Yet another thrilling and heartbreaking week is in the books. So let’s review what happened and what’s coming.
FAMILY DIVISION
It was an uneventful week in the Family Division as all three of the big three won, and there was no shakeup in the standings.
Only two of these teams will compete for the Championship in week seventeen. Two weeks to determine which two will make it. While last week was uneventful, this week looks much more interesting, including what may be the biggest game of the year, except for the Championship game.
The Farmville Furies (Maddie) can secure one of the two championship spots with a victory in this game. That would allow the Furies to rest their starters next week in preparation for that championship bout. On the other hand, the Ocean City Flockers (Diane) are a game back of the Furies and the Poultry Platoon (Ericka). Therefore, they must win this week. A loss would probably eliminate the Flockers from contention, while a victory would give them a tie and advantage against the Furies. That is pretty much the description of a must-win game. This matchup is a monster game, and I can’t wait to see who pulls it out.
FIRST DIVISION
Okay, this league is getting very interesting. Last week’s big game ended with the Fruitland Fruit Flies (Tanner) defeating the Louisiana Lycanthropes (Kiley).
This victory has given the Flies a firm grip on first place and a strong chance of making the final four in week seventeen. Their magic number is one. They are in the playoffs with one more win over the last two weeks.
The Baltimore Bulldogs (Katie) stand alone in second place. So, the Bulldogs are also closing in on a playoff spot and have a monster matchup this week.
The Hawaii Volcanos (Paul) are in a group of four teams tied for the last two playoff spots, one game behind the Bulldogs.
There are only two playoff spots for this group of four on the bubble. However, if the Volcanos can upset the Bulldogs this week, that would pull the dogs back into the pack. That scenario would mean three spots for five teams. And, two teams in this group of four play each other in another big game this week.
This matchup looks like a play-in game as the loser will fall under the playoff bubble, and the victor will have a significant advantage. But, more importantly, the victor will own the Louisiana bragging rights. Both teams suffered big losses last week, and only one can regain their playoff momentum.
DYNASTY DIVISION
Well, I guess we will begin with the bad news. The Kobe Beef (Kobe) will be the first relegation team. It was the way they went down that was the most painful. First, let’s remind everyone that the Beef suffered one of the most heartbreaking losses a few years ago when they lost a promotion game to the Saskatchewan Speedsters (Zach) by 0.1 points. Yes, they missed out on promotion by 1 yard.
After missing their opportunity that year, the Beef earned a promotion last year. The Beef started slowly in their first season in the Dynasty league and were only 1-7 after eight weeks. However, they began to rally. Trades added to their overall talent, and wins followed. The Beef won two of their next five games.
Despite their rally late in the year, the Beef entered week 14 in a must-win scenario against the Montana Mountaineers (Chuck). Relegation awaited the loser. Going into the Monday night game, the Beef held a two-point lead and had Kyler Murray playing against Nick Folk. It was looking very good for the Beef. But, on the 3rd play of the game, Murray suffered a devastating injury. And without Murray, this is what happened.
Would Murray have scored nine points and given the Beef the victory? We will never know. Injuries always happen, and it always stinks when you lose a key player early in a game. But it becomes even more painful when they happen on Monday night in a must-win game. Sorry, Kobe, the Mountaineers survive, for now. I am sure we will see Kobe return soon.
Reminders
Two quick reminders. First, the higher-seeded team advances if there is a tie in the playoffs or playdowns. Or, of course, doesn’t advance in the case of the playdowns.
Second, you cannot pick up any players past this week. So make sure you shore up your depth.
PLAYDOWNS
Okay, let’s begin with the playdown matchups this week. Unfortunately, the Montana Mountaineers (Chuck) and West Virginia Blacklungs (Rob S) have byes into the playdown semis. So, we will see them next week.
So, who does play and attempt to celebrate avoiding relegation?
These two teams have already played twice this year, including last week. The West Virginia Rednecks (Wayne) won both of those previous matchups. The Speedsters must be a little salty about those losses. The two Rednecks’ wins over the Speedsters led to a 6-8 record instead of a playoff worthy 8-6. Therefore, the Rednecks have stood squarely in the way of the Speedsters success. And they are still standing there.
Can the Speedsters get some revenge and survive, or will the Rednecks continue their domination and beat them down yet again?
How about the other play down matchup?
The DC Braves (Shehbaz) were in the unenviable position of needing to beat the Minnesota Blizzard (Geri) in back-to-back weeks to make the playoffs. They pulled off one win but fell short in the second game. Now, at 7-7, they must survive the playdowns. The Braves were the number-one scoring team in the league last year, but injuries and bad breaks led to uneven results. And now they have to survive the playdowns. Will their monster backfield of Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, and Alvin Kamara carry them into the offseason?
The Real Dakota Dragons (Dakota) have had a relatively successful first season when you consider the limited resources available in the promotion pool. They tied for 8th in points scored and had some big wins, including last week’s matchup to avoid the playdown bye. One more win, and the Real Dragons can mark their first season as a success. They will have improved and survived. However, Jalen Hurts and Tyreke Hill need one more big showing.
PLAYOFFS
Okay, what about the playoffs? The Phoenix Heat (Steven) had an awe-inspiring season and earned a first-round bye. The Heat finished as the number-one scoring team. While that is impressive, it becomes more impressive when you lead by 160 points. The difference in points between the Heat and second place was larger than the difference in points between the second and eleventh-place finishers. I mean, WOW! The Heat were in their own tier. They dominated and are the team to beat.
Let’s see who is competing for a chance to upset the Heat.
The Myrtle Beach Wave (Rob D) had an impressive season that resulted in nine wins, an Eastern Conference Championship, and the number two seed in the playoffs. Their reward? The six-time champion Minnesota Blizzard (Geri). The Blizzard are not the team you want to meet in the playoffs.
This game is pretty much the second round of playoffs for the Blizzard. The Blizzard picked up a monster win in a play-in game last week against the DC Braves. That win broke a five-game losing streak. Do the Blizzard now have momentum entering the playoffs?
Both managers have done an excellent job working their rosters to find production and victories. Who will get the big win and advance?
It would seem like the 8-6 Louisville Leafblowers (Shane) are an underdog against the 10-4 New Orleans Hurricanes (Jamie). I mean, this is the Leaf’s first playoff appearance, and they are on the road against the seven-time champion Canes. However, the Canes have not been strong this year and needed to work their roster and waiver wire to pick up wins. You know, better lucky than good.
On the other hand, the Leaf were the second-highest-scoring team in the league and had some close, high-scoring losses. So, in reality, the “mighty” Canes are the underdog to the strong roster of the upstart Leaf.
The Canes are coming in riding a six-game winning streak. So, they are probably due for a loss. But the Canes are also coming in riding a four-game playoff losing streak. So, maybe they are due for a win. I guess, as always, just flip a coin and hope for the best. Only one Cane streak will remain after this week.
Our final matchup is between two recent champions. The Virginia Pioneers (Dave) won the title in 2016, while the Minnetonka Chippewas (Greg) won in 2018. Both teams have also lost a Super Bowl recently. The Pioneers lost to the Phoenix Heat in 2019, and the Chippewas lost to the Minnesota Blizzard in 2020. These two teams are regularly in the playoffs and attempting a run and a title, and here they are again. The bottom line, in four of the last six years, one or the other of these two franchises was in the Super Bowl. So, there is a pretty good chance the victor goes on to win next week as well.
The Chippewas are a great example of the ups and downs of fantasy football and how fast things can change. Two years ago, the Chippewas were in the Super Bowl. Last year they played in and survived the Toilet Bowl. And now they are back in the playoffs, poised to make a run. Success in one year does not mean you will continue to have success the following year. It changes quickly.
Just ask the Montana Mountaineers or the West Virginia Blacklungs. Those two played each other in last year’s Super Bowl, and now both teams are in the semis of the Playdowns, one loss from the Toilet Bowl. Fantasy football is a rough business, or, well, stupid.
Good luck to everyone, see you next week.