers) Lamar Miller (Chargers) Matt Forte (Patriots)

SCLSU MudDogs: Drew Brees (Rams) Larry Fitzgerald (Falcons) Julian Edelman (Jets) Le'Veon Bell (Colts) Carlos Hyde (Dolphins) Delanie Walker (Bears)

Wild Cards

Bigger Balls: Difficult Matchup For Matt Ryan.

SCLSU MudDogs: Can Edelman keep it up?

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Alex wins 117-114
I Say: Mayra wins. Alex's team has been on a roll the past couple of games, but he now faces a team who's still fighting for a bye in Mayra. Even though Alex is the favorite, I'm going to give the nod to Mayra here. Giving Tavon Austin a 9 point projection when he's got 9.6 points in 3 games COMBINED is crazy and I just feel a little more confident in Mayra's roster than Alex's this week.

Channel 4 News Team (6-5) vs
THE SPOILER (5-6)

All Time Record
Albert Leads Series 7-3

Who Needs This More?
Drew slightly needs this more than Albert, only because a loss ends Drew's season. A loss would be a huge blow to Albert, but he still would have a chance to make the playoffs.

Key Players

Channel 4 News Team: Doug Baldwin (Bucs) Jordan Matthews (Packers) T.Y. Hilton (Steelers) Jordan Howard (Titans) LeSean McCoy* (Jaguars) Tyler Eifert (Ravens) Doug Martin (Seahawks)

THE SPOILER: Allen Robinson (Bills) Donte Moncrief (Steelers) Devontae Booker (Chiefs)

Wild Cards

Channel 4 News Team: No Luck. How does No Luck affect Hilton? LeSean McCoy's health, tough matchup for Doug Martin.

THE SPOILER: As usual.....this entire team..will it work or fall apart?

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Albert wins 106-92
I say: Albert wins. This is a crucial matchup not only for Drew, but for me and Matt as we NEED Drew to win here (along with us winning) to keep our playoff hopes alive. The fantasy gods are even trying their best to help as Andrew Luck is not playing tomorrow which affects T.Y. Hilton (and Moncrief for Drew) and LeSean McCoy is probably going to play, but we'll see how that thumb affects his play. Despite all that, Albert is still an overwhelming favorite and because Drew trots out the most volatile of volatile players week in and week out you NEVER know what you're going to get. I WANT Drew to win...but I'm going with the proven safe squad in Albert.

Hoosier Daddy (9-2) vs
Shock The Monkey (4-7)

All Time Record
Ryan Leads Series 4-1

Who Needs This More?
I'm actually going to go Ryan here. I know Mark still technically has a chance to make the playoffs, but the point differential is so big...it's almost unrealistic to assume he'd catch it. Ryan needs this to officially cement his bye. Another loss, and things get a little murky.

Key Players

Hoosier Daddy: Ben Roethlisberger (Colts) Michael Crabtree (Panthers) Demaryius Thomas (Chiefs) Mark Ingram* (Rams) Ezekiel Elliott (Redskins) Greg Olsen (Raiders)

Shock The Monkey: Dez Bryant (Redskins) Jarvis Landry (49ers) DeMarco Murray (Bears) Latavius Murray (Panthers)

Wild Cards

Hoosier Daddy: Bounce back games from Big Ben, Olsen and Crabtree. Ingram's health. Will Thomas Rawls be the lead back?

Shock The Monkey: Supporting cast (Flacco, Crowder, Barnidge, Hill). Tough matchup for Latavius Murray.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Ryan wins 110-90
I Say: Ryan wins. After a terrible loss last week, Ryan's in prime position to bounce back and get win #10 against Mark. He couldn't ask for a better opponent and with Ryan at full strength there should be no excuse for him to not easily win this week. Should be a lock.

Rocket Man (9-2) vs
Light's Broken Bots (4-7)

All Time Record
Eugene leads series 3-2

Who Needs This More?
Unlike Mark, with the points situation, Matt CAN still make it with tiebreakers if he wins out and gets help. So with Matt's playoff chances still in play, Matt needs it more. Eugene's already clinched and though a loss would hurt his bye chances, it wouldn't kill them.

Key Players

Rocket Man: Aaron Rodgers (Eagles) Julio Jones (Cardinals) Melvin Gordon (Texans) Travis Kelce (Broncos)

Light's Broken Bots: Tom Brady (Jets) Jordy Nelson (Eagles) Kelvin Benjamin (Raiders) Rob Gronkowski* (Jets)

Wild Cards

Rocket Man: Tough Matchup for Julio Jones. DeAndre Hopkins performance. Rishard Matthews legit? Devante Parker one game wonder? Kenneth Dixon usage.

Light's Broken Bots: Running back production. Good chance no Gronk again.

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Eugene wins 105-97
I Say: Eugene wins. It's looking like Gronk is trending down and will miss another game so if that happens, it will be a HUGE blow for Matt and Eugene was already a comfortable favorite before that news. If Gronk's out, can't see how Matt can fill that position with great production (he used Dwayne Allen and  got a zero last week). Eugene should be able to win this comfortably.

Woe Is You (7-4) vs
No Soup For You (5-6)

All Time Record
Leland leads series 4-3

Who Needs This More?
Leland does. A loss here won't officially eliminate him, but it gets him that much closer to elimination.

Key Players

Woe Is You: Derek Carr (Panthers) Stefon Diggs* (Lions) Odell Beckham Jr. (Browns) Jonathan Stewart (Raiders) Todd Gurley (Saints)

No Soup For You: Philip Rivers (Texans) Randall Cobb (Eagles) David Johnson (Falcons)

Wild Cards

Woe Is You: Stefon Diggs health.

No Soup For You: Who's going to replace A.J. Green? Supporting Cast Depth

Predictions
Yahoo Says: Mike wins 92-78 (both guys have an empty slot right now)
I Say: Mike wins. The A.J. Green loss is a HUGE blow and the only viable option I see on Leland's bench is the disappointing Marvin Jones. I just look at that roster and outside of David Johnson, it's really not intimidating. Mike has injury questions of his own with Stefon Diggs and losing him would really suck, but for now I'll give him the slight edge.

Revised Playoff Race

So it happens every year...I'm bad at forecasting and I really thought there was absolutely NO WAY a team with 6 wins could get in the playoffs. Well...I was wrong...believe it or not Me, Matt, and to an very very tiny extant Mark all still have slimmer than slim chances at sneaking in to the final playoff spot. It's going to take a LOT of help, but that fact that it's not 100% impossible is good enough for me as I like thinking I still have important football to play. So how can this be possible? Here's the breakdown.

Already Locked in
Ryan and Eugene have already officially locked up playoff spots. They are in.

Pretty Much Locked In
Mayra- Even if she loses out somehow, there are only two non playoff teams that can reach 7 wins, Leland and Drew. Even if Drew wins 7, his points aren't even CLOSE to getting him in. Leland's a little bit closer, but he'd have to win out and I think Mayra's 55 point advantage is going to be hard to make up in 2 weeks. Not seeing it. She also has the most points in the league so she still has an outside shot at the bye. If Ryan or Eugene were to lose out and she wins out, she'd have a pretty good shot at the bye with points being a tie breaker. As far as playoffs go though..she's a lock.

Get A Win And You're 100% In
Mike- Here's where it starts getting a little murky and possibilities can happen. Unlike Mayra, Mike's points are pretty low considering his record. He's in the same boat as Mayra, but if Mike loses out and Leland wins out, he could still technically be eliminated via points. Mike controls his own destiny as he plays Leland this week. If he wins one game in the next 2 he's fine and even if he somehow loses to Leland he gets Dad last. If not, and Leland wins out, and Mike stays at 7 wins, then he's hoping  that either Alex loses out (he must stay at 6 wins because Alex's points lead is pretty big) or that Albert wins only 1 of 2 (Albert's points are less than Mike's and so Mike would still be in contention for the points tie breaker should this happen). With Leland's team in a tailspin and Dad winless I don't see Mike missing the playoffs, but it is still technically possible.

Next In Line 
Alex- So right now Alex sits at #5 with 6 wins. Leland's not too behind in points so best case scenario for Alex is to win outright. If Alex splits and gets to 7 wins, he could still keep his spot by a ton of combinations. Mike Posey losing out keeps him in. Albert splitting or losing out also would keep Alex in due to points. Also Leland and Drew splitting their matchups would elminate them. If Alex loses out and stays at #6 wins, it means Albert would've beaten him in the last game of the season, which means Albert can't lose out to help him. He wouldn't have to worry about the 4-7 teams winning out to be get to 6 wins because he has a pretty solid points leads against all of us. So how does Alex win 6 games and still make the playoffs? If Drew splits his games, he'd get to 6 but he's not close to points. Leland and Alex are close enough in points that Alex losing outright and Leland even splitting his last two would give Leland a shot at making it over him. So the best case scenario if Alex loses out is Leland losing out as well with a chance at the points tie breaker if Leland splits.

Albert- Albert sits at 6 and he's kind of the most vulnerable because of his points. The fact the Leland and Me both have more points than him, and that Matt is only around 20 points behind him kinda forces Albert to win 1 of 2. Albert winning out ensures him a spot since none of the non playoff teams can catch him. If Albert splits and gets to 7, here's where the possibilities begin. With seven wins, his points wouldn't catch Mayra, he's close enough to Mike where he could force a tiebreaker in points should Mike lose out and Albert win 1 of 2. If Albert gets to 7 wins, he could also get in by Leland splitting his last two because if Leland got to 7 wins with Albert he can beat him easily with points. He could get in if Alex's loses outright because Alex has a commanding lead in points. 7 wins eliminates Drew (even if Drew were to tie 7 wins, he's not close enough for points) and all the 4 win teams. So if Albert loses out and stays at 6 wins it opens up the gates for the 4 win teams. At 6 wins, the ways Albert stays alive are one or a combination of these. Leland would have to lose out. Drew would have to split. I would have to split or if I did win out Albert would have to beat me by tiebreaker, same with Matt and lesser extent Mark.

A Shot...But It's Going To Take A Miracle
Leland- Leland can still get to 7 wins. If he does even Mike Posey's spot is in play. If Mike loses out and Leland wins out, Leland has a good shot to take it by points. Leland's close enough to Alex that if Alex splits his matchups and Leland wins out, he could have a chance at beating Alex by tiebreaker. 7 wins would also be enough to take care of Albert if Albert splits due to points. He'd eliminate Drew regardless if Drew tied him in wins thanks to a huge point lead. If Leland splits his matchups and gets to 6 wins he can get in by Alex losing outright and taking the points tie breaker or also by Albert losing outright, Leland would for sure take the tie breaker. Again Leland's got a big enough win to get to 6 wins and not worry about Drew and the 4 win teams. Leland losing outright eliminates him.

Drew- Drew gets grouped here solely based on his points. Drew can still finish with 7 wins. Mike and Mayra aren't affected by Drew because of his super low points. He'd honestly need Albert or Alex to lose out (both can't because they play each other Week 13) because it's the only he's making it on his points. At 7 wins, he 'd also need Leland to split, because of Leland got to 7, Drew's not making it. That's basically the only way Drew's getting in. Even splitting won't get him in due to points. One loss eliminates him.

It's going to take even MORE of a Miracle
Me/Matt/Mark- Yup...I know...I've been declaring myself out for weeks now, but guess what...it IS possible. How in the hell do I get in? Here's the only way I know how. I'd need to win out, Albert and Leland would need to lose out (Leland because of points) and Drew would need to split (hopefully beating Albert this week, then losing to Ryan next week). Also for extra security I'd probably need Matt to lose one, because if Matt swept too, it could go down to a points tie breaker. Odds are 1 in a million...but last I checked 1 is better than none. You can apply the same scenerios for Matt and Mark, but in Matt's case he's down points against me so he'd probably want me to lose one, and for Mark he's going to have to have the most productive weeks ever and have low scoring games from everyone mentioned to have a shot. But hey...if there's a way...it's still technically doable.

Week 11 Results: "It's Just Nice To Win One"

If you're an Office fan like myself, you might remember this little quote from when Kevin was going through his breakup with his fiance Stacy and him and Andy were able to get the employees of Dunder Mifflin their parking spots back by talking to "The Five Families" and standing up for themselves. With all the crap Kevin was going through, and as little as taking back parking spaces are in the grand scheme of things, sometimes it's those little things that can for just a few moments erase some of the pain. As Kevin says..."It's just nice to win one". Now look, I'm not naive, I've been pretty unbearable this season and I know I've gone far off the deep end than ever before with the level of frustration of this league. I know it gets old listening to me gripe and moan and pull the woe is me act because with some of you, I also do it on either FB Message (Sorry Leland) or texting (sorry Mike, Matt, Drew, Ryan) and I'm sure you guys get tired of the same negative bullshit I sprew every week. The thing is...and I don't wanna get on a soapbox or get too deep and personal, but there are things going on right now that just haven't been ideal. It just hasn't been a fun year personally and professionally..and basically I take it out on Fantasy Football because well... because it's supposed to be my escape from reality and obviously it just hasn't been. When everything just seems to be going wrong all the time, you just ask for one little thing..one little victory at something...anything..just for a moment of achievement and when you can't even get that in something as small as fantasy football and not only do you lose but you lose in the worst ways possible, you just throw your hands up and ask "I can't even get THIS?"  A "W" in the win column means more than anything right now, because for at least a brief moment, it's a moment of success. I know this game is unpredictable and I shouldn't let it bother me as much as I do, that's just the competitive part of me, but sometimes it's just not about the game itself, believe it or not my life doesn't revolve around fantasy football even though it comes across that way. When the chips are down and no matter how much you bust your ass you keep getting knocked down, sometimes all it takes is one little win..a win that in the general scheme of things means nothing..not only in life but in this league, because a win here doesn't magically put in me in the playoffs, but it means something to me to help myself ease a little bit of the pain I'm going through in what has been a pretty rough patch of my life. Now I'm not putting this out there for pity or anything like that, or for attention, I just wanted to make it clear that it's not the game that has me so on edge. I'm the only one who makes their feelings public through this blog so I don't want to be known as this over competitive psycho that takes this way to seriously and personally. There's some truth to it...but it's not even close to being the reason why I've been such a pessimistic ass. So just like Mr. Malone so bluntly put it...sometimes it's just nice to win one. Ok..I'm done being deep and shit...let's get on to the results.

SCLSU MudDogs (6-5)                     110.00
BigBadBob (0-11)                               87.58

So yeah, as predicted, this was never a game as Alex demolishes Dad for his 6th win and Dad remains winless. Dad really never stood a chance as his roster isn't exactly great right now and on top of THAT he had two of his better players (Emmanuel Sanders and Devonta Freeman) on bye. It was a valiant effort and he did get awesome games from Pierre Garcon (116 yards and a TD which was a 70 yarder) Rashad Jennings (who came out of the mothballs and had 129 total yards an a score) and Frank Gore (121 total yards). Unfortunately every one else came up super small. For Alex, hey call it an "easy win" all you want, but Alex's 110 would beat every team this week, so regardless of his opponent this week, he would've won. I give serious props for Alex taking a gamble on Le'Veon Bell with that 4th pick. It was a HUGE gamble to wait 3 weeks for him, but man has it paid off. Yet another 30 point performance and he's so valuable in both the receiving and rushing game that his floor and ceiling are equally super high. He had 201 total yards and a score. He's beyond amazing. Julian Edelman FINALLY looked like a WR1 and this was easily his best game of the season with 77 yards and a score. If we're going to see THIS Edelman on a consistent basis, than yeah...it makes Alex that much more scarier. Theo Riddick still sucks at rushing but his receiving skills more than overcome that weakness as he had 8 catches for 70 yards to get with his piddly 13 rushing yards. Theo Riddick is the ultimate flex play, he does exactly what you want him to do, provide double digit points on a weekly basis. Carlos Hyde didn't score a TD, but had 110 total yards. Alex had a great week despite average games from Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, and Delanie Walker. Alex is starting to gain momentum at the right time which is good because he's got a tough test next week facing Mayra. Remember in Week 1, Alex put up a ton of points but Mayra put up even more. For Dad, he's still in search for Win #1 and he'll take on me next week. My matchup isn't that intimidating and Dad will have his team fully back so it should be a competitive matchup that Dad has a chance to win.

Game MVP

Le'Veon Bell (SCLSU MudDogs)

146 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD, 8 Receptions, 55 Receiving Yards, 30.10 Points

 

No Soup For You (5-6)                      94.42

Light's Broken Bots (4-7)                 77.00

Well the good news is Leland's team lives to see another day...the bad news is, it comes with a HUGE price. A.J. Green tore his hamstring yesterday and it now looks like he's more than likely done for the season. That's a HUGE blow to Leland's team and after trading a lot of depth away the past two weeks, it might be death blow to his chance as repeating as champion. Once again, David Johnson did the heavy lifting with 160 total yards and two scores. That guy is a beast and he's going to have to have games like this to keep Leland in the thick of things. James White was good with 6 receptions for 63 yards and a score but I worry about Dion Lewis being back and slowly taking away White's snaps. It already gradually started this week. Eric Ebron had 70 yards and a RUSHING score (yup,lol) and Matthew Stafford continues to struggle and trend down as that 's 4 straight games under 19 points. Luckily for Leland, he didn't need much as Matt's team was just awful. Gronk not playing basically destroyed Matt's chances at winning as he was forced to play Dwayne Allen who put up a donut. Tons of disappointing plays and the though Jordy Nelson and Matt Asiata did score TD's, they did nothing yardage wise. It was basically just Tom Brady who had 280 yards and 4 Passing TD's. This loss puts a nail into Matt's season as the best he can do now is finish 6-7. He joins me and Dad in the "Spoiler" group. It's not going to be easy though, he takes on Eugene next week, while Leland tries to keep his playoff hopes alive against Mike.

Game MVP

David Johnson (No Soup For You)

103 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD, 7 receptions, 57 receiving yards, 1 Receiving TD, 31.5 Points

 

Bay Area Tanners (4-7)                  105.14

Woe Is You (7-4)                               94.20

Well....it's nice to be on the OTHER side of a bullshit win for once. It happens every once in a while but that's definitely what this was. This is actually even closer than it should've been thanks to my stupid decision to bench Sterling Shepard for Jeremy Kerley. That was a 13.5 point swing as Kerley got blanked and Shepard had 50 and a score. Luckily for this week, I countered that stupid move with a very gutsy call. For the 2nd straight week I benched Todd Gurley, this time for Rob Kelley. I just felt Gurley was going to suck as usual and thought Kelley provided more upside. Well, of course almost as if to prove me wrong, Gurley scored his first TD in AGES on the very first drive of the game and already I was immediately regretting my decision. Honestly, up until Sunday Night, my team was pretty terrible. Jameis was OK, but only had 1 TD pass, Mike Evans had a 100 yard game but no TD, Spencer Ware was disappointing and LaGarrette Blount did good, but had a 38 yard TD called back, and he wasn't NEARLY involved in this game as I thought he would be but still managed to have a 124 yards. My only saving grace (or at the time frustration) was Mike's guys weren't doing much either. Odell Beckham and Stefon Diggs had crappy games while Terrelle Pryor had an okish game with 5 catches for 97 yards. Mike had made his own chess moves and decided to swap out Eli for Derek Carr before the games began and at first Mike too was wondering if he had made the right decision. Eli was decent with 227 yards and 2 scores for 19 points. So Sunday/Monday Night was down to Rob Kelley/C.J. Fiedorowicz for me against Jordan Reed/James Starks/Derek Carr for Mike. You know me, I felt like I didn't have a chance in hell, that my Gurley/Shepard decisions would cost me yet another win in what's been a horrible season. Kelley actually scored pretty fast, which made me feel good that at the very least he had a good shot at matching Gurley's production. Finally Reed started getting going, getting large chunks of yards at a time. James Starks had sucked so far, but I was still worried. Then in the 3rd quarter, James Starks scored on a 31 yard screen and I was livid. I was going to lose because JAMES FUCKING STARKS did good. This was early too, so I felt it was going to be a shootout and Jordan Reed was going to dominate. I was pissed off, and stopped following the game, so frustrated that I had lost shitty again. It wasn't until really late in the game that I decided to check my phone and see what the damage was...I saw Washington was up 42-24 and chuckled to myself and said "gotta be fucking Reed"...imagine my surprise when not only wasn't it Reed.....it was ROB F'N KELLEY.....he had scored 2 MORE TD'S and had also ripped off a 66 yard run. Holy shit I couldn't believe it. Over 31 points from "Fat Rob". I was 100% sure this shit was over, but now I was actually in the driver's seat. Insane. Now...I wasn't ready to call it a win yet...HELL NO...what happened for me could happen TO me because Posey still had Derek Carr to play. I had C.J. Fiedorowicz to try to counter and I was just asking for his projected 6 points to hopefully be enough to counter Carr. I was up comfortably alllllll the way until the 4th quarter. C.J. had done his job, but I'm always a "it's not over till 0:00 in the 4th" kind of guy so I was STILL nervous. Then it starts happening......Carr a 75 yard TD to Jamize Olawale...6 minutes later in what was an all passing drive..Carr with a 35 yard TD to Amari Cooper. My "comfortable lead" was dwindled down to 9 damn points....in a close game. I tried to stay positive, but man I couldn't believe what was happening. I was like...no way...no way it's going to go down LIKE THIS. I needed this game to be over. If the Texans would've tied this up, it would've been a nightmare. Thankfully....the Texans had to punt and the Raiders were able to eat the rest of the clock including going for it on a key 4th and 1 and getting it and I escape with the narrow win. As bad as the Shepard/Kerley swap was..the Kelley/Gurley swap WAS EVEN BETTER and it's the only reason I won. Like I said above, sometimes it's the little things that can for a brief moment make you feel good about yourself and this is exactly what I needed. In regards to the league, it's a meaningless win, and it's not that bad of a loss for Mike. He's still solid for the playoffs, and though the win would've been nice for a shot at aiming for a bye, it still would've taken some work to get that by getting help from others beating Eugene and/or Ryan and though it got even harder now, he's not completely out of the bye picture. He'll look to bounce back against Leland next week, while I take on Dad as he still looks for Win #1.

Game MVP

Rob Kelley (Bay Area Tanners)

137 Rushing Yards, 3 Rushing TD's, 31.70 Points

 

Bigger Balls (7-4)                     99.94
THE SPOILER (5-6)                78.30

Big win for Mayra here, as with Mike's loss she takes 3rd place and pretty much has clinched a playoff spot. She didn't have Matt Forte or Matt Ryan and it didn't matter much. Dak Prescott filled in beautifully with 300 yards and 3 scores, while Lamar Miller FINALLY had a great game with  104 yards and a TD. Amari Cooper added a TD, and although Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace, and Jay Ajayi weren't spectacular, they did just enough to help Mayra get the win. For Drew, it's the same ol same ol like most of this year. Unpredictability. He's got a ton of the same wild cards that he's going to hit (C.J. Prosise before he got hurt, busted a 75 yard TD) and miss (Robert Woods, Michael Floyd, Ladarius Green, Ryan Mathews (got hurt but still) sucked while Cole Beasley and Terrence West were actually pretty good). Just hard to win with a roster like that. Donte Moncrief and Allen Robinson scored TDs and Kirk Cousins was amazing with 375 yards and 3 scores. Just too many misses to make this matchup competitive. So what about Drew's playoff chances? His points are still unbelievably low, so he can't win tie breakers. Here's Drew only way into the playoffs. He needs to win out and both Leland and Albert need to lose out. No wiggle room. For next week, he kind of controls his destiny as he plays Albert, while Mayra has tough matchup against Alex and his surging team.

Game MVP

Dak Prescott (Bigger Balls)

301 Passing Yards, 3 Passing TD's, 16 Rushing Yards.

 

Channel 4 News Team (6-5)         104.88

Shock The Monkey (4-7)              102.58

Unbelievably the closest match of the week as Albert BARELY gets by with a 2 point win in what could've been a disastrous loss to his playoff chances. Mark's decision to play Vernon Davis or Gary Barnidge costs him the win as Davis was blanked while Barnidge had 23 yards and a score. Even without the TD, Mark wins with just the catches and 23 yards from Barnidge. So how was Mark able to keep this competitive?  Dez Bryant was great with 80 yards and two TD's as was Jamison Crowder with 102 and a score. Jarvis Landry hasn't done much recently and he didn't do much yardage wise, but still scored a TD. DeMarco Murray had a "bad" game but still had 70 yards and a TD. What was frustrating was the way Oakland used Latavius Murray. He only got 33 yards on the ground but salvaged his day with 5 catches for 59 yards but Mark really needed a couple more points from him to score the upset win. For Albert, LeSean McCoy was doing great before he injured his thumb and never came back. It seems he should be good to go for next week, but Rob Ryan isn't committing to that. It'll a be a big but not devastating loss if McCoy can't go only because Albert still has Mike Gillislee just in case. The Luck to Hilton combo led the way as they combined for a little over 39 points. More bad news though as Andrew Luck suffered a concussion and is concussion protocol and with the Colts playing Thanksgiving night..it doesn't look like Luck is going to play which also affects Hilton. That could be a crucial blow to Albert, especially since he hasn't officially clinched a playoff spot yet and still has a couple teams breathing down his neck including the one he's playing this upcoming week. Doug Baldwin actually THREW a TD pass to Russell Wilson and he's been looking good again as he finished with 18 points, while 10 and 12 point games from Jordan Howard and Doug Martin helped seal the win respectively. Well, if Drew ever wanted to live up to his team name, this week is the time to do it. He could really play Spoiler and hurt Albert's chances at a playoff spot (not to mention, he needs it for himself to stay alive) and he'll have a chance if indeed Andrew Luck is out. Unfortunately for Mark, this all but eliminates him from the playoff race. He had  a little nice run going, even defeating Mayra, and came SO CLOSE to picking up win #4 in a row. His points unfortunately, aren't great and I can't see a scenario where he sneaks in as the 6th seed. He'll take on Ryan's 1st place team next.

Game MVP

Andrew Luck (Channel 4 News Team)

262 Passing Yards, 2 Passing TD's, 1 INT, 22 Rushing Yards, 21.18 Points

 

Rocket Man (9-2)                  102.04

Hoosier Daddy (9-2)               66.38

Well...this was underwhelming. Despite no Julio Jones and no Melvin Gordon, Eugene still easily wins this matchup and if you're Ryan...that's gotta be scary. Also what's alarming is that although Ryan has only lost twice, he's been blown out both times and has barely put up scores of 72.58 and now 66.38. It's like when Ryan loses..his team completely falls apart. The good news is though that Ryan gets Demaryius Thomas back from bye and the news that C.J. Prosise is out for an extended period of time means his pickup of Thomas Rawls earlier in the season was a great move and he immediately slides in to a flex spot. There's really nothing to talk about on Ryan's side as outside of Steve Smith (8 for 99 and a score) and Zeke (a "bad" game with only 127 total yards) everyone else was horrifically bad especially Ben Roethlisberger (not even 9 points) and Michael Crabtree (2 points). Ryan's gotta hope he's getting his bad games out of the way, because he can't afford a performance like this in the playoffs. For Eugene, once again Aaron Rodgers continues to be the best QB in fantasy as this is 5 straight weeks of of 26 points or more. The Packers suck, but Rodgers has been putting up HUGE numbers which is help driving Eugene's 9-2 record. Rodgers had 351 yards, 3 TD's and 33 rushing yards. For fantasy purposes, he's been more than amazing. Devante Parker had a big breakout game with 8 for 79 and a score, and Rishard Matthews had yet another productive game with 9 catches for 122 yards. Marty B was a bust despite Gronk being out and DeAndre Hopkins still doesn't seem like he's going to have the impact everyone thought he would this season. I still think he's a wildcard for Eugene and just might have a blowup game when you least expect it. Travis Kelce caught 7 balls for 108 yards, and though the running game was once again disappointing, Eugene does get Melvin Gordon back next week. With Eugene and Ryan still fighting for the #1/#2 seeds, their matchups are still very important and both seem to have very easy matchups as Ryan takes on Mark, while Eugene takes on Matt. With only a little more than 3 points separating the two, it looks like it's going to come down to the wire on who's getting the #1 seed.

Game MVP

Aaron Rodgers (Rocket Man)

351 Passing Yards, 3 Passing TD's, 33 Rushing Yards, 32.34 Points

 

 

 

 

  

 

Thursday Night Overview/Week 10 Awards

 

So I actually didn't watch this game last night because outside of the Cowboys, football is irrelevant to me now that I'm toast in our league, but just by looking at the box score I can definitely tell this game, like most Thursday games, sucked MAJOR balls. I think it's probably the most disappointing Thursday Night Game this SEASON, as it looks like EVERY STARTABLE PLAYER UNDERPERFORMED. There was not one good performance...and there were a TON of plays last night. What a joke...what a stupid joke football and fantasy football is. So let's survey the damage shall we. I had a player go, so naturally Brandin Cooks sucked against a supposedly shitty ass Carolina Run. You know what's hilarious and TOTALLY PREDICTABLE? Brandin Cooks played this exact team in Week 6 when he exploded for 175 and a TD and had 27 points....he did it for Leland...and guess who Leland played Week 6? So naturally now that I own him he can't even put up 9 points against the SAME EXACT DEFENSE. Yup...I'm quitting this shit for sure. Unreal how every little thing has to blow up in my face. NOTHING can EVER go my way. On the other side, Mike got a TD from Jonathan Stewart but only finished with 39 total yards. At least he got a TD and no worries Mike you're still going to win because my team will self destruct like it does every fucking week. So who else got fucked? Not a good start for Ryan and even worse news is that Mark Ingram WAS having a decent game before he got concussed. At least he'll have 10 days to clear concussion protocol. Greg Olsen was awful with 4 catches for 33 yards and he hasn't exactly been the tight end solution Ryan was hoping for since trading for him. This is going open the door for Eugene to possibly take advantage of this now as this matchup is now totally wide open. Matt's playoff chances seem to be getting worse by the day, as it's looking more like reality that Gronk won't be playing this week. Kelvin Benjamin did nothing with just 3 catches for 56 yards and Matt's not in good shape to win this week. For his opponent Leland, Michael Thomas didn't do better, but apparently he salvaged his game with a couple BS garbage time catches that got him up to 5 catches for 68 yards. I'd still say Leland is in the driver's seat for this one. Once again Alex, you've been handed this matchup on a silver platter and it's basically a free win. Although Drew Brees wasn't great with only 258 yards, 2 TD's, a Fumble and an interception, Cam Newton was once again AWFUL with not even 200 yards passing and just one TD. If we were playing next year there's no way in hell Dad would keep him. Also Willie Snead went off last week and Dad benched him, so Dad plays him this week and naturally he did nothing last night with only 4 catches for 33 yards. Brutal and there's literally no way Dad wins this week now. That'll take care of last night's carnage, now onto the Week 10 Awards.

Wane McGarity Stud Of The Week

Ezekiel Elliott (Hoosier Daddy)

 

No brainer winner this time around as Zeke's amazing performance not only was crucial in real life, but helped Ryan go to 9-1 on the season. With nearly 40 POINTS, he has shown without a shadow of a doubt he's definitely a special player.

Michael Wiley Dud Of The Week

Tom Brady (Light's Broken Bots)

 

This was supposed to be a slam dunk matchup for Brady against a reeling Seattle defense. With Matt needing to cling to playoff contention, he was in pretty good shape heading in to last Sunday night. Brady, in one of his rare moments, was AWFUL. No TD's passes (which also affected Gronk who Matt has) and 316 yards and a pick. He didn't even finish with 12 points. The next night Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. did Matt in and he lost by only 5 points. Even a mediocre game from Brady gets Matt the win. Even worse, Matt had the opposing QB, Russell Wilson, on his bench who was amazing. Now Matt would have never played him over Brady, but still that he was there on Matt's roster is still pretty ironic.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Award

Joe Flacco (Shock The Monkey)

 

When you're fighting for a playoff spot and you're the overwhelming underdog you gotta take some risks and that's what Mark did after playing QB carousel before Thursday Night. He went from Blake Bortles to Trevor Siemian to finally taking the erratic unpredictable Joe Flacco. For about a half, it looked like the wrong play, but Flacco ended up doing great by scoring a little over 26 points and helping Mark keep his season alive and beat Mayra's championship caliber squad.

Jay Cutler Bad Decision Award

Mark Plays Inactive Dion Lewis

 

On the flip side, although this decision didn't cost Mark the win, in the grand scheme of things taking a zero and leaving points on the board in a tight playoff race is a crucial mistake. Granted, the game was on Sunday Night, but even had Lewis played, there's no guarantee he would've been thrown back into a large role. Mark should've probably played it safe here and let Lewis have a "prove it to me" game before starting him. At the end of the day, Lewis didn't play and Mark had to eat the zero.