My 2011 Fantasy Football team

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You're not dead yet - unless you only play something silly like 8 regular season games. You just need to turn it around and go on a hot streak.

Of course, that's easier said than done. In what to do going forward you must first conclude why your team is struggling. If it's something like you've gone up against the top point scorer for the week 2 or 3 times this year, or if you've made a few bad start decisions, all is not lost. Now, if there is something fundamentally wrong with your team (like a lot of the guys you drafted are just nowhere near as good as you thought), you might be up the creek.

 

Yep - the teams are going in opposite directions. I had cereal for breakfast this morning and I think Mike Williams' picture was on the milk carton. Or it could have been Reggie Wayne. It's reached the point where the only way one of my teams can win is if the other team has a bad week - the ceiling on this team is about 100 points. Technically, I haven't lost yet - I still have Stafford to play, but seeing as how I have 76 points and my opponent has 113, it isn't looking good.

Conversely, it appears that the other team cannot lose unless the other team has a phenomenal week. My good team hasn't scored less than 125 yet (it's a standard scoring league - no ppr), and its only loss is when my opponent dropped a 155 on me. This week I'm at 122 with my QB (Stafford) left to play. He needs 5 for me to win my week.

And in real football news, do the Eagles just suck? I mean, their offensive line and defensive line are anything but dream team.

 

I just pulled the trigger that on a trade that I'm hoping will salvage my big league.

I gave up Steven Jackson and Julio Jones for Chris Johnson and Deion Branch. Of course, I didn't play Branch as I thought Revis would have him all game. I have a twenty point lead going into tonight and he has Best going. I think I may remain winless

---------- Added 6 hours, 20 minutes and 59 seconds later... ----------

Thanks Best, now I'm 0-5 in that league

 

That just sucks Snook. I too would have felt safe with a 20-point lead and my opponent only having Best yet.

If it makes you feel better (or maybe it will make you feel worse - not sure) Best never had a 100-yard rushing day before last night. In fact, his career best going into last night was 78 yards rushing, so the 163 he put up last night was more than twice what he has ever done before. Just his rushing totals would have been 22 - possibly more if you give bonus points for going over 100 yards.

It all came down to the 88-yard TD run. If you take that out, he has 11 carries for 75 yards, which is about what you'd expect from Best.

My games ended predictably - I received a rather poor game based on what I've come to expect from Stafford - just 18 points. Still, that's more than the 5 I needed to win in one of my leagues, and no where near the 47 I needed in the other (yes, he's my QB in both leagues). So I'm 4-1 and 1-4, which isn't much better than 0-5.

The problem I have when I fall behind so badly in a league is it sucks your will to be competitive. I won't ever quit on a league. I'll go in, set a lineup, and make pickups as needed to improve my team. But there is very little you can do. If you're 1-4 or 0-5, chances are it isn't because of bad luck. You're typically in that position because your team is fundamentally flawed in some way.

For my 1-4 team, the reason is obvious - my WRs suck. I have Mike Williams, Reggie Wayne, and Percy Harvin. There's no way to "fix" that. Ever since Painter started in Indy, Pierre Garcon is his BFF, and Wayne hardly gets looked at. Mike Williams is no where near what he was last year, and Percy Harvin is his usual boom-bust self. (So I guess you can say he is playing to expectations.) If you try and swing a trade, most owners will try to take you for a ride, because they figure you're desperate. So there's not a hell of a lot you can do.

 

A good weekend - my fantasy teams and my real team all won. Good times.

 

I went 0-2 in fantasy, 1-1 at coaching soccer games, but at least the Pats won.

 

Unless Folk can outscore the Jets Defense by 4 pts, I will be 0-6. A truly miserable year for fantasy. On a better note if the Jets win tonight I willl have picked a perfect pool this week and capture a whopping 11 bucks. Allowing me to play for free the rest of the year.

 

I'm not giving up on the bad league yet. Yes, 2-4 is not very good, and I cannot afford more than one or two more losses, but the best team is 5-1 in my division, so I'm only 3 games out. All hope is not lost yet.

EDIT: Look on the bright side Blades, at least you can enjoy the Dream Team's inevitable march towards Super Bowl glory this year.... oh... err... um....

 

Well, one near-certain win, and one near-certain loss. I'll win in the one league unless Ray Rice doesn't manage to score two points tonight, and I'll lose in the other league unless the Ravens defense doesn't score at least 4. All told, that's largely acceptable. The league I'll likely win will take my record to 3-4, meaning I'm still in the running, and the league I'll likely lose will take my record to 5-2, so I could afford a loss there, especially since the second place team in my division will be 3-4.

 

There is joy in Snookville. I went 2-0 this weekend and finally have won a game in my work league. I needed .45 points to win on Monday night and Mike thomas scored 1.8. This victory was because of a last minute pickup of Steve Breaston who put up a respectable 11.2.

In my other league I destroyed my opponent and am now 3-4.

 

A good weekend all around. I should win my leagues (provided Jackie Battle gives me 2 points tonight), and the planets must have been in some weird alignment over the weekend, because the Steelers actually beat the Pats, which happens about once a decade.

 

1-1 for the weekend. I'm clawing my way back in my friend league. Kind of sad that my money league is a lost cause.

 

Well, none of my leagues are lost causes. Despite falling to 1-4 in two out of my three leagues to start the year, I'm in pretty decent shape now. I'm 4-4 in both of the ones I started 1-4, and I'm 6-2 in the league that I started 4-1. Both losses in that league occurred when my opponent dropped a 155 on me.

 

At least I'm competitive in all three leagues. I'm tied for first in my work league at 7-2. I'm 5-4 in the friends league, and then I'm 4-5 in the league where they needed one more guy and I agreed to join. So the league I'm doing the worst in is the league I care the least about.

In the greater scheme of things though, the only thing that really matters is whether or not your record is good enough to get into the playoffs, and I'm still in playoff contention in all three leagues. Unlike the real NFL, there's no "home field advantage" in the fantasy football playoffs.

While I will concede that the teams that finish the regular season with the best records typically have better teams than the other league members, there is still the ever-present reality of luck. On any given week, it is possible to get a particularly bad week from your team by chance alone, or similarly have your opponent put up an unforeseen great week. If it happens in the playoffs, you're hosed. Every team that makes the playoffs is effectively 0-0 again.

 

I got a chance at 3-0 for the week. I've already won the game in the league I don't care much about, and I have what appears to be an insurmountable lead in the friends league. (He has Finley and Jennings going tonight, but I have a 60 point lead.) And in the work league I have a shot. I'm down by 10, he has no one left, and I have Jennings. So it probably comes down to whether or not I get a TD from Jennings.

 

I'm way ahead in work league and behind in my friend league. Of course in my work league, I'm the top scorer this week. Talk about a little to little and a little to late.

 

None of my leagues are lost causes. I'm presently 7-2 in the work league, with the outcome of tonight's game determining whether that will become 8-2 or 7-3.

I am 6-4 in my friends league, which puts me a game back in my division behind two teams who are both 7-3. There's two divisions with the two division winners and two wild cards, and my 6-4 record would be the last wild card as of right now. The other division has an 8-2 team, and the second place team is 5-5.

The final league that I don't much about is a fustercluck. Heading into this weekend, there was one team that was 7-2, one team that was 2-7, and everyone else in the league was either 4-5 or 5-4. So with the exception of the 2-7 team, pretty much everyone is still alive in the playoffs.

 

I got a real shot at making the playoffs in all three leagues. In the work league I'm 8-3, and my win this weekend clinched at least a wild card berth, and if I win once more (or have the 2nd place team lose once), I'll win the division. In my friends league, I also won this weekend, which takes me to 7-4, and I'm now in a three-way tie for 1st in my division. Six teams make the playoffs in that league, so while it remains to be seen whether or not I'll win the division or not, it's looking pretty good that I'll at least be a Wild Card team.

The one that's still in some doubt is the one I joined basically because they needed another guy. I'm in decent, but not spectacular shape. I won in that league as well this weekend, which will take me to 6-5. That puts me in 2nd place in my division, and I'd be the 6th and final playoff team if the playoffs started today. But there are a few other 5-6 teams in that league as well, and with two remaining games, that spot is not secure. I have to win at least one of my last two (and possibly both depending on the tie breaker points) to make it in that league.

 

I hate you.

 

Barring a spectacular performance by Victor Cruz tonight (I need 18 points) it appears that one of my three fantasy teams may have some issues with getting into the postseason. With a loss this weekend, that team will fall to 6-6. While it is still possible to make the postseason with such a record, it will require a win next week, and winning a tiebreaker.

The other two leagues I won, but those were leagues that I could take a loss and still be in OK shape for the postseason. I'm ahead in both of those games, and the only players remaining in tonight's game are on my team. I'll have records of 9-3 and 8-4 in those leagues, and a postseason berth in both of them is already secured. In the 9-3 league, there second place team is 5-7, so I've already clinched that division, and likely a 1st round bye. (There is a 9-2-1 team, so unless they lose next week, I won't have the best overall record.)

In my friends league, there were five teams that all entered the weekend at 7-4 - three in my division, and two in the other division. (And no, I don't know why in a 12 team league we have 2 divisions, as opposed to the much more common three divisions.) It appears that two of those five lost this weekend (and seeing as how two of them went head-to-head, one had to lose), so there will still be a 3-way tie for best record.