Fantasy Hippo: Week 14
Quiet day today...
But not a quiet weekend for fantasy football, where the first round of the playoffs provided plenty of excitement. Too much excitement for me, actually. Maybe pick some other week to be held catch-less through three quarters next time, Brandin Cooks.
Anyway, onto the games. Note that if you won or were on bye this week, you'll be playing next week, while if you lost, you won't play until next week.
Winner's Bracket
Nohrian Scum 113.24, Dongo's Gridiron Gamers 107.24
The highest scoring team in the league found itself down by 75 points at the end of the early games before mounting a furious comeback, fueled by the trio of Russell Wilson (22 points), Todd Gurley (26), and Le'Veon Bell (31). I went to bed on Sunday night thinking the game was pretty well in hand with the score essentially tied and two players on my side (New England's defense and Brandin Cooks) yet to play compared with none for Dongo. This actually ended up almost costing me the game with the Patriots' defense coming within a touchdown of scoring negative points, and Brandin Cooks being held without a catch until the Patriots' final drive. Dongo, meanwhile, got fantastic bounce back performance from Jordan Howard (28 points) and another strong game from Jamaal Williams (24). The difference, however, may very well have been Rob Gronkowski's suspension; in his absence, Jimmy Graham was held catch-less (0).
ItErtzWhenEifert 106.52, Arminillo 91.04
Another game not decided until Monday night. Ludicrous snapped his three game losing streak, posting his highest point total since week 7. Kareem Hunt (20 points) and Jarvis Landry (17) got back on track after a few disappointing outings for each player, but the difference makers were the Broncos. Denver's DST has now scored 14 points or more in consecutive games after not posting a double digit outing since week 2, while Brandon McManus (13) kicked multiple field goals for the first time since week 10. Arminillo got solid games from Leonard Fournette and Mike Thomas (18 points each), but was let down by Kirk Cousins (9), Mike Davis (7), and Stephen Hauschka (1), and while the rest of his team played reasonably well, it wasn't enough to make up for the lack of production from those three.
Consolation Bracket
Lousy Pack 83.66, SCAB 65.84
Despite Rol's fears of targeting, it seems SCAB still couldn't be bothered to field a complete team; Mike Gillislee was once again a healthy scratch. For SCAB, Matt Ryan (7 points), Mason Crosby (3), and Seattle's DST (1) all scored well below average, while Rol got solid output from Davante Adams (20 points) and Phillip Rivers (21). SCAB lost their sixth game in a row, while Rol wins his second consecutive.
The Loins 103.04, HanginwithHernandez 72.88
Speaking of losing streaks, Shad lost his seventh and will now have the (honor?) of playing SCAB in the 11th place game. Something has to give, tune in for all the excitement two weeks from now. Anyway, Blowover was buoyed by Chris Boswell (17 points), Cooper Kupp (18), and Golden Tate (15), while Shad had over 51 points between Dak Prescott and DeAndre Hopkins, and a combined 21 from the rest of his team.
So now we move on to the semifinals, where the teams that kicked their feet up and watched us first round peasants sweat it out last week have to join the fray. In the winner's bracket, we have...
ARCH (11-2) vs. ITERTZWHENEIFERT (9-5)
Previous games: Ertz won 113.60-81.62 (Week 3), Arch won 122.00-100.34 (Week 13)
The rubber match between these two teams. Arch has won five straight, and newfound fantasy star Alex Collins, who has scored in double digits each of the past four weeks, has played no small role. Angelus has no shortage of talent at the RB position, with Mark Ingram and LeSean McCoy each having the potential to go off for 20 points or more on any given week. AJ Green is a serious threat too, at least when he's not getting into fights with cornerbacks. On the flipside, Ludicrous will probably need big games from Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt, who have been hit or miss as of late. This game will also be the last of Ezekiel Elliott's suspension; he'll return in time for the final matchup of the season.
NOBLETEAM360 (9-4) vs. NOHRIAN SCUM (11-3)
Previous game: Nohrian Scum won 125.86-78.94 (Week 7)
The two longest winning streaks in the league collide with a spot in the championship on the line: I have won 9 in a row while Noble has won 6. Perhaps the most interesting storyline is that of talent vs. matchups; on the surface, it seems like my team is better geared towards racking up fantasy points based on the players, but as with last week, a number of difficult matchups await my best players. Meanwhile, Noble's players benefit from some seemingly easier opponents; Melvin Gordon plays against Kansas City (30th ranked rushing defense), Kenyan Drake against Buffalo (26th ranked rushing defense), Cam Newton against Green Bay (24th ranked passing defense), and Keenan Allen against KC as well (28th passing). The one upside for me is that Le'Veon Bell gets New England, which is reeling from injuries and has had serious trouble stopping the run this year. Noble is the last Nohr division team competing for the championship.
Over in the Consolation Bracket...
THE LONGEST FOOT (7-6) vs. THE LOINS (5-9)
Previous Matchups: The Longest Foot won 56.02-55.56 (Week 5) and 91.48-79.10 (Week 12)
Despite the difference in record, this is expected to be a relatively close game, if the fantasy score projections are anything to go by (and they usually aren't). Seth will be looking for a bounce back game from Tom Brady, who has really struggled from a fantasy standpoint over the past two weeks, and Alvin Kamara, who only managed 3 points in a loss to Atlanta last week. Perhaps this is just Seth's players getting all of their off days out of the way while he's on bye. Meanwhile, Blowover King will be looking for some consistency from his RBs; Lamar Miller only has two double digit games in his past six, while Isaiah Crowell has four double digit games in his past six after starting the season with 0 in his first 7.
ALPHA MALES (5-8) vs. LOUSY PACK (6-8)
Previous Matchups: Alpha Males won 92.00-75.72 (Week 3) and 115.58-106.66 (Week 12)
Mike has the toughest task ahead of him out of any team playing this week: Finding a replacement for Carson Wentz. Andy Dalton is Mike's backup, but he's playing Xavier Rhodes and the Vikings' defense this week, so picking someone up off waivers may be preferable. Rol knows something about replacing QBs; Phillip Rivers has filled in about as well as anyone can for Aaron Rodgers. Davante Adams has started to pick up steam over the past few weeks; 4 out of the past 5 games with at least 12.5 points. Mike may also need to find a replacement for Tevin Coleman, who suffered a head injury against New Orleans and may or may not be available for Monday night's game against the Bucs.
