As I predicted, I now have an additional loss in both my fantasy leagues. A bit more than halfway through the season and here’s how things stand.
Big Money Father/Son League
- Who – Palmer, Alexander, Portis, Boldin, Harrison, Gonzalez, Kaeding
- What – I started this league off strong with a 4-0 record. I even beat the team with Tom Brady, who is now #1 in the league at 7-1. I then dropped the last 4 games to fall to 7th with a 4-4 record.
- Why – For the most part, my RB core has been underperforming. Looking back, this doesn’t really surprise me given that it’s Alexander and Portis but I didn’t see it when I drafted them. Portis is 13th overall and Alexander is 24th. That’s simply unacceptable when it comes to starting RBs. Toss in injuries to Boldin and Harrison and you have the makings of a disasterous fall from grace. My 3rd WR, Berrian, is my most consistent performer at 25th overall.
Work League
- Who – Manning, Barber, Jones (DET & NYJ), C. Johnson, Welker, E. Johnson, Vinatieri
- What – I started 0-3 (see draft details below) and climbed to 2-3 before dropping the next 3. This team’s record just plain sucks at 2-6 for 9th overall.
- Why – This team is actually better than it used to be. I drafted Lee Evans, while Moss was still on the board, and Terry Glenn… what a waste. I picked Crayton up to fill in for Glenn and just got Welker effective last week. Welker is the #5 receiver overall and amazingly he was still available, so that should help. My schedule is the real reason this team has such a poor record. It’s actually 5th in points for but 10th in points against. The average PA for the league, excluding me, is 744. My PA for the year? 920. I’ve scored 121, 101, 101 and 98 in 4 of my 6 losses. My wins were 90 and 73 points and when I scored 86 in week 6, my opponent got 165. Ouch.
In nearly every league I’ve seen or heard about, Tom Brady is on the #1 team. His production has skyrocketed this year and I think it’s higher than most expected. Looking at some quick stats, he appears to have ~65% more points than the #2 guy (Romo) in leagues that equally weight TDs and ~35% more in those that weaken passing TDs. We all knew the Pats were gonna be good but there’s no way he makes it to the 3rd round if people had any inclination of what he would do. The pisser is I’ve had Brady the last two years on at least one team and he’s always been a consistent, but middle-of-the-pack sorta guy. Argh.
Hopefully I can save my 4-4 season but I have no expectation of making the playoffs in the work league. If I don’t make the playoffs in either league, this will be the first time since I’ve been doing fantasy football to not make it in at least one league. Granted I’m only in two this year (versus 4 at my peak), but still. At least I’m 3rd overall in my family’s pick’em league.