Playoff Edition 4 - 2011

(WatchBlog McGee is a fictionalized blogger but reports on actual, flesh and bone, real-life fantasy football leagues.  This year, he is embedded deep in the CFFFL, and will be periodically blogging on league matters.)

WatchBlog is continuing his 4 part series on the CFFFL Final Four.  Part 4 follows.  Let’s get to it.

All Hail the Queen

Stacy “Available: Tom Brady; Looking For: A Kidney” Cook was not excited about the newly formed CFFFL.  For years, all that Fantasy Football represented to her was the disappearance of her husband for countless hours each week, with nothing to show for it, not even a new Unka G single.  But this new league would give her a potential opportunity to taunt and ridicule her immediate and extended family members on a weekly basis, and this part was something she could imagine herself learning to enjoy.  Plus, Stacy had learned in weeks of dialysis, that wasting hours of time each week just sitting still can actually benefit one’s health.  What no one expected, even her, was that she would quickly emerge as the Fantasy Queen of the CFFFL with an impressive 6-0 start, and a consistently high scoring team.  Her starting 8 were all productive, and for 6 straight weeks, her team rolled along with just a single lineup change, but not a single loss.  Then week 7 happened.  Stacy’s Cute Little Puppies didn’t look so cute any more.  After losing RB Jahvid Best for the entire season in week 6, and then losing RB Darren McFadden for the regular season in week 7, not to mention a BYE week for QB Tom Brady and WR Hakeem Nicks, meant that the Puppies’ manager would have to do something she hadn’t done all year - rely on her bench.  This proved disastrous as in the next two weeks, her depleted team took 2 games to score 116 points, a point total she had more than averaged in single games through week 5.  A 2 game losing streak was the result, and no one was championing her as the league darling anymore.  The Leftovers were outscoring the Puppies in total points, and now, the Quail Hunters had surpassed them in wins.  A roster move was in order to shore up her running game, but the move to drop RB Michael Bush and pick up RB DeAngelo Williams was not the one she needed.  Williams would be waived after one week, while Bush would go on to be one of the more productive RBs in the second half of the CFFFL season.  Stacy was no longer having fun, and she said as much.  But then, things began to turn around.  Backup RB Marshawn Lynch began to put up points, QB Tom Brady, who had struggled a bit midseason, returned to early season form, a second pickup of DeAngelo Williams produced better results, and down the stretch, the Puppies reclaimed their throne by going 4-1 to finish the year at 10-3, and winning the regular season crown in an impressive week 13 win over the Hunters.  Now all that stands between her and the CFFFL Championship game is the man who roped her into this league to begin with - and you can bet, even if he wins, this CFFFL Queen will make sure he wishes he hadn’t.

WatchBlog out.

Playoff Edition 3 - 2011

(WatchBlog McGee is a fictionalized blogger but reports on actual, flesh and bone, real-life fantasy football leagues.  This year, he is embedded deep in the CFFFL, and will be periodically blogging on league matters.)

WatchBlog is continuing his 4 part series on the CFFFL Final Four.  Part 3 follows.  Let’s get to it.

Reversal of Fortune

Amanda “After my formal complaint September 15, 2011, I probably won’t know about this post unless someone tells me about it” Cook was not at the initial formation conference that gave rise to the CFFFL.  She also wasn’t present for the inaugural CFFFL draft, as she had a better offer of entertainment that evening.  However, none of that stopped her from having one of the highest performing teams in the league.  At 9-4, Amanda’s Quail Hunters have been blessed with the good fortune of an incredible draft, and until recently, few critical injuries.  While you can point to amazing statistics to bear this out, the most telling stat is her number of roster moves, an almost unbelievably low 4.  Compare that to the league average of 13, or to the league high of 31.  A strong receiving core, consistent QB play, an embarrassing wealth of TEs and a deadly RB combo of Arian Foster and the surprising Matt Forte, have given new meaning to the philosophy “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Unfortunately, for Amanda, the streak of good fortune ended in week 10 when she lost her starting QB for the season.  Week 13 also saw an injury to Forte, and suddenly, a 2 game losing streak headed into the playoffs suddenly has everyone asking, have the Quail Hunter’s run out of luck?  It would be unwise to count Amanda out.  Only once all season has Amanda had a losing streak longer than one game, and that was a 2 game streak to end the season.  Now, after a first round BYE, her Quail Hunters will face the Leftovers, a team plagued with all the bad luck that the Amanda’s team avoided most of the season.  The last 2 weeks of the regular season saw the 2 teams head in opposite directions, and oddly enough, the swing for both teams happened in a head to head matchup in week 12 when the Leftovers embarrassed Amanda’s team by 47 points.   This embarrassment for Amanda will immediately disappear with a victory this weekend, but at this point in the season, it is definitely better to be lucky than good.

WatchBlog out.