Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts. I'll try to get back on it this week.
1) This is for Jordy (9-3)
I also really like Andrew's chances in the playoffs. If you look at his roster, he's got a bunch of players who are on teams (Houston, NY Jets, Green Bay, Washington, and Minnesota) that are all still in the thick of the playoff hunt. That means zero risk of his players being rested in anticipation of the playoffs.
In the lead up to Week 9, Eric looked at his roster stuffed with talent (4 solid RBs, 2 good defenses--none worth dropping), saw who was on bye (Wilson and Tucker), saw who he was playing (Aaron Chou), said to himself "ah what the heck", and decided to leave his kicker and WR#3 spots open. After Eifert put up 23+ points on TNF, his decision was looking pretty good. But then Sunday rolled around, and Aaron's team put up just enough points to possibly steal the win. This made Eric nervous, so he plugged Inman into his lineup at WR#3. Inman did nothing, but he still walked away with the win.
In Week 10, Eric did the same thing again, but this time it looked like he really wasn't even trying. In his defense though, he had a lot of players on bye (Julio, Hilton, and Inman). If there was any week for Eric to take an L, it was this week. Well played strategic move on Eric's part, but it also may have costed him the regular championship + money. It's ok. It's all about the long play--the playoff championships.
In Weeks 11 and 12, Eric's team returned back to form and is starting to look like a very very dangerous team. Tucker, Carolina DEF, Eric's stable of RBs, Julio, and Hilton have been steady plays all year long. Add in Russell Wilson, who has finally turned things around in a big way, Inman whose role grows each week in San Diego's offense, and Eric's got himself one heck of a team.
3) Unicorn Queen (8-4)
Tim's team is looking really really really good these days (minus his performance last week), and it's all thanks to the phenomenal play of the Panthers. As long as Cam Newton and company #keepingpounding, Tim's team will #keepwinning. I was super tempted to rank Tim #2 this week after a bunch of solid showings the last couple of weeks, but then his team came out flat this week. He's still got huge question marks at RB in Miller/Gordon/Hyde/Matthews, but he seems to be getting enough production from other players to keep winning.
Three additional thoughts on Tim's team:
1) Tim's weakness at RB will likely be his downfall in the playoffs.
2) Tim better hope that the Panthers keep gunning for an undefeated record. If the Panthers pick up an L at some point, then Rivera may be inclined to start resting some of his starters in Weeks 15-16. No point in risking the health of your $100M QB, especially if history cannot be accomplished and home field advantage is already wrapped up (Panthers have 2 game lead over Arizona). Plus, Derek Anderson is a very capable backup.
3) If both #1 and #2 happen, Tim's team is in trouble come playoff time.
Yes, I know. It's still a lot of "ifs". I'm pretty sure Tim's team will be fine in the playoffs.
On paper Abraham's team looks like a championship worthy team. However, the last couple of weeks, it has been anything but--scoring a measly 55 points in Week 10 and a lackluster 74 points in Week 11. His team did better in Week 12 (104 points), but now he's got another hole at RB to fill. With Chris Johnson out with a broken tibia, he will likely insert Hillman into his lineup, giving him just enough firepower to make a deep postseason run. Abraham's still got the best WRs in the game in Jeffery, Sanders, and Green, the best kicker in the game (Gostkowski), the reliable Andy Dalton, and a very solid pickup in DeAngelo Williams at RB. I'm expecting his team to pull an Eric and turn things around this week.
With Abraham still in the mix, there are 4 teams in my opinion who are capable of running the table come playoff time.
5) Grab it like Beckham (8-4)
David Lin has worked his butt off to fix his team (leads the league in waiver wire moves), and it's finally paid off. Rawls and Ware have been great pickups, but the question is how long will they last production-wise? Lynch has to come back at some point. So will Charchandrick West.
That being said, David Lin's team has the potential to be a dark horse in the playoffs. I don't think he has enough to win it all, but I could see him pulling off an upset or two as long as he can get the right players into his lineup at the right time. This means playing the right player in the continually revolving door he has at QB (Bortles vs. Hoyer). This means playing the right WR #2 and WR #3s out of Moncrief, Allen Hurns (concussion), and Watkins. This means playing the right TE out of Gates and Walker. And most importantly, this means playing the right RB out of Ware, CJ, Rawls, Woodhead, and Duke Johnson. That's a lot of "ifs" to figure out, but if anyone has the chops to do it, it's David Lin. He's proven that he can successfully do all season long.
On another note, similar to last year, OBJ is starting to come on strong in the second half of the season. (This seems like the typical plot line for the underachieving New York Giants. Each year they either fall short of making the playoffs or barely make it in. If they make it in, they somehow go on to winning the whole shebang behind Eli's magical, golden arm). This means good things are in store for David Lin from OBJ.
6) 1-800-HOPKINSBLING (5-6)
Every time I write Justina's team off, it surprises me and goes off for a bizillion points. Stafford has really poured it on as of late. Landry, Desean, and Hopkins are all going strong. (Who knew Desean would be this good with Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball? I honestly wrote Desean off two years ago). Mark Ingram has been a steady 9-10 point contributor. Houston defense is experiencing a resurgence. And Theo Riddick is somehow, some way finding ways to score...although I doubt this will last long term. (Fortunately, Justina's got that covered. She's stashed Abdullah and Ellington on her bench. Very smart move). The best news yet though is that Gronk has not suffered a season-ending injury to his knee after going down in Week 12. He'll likely be out next week, but Justina better hope he recovers by Week 14. She'll need him in the playoffs.
7) Spider Pig (6-6)
Luke's team is coming off a five game winning streak. Brees is playing like the Brees of old (except for last week). His WRs are playing decent. Antonio Brown has been playing better with Big Ben back. Mike Evans is benefiting from Winston's inspired play. And Demaryius should get more points as long as Osweiler is throwing him the ball. Add in the shrewd pickup of Javoris Allen to go along with the ever steady Chris Ivory, and Luke should qualify for the playoffs barring any major major setback. That's pretty incredible, considering the position his team was in 6 weeks ago.
8) David's Team (5-7)
David Li's team has not been faring very well as of late, and that has me worried about his playoffs chances. Forsett is gone for the season. Lynch is out at least another game or two. His RB#2, James White, scored 0.60 points last week. One of his WRs, the fragile Amendola, may or may not play next week due to injury.
Luckily for David Li though, he's matched up against Aaron for a berth to the playoffs, who is also quite literally struggling to keep his team afloat. The question is can he beat Aaron's team? The way I see it, it's going to come down to Rivers (great pickup), Cooper, LaFell, Yeldon, and Julius Thomas (another great pickup) versus Palmer, Decker, DeMarco, and Seattle defense. I like David Li's chances more than I like Aaron's. One of them will make the playoffs, but neither team will last past the first round.
8) Aaron Chou's Team (5-7)
I think Aaron's team has set a record for the most number of injuries this season. He's lost an incredible 4 key players (Dion Lewis, Le'Veon Bell, Steve Smith, and Andrew Luck) to long term injuries. Now he's starting a bunch of flyers like Dwayne Harris, the injured but promising Michael Floyd, Matt Jones, and Brent Celek to fill in the gaps. #lulz. DeMarco has also been struggling a lot as of late too. Other than Palmer and Decker, there's not a whole lot to like about his team right now.
9) I Called Game (4-8)
Duke's team is an example of what could've been. Week 12 gave us yet another glimpse of his team's mouthwatering potential, but for a slew of reasons (bad matchups, injuries, owner indifference), his team never played up to expectations. Even with a win against Luke this week, he won't make the playoffs.
11) 4th and Long (3-9)
Poor Gabs. Even in his good weeks, he still loses. At the end of the day, Gabs just didn't have enough firepower or consistency to win. Freeman is injured. Cobb and Lacy have continued to underachieve all season long. Tyrod Taylor took too long to return to his early season playing ways. Throw in a couple of unlucky matchups, and hence the 3-9 record. It's ok Gabs. There's always next season Gabs. At least that's what I'm telling myself!
12) HAMAJANG (3-9)
Woe is my team. I am out of the playoff hunt. No monies for me this season.
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