Standard Redraft League
Championship Game Result: Loss
Score: 58 - 64
2nd Place Overall
Very exciting game, even though it didn't end the way I wanted it to. My team was finished playing Sunday and my opponent had 2 players in the Monday night game. Both playing for the 49ers, Kicker and Defense. They were playing the Falcons, who had been having a tough year, so I was a little worried. I was up by 13 points heading into the game.
The game started off great, he got a field goal and a couple of extra points but the Defense had only 1 sack. The Falcons actually started playing really well in the second half. heading into the very last minute of the game I was up by 3 points and the Falcons were down by a TD and inside the 49er 20 yard line. I figured, the Falcons would kill the clock trying to score and the game would end with me being up by 3. Of course, that didn't happen. 49er Defense got an interception (1 point) and ran it back for a TD (6 points) then of course they kicked the extra point (1 point). Game over. Living in the Seattle area, we have grown accustomed to hating the 49ers. This did nothing to change that for me.
Looking back, the position I was most concerned about ended up being my downfall. I had a hard time deciding on which QB to start. I had Luck, Smith and I had picked up Cutler last week. Cutler had the highest projected points (by 1 over Smith), but he had missed several games due to injury and had been knocked out of 2 or 3 games, getting hurt. I knew he had a good match up against the Eagles but I was worried he would not be able to play the entire game. I narrowed it down to Smith or Luck. I went with Smith. The Colts Defense had been playing just OK most of the year, some good game and some bad but the Chiefs Defense was better. I was thinking I could get a TD or 2 from Smith but probably less from Luck. Ended up with only 2 points from Smith. 7 from Luck and 9 from Cutler. Had I gone with Cutler I would have won. I can't blame it totally on the QB spot. I had a couple of other guys that had really good match ups but they didn't produce much. None of my WRs were able to get a TD. Both of my RBs had really good games, got 16 from Lacey and 12 from Charles. I know I won't be able to draft both of those guys again next year but it would be nice.
Overall, this was a really fun season. It came down to the wire, the very last minute of our season. I can't be too mad. I had a really good team this year. I'll have to take those lessons learned and apply them next season and hope for the best. I stand by how I managed my team. Getting into the play offs and into the championship game, I didn't want to change how I managed my team to get them to this point. I didn't play the match ups with my main guys. It had worked out almost all year. Some weeks it didn't but I don't think I would have made it this far had I been chasing points.
I spent a little more time doing my research before the draft and was able to walk away from that with a really good team to start with. I also spent more time managing my team, staying on top of injuries, and mining the waiver wire. Being able to pick up a couple of players before the other teams realized they should have, WR Jeffery and RB Bell were my two best ones. One thing that I will need to get better at is carrying dead weight. I ended this year with 2 guys on my bench that I drafted but after a few poor games from RBs Spiller and MJD, I didn't have any faith in them, not enough to start them even against a good match up. Looking back I probably could have dropped them and looked for better players at other positions, namely QB and TE. If I could have been a little more consistent at those 2 spots, that might have made a difference in this last game.
Vince Lombardi once said that winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. True. But losing this last game, the way it ended, I feel really good about next season. I can't wait to get to the next draft and start this all over again.
Thanks to everyone that followed along with these posts during the season. I hope you were able to learn a few things, either what to do or what not to do. I look forward to sharing my ups and downs again next year.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Fantasy Football Playoffs Week 2 Standard League
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Playoffs Week 2 Result: Win
Score: 131-41
Could not have asked for a better performance from my team and right when I needed it. I'll have to admit that I was more than just a little worried heading into this match up. My opponent ran over just about every team in the league this year and finished the season at 10-3 and in first place. His team is really strong. Heavy on the Broncos, who just happen to score a ton on the field and in fantasy leagues. He starts, QB Manning, WR Decker, RB Moreno and TE Thomas so he usually has high scoring games. That is, unless the Broncos have a bad game. They have only done that a couple of times this season. With WR Welker being out the last few weeks, I figured Decker, Moreno and Thomas would all receive more targets and put up more points then their average. The Broncos were playing the Chargers and they have been playing well lately. So I had my fingers crossed.
I figured my team would have just an OK week. A few tough match ups and a few good ones but nothing that stood out. I started all my normal players. The only change was QB Luck instead of QB Smith, these two have been about even all year. Luck has more total points but he is less consistent. Smith has not played great when he had a good match up so I left him on the bench. And of course the Chiefs had an amazing game against the Raiders. My RB Charles had one of the best fantasy days of any player ever. I think he made it into the top 5 ever. In this league he put up 40 points. Only 20 rushing yards and 1 rush TD but 195 and 4 TDs through the air. Which also meant that Smith would have shared in those TD for me. Smith had 31 points on my bench.
We both started player that put up a 0. The rest of his team just did not produce last week. His projected points per player were around 7 or 8 for most of his team and he ended up with 1s and 2s. My team was helped by games that featured great comebacks. The Packers and Cowboys game was great and featured one of the great comebacks ever. RB Lacey ate them up in the second half and put up a total of 14 pints for me. My kicker, K Bailey for Cowboys put up 20.
This win put my team in the Championship Game. I feel pretty good about my chances this week. The only real question I have is my QB position. Last week I picked up McCown from Chicago - then Cutler got healthy and came back so McCown was benched. So this week I dropped McCown and picked up Cutler. So now I have 3 QBs to choose from for this last and most important game. Right now I have Smith starting. Chiefs are playing the Colts and the game is in Kansas City. Home for Smith and away for Luck. The Bears are playing the Eagles in Philly so an away game for Cutler as well. Cutler has the best match up but the last good QB match up in Philly did not work out so well for me (Stafford in the now....). My opponent and I are evenly matched and the projected pints are almost even. 71 for me and 69 for him. I feel this will be a close game no matter what I do at the QB position. This game is for all the marbles!
Playoffs Week 2 Result: Win
Score: 131-41
Could not have asked for a better performance from my team and right when I needed it. I'll have to admit that I was more than just a little worried heading into this match up. My opponent ran over just about every team in the league this year and finished the season at 10-3 and in first place. His team is really strong. Heavy on the Broncos, who just happen to score a ton on the field and in fantasy leagues. He starts, QB Manning, WR Decker, RB Moreno and TE Thomas so he usually has high scoring games. That is, unless the Broncos have a bad game. They have only done that a couple of times this season. With WR Welker being out the last few weeks, I figured Decker, Moreno and Thomas would all receive more targets and put up more points then their average. The Broncos were playing the Chargers and they have been playing well lately. So I had my fingers crossed.
I figured my team would have just an OK week. A few tough match ups and a few good ones but nothing that stood out. I started all my normal players. The only change was QB Luck instead of QB Smith, these two have been about even all year. Luck has more total points but he is less consistent. Smith has not played great when he had a good match up so I left him on the bench. And of course the Chiefs had an amazing game against the Raiders. My RB Charles had one of the best fantasy days of any player ever. I think he made it into the top 5 ever. In this league he put up 40 points. Only 20 rushing yards and 1 rush TD but 195 and 4 TDs through the air. Which also meant that Smith would have shared in those TD for me. Smith had 31 points on my bench.
We both started player that put up a 0. The rest of his team just did not produce last week. His projected points per player were around 7 or 8 for most of his team and he ended up with 1s and 2s. My team was helped by games that featured great comebacks. The Packers and Cowboys game was great and featured one of the great comebacks ever. RB Lacey ate them up in the second half and put up a total of 14 pints for me. My kicker, K Bailey for Cowboys put up 20.
This win put my team in the Championship Game. I feel pretty good about my chances this week. The only real question I have is my QB position. Last week I picked up McCown from Chicago - then Cutler got healthy and came back so McCown was benched. So this week I dropped McCown and picked up Cutler. So now I have 3 QBs to choose from for this last and most important game. Right now I have Smith starting. Chiefs are playing the Colts and the game is in Kansas City. Home for Smith and away for Luck. The Bears are playing the Eagles in Philly so an away game for Cutler as well. Cutler has the best match up but the last good QB match up in Philly did not work out so well for me (Stafford in the now....). My opponent and I are evenly matched and the projected pints are almost even. 71 for me and 69 for him. I feel this will be a close game no matter what I do at the QB position. This game is for all the marbles!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Fantasy Football Playoffs Week 1 Review Redraft Standard, Keeper PPR
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Result: Win
Score: 85-53
I was none too happy about losing the last game of the season and missing out on the Bye Week, but I was very happy to have one of my best games of the season this week. I don't think I went all season with almost every one of my guys scoring a TD the same week. RB Charles led the charge with 19 points followed by WR Gordon with 14. In total I had 6 out of 9 players score in the double digits. I was helped by the other team, they started RB Bush, who was a last minute scratch from his game. He also got 0 from his Defense. Lots of tough games last week.
Prepping for this next week, I picked up a couple of players. TE Clay was available so I grabbed him, he will start for me with week. I let go TE Reed, since his concussion a few weeks ago, he has not been able to play. I also picked up QB McCown, he has been playing great (5 TDs last week). Then I just learned he will not play this week. Oh well. I still have QB Smith and Luck. Leaning towards Smith right now. But I know that Smith has not taken advantage of having easy match ups and Luck had a good match up too and he did play well against Houston earlier this season. Most of my line up will stay the same, except TE Clay starting now. You have to dance with the one that brought you!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result: Loss
Score: 114.79-160.37
This was a horrible game. Plus, my opponent has a few players on his team that I have in the other league (Charles and Luck) and they had big games, over 70 points between the two. I thought I was in the money with my trade for Stafford, who was starting against the Eagles who have been giving up a ton of points to QBs. Then the snow hit. Stafford fumbled the first snap. I face palmed hard. He only put up 6 points.....
RB Murray had a good game buy Lynch did not, he usually plays really well against the 49ers but they did a good job against him this time. WR Brown had the most points for my team this week at 22. WR Garcon put up a 6. Just a flat week from my team at the worst possible time.
Being that this is a keeper league, I'm in a good position already for next season. I have to make some decisions but I will most likely keep a good chunk of my team in place. On the fence about keeping WR Patterson. He has finally been getting chances with the ball and playing really well. I'm loaded at the WR position right now. I'll have to see how things shake down for the other teams in the play offs. Waiver Wire is locked but trading can happen all year long. I know some guys that can and will make a lot of trades to "go all out" and try to win this year. I might be able to grab a few draft picks or young players for next year. I will have to decide what to do about my RBs also. Lynch, Murray, Ivory and Woodhead. I'll just hope that there are no catastrophic injuries for the rest of the season.
All in all, this was a good season in this league. I was the #2 team for most of the year and top scoring during that time also. I learned that keeping up on the news and doing research on guys that are on the wire really pays off. Woodhead and Jeffery were taken from there. Already looking forward to next season.
Result: Win
Score: 85-53
I was none too happy about losing the last game of the season and missing out on the Bye Week, but I was very happy to have one of my best games of the season this week. I don't think I went all season with almost every one of my guys scoring a TD the same week. RB Charles led the charge with 19 points followed by WR Gordon with 14. In total I had 6 out of 9 players score in the double digits. I was helped by the other team, they started RB Bush, who was a last minute scratch from his game. He also got 0 from his Defense. Lots of tough games last week.
Prepping for this next week, I picked up a couple of players. TE Clay was available so I grabbed him, he will start for me with week. I let go TE Reed, since his concussion a few weeks ago, he has not been able to play. I also picked up QB McCown, he has been playing great (5 TDs last week). Then I just learned he will not play this week. Oh well. I still have QB Smith and Luck. Leaning towards Smith right now. But I know that Smith has not taken advantage of having easy match ups and Luck had a good match up too and he did play well against Houston earlier this season. Most of my line up will stay the same, except TE Clay starting now. You have to dance with the one that brought you!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result: Loss
Score: 114.79-160.37
This was a horrible game. Plus, my opponent has a few players on his team that I have in the other league (Charles and Luck) and they had big games, over 70 points between the two. I thought I was in the money with my trade for Stafford, who was starting against the Eagles who have been giving up a ton of points to QBs. Then the snow hit. Stafford fumbled the first snap. I face palmed hard. He only put up 6 points.....
RB Murray had a good game buy Lynch did not, he usually plays really well against the 49ers but they did a good job against him this time. WR Brown had the most points for my team this week at 22. WR Garcon put up a 6. Just a flat week from my team at the worst possible time.
Being that this is a keeper league, I'm in a good position already for next season. I have to make some decisions but I will most likely keep a good chunk of my team in place. On the fence about keeping WR Patterson. He has finally been getting chances with the ball and playing really well. I'm loaded at the WR position right now. I'll have to see how things shake down for the other teams in the play offs. Waiver Wire is locked but trading can happen all year long. I know some guys that can and will make a lot of trades to "go all out" and try to win this year. I might be able to grab a few draft picks or young players for next year. I will have to decide what to do about my RBs also. Lynch, Murray, Ivory and Woodhead. I'll just hope that there are no catastrophic injuries for the rest of the season.
All in all, this was a good season in this league. I was the #2 team for most of the year and top scoring during that time also. I learned that keeping up on the news and doing research on guys that are on the wire really pays off. Woodhead and Jeffery were taken from there. Already looking forward to next season.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Fantasy Football Regular Season Wrap Up and Play Offs
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Final Record: 7-5-1
Final Power Rank: 5th
Went into this last game with a lot on the line. I was second over all in this league and a win would give me a first round bye in the playoffs. I had already secured a play off spot but I was going after that bye. I decided to bench QB Luck this week and he will likely stay there unless QB Smith gets hurt. Luck has dragged my team down the last few weeks. Smith had a good game. In fact, most of my team had good games.
Had great games from WRs Brown and Jeffery, both had career numbers. Brown had 25 and Jeffery had 24. I put Garcon on the bench this week and that worked out, he only put up 3. I have been having issues with my TEs the last several weeks and it continued this week. I benched TE Miller and started TE Reed - who did not start because he got a head ache right before the game.
My Kicker, Folk, only got one Field Goal. I figured the Jets would need to kick a lot of Field Goals to stay in the game but they have not been good enough even for that. I left RB Bell on the bench in favor of Lacey. Lacey got 1 point and Bell got 12. Spiller got 13 and MJD got 9. I can't really trust either of those guys but it sucks that they had good games sitting on the bench.
Looking ahead to the play offs for this week. I only made one move this week, I dropped Folk and picked up Bailey for my kicker spot. The Cowboys score way more than the Jets and even if it's just extra points, I needed a better kicker. My line up for this game is about the same as last week. I am starting TE Miller. Reed is not a lock to play this week and I don't want a situation like last week again. Starting QB Smith again too. The Chiefs are playing the Redskins and he should have a good game. I know Smith is not known for throwing a ton of TDs and yardage but he has been more consistent than Luck. I don't usually like starting multiple players from the same team but I feel like it's the best option for right now. I have QB Smith and RB Charles from the Chiefs and WR Brown and TE Miller from the Steelers. Anything is better than a 0!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Final Record: 8-5
Final Power Rank: 3rd
Went into this last game, again, knowing that I already had a playoff spot locked up but I wanted to finish on a high note. I was playing one of the bottom ranked teams but you never know. He made a trade for Payton Manning and he had a great game, scoring 43. I was not so lucky with my QB. I went with Flynn and got 1.
I had great games from RB Murray and WR Jeffery. Murray put up 30 and Jeffery 42. The rest of my team did just OK. I started RB Brown. Earlier in the week they named him the starter. I gave him a shot. He had a bad game until the last drive when he came up with a TD and gave me 13 points. Woodhead, Brown and Lynch all had quiet games.
I made some moves to get my team ready for the playoffs. I dropped Flynn and picked up Roethlisberger. He doesn't put up the best numbers but way better than I had been getting over the last few weeks. I also picked up the Steeler DEF. They have some good match ups over the next few games so I'll play them or the Browns, depending on who they are up against. Browns are playing the Patriots so I won't start them. All my other players have good match ups coming up so I shouldn't have to make any big changes to the line up unless someone gets hurt.
I made a big trade also. With QB Rodgers still out and not knowing for sure when he will be playing again I would have to start a back up QB. I was going to go with Roethlisberger and I also picked up Fitzpatrick. I was not excited about starting either one but had Roethlisberger in my line up. I got a trade offer, Rodgers for Lions QB Stafford. There were also some draft picks that would be traded. I had to think about this one for a while. Being that this is a keeper league, whoever I had as my QB, Rodgers or Stafford, would more than likely be my QB next year as well. I had to look at match ups for Stafford for the next 3 games and looks good. He has not scored less than 25 points over the last 7 games and that will help me now. He's a young player, only 25 and plays with a team that passes a ton, how can you not with Calvin Johnson as the #1 WR. So, I decided to make the trade. I looked at age, Rodgers is 30, Stafford is 25 as well as team upside. Rodgers has a legit running game now. He won't have to throw all the time to win games. Stafford has a good run game also but he throws to those RBs a lot too. The Packers are a great team and Rodgers is their best player but I think Stafford is probably ranked just below him. I don't want to waste all the hard work this year just to keep Rodgers. My plan is Stafford will help me win in the play offs and he will provide a solid starting QB for my team for the next several seasons. Fingers crossed.
Final Record: 7-5-1
Final Power Rank: 5th
Went into this last game with a lot on the line. I was second over all in this league and a win would give me a first round bye in the playoffs. I had already secured a play off spot but I was going after that bye. I decided to bench QB Luck this week and he will likely stay there unless QB Smith gets hurt. Luck has dragged my team down the last few weeks. Smith had a good game. In fact, most of my team had good games.
Had great games from WRs Brown and Jeffery, both had career numbers. Brown had 25 and Jeffery had 24. I put Garcon on the bench this week and that worked out, he only put up 3. I have been having issues with my TEs the last several weeks and it continued this week. I benched TE Miller and started TE Reed - who did not start because he got a head ache right before the game.
My Kicker, Folk, only got one Field Goal. I figured the Jets would need to kick a lot of Field Goals to stay in the game but they have not been good enough even for that. I left RB Bell on the bench in favor of Lacey. Lacey got 1 point and Bell got 12. Spiller got 13 and MJD got 9. I can't really trust either of those guys but it sucks that they had good games sitting on the bench.
Looking ahead to the play offs for this week. I only made one move this week, I dropped Folk and picked up Bailey for my kicker spot. The Cowboys score way more than the Jets and even if it's just extra points, I needed a better kicker. My line up for this game is about the same as last week. I am starting TE Miller. Reed is not a lock to play this week and I don't want a situation like last week again. Starting QB Smith again too. The Chiefs are playing the Redskins and he should have a good game. I know Smith is not known for throwing a ton of TDs and yardage but he has been more consistent than Luck. I don't usually like starting multiple players from the same team but I feel like it's the best option for right now. I have QB Smith and RB Charles from the Chiefs and WR Brown and TE Miller from the Steelers. Anything is better than a 0!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Final Record: 8-5
Final Power Rank: 3rd
Went into this last game, again, knowing that I already had a playoff spot locked up but I wanted to finish on a high note. I was playing one of the bottom ranked teams but you never know. He made a trade for Payton Manning and he had a great game, scoring 43. I was not so lucky with my QB. I went with Flynn and got 1.
I had great games from RB Murray and WR Jeffery. Murray put up 30 and Jeffery 42. The rest of my team did just OK. I started RB Brown. Earlier in the week they named him the starter. I gave him a shot. He had a bad game until the last drive when he came up with a TD and gave me 13 points. Woodhead, Brown and Lynch all had quiet games.
I made some moves to get my team ready for the playoffs. I dropped Flynn and picked up Roethlisberger. He doesn't put up the best numbers but way better than I had been getting over the last few weeks. I also picked up the Steeler DEF. They have some good match ups over the next few games so I'll play them or the Browns, depending on who they are up against. Browns are playing the Patriots so I won't start them. All my other players have good match ups coming up so I shouldn't have to make any big changes to the line up unless someone gets hurt.
I made a big trade also. With QB Rodgers still out and not knowing for sure when he will be playing again I would have to start a back up QB. I was going to go with Roethlisberger and I also picked up Fitzpatrick. I was not excited about starting either one but had Roethlisberger in my line up. I got a trade offer, Rodgers for Lions QB Stafford. There were also some draft picks that would be traded. I had to think about this one for a while. Being that this is a keeper league, whoever I had as my QB, Rodgers or Stafford, would more than likely be my QB next year as well. I had to look at match ups for Stafford for the next 3 games and looks good. He has not scored less than 25 points over the last 7 games and that will help me now. He's a young player, only 25 and plays with a team that passes a ton, how can you not with Calvin Johnson as the #1 WR. So, I decided to make the trade. I looked at age, Rodgers is 30, Stafford is 25 as well as team upside. Rodgers has a legit running game now. He won't have to throw all the time to win games. Stafford has a good run game also but he throws to those RBs a lot too. The Packers are a great team and Rodgers is their best player but I think Stafford is probably ranked just below him. I don't want to waste all the hard work this year just to keep Rodgers. My plan is Stafford will help me win in the play offs and he will provide a solid starting QB for my team for the next several seasons. Fingers crossed.
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