Fantasy Football Championship Game Review Standard League

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.