On draft day, we would eventually find out that what we thought was up was actually down. Nate took home the prize for best draft with a lot of trades and seemed to be in prime position to repeat his 2018 championship run. Sean on the other hand...well...did not get a good draft grade, and ended up with a D+, which he colorfully infused into his team name for the season.
The regular season got off to a bang with JP and Nick doing some heavy lifting to see who would take home the first weekly pot of the season. JP with Saquon Barkley and Lamar Jackson edged out Nick's duo of Mahomes and Sammy Watkins for that first weekly pot...and we never heard from them again (at least until the very end when it didn't really matter anymore).
Jeff, who had never had much regular season success before, nary making a playoff run, was rejuvenated this year behind Michael Thomas and probably the best fantasy defense of the last decade with the New England Patriots. He used this duo to power his way to an 11-3 record, a personal best for him, and the #1 seed in the playoffs. he was joined by Patrick, perennial semifinal loser Chris, and none other than Mr. D+ himself Sean: who proudly threw up 2 middle fingers at the rest of the league all the way across the pond in Paris. That'll show em for that D+ mockery on draft day.
Before we get to the playoff recaps, let's take a look at who won each weekly pot from the season:
Week 1: JP
Week 2: Jeff
Week 3: Sean
Week 4: Jeff
Week 5: Chris
Week 6: Patrick
Week 7: Jeff
Week 8: Sean
Week 9: Zach
Week 10: Patrick
Week 11: Nate
Week 12: Bruce
Week 13: Bruce (by 0.02 points!)
Week 14: Sean
Next is who won the Fantasy MVP???? Let's take a look at the list:
4th runner up: Dalvin Cook (Min RB)-The running game was all that the Vikings had going for them this year as Kirk Cousins sucks and that pretty much diminished any fantasy value for their receiving corps. Cook did yeoman's work but got the occasional spell from Alexander Mattison which hampered his point production particularly down the stretch.
3rd runner up: Christian McCaffrey (Car RB)-McCaffrey was on his way to setting point production records for running backs, topping 1000 yards running and receiving, but even a fantasy MVP needs some sort of supporting cast production, and he didn't get it from the rest of Nick's squad save for a little bit from 2018 MVP Mahomes and 1 week from Sammy Watkins.
2nd runner up: Michael Thomas (NO WR)-Jeff would argue that Thomas was more influential to him winning games than his other prized possession, but in the world of fantasy, the MVP, like other things is just that: a fantasy.
1st runner up: Lamar Jackson (Bal QB)-Lamar rewrote the book on how to play the quarterback position in 2019, breaking Michael Vick's QB rushing record. And he could throw the ball too, with 3 consecutive weeks of the team scoring 40 points (and Jackson topping 40 himself). However, like McCaffrey, in our league, he did not have enough support in the right places to put JP's squad over the top. Even Saquon couldn't do it.
This means that the 2019 MIISFFL Fantasy MVP...or should I say MVPs........is
THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS DEFENSE
For the first time in Fantasy Football history, the MVP of the league goes to a non-traditional position. Jeff argued that all the Pats D did was make his victories more lopsided. However, in a game where lopsided victories mean more bragging rights than close ones, we decided to award the MVP this year to the defense. Jeff may have continued to win, which is ultimately all that matters, but hey, it will look good in the history books. Congratulations to defensive genius and serial cameraman Bill Belichick and his glorious bunch of cheaters!
Back to the playoffs, in the semifinals, Patrick took on Chris, who is 0 for his lifetime in this round of the playoffs, never once reaching the MIISFFL promised land. He took last offseason to do some soul searching of his own to see what it was that prevented him from ever winning a semifinal game. Well, whatever he found, it just wasn't good enough as Patrick clobbered him 156-116. The big key was a breakout game from Julio Jones, who did not have a season up to his standards to parallel a terrible one down in Atlanta. But Patrick got the big game from the big #1 WR when it mattered the most to cruise to the Menace Bowl. In the other semifinal, Jeff took on Mr. D+ Sean. Jeff proceeded to say "that's cute" and thumbed his nose at the playoff upstart promply dispatching him 138-104. His MVP candidates did the job with 26 points each plus a 23-point boost from Mark Inghram, who loves Lamar Jackson.
Don't think he'll ever wipe that smile off his face. Now we are set to look at:
MENACE BOWL XI
Patrick vs. Jeff. Jeff has his chance to complete his coronation and Patrick has a chance to pull the upset that will also make him the 2nd 2-time winner of the league, as he also won the title in 2010 in Menace Bowl II. Jeff got 1 MVP performance from Michael Thomas, but the Pats D did not find the end zone themselves, only scoring 9 points. Kenyan Drake had 34, but 4 players failed to score more than 5 points, and that is just hard to overcome. Patrick's squad may have lost in another dimension, but 129 points combined with more balanced scoring across the board was more than enough. By majority decision, and a score of 129-109, for the first time since 2010, your MIISFFL champion is:
PATRICK SMALL
Patrick wins his 2nd MIISFFL title, a cheap trophy, and a lot of cash. Congratulations Patrick! Here are the final winnings from MIISFFL 2019:
Patrick-$465 and trophy (Champion and 2 weeklies)
Jeff-$165 (Runner up and 3 weeklies)
Sean-$90 (Semifinalist and 3 weeklies)
Chris-$80 (Semifinalist and 1 weekly)
Bruce-$10 (2 weeklies)
Zach-$5 (1 weekly)
JP-$5 (1 weekly)
Remember that you can roll your 2019 earnings into your 2020 dues should you so desire.
Also, starting in 2020, the pot is going to get a bit bigger. No, I am not raising the league dues. However, as you know, I have collected a $5 rake from the $75 league due for the last several years. As commissioner, it is my right to collect a small fee for service. Anybody who challenged it I welcomed to take over the job. Nobody did (nor really wanted to), so I stayed commissioner and the rake stayed in place. Now I am 10 years older, wiser (I think), and I do FFL for the fun of it much more so than for money (I am still happy to put on the draft party at my house and people like to bring their own beer anyway). Therefore, starting in 2020, I am ELIMINATING THE $5 RAKE AND PUTTING THAT MONEY DIRECTLY INTO THE WINNER'S SHARE. Meaning, the winner's base earnings goes from $455 to $515. The rest of the payouts will remain the same.
See you all next year!
No comments:
Post a Comment