There are a few things I hate when it comes to fantasy
football. Near the top of this list:
having to change the blog after it’s written, and seeing Nick Gambino in sole
possession of first place. I can’t
believe it’s happened, but it did. I
could have sworn Fusco had it in the bag, but he is now in serious danger due
to an awful Monday night performance.
Before we get into all of the playoff scenarios, I want to
make a few points. I am using, not
abusing, my power as commissioner to extend the trading deadline. If Goodell can do it, so can I. As has been done in the past, ESPN demands
that your trading deadline be on a Wednesday at noon. I don’t like this structure. I am overruling this and extending the
deadline by 12 hours to midnight Wednesday night. Provided both teams approve a trade before
midnight, I will manually go in and adjust rosters to reflect the trade.
Second, keep in mind that any player added after week 12
CANNOT be kept next year. I am still in
the process of working out a system so that teams who change leagues can keep
their own players. If you stay in your
current league, you will not have any keepable players taken away from
you. Remarkably, through 11 weeks, the
only person we can officially say will remain in the same league next year is
Dosh. Based on his draft, this is hardly
a surprise. If you are unsure about what
players are eligible keepers, open the history sheet on the blog. There is plenty of information there.
I have far too much beef with the Eagles “brass” to fit into
one blog entry. Everyone must go. Lurie needs to grab Jon Gruden out of the
booth, have him trade the entire team for draft picks, and get to work.
What’s really saddening to me is that Andy
Reid has quite obviously lost his eye for talent. I used always assume that Andy knew what he
was doing, but as time has passed, this has become far less true. See what Foles has, and if he doesn’t have
it, trade up and draft Matt Barkley.
This team needs to draft a franchise quarterback.
It appears that 7 is the magic number of wins in both
leagues. Getting to 7 wins guarantees
that you will be in the playoffs. I am
still looking at getting together for week 15 (December 16th). I’ve gotten confirmations from Fusco, Dosh
and Tatz thus far. Here’s how things are
shaping up:
EFFL League 1:
*** Keep in mind that every team that is 6-5 will clinch a
playoff spot with a win OR will clinch a playoff spot with EEB and Lou
defeats. We know that at least one of
EEB and Lou will be in the relegation battle.
The relegation battle is a two week combined matchup in weeks 14 and 15
to send one team down to League 2. In
all honesty, there’s a very real possibility that we’ll all be sitting around
during Giants-Skins in 2 weeks waiting to determine the playoff matchups. ***
* 1. Eat My Asomugha
(7-4) – If Sam is Lady Luck, then this team has to be at best Mannish
Luck. Despite being near the bottom in
league points, Nick has locked up a playoff spot in 2012. A first round bye is an actual possibility,
but I wouldn’t count on it yet. Faces a
desperate EEB squad in week 12. The
over/under should be around 200. This
team probably needs the bye to avoid an early exit.
2. The King’s
Crusaders (6-5) – The King emerges from the massive tie looking fairly
strong. Currently in bye position and
holding his own fate. Probably has the
toughest remaining schedule against the Pylons and TITTY, but I doubt this team
is intimidated. Winner of 5 straight,
many are left asking how Woody has done it yet again.
3. Tequila Party
Gnomes (6-5) – I’ve had to shift the standings multiple times. Since Fusco dropped out of the tiebreaker,
Woody grabbed the top spot, but TPG owns tiebreakers over both Lady Luck and
the Pylons. Has the schedule you’d want
down the stretch. The only real danger
at this point would be somehow ending up in a two way tie with EEB. This seems highly unlikely, but I wouldn’t
want to risk it.
4. Dueling Pylons
(6-5) – The Pylons suffered a massive blow with the injury to Gronk, but
finally broke the losing streak in the process.
It’s amazing what happens when you don’t get 140 dropped on you every
week. Had the Pylons scored 7 more
points, they’d be in the bye position right now, but there is time left. Considering the recent success against Lady
Luck, a playoff matchup would be welcomed.
5. Lady Luck (6-5)
– Considering Sam and Lou split the season series, this team should feel very
fortunate that EEB snuck out a victory despite another pathetic
performance. Faces two of the top teams
in the last two weeks, and I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see this team
finish 6-7, which still may be enough. The
season sweep of EMA may not come into play.
6. Tweeting in the
Trenches (5-6) – What a meltdown from Fusco. Looked extremely good going into Sunday night
with Ray Ray and BMarsh going against the Gambino special teams. It was not to be. Perhaps because these are EEB’s go to guys
and he’s never won anything. After a
heartbreaking defeat, the last thing you want to see is The King’s Crusaders on
the docket. This will make for an
interesting final two weeks to see if Fusco can finally get in.
7. Coach Janky Spanky
(4-7) – This is where things get interesting. Fought off elimination with a stellar 103
point performance against Lou and got a gift with the Fusco defeat. This team is hanging by a thread, but it does
exist. Must defeat Gambino OR get a
Fusco loss AND Lou win to stay alive.
Then must beat Lou and have help to get in. Cannot end up in a 1 v 1 tiebreaker with TITTY.
8. Stanky Monkeys
(4-7) – Missed a golden opportunity to get back into the playoff hunt, but
it is not over yet. Now with 5 straight
losses, the hill may be too high to climb.
Must defeat the Pylons in week 12, get a win in week 13 and get some
help from around the league since this team will probably not pass Fusco in
points scored. During the 5 game losing streak, the Monkeys have scored only
550 points. It could be a second
straight season missing the playoffs for Lou.
EFFL League 2:
*** Yashar is in.
Mike Y is in. Dosh is out. The playoff race became a lot less clear in
week 11. ***
* 1. Threeing The
Hogs (7-4) – Snuck out a week 11 win in unimpressive fashion to lock up a
playoff spot. Had Tatz chosen to start a defense on a bye over the Bears, he would have won by 1 point. Due to tiebreaker over
Yashar, Mike currently occupies the top spot.
Faces a hapless Dosh squad in week 12, so it is looking increasingly
likely that this squad will earn a bye and possible promotion.
* 2. Team Toliver
(7-4) – A win in week 11 would have gone a very long way in locking up a
first round bye. Still looking OK for a
bye and would most likely lock one up with a victory over the Tatz. There was nothing you could have done this
week. Don’t blame your use of multiple
Bills. Stay the course.
3. RGIII for
President (6-5) – Remarkably Darryl has won his 4th high score
of the week! Nobody else has even won
two of these! That’s a quick $40 to Mr.
Hazelwood before any league earnings.
Looking OK for a playoff spot and has the tiebreaker over the other two
6-5 teams. A win this week would knock
Ben out and lock the other 4 teams into playoff spots.
4. Claiborne
Supremacy (6-5) – Despite your trek out west to root against your opponent
in person, the effort was in vain. Still
in fine shape for the playoffs, but the matchup with Yashar is probably your
only shot for a bye. If you can’t pull
that one off, you would need a lot of help to get it. Unfortunate turn of events after your team
has performed so well over the last couple of weeks. Has tiebreaker over Cutter due to more points
scored.
5. Bo$$town Beasts
(6-5) – It has to be a great feeling when your opponent only scores 56
points. But knowing that your team is
finally putting it together as the playoffs approach is even better. Definitely still in play for a bye, but with
a loss and Ben victory this week, you could be looking at elimination. Win and you’re in bo$$.
6. The Heads of State
(5-6) – An absolutely horrific showing in week 11. Good thing you beat Ben twice and have the
tiebreaker over him. This is the classic
recipe of the teams on the bubble during tourney time. Beat up on the weak teams, grab a win here
and there, and hope to sneak in. It may
actually work.
7. Jersey Leshoure
(4-7) – Finally snapped the 4 game losing streak and got a win to save your
season. The bad news is that the only
remaining 5 win team owns a tiebreaker over you. What this means is that you must win both
remaining games and get some help. It is
not impossible for you to still make the playoffs, but a loss will eliminate
you. Still can’t believe you benched Ray
Rice for Danny Amendola.
x - 8. BABY TEES
(3-8) – At 3-8, your goose is officially cooked. Nothing worse than being eliminated before
Thanksgiving. The reality is that the
best you could hope for is either a two way tie with Meech or a 3 way tie with
Ben and Meech. In either scenario, Mike
would own head-to-head tiebreakers and would therefore qualify for the playoffs. As a result, there is no scenario under which
you could qualify. It was obvious after
the draft that your season was destined for futility. Turns out everyone knew what they were
talking about. The worst thing you can
do is let the rest of the league know your Kryptonite.
After a wild finish Monday night, the playoff races have
taken dramatic turns. It looked like we
knew which teams would be in and out after this week, but a complete breakdown
by perennial bottom-feeder Chris Fusco has thrown things into a frenzy. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving this
week. I’d be shocked to learn of anyone
that plans to drink more than I do.
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