Historical Power Rankings

Congratulations to Deep Pockets (Mike) for winning the league last year following his arguably unfair elimination from the playoffs in the last week of the season in 2012. If there was ever evidence that fantasy gods and fantasy karma exists, it was last year. I mean, since when does DeMarco Murray stay healthy all year to be the 7th highest scoring RB, outscoring other high priced backs like Adrian Peterson. Target's on your back now...

For those unfamiliar or don't remember how this works each person is ranked according to my infallible evaluation. Each person is represented in order by their 1) Average final standings after the playoffs, 2) Regular season record and winning percentage, 3) Championship and Consolation playoff records, 4) Years active in the league, 5) Number of titles, and 6) Ranking from the previous year's version. Sometimes these rankings set themselves, other times I make judgment calls based on these stats, but no matter the situation I am always right. 

1. Chris (Mr. Carlson's Class): 2.20, 45-20, .692 (10-4, 0-0) (5 years) (2 TITLES) (Previous: 1)

Chris has held this spot forever and will probably continue to hold this spot for a long time. He actually managed to lower his average final standing from 2.25 to 2.20 with a second place finish last year. Pretty incredible. His once lofty .700+ winning percentage finally regressed a little with an 8-5 finish last year. Riding the Chip Kelly offense train, as well as Matt Forte and Josh Gordon, Chris blasted his way to the finals falling .18 points short of a 3rd title, but earning the $50 consolation prize for the bad beat award. Could probably go 0-13 and still be here at the top at the end of this year. 

2. Mike (Deep Pockets): 5.0, 34-18, .653 (3-3, 0-2) (4 years) (1 TITLE) (Previous: 5)

Definitely my biggest swing and a miss on my preseason expectations last year (ranked 9th) Mike won the regular season title in dominating fashion with a 10-3 and finished the season on a 7 game winning streak, including the playoffs. DeMarco Murray has already been mentioned, but this was overall probably the deepest team with Vernon Davis, om Brady, Jimmy Graham, Brandon Marshall, and Pierre Garcon to pair with the #4 defense and #5 kicker. Definitely deserving of this bridesmaid spot below Chris.

3. Lee (Choppa): 6.4, 35-30, .538 (3-3 1-1) (5 years) (1 TITLE) (Previous: 4)

Third straight year in the playoffs for Lee, who now has to be considered among our strongest members.  Continually riding his rookies and second year players (as well as Drew Brees) Lee put up another winning record. Alshon Jeffery, Zac Stacy, and Jordan Cameron highlighted the list of youngsters who helped propel Lee to the playoffs yet again, to the surprise of very few.

4. Rene J. (Blood, Sweat & Beers): 6.4, 39-26, .600 (4-3, 2-2) (5 years) (Previous: 2)

A second straight 11th place finish, plus a now average finishing position right at the playoff cutoff line, forces me to move him out of the Number 2 spot he has held for some time. This fall from grace last season was less of a surprise than 2012 as I rated this team 8th following the draft. The Kaepernick/Wilson $45 investment never yielded the results hoped, nor the trade bounty probably expected at the time of the draft. Amendola for $23 never panned out and the other $74 spent on Dez and Reggie Bush didn't produce the firepower needed as neither crossed 200 pts. Looking for a rebound from what used to be one of our stronger members. 

5. Roberts (IbelievethatIwillwin): 6.0, 35-30, .538 (3-4, 1-3) (5 years) (Previous: 3)

Certainly not my best performance falling short of the last playoff spot by 11 total points. Definitely would've been different if I had just pulled the trigger on Peyton like I planned for the extra few bucks and not ended up with Cam Newton after an ill advised $25 price enforcement bid. Turns out Cam was one of my best picks finishing 5th among QBs. My irrational love affair with CJ0k and Ridley's motherfucking fumble fingers put me behind the 8 ball after spending $85 combined on those two. Gotta bounce back just like Rene. 

You know what? I'm not done ranting about Ridley. He has like 8 carries for 45 yards in the first 18 minutes of the game Week 1 against the Bills, then fumbles the ball which was returned for a TD. Then sees the 40% split of a carry time share for the next 3 weeks because of that one fumble. Vereen gets hurt too and then freaking LeGarrette 900 pounds of suck Blount starts getting all the good carries. Then for WHATEVER reason Belichick gives Ridley the ball 20 times against the Saints. Goes off for 96 and 2 TDs and then scores a TD every game thereafter, for 5 straight weeks helping bring me back. Then as I'm building hope, in the middle of the season he loses a fumble in week 8, week 9, and finally week 10 and he's done, thus partially sinking my team. Hold on to the FOOTBALL!! Sigh.  

6. Marc (Keep Sending Them Chx): 7, 34-31, .523 (2-4, 2-3) (5 years) (Previous: 9)

A very strong rebound year to finish 3rd after back to back disappointing years. Improved the average standings and got back to a winning record after a 9-4 season. I whiffed on this team too in my preseason rankings (#10) feeling that he overspent on Doug Martin, CJ Spiller, Demaryius Thomas and Frank Gore. Only partially correct in that regard but his strength was post draft transactions - A controversial trade with a team that had been inactive most of the year sent him LeVeon Bell to cover for the loss of Martin and the poor performance of Spiller and a beautiful move to get Julius Thomas 3 days before opening day. Certainly enough to move him back up the charts. 

7. Rob (Call Me Brady?), 8.8, 28-37, .431 (2-0, 1-5) (5 years) (1 TITLE) (Previous: 6)

A year after winning the title, Rob went largely inactive, including as an autodrafter. Not much to say other than he finished with an expected last place finish after several weeks of failing to field a complete team. Somehow still won 4 games, including twice against me, when he was inactive during one of the weeks. Thanks, Stevan Ridley. After 5 years it seems Rob has at least semi-retired. He does leave with a precious championship belt in hand, 1 of only 4 people to have one, but it appears more and more like a blind hit on a dart board than anything else. He will suffer only a one place drop due to his title, but surely is on the bubble for more.  

8. Jose (Candlestickit2U): 4.0, 8-5 .615 (1-2, 0-0) (1 year) (previous: NR)

A decent rookie debut for Jose as he dispatched the reigning champs in the playoffs before getting run out by the eventual champion. Some nice surprises in the mix (Ryan Mathews, Riley Cooper) with trusty veterans (AJ Green, Marshawn Lynch) helped this team coast to the playoffs, aided by the leagues easiest schedule as determined by average points against. Fell short likely because of a lack of a true killer QB as Matt Ryan and Carson Palmer both underwhelmed last year as each fell out of the top 12 among QBs last year. Looking forward to another step forward for one of leagues newest members. 

9. Rene B. (Ligaments): 5.5, 11-15, .423 (1-1, 2-1) (2 years) (Previous: 7)

Wasn't present for the draft, but had a substitute and ended up with Eddie Lacy, Alfred Morris, and Steven Jackson and very little else, as well as $18 dollars left over in the draft. Pretty hard to rebound from that as he finished with the same record as our inactive at 4-9. Also semi-retired, a promising start that saw him 1 Tom Brady passing yard away from a title in 2012 ends with a thud following last season. 

10. Drew (Drew's Boys in Blue): 6, 20-19, .513 (1-4, 1-1) (3 years) (Previous: 10)

Inactive last season. 

11. Adam (Lamborghini Percy): 5, 7-6, .538 (1-1, 0-0) (1 year) (Previous: 8)

Inactive last season. 

12. Cirimele (SUHkkake Ejections): 7.5, 23-29, .442 (3-3, 0-2) (4 years) (Previous: 11)

Inactive last season.

13. Landers (Cranders): 7.66, 15-24, .384 (1-1, 3-0) (3 years) (Previous: 12)

Inactive last season. 

14. Rick (Kaep'n Crunch): 8.2, 18-34 .346 (0-2, 5-2) (5 years) (Previous: 13)

The bell rang long and loud through the country. Rick made the playoffs (by the skin of his teeth)! Of course, it shouldn't have been that close when he had Peyton Manning in a record setting year, but Rick manages to find ways to make things difficult while holding top fantasy players. His overall stats didn't improve much as he went 6-7 and ultimately finished 6th. Has some work to do to prove this wasn't a fluke, as much of the rest of his team last year was uninspiring as he stuck it out with nearly his entire starting roster intact from the draft: Montee Ball, MoJo, Andre Johnson, Colston, Decker, Antonio Gates, etc...Because of the long history of futility and minimal success enjoyed last season I still can't move him above several teams that were inactive last year. 

15. Brian (Raider Nation) 7, 10-16, .384 (0-0, 6-0) (2 years) (Previous: 14)

Incredible. I had to double check to make sure I didn't already enter Brian's information in as he produced identical 7th place finishes with 5-8 records in both 2012 and 2013. Model of consistency and super champion of the consolation playoffs. I like that. Rodgers injury may have hurt a little, but Luck as a backup spared much heartbreak there. Jamaal Charles was a beast, but after that much of the erst of the team left something to be desired. Really wanted to move him up the list over Rick, but until Brian makes the real playoffs he'll have to stay here. 

16. John (Hurricane Ditka): 9.0, 6-7 .462 (0-0, 1-1) (1 year) (previous: NR)

Also a decent showing by our other rookie from last year as he finished only 20 points out of a playoff spot. Definitely was hurt by a subpar year from Adrian Peterson (by his standards and his price tag) as well as Ray Rice falling off the cliff (called it!) producing RB3 numbers for 25% of John's budget. But some nice surprise contributions helped keep this team in it including investments in Joique Bell, Julian Edelman, and Marvin Jones' amazing 10 TDs. Looking forward to this team's sophomore effort. 

17. Fregosi (Balllldddiiiinnnggg): 9.5, 11-15 .423 (0-0, 0-2) (2 years) (Previous: 15)

Inactive last season. 

18. Nam (TBA): 9, 9-17 .346 (0-0, 3-3) (2 years) (Previous: 16)

Inactive last season. 

19. McWhorter (Mr. Steve Bremevich): 10.5, 9-17 .346 (0-0, 0-0) (2 years) (Previous: 17)

Inactive last season. 

Final Power Rankings: It's Reckoning Time!

So I feel like I kind of let this space down this year. Three things really made it difficult to get these things out in a timely fashion every two weeks: 1) My primary blog: ifithasballs.blogspot.com 2) The birth of my first child 3) Those insipid Thursday night games that were terrible from a fantasy lineup perspective (and are causing a problem for me this week), a gambling perspective, and an actual performance perspective. I only had about 70 hours from the finish of MNF to the start of TNF to get these in and I basically struggled to find the time. I promise I'll do better next year.

That being said, I'm never ashamed to go into the past and tout my successes and lament my failures in public. So let's see how my preseason rankings and especially what may be some comical inaccuracies in my best/worst buys segment stacked up to reality:

1. Call Me Brady? (Preseason Rank: 9)

Officially (8-5) or unofficially (9-4) finished with the worst record for a league champ in the 4 year history of this league. Which is a pretty interesting historical note.  Also, we get to make fun of one of my predictions right off the bat. I was unnecessarily harsh on Frank Gore (even though it was a common belief he wouldnt be that good this year) and just flat out wrong on Marshawn Lynch. Combined with RG3 (who was a savvy pick and one I meant to make but got distracted by Teach asking me which QB I was going to eventually take) those three relative bargains really made this team strong week in and week out and certainly a preseason rank of 9 was a swing and a miss. I guess it was just hard for me to give this owner the benefit of the doubt based on the past. Solid season notwithstanding the turmoil of the past week.

Best buy: Welker ($25). 13th best receiver for 25 dollars seems actually about right. So obviously not the best buy, but I was right to think this was a good pick.

Worst buy: Lynch ($27). Yeah let's just move on. Nice pick up.

2. Matty rIce (Preseason Rank: 11)

Probably even worse, although if I had won this week he would have been 8th instead of 2nd, but he did finish with the highest points. Every year you find a team that overcomes its crappy draft with solid free agent pickups or get lucky with $1 lottery ticket specials. This was that team. Despite spending $43 bucks on an obviously fragile DeMarco Murray this team found itself two top 10 running backs with Rice and Morris. Despite spending all that money on Ryan, Megatron, Rice, and Murray, this team also found itself a second WR1 with Randall Cobb. Those things make a big difference and did here. I don't think I was too harsh on my ranking in the preseason but this manager struck gold more than once in the bargain bin.

Best buy: Matt Ryan ($26). Good call here again. He was a top 7 QB yielding the same value as $40 Cam Newton and more value than $50 Stafford and a measly 3 pts/game less than the turly expensive Rodgers, Brady, and Brees. While Cobb at $1 was obviously the best buy on this team, Ryan wasn't bad. But this wasn't as much of a steal as I thought heading in.  

Worst Buy: DeMarco Murray ($43). Yes you hear you can't take injury into consideration when drafting but in some cases you really can. This was way too high for a running back that hadn't been healthy in a few years through college and was playing behind that below average O-line with a coach that likes to throw it. Even in the games he played fully he was hit or miss. Just too much money here.

3. The Big Gostkowski (Preseason Rank: 3)

Hey I got one! I find it fascinating I now only start 3 guys I drafted. I usually pride myself on making few moves and drafting well but a few things happened early. Hakeem Nicks (see: DeMarco Murray warning, should have heeded my own advice) and Aaron Hernandez both went down killing 20% of my drafted team value and Chris Johnson was looking to kill another 20% with his horrid start. So I did something I don't do often: traded early. It worked out mutually for Chris and I and was pretty lopsided for Lee and I but those savvy moves shored up a team that was then buoyed by two savvy special teams drafts (Gostkowski and Seattle) and the most active I have ever been I think on the wire: 33 total moves in 13 weeks. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Best buy: Dez Bryant ($14). I didn't like this pick and with Nicks and Lloyd (a HORRIBLE pick) in tow I felt someone might be in the market for Bryant's ceiling but at $14 its a minimal risk. Little did I know he would crush the second half and finally scratch that ceiling. Good call, bad read on the trade by me. 6th best WR in the fantasy regular season.

Worst buy: BenJarvus Green-Ellis ($19). The reason this was a bad buy was that I could have spread that money around for better talent elsewhere. Well up until a few weeks ago this was dead on, now he's the 15th best RB and I think most would pay $19 for that. Nicks or Lloyd really should be here.

4. Mr. Carlson's Class (Preseason Rank: 8)

Wasn't as down on this team in the preseason as others were but I sure bailed quick with that slow start. He took a chance trading a sure fire player in Brady for three could-bes and all three have hit in their own way. Without that trade I think Mr. Carlson's Class might be on the sidelines this postseason. But the luckiest man in fantasy football found his way back and actually is probably the hottest team in the playoffs.

Best buy: Steve Smith ($3) Pffft. What a dumb call. Is he even still in the league or did he get cut halfway through? I have no idea, but when you cant crack the WR straved Rams lineup you're done.

Worst buy: Jimmy Graham ($38). I'm sticking by this. That is entirely too much to spend there and would have been reason number 1 this team failed to produce an all-around competitive lineup. I think it would have been the same without the injury. You can't spend $38 for 5 double digit weeks out of 13.

5. Lamborghini Percy (Preseason Rank: 5)

I had to withstand the urge to put an asterisk by this, but as has been discussed ad nauseum this wasn't like someone cheated so I'll take credit for nailing another pick on the head. I loved that receiving corps and if this team had any kind of competent QB play at all this year it probably would have won the league. Made some curious trades near the end but both seem to have worked out in this team's favor. Harvin hasn't been back since he was traded and Fitz might as well not be on the field. It hasn't exactly helped this team either as it has limped into the playoffs losing 4 of its last 6 (5 of 6?) while scoring 100+ points only once in that stretch.

Best buy:  Michael Turner ($22). Man he's looked terrible but finds a way to score most weeks. Hes also the 14th best RB and just like The Law Firm youll pay about 20 for a top 15 back every time.

Worst buy: Harvin ($24) Only because it was the 5th receiver he drafted, not because Harvin is bad, I actually like Harvin a bit. Turns out he got his trade: Steve Smith for Sproles. I think then this was a good buy, so I'll take a strike on this one.

6. Choppa (Preseason Rank: 4)

And with that I predicted half the playoff teams. Not great. For a team that loves his young guns I find it interesting he has ridden Peyton Manning to this point, but wow Peyton is a machine again. I thought that Doug Martin trade may have sunk him since he got almost nothing of value in the end, but holding onto Richardson and making a nice late season deal parting with AJ Green for Torrey Smith and CJ Spiller has really helped plug that hole. Pretty nice season for the defending champ.

Best buy: Trent Richardson ($26). Pretty good call there, Trent is the 5th highest RB currently.

Worst buy: Rob Gronkowski ($37). He actually was heating up before his broken arm and still sits first despite his injury. I still don't like it, but it's not a great worst buy call.

7. Deep Pockets (Preseason Rank: 6)

Couldn't make up my mind on this team preseason and it looks like I overestimated it a bit and I aonly diagnosed part of the problem. The RBs really sunk this team, even when MoJo was in, but beyond that the QB play was terrible. Eli really no showed this year, and actually with passing numbers way down this year from last year it's no surprise the more mediocre QBs couldn't sustain their success last year. While this team was at the brunt of controversy at the end, I think most would agree it was a long shot to sustain any kind of success in the playoffs.

Best buy: Eli Manning ($24). Hahahaha, whoops. For a guy that didn't miss a game being the 18th overal QB is really bad. Bad call and really Deep Pockets ought to make sure Eli gets the memo on how much he hurt his team.

Worst buy: Rashard Mendenhall ($12). This was a cop-out pick. I was right but I think youd be right 100 times out of 100 if you make a pick like this. Not going to tout this "success:"

8. PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS? (Preseason Rank: 2)

I actually still can not figure out how this team missed the playoffs. Rodgers was excellent and Foster was even more excellent. I guess the WR corps wasn't as good as I thought and Bowe was a disaster, but it was still supplemented with James Jones' great season in replacement of Jennings. I just can't figure it out, I guess maybe he just sat on a few players too long like Bowe and Finley. It's not even like he had a bunch of bad losses, he only lost 1 game he scored over 100, which is like most teams and finished with 9th most points. Another disappointing year for the last playoff virgin in this league.

Best buy: Desean Jackson ($4) I still think it was. That's comically low, even for a WR3/Flex, but definitely a disappointing year for Jackson.

Worst buy: Aaron Rodgers ($63). On some level I was right. The most expensive player by $5 over the 2nd most expensive and by at least $10 more than anyone else just didn't yield that same value. Tom Brady at $52 yields the same value, even in preseason thinking. Still, its hard to complain about going out to get the NFL MVP in the middle of his prime.

9. Blood, Sweat, and Beer (Preseason Rank: 7)

Ah this time being down on this team was correct, although he sure made it interesting towards the end. I thought we could eulogize this team at Week 8 and then they went on a tear only to fall just short. Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson (holy shit what a season) just couldn't do it, much the same way Rodgers and Foster couldn't do it for Rick. Might be a lesson in there. After those two guys there isn't a lot in the way of successes, Roddy White was fine, and so was Miles Austin, but there just weren't enough explosive performances on this team. Starting both Witten and Vernon Davis several weeks probably gives you all you need to know about the depth here. Hopefully we'll see this team back, after all he was #2 on the historical rankings chart coming into this year and puts up some good competition.

Best buy: Miles Austin ($10). Yup I think so, every one will pay $10 for a bonafide WR2 in this league.

Worst Buy: Adrian Peterson ($27). Worst than the Lynch call. He's superhuman. Who comes back from a late season three knee ligament tear to lead the NFL in rushing the next season. Unbelievable. He and Megatron are simply otherworldly in terms of their athleticism.

10. SUHkkake Ejections (Preseason Rank: 12)

I think this was a good call. This team was less than 1 full point away in two games from being 4-9 and actually in last place. Spent a ton of money on running backs that all were busts. In fact this is a pretty good all-bust lineup on its own. I am really disappointed in McFadden though. What an awful season for the several weeks he was healthy. Probably took too long to turn one of those 3 backs into something more valuable. Also probably shouldn't draft so many running backs.

Best buy: Ryan Mathews ($33). God he's terrible. Maybe it's the O-line, maybe it's him. All I know is that $33 didn't yield much.

Worst buy: All other running backs not named Mathews and McFadden. ($41 combined). This included Reggie Bush, Shonn Greene, Roy Helu, Donald Brown, and Felix Jones. Looks like I was right on here.

11. I've Got Gronkchitis!!! (Preseason Rank: 10)

Made some moves early, but Cam Newton and Steve Smith combined were so bad it put this team in a big hole recordwise it just couldn't get out of. Actually, heading into Week 12, this team hadn't score that many points, so the unlucky card wasn't playable. Then he puts up 150+ back to back weeks and now has the 3rd most points. Still, this wasn't a playoff team and that was apparent from the start. Too many spare parts and not enough elite talent.

Best buy: Stevie Johnson ($15). He actually could fulfill that 1000 and 7 I said earlier, he's at 700 and 5 with 4 games to go so I guess he was useful. He just kinda qualifies as a spare part like so many others on this team.

Worst buy: McGahee and Sproles ($41). I still think he could've done better with this money, but it wasn't as bad as I felt at the time. Cam for $40 was also looking terrible but somehow hes now the 6th ranked QB.

12. Raider Nation (Preseason Rank: 1)

Geez the wheels came off this one. It looks terrible to give one team a preseason #1 and have them finish last. Romo falls in with the Eli crowd of mediocre QBs who saw their stats take a step back from last year's passopalooza. Extended poor play and absences from Forte and McCoy did this team in. That was about 40% of the budget and they played awful. Until a couple of weeks ago Andre Johnson had been pretty awful too.

Best buy: Eric Decker ($13). Yeah I got this one. 13 bucks for the #16 receiver is pretty golden.

Worst buy: Andre Johnson ($29). Well with the exception of the best back to back weeks in WR history this was looking like a great call. Injuries to the Texans defense the last few weeks really caused them to open it up to keep pace in the games and Andre Johnson was the prime beneficiary. And that TD issue is still ever present sitting on only 3. Exclude those two monsters and he has 657 yards and 2 tds in 10 games. Basically worse than Desean Jackson this year. Who went for $4. Hopefully someone forgets all this come next year's draft so they spend in the 20s on him again.

Again, not withstanding the issues of the past week this has been one of my favorite seasons of fantasy football, even including the year I dismantled this league in the regular season in 2010. I look forward to an equally competitive and unpredictable playoffs.

Weekly Awards 2012: Week 12

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! One thing we can all be thankful for, except is the Weekly Awards for week 12. Let's go!

Top Points ($10)

Carolina QB Cam Newton WENT OFF for 41+ in Week 12.

The award for Top Points this week goes to a team who is no longer relevant in terms of the standings, but he certainly is looking to play the role of spoiler down the stretch. Congratulations to I Got Gronkchitis!!! who posted a league-wide season-high total of 155.54 points. 

Gronkchitis!!! got a huge day from QB Cam Newton, posting 41.44 fantasy points on Monday Night Football against the Eagles. Even more unpredictable than Cam's explosion (come on, he hasn't produced like he did in 2011) has got to be the performance of the Eagles Bryce Bowen, who was filling in at RB for the concussed LeSean McCoy. Could Brown have helped a team that was actually still in contention? Of course. But you have to hand it to Gronkchitis!!!. His team is fighting until the bitter end, and Bryce Brown's 26.90 points in Week 12 helped his team to take home Top Points.

Winner: I Got Gronkchitis!!!!

Unique Achievement: "The 'Hey, We Can Catch, Too' Award" ($5)

This week's unique achievement goes to the team whose starting TE accumulated the most receptions in the league in Week 12. 

Cowboys TE Jason Witten

And the TE with the most receptions in Week 12 was...

Dallas' Jason Witten with 9 receptions!

Winner: Lamborghini Percy

Update: Bad Beat Award ($30)

Blood Sweat and Beers STILL has this award on lock.

Running Award Totals (Through Week 12)

Lamborghini Percy - $40
The Big Gostkowski - $25
I Got Gronkchitis!!! - $30
Raider Nation - $20
Deep Pockets - $15
Mr. Carlson's Class - $15
MATTY rICE - $10
Choppa - $10
My Vick in a Box - $5
SUHkkake Ejections - $5
Call Me Brady? - $5

Weekly Awards 2012: Week 11

Week 11 has come and gone, so here are the Weekly Awards!

Top Points ($10)

"How do you like THAT encore?"

Week 11 saw just the 3rd instance of a team topping 140 points in a single week this season, as Choppa put up a monstrous 140.80 fantasy points. Choppa really had solid performances across the board on his team this week. Peyton was Peyton (26.80 points), Gronk was Gronk (25.70 points), and Danario Alexander was, well...Danario Alexander! After the fantasy free agent put up 19.40 points in Week 10, Choppa put in a waiver request, and the rest is history. Hoping for a repeat performance from the San Diego wideout, Choppa got just that, and then some, as Alexander put up a huge 21.60 points. 

Choppa has finally gotten his hands on some of the winnings. Congratulations, Choppa.

Winner: Choppa

Unique Achievement: "The Biggest Blowout Award" ($5)

Week 11's award goes to the team who won by the LARGEST margin in the league this past week.  

We'll just defer to Yahoo for the research on this one:

Winner: Mr. Carlson's Class

Update: Bad Beat Award ($30)

Blood Sweat and Beers has this award on lock.

Running Award Totals (Through Week 11)

Lamborghini Percy - $35
The Big Gostkowski - $25
I Got Gronkchitis!!! - $20
Raider Nation - $20
Deep Pockets - $15
Mr. Carlson's Class - $15
MATTY rICE - $10
Choppa - $10
My Vick in a Box - $5
SUHkkake Ejections - $5
Call Me Brady? - $5

Weekly Awards 2012: Week 10

The Weekly Awards for Week 10 are here!

Top Points ($10)

"Get off me!" says, Jimmy Graham.

Well, in a week in which 3 teams topped the 130-mark, Mr. Carlson's Class finally gets in on the regular season winnings. 

This week, The Big Gostkowski put up 134.38 points, Call Me Brady? scored 137.18, but Mr. Carlson's class produced the 3rd highest point total of the entire season thus far with 139.68 points (Lamborghini Percy scored the second most in a single week with 146.54 back in Week 4, while Matty rICE scored 147.80 in Week 3). 

Mr. Carlson's Class is rejoicing in these winnings because, let's face it, it may be the only money he gets back. 

Winner: Mr. Carlson's Class

Unique Achievement: "The Sea Bass Award" ($5)

This award goes to the team whose kicker kicks the longest FG in the league this week, so here's a breakdown of the longest kicks for each team's kicker in Week 10. 

Matt Prater, Long of 53 - Deep Pockets
Blair Walsh, Long of 48 - Lamborghini Percy
Justin Tucker, Long of 48 - MATTY rICE
Stephen Gostkowski, Long of 48 - The Big Gostkowski 
Sebastian Janikowski, Long of 47 - Call Me Brady?
Connor Barth, Long of 45 - Mr. Carlson's Class
Shayne Graham, Long of 42 - My Vick in a Box
Adam Vinatieri, Long of 41 - Raider Nation
Jason Hanson, Long of 41 - Choppa 
Matt Bryant, Long of 37 - SUHkkake Ejections
Lawrence Tynes, Long of 31 - I Got Gronkchitis!!!
Dan Bailey, Long of 30 - Blood Sweat & Beers

Winner: Deep Pockets

Update: Bad Beat Award ($30)

Blood Sweat and Beers has this award on lock.

Running Award Totals (Through Week 10)

Lamborghini Percy - $35
The Big Gostkowski - $25
I Got Gronkchitis!!! - $20
Raider Nation - $20
Deep Pockets - $15
MATTY rICE - $10
Mr. Carlson's Class - $10
My Vick in a Box - $5
SUHkkake Ejections - $5
Call Me Brady? - $5

Weekly Awards 2012: Week 9

Here we go with the Weekly Awards for Week 9. 

Top Points ($10)

Bears LB Brian Urlacher returns an INT 46 yards for the score.

Raider Nation takes the award for Top Points in Week 9, as his team exploded for 138.74 points. Raider Nation received 20+ point efforts from RB Matt Forte and WR Eric Decker, but it was the Chicago Bears DST that really put this team over the top, scoring a massive 27 fantasy points on the day. Choppa really had no chance in this match-up. Even if he still had his former RB Doug Martin (who scored an insane 51.2 points on the day), Raider Nation would still have pulled out the W. 

Winner: Raider Nation

Unique Achievement: "The Adam 'Pacman' Jones Makin' It Rain Award" ($5)

This award goes to the team whose starters (every position) score the most total TDs in the league that week. 

Here are the breakdowns of how each team "made it rain" in Week 9.

Bears WR Brandon Marshall (3 TDs) "Made it Rain" for Lamborghini Percy

8 TDs - Lamborghini Percy

7 TDs - My Vick in a Box
7 TDs - Deep Pockets
6 TDs - Blood Sweat & Beers
6 TDs - Raider Nation
6 TDs - The Big Gostkowski 
5 TDs - Choppa 
5 TDs - I Got Gronkchitis!!!
4 TDs - Call Me Brady?
4 TDs - Mr. Carlson's Class
3 TDs - MATTY rICE
2 TDs - SUHkkake Ejections

I cannot think of a more appropriate team to win this award. Lamborghini Percy certainly made it rain this week, just like he used to up in the club (or is it tha club?). 

Winner: Lamborghini Percy

Update: Bad Beat Award ($30)

No changing of the guard here, as Blood Sweat and Beers is still in the lead. 

Running Award Totals (Through Week 9)

Lamborghini Percy - $35
The Big Gostkowski - $25
I Got Gronkchitis!!! - $20
Raider Nation - $20
Deep Pockets - $10
MATTY rICE - $10
My Vick in a Box - $5
SUHkkake Ejections - $5
Call Me Brady? - $5

Weekly Awards 2012: Week 8

Well, I know it's been a while, but I'm back, and I'm here to give you the low-down on the Weekly Awards for Week 8. 

Silence of the Rams (I know, predictable, right?)

Top Points ($10)

In Week 8, The Big Gostkowski got excellent production out of two players he acquired via trade earlier this season. QB Tob Brady carved up the St. Louis defense for 36.46 fantasy points, and RB Doug Martin had a huge day, putting up 33.4 fantasy points against the Minnesota Vikings, the 3rd-highest point total for a RB (at that point) this season. At the end of the week, the entire squad amassed 133.96 points.

Winner: The Big Gostkowski

Unique Achievement: "The Getting Defensive Award" ($5)

This award goes to the team whose starting DST scores the most points in the league in Week 8. 

Here are the DST scores accumulated in Week 8.

22 points (NYG @ DAL) - I Got Gronkchitis!!!
13 points (SF @ ARI) - Blood Sweat & Beers
12 points (CHI vs. CAR) - Raider Nation
10 points (NE @ SEA) - SUHkkake Ejections
10 points (TB @ MIN) - Mr. Carlson's Class
6 points (SD @ CLE) - Lamborghini Percy
4 points (ATL @ PHI) - My Vick in a Box
4 points (ARI vs SF) - MATTY rICE
3 points (SEA @ DET) - The Big Gostkowski 
3 points - (NYJ vs MIA) - Deep Pockets
1 point (WAS @ PIT) - Call Me Brady?
-3 points (MIN vs TB) - Choppa 

Winner: I Got Gronkchitis!!!

Update: Bad Beat Award ($30)

This week, Lamborghini Percy came within 0.6 points of beating My Vick in a Box, but Blood Sweat and Beers is still in the lead for this award (losing by 0.02 points back in Week 3).

Running Award Totals (Through Week 8)

Lamborghini Percy - $30
The Big Gostkowski - $25
I Got Gronkchitis!!! - $20
Deep Pockets - $10
MATTY rICE - $10
Raider Nation - $10
My Vick in a Box - $5
SUHkkake Ejections - $5
Call Me Brady? - $5

Power Rankings: Midseason Edition (Weeks 3-7)

So very delinquent with this post, but all good things are worth the wait. A lot has happened in the NFL and in fantasy since Week 2. We've seen pro and fantasy teams rise and pro and fantasy teams fall. Below are my nominations for the Midseason Fantasy All-Stars and the Midseason Fantasy All-Sucks. I rate them based on pre-season expectations, price, and performance to date. Feel free to throw some of your own names out there.

Mid Season All-Stars

QB Robert Griffin III (Hon. Mention: Matt Ryan)

Sure, Aaron Rodgers has turned it on the last two weeks and taken over the top spot, and Drew Brees has had to throw his way to a 2-4 record, but the fact that RG3 is right there at 3rd deserves the nod. Cheap price, low expectations, monster performance. Seems to fit the bill perfectly. What's even better is that he's fun to watch live. It's as much fun as I can possibly have watching a Redskin succeed, which isn't much, but at least it's something.

For Matt Ryan we heard all the rumors of a hurry-up passing attak, saw Julio Jones pick it up in the preseason and yet there only really seemed to be two believers come draft time: me and Matty rIce. At $26 this was a steal thus far.

RB Alfred Morris (Hon. Mention: Stevan Ridley)
RB Arian Foster (Hon. Mention: Frank Gore)

Anytime you can get the 3rd best running back off the free agent pool you've hit the jackpot. What has been really impressive is this hasnt been a case of just a couple good games. He has been solidly consistent week to week and just looks like a fantastic fit in that old Shanahan zone blocking, stretch running game. Sure Arian Foster was  a potential number 1 pick heading into the season but he has just been leaps and bounds better than every other running back and he wasn't even the most expensive, unlike Megatron. He's averaging 4 points more per game than the 2nd best running back. Just pure dominance in this first half for Foster.

Stevan Ridley went for $17, but it was hard to expect him to break out to be a RB1 in the first half simply due to the fact he's a Patriot running back. But he has shown great power and durability in that run game and even in a committee setting at Brandon Bolden's height he was still quite useful and valuable. For Frank Gore he went for $16 same as Ridley but most had already written Gore's epitaph. The running ability I've seen from Gore has simply shocked me this season. He looks like 25 year old Frank Gore, not 29 year old Frank Gore. That Seattle game last week was icing on the cake of a great first half.

WR Percy Harvin (Hon. Mention: Reggie Wayne)
WR Randall Cobb (Hon. Mention: James Jones)
WR AJ Green (Hon. Mention: Andre Roberts)

Percy Harvin touches the ball more than any receiver in this league, and just like Randall Cobb has scored three ways: running the ball, catching the ball, and returning the ball. He has turned in a top 3 performance this first half and just like Alfred Morris seems to be a same and consistent bet week to week. Randall Cobb is a poor man's Percy Harvin, used in identical ways. Why I like him here is that with or without Jennings, I don't think he loses value because of the packages he plays in. The $1 price tag for the 12th best receiver is nice. AJ Green wasn't receiving the same love as his draft mate Julio Jones. Sure AJ Green was touted as a WR1 and drafted as such, but unlike Julio Jones, AJ Green has grown in Year 2 and even when hes the focal point of the defense like against Pittsburgh last week he finds a way to score. Getting the best receiver in the first half at the 8th highest price is a good deal.

Just like Frank Gore, Reggie Wayne was written off for dead only to rejuvenate himself under Luck. He doesn't find the end zone a lot, but he sure will be a leader in targets at the end of the season. Couldn't ask for more out of $11. James Jones has been a beneficiary of circumstances but you can't ignore the 3 straight weeks of multiple touchdowns. For the always acceptable price of free you'll take it every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Everyone was looking to find the complement to Fitzgerald in Arizona. Is it Michael Floyd? Early Doucet? Nope. it's Andre Roberts who has actually been the msot valuable WR in Arizona. When you can step up and outperform Fitzgerald for half a season you deserve the honorable mention nod.

TE None. (Hon. Mention: Owen Daniels)

I don't think there has really been an all-star at the position. The number 1 TE Gronkowski is way down off his pace from last year and no TE has really served as a game changer this first half. Owen Daniels gets the nod as the #3 TE that went undrafted. Daniels had the talent but never the health and always Joel Dreesen there to steal some thunder. 9 pts a game is a nice return at the spot without spending a dollar there.

K Greg Zeurlein

Kickers don't cost anything, but some of them are actually game changers. For instance my Gostkowski has put up double digits points in every week but 1 and certainly helped keep my team afloat while it dealt with injuries and poor performances, but what Zeurlein is doing is awesome. The Rams will kick from anywhere and with the exception for that little mini slump two weeks ago he's crushing it. It's fun to watch whenever Redzone Channel goes to the Rams for yet another 50 yarder by Zeurlein.

DEF Chicago

This is the Bears defense from 2008. Picking off passes and scoring touchdowns at a ridiculous rate. Sacking every QB and allowing the fewest points. Ridiculously good first half for the Bears and just like Gostkowski for me, they have really helped Raider Nation stay afloat while he deals with injuries and inconsistencies from players like McCoy and Romo.

Mid Season All Sucks

QB Matt Stafford (Hon. Mention: Cam Newton)

Pretty simple analysis here. You don't spend $51 for the 21st best QB. Detroit's offense has been horrible and with Megatron taken away and no one else stepping up the offense can't move the ball. Stafford has been fortunate to even be 21st with 3 tds in the last two weeks coming in the 4th quarter at the end of games.

Cam Newton is a little different, but again 16th overall QB is not worth $40. Cam's floor isn't as low as Stafford's because he can be so successful running the ball for yardage and tds. Every 60 rushing yards is basically another passing td for QBs like Brees and Brady, but his passing is awful. Also being outscored by Vick who is the most maligned QB this side of Matt Cassel this year is worth the honorbale bust mention.

RB Steven Jackson (Hon. Mention: Matt Forte)
RB Darren McFadden (Hon. Mention: Ryan Mathews)

Boy those were some big names heading into the draft, I think they comprise likely 4 of the top 15 projected backs (prior to Mathews injury). For Steven Jackson he did get hurt, but has played every game. What has killed his value is Daryl Richardson in the passing game. Steven Jackson prior to this year was the reliable 3 down back catching 40-50 passes a year. He's on pace for about half that much. The team just doesn't seem to trust his durability this year and with Gronkchitis spending $36 on the #24 running back that's a bust right there.  McFadden has been healthy all season and if you told every fantasy football player that you would get  6 out of 6 healthy games from McFadden to start the season they'd pay $42 for him in a heartbeat everytiem and fully expect to see him in the top 3. Noooooope. #21. Either the O-Line or Run DMC or both can't seem to figure out the zone blocking scheme put in by Dennis Allen, even after their bye. It's gotta be time to scrap this and salvage a fully healthy season from McFadden.

Matt Forte got hurt but has appeared in 5 games. His yds/gm, ypc, and catches/gm are all way down from last year. Michael Bush is much more talented than Chester Taylor and may continue to steal touches as teh Bears start to prep for what will surely be a postseason run this year. Ryan Mathews was the msot injured player on this list based on games missed, but even in his return he has been uninspiring for a $30+ price tag. He has fumbled, been jerked around by Norv Turner, and left out of 3rd down packages. It's nto even clear he has goal line duties or whether Jackie Battle has those. It was a gambled taken and just ahsn't pid dividend in this first half.

WR Hakeem Nicks (Hon. Mention: Dez Bryant)
WR Steve Smith (Hon. Mention: Andre Johnson)
WR Brandon Lloyd (Hon. Mention: Calvin Johnson)

Nice to see the top 3 receivers I drafted on this list in one capacity or another. I try to keep injured players off of this since its not exactly performance based but you can't ignore it when its a significant investment. Nicks has played 3 out of 7 games this year and only 1 was useful. You just dont spend $25 for 1 game. Hopefully he has recovered. Steve Smith has been held out of the endzone and this is starting to resemble Steve Smith 2010 before Newton showed up. Newton has really had struggles as a passing QB and Steve Smith is getting tired of it. Probably should of held out for something better with Sproles. Brandon Lloyd has been the biggest disappointment, especially with Hernandez out. It seems like Brady is a little afraid to sit back in that pocket and unleash the deep ball to him. Welker, Woodhead, and Gronk have really benefitted from Brady's skittishness the last few weeks.

Dez is out in my book, both as a Cowboys fan and fantasy player. The guys is so inconsistent. Sure I only paid $14 for him, but the guy supposedly had such awesome talent. Yeah talent for mental lapses and dropped balls. Just very disappointing. Andre Johnson is clearly on the downhill of his career arc. Sitting at #27 among receivers and without his bye yet he maybe struggle to find his way back into even WR2 territory He's no lonegr putting up the 12 catch 150 yard performances he put up in his prime. Now hes more of an 8 catch 7 yard guy with a td every third game. Calvin may seem like an odd choice here, but unlike Arian Foster, Calvin just hasn't been able to be leaps and bound better than everyone. In fact he isn;t even in the top 12 of receivers. Just way too much money for too little production. It's not his fault, the offense sucks and theres no one to take heat off of him in either the passing game or running game but that doesn't matter for fantasy's sake.

TE Jimmy Graham

Gronk wasn't worth his 37 dollars despite being the number 1 TE, Graham as the number 11 wasn't worth 38. Lesson learned about what I talked about in the preseason. These guys simply arent worth the investment, at least through the first half.

K None

Kickers dont really bust.

DEF Baltimore

Kind of hard to get a bust defense too but when you spend $4 on one and they are currently ranked 12th and will be lower than that after their bye week, its kind of a bust. Those extra few dolalrs may have won you another big time player you wouldve rather had earlier in the draft.

As I said feel free to comment on your favorite stars and sucks in the comments section. On to the rankings:


1. Matty rIce (Previous: 8)

This is a monster jump, but of course 5 weeks have happened since the last rankings. Every year there is a team that wins the waiver wire lottery and overcomes a semi-poor draft to become a frotn runner. This is that team. Despite 100 dollars worth of El Busto in Murray and Johnson this team sits in 4th place in the standings, has already gone through the bye for 3 of his 4 most expensive players (with the 4th one this week), and has owned the waiver wire/$1 bargain bin special. Andre Roberts, Randall Cobb, and Alfred Morris has kept this team afloat and with Ray Rice playing well enough and Matt Ryan lighting up the skies this team has become quite formidable down the stretch.

Raider Nation (Previous: 1)

Not much to say here, this team has done exactly what I projected. Matt Forte and Jeremy Maclin being injured certainly hurts but it doesn't sound too bad for Forte and I doubt Maclin misses much more than a week if any time and this team is deep enough to survive a week or two without them. Roll on Raider Nation.

2. Call Me Brady? (Previous: 7)

Best record in the league and I'm taking a total bad call medal for both Lynch and Gore. They look great. Even against each other last week in a matchup of great defenses they both looked liek top 15 backs. RG3 has made him forget all about the awful stink Rivers has made this season. The WR corps is good if not underperforming a little, Mike Wallace and Julio Jones have been fine and you worry a little about Wes Welker with Hernandez back, but that nitpicking. This team is solid and with one more win I think this team clinches its first playoff spot in 4 tries.


3. My Vick in a Box (Previous: 2)

Yeah kinda weird having a 3-4 team here but Rodgers and Foster are hot right now. Hasnt missed a beat on Jennings with James Jones and over the last several weeks has been putting up top point totals. You do have to worry about a team that hasnt yet seen the Packers and Texans on bye, but this team squeaks in the playoffs I think.

Choppa (Previous: 4)

I'm not sure what I think about this team. He put up a good fight against in week 1 and beat #2 in week 2. Obviously his team is good I just worry a little bit about that WR corps and Trent Richardson may be a hot and cold RB going forward with the limited offensive production at the QB position and you just dont see a whole lot of mega game production on this team. It is solid in several spots and my loss is his gain with Hernandez going down for a month+. After this week he will have played #2 and #4 on this list. Road gets easier and I wouldn't be surprised to see him hanging around this spot for awhile.

4. Lamborghini Percy (Previous: 5)

Monster. Simply put. A fantasy monster these last several weeks. The WRs can't do it forever, so you expect a regression but man what a run for those 4 plus the Hosuton defense. I still have a hard time trusting a team that consistently starts two Saints running backs and employs Michael Vick, but this team has been riding the WR wave. Also getting close to nailing down a playoff spot with that 5-2 record.

5.  Deep Pockets (Previous: 6)

I'm not sure what to make of this team. Jordy Nelson has finally been breaking out, it is 5-2, and it is 6th in points but I find myself looking at the team and thinking, this can't be that good of a team. The MoJo injury hurts and now he's left with Mikel LeShoure and either a piece of the Pittsburgh or Carolian committees. He's not higher because of this and because I just am not sure this is a good team. But being 5-2 puts you in the drivers seat for the playoffs and thats all that matters.

6. Raider Nation (Previous: 1)

Hasn't been a good run lately as McCoy and Forte have been disappointments and all of the sudden Tony Romo isn't a viable fantasy quarterback. Further, the WR corps I thought so highly of has simply been meh. The team is hanging on here with a 3-4 record and faces a tough do or die matchup with my team for playoff position. You get the feeling this team can come around, but theres always a team that underperforms and this one might be it.

7. The Big Gostkowski (Previous: 4)

I waffled between putting myself 6th or 7th and gave it to Raider Nation because I'm still staring at a big point deficiency compared to other top team. This is another good week to rectify that. I hit the injury lottery for the next few weeks with Rashad Jennings who was just a throw in in that big Brady deal. My team is getting healthy with Nicks and Hernandez back and could be firing on all cylinders this week. I still have to endure a Patriots bye week next week (which I've softened slightly with waiver pick ups this week). I like all of the teams in the top 9 have legitimate shots at the playoffs. This week is a big game for that to get back to 4-4.

8. Choppa (Previous: 3)

Big drop for this team. he's hanging around at 4-3, but you get the sense that this team might start a big free fall. His Bengals are on bye, he can't get consistent RB2 production since his trade, Richardson is likely more hurt than he's letting on and his WRs are patchwork at best. In addition he's got back to back games against playoff contenders. Wouldn't be surprised to see him at 4-5 in the next ranking addition and sitting in the same 8th spot.

9. SUHkkake Ejections (Previous: 9)

Winning two games by less than 1 point combined is quite fortunate and yet this team is still only 4-3. The supposed strength of this team at RB has turned into a major liability and the $51 spent on Stafford is looking like one of the worst picks in the league this year. Yet he still sits at 6th and obviously has some nice mojo going for him in those close games. I fully expect this team to drop out of the playoff race byt the end of season.

10. Blood Sweat and Beers (Previous: 11)

Got a little bit of momentum there over the last few weeks and there is some talent here. White, AP, Brees, and Austin are all good players. What seems unfortunate is having to start two TEs or working on his 4th Arizona RB. Also working against him is the tremendously slow start he's had. At 2-5 you are really facing an uphill battle that gets no easier facing two teams the next two weeks with a combined 11-3 record. We may be writing the obituary on this team in the next rankings.

11. I GOT GRONKCHITIS!!! (Previous: 10)

Can't catch a break as he has the 5th most points but highest points against and a 1-6 record. You can't write off a guy yet but I'd think based on the current standings he'd have to run the table to make the playoffs. His team has gotten healthier with Spiller and Bradshaw back but just needs some kind of WR production besides dropping TDs in the un Josh Gordon. Torrey Smith and Spiller on bye this week might just end the season. Unless Cam can unleash a fantasy monster against the Bears. Highly unlikely.

12. Mr. Carlson's Class (Previous: 12)

Well you know your season is a bust when you finished week 2 ranked 12th and 5 weeks later you are ranked 12th. When you look back on that Brady trade it looked like a Brady for Green-Ellis, Bryant, and Luck deal with some spare parts thrown in there. I'd like to go back and do a final analysis on this trade at the end of the year but it's clear Green-Ellis and Bryant have been busts where I'm getting some encouraging work from DHB and now Rashad Jennings probably have 2-4 weeks of crunch time play for me. Luck has been solid, but Brady has been consistent and thats what the trade was for. But this wasn't a steal for either team. Maybe i'll come out ahead if DHB keeps on the field and Rashad has some monster games, but the real point is that besides this trade this team has still been bad. Jamaal Charles had two monster games to help this team win two games but there isnt much else there. Thomas has been up and down and so has Graham. But when you are about 9 points per week worse than the next lowest scorer your team just isn't good.

I'd say at this point the playoff race has narrowed to 9 teams and that likely wont change by next rankings. For you other three at least there is still money to be had. Until next time good luck to everyone!

Week 7 Awards!

Alright now that we are caught up I can make this a little prettier and more detailed. 

Week 7

Top Points ($10)

Quite a competition for this award this week, but yet again that sleek, sexy Italian sportscar Lamborghini Percy rides off with the award again. This week's victim was SUHkkake Ejections as he got leg-whipped 130.10 to 94.12. Lambo got the performance of a lifetime from Josh Freeman as he ran up a Brees-esque 36.10 and could've had an even bigger day if either Vincent Jackson ran a faster 40 than Marc Keller or if it wasn't somehow legal to push a guy out of the back of the end zone. 

Besides Freeman, Lambo got his usual solid performance from the 4 horseman of the apocalypse as Fitzgerald, Harvin, Cruz, and Marshall accounted for 46.8 points against an awesome average of 11.7 per receiver. Lastly JJ Watt and Co. swatted and sacked and intercepted their way to another 20 point performance capping off an incredible 4 week run for this team. 

Winner: Lamborghini Percy

Unique Achievement: "The Colossal Committee Award" ($5)

This award goes to the best collection of starting running backs in this league this week and this one wasn't close. With so many teams on bye having a full stable of starting running backs was a huge advantage. Here is a run-down of the league's performance with notable performances:

12. Choppa - 1.9. Not even sure how this is possible but Richardson got hurt and Jacobs didn't play. Not a banner week for his running backs. 

11. Deep Pockets - 6.9. Also really terrible, but also victim of his RB1 - MoJo getting hurt early on. He's now sitting on three hurt backs - MoJo, Mendenhall, and Benson.

10. Raider Nation - 16.7. This is more like the scores I expected to see at or near the bottom. McCoy on bye was the big hit here. 

9. Mr. Carlson's Class - 17.8. Late minute trade of Lance Moore for Vick Ballard really boosted this team's running back value as Ballard when for double digits. Charles on bye didn't help. 

8. Lamborghini Percy - 21.1. It's obvious this team isn't riding running backs to his top points award week after week. What's most surprising is that he actually got a 10.5 average out of two Saints running backs. 

7. Matty rIce  - 23.8. Couldn't get a great performance out of Ray Rice (5.6) but Alfred Morris has been a stud all year. 

6. SUHkkake Ejections - 29.3. With Mathews on bye, this team had to rely on an underachieving McFadden and a "rejuvenated" Shonn Greene. He can't really be this good can he with back to back double digit games?

5. Call me Brady? - 29.8. Just so obviously wrong about Lynch and Gore. More on that in the power ranking column which i promise is coming. 

4. My Vick in a Box - 32.1. Arian Foster is really good at scoring touchdowns. That is all. 

3. I've Got Gronkchitis!!! - 34.4. With CJ Spiller returning and Ahmad Bradshaw running like an ANGRY man and yelling at his coach and slapping Victor Cruz in the head, this team has a strong corps of running backs. If only Cam Newton wasn't a bust at that price. 

2. Blood, Sweat, and Beers - 39.9. Adrian Peterson finally got back in the end zone and looked really strong against Arizona and that Buffalo run game produced some stats as both Spiller and Fred Jackson went double digits. 

1. The Big Gostkowski - 62.2. What a runaway. Chris Johnson nearly secured this award by himself with 31.8 points. Doug Martin broke out a little with 18 as that Martin for LaFell (who also got in the end zone) and Tate trade was looking like a bust for both sides after a few weeks. Picking up Dwyer was icing on the cake. 

A breakdown of Chris Johnson's 83 yd touchdown run against an 8 man front. 

Winner: The Big Gostkowski


Running Award Totals Through Week 7

Lamborghini Percy $30
I Got Gronkchitis!!! $15
The Big Gostkowski $15
Deep Pockets $10
Matty rIce $10
Raider Nation $10
My Vick in a Box $5
SUHkkake Ejections $5
Call me Brady? $5

Awards: Lightning Round (Week 4-6)

WEEKLY AWARDS: WEEKS 4-6

The Professor is going to step in here and update this blog while our beloved Commissioner is on vacation. Because we are a little behind I will make these short and sweet this week and no pictures because I'm lazy. Next week will have pictures. 

Week 4

Top Points ($10)

Lamborghini Percy flipped his fortunes after being the victim of the top scorer in Week 3. The breakout that I had envisioned finally happened as he pasted Choppa 146.54-96.36. 9 out of 10 players scored at least 9 points, and interestingly enough only 9 out of 10 players scored for Lambo, as Dennis Pitta was held without a catch. That vaunted wide receiver corps of Marshall, Cruz, Fitzgerald, and Harvin finally broke out to the tune of 58.5 points, more than 14.5 per receiver. The cherry on top was a 23 point performance from JJ Watt and Co. on that Houston defense. 

Winner: Lamborghini Percy

Unique Achievement: "You're The Man Award" ($5)

This award goes to the one individual player who scored the most points for his fantasy team. In the style of Miss America: 

2nd runner-up is......Drew Brees! Thanks to a 35.84 point performance, Blood, Sweat, and Beers only lost by 22.72, instead of an even bigger margin. Unfortunately, Drew Brees was also outscored in his match up by...

1st runner-up is......Aaron Rodgers! His 36.06 just edged out Drew Brees, but just like his owner My Vick in a Box, he outclassed his competition. But Discount Double Check couldn't take the title belt away from the true winner of this beauty contest.....

Winner is....Handsome Tom Brady! His 38.00 point performance helped The Big Gostkowski to a key win over the commissioner, who had shamelessly traded him away in the days leading up to this matchup. It seems fitting that like in real life a traded player plays with an exceptional chip on his shoulder against his former team. 

Winner: The Big Gostkowski

Week 5

Top Points ($10)

Could it be???? Why that's the sound of a high powered Italian car revving its engines yet again. Lamborghini Percy claims the top crown yet again, leaving My Vick in a Box to wallow in the bridesmaid chair for the second consecutive week. The victim this week was our beleaguered commissioner who got waxed 132.60 to 102.38. If you thought the week before was a breakout for this team's stable of stud WRs then this week was throwing down the gauntlet. The same four: Marshall, Cruz, Fitzgerald, and Harvin totalled a ridiculous 76.20 points with three of them totalling over 20. Getting 76 points from your 4 WRs leads to a win and a top score crown every week. 

Winner: Lamborghini Percy

Unique Achievement: "The Flawed System Designed to Put Money in My Pocket" Award ($5)

This award, named by Michael Vick's owner went to the team whose starting QB had the most rushing yards on the week. Of course, true to the merciless nature of fantasy football, the owner of Michael Vick didn't even place in the top three for his own self-described award. Our winner was a bit of a surprise, but not entirely. The top three:

Aaron Rodgers - 57 yds
Cam Newton - 42 yds
Andrew Luck - 24 yds

All are mobile quarterbacks and all belong on this list, but this time My Vick in a Box gets the last laugh as he secures the 5 dollar award for week 5. 

Winner: My Vick in a Box

Week 6

Top Points ($10)

Despite being 0-5 headed into the week against his matchup with the commissioner, I Got Gronkchitis!!! kept the faith and was rewarded with a monster week. Mr. Carlson's Class was eradicated to the tune of 138.28 to 78.10. It seems like a little Ewing Theory was in action as Gronk's 50 dollar prize QB was on bye this week, handing over the reins to a very competent Christian Ponder. Besides the 23 put up by Ponder, Gronk got a big boost from his TE, Flex, K, and DEF positions as they all went 13+ to pick up a struggling WR corps that was inexplicably led by Josh Gordon, he of the 12 catches for a 22 yard average. At least the season isn't a total loss for our lovable Captain Exclamation Point. 

Winner: I Got Gronkchitis!!!

Unique Achievement: "The Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda Award" ($5)

Even I think this one is dumb, since the system was suppose to award unique but positive play, but somehow this one slipped in to award the owner with the misfortune of having the highest scoring non-QB bench player. But someone's gotta get paid and this week it belongs to SUHkkake Ejections, who not only gets the prize, but also the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with beating another opponent by less than 1 point (I blame the Eagles' awful 4th quarter). The top three for the award:

Shonn Greene - 34.10
CJ Spiller - 17.00
Sidney Rice - 14.10

Winner: SUHkkake Ejections

Bad Beat ($30)

Despite my loss by .64, I never had a shot at this 30 bucks. Our leader remains Blood, Sweat, and Beers with his ridiculous loss by .02 also to SUHkkake Ejections. Pretty tough to beat this one. 

Running Award Totals Through Week 6

Lamborghini Percy $20
I Got Gronkchitis!!! $15
The Big Gostkowski $10
Deep Pockets $10
Matty rIce $10
Raider Nation $10
My Vick in a Box $5
SUHkkake Ejections $5
Call me Brady? $5

This week is the Colossal Committee Award.