MFM's interactive fantasy football blog

[jgcrawfish 232]

mfm, i'll look over your dynasty team tomorrow...but had a question to bounce off you about my dynasty team as well. I own LeSean McCoy and the Westbrook owner has coming sniffing around. He made me an interesting offer. My team sucks, it's way younger than yours, and McCoy was likely gonna be the only thing I have resembling a showpiece. Anyway, he offered me Ronnie Brown and his 1st next year for McCoy. I realize that Brown is a risk, but in this PPR league he was the 10th ranked RB before his injury. Plus, the guys pick will likely be around the 4th to 6th overall. That would give me more than likely #1, say #4, another around 8 and then 13th (1st pick, 2nd round). I'm not real convinced on the talent coming out next year, but his offer intrigued me. More than likely I'd wait for Brown to return healthy and trade him away as well (i don't trust big heavy backs like that long term). Here's my current RB stable:

 

Thomas Jones

LeSean McCoy

Shonn Greene

Willis McGahee

Ryan Moats

Jamaal Charles

James Davis

 

what do you think?

[madd futher mucker 36]

mfm, i'll look over your dynasty team tomorrow...but had a question to bounce off you about my dynasty team as well. I own LeSean McCoy and the Westbrook owner has coming sniffing around. He made me an interesting offer. My team sucks, it's way younger than yours, and McCoy was likely gonna be the only thing I have resembling a showpiece. Anyway, he offered me Ronnie Brown and his 1st next year for McCoy. I realize that Brown is a risk, but in this PPR league he was the 10th ranked RB before his injury. Plus, the guys pick will likely be around the 4th to 6th overall. That would give me more than likely #1, say #4, another around 8 and then 13th (1st pick, 2nd round). I'm not real convinced on the talent coming out next year, but his offer intrigued me. More than likely I'd wait for Brown to return healthy and trade him away as well (i don't trust big heavy backs like that long term). Here's my current RB stable:

 

Thomas Jones

LeSean McCoy

Shonn Greene

Willis McGahee

Ryan Moats

Jamaal Charles

James Davis

 

what do you think?

 

I'd probably do the deal. While it is a little bit of a gamble, the guy is making you a very strong offer. Lisfranc injuries are no longer career ending these days. He's expected to recover well before the 2010 season. I like, but don't LOVE Shady McCoy. He has too much Jamaal Charles in his game (making lateral moves for no real purpose sometimes.) That probably will be cured in time, but right now he often looks just inefficient as a runner.

 

I'm higher on next year's draft class than you are, and if you can get a 4-6 pick PLUS Ronnie, I'd do it - you are liable to get a player just as good as Shady, and essentially get Ronnie for free. I agree that assuming Ronnie comes back 100%, then you should look to trade him, because although the recovery rate from Lisfranc is good, I've heard an argument that it is potentially a "career-shortening" injury.

 

At any rate, I'd rather trade Shady for Ronnie and a 1.04 to 1.06, than to trade Boldin for a 1.03 to 1.05 like i was offered, and yes, I'm considering that one.

[Kitsnow 0]

It's a gamble. I don't see westbrook playing next year. So you have to ask yourself if you think your rookie will be the man.

[jgcrawfish 232]

I'd probably do the deal. While it is a little bit of a gamble, the guy is making you a very strong offer. Lisfranc injuries are no longer career ending these days. He's expected to recover well before the 2010 season. I like, but don't LOVE Shady McCoy. He has too much Jamaal Charles in his game (making lateral moves for no real purpose sometimes.) That probably will be cured in time, but right now he often looks just inefficient as a runner.

 

I'm higher on next year's draft class than you are, and if you can get a 4-6 pick PLUS Ronnie, I'd do it - you are liable to get a player just as good as Shady, and essentially get Ronnie for free. I agree that assuming Ronnie comes back 100%, then you should look to trade him, because although the recovery rate from Lisfranc is good, I've heard an argument that it is potentially a "career-shortening" injury.

 

At any rate, I'd rather trade Shady for Ronnie and a 1.04 to 1.06, than to trade Boldin for a 1.03 to 1.05 like i was offered, and yes, I'm considering that one.

 

Thanks. There are two things that steer me away from the deal, the obvious first one being will Ronnie Brown recover fully? The second is a little more subtle. I agree with you in principle on McCoy, I don't think he's ever quite going to be what Westbrook was, he's in an ideal situation. Philly has enough talent to where they won't be a bad team, and the prospect of drafting a guy in that 4-6 spot who's on a bad team that's or that's not going to contribute immediately like McCoy likely will. McCoy is my bird in the hand, as opposed to Brown and ??? who are the two in bush.

[madd futher mucker 36]

It is halftime now (as I start typing this) and I've got Steve Slaton going against Kevin Walters, Ryan Moats and Rob Bironas and a 5 point lead in my re-draft league where I'm only 5-5. This one is big if I'm to keep my fantasy hopes alive. So this is hard to write right now. It would have been MUCH easier if I'd played Vernon Davis, or if Ladell Betts hadn't gone down in the 1st quarter giving me all of 5 yards production.

 

Speaking of Betts, I never though I'd use my last season roster move on Cartwright (I wonder if he's any relation to "Hoss" Cartwright). At any rate, despite playing on a dysfunctional team, this Cartwright can tote the Rock. By now you all know that Betts tore his MCL on Sunday and is done for the season. Cartwright responded well with 67 rushing yards on just 13 attempts as well as 7 receptions for another 73 receiving yards. That's plenty good enough for me. With the possibility of Portis also not coming back any time soon (he has already been ruled out for next Sunday) Cartwright will the feature back for the WASH for at least one more game and likely more.

 

Other pick-ups to consider this week will be mainly TEs and WRs. (the quotes are from FantasyDocs):

 

James Casey, TE HOU - (yes I watched the 1st half, and yes he is 'for real').

 

Kevin Boss, TE, NYG - "It was a feast on Sunday to the tune of 5 receptions for 76 yards and 2 TDs. Granted the Falcons have had issues with their banged up secondary as of late, which has trickled down to causing issues with getting a hat on the TE from available LBs being called into duty in other areas. However, Boss still posted great production at the TE slot and developed a little extra trust with his QB along the way making some very key catches at key points in the game."

 

If you need a TE and either one is still available - grab fast.

 

Robert Meachem, WR, NO "We've got Meachem on this list yet again. Despite our best efforts to plug him, he still remains available on the waiver wire in many, many leagues across this great land. All Meachem does is catch TDs. He nailed two more on Sunday, giving him 5 TDs in his last 5 games played." In the post [ 4 players that will "blow up" this week], I 'pimped' him as a guy would have a great week, and with both L Moore and Reggie Bush out, he didn't disappoint.

 

Chris Chambers, WR, KC - "After Week 8, the Chargers dropped Chambers like a bad habit, and he has since been a man on a mission. In his three games since playing with the Chiefs, Chambers has averaged 83 yards and nearly a TD per game. His role in the offense took a sharp turn up with the news of the 4 game suspension of standout WR Dwayne Bowe. Chambers wasted no time establishing himself as the #1 WR in Bowe's absence, pulling in 4 receptions for 119 yards in a huge win over the defending Super Bowl Champs on Sunday." I never woulda thunk it, but Chambers is a legitimate fantasy pick-up, especially in view of the Bowe suspension.

 

Josh Cribbs, WR, CLE - "The Browns are starting to figure out they simply must get Cribbs the ball in as many ways as they can. The explosive kick and punt returner is getting more and more involved in the offense. The Browns are going to be playing from behind each and every week, and that means Cribbs should get plenty more opportunities to touch the ball down the stretch."

 

Danny Amendola, WR, STL - "Amendola is a Wes Welker clone. He is extremely shifty, gets open at will, and has the heart of a lion. On Sunday, he made some sparkling catches and pulled a huge 20+ yarder on a 4th down conversion (Steven Jackson owners can thank Amendola as he was ruled down on the one after nailing his diving catch... that led to Jackson's TD). All the announcers could do was talk about Amendola, and rightfully so as he is one of those electric players to watch. His stat line won't turn heads with 4 receptions for 61 yards, but he is a player that has rising fantasy stock."

 

 

Back to my results for the week:

My other teams (except the hopeless dynasty team) cruised to wins. So I'm now 10-1 in the Auction league, 8-3 in the keep-8 keeper, and in "Fat bastards", I won a big one over a team with an identical 6-4 record to move to 7-4. None of those scores were even close - which is the way I like it this time of year. Did I mention that I hate Monday night nail-biters?

 

I emailed Stephen Wyremski of retired rookie.com with my dynasty team, and asked his advice about potential roster moves to improve my team for next year. Here's the response I got:

"Rather than respond via email. Would you mind waiting until Wednesday's show? I'd like to run through each player on your team as one of our segments this week. I think it should be a good topic to discuss since there are a bunch of teams in your situation.

You're also welcome to call in to the show after we discuss for follow up questions - we're on from 9:30am to 10:30am on Wednesday."

 

So anyone who would like to listen live, tune in to blogtalk radio at 9:30 am EST or pick up the delayed feed by going to retired rookie.com and clicking on the Wednesday show.

 

OK - two minute warning - still up by 4. I've lost too many of 'em like this. Please....No overtime! Time to get me one!

 

EDIT: Kris Brown better make this FG, because Biroas made his, and with Walter's reception, I'm down by 1 fantasy point.

RE-EDIT: A horrible way to lose my game. Now I'm 5-6 in the Re-draft league. Play-off hopes are slipping away fast.

 

Ouch!. That one hurt. Bad.

[jgcrawfish 232]

It is halftime now (as I start typing this) and I've got Steve Slaton going against Kevin Walters, Ryan Moats and Rob Bironas and a 5 point lead in my re-draft league where I'm only 5-5. This one is big if I'm to keep my fantasy hopes alive. So this is hard to write right now. It would have been MUCH easier if I'd played Vernon Davis, or if Ladell Betts hadn't gone down in the 1st quarter giving me all of 5 yards production.

 

Speaking of Betts, I never though I'd use my lat season roster move on Cartwright (I wonder if he's any relation to "Hoss" Cartwright). At any rate, despite playing on a dysfunctional team, this Cartwright can tote the Rock. By now you all know that Betts tore his MCL on Sunday and is done for the season. Cartwright responded well with 67 rushing yards on just 13 attempts as well as 7 receptions for another 73 receiving yards. That's plenty good enough for me. With the possibility of Portis also not coming back any time soon (he has already been ruled out for next Sunday) Cartwright will the feature back for the WASH for at least one more game and likely more.

 

Other pick-ups to consider this week will be mainly TEs and WRs. (the quotes are from FantasyDocs):

 

James Casey, TE HOU - (yes I watched the 1st half, and yes he is 'for real').

 

Kevin Boss, TE, NYG - "It was a feast on Sunday to the tune of 5 receptions for 76 yards and 2 TDs. Granted the Falcons have had issues with their banged up secondary as of late, which has trickled down to causing issues with getting a hat on the TE from available LBs being called into duty in other areas. However, Boss still posted great production at the TE slot and developed a little extra trust with his QB along the way making some very key catches at key points in the game."

 

If you need a TE and either one is still available - grab fast.

 

Robert Meachem, WR, NO "We've got Meachem on this list yet again. Despite our best efforts to plug him, he still remains available on the waiver wire in many, many leagues across this great land. All Meachem does is catch TDs. He nailed two more on Sunday, giving him 5 TDs in his last 5 games played." In the post [ 4 players that will "blow up" this week], I 'pimped' him as a guy wou;d have a great week, and with both L Moor and Reggie Bush out, he didn't disappoint.

 

Chris Chambers, WR, KC - "After Week 8, the Chargers dropped Chambers like a bad habit, and he has since been a man on a mission. In his three games since playing with the Chiefs, Chambers has averaged 83 yards and nearly a TD per game. His role in the offense took a sharp turn up with the news of the 4 game suspension of standout WR Dwayne Bowe. Chambers wasted no time establishing himself as the #1 WR in Bowe's absence, pulling in 4 receptions for 119 yards in a huge win over the defending Super Bowl Champs on Sunday." I never woulda thunk it, but Chambers is a legitimate fantasy pick-up, especially in view of the Bowe suspension.

 

 

Josh Cribbs, WR, CLE - "The Browns are starting to figure out they simply must get Cribbs the ball in as many ways as they can. The explosive kick and punt returner is getting more and more involved in the offense. The Browns are going to be playing from behind each and every week, and that means Cribbs should get plenty more opportunities to touch the ball down the stretch."

 

Danny Amendola, WR, STL - "Amendola is a Wes Welker clone. He is extremely shifty, gets open at will, and has the heart of a lion. On Sunday, he made some sparkling catches and pulled a huge 20+ yarder on a 4th down conversion (Steven Jackson owners can thank Amendola as he was ruled down on the one after nailing his diving catch... that led to Jackson's TD). All the announcers could do was talk about Amendola, and rightfully so as he is one of those electric players to watch. His stat line won't turn heads with 4 receptions for 61 yards, but he is a player that has rising fantasy stock."

 

 

Back to my results for the week:

My other teams (except the hopeless dynasty team) cruised to wins. So I'm now 10-1 in the Auction league, 8-3 in the keep-8 keeper, and I won a big one over a team with an identical 6-4 record to move to 7-4. None of those scores were even close - which is the way I like it this time of year. Did I mention that I hate Monday night nail-biters?

 

I emailed Stephen Wyremski of retired rookie.com with my dynasty team, and asked his advice about potential roster moves to improve my team for next year. Here's the response I got:

"Rather than respond via email. Would you mind waiting until Wednesday's show? I'd like to run through each player on your team as one of our segments this week. I think it should be a good topic to discuss since there are a bunch of teams in your situation.

You're also welcome to call in to the show after we discuss for follow up questions - we're on from 9:30am to 10:30am on Wednesday."

 

So anyone who would like to listen live, tune in to blogtalk radio at 9:30 am EST or pick up the delayed feed by going to retired rookie.com and clicking on the Wednesday show.

 

OK - two minute warning - still up by 4. I've lost too many of 'em like this. Please....No overtime! Time to get me one!

 

EDIT: Kris Brown better make this FG, because Biroas made his, and with Walter's reception, I'm down by 1 fantasy point.

RE-EDIT: A horrible way to lose my game. Now I'm 5-6 in the Re-draft league. Play-off hopes are slipping away fast.

 

Ouch!. That one hurt. Bad.

 

mfm, i feel your pain my brotha...my dynasty team is hopelessly more hopeless than yours (1-10 on the season...still haven't taken that McCoy trade yet though). i lost in my long time $$$ redraft league by 2 pts which kills any hope i had of 1st place, and the Steelers lost...this week sucks.

[madd futher mucker 36]

In my week 11 update, I left off two other nice tight end WW pick-ups if they were - or are- still available. Green Bay is now using Jermichael Finley as a slot receiver. He lined up outside 15 times last week and received a ton of targets. And the rookie Brandon Pettigrew is getting a lot of Stafford love in Detroit. We will get to see both tomorrow in their "turkey day" battle.

 

With only TWO regular fantasy season games left - this weekend and next - the prescription is the same: win, win, win. Since tomorrow IS Thanksgiving (and I don't have to work tomorrow), I decided to do my weekly team update on Wednesday this week.

 

 

I'm fully recovered from my one point loss in the Monday night game where I was ahead with less than a minute left, and which dropped my re-draft team to 5-6. Since NINE teams have either 6-5 or 5-6 records in that league, I am now in 7th place based on total points (6 teams make the play-offs). I still have a great chance of making the play-offs IF I can win the last two games. So this week is an even more critical game, and my line-up is:

Peyton, Olsen, V Davis, Stover, TENN D/ST, AZ D/ST, CIN D/ST

Slaton, K Smith, D Brown, McCoy, Forsett, Cartwright

White, MSW, Harvin

I hit the league transaction limit by picking up Cartwright and dropping Betts. So my roster is frozen for the rest of the season. Unless, something changes, my starters this week are in bold.

 

 

 

 

My auction league team is now 10-1. I was totally shocked that Cartwright cleared waivers in that league, and even though I have the best record by far, I picked him up Tueday afternoon. Of course I had to drop Breaston to do it, but I'm stacked at WR anyway. Again, my starters are in bold.

Rodgers, McNabb, Celek, V Davis, Stover, AZ D/ST, TEN D/ST

S Jax, C Williams, Lynch, Forsett, Cartwright

V Jax, A Johnson, MSW, S Smith (ny)

At this point I believe I can get another game out of Forsett, so unless I here differently, he starts over Cartwright.

 

 

My keep-8 keeper (which I call my all-star team) is now up to 8-3. I dropped Bulger for Vince Young as insurance for Schaub, and I dropped Maroney for the Miami D. So now that team consists of:

Schaub, Young, Celek, Carney, AZ D/ST, MIA D/ST

MJD, GORE, C J, Lynch, Maroney

A Johnson, C Johnson, MSW, Edwards, Austin, S Rice

 

 

 

My Fat Bastards keeper team solidified it’s position in second place at 7-4. I dropped Betts and again I picked up Vince Young, this time as insurance for Matt Ryan. Obviously, I like the poise I saw in Vince as a QB, and he can score with his feet as well as his arm. Here's my team now:

Ryan, Young, Olsen, Stover, PHIL D/ST, AZ D/ST, TENN D/ST

MJD, R Bush, Maroney, Snelling

A Johnson, Bowe, MSW, Edwards, A Gonzalez

 

 

I had a few 'pros' look at my dynasty team (Sigmond Bloom at FBGs and Draftguys.com and Steve Wyremski and Greg Seerveld at RetiredRookie.com). Steve and Gregg analyzed my team on their podcast today, which was interesting to me. The "experts" all thought that with a little tweaking and a little luck, I should be a contender next year. Steve was particularly high on Jason Snelling, who will be a free agent after the season.

 

I started my tweaking tonight with a trade: I got Danny Ware (NYG RB, Leon Washington, NYJ RB on IR, and a 3rd round rookie pick for Anquan Boldin. Ware, whose talent has been impressing people since he was drafted, will finally see his first major NFL action this weekend, since Bradshaw (who I also own) is out this week.

Boldin is getting up there in age and we all know he is injury prone.

 

I hope you all enjoy plenty of food, family and football this weekend, and that you win your games too.

 

EDIT: I also did some tweaking in my line-up after further review. I'm going to start Rock Cartwright over Forsett in both leagues that I picked him up in. I look for Cartwright to make enough catches out of the backfield against the Philly D to make up tough rushing yards in PPR leagues. Also Julius Jones will very likely again be the primary ball carrier for Seattle, and Forsett may not even get enough carries to be a decent flex. I also don't like Kevin Smith this week, given the turmoil at QB and WR (Stafford and Calvin may not play), and against a tough GB D, even given their recent injuries.

[madd futher mucker 36]

I posted probable starting lline-ups last Thursday for the games this weekend, and I expected to play Rock Cartwright in two of my leagues. Turned out I had last minute game-time decisions to make in four of my leagues and didn't start the Rock at all. I don't remember ever seeing as many GTD as there were over the weekend.

 

Thank God I don't have to stay up and watch the game tonight, because I already know my weekend results. I'm sure it will be a good one, but I had a long day at work, just finishing up an hour ago.

 

So I'll be brief here and just get to what my teams did. Hopefully I'll have time to post more tomorrow am, because I had a few comments on waiver wire pick-ups (especially at QB and maybe a couple of other ideas I had about the weekend's games.

 

My dynasty league team kept its losing streak intact, thanks to the Falcons playing Michael Turner. Letting him play was one of at least a few DUMB coaching decisions I saw this weekend. Sometimes I think that some of the NFL coaches think with their ass instead of their brains. Not having won since about week 5 is kind of embarrassing. What can I say? Last place!

 

On the other side of the coin, my auction league is rolling along at 11-1 so I guess it balances things off a little. First place in that league - by far!

 

I lost my Fat Bastards keeper, dropping me to a 7-5 record and out of 2nd place. There will be one 9-3 team, and just three of us at 7-5. Right now I dropped to 3rd place based on points scored. If I win this next weekend, I can still come in 2nd for the regular season and get a bye. If I lose, I could drop to 5th or 6th, but I would almost surely be in the top 6 and still make the play-offs.

 

But I had a huge win in the re-draft league, moving me to 6-6 and in play-off contention. I should finish the weekend in 5th place, based on points scored. One more win, and I'm in. If I lose in week 13, I still COULD get in, but my fate would be determined by what the other teams did. By my calculation, after tonight there should be two teams at 7-5, five teams at 6-6, and 4 teams at 5-7 (in addition, the top team is at 8-4). This race to the play-offs is still wide open.

 

And finally, I won my keep-8 keeper, improving to 9-3 and remaining in second place, one win out of first.

 

So another week-end of 3-2 for my five teams. Week 13 is shaping up to be a very interesting week-end. Stay tuned.

[madd futher mucker 36]

Strange things are done the last week of the season. Just about any legal thing goes in an effort to win a play-off spot or secure a bye.

 

If I have one failing as a fantasy player, it is that I tend to "out-think" myself. So last week in my Fat Bastards league, I picked-up Vince Young as insurance for Matt Ryan, and then dropped his ass for the SEA D/ST. I finally elected not to even play them! So Matt goes down, probably for the season, and another owner picks up Young off of waivers. So I was left to scramble and pick up the left-overs: In desperation mode, I dropped Ryan and the SEA D, and picked up Fitzpatrick and Redman. I plugged Redman into my starting line-up for this week. It looks like these are the two QBs that I might have to go to war in the play-offs with. I also dropped Braylon Edwards for Jason Avant, and dropped Matt Stover for Olindo Mare. So now my 3rd place 7-5 team looks like this (with probable starters in bold):

Redman, Fitzpatrick, Olsen, Mare, PHIL D/ST, AZ D/ST, TENN D/ST

MJD, R Bush, Maroney, Snelling

A Johnson, Bowe, MSW, Avant, A Gonzalez

Surprisingly, I have a really decent chance of winning this week, and if everything falls out right, I COULD move back into second and secure a bye. I'm in 3rd based on points, but I'm really in a 3-way tie for 2nd through 4th right now.

 

I made some less than brilliant trades in this league this year, which could well end up costing me a champship. All I can say I proposed both deals and wish I could have "overs." The first one was trading Moreno for Anthony Gonzales AFTER Gonzales got injured. IN A KEEPER LEAGUE NO LESS.

 

My second bone-headed trade was trading P Thomas (who was losing carries to Mike Bell at the time) for T Choice (who was in a pretty good time-share with Barber right then. You KNOW which direction both of these guys went since then.

 

 

 

Since I've been at my season transaction limit for a few weeks now, I HAVE TO go to war in my re-draft leafue with this bunch:

Peyton, Olsen, V Davis, Stover, TENN D/ST, AZ D/ST, CIN D/ST

Slaton, K Smith, D Brown, McCoy, Forsett, Cartwright - it really hurts that Slaton is now unlikely to play.

White, MSW, Harvin

 

I'm technically in 5th place right now with a 6-6 record, but there are 11 of the 12 teams that are either 7-5, 6-6 or 5-7. Fortunately I end the season playing one of the weaker teams - on paper anyway - so I have a good chance of making the play-offs here.

 

 

 

I'm blowing away the rest of the owners in our Auction league with an 11-1 record, but I still made 3 roster moves this week, picking up the SEA D/ST and dropping TENN (I'll go with AZ in the play-offs, since I'll sit out week 14 as a 1st seed bye anyway.) I also picked up Norwood and dropped Bernard Scott, and swapped out Stover for Shane Graham. These were all waiver moves that I made in an effort to maximize my chances to end the regular season with a 12-1 record. Here's my team now:

Rodgers, McNabb, Celek, V Davis, Graham, AZ D/ST, SEA D/ST

S Jax, C Williams, Lynch, Forsett, Cartwright

V Jax, A Johnson, MSW, S Smith (ny)

 

 

 

In my keep-8 keeper which is now in 2nd place at 9-3, I dropped Marshawn Lynch for the CAR D/ST. Yes, I did get a call mrom my commissioner, who gave me crap for essentially trading Roddy White for the Carolina D. Earlier, I had traded White for Lynch (who never got off my bench), but now, wanting to do everything I can to assure a win and a play-off bye, I felt the Carolina D gave me the best chance for a few extra points this week-end - which could possibly make the difference between a 2nd or 3rd.place place finish. My team is (again, probable starters in bold):

Schaub, Young, Celek, Carney, AZ D/ST, MIA D/ST, CAR D/ST

MJD, GORE, C J, Lynch, Maroney

A Johnson, C Johnson, MSW, Edwards, Austin, S Rice

 

 

 

Finally in my out-of-contention dynasty league, I (and the owner I traded with) caught a whole BUNCH of crap for making the following trade: I traded Boldin to a contending team for D J Ware, L Washington (who is on IR) and his 3rd round rookie pick. I MEAN WE GOT BOTH BARRELS, But the biggest complainer was a guy (with an identical contending record to the guy I traded with) who I initially offered to trade Boldin to, but he turned me down without so much as a counter-offer. I know that I gave Boldin away too cheap, but when the owners you offer to trade him for turn the offer down with no counter-offer, and you are talking a rapidly depreciating dynasty player like Boldin, if you are me you take the best 3 lottery ticket players you can get. So I told the complainers (all very experienced dynasty owners) to quit whining and shove it. This is probably my final dynasty team although the trading deadline in this league is Sunday am, and I'm going to try to trade the AZ D/ST to a contender if I can upgrade one of my "skill positions":

Manning, Leinart, Witten, Rackers, AZ D/ST

Turner, Snelling, Westbrook, Harrison, Scott, Snelling, DJ Ware, Bradshaw, L Washington, McGahee

Driver, Cribbs, Gibson, M Thomas, Amendola, L Moore, Stovall, Tate, H Douglas

Hopefully I'll find enough young talent there to build on for next year. BTW, I couldn't trade Westbrook for a good ham sandwich right now.

 

IMO, week 13 is THE MOST exciting non-play-off weeks of the season because so much is riding on it. Good luck to all of you this week-end.

[WhiteWonder 2,172]

i assumed the bogus sounding trades were something like this.

 

a few thoughts on 2 of the trades

 

1. the Lynch fiasco. I totally understand dumping his sorry ass for the Panthers defense in order to do what you have to do to win a game. I guess my question is, why the hell would you trade Roddy White for Lynch? Even if White sits on your bench you couldn't have gotten more, or something better for him? in an 8 player keepr league seems like you could have gotten a draft pick included or something... bad initial trade IMO. and the logic that White didn't get off your bench doesn't seem to stand up considering Lynch wouldn't get off your bench and was subsequently dropped.

 

2. In regards to Boldin. You have far more dynasty experience than I do but at what point does it start to get silly to trade good players away for youth and picks? I mean Boldin has plenty of solid years left in him and who knows what new team he might end up on and if his value might increase. Leon Washington is a hit or miss role player for fantasy and a 3rd round rookie pick just doesn't seem like enough to me.

[madd futher mucker 36]

Good questions both.

 

Here was my thinking on the White for Lynch trade: This was a keep-8 keeper. At that point, My team was: Schaub, MJD, C J, Gore, A J, Calvin, Roddy, MSW, S Rice, Austin, etc, etc, etc. In other words I was STACKED at WR, and thought I could use a 4th RB like Lynch (who was getting more and more playing time at the expense of Fred Jackson). I thought it was a shark move at the time. But it turned out that I didn't need and couldn't keep Lynch over (my keepers will likely be Schaub, MJD, C J Gore, Andre and Calvin Johnson, MSW and S Rice (but I still have Austin and Celek to consider.). The rules in this league allowed me to truly create a DYNASTY of a team. It took me about 5 years to build this, although I've been in the play-offs since year 2. This league is a long-standing league of the same guys, and it has gotten to the point where there are the "haves" and the have-nots". I think that if I WIN the league for two years in a row - and I was 2nd last year), that there will be (and should be) a movement to re-draft and put some type of parity priovisions in place. So far the commissioner (not me) and a few other owners have resisted doing this. Oddly I lost 3 games early in the season to the owners who posted the high scores of the week, and am not even in 1st place.

 

Regarding the trade of Boldin: He's a chronically injured stud who is approaching 30 years old with an uncertain future with the Cards. I really believe that Donald Driver, who is almost 4 years older than Boldin, has a longer shelf life. You can only be let down by a player for so long before you start to know that he's unreliable, and Boldin has spent too many weeks either out of the line-up or playing at 50% healthy. I tried to get more value, and perhaps I made a bad trade here. But I like the talent of D J (Danny) Ware, and if L Wash comes back 100% from his compound leg fracture(and he's said that he is recovering way ahead of schedule), he's at least a decent flex. Plus I got another lottery ticket 3rd round rookie pick. If ONE of these lottery tickets works, I come out ahead.

[WhiteWonder 2,172]

i see your point on the Boldin thing. Still don't like the White for Lynch thing. I think White would have been a keeper over MSW and possibly over Rice. I guess its not a huge deal with how stacked your team is.

 

As far as the parity you mentioned.. a league I run does keeper cycles. We have keepers for 3 seasons and then redraft, then have keepers for 3 more seasons etc...

[madd futher mucker 36]

Hell, I don't know. I still think Lynch runs hard, has decent vision, good hands, and th4erefore retains good value as a RB1 over the longer term, but it may take a change of scenery. You try to make the best decisions you can at the time. I admit that sometimes I think I make fairly even trades just for the sake of making them. And they don't all look very good in retrospect.

 

And I think that might have been my point. I see so many "is this trade fair" posts, and I believe I'm a pretty reasonable evaluator of player valuation when it comes to trades. But when you look back, some of those trades just look weird, and some of them look just plain BAD. If you get a guy in you league who doesn't have a clue about player valuation and what he needs to do to help his team, I can see trades worse than mine. But everyone is entitled to make his own odd looking trades, and I'm glad that the leagues I play in haven't had a veto in 5 years. But sometimes I'd like to veto my own trades.

 

There is something to be said for being a "loose trader" and that is that guys take every trade proposal I make more seriously because they know I'm not just making trade proposals to "screw em".

 

Reminds me of my poker game last night. I played against one of these over-betting "all-in-type guys" and he was really starting to piss me off when I saw one of his all-ins that was called down. he had crap but got lucky and won. So he was starting to get "action" on his pre-flop over-bets. Finally I decided to call his huge pre-flop overbet with Ten Jack suited as I had him out-stacked. The flop came 9-Q, and he went all-in. I called his BS, and he really DID have a hand - pocket Aces. An 8 came out and I cracked his hand with a straight.

 

Point is that proposing a lot of close trades will get "action", and sometimes those trades that look close backfire badly.

[madd futher mucker 36]

Week 13, being the last regular season week for most of us, is a very exciting fantasy week anyway, but it wasn’t supposed to get THIS exciting.

 

I had kept Slaton in my line-up in my Re-draft league just in hope, and then I learned 25 minutes before game time that he was not going to play. Unfortunately we don't have cable out here where I live, so I have a Verizon "air card" for high speed internet service. But it was acting up Sunday, and wouldn't let me into Yahoo to change him out of my line-up. So I hopped into my car, drove to the nearest motel, and used their courtesy computer to make the change. I got home 5 minutes to game-time to learn that Carney was replaced by Hartley as NO's kicker.

 

There was not enough time to drive back and substitute for Carney so I had to take a goose egg for my kicking position in my Keep-8 keeper. You know I told you that in my keep-8 keeper league, I cut Marshawn Lynch to pick up the Carolina D. That move got me a call from our commish, asking me if I was nuts., and I told him that I wasn't taking any chances and was pulling out all the stops to make sure I won. (The commish claimed Lynch off of waivers for HIS team).

 

Long story short, without a kicker, and with my studs not putting up any real numbers, I got 22 points from the Carolina D/ST and won my match-up by only 0.4 fantasy points. The Carolina D gave me a first-place finish for the regular season and a play-off bye in the keep-8 keeper with a 10-3 record.

 

It wasn't quite so dramatic in my Auction league, where I won again, bringing my record to an all-time best 12-1. So I won the regular season in two of my leagues.

 

And in my redraft league, after I subbed in, Cartwright for Slaton, I got the win by 13 fantasy points, bringing my record to 7-6 and a 4th place finish based on total points scored.

 

The Fat Bastards result is still in progress, as at half-time I'm up by 9 and he has two quarters left of Derrick Mason to try to bounce me from an 8-5 4th place with a win, to a 7-6 record and 6th place if I lose. Either way, I've made the play-offs in all 4 of my non-dynasty formats.

 

And hey, as of half time tonight, I'm even ahead for a change in my dynasty league. He's got Flacco going, and I've got Driver left. This one is totally meaningless, but I'm going against the guy who gave me hell about the Boldin trade. So I'd love to win this one. Since I traded my 1st round rookie pick, from any strategic standpoint it is really a meaningless game.

 

But I can celebrate TWO 1st place finishes and all four teams in the play-offs. Now comes the hard part - going for the gold.

UPDATE: Game over - Obviously neither Flacco nor Mason did anything tonight, so for the 1st time this season, all five of my teams won! Just a great way to finish. I hope I'm peaking just at the right time, cuz now I've got to start all over in the play-offs.

 

I hope many of you can tell a similar story of your week 14 - with a similar happy ending, and I'd love to hear about YOUR week 14 "excitement", especially if it put you either into 1st place or into the play-offs. Please feel free to share them here.

[madd futher mucker 36]

I've always taken the view that if you get into the play-offs, anything can happen. Unfortunately I'm not really too hopeful that either of my teams will win this week.

 

I've got 4 teams in the play-offs, but due to earning week one play-off byes, only my worst two of them have to play this week. I'll be happy if I get just one of them into the "final four", and will be ecstatic if somehow I can pull out two wins. But I doubt it, because my match-ups are terrible. The only "good" news is that I won't have to agonize over any WDIS decisions.

 

In my re-draft league, I used up my 25 roster moves a few weeks ago trying to do anything I could just to MAKE the play-offs. So my line-ups for the play-offs is what it is, and that ain‘t good.

 

Starting for my re-draft league will probably be: Peyton Manning, Harvin, Roddy White, McCoy, Kevin Smith, V Davis, and Olsen (as my flex), Stover and the TENN D/ST.

My back-ups will be Slaton (IR), Rock Cartwright (Ganther will be "the man"), Donald Brown (out), MSW (very doubtful), and Forsett - who IS an option for me and I MIGHT still consider. The CIN and AZ D/ST complete my bench. Not many options and not much to get excited about.

 

I also finished in 4th place in the Fat Bastards league, and will be most likely starting Jason Campbell, Andre Johnson, Davone Bess, MJD, Quinton Ganther, Greg Olsen, and Maroney as my flex. My kicker will be Olindo Mare and again TENN will be my D/ST.

My bench is MSW (doubtful), Avant, Snelling, Bowe (out) A Gonzalez (IR), and Ryan Fitzpatrick, along with the AZ D/ST. I have two waiver moves left in case I make it past this week.

 

Unless Sims-Walker gets well enough to start on Sunday, I just don't even have many internal roster moves to make. So wish me luck.

 

And the best of luck for you this week too!

[madd futher mucker 36]

I saw a lot of posts to the FU thread, so it appears that it wasn't a good weekend for many of us. As for me, I said that I’d be happy to win one of my two 1st round play-off games, and that is exactly what happened.

 

The stronger of my two teams, my 4th place Fat Bastards league team, went up against a hot opponent who scored 155 points with two quarters of Warner still to left play. I finished the season by losing with a respectable 139 points. Had I played either of the other two teams, I'd have advanced. Such is life.

 

But in my re-draft league, I managed a measly 109 points so far (with 2 V Davis quarters left to play) but played against the only guy in the league who had a worse game than I did. So it all balances out I guess. But in the process of winning, I lost Kevin Smith, to go with Steve Slaton as my other originally drafted RB on the IR list. With all of my roster injuries and no roster changes left, it sure will be easy to set my roster next week in this league. I'm afraid that my only real hope of finishing in the money is if the opponent I face has a real down week.

 

My two best teams had byes, so they get to start their play-offs next week. That means I've got 3 teams still in the hunt, and anything can happen.

[madd futher mucker 36]

WDIS? Answering this question right could mean getting into the play-off finals. Answer it wrong, and I could be out. And sometimes the "correct" answer doesn't get you the right results. But the better decisions you make, the better chance that you advance.

 

Anyway, I'm faced with a few crucial WDIS decisions this week with my 4 teams. There's a lot at stake, and a lot to consider - including match-ups, injuries, and the weather this weekend.

 

First, let's start with the one that doesn't really matter - my Fat Bastards league team, where I'm now playing for 5th or 6th. By the way, last week I went back-and-forth on my line-up, and my 'final' line-up had Snelling as flex. One half hour before game time, I pulled him out in favor of MSW as my flex. Had I kept him in, I'd have won last week by less than one fantasy point. Snelling got about 20 fantasy points, while MSW put up 1.6. So now it is the consolation bracket, out of the money. Well, this week I left both Snelling and MSW ( who put up 18.4 in Thursday's game) on the bench. My starters will be Jason Campbell, A J, D Bowe (yes, he came back in great shape, and I think he'll have a good game), MJD, Maroney, Greg Olsen, Mare, and the AZ D/ST - and my flex will be Quinton Ganther. The other players I left sitting on my bench will be Avant, Cribbs, Bess, and A Gonzalez. Last night we each had one player going. I had MJD (31.0 pts), and my opponent's Austin Collie put up 11.9. So I'm leading so far, but MSW would have been the play.

Even though I'll drop one notch in next year's draft, Im still playing to win this one.

 

 

Next, we will look at my options in the Re-draft league. Both my opponent (who is the #1 seed) and I had 3 players each in Thursday night's game: I'm slightly behind, having started Peyton (who went off for 38.1 fantasy points), MSW (I had to start him in this league and was rewarded with his 18.4), and I got 5 pts out of Matt Stover, for a total of 61.5. But my opponent cancelled out Manning's performance by starting Reggie Wayne (24.2) , Dallas Clark (28.5) and Addai (10.3) for a total of 63 fantasy points. It looks like the rest of his starters will be Favre, Steve Smith (carolina), Arian Foster, Fred Jackson (as flex), Tynes and the MINN D/ST. I'll probably counter with Roddy White, McCoy, Forsett, V Davis, AZ D/ST and Greg Olsen as my flex. I only have one bench player to even consider. No way am I playing Rock Cartwright this week, and all of my other bench players are either definitely out or already on season-ending IR. That player is Percy Harvin - and I'm seriously considering putting him in my starting line-up in place of Olsen. According to reports I've read, Harvin will likely start on Sunday, while his team-mate Sidney Rice is now listed as questionable. This one is crucial to get right, because Olsen plays in the afternoon on Sunday, but it is expected to be terrible weather, while Harvin (and Rice) play in the Sunday night game. BTW, I was encouraged to read that Forsett is expected to get a lot of work agains the Bucs.

 

 

In my Auction league, I didn't have anyone playing on Thursday, while my opponent went with Pierre Garcon who gave him only 3.6 Fps. Again I left MSW on my bench, but I have pretty solid WR starters in A Johnson and V Jax to go along with Rodgers, Ganther, Forsett, V Davis, Shane Graham, the AZ D/ST (yes I picked them up early in all leagues with the play-offs in mind) - and I'm still up in the air between Celek and Steve Smith (ny) as my flex. I SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED playing S Jax instead of Ganther, but since he now has the flu in addition to his herniated disc in his back, this became a no-brainer.

 

 

Finally in the Keep-8 keeper, I HAD S Rice in my line-up, but now it will be Schaub, A Johnson, Austin, MJD (31.0 Fps), C Johnson, Celek, Gore as my flex, and Hartley and again the AZ D/ST. I've got a ton of depth on my bench here in addition to Sidney Rice and MSW, and now there are no real decisions to make.

 

Anyway, I sure hope all of my decisions turn out to be the right ones, as I am really kinda hoping to sweep all my games this week, and put 3 teams into the finals.

 

I hope that all your decisions turn out right, too. BTW, last week-end I had a Christmas party and didn't get to post the late Saturday night injury report. I'll get back to posting it this week.

[Moonlight 0]

WDIS? Answering this question right could mean getting into the play-off finals. Answer it wrong, and I could be out. And sometimes the "correct" answer doesn't get you the right results. But the better decisions you make, the better chance that you advance.

 

Anyway, I'm faced with a few crucial WDIS decisions this week with my 4 teams. There's a lot at stake, and a lot to consider - including match-ups, injuries, and the weather this weekend.

 

First, let's start with the one that doesn't really matter - my Fat Bastards league team, where I'm now playing for 5th or 6th. By the way, last week I went back-and-forth on my line-up, and my 'final' line-up had Snelling as flex. One half hour before game time, I pulled him out in favor of MSW as my flex. Had I kept him in, I'd have won last week by less than one fantasy point. Snelling got about 20 fantasy points, while MSW put up 1.6. So now it is the consolation bracket, out of the money. Well, this week I left both Snelling and MSW ( who put up 18.4 in Thursday's game) on the bench. My starters will be Jason Campbell, A J, D Bowe (yes, he came back in great shape, and I think he'll have a good game), MJD, Maroney, Greg Olsen, Mare, and the AZ D/ST - and my flex will be Quinton Ganther. The other players I left sitting on my bench will be Avant, Cribbs, Bess, and A Gonzalez. Last night we each had one player going. I had MJD (31.0 pts), and my opponent's Austin Collie put up 11.9. So I'm leading so far, but MSW would have bee the play.

Even though I'll drop one notch in next year's draft, Im still playing to win this one.

Next, we will look at my options in the Re-draft league. Both my opponent (who is the #1 seed) and I had 3 players each in Thursday night's game: I'm slightly behind, having started Peyton (who went off for 38.1 fantasy points), MSW (I had to start him in this league and was rewarded with his 18.4), and I got 5 pts out of Matt Stover, for a total of 61.5. But my opponent cancelled out Manning's performance by starting Reggie Wayne (24.2) , Dallas Clark (28.5) and Addai (10.3) for a total of 63 fantasy points. It looks like the rest of his starters will be Favre, Steve Smith (carolina), Arian Foster, Fred Jackson (as flex), Tynes and the MINN D/ST. I'll probably counter with Roddy White, McCoy, Forsett, V Davis, AZ D/ST and Greg Olsen as my flex. I only have one bench player to even consider. No way am I playing Rock Cartwright this week, and all of my other bench players are either definitely out or already on season-ending IR. That player is Percy Harvin - and I'm seriously considering putting him in my starting line-up in place of Olsen. According to reports I've read, Harvin will likely start on Sunday, while his team-mate Sidney Rice is now listed as questionable. This one is crucial to get right, because Olsen plays in the afternoon on Sunday, but it is expected to be terrible weather, while Harvin (and Rice) play in the Sunday night game. BTW, I was encouraged to read that Forsett is expected to get a lot of work agains the Bucs.

In my Auction league, I didn't have anyone playing on Thursday, while my opponent went with Pierre Garcon who gave him only 3.6 Fps. Again I left MSW on my bench, but I have pretty solid WR starters in A Johnson and V Jax to go along with Rodgers, Ganther, Forsett, V Davis, Shane Graham, the AZ D/ST (yes I picked them up early in all leagues with the play-offs in mind) - and I'm still up in the air between Celek and Steve Smith (ny) as my flex. I SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED playing S Jax instead of Ganther, but since he now has the flu in addition to his herniated disc in his back, this became a no-brainer.

Finally in the Keep-8 keeper, I HAD S Rice in my line-up, but now it will be Schaub, A Johnson, Austin, MJD (31.0 Fps), C Johnson, Celek, Gore as my flex, and Hartley and again the AZ D/ST. I've got a ton of depth on my bench here in addition to Sidney Rice and MSW, and now there are no real decisions to make.

 

Anyway, I sure hope all of my decisions turn out to be the right ones, as I am really kinda hoping to sweep all my games this week, and put 3 teams into the finals.

 

I hope that all your decisions turn out right, too. BTW, last week-end I had a Christmas party and didn't get to post the late Saturday night injury report. I'll get back to posting it this week.

 

 

I've enjoyed reading this blog. Regarding your late change out to Sims it seems 90% of the time the late change works against you. You mentioned it yourself earlier in the blog cautioning against late changes but sometimes doubt creeps in.

 

I need to pick 3 of the following in a ppr Forte, Cotchery, Driver, Fred Davis. Maurice Morris, Arian Foster or Camarillo with one of the three needing to be a RB. Who do you like?

[madd futher mucker 36]

Thanks. Without spending too much time analyzing your problem, I'd go with Cotchery, Driver, and Arian Foster.

 

good luck.

[madd futher mucker 36]

It is halftime Sunday night, and all of my games have been decided except one - the one that didn't really matter anyway. So I might as well post this tonight while I have the time and the energy.

 

Yes, I had really hoped for a sweep, but I'm fine with getting two teams into the finals.

 

Both my Keep-8 keeper and my Auction league teams cruised to easy wins, and I mean win-by-seventy-type easy. Crushing performances!

 

But the one I really wanted to win = more money in it - is the one I lost. The difference was in the TE position, where his Dallas Clark "went off", while my Vernon Davis underperformed. I don't wnow what my final loss margin will be, but he's up by 7 with 3 guys still playing (Favre, car-Steve Smith , amd the MINN D/ST, while I have Harvin - who I put in for upside while keeping Roddy White on my bench due to the "Revis factor". It turns out that nothing I could have done would have mattered anyway.

 

The one that I won't find out about until Tuesday morning - I don't think I'll watch any Monday night football tomorrow - is my play for a 5th place finish in Fat Bastards. I'm down by 20 with Jason Campbell and Ganther going against his Hakeem Nicks.

 

So I've got to be happy that my two strongest teams made it, tying a personal record for most teams in the finals. Now I can try to BEAT my record for Championship wins by winning both games next week. (And wasn't that an amazing performance by Jerome Harrison!)

 

Congrats to all who made it this far, and good luck next year to all who didn't. Fantasy football is just a game anyway; it is how we play the game of life that is really important.

 

And my best wishes for a Great Christmas season to all!

[madd futher mucker 36]

As I mentioned before in this blog, I've always believed that if you make the play-offs anything can happen, because luck plays a tremendous part. Somebody's player blows up while your stud just plain blows, and you can be out - and visa-versa. Oddly, I expect that this year, all my teams will run pretty much true to form.

 

I knew that I had a CHANCE in a very balanced Fat Bastards League, but I lost my 1st game by about 18, and in my meaningless game for 5th and 6th place, I lost by 0.15 fantasy point. So the fantasy gods didn't exactly treat my mediocre team all that kindly.

 

My best chance for getting in the money in my re-draft league was if I won my 1st two games. I won the 1st one, but lost the second - by less than 20 fantasy points. Now I'm playing for 3rd (which pays) and 4th (which pays nothing). Sadly I'm playing a very strong team that had some bad luck. My chances of finishing in the money here are about zero -just being realistic. I used up all my allowed transactions by about week 11 just to fight my way into into the play-offs and have not much of a team left, really. I'm forced to start:

Peyton, MSW, Harvin, McCoy, Forsett, Roddy White, V Davis, Stover, and AZ. I essentially have no bench: - Greg Olsen, Rock Cartwright, Donald Brown, Slaton, Kevin Smith. So chalk this one up to the loss column (When it comes to fantasy football, I don't believe in Christmas miracles.)

 

But all I want for Christmas is TWO league championships, and I have far and away the better team in both contests. In my Keep-8 keeper, I looked under the Christmas tree and lo and behold, there was Jermichael Finley dressed up as Santa! Obviously no one was watching the waiver wire - or the few that were watching were out of transactions. For those under our transaction limit - like me, the waiver wire is still open in this league. So Finley is on my roster and in my starting line-up this week in place of Brent Celek. I'll start Schaub, C J, MJD, Gore (as flex), A J, Miles Austin, Finley, Hartley and AZ. If I don't win this one, the fantasy grinch will have stolen my Christmas. By the way, I started out 1-3 in this league (losing all 3 to the top point scorer for the week, and have run off 11 straight games, averaging an amazing 138 points per game for the year.

 

I'm also sitting pretty good in the Auction league. My starters are Rodgers, S Jax (yes, I'm playing him this week), Jerome Harrison (who I had on my bench since Dec 8, well before he "went off"), A J, V Jax, MSW (as flex), V Davis, S Graham, and AZ. So I'm a bit confident about my chances here too. I only lost one game all season, and that one was by about 5 points, so a win this week-end would give me the best season record I've ever had, allowing me to finish the season at 14-1. And the amazing thing is that this is not a keeper but an Auction format - where there are no players kept over from the prior year.

 

But two wins are not in the bag yet - after all it IS the play-offs and anything can happen. But all I want for Christmas is.... BTW, what is YOUR FF Christmas wish?

 

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

[madd futher mucker 36]

This is my last blog post and a fitting end to one of my most memorable fantasy seasons. Before the season even started, I decided quit posting on this forum, because I didn't like the ratio of flaming, BS and unconstructive posts compared the amount of meaningful fantasy content here. I was encouraged by a few in private messages to "come back", and it was a great decision.

 

I think that this year, the fftoday "bored" turned a corner. The board content is now as good or even better than the other two forums that I read and sometimes post at. It is now a board that I'm generally proud to have my ff-playing daughter know that I'm a part of. So thanks, Mike for having me back. If I decide to take on one more league next year, I'd like it to be representing fftoday against some of the other sites that I still check in on.

 

And this 'blog' has been one of the best things I've done - mainly for myself as a log of my season - and hopefully for you who have kept up with my season.

 

Just a few things about my season. It seems that every year, I feel a little disappointed in myself that I didn't do better. In that respect, it is a lot like my other hobby, holdem poker. After every tournament that I don't at least finish in the money, I feel a little let down. So - I won two championships, made four out of five play-offs, and set some personal records. But I also only moneyed in the two leagues that I won, and I finished out of the money in the other three leagues and dead last in one of them.

 

Like poker tournaments, a fantasy season consists of literally hundreds of decisions, opportunities, and opportunities missed. Some mistakes can be very costly and others you can get by with. (Such as forgetting to check on S Jax' status before game time - I still was able to hang on for the win.) Making more good decisions than bad ones (and all of us make both) give us a better chance of winning and negating the luck factor. The same thing holds true of poker tournaments, and it also holds true in the game of LIFE. There's a sign in my office that reads: "There are choices that we make in everything we do - but you must always keep in mind - those choices made - make YOU." I truly believe that.

 

One thing I've observed in both my amateur poker "career" and in fantasy football is that many people have a hard time playing for the enjoyment of it, and at the same time playing to win. Another thing I've learned - in poker, in fantasy football and in my 60some years of LIFE - is that the people who generally do best are decent honest people, but people who generally make rational analytical decisions and minimize the influence of their emotional side. I've seen a lot of posts on this site that are highly emotional responses to a player's performance, or to winning or losing generally. Those who let their emotions carry over into their decision-making usually make some damn poor decisions and lower their chances of overall success. Maybe one thing you can take away from this blog is my relatively non-emotional response to winning and losing - even though I hate to lose. It is because I recognize both the skill factor and the luck factor, and the fact that fantasy football is not a sprint, but a marathon of many small decisions. I think you also know by now that by disassociating my emotions, I can predict with a high level of certainty whether I'll win or lose any given week's match-up, and that I have a pretty realistic assessment of each of my teams at any given point. I was virtually sure I'd lose my match-up in the Re-draft league, and that I'd finish out of the money in 4th place. At the same time I was highly confident that I'd win both of my championship games. and that is exactly what happened.

 

I'll leave you with one story from this weekend's games. I like to talk a little smack, so last Wednesday I called my commish who I played in the championship, and told him he was beat by at least 30. He told me to put my money where my mouth was and wanted to bet me $30 against him losing by 30. Finally we agreed to a $25 side-bet that I'd beat him by at least 25 fantasy points - even up bet! I knew he was playing Indy's Manning, Wayne and Clark and I figured they might rest them early (and I also knew that Wayne would be covered by Revis). What I didn't know is that I would win the championship from him by 97 fantasy points.

 

One final thought: I've discovered (the hard way in my early poker days) that both poker and fantasy football that both are more fun and I am better able to control my emotions if I only play at stakes that are inconsequential to living my LIFE. One of my first lessons in tournament poker was that "scared money never wins." So I don't play high stakes at either poker or fantasy football. For me, $100 buy-ins are just about right. If I lose, so what? And if I win, well, I win. (My neighbor thinks nothing about betting up to $1000 each weekend on football games - now that would drive me crazy and my wife even crazier, if I did something like that. The point is that everyone has a different threshold of pain when it comes to losing money.

 

So my last advice is that if it hurts too much to lose your buy-in, play at stakes where it doesn't hurt so much. You'll relax, make better decisions, and you'll have more FUN. I hope that at least you enjoyed reading about my fantasy football season, and that maybe you even picked up a thing or two that you can use to make your next fantasy season mo' betta'.

 

Happy New Year, and please give me some feedback about this blog and let me know if you'd like me to share next year's season with you.