Everything that went right in the first half of the season (no injuries, good plays, opponents bad games) came crashing to a halt in the second half, almost costing me a playoff spot. I said almost.
Week 8- I took on the Bully on the Block- Team Bullies, tied with me for the best record in the league at the time with a 5-2 record. The owner of this team is also the owner of the league, and unfortunately I allowed myself to dream about rocking the boat. Alas, it was not meant to be- and I mean really not meant to be. I got walloped 158-90.
What went right- McNabb (26), Turner (22), and the Colts D (20) had decent weeks for me. Oh, and 2 of his players didn't score in double figures.
What went wrong- Where to start? Well, this was a bad time for me to have bye weeks- 3 starters (Big Ben, Randy Moss, and Ochocinco) had them, meaning that I got to start Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB (0 points), and Torry Holt (1 point) and Mark Clayton (3 points) at WR. I did have 38 bench points- all of which came from my reserve defenses, and neither of which would have made the beating any less of a beating. The Bullies had 8 players in double digits (4 with 20+, 2 more with 19).
Bonehead move- Having a crappy bench, and not realizing that 30% of my best players were all chilling on the same week.
Week 9- Well, after I put some salve on the wounds of my ginormous beating, I was able to pick up the pieces of my shattered ego and get things back on track with a 134-133 win over Team Josh for Now (a controversial event in our league that led to some bad blood- not my win, the fact that there even was a Team Josh for Now).
What went right- Some divine intervention to start with- Big Ben threw 2 real TD passes in the 4th quarter (after I had went to bed), including one with under 2 minutes to go and the Steelers holding an 11 point lead, to give my my second Monday Night victory of the season. Of course, I also needed Turner's 30 and Randy Moss' 23, as well as a stinker from Joe Flacco of my opposition.
What went wrong- I lose the defensive position battle by 19, as my Colts D scores all of 9 points. I don't know how to explain it, other than that is a terrible performance in our league for a defense.
Bonehead move- For most of the season, the performances of my defenses have either been close enough to negate the idea of a wrong play, or else good enough to justify my play. For arguably the first time this season, I made a poor play (although it didn't seem to be so at the time) as I left 21 point scoring Denver's defense on the bench. I just didn't want to play a defense that was also playing against one of my starting QB's- it just didn't feel right. And as a result, I had to go to bed that Monday night feeling like I was going to lose my matchup.
Week 10- The week my Fantasy season stood still. I lost a heartbreaker to Fergy, 121-119. But that isn't why it shook me to the core.
What went right-McNabb and Moss were totally rufus for me- each racked up 30 points. Michael Turner had 12 points before halftime of his game! And none of my opponents players went over 20 points.
What went wrong- Ugh. Where to start. Oh, how about Mr. Turner? He had 12 points before halftime- and finished with 12. Because he got hurt in the first half, a high ankle sprain that, for all intents and purposes, ended his season. Oh, Ronnie Brown got hurt too. Another season-ending ankle injury. My opponent had 7 guys in double figures, and while McNabb had 30 big ones, Big Ben had 5 very little ones. Real-life turnovers killed my team as well (4 of them- that's 8 fantasy points). Folk, my kicker, had 0 points. My defense, the Denver Broncos, couldn't shut down one of the worst offenses in football (Redskins). And I left points on the bench.
Bonehead move- Keeping Betts on the bench and starting Maroney in the swing position. Betts had 18, and Maroney had 8. I'm not a math major, or even very good at post-middle school math, but 18 beats 8. And 10 beats 2.
Week 11- The much hyped (in my head) rematch with my dad ended up a stinker, with the Snow Flurries falling 128-108.
What went right- My QBs played out of their freaking minds. Big Ben and McNabb combined for 49 points (led by Big Ben's 30), and Maroney was able to step into the feature back role and pick up 17 points. I was also able to hold Adrian Peterson to 9 points. Well, not me per se. And really, not even my team. That's one of the great things about Fantasy Football- 0% defensive accountability!
What went wrong- I feel like a broken record. Betts gets hurt in the first quarter of his game and is lost for the season. It's probably going to be somewhat funny when I look back on this season with my therapist...the guy that I put in to replace my running back with a season ending injury gets hit with a season-ending injury. I left Pettigrew's 13 points on the bench, but it wouldn't have mattered. My dad left a crapton of points on his bench too, led by Terrell Owens 26. After the game, Terrell was insistent that it wasn't personal, that it was purely coincidence that his biggest game of the season came against the team that gave up on him. Okay, he didn't really say that. But this is fantasy football, right? One part football, one part fantasy.
Bonehead move- Not accepting a trade offer from team Bullies. Randy Moss for Calvin Johnson, Jamaal Charles, and Miles Austin. My pride really got in the way here, and as a result I missed being able to pick up a pretty good RB (at a time in my season when good RBs were dropping like flies). The sucky thing is that I ended up taking this basically same trade later on, except instead of Jamaal Charles, I got stuck with Greg Olsen. Thanks a lot, pride.
Week 12- My very dispirited team, once a front-runner for a first-round bye, is crushed by Team Josh for Now, 116-79. The playoffs, once a certainty, are starting to fade away from reality.
What went right- While Maroney still isn't considered the lead dog for his actual team, he shows enough on game days to make himself a certified #1 fill-in RB for my team and has his 2nd straight strong game. And that's pretty much it.
What went wrong- I left the Jet's defense on the bench- during a week when they racked up 41 fantasy points. And they were playing the Panthers, so it's not like I was thinking 'Crap, the Jets are playing an unstoppable juggernaut- I better bench them lest they hurt my chances of winning'. The real kicker about all of this is that my opponent got 4 whole points out of his starting WRs. You might have heard of them- Larry Fitzgerald and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. And I wasn't able to take advantage. Partly because of the aforementioned Jets D fiasco, but also because...
Bonehead move- I wasn't on top of the whole Big Ben concussion thing, and as a result, I messed with my roster much too late to sign his backup, Dennis Dixon. While Dixon's 17 points wouldn't have made a significant difference, it would have made the final score a little more respectable.
Week 13- While I wasn't able to stop the bleeding- or even slow it down a little (I lost to 151-142), I did back into the playoffs because my dad lost his game. I guess.
What went right- One of those frustrating weeks in fantasy sports. You know what I'm talking about- where you compare your score to every single other team in the league, and you realize that if you would have played anybody else but the person you did that you would have won. That was me this week. My QBs are solid, again. Newly-minted Miles Austin racks up 17 points. The Broncos D is almost the first Snow Flurry unit of the season to cross the 40 point mark in a single game (39).
What went wrong- Part of the reason Austin has 17 points is because his real-time QB (Romo) is scoring 34 for the War Machine. Aaron Rodgers had 27 points- 19 points-worth to Jermichael Finley...more on that in a minute.
Bonehead move- Starting Olsen at TE (0 points) and leaving Finley (19 points) on the bench. Game-changing decision.
Well, I ended up at 6-7 for the regular season. A streaky season, full of highs and lows. Injuries really killed me- I know it's kind of the same boat everyone is in, but I really feel like I got the short end of the stick as far as the injury department goes. But I'm proud of my guys. They competed, week in and week out (except that one game against team Josh for Now). Next time, I'll be detailing my scintillating playoff run- or is it? Only one way to find out...if you're not in my Fantasy league. Or in my immediate family. Or on Facebook.
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