Wee 12 - 2008 Recaps!

Rollers vs Nihilists

To paraphrase Nicholas Cage in Con-Air, “On any other week, scoring 142pt and losing would be strange.“

But not this week. What a display of offense by all of the MMFL, led by the Sluts 214pts and the resurgent Tuckers 177! Going in the Rollers/Nihilists matchup looked most intriguing, with the divided house angle and the combined record of 17-5. And it was the closest game, but I’m more struck by how high many of the scores were.

With both the Rollers and Nihilists having sewn up a 1st round bye, this game was important only for who did various duties in the Lee/Kim household. The first match-up between these teams led to the Rollers second loss of the season, and consigned the Rollers owner to poopie diaper duty for a week. With so much do-do riding on this game, the Rollers went to great lengths to find a winning formula against the juggernaut Nihilists. Changes for this game included picking up and starting Lance Moore and Tyler Thigpen. Trent Edwards was dropped and Donovan McNabb, Frank Gore and Lee Evans were benched.

So how did these moves work out? Overall the moves helped, but not enough. Dropping Trent Edwards and sitting Lee Evans was a mistake, with Trent scoring 4 TDs and Lee going for over 100yds this week. Sitting Donovan for Tyler Thigpen was a bold move that wasn’t easy, but paid huge dividends as Donovan had -5pts and Thigpen put up 24. Benching Frank Gore and his subsequent 3pts was clearly the right move, but Steve Slaton only came up w/9. On a side note, my once vaunted RB corps seems downright pathetic: Out of Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Ronnie Brown, Chris Johnson and Steve Slaton on Adrian got into double digits at 17.

On the other side, the Nihilists show once again why they are now 10-2 and atop the MMFL. Led by the dynamic duo from Hot-Lanta (Rowdy Roddy White and Michael Turner), this roster is chock full of players doing better than expected. Philip Rivers as one of the best QBs in Fantasy? Brandon Marshall and Marques Colston fighting for a WR spot because Anquan Boldin and Roddy White have been so good this year.

So, clearly the Nihilists have a great team and my guess is that if we played 100 games, they would have the best record. But we don’t, and as this week showed, on any given Thu/Sun/Mon, anything can happen.

Bonus Playoff Picture:

Byes: Nihilistas and Rollers have those spots locked up.

Who’s in: Sluts, Slayers and Nellies are in. Even if the Nellies lose and the Surf Riders win, they’ve split their season head-to-head, and the Nellies are ahead in the next tiebreak (total points scored) by 300+.

Who’s fighting: Tuckers and the Cats. Tuckers win, they’re in. If the Cats lose, the Tuckers are in. If the Tuckers lose and the Cats win, the Cats season point total is 21 ahead of the Tuckers, so the Tuckers would need to put up 21pts more than the Cats to wrest the last playoff spot away.

- Sei

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Tuckers Beat Crap Out of Surf Riders (177-90)

In the inaugural game of the MML Crapola Bowl, the OBSR were looking to snap a six game losing streak, while the JMT were looking to put together back-to-back wins after suffering their own seven game nose dive earlier in the season. Well the Surf Riders walked away from this game with yet another loss, sole possession of the cellar of the Bloods division, and probably another COTW to go with an already crowded display case. The only members of the Riders who did not start their off-season early were QBs Tony Romo and Eli Manning who combined for 581 passing yards, 6 TDs, and 53 points. Too bad the rest of team couldn't muster up another double digit scorer. While K Robbie Gould booted a couple of FGS and XPs on his way to 9 points, everyone else was headed to the tailgate party by halftime. And for the second week in a row, the OBSR bench almost amassed as many points as the starters.

Not that any of that would have mattered against the Tuckers, who took out their frustrations out on the hapless OBSR. QB Drew "My Float is Stuck" Brees and WR Terrell Owens had monster games, racking up 536 yards, 4 TDs, and 66 points between them. Not to be overshadowed, QB Ben Roethlisberger had a not too shabby 243 yard, 2 TD performance, while RB DeAngelo Williams rushed for 101 yards, 1 TD, and a 2 pointer. The Tucker's win combined with the Bobcat's loss to the Nelsons in the annual Fritos Dueling Animals bowl meant that at the very least Joe could relinquish his cozy Cripps division basement timeshare.

- Glen

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Arcadia Bobcats of Crocker Highlands at Maxwell Park 110 The Nelsons 128

This wasn't my week for fantasy football. I lost in both leagues. My bright new hope at quarterback, Brady Quinn, scored in negative territory. Usually reliable Hines Ward could only muster up 4 points. Meanwhile, Kanako's team looked just as bland. She started Brandon Jacobs, who was inactive against the Cardinals, and her tight-end was Owen Daniels, who only scored two points. That was bested by Gus Frerotte at quarterback, with 3 points. How did the Nelsons manage to beat me? The answer lies in the 37 points from Randy Moss. As you can tell, this lackluster week is resulting in a lackluster recap. Thankfully, I can put this all behind me as I prepare to enjoy Melissa's succulent turkey!

- Peter Schoewe

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Sluts 214 defeat Slayers 130

Melissa’s entire team was crazy good this week – over 320 points from all 16 players. I don’t believe she could have picked a much better line-up. The sheer magnitude of her performance makes me ignore the 2 points she got from D. Avery at WR. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of D. Avery and I’m too lazy to look up what the D stands for. Obviously the Slayers weren’t too concerned about D this week either. D wins ball games. Matt Cassel had his 2nd straight week of crazy stats, 38 fantasy points. Chad “I used to be a Slayer” Pennington added insult to injury by chipping in 34 points. Rounding out her top players, Melissa’s squad included Matt Forte (32), Marshawn Lynch (23), Steve Smith (22), Tampa Bay DST (22), and Greg Jennings (21). How could the Slayers even be competitive? With a combined 16 player total of 210, the Slayers were just outmatched and outgunned by the defending champs. It reminds me of the MMFL super bowl from last year – same outcome. The commish is one sad panda.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, I'm thankful we have such a fun group of teams!

- Scott