7-6-1

W 85-52 @Team Chandler

TE: SHP Seahawks' John Carlson over Visanthe Shiancoe. The latter looked this week more like he did at season's start; he caught 2 balls for 19 yards. Carlson, meanwhile, caught his team's sole TD.

Loss: 7 points

Next week I'm up against Team Chandler again. I am trying to decide if Peyton Manning is going to take many snaps in week 15. With their win this week, the Colts clinched home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It's likely Manning will be getting some rest as the season winds down.

This is the last post of the 2009-10 regular season.

Still 6-6-1

CONSOLATION BRACKET: ROUND 1 @TeamChandler

ON THE BENCH ROUND 1: Antonio Bryant, Joe Flacco, Devery Henderson, Pierre Garcon, 49ers D, John Carlson, Mike Bell (Q).

________ _________

| | | |

6-6-1

L 97-75 @The Badland Muckrakers

So it ends. 3rd in the division, no playoffs.

RB: SHP Brandon Jacobs had 113 all purpose yards and 2 TDs, making this the first week in which he's gone for >15 points. I did not play Jacobs, I played Ricky Williams and Laurence Maroney disappointed, scoring 11 points between them. Should have sat Laurence Maroney.

Loss: 18 points

D/ST: Thought the 49ers would stomp the Seahawks. Didn't happen. Should have played Denver D/ST.

Loss: 11 points

WR: The Giants really showed me this week. Steve Smith went for >100 yards. Should have played him over Devery Henderson. Antonio Bryant had a good week but Pierre Garcon was a bit better.

Loss: 7 points

We'll get 'em next year. I would like to thank all the players that played on my behalf this fantasy football season. You fought hard for me and finished the year strong. Now let's bring it in one last time.

Most Points, by position

*(player was dropped)

QB

peyton manning 206

joe flacco 140

WR

miles austin 128

steve smith 112

pierre garcon 78

devery henderson 74

antonio bryant 51

(anquan boldin) 72

(patrick crayton) 69

(roy e williams) 61

(ted ginn jr.) 42

(joey galloway) 6

RB

ricky williams 154

ronnie brown 118

laurence maroney 95

brandon jacobs 88

(cadillac williams) 81

(julius Jones) 74

(leon washington) 37

D/ST

Broncos 102

49ers 97

(Giants) 66

TE

visanthe shiancoe 80

(ben watson) 52

K

lawrence tynes 99

stephen gostkowski 94

6-5-1

W 118 - 87 @SOUTH 'O' SUI

WR:  Antonio Bryant finally had a breakout week with Tampa Bay, catching 3 balls for 91 yards and a TD from my bench.  SHP Bryant over the Giants' Steve Smith, who for the 7th time this year scored >10 points.

Loss:  8 points

RB:  My waiver play for Fred Jackson early last week was a bust.  He racked up 23 points for my opponent this week, in fact.

With Ronnie Brown out for the rest of the season, I'm relying heavily on his counterpart in Miami Ricky Williams to pick up the slack.  So far he's been a real trooper. In the 2 weeks since Brown went down, Williams has a hefty 45 fantasy points.   

The season-long mistake that's cost me quite a few points has been relying on the Giants' anemic offense.  Brandon Jacobs disappointed again this week, failing to cross the goal line for the 8th time this season.  

I could have sat him, played Ricky Williams (115, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Laurence Maroney (62, 2 TDs, 1 FUM) as my running backs, plugged-in the Saints' Devery Henderson (3, 116, 1 TD) to the RB/WR slot - and still had room to play Antonio Bryant over Steve Smith.

Loss: 12 points

ON THE BENCH FINAL WEEK:  Brandon Jacobs, Joe Flacco, Steve Smith,  Broncos D/ST,  Lawrence Tynes, Ronnie Brown (out for season), one TBD

                                             ___________         ___________

                                             |                         |        |                         |

5-5-1

W 81 - 72 @Team Chandler 

RB: My big mistake this week was once again taking the advice of ESPN.com's fantasy experts.  They warned not to be surprised if Laurence Maroney was a disappointment this week.  

Would I have been disappointed with Maroney's 77 yards and 2 TDs?  No, no I wouldn't have.  Instead I played the Giants' Steve Smith in the RB/WR spot. He had 4 catches for 79 yards and 0 TDs.

Loss: 10 points.

WR:  Regarding Saints' Devery Henderson, "...if you need a No. 3/4 plug-in," ESPN.com said, "there you go."  Henderson had 1 catch for, wait for it, negative 2 yards.  Pierre Garcon, meanwhile, caught 6 balls for 103 yards from my bench.

Loss: 10 points.

But, hey, I came away with a win.  Playoffs or Bust!  

ON THE BENCH WEEK 12:  Steve Smith, Devery Henderson, Ronnie Brown (out for season), Giants D/ST, Antonio Bryant, Joe Flacco, Steve Smith, and possibly Brandon Jacobs, who is questionable for week 12 (knee) - I made waiver grabs at Bills' Fred Jackson and Packers' Greg Jennings in case

                                       _________      _________

                                       |                   |      |                    |

4-5-1

W 81-64 @peterson path

My opponent did not show up for week 10.  His bench scored 59 points.  For my part, I only made 1 mistake; I sat Pierre Garcon in favor of Miles Austin.

Loss: 9 points

My opponent could have beat me in any number of ways; but he didn't.  He also didn't play Derrick Mason for the MNF game against the Browns.

Which means I can sit back and enjoy Monday Night Football like a normal fan.  So that's what I'm going to do.

ON THE BENCH WEEK 11:  Joe Flacco, Ronnie Brown (ankle, foot), Antonio Bryant, Denver D/ST, Laurence Maroney, Steve Smith, one TBD

                                            _________        __________

                                            |                    |        |                     |

3-5-1

L 88-91 @Team Johnny Boy

No one on my bench outscored any of my starters this week.  In fact, I was winning this matchup at the 2nd half 2-minute warning of Monday Night Football.  Then the Steelers, up 21-10, instead of just killing the clock, drive down the field and score one last touchdown, taking precious points away from the Broncos D/ST, and giving my opponent the win.  Just gotta suck this one up and move on to next week.

ON THE BENCH WEEK 10:  Brandon Jacobs (bye), Steve Smith (bye), NYG D/ST (bye), Lawerence Tynes (bye), Joe Flacco, Antonio Bryant, Pierre Garcon

                             ___________   ___________

                               |                        |     |                        | 

3-4-1

T 54-54 @n00bsandwich

Week 8 came down to the wire despite my opponent playing both Tom Brady (bye) and Ochocinco (bye).  

RB:  SHP Brandon Jacobs this week over Ronnie Brown.

Loss: 8 points.

WR:  SHP Colt's Pierre Garcon.  He was a new pick up this week, and he should have gotten the start over Devrey Henderson who, in fairness, only came up 4 yards short of getting me a win.

Loss: 1 point. 

D/ST:  Both my D's were in trouble week 8; the Giants played the Eagles and the Broncos played the Ravens.  SHP the Giants, who scored 1 point.  Denver had -2.

Loss:  3 points. 

Yuck.

ON THE BENCH WEEK 9:  Brandon Jacobs, Anquan Boldin, Antonio Bryant, Joe Flacco, Devery Henderson, Steve Smith, Joe Flacco, Denver D/ST, and someone TBD

                                       ________           ________

                                       |                 |           |                 |   

3-4

W 115-80 @stockton 209

RB:  SHP Brandon Jacobs, who has been a major disappointment for me so far, but who this week ran for his 2nd TD of the year, over Ronnie Brown or the newly acquired Laurence Maroney.  

Loss:  4 points.

WR:  SHP Antonio Bryant (2, 21, 1) over Steve Smith (4, 69, 0).

Loss:  5 points.

Luckily it didn't matter as my new WR Miles Austin had his second straight enormous week (6, 171, 2), and Ricky Williams ran for 3 TDs.

ON THE BENCH WEEK 8:  Joe Flacco, Laurence Maroney (bye), Antonio Bryant (bye), Steve Smith (going to give Devry Henderson a shot), Anquan Boldin, Pierre Garcon, Giants D/ST.

                                         __________          ___________

                                         |                      |          |                        |

2-4

L 71-76 @Shongoloo Sheepskins

As I wrote last week, practically my entire team had a bye week 6, including 2 of my league's top 5 scorers, Ronnie Brown and Peyton Manning.  

That said, this week came down to the wire.  Because I didn't have many choices to make this week, I avoided mistakes.  In fact, I made one great move that nearly got me a win.

D/ST: I played Denver's D/ST over the Giants' this week.  When the Monday Night game between Denver and San Diego kicked-off, I was trailing the Sheepskins by 2 points.  My opponent was playing Chargers' TE Antonio Gates and the Bronco's RB Know-show Moreno.  

Denver's return squad took 2 kicks to the house.  4 second-half sacks and a fumble recovery kept me in the game until the Chargers' last possession.  Still, I came up short.  Argh.

ON THE BENCH WEEK 7:  Joe Flacco, Brandon Jacobs, Julius Jones, Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, Patrick Crayton, Broncos D/ST

         __________    __________

                                        |                      |    |                      |

2-3

L 98-138 @Team Johnny Boy

My 2-game winning streak snapped along with my 2-game 100+ points streak.  Not much I could have done about it this time, though.

RB:  Could have played Ricky Williams alongside Ronnie Brown, and in place of Julius Jones, who despite the 'Hawks putting up 44 points ran for just 34 yards and 0 TDs.  Might play both my Dolphins in week 7, following this week's bye.

Loss: 10 points.

Other than that, I had the right starters in.  Two of my top scorers have byes in week 6, so my next post will likely be titled 2-4.  At least I can't make many mistakes with only two active players on the bench.

ON THE BENCH WEEK 6:  Peyton Manning (bye), Ronnie Brown (bye), Ricky Williams (bye), Patrick Crayton (bye), Roy Williams (bye), Giants D/ST (playing the red hot NO Saints), Leon Washington

______________   _____________                                       \                        \     \                    \

2-2

W 100-76 @BADLAND MUCKRAKERS

My second straight 100-point week was not without a misstep or two.

WR: Patrick Crayton continues to disappoint.  The Dallas wideout had 19 points in week 1.  Since then he's only scored me 8.  He had 134 yards in week 1.  In weeks 2-4 he's had 64 yards combined.  Antonio Bryant was back in action for Tampa Bay in week 4 and caught 4 balls for 44 yards and a TD. 

Loss: 9 pts

RB:  Played Julius Jones, who got nothing done against the Colts this week.  Ran for 25 yards. 

SHP: Ricky Williams

Loss:  12 pts

D/ST:  Almost everyone was better than the Giants' D this week, including Denver.  

Loss:  7 pts

ON THE BENCH WEEK 5:  Julius Jones, Patrick Crayton, Leon Washington, Roy Williams, Denver D/ST, Ricky Williams, Joe Flacco

               _________    _________

                  /                     \  /                     \

1-2

W 108 - 60 @OCEANSIDE CALI. OSUISIDE

Estimated the final score per my opponent still has Tony Romo to play Monday Night v. Carolina.  At the time of this writing on Sunday night, the score is 108 - 41.  At the time of this writing on Sunday night I have outscored my entire league!

But this success is not without a mistake.

RB:  Leon Washington failed me in week 3; 12 carries for 46 yards.

SHP:  Julius Jones.   98 yards rushing, 38 yards receiving and a TD.

Loss: 14 points

ON THE BENCH WEEK 4:  Broncos D/ST, Antonio Bryant, Ricky Williams, Leon Washington, Joe Flacco, Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams Jr.

      ___________     ___________

                   \                        \     \                       \

0 - 2

L 58 - 98 @Team Chandler

RB: Jets' Leon Washington: rushing (14, 58, 0) receiving (1, 13, 0), kick returns (4, 127, 0) fumble (1) lost (1)

Again this week Cadillac Williams was the better fantasy back.  C.W. only ran 7 times for 9 yards, but he caught a TD and didn't turn the ball over.  

And unless L.W. takes one to the house, his KR yards do me no good.  Is it too late to petition the league for a new rule?

Loss: 7 points.

Julius Jones tanked against the 49ers.  He did catch a TD, but only carried 8 times for 11 yards. Brandon Jacobs: 16, 58, 0.

SHP: Ronnie Brown.  136 yards and 2 TDs.  He gets the start next week alongside Brandon Jacobs and Leon Washington, who are both playing against bottom 5 D's.

Loss:  20 points.

WR:  Two Cowboys Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton combined for 2 catches and 22 yards.  Steve Smith, meanwhile, caught 10 balls for 134 yards a TD. Even the injured Anquan Boldin fared better than my starters in week two; 8 catches for 69 yards.  

Loss:  22 points.

D/ST:  6 better than the G-Men this week; Cardinals (19 pts.), Broncos (17), Saints (15), Bills (12), Vikings (12), Raiders (10).  4 of those are available as of today.  

ON THE BENCH WEEK 3:  Julius Jones, Antonio Bryant, Ted Ginn Jr., Joe Flacco, Joey Galloway, Roy E. Williams, Patrick Crayton

                                              ___________     ___________

                                                  \                        \     \                     \

0-1

L 64 - 101, @MBOMBERS 

QB:  Played Peyton Manning over Joe Flacco.  Flacco went 350+ for 3 TDs and 1 INT. Peyton: 301, 1 and 1.  Had considered playing Flacco, thinking he might have a break out year. Was disappointed in my decision not to play him.  Asked a guy in the parking garage at work about it.  He said, "You gotta play your studs man."  Manning remains the starter.

Loss: 9 points.

RB:  Starters Brandon Jacobs and Ronnie Brown carried 26x for a dismal 89 yards and 0 TDs collectively.  They also had 5 catches between them for 27 yards, but they didn't catch any touchdowns and it didn't seem to mean much in the points column.  Again, my bench was better.  Julius Jones: 19 for 114 and 1.  

Loss: 13 points.

RB/W: On Friday I'd taken ESPN's advice and lowered my expectations for Tampa Bay's Cadillac Williams.  "He's part of a 3-headed running-back hydra this year," they warned.   I dropped him for the Jets' Leon Washington.  

LW: 14 for 60, + 4 catches for 25 yds, but no TDs. CW: 13 for 97 and 1.

Loss: 7 points.

WRs:  Played NYG's Steve Smith (6, 80, 0) alongside Antonio Bryant.  The latter was likely not 100% in week one, considering he caught 2 balls for 29 yards and now is benched week-two with a wrist injury.  Anquan Boldin played hurt too and did even worse (2, 19, 0).  

Should Have Played (SHP): Patrick Crayton, Dal:  4 for 135 and 1.  

Loss: 8 points.*

* I would have had 8 more points had I played Patrick Crayton and no other receivers.  This team would be better with blank spots in the roster.  This seems directly to mean I'm no good at fantasy football.  

D/ST:  Own: NYG D/ST.  3 better D's week one: Eagles (35 pts), Falcons (16), Seahawks (15).

ON THE BENCH WEEK 2:  Ronnie Brown, Anquan Boldin, Antonio Bryant, Ted Ginn, Jr., Joe Flacco, Joey Galloway, Steve Smith (NYG).  

                                             ___________     ___________

                                             \                        \     \                       \