It's that time of the year again when everyone's blood pressure and stress level are elevated significantly due to the closing of our fantasy football regular season. This is written before the Monday night game between the Steelers and Bengals take place. We have already had some games go final, starting with the Beets by Dre (5-8) vs The Unquenchables (5-7-1) matchup. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LEAGUE HISTORY, TERRANCE HAS BEEN ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION! It was a good run Terrance, but when we invited you into the league, we didn't think you would be as good as you are. Terrance has the second best winning percentage in league history at .565, right behind Aaron with .571. Terrance's 5 playoff appearances are a record, and the fact that he did it consecutively leaves behind a record which may not be matched anytime soon. Sean finally put Terrance's team down with a 30-pointer from Tyreek the Freak.
The Nashville Nightmares (10-3) led by Ryan Schwegler have finished as the regular season champion for the second year in a row. Too bad we don't have an award for that. It is worth pointing out that if Antonio Brown finishes with -10 yards and 7 lost fumbles, Schweg could lose this game. He has a 14-point lead over Jarrett's team, Decker Barely knew her (4-9), who has had an unlucky season to say the least and is probably ready to be done with this year so we can try it all over in 2018. This is the time of year to start thinking about keepers (or maybe that's all the time for the advanced fantasy players). Suddenly, Adam Thielen looks like a pretty darn good value for the 10th round. But Jarrett might also go with Kirk if he ends up in a great location, or maybe Golden Tate as the steady target monster. A few guys could be interesting keepers for Schweg next year. Larry Fitzgerald is ranked as the WR #10 which is crazy for his age. If he gives it another try with Palmer in 2018, Fitz could be a solid keeper. Samaje Perine could be named the early-down back for the Redskins next year in an offense that might lean heavily on the run with Cousins potentially signing with another franchise. Looking back at Terrance and Sean's teams, I would guess they'd keep Mark Ingram and Tyreek Hill, respectively.
The "Hansel, He's so hot right now" mid-season award goes to Jacob and his squad, Nothing runs like Ameer. His team is on a serious run, winning their last 4 games. No doubt Alvin Kamara is Jacob's keeper for next year, while I would guess Joe Mixon, Zach Ertz or Derrick Henry would be who Erik is considering. Jacob is currently winning against the division leader, Erik's The Schwifty Niners, by a score of 131-65. Erik has Le'Veon Bell, Joe Mixon and the Steelers D/ST gearing up tonight and going for 66 points. That's only 22 each! Let's entertain this idea and say Lev gets 30. Mixon gets 100 yards and 2 TDs to finish with 22. The Steelers D/ST would have to get a strip-sack fumble recovery TD (the coveted 9-point play), keep Cincy in the 14-20 point range (4 points), and pick off Dalton on a late hailmary to finish with 15 points and have Erik win 132-131. WOW! ....but now let's be realistic and assume that Jacob wins this game and improves to 8-5 while Erik falls to 8-4-1. Jacob clinches a playoff spot with a win in this game and Erik has already clinched, leaving only one more golden ticket to be found. And their are only 2 potential Charlies....
Your commish's weird-ass team, Mark Murphy's Law of Averages (8-5), got it done against Shady and the Tramp (5-8) by a score of 91-64, thanks to 27 combined points from 2 tight ends. Fun fact: Dak and Zeke are the only two players that remain on my roster from the draft. I think Alshon Jeffery is my early favoirte for a keeper, but Evan Engram is an exciting player. That being said, New York is a dumpster 'fire' (that's a pun, WackADoo), that seems like will be a little unstable for 2018. I think Aaron will end up keeping Jamaal Williams because I believe he will emerge as the best running back in Green Bay. This game officially eliminates Aaron from playoff contention, but it does not yet clinch a playoff spot for myself. Which leads me to tonight's showcase!....
The defending champ is up against it tonight. He is an angry, hungry, backed-up-into-a-corner python that is deliriously striking at anything that moves. Only the most brave and mighty can wield the sword to cut off the Snake's head before it regenerates itself over the course of the NFL offseason. If the time has come for him to snake out of a hole, tonight would be the night after losing 6 of his last 7 games. New England Cam Crowder (6-6) faces a 5-point deficit to the current last-place team, Mitch Betta' Have My Money (4-8) managed by Chase. We all dream of a snake-free fantasy landscape as Chase goes off to battle in an attempt to officially eliminate Jake from playoff contention, and are hoping that Ben Roethlisberger can score no fewer than 5 less points than A.J. Green. Big Ben is averaging 25 points per game over the last 3 weeks, while A.J. Green has averaged 11.3. The Steelers are the 7th best defense in terms of fantasy points given up to wide receivers, so THAT will be what to watch for in this game. I think Travis Kelce is locked in as Chase's keeper, while Brees, Dion Lewis or Michael Crabtree might be who Jake is considering.
BREAK IT DOWN:
If Chase beats Jake, then our four playoff teams are set: Schweg, Erik, Jacob and Ryan.
If Jake beats Chase, then only Schweg, Erik and Jacob are in. Jake and Ryan will play week 14 in an epic 'play-in game' to qualify for the playoffs.