Year End Awards: Michael Wiley All Dud Team/Dud Of The Year

Busts, Disappointments, Duds, they all mean the same thing in the world of fantasy football, and it's always inevitable that for some reason or another, players just don't live up to their wildly high expectations. For those who drafted them, it's a near death blow that can cripple your franchise for the season. Here's a look at the Dudliest of the Duds. I took into consideration, the player, the reason, the relative draft position, and how it affected the team that had them. Here's the Michael Wiley All Dud Team.

QB

Cam Newton (BigBadBob)

QB Rank: 16

Overall Rank: 20

3,272 Passing Yards, 18 Passing TD's, 11 Interceptions, 353 Rushing yards, 5 Rushing TD's, 2 2 Pt Conversions, 2 Fumbles Lost, 269.68 Fantasy Points

Acquired: Keeper for Dad (9th Round)

 

Holy Regression Batman! (Sorry, I've been watching old Batman TV shows with my dad the past couple of days, so it's still in my system ha). The two time Wane McGarity Bowl Stud of The Year (and last year's real life MVP) was supposed to be the cornerstone of Dad's team this year. Best of all, he was a 9th round keeper! A "steal of the century" so to speak. Cam was absolutely DREADFUL this season. Blame the refs, blame the poor O-Line play, blame Cam himself, but Cam's terrible play destroyed Dad's chances at the playoffs and actually helped get Dad the worst regular season record in our league's history at 2-11. Dad kept starting Cam because well...he's Cam! It killed him week after week. Remember with QB's don't look at Overall Rank which is 20. Most QB's will be the highest scoring players in Fantasy. Look at his rank against other QB's. It's 16 and if you adjust it due to Tom Brady's suspension (remember Brady missed 4 games, it's the only reason he's ranked so low) it's really 17 (and a point away from 18th as Andy Dalton is barely below him)There were 16 better QB's than Cam. It means he wasn't even startable in a 12 team league. This would've been even more of a disaster had he been a redraft player, but even as a 9th round keeper, he was awful. From Stud to Dud...just shows how fast someone can rise and fall in fantasy football.

WR

Brandon Marshall (Free Agent)

WR Rank: 47

Overall Rank: 111

59 Receptions, 788 Receiving Yards, 3 Receiving TDs, 126.30 Fantasy Points

Acquired: 1st Round (8th Overall) By Dad. Traded by Dad to me for Dennis Pitta and Jeremy Maclin. Waived By Me.

 

Proof that I don't know everything when it comes to football. I thought Brandon Marshall would be a no brainer 5th round keeper for Alex and I criticized the decision for Alex to not at the very least keep Marshall at such a high round when he decided to start fresh. Well..I'm 11th place and Alex is the champion of our league. With Marshall back in the draft pool, Dad gladly took him 8th overall. PURE GARBAGE. Brandon Marshall being great last season really fooled me, because two years ago when I had him he was as shitty as you can be. Marshall teased everyone that he was "back" last season, but here we are back on the Dud team just like in 2014. Marshall is so bad, he's the first person to make the Dud team THAT'S NOT EVEN ON A ROSTER! I dropped him before Week 16 for a crapshoot guy. That's how bad he was. Totally worthless, never on the same page with Ryan Fitzpatrick, even worse chemistry with Bryce Petty, and generally looked disinterested the whole season, there were 46 better receivers than Marshall. Dad kept starting him because of his "name" and I started him a couple times thinking he'd bounce back before benching and cutting him completely. It's no shock he was on the rosters of two of the worst teams this season. Another reason Dad had such a terrible season and he made my team even worse than it was. Maybe a change of team will revitalize Brandon Marshall's career, but I know me and Dad won't be the ones to take a chance on that happening.

WR

DeAndre Hopkins (Rocket Man)

WR Rank: 39

Overall Rank: 95

71 Receptions, 831 Receiving Yards, 4 Receiving TD's, 142.6 Fantasy Points

Acquired: Keeper For Me (3rd Round). Traded by Me with Devante Parker to Eugene for Jordan Matthews and Jeremy Maclin.

 

The ULTIMATE example of "it's not his fault, it's his QB". Hopkins is an amazing talent, as evidenced by last year (he made the All Stud Team) where he had an AMAZING season. I thought I was getting a hell of a steal in the 3rd round by keeping him. Unfortunately, thanks to being tied to absolutely without a shadow of a doubt the WORST starting QB in the league today (well...not anymore because he got benched) Hopkins regressed big time. It's funny that so far, each selection on this team has been a part of either me, or my dad (or sometimes both). We definitely had shit luck drafting/keeping this year. Brock Osweiler just had no clue how to get the ball to Hopkins and of course it didn't help that defenses would scheme to take Hopkins out of the game. His slow start killed me and I had to trade him out of necessity to Eugene who thought he was maybe buying low. Nope...never happened..in fact when it really mattered, in the semi finals of the playoffs and with Julio Jones out with injury, Eugene still kept Hopkins on his bench because he simply couldn't trust him. For Hopkins sake, I hope the QB situation improves for him, otherwise as long as Osweiler/Savage are there, he'll be wasting away some prime years of his career.

WR

Allen Robinson (THE SPOILER)

WR Rank: 29

Overall Rank: 80

68 Receptions, 801 Receiving Yards, 6 Receiving TD's, 1 2pt Conversion, 152.10 Fantasy Points

Acquired: Keeper For Drew (6th Round)

 

Even his awful end of the year numbers are inflated by a 19 point, 147 yard performance in a week 16 that Drew didn't even play because his season was already over. Make no bones about it, Robinson was flat out AWFUL and that's with a QB TRYING to force feed him all season. Before that 19 point explosion, he had 4 straight games of UNDER 5 POINTS. Drew's last place finish was definitely due to underachievers like Robinson on his roster. Thought to be one of the bigger steals as a 6th round Keeper, Robinson busted beyond belief. Proof that even keepers in late rounds can absolutely destroy your season.

RB

Todd Gurley (Woe Is You)

RB Rank: 19

Overall Rank: 65

845 Rushing Yards, 6 Rushing TD's, 39 Receptions, 290 Receiving Yards, 1 Fumble Lost, 167 Fantasy Points

Acquired: Keeper By Leland (6th Round). Traded by Leland to Me along with Brandon Cooks for A.J. Green and Sammie Coates. Traded by Me along with Tim Hightower to Mike for Eli Manning and Jordan Reed.

 

Even his abysmal numbers look better than they are (a 16 point performance in week 16 that was irrelevant because Mike's season was already done, having lost the 6th place game in Week 15). Leland was supposed to have the biggest advantage of all the teams by being able to keep David Johnson in the 14th round and Todd Gurley in the 6th round. Before the season started, I actually legit wondered if Leland would even get beat this season. Gurley would be even more of a bust had this been a redraft league, because no doubt he goes before guys like Le'Veon Bell, Zeke, hell probably even Beckham and David Johnson, just based on his age and what he did last year. Welp...everyone was DEAD WRONG. Gurley looked like Trent Richardson most of the year. He had 0 100 YARD GAMES!! 0!!! NOT ONE! He wasn't nearly involved in the passing game as expected (BENNY FUCKING CUNNINGHAM WAS TRUSTED MORE). Just a god awful bust of epic proportions who's keeper status is the only thing saving him from becoming one of the bigger busts of all time. I traded for him as a "throw in", he sucked for me and I shipped him to Mike and Gurley didn't do anything for him either. Questions about whether it was him, the offensive line, the QB, the playcalling, were swirling all around. I think it was a combination of all of the above. How do you not make the playoffs with having DAVID JOHNSON on your roster? By pairing him with TODD GURLEY. That shows how bad he was in destroying Leland's team (and to an extant me and Mike's because he sure as hell didn't help us).

RB

Thomas Rawls (Hoosier Daddy)

RB Rank: 57

Overall Rank: 217

335 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TD's, 13 Receptions, 96 Receiving Yards, 61.60 Fantasy Points

Acquired: 2nd Round (17th Overall) By Dad. Waived By Dad. Picked up By Ryan.

 

I don't like to pick on injured guys, but he was so bad he ALMOST cost Ryan a trip to the finals and DID  cost Ryan a Fantasy Football championship. Rawls looked AMAZING last season and looked like the real deal in supplanting Marshawn Lynch for the Seahawks starting role after Lynch retired. He looked like a lock as a keeper for Dad. Unfortunately he got hurt during Dad's playoff game and it was injury that lingered longer than most thought. Dad STILL took him in the 2nd round and it was disaster from the get go. He played in two games, scoring only 9.5 points COMBINED before an injury once again forced him to sit out 7 games. In somewhat of a blessing, the Seahawks really didn't find a guy to replace him. They used Christine Michael for a good while and he was decent, but they let him go. They turned to C.J. Prosise who was acutally doing good before HE got hurt. It was the perfect opportunity for Rawls to step back in and reclaim his starting gig. Ryan smartly picked him up before he came back, in hopes that he'd have a legit starting running back in the playoffs. After a couple of mediocre games as he got back into game shape, he teased Ryan with an amazing 24.3 Point performance in the last week of the regular season. Ryan thought he had that key last piece to help secure his first fantasy title. He sucked during Ryan's bye, but Ryan plugged him against Albert in the semi finals and Rawls was GOD AWFUL. Chance after chance to punch in 1 yard TD's and he failed miserably. Ryan luckily survived Albert but in the most important game of entire season, the championship game, he rolled with Rawls again and it was even MORE disastrous as he sucked for a half before getting injured. He finished with less than a point. With a fantasy football championship on the line and $800 and when you lose by under 5 points, getting .8 from one of your starting running backs is a DEATH KNELL. He helped kill one team at the beginning of the season, and he killed another when it matters the most. He more than deserves to be on this team.

TE

Rob Gronkowski (Light's Broken Bots)

TE Rank: 23

Overall Rank: 172

25 Receptions, 540 Receiving Yards, 3 Receiving TD's, 84.5 Fantasy Points

Acquired: 1st Round (1st Overall) By Matt

I get the allure. When he's healthy, he's by far and away the best Tight End in Football and it's not even close. The advantage is enormous. The problem is, he's never healthy and his price is always too high that taking him creates a MAJOR problem when he inevitably gets hurt. Matt was in the perfect position to make a serious title run before the season started. It looked like he was going to have two excellent keepers in Jordy Nelson (10th Round) and Odell Beckham Jr. (2nd Round) PLUS  the #1 pick overall. Could you imagine a Jordy/Odell/Zeke trio?? Or Jordy/Odell/Bell? That could've happened. Instead Matt made two high risk swing for the fences moves in keeping Josh Gordon over Beckham and then using that #1 pick on Gronk. Both didn't come close to working and Matt's season was crushed instantly. Right off the bat Gronk missed 2 games, than came back and scored a whopping 1.6 points COMBINED with a backup QB in 2 games. He had a nice 4 game stretch in which he showed just why he's so dominant before getting hurt yet again, playing one game as a decoy and scoring 0 points and then being put on IR.  He missed 4 games in the regular season, had 2 "decoy" games where he scored 0 , 1 where he scored 1.6 and another where he barely scored 7. It was a season destroying decision to draft Gronk #1. Matt never recovered.

Flex

Alshon Jeffrey (Shock The Monkey)

WR Rank: 52

Overall Rank: 120

51 Receptions, 811 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving TD's, 118.6 Fantasy Points

Acquired: 2nd Round (14th Overall) By Mark

 

I think Alshon Jeffery's shitty season gets overlooked by many, but I'm sure Mark won't forget it. He blew a 2nd round pick on the guy and he sucked beyond belief. Every possible negative thing that could happen to the guy did except the one thing that most people were worried about when drafting him...INJURY. He NEVER got injured...he just SUCKED. He had 1 TD ALL SEASON WHEN IT MATTERED (not counting his shitty TD in the loser bracket in Week 15) and it didn't matter who the QB was, Cutler/Hoyer/Barkley, they never had good chemistry. On top being a huge failure, he got SUSPENDED for 4 games for PED use. Those are some shitty ass drugs, because they didn't do anything to improve his performance. He's one of the main reasons Mark went from 2nd place finish last year to 10th place finish this year.

Michael Wiley Dud Of The Year

Cam Newton (BigBadBob)

 

Wow...for the first time in history, a player goes from Stud Of The Year to Dud Of The Year. So why Cam? He has no injury (at least not widely known) excuse to fall back on. The expectations for Cam to repeat or come close to what he did last year were HUGE and he failed miserably. When you help lead a team like Dad's to a 2-11 record, there's really no way around it, Cam more than deserves this award. If anyone can turn it around it's Cam, I mean the guy is a two time Stud Of The Year, it just wasn't his year this year and it cost Dad dearly.

 

 

 

 

 

Year End Awards: All Rookie Team/Rookie Of The Year

It's time to announce the Year End Awards for our league. Now the criteria is specifically for this league only. To be considered eligible you had to have been a significant player used in our league. First up will be the All-Rookie Team.

QB- As has been a recurring theme each year, there is no QB eligible to make this team. Dak Prescott was used for one spot start for Mayra, so despite having a terrific season, he wasn't too relevant in our league

RB

Ezekiel Elliott (Hoosier Daddy)

1,631 Rushing Yards, 15 Rushing TD's, 32 Receptions, 1 Receiving TD, 1 Fumble Lost, 309.40 Fantasy Points

RB Rank: 2

Overall Rank: 8

Acquired: 1st Round of Draft By Ryan (2nd Overall)

 

It is so rare that a rookie with sooooo much expectations and hype, especially on the fantasy side of things not only lives up to all of it, but exceeds it, but that's exactly what Zeke did all year. It's so risky to take a unknown commodity in the first round of the draft, much less the 2nd pick. There were established guys like Le'Veon Bell, Odell Beckham Jr., A.J. Green still on the board, but Ryan took a swing for the fences and hit a grand slam with Elliott. He finishes our season as the #2 overall running back and #2 overall non QB scorer. The guy is amazing and Ryan has the cornerstone of his team for years to come.

RB

Jordan Howard (Channel 4 News Team)

1,178 Rushing Yards, 6 Rushing TD's,  29 Receptions, 298 Receiving Yards, 1 Receiving TD, 1 Fumble Lost, 202.10 Fantasy Points

RB Rank: 9

Overall Rank: 42

Acquired: Via Waivers By Albert

 

Every season there's that one rookie who comes outta nowhere to take advantage of an opportunity given via injury and ends up dominating and become a fantasy star. This year it was Jordan Howard, who despite not being the main back for the first 3 games of the season, took advantage of a Jeremy Langford injury and never looked back. Howard had a brief two game slump, but quickly bounced back and helped Albert finish his season strong and get a 3rd place finish. Howard ended up being a top 10 back for the season and there's no doubt Albert's got an intriguing keeper prospect on his hands.

WR

Michael Thomas (No Soup For You)

82 Receptions, 981 Receiving Yards, 8 Receiving TD's, 2 Fumbles Lost, 183.10 Fantasy Points

WR Rank: 11

Overall Rank: 51

Acquired: 10th Round of Draft By Leland (109th Overall)

 

Out of what was supposed to be a deeply talented receiver class, the only constant one in the bunch was Michael Thomas (Sterling Shepard had a solid season but he was rarely used in our league). Thomas led all rookies in receiving yards and tied Sterling Shepard in receiving TD's. He was one of the bright spots on Leland's underachieving team and as a 10th round pick, Leland might have found him yet another great talent at a cheap price. Be interesting to see if he's part of Leland's rebuilding plans for next season.

Wane McGarity Bowl Rookie Of The Year

Ezekiel Elliott (Hoosier Daddy)

 

No competition. A once in a generational talent, and this year's no brainer Rookie Of The Year

 

 

The Wane McGarity Bowl Hall Of Fame: Class of 2016

So I thought it would be fun to start a new award honoring greats from the past. This year is the inaugural class of the Wane McGarity Bowl. To be eligible for enshrinement, a player must be retired and must've been relevant in within our league. In other words, this league was established in 2010, so guys like Priest Holmes, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Randy Moss, while Fantasy Royalty in the pass, do not qualify as they didn't have their prime years in our league. Contributors can also be inducted into our hall. This year's class will include 4 inductees, 3 players and 1 contributor. Without further ado..the Class of 2016

Wane McGarity (Contributor)

 

He's the namesake of our league. For those not familiar with the story behind the name of our league, it's actually an inside joke between me and Kenny Bybee from high school. There was a guy who went to our school, Matt Bode, who loved using the term "stud" to describe players. Problem is...he used the term for basically EVERYBODY, and yes one day, at a Card Show, me and Kenny ran into Matt and he was showing off his cards that he bought. He bought a Wane McGarity rookie card and of course uttered the words that would live in infamy.."yeah..Wane McGarity...he's a STUD". It's something we never forgot and when it was time to give this league an official name...that's the first thing that came into my mind. That's why the weekly awards and season ending awards are named "Stud Of The Week/Year". It's only fitting Wane McGarity is the first official inductee into the Wane McGarity Bowl Hall of Fame.

RB Arian Foster

Team Accomplishments: Part of Albert's 2011 Championship Team

Arian Foster's ascent into Fantasy Football stardom started in our inaugural 2010 season, which is when he busted out and became a perennial 1st round pick. For a good stretch of our run, he was one of the top running backs to own and was part of Albert's 2011 Championship Title Run. Foster's career might have been derailed by injuries recently, which caused him to announce his retirement, but there's no doubt when healthy Foster was one of the best running backs to own in our league. He definitely deserves a place in our Fantasy Football Hall Of Fame

WR Calvin Johnson

 

League Awards: 3x Wane McGarity All Stud Team (2011-2013)

Team Accomplishments: 3x Finals Appearances in 2011 (Albert) 2013 (Kenny) and 2015 (Leland)

Member of 2 Championship Teams 2011 (Albert) 2015 (Leland)

How can you NOT include one of the most feared wide receivers to ever play the game. "Megatron" was such a force in our league that it's no coincidence that in the 6 years he was active, he was a part of the championship game 3 times, being a two winning with Albert and Leland. He's the first player to make the Wane McGarity All Stud Team 3 times. He's definitely one of the most dominant receivers to ever play the game and it's a shame injuries cut his career short. A no brainer Fantasy Football Hall of Famer.

QB Peyton Manning

 

League Awards: 1x Wane McGarity All Stud Team (2013)

2x Draft Day Steal Team (2012,2013)

Peyton Manning might have ended his career as more of a game manager, but there's no doubt before his last season, Manning was a super elite QB option in our league. Though he was never on a championship roster, he wasn't the reason his owners wouldn't make the championship game. He was frequently on playoff rosters and made the Wane McGarity All Stud in 2013 and also was on the Draft Day Steal team in both 2012, and 2013, the only player to make that team twice. He'll be a shoo in for the real Hall of Fame, but here, he doesn't have to wait years to get inducted.

And that will complete our inaugural class of Hall of Famers!

 

 

 

Wane McGarity Championship Results: A New Champion Is Crowned

It's funny when people make the title game how initially everyone says they are "just happy to make it" and on it's face value it sounds logical. Making the title game alone guarantees you a cash prize, and in this year's case, you triple your money, so knowing even if you lose you're still going to go home with $300 certainly softens the blow of a loss..that's the mentality for most...until the games start going on. Then, the competitive juices kick in. Every lineup decision is sweated. "Did I play the right guy?" "I hope he doesn't get hurt" "WHY AREN'T THEY USING HIM IN THIS SITUATION?".  You see, money can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy the label "Champion". It's gotta be earned. Not only does it get you an extra $500, which of course isn't a bad incentive to care, but you get that glorious title of "Champion" which to me is priceless. That's why despite the guaranteed loser's purse, those that have lost in the championship round feel like they lost it all and gained nothing sometimes. All that preparation all year, all the smart moves, trades to get the championship only to fall short. Considering how fickle and unpredictable Fantasy Football is, no one ever knows when's the next time you'll be back in this situation. Look at Drew for instance, Finals in 2010 and not even a 2nd round appearance sense. It's been 3 years counting for me, including to shitty finishes of 12th and 11th since I've won the big one. Matt? Two years since he's been in the playoffs. Albert? He made the first three Finals and hasn't been back since. You just never know and you want to make the most of it. You want to seize the opportunity because the journey is hard and difficult. So yes, the losing hurts just as bad..weather you get $300 or nothing...it feels the exact same way. So who came away with the 2016 Wane McGarity Bowl Championship this year? Well...without further ado...

SCLSU MudDogs (10-6)              101.66

Hoosier Daddy (12-3)                    96.76

HO-LEEEEEEEEE CRAPPPPP. WHAT A MATCHUP. Definitely up there with the Matt-Mayra classic from two years ago. I couldn't be more right in my prediction that this was going to be a hard fought and super close matchup and boy was it. So where to begin? Well...let's start from the beginning, which was Saturday early afternoon, when Alex had 3 guys going (Bilal Powell, Julian Edelman, and Delanie Walker) against Ryan's 1 (Greg Olsen). Honestly..it was pretty slow start for Alex and Bilal Powell was very disappointing with only 8.4 points, and Delanie Walker scored a TD (very late into the game, it was really looking like Walker was going to get blanked) but only had 23 yards receiving, and Julian Edelman did OK with 5 catches for 89 yards, but with the Patriots beating the crap out of the Jets, it was a bit disappointing Edelman wasn't the beneficiary of one of the many TD's scored. Luckily for Alex, Greg Olsen didn't do much for Ryan as he had 6 catches for 59 yards. So it was pretty much an early Saturday afternoon wash, and what happened next would end up having MAJOR consequences in the overall finish of this matchup. So, remember in my Playoff Preview when it said a concern on Ryan's was going to be who to chose between Kenny Britt and Steve Smith? Britt's had a remarkable season this year considering the team he plays for and has bailed out Ryan on more than one occasion during the regular season, but Steve Smith..isn't bad either. The fact is though, he really hasn't had a "wow" game since Week 11, and had scored under double digits 3 out of the last 3 games.  Britt, on the other hand had scored double digits in 5 out of the last 7 games and was playing the crappy 49ers defense. Ryan had Steve Smith in his lineup alllllll week before making a crucial lineup change. He decided to go with Britt and subbed him in right before the 3:00 Saturday games. Britt got hurt early in the game, but stayed in...until the 3rd quarter where he aggrevated the shoulder injury he had suffered earlier in the game and he never came back. He finished with 1 catch for 15 yards...a HUGE blow to Ryan's chances at winning. Along with that play, for the 2nd straight week, Thomas Rawls was flat out AWFUL. What a disappointment he ended up being after being thought to be a boast to Ryan's team. He didn't even finish with a point and didn't play the 2nd half as he got hurt with a shoulder injury. It's easy to play armchair quarterback now, but Ryan's other RB options were Tevin Coleman and Jacquizz Rodgers. Coleman had a tough matchup as well against the Panthers, but finished with 19.40 Points, and Jacquizz Rodgers ended up starting for Doug Martin, who was a healthy scratch, and had 14.80 points. Ryan left a TON of points on his bench and naturally the "what if's" start creeping in his mind. It is what it is though and luckily for him, Mark Ingram, who's so unpredictable, had one of his best games of the season with  with 90 yards and 2 TD's. This was HUGE for Ryan, and kept his chances of winning alive after the Britt/Rawls fiasco. Michael Crabtree looked like he was on his way to a nice game, but kind of stalled after catching 7 passes for 90 yards. He briefly left with an injury but he only missed one series, he was just a non factor in the 2nd half so although 12.5 isn't too bad, it could've been a lot better game from him. Despite all this, it's not like Alex's guys were entirely taking advantage of Ryan's misfortune. As bad as Ryan's guys were performing, Alex had an opportunity to blow this game up, but his guys just couldn't take advantage. Drew Brees was pretty disappointing with only 1 TD pass (and it didn't help that Ryan had Mark Ingram, who took two TD's away). Larry Fitzgerald predictably had a bad game against the Seahawks defense, and though Carlos Hyde scored early, he did nothing of note afterwards, and actually ended up getting hurt himself and finished with only 11 points. Tavon Austin added a TD, but the yardage wasn't there and he too had 11 points. At the end of  Saturday, this matchup was still up in the air, as both guys had scoring problems and we were now down to a 3-1 for Sunday/Monday night..with Ryan having Big Ben/Demaryius Thomas on Sunday against Le'Veon Bell for Alex on Sunday. I actually believed at that point, the advantage belonged to Ryan as I felt after all the Saturday plays, and to still have 3 pretty good plays, he was in good shape...of course Alex had Le'veon Bell so it's not like he's a bum or anything. So the Steelers/Ravens game was the first game Christmas Day and at first it was a slow start for both Ben and Bell. Both guys though delivered BIG TIME, and the last two TD's scored by the Steelers had all the drama and intrigue you could ask for. First Ben finally threw his 2nd TD of the game...BUT TO LE'VEON BELL. Man...for Ryan..what a bittersweet moment as he needed the Big Ben points, but because it was too Bell, it not only cancelled it out, but Bell actually netted at least 1.5 points from the TD. Thinking that was it for Ben, Ryan was feeling pretty deflated, but the Steelers ended up marching down the field for a game winning drive, all passing and NONE OF IT TO BELL, before Ben threw a Game Winning TD to Antonio Brown. JUST what Ryan needed. Ben ended up with 279 yards, 3 TD's and a couple picks and 23.06 points, while Le'Veon Bell once again came up CLUTCH with 137 total yards and 2 TD's. Again, the reason why Alex took a gamble on him. He's been a savior this playoff run and he did it ONCE AGAIN. Oh and a sidenote...remember the Steve Smith benching? Because it's fantasy football, Steve Smith went OFF with 79 yards, a TD, and a two point conversion. 19.4 points...a 17.4 difference from Britt. SOOOOO critical and just like Albert from the week before, it just shows you how important lineup decisions are when the stakes are high. This matchup would've basically over had Ryan stayed the course. Despite that miscue Ryan was only 30.5 points with two guys to go, Zeke and Demaryius Thomas. That's basically 16 points a player which with these two guys is entirely doable, especially Zeke and Alex's guys were done playing. If he were to win, 101.66 points would have to do the trick. Unfortunately, the Broncos were TERRIBLE Sunday Night, especially the offense, and Demaryius Thomas was held to 3 catches for 20 yards and 3.5 points. SUCH....A....KILLER. It was all but over for Ryan. All he had was Zeke left. Ezekiel Elliott. His #2 pick who carried him to the championship. Ryan was down 26.6 points. Last Week, Zeke came though with 26.3 points...could he do it AGAIN?? Well, there was worries going into this game that because Dallas had already wrapped up the division, #1 seed and home field so they had nothing to play for really. Although Jason Garrett had promised that the starters would play a full compliment of snaps, it was still a worry that if the game got out of hand either way, the starters would be pulled. So it came down to last night..down 26.6 points..would Zeke be able to do the impossible? Ryan decided to stop by and watch the game here, and he sat in the same place on the couch that he did when he watched the games with us last week! Anything to hope bring back the magic he got against Albert. Right away in the 2nd drive of the game....Zeke scored on a 55 YARD RUN! Just like that BOOM 11.5 points. We officially had a game. Alex was texting me, getting a little nervous and Ryan was at my house nervous as hell. It was insane. We were going to literally come down to the wire. Every Cowboys score was nerve wrecking for both guys. Dak ended up throwing an AMAZING TD pass to Dez Bryant before the half and Zeke didn't do much else at half, but still had over 14 points and was only about another 14 more to clinch the win. In the 2nd half though, again, with over 10 minutes left...ZEKE SCORED AGAIN, this time a 1 yard TD. Things were getting REAL. Unfortunately it also looked like Darren McFadden was getting involved a little more than usual as the game was getting out of hand. The Cowboys had one more drive going in the 3rd, and Zeke was in and they got all the way to the 9 yard line. It looked like it could be Zeke territory and at this time Ryan was down 4.9 points, a TD seals the deal and more than likely this was the last drive for Zeke as the game was a huge blowout. Unfortunately for Ryan (and lucky for Alex) the Cowboys on a trick play on which Dez threw a TD pass the Witten and that basically sealed Ryan's comeback bid. Zeke was done for the night and after a night of dramatics and watching a 26.6 point lead wash away to under 5 points, Alex had survived the comeback and when the clock hit 0:00...it was official...ALEX KRONBERGER HAD BECOME THE 2016 WANE MCGARITY BOWL CHAMPION. WHAT...A...GAME. Wow...just an amazing performance from both teams and the big guns (Zeke and Bell) both came up as big as big can be. What a journey for Alex, who in his 3rd season has made it to the pinnacle of the league. It took a lot of guts to NOT KEEP ANYONE and start fresh and even more guts to take a guy with a 3 game suspension with the 4th overall pick but boy...did it pay off in spades! Not only was Bell was amazing, but when it really mattered, in the playoffs, he MORE THAN CAME UP HUGE and without a shadow of a doubt Le'Veon Bell is this year's Wane McGarity Bowl Championship MVP. The drafting of bell not only rewarded Alex with a championship, but Alex told me in all the years he's played this game, this is his first championship in Fantasy Football! How sweet it is!! You what makes Alex's story great? His team was ultimate proof that you can win a championship and not have the most stacked roster in the league. If anyone was at a theoretical disadvantage it was him. He kept noone, while the rest of us kept 2 players a piece and a lot of us kept great players at high rounds. He didn't let that deter him. He did he had to do, he didn't give up hope, he made smart draft picks, smart waiver wire picks, and played the game and he won. He didn't have a David Johnson 14th round keep, hell he didn't even have the #1 pick of the draft, he started from scratch and built a championship team. His playoff journey was amazing, he beat the #3, #2, and eventually #1 team on his way to a title. What a great job by Alex and this is a well deserved and well EARNED championship. Congratulations man, you earned it!! For Ryan...damn man...it was a hell of a season. Ryan too did a great job drafting, making waiver moves and trades to construct a team that pretty much dominated all season finishing with the 2nd best record in league history. He's got a once in a lifetime talent in Zeke Elliott, and there's no doubt he's keeping him next year. He was able to beat a truly stacked team in Albert to get to the championship and if not for a critical last second lineup change, it would be Ryan hoisting the proverbial trophy. I know finishing 2nd place sucks, especially when Ryan was pretty much 1st all season, but it's still an accomplishment to get to the championship game and it's nothing to hang your head down about. Hell, I was the #1 seed last season and I didn't even place! In fact, that streak continued, as still no #1 seed has ever won it all for 7 straight years. This is the 2nd time a 6th seed has won. So for Ryan, it was still a super successful season and although it hurts to lose, hopefully that $300 in your pocket makes it a little better! All in all, the championship match delivered and puts a final cap on what was another successful (albeit frustrating for me, lol) season. And yes...all my talk about this being the "final year" was just that....talk. I'm not shutting the league down (though I'm not going to lie, I seriously thought about it). I think we have a solid group of teams and I'd hate to break it up just because I'm a super sore loser. I usually vent and get over it..so as long as you don't mind seeing works like dickfuck, shitassfuck, etc from time to time next year, we'll be back next season for year 8 where Alex goes from being the hunter to the HUNTED as he'll look to defend his newly won title. But that's something he can worry about a year from now. For today and into the new year Alex Kronberger is the Reigning and Defending Wane McGarity Bowl Champion. Champion...a title that can be never taken away. Once it's earned..it's earned forever and now Alex is part of that exclusive club.

Wane McGarity Bowl MVP

Le'Veon Bell (SCLSU MudDogs)

122 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TD's, 3 Receptions, 15 Receiving Yards, 27.20 Points

 

 Other League News: Albert's really kicking himself for that Ty Montgomery/Doug Martin Fiasco as he would've easily beaten Alex for his 3rd title had they played in the championship round. Instead, he'll have to settled for a 3rd place finish as he easily dispatched Eugene's team who was looking for his 3rd straight 3rd place finish himself. Hey, at least Albert got his money back and this is the 4th time he's placed in our league, which is the most of everyone. Dad's fairy tale run in the consolation bowl came to a screeching halt as Leland absolutely destroyed him and now Leland gets the right to pick where he wants to draft. This could definitely be the key in Leland getting back into the championship picture next year after a super disappointing 2016. And in the super irrelevant 9th place game, Matt beat Mark in one of those "why do my guys have to do awesome when there is nothing to play for" games. 

I'll start posting Year End Awards tomorrow, starting with a new award I came up with...the Wane McGarity Hall Of Fame which highlights players who were big time players in our silly game of make believe. So here are the official final standings of the 2016 season.

Champion-SCLSU MudDogs (Alex)
2nd Place-Hoosier Daddy (Ryan)
3rd Place-Channel 3 News Team (Albert)
4th Place-Rocket Man (Eugene)
5th Place-Bigger Balls (Mayra)
6th Place-Woe Is You (Mike)
7th Place-No Soup For You (Leland)
8th Place-BigBadBob (Dad)
9th Place-Light's Broken Bots (Matt)
10th Place-Shock The Monkey (Mark)
11th Place-Bay Area Tanners (Me)
12th Place-THE SPOILER (Drew)

 

 

Thursday Night Overview/Round 2 Awards

 

Well, last night's game had no impact on the Championship Match player wise, but the result of the game could have MAJOR implications on Ryan's team. With the Eagles beating the Giants last night, it helped the Dallas Cowboys clinch not only the division title, but the #1 seed overall, a bye, and home field throughout the playoffs. That's great for Cowboys fans....but the news might not be so great for Ryan. The big question is going to be, "Now that the Cowboys have nothing to play for, will the Cowboys start resting their starters or scaling back their workload?" Ryan's best player is Zeke Elliott and anything other than a full workload is going to be a disappointment and would have a negative impact on Ryan's chances at winning the Wane McGarity Bowl. Nothing has come out as of now as far as Zeke's workload and I'll assume he's going to play close to his usual snaps, because you still have Week 17 to rest up. Things could change if the game gets out of hand. Considering it's also the last play of the championship for either guys, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Onto last week's awards.

Wane McGarity Stud Of The Week

Ezekiel Elliott (Hoosier Daddy)

 

Drew Brees had more points, but do you know Alex STILL wins easily if Drew Brees put up a 0? That's how bad he beat Eugene last week. Ryan needed each and every one of Zeke's hard earned points to secure his first ever trip to the Wane McGarity Bowl and Zeke was the #1 reason Ryan came back to beat Albert.

Michael Wiley Dud Of The Week

Tyler Eifert (Channel 4 News Team)

 

So Eugene was dealing with a ton of injuries and Aaron Rodgers performance wasn't even bad in real life so I eliminated his players from this award. Doug Martin was AWFUL, but he's been pretty mediocre since he came back and honestly against the Cowboys run D I figured he'd basically need a TD to have a decent game, which he didn't. T.Y. Hilton was disappointing for sure, but the Vikings Secondary is no joke and the Colts were so safely ahead that Hilton didn't play the 4th quarter. Eifert though, has zero excuse. It was a burnable defense, no weather problems, and Eifert was held to 1 catch for 9 yards. When you lose by less than 5 points and basically get a zero from your elite tight end, it's all the difference in the world.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Award

Bilal Powell (SCLSU MudDogs)

 

These are the kind of moves that get you into the championship round. Alex took a tiny risk as Matt Forte wasn't ruled out despite nagging injuries and he was replacing one of the better tight ends in Delanie Walker who was originally flexing after using Jimmy Graham (who sucked) in his TE spot, but the move worked out beautifully. Despite not scoring a TD, Powell nearly 22 points and was the 2nd leading scorer, behind Drew Brees, on Alex's team. He won't be a surprise this week that's for sure!

Jay Cutler Bad Decision Award

Albert Playing Doug Martin over Ty Montgomery

 

For the 2nd time in 3 years, a roster decision has cost Albert a chance at the Wane McGarity Bowl. When I saw Albert pickup Ty Montgomery, I thought to myself "it'd be a little risky, but Montgomery COULD be the wild card Albert uses to put him over the top against Ryan". When news came out the James Starks was out for the game because of a concussion I thought exactly that's what Albert was going to do. Doug Martin is basically started on name value alone, he's been pretty mediocre since coming back from injury and the Dallas Cowboys Run D is actually pretty good. I thought Albert was going to take a gamble and switch Martin out for Ty. In fact, after the fact, he told me that was the plan, but he just couldn't do it and he instantly regretted it. Montgomery went OFF, putting up nearly 30 points on Albert's bench, while Doug Martin was held to under 5 points. If he played Ty, it would've been a blowout win for him, instead of a loss under 5 points. Like he texted me "The name Ty will haunt me now for the next 12 months"...it sure will Albert...this game can be overly cruel.

 

Wane McGarity Bowl Championship Preview

So here we are. Down to 2 teams. This season saw a run made by an unlikely team, Ryan's who steamrolled through the league with 11-2 record and yet despite that, and despite making the finals against a 6th seed, it feels like Ryan's the underdog in this matchups. So many things historically are working against Ryan. No #1 seed has ever won a title so far. That means #1 seeds are 0-6, while being 0-2 in the actual Finals, also the #1 vs #6 isn't new. I was the #1 seed in 2011 against Albert's #6 team and he absolutely destroyed me. So the #6 seed is actually undefeated in Finals Appearances. Let us not forget to, that the last time Alex and Ryan faced off in Week 3 was the infamous Delanie Walker inactive play. Alex would've beaten Ryan had he plugged in his backup tight end, Jimmy Graham, over Delanie Walker who didn't play that week, proving that indeed Alex can beat Ryan. So in a weird way, this is the ultimate underdog game....for the #1 seed, which is pretty unique. With all the odds stacked against Ryan, will he break down the barriers and make history? Or will Alex dispatch Ryan just as easy as he dispatches the #2 and #3 seeds? We'll find out starting Saturday when Wane McGarity Bowl VII begins!

Wane McGarity Bowl VII

"The Reverse Underdog Bowl"

Hoosier Daddy (Ryan)

vs

SCLSU MudDogs (Alex)

Ryan McKinnis (Hoosier Daddy)

#1 Seed (11-2 Regular Season Record; 1-0 Playoffs)

How He Got Here: Ryan's drafting Zeke in the first round was the franchise leading player he needed to get over the hump after 6 years of being on the outside looking in. Ryan's been in the league since it's inception and his best years were 3 years ago when he was coming off back to back 3rd place finishes. Ryan had been a major slump since then, finished no higher than 8th the past 3 years (including two 11th place finishes). This year was simply his year, a 7-0 start, best record in the league, 2nd best record in league history, most points scored this season, #1 seed and on the back of Zeke Elliott a narrow win in the semi finals against Albert's loaded team. His draft was great with Michael Crabtree, Mark Ingram, Ben Roethlisberger, and DeAngelo Williams all playing big parts of his success along with key trades for Greg Olsen and Demaryius Thomas and waiver wire adds like Steve Smith, Kenny Britt, Thomas Rawls have all contributed to his success in one way or another. He might not have the most "loaded" team, but he has a very deep solid team led by an absolute beast in Zeke. Zeke has proven he can single handedly win games and he'll definitely need to be on his A game for Ryan to win this year's championship.

Alex Kronberger (SCLSU MudDogs)

#6 Seed (7-6 Regular Season Record; 2-0 Playoffs)

How He Got Here: Just like Ryan, Alex took a huge gamble taking a suspended Le'Veon Bell with the 4th overall pick of this past year's draft. That combined with Alex not keeping anyone (everyone else kept two players) and all signs were pointing to what could be Alex's worst year since joining back in 2014. Alex has had moderate success so far in the league since replacing Mike Posey. He made the playoffs in his first year in, and literally missed the playoffs last year by .4 points when he lost to Leland in Week 13 last year. Thanks to the Bell suspension and Julian Edelman playing without Tom Brady for 4 weeks, Alex had a rocky start, starting 2-4, but there were glimpses that his team was definitely capable of competing for a title. In Week 1, even without Bell he narrowly lost to Mayra in what was a shootout in which he scored the 2nd most points in the week but played against the team that scored the most. He could've beaten Ryan (who ended up on a 7 game winning streak to start the season) in Week 3 had he benched Delanie Walker who was inactive for Jimmy Graham. When he had his team fully healthy and ready to go, he'd end up finishing the season on a 5-2 run and continued that dominance by blowing out both Mayra and Eugene as a 6th seed going against the #3 and #2 seeds respectively. Thanks to the Bell gamble, good ol reliable Drew Brees, a solid supporting cast of Julian Edelman, Larry Fitzgerald, Carlos Hyde, Delanie Walker and Jimmy Graham, and unlikely contributions from guys like Bilal Powell and Theo Riddick, Alex finds himself in his first ever Wane McGarity Bowl Championship. His next challenge..knock off the #1 seed with the 2nd best record in league history. Does he have enough firepower to do that?

Matchup Stats

Alex Leads Series 4-1

Last Matchup

Ryan Beat Alex 92.18-87.64 in Week 3 of the 2016 Season

Position Matchups 

QB

Ben Roethlisberger (Hoosier Daddy)

vs

Drew Brees (SCLSU MudDogs)

Overview: Man these individual matchups are going to be super close, but what else would you expect with two of the top teams in the league? So luckily for both guys, Ben and Drew have home games (both are terrible on the road). Gotta give the slight edge to Brees for a couple of reasons, I think he's the better QB for fantasy purposes for one and also with Alex having Le'Veon Bell, Ben needs Bell in the passing game to have some of his success so Bell could potentially eat into Ben's points. Slight edge to Alex here at QB.

Advantage: Alex

WR

Michael Crabtree (Hoosier Daddy)

Demaryius Thomas (Hoosier Daddy)

Steve Smith (Hoosier Daddy)

vs

Larry Fitzgerald (SCLSU MudDogs)

Julian Edelman (SCLSU MudDogs)

Tavon Austin (SCLSU MudDogs)

Overview: Here's where Ryan has an advantage. I like Ryan's group of guys better than Alex's. This is probably Alex's main weakness as Larry Fitzgerald has been struggling recently and now takes on the Seahawks secondary, while that WR#3 position (filled by Tavon Austin) has been the weakest spot on Alex's entire team. Edelman should be fine, but this is where Ryan can make up some ground with great receiver play from his trio of Crabtree, Demaryius, and Steve Smith. 

Advantage: Ryan

RB

Ezekiel Elliott (Hoosier Daddy)

Thomas Rawls (Hoosier Daddy)

Mark Ingram (Hoosier Daddy)

vs

Le'Veon Bell (SCLSU MudDogs)

Carlos Hyde (SCLSU MudDogs)

Bilal Powell (SCLSU MudDogs)

Overview: This is where the heavy hitters are. Zeke vs Bell, the two main guys who got their respective teams here. I think both will be the heavy contributors they are all year and I basically considering them a wash as far as advantage goes. The rest of the crew though, I feel like Alex has a distinct advantage. Rawls has been super disappointing since returning from injury and you really never know what you're going to get from Mark Ingram. I do think, Ingram gets fed a little more after that little tantrum he threw in the last game when Tim Hightower vultured him. I just really feel like Alex got lucky with Bilal Powell taking over lead duties with Matt Forte's injury and he's going to be the difference maker in the matchup. Carlos Hyde also has a ton of upside and if Alex does win, it's going to be because of the play of his Running Back Trio.

Advantage: Alex

TE

Greg Olsen (Hoosier Daddy)

vs

Jimmy Graham/Delanie Walker (SCLSU MudDogs)

Overview: Well while Alex has to decide which Tight End to use between Jimmy Graham and Delanie Walker (both good choices, but there's a chance he picks the wrong one) Ryan doesn't have to worry about choices and has what looks like to be the #1 Tight End Play this week in Greg Olsen. Olsen had his struggles, but when it mattered, he more than came through for Ryan, and his 6 catches for 85 yards helped finish off Ryan's epic comeback win over Albert. Olsen has a great matchup and should be able to put up some points this week. Going with Ryan and Olsen here.

Advantage: Ryan

Final Predictions 

Yahoo Says: Alex wins 112-108

I Say: Alex wins. In my opinion, this is going to be just as close as Ryan and Albert's matchup was and honestly these rosters are pretty evenly matched overall. I just think having the QB and RB advantage is a big deal and if they play up to par, that'll be the reason Alex takes home the Championship. I expect a highly contested matchup. 

Good luck to Ryan and Alex and may the best team win!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Round 2 Results: Who's Goin To The Ship?

 

Well..this is it. It went by like a blur, like it normally does, but after 15 weeks of awesome performances, shitty performances, outta nowhere performances, injuries, suspensions, benchings, promotions, we're here. We started with 12 teams, and now we're down to the final 2. It's a lot of hard work to get this far, hell it's a lot of hard work just to make the playoffs and when you get to the semi finals and lose...it's that much more heartbreaking because you were not only one step away from playing for the Championship, but also one step away from guaranteed money. A win in the semi finals guarantees you a $300 payout, and that certainly isn't chump change. Of course the Champ takes home a whopping $800 so you better believe there is going to be so high tension and pressure for the two teams that will be taking on each other in the Wane McGarity Bowl. So who's in? Do we have first timers in Ryan and Alex, is Albert going to his record 4th Wane McGarity Bowl, is Eugene going to finally get over that hump after two straight 3rd place finishes? Just know, there was one total blowout, and one matchup that went down to the wire. Time to find out who's going to the Wane McGarity Bowl. Here's the results.

SCLSU MudDogs (9-6)                    102.36

Rocket Man (10-4)                              59.28

Man...this was a total massacre. Unfortunately for Eugene, a crappy combination of injuries and bad weather did in his best 3 players and there was just no way he was able to overcome that. It was my main worry if you remember when I did the playoff preview. His team wins because of Aaron Rodgers, Julio Jones, and Melvin Gordon. His depth for the rest of his team was very questionably to say the least and it showed in spades here. No Julio, No Gordon, and Aaron Rodgers finishes with his lowest point total all season thanks to the super cold weather. Even with Alex's slow Thursday Night start I really wasn't worried because it's so hard to replace elite talent like Julio and Melvin. Eugene worked with what he had (crazy to see how far DeAndre Hopkins has fallen off, even with the injuries, Eugene still benched him, although he was actually decent because Brock Osweiler FINALLY got benched) got a couple decent games from J.J. Nelson and Rishard Matthews but nothing else for anyone else. Half his players scored 5.6 points or less and J.J. Nelson led the team with only 12.3 points. Just a disappointing finish to what was yet another great season for Eugene that was strictly killed by unfortunate injury luck. So Alex had a slow start, and honestly his team didn't have to do much when your opponent doesn't even put up 60 points, but it had to be a sigh of relief to see Drew Brees bounce back in a BIG way after two duds. Brees lost a fumble, but quickly bounced back with 389 passing yards and 4 TD's. Bell and Brees have come through this playoffs for Alex when he has needed them the most. Speaking of Bell, no 50 spot this time, just a "modest"  131 total yards for 15.6 points. That's considering a disappointing game by Bell's standards but hopefully for Alex he gets back to the 25-30 point games he's used to churning out. Again, when you're this far into the playoffs, gutsy calls are a MUST and Alex's last second decision to switch out Delanie Walker for Bilal Powell was a GREAT call and definitely a move that pulled Alex ahead. Powell had 162 yards (including 11 catches for 78) and finished with 21.7 points. If Powell is going to remain the starter for the Jets next week, he's definitely a wild card that could work in Alex's advantage. Outside of those 3, the only concerning thing to me is the receiver situation. Alex doesn't really have a WR3 and Larry Fitzgerald has been struggling as of late. Since Week 11, he's got only 1 double digit game and they play the Seahawks D next. Julian Edelman was decent against a very good Broncos defense and he'll get the shitty Jets next so hopefully he can have an even better game. Carlos Hyde didn't do much this week, but that was more because it was a blowout and it should be a closer matchup against the Rams. So after a shaky 2-4 start, Alex's team has really gotten it together and he makes his first ever Wane McGarity Bowl Appearance. He's been able to so far easily beat two great teams in Mayra and Eugene. Alex could become the 2nd 6th seed to beat the #1, #2, #3 seeds en route to a championship. Albert accomplished that in 2011, though I would argue that the way Alex's squad has been playing has been far from a 6th seed. As for Eugene, well, gotta be frustrating. 3 straight semi-final trips, 3 straight losses. Just can't quite get over that hump yet. At the very least, hopefully he can recapture 3rd place for the 3rd straight year and it'll make the journey next year to finally get over the hump that much more satisfying. 

Game MVP

Drew Brees (SCLSU MudDogs)

389 Passing Yards, 4 Passing TD's, 1 Fumble Lost, 33.36 Points

 

Hoosier Daddy (12-2)               104.84

Channel 4 News Team (9-6)       99.80

Damn...for every blowout there's a down to the wire matchup where someone gets a heartbreaking loss. If you recall two years ago, Albert tied (and lost the tiebreaker to Matt) because of one player. DONTE MONCRIEF. He played him over Anquan Boldin and Moncrief got a 0 while Boldin scored 2 points. It would've been enough to beat Matt. This year, same game, different player. Remember the name TY MONTGOMERY, it'll play a factor later in this recap. So this was as close and nerve wrecking as I thought it would be, with Albert literally leading the entire weekend going into the Sunday/Monday Night games. After an awful start Thursday night for Ryan and a decent one for Albert (Albert's Doug Baldwin stole a TD from Ryan's Thomas Rawls) it looked like Albert was in the driver's seat to start off the matchup.  Then, the early Sunday games started and Ryan's two guys weren't doing much, and at first neither were Albert's. Than a barrage of points started going up, Andrew Luck finished with 2 TD's, LeSean McCoy was AMAZING with 169 total yards and 2 TD's for 30.4 points, Jordan Howard got a late TD to give him 113 total yards and a TD and it really looked like Albert was going to pull away and this could end up being a blowout, though lost in the shuffle were mediocre games from T.Y. Hilton and Jordan Matthews (they combined for only 11.7 points) and an AWFUL game from Tyler Eifer (held to 1.4 points). Ryan got a pretty disappointing game from Big Ben with under 300 yards and a TD, but at the very least Steve Smith scored and it validated Ryan's move to start him over Kenny Britt. So Ryan had the bulk of his guys go late and Michael Crabtree was able to score a TD and finish with 15 points, while DeMaryius Thomas had 7 catches for 91 yards. The big blow though? Tevin Coleman. It was a risky start, and it didn't quite pay off as this week it was the Devonta Freeman show as he had 3 TD's. Every little point matters and Ryan regretting starting Coleman over Mark Ingram who wasn't that much better but still got almost 3 more points than Coleman. Basically it was going to come down to Zeke/Greg Olsen vs Doug Martin. For Ryan, Zeke would have to be the one to save the day. Ryan took Zeke with the #2 pick overall for moments like these and in true Zeke fashion..ZEKE WAS PHENOMENAL. Elliott performed flawlessly with 188 total yards and a TD for a whopping and crucial 26.3 points. That  combined with Doug Martin absolutely sucking (42 yards) basically sealed the deal for the inevitable Ryan win. All Ryan needed was a little over 6 points from Greg Olsen to seal the deal. Olsen's been struggling as of late, so it was still not a 100% guarantee plus it IS fantasy football, weirder things have happened. Right off the bat Olsen caught a 31 yard pass and Olsen almost doubled what he needed for the victory and finished with 6 catches for 85 yards and 11.5 points. Ryan trailed from Thursday all the way until he finally took over the lead in the 2nd quarter of Monday Night's game and won. What an AMAZING comeback, led be a special player in Zeke. If Ryan still needed assurance he made the right choice in Zeke, when it mattered the most, with a trip to the finals on the line, Zeke delivered. It's been a rough 3 year stretch before this for Ryan. Ever since his last 3rd place finish in 2012, Ryan's finished 11th, 8th, and 11th. Nothing but disappointment. But this year was special. Best record in the league, highest points in the league, 2nd best record in league history and it came real close to being all for nothing had he lost. But he didn't, and he now goes on to the Wane McGarity Bowl for the 1st time. He's the 3rd #1 seed to make it to the Finals and he'll hope to do what me and Mayra couldn't do as #1 seeds, win the whole damn thing. He'll definitely have a great chance, but it's looking like another slugfest with Alex's equally talented team. For Albert...man..another heartbreaking semi-finals loss. If not for a couple plays the both time Albert has lost in this spot, he could at the very least been in 5 Wane McGarity Bowls. Remember I mentioned Ty Montgomery? So Albert picked him up last week and I really believed after the news that James Starks was concussed and was going to miss the game, and also being a cold weather game where running would be a big focus, combined with Doug Martin's crappy matchup against the Cowboys, Albert would roll the dice and start Ty over Doug Martin. It never happened....and Montgomery was AMAZINGLY GREAT. He had 162 yards and 2 TD's..29.3 points..ON ALBERT'S BENCH while Doug Martin had a piddly 4.2 points. That's such a nut punch. Albert wins EASILY with the Montgomery play. He's already said Montgomery will haunt him all year, just like Donte Moncrief did two years ago. So in a rematch from two years ago, it will once again be Albert vs Eugene in the 3rd place game. It's not a good feeling being one game away from the Finals, but hey at least someone will recoup their fee by winning the 3rd place game. 

Game MVP

Ezekiel Elliott (Hoosier Daddy)

159 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD, 3 Receptions, 29 Receiving Yards, 26.30 Points

 

Other League News: Well for Me, Drew, Mayra, and Mike our seasons are officially over. I beat Drew in the pathetic 11th place game, while Mayra beat Mike in the 5th place game. There is no more fantasy football for us and personally may I say THANK GOD..because I need a break from the crap in the worst way. I know nobody is paying attention, but how about Dad advancing to the Michael Wiley Loser Bowl!! He's actually on a 4 game winning streak after losing 11 in a row! He'll take on Leland, while Matt and Mark face each other in the 9th place game. Remember, the winner of the Michael Wiley Loser Bowl gets their choice of draft slot, so that would be a pleasant surprise for Dad if he upset Leland to take the "title".

 

Thursday Night Overview/Round 1 Awards

 

Well...leave it to Thursday Night Football to do its best job to kill the hopes and dreams of those left in the playoffs. What a TERRIBLE game this was and unfortunately the players used in this game will for the most part disappointing. Albert got absolutely SAVED by a 1 yard Doug Baldwin TD (which had to piss Ryan off because a) he has Thomas Rawls and Rawls didn't get one goalline touch in that series and b) he's playing AGAINST Albert) otherwise Baldwin would've been an absolute dud. The other 3 guys used WERE Duds. Unfortunately for Ryan, Thomas Rawls was super bad and in the literal sense. It was so bad, Rawls ended up with only 1 more yard than the SEAHAWKS PUNTER. He just could never get it going, and actually LOST points in the 2nd half for Ryan. Terrible start, and yes that combined with a salvageable Doug Baldwin for Albert and I'm officially worried for Ryan. The tide might have turned in that matchup, although I don't want to overreact too much since it's only 1 play for each team. In the other matchup, Alex struck out big time on TWO players. Tavon Austin and Jimmy Graham were only able to combine for 7.8 points last night. For Austin, that's not the least surprising, I expected a dud at that WR3 position because of the terrible options, but Jimmy Graham, that play hurts. It's a setback for sure, but I'm not AS worried about Alex as I was Ryan only because Alex is playing an injury plagued team and Julio Jones status is still up in there air. I still Alex can survive this, though the margin of error has shrunk considerably after those two plays. The bottom line? Thursday Night Football is total garbage. Here are the Week 1 Awards.

Wane McGarity Stud Of The Week

Le'Veon Bell (SCLSU MudDogs)

 

Nearly 50 points in a must win playoff game..c'mon now this was a no brainer

Michael Wiley Dud Of The Week

Derek Carr (Woe Is You)

 

Carr's Thursday Night performance last week absolutely CRUSHED any real chance Mike had at beating Albert. Under 5 points from a QB and there was no Le'veon Bell type on Mike's roster to save him like Bell saved Alex from Drew Brees' shitty game.

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Award

Taylor Gabriel (Woe Is You)

 

I know it's not a real consolation, but this was a great spot start with Julio Jones out. These kind of moves are what got Mike into the playoffs in the first place, and though he lost, credit where credit is due for a nice play.

No Jay Cutler Bad Decision Award this week