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Congratulations to Just go away Favre, a.k.a ahtrap, for winning the official Pride of Detroit fantasy football league.  He had an amazing Sunday night combination of Brandon Jacobs and DeAngelo Williams that combined for 7 touchdowns and a whopping 62 points.  Congrats to Calvin and the Chipmunks, a.k.a. mgersz, for finishing second.  It would have taken a lot to beat a team with both Williams and Jacobs on it.

In the third-place game, I had an absolutely terrible coach rating and ended up losing in blowout fashion.  I had Tarvaris Jackson and Visanthe Shiancoe on the bench, leading to a pathetic finish to the season for me.  The Gosder Cherilus Posse, a.k.a. The Prodigy, finished strong to end up in third-place.

LA Leos (sgdbw90), who was actually was in second-to-last place in the regular season, beat Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays (THE_J) 102.26-96.18 to win the consolation playoffs.  Underdogs (Sig Sauer) beat SnotKnocker’s (Ace BangerTheGuru) 103.84-73.84 in the 9th place game.

In the POD overflow league, Pineapple Express, who was actually the #6 seed, beat Raging Rhinos to win the championship.  It was a great run for Pineapple Express, especially since he finished last in his division during the regular season.  Granted, every team in his division made the playoffs and it was the toughest one in the league, but it’s still unusual for a #6 seed to win the championship.

I would like to give a big thanks to all of the people that participated in my two fantasy football leagues this year.  I had a blast and can’t wait to do it again next year.

I’m officially down to one fantasy team, as I was eliminated from the official POD fantasy football league playoffs.  My lack of talent finally caught up with me and ended my season for good.  I struggled mightily down the stretch and barely made the playoffs.  Had it not been for a great start to the season that really was nothing more than a fluke, my season would have ended before now.  Either way, Calvin and the Chipmunks is on his way to the finals, where he will face Just go away Favre.

In the consolation playoffs, LA Leos (sgdbw90) beat Underdogs (Sig Sauer) 76.02-67.54 and Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays (THE_J) beat SnotKnocker’s (Ace BangerTheGuru) 96.24-64.8, setting up the finals in that bracket.

In the POD overflow league, Raging Rhinos and Pineapple Express will square off in the finals.  Pineapple Express is actually the #6 seed in the playoffs, meaning he is one win away from pulling off a great run to win the league championship.

In the SBN/AOL league, I will play Stampede Blue’s BigBlueShoe in the semifinals.  This matchup scares the crap out of me for two reasons: 1) BigBlueShoe is responsible for two of my four losses this season, and 2) All but one player scored in double digits for BigBlueShoe this past week.  Hopefully the third time will be a charm for me, as a win puts me in the finals.

Normally scoring 59.3 points in the playoffs will get you eliminated.  Thankfully, though, my opponent only managed to score 47.6 points.  I definitely got lucky with my matchup, but I will take it at this point.  I ended up getting beat 128.4-71.84 in the POD overflow league, meaning I have been eliminated from the playoffs.  In the SBN/AOL league, I have a first-round bye, so I will get to relax this coming week of play.

With the win in the official POD league, I advance to the semifinals to play Calvin and the Chipmunks (mgersz), who scored 88 points this past week (he was on a bye).  In the other playoff game from this past week, The Gosder Cherilus Posse (The Prodigy) beat Detroit’s Few Good Men (ReichardZ) to move on to the semifinals to play Just go away Favre (ahtrap), who scored a whopping 143.1 points during his bye week.

Here is a full look at The Gosder Cherilus Posse’s win:

In the consolation playoffs, Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays (THE_J) beat Rudys Warhawks (isjim) 83.16-81.94 and LA Leos (sgdbw90) beat West Coast Lions (LVLionfan) 84.88-70.36.  Just last week West Coast Lions beat LA Leos, but things turned out differently this time around, meaning LA Leos will play Underdogs (Sig Sauer) in the consolation semifinals.  Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays will play SnotKnocker’s (Ace BangerTheGuru).

Here is a look at the official Pride of Detroit fantasy football league’s playoff picture:

#1 Just go away Favre (ahtrap) [10-3] will play the winner of this game:

#4 The Gosder Cherilus Posse (The Prodigy) [9-4] vs. #5 Detroit’s Few Good Men (ReichardZ) [7-6]

#2 Calvin and the Chipmunks (mgersz) [9-4] will play the winner of this game:

#3 Motown Madmen (Jettero2112) [6-7] vs. #6 Better Than Millen (me) [7-6]

I would say having the 6th seed is a great thing considering my opponent has a worse record than me.  The only reason he is the #3 seed is because he won the awful Bobby Layne Division.  The other first-round match up will be between two teams in the same division that each won a game against one another this season.  The #1 seed, Just go away Favre, awaits the winner of that game.

Here is a look at the consolation playoffs in the official POD fantasy football league:

#7 Underdogs (Sig Sauer) [7-6] will play the winner of this game:

#10 West Coast Lions (LVLionfan) [5-8] vs. #11 LA Leos (sgdbw90) [4-9]

#8 SnotKnocker’s (Ace BangerTheGuru) [6-7] will play the winner of this game:

#9 Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays (THE_J) [5-8] vs. #12 Rudys Warhawks (isjim) [3-10]

The POD overflow fantasy football league’s playoffs are also set, and I ended up with the 3rd seed.  I actually tied for the league’s second best record with two other teams but didn’t win the tiebreaker to get a first-round bye.  For the SBN/AOL league, the playoffs don’t start for another week, but I have already clinched a first-round bye.

Heading into the final week of the season on a three-game losing streak is never a good thing for a team’s playoff hopes.  Because of the three consecutive losses I suffered, I needed a couple things to happen in order to make the postseason.  First things first, I had to come away with a victory, which I did, as you can see below.

Now that I took care of my business, I had to root against Underdogs, who had a 7-5 record going into Week 13.  My record was 6-6, so in order to achieve a tie, Underdogs had to lose.  Thanks to Just go away Favre, who beat Underdogs 104.12-99.5 despite having Brian Westbrook on the bench, that’s exactly what happened.  I now have the same record as Underdogs, and I believe I have the edge in the tiebreaker.  I would like to flat out say that I am in the playoffs, but it’s not as simple as that.

The other 7-5 team going into Week 13, Detroit’s Few Good Men, actually got beat by 2-10 Rudys Warhawks by a surprising score of 111.8-64.78.  That means that Detroit’s Few Good Men has the same record as me, but since he beat me earlier this season, I believe he holds the tiebreaker.  Even so, that may not matter since he lost to Underdogs in Week 4.  I’m not exactly sure how a three-way tie would be broken, but I believe I have a playoff spot no matter what.  I guess we’ll find out for sure in the morning when everything is updated.  Once that happens, I will put up a new post about the playoffs.

Moving on to the POD overflow league, I won 110.88-73.66 to move into a tie with two other teams for the second best record in the league.  I don’t believe I will win the tiebreaker to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs, but again, we’ll have to see how everything shakes out.  In the SBN/AOL league, I won 82.05-52.65 to clinch a division title.  As it stands right now, I have the best record in the league, and with only one week left in the regular season, I will probably end up with a first-round bye.

It seems like there is a pattern with the three leagues I am in based on when the leagues drafted.  The official POD league drafted before the other two, and I am on the edge of not making the playoffs.  In the POD overflow league, which drafted second, I won my division.  Finally, in the SBN/AOL league, which drafted third, I have the best record.  Just as I thought before the season even started, I drafted better each time through.  I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind next year to ensure that I don’t pick Terrell Owens over a good quarterback ever again.  That’s what happened in the official POD league draft, and it really set me back as I haven’t had a solid QB all season long.  I guess the phrase “practice makes perfect” even applies to fantasy football.

Anyways, a look at how the rest of Week 13 went in the official POD league can be found below.

This was a very rough week for me in fantasy football.  I not only lost all three of my games, but I may have just been knocked out of the playoffs with my loss in the official POD league.  Michael Turner and Terrell Owens did their best to give me a shot at winning, but I simply didn’t have enough fire power.

In the POD overflow league, I lost 111.52-94.16 and had a terrible coach rating of 73%.  My optimum was 128.02, mainly because I had Philip Rivers, Leon Washington, and Mark Bradley on the bench.  I’m still 8-4 in that league and will probably win my division, so no big worries there.

In the SBN/AOL league, I’m playing for the division title and a first-round bye.  I have clinched a playoff spot already, but I am going to have to fight off the second-place team in my division, who is now only a game behind for first-place after beating me 120.4-108.  Lance Moore did his best last night to keep me in the game, but my opponent had Aaron Rodgers, Michael Turner, and the Buccaneers defense/special team.  Those three put up over 90 points combined by themselves, so it’s not a surprise that I lost.

With one week left in the regular season, here are the standings in the official POD league (teams in italics would make the playoffs if the season already ended):

Charlie Sanders Division

1. Just go away Favre (9-3)
2. Underdogs (7-5)
3. Better Than Millen (6-6)
4. Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays (5-7)

Bobby Layne Division

1. SnotKnocker’s (6-6)
2. Motown Madmen (5-7)
3. West Coast Lions (4-8)
4. LA Leos (4-8)

Doak Walker Division

1. The Gosder Cherilus Posse (9-3)
2. Calvin and the Chipmunks (8-4)
3. Detroit’s Few Good Men (7-5)
4. Rudys Warhawks (2-10)

For me to make the playoffs, I would have to win my game and hope that one of the 7-5 teams lose.  Since Detroit’s Few Good Men is playing the worst team in the league, Rudys Warhawks, I’m going to have to hope that Just go away Favre gets a “W” over Underdogs.  Should Underdogs and I tie, I would probably win the tiebreaker as I will likely end up scoring more points than him (my cushion right now is over 100 points I believe).  The final week of the season certainly will be exciting with playoff spots on the line.

You can check out the other results from the official POD league below.

It is never good to lose a divisional game, especially late in the season, but that is exactly what I did in Week 11.  Underdogs beat me to move into a tie for second-place in our division.  Just go away Favre is now 8-3 and appears to be running away with the Charlie Sanders Division, so now the teams behind him (myself, Underdogs, and Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays) are battling it out for a wild card spot.

Maize ‘n’ Blue Jays is 5-6 after a loss to the division leader, and Underdogs’ victory over me made us both 6-5.  Detroit’s Few Good Men is also 6-5, and since the tiebreaker for the wild card is points scored, I believe he and I would make the playoffs if the season ended today.

One of the biggest stories from Week 11 was the controversial finish to the Steelers-Chargers game.  The Chargers were trailing 11-10 with only a few seconds left, and they tried to lateral the ball around in hopes a miracle would happen.  Troy Polamalu broke up one of the laterals and returned the fumble for a touchdown.  Not only did Pittsburgh suddenly cover the spread, but fantasy football players with the Steelers D/ST got somewhere around 8 points (2 for a fumble recovery and 6 for a TD).

The referees took some time to talk about the last play and eventually determined that an illegal forward pass had occurred.  Therefore, no fumble happened and no touchdown happened.  The call turned out to be completely wrong, and the impact the miscue had was huge on both the gambling and fantasy football worlds.  It is estimated that a $64 million swing happened in the gambling world due to the incorrect call, and for fantasy football the call lost or won games in many cases.

In the official POD league, Calvin and the Chipmunks lost by just over 6 points.  He had the Steelers D/ST in his starting lineup, and a correct call would have meant that he had beat Detroit’s Few Good Men, which would have changed the entire playoff picture.

In the Pride of Detroit overflow league, I played somebody that had the Steelers D/ST, and I only won by a score of 76.24-74.32.  When the Steelers scored that touchdown at the end, I was beyond pissed off as I thought I had lost.  Then, as the call was changed, I was ecstatic since I won thanks to the referee’s mistake.  I shouldn’t have let it be that close in the first place, as I had a terrible coach rating of 66%.  I made the mistake of benching Leon Washington, Jerricho Cotchery, and the Packers D/ST.  Had I started even one of them, the Steelers-Chargers finish wouldn’t have made a difference.

There was no controversy in the SBN/AOL league since the owner of the Steelers D/ST had them on the bench in favor of the Panthers.  If the Steelers D/ST had been in the starting lineup, another fantasy football player would have been screwed over since the margin he lost by was around 4 points.  The controversy was moot, though, since the Steelers didn’t start.  Thankfully I wasn’t involved in that game anyways, as I won 101.85-63.05 and had a perfect coach rating to improve to 9-2 on the season.

A full look at all of the results from the official POD league can be found below.

I ended up losing this week, and the loss itself was frustrating based on the closeness of the score alone, but it was even worse because of what happened at the end of the 49ers-Cardinals game last night.  The 49ers were on the 2-yard line with around 20 seconds left in the game, and Frank Gore got the ball.  He fell to the ground and quickly crawled into the end zone. Unfortunately, a Cardinals defender barely got a hand on him, meaning Gore was down by contact and no touchdown happened.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, Gore was in my starting lineup, and if he had scored a touchdown I would have won and improved to 7-3 on the season.  Instead, I am 6-4 and am now in second-place because Just go away Favre’s opponent forgot to adjust his lineup and left Adrian Peterson on the bench.  Had Peterson been in the starting lineup, Just go away Favre would have lost and I would at least be tied for first right now.

Things thankfully did go my way in the POD overflow league and in the SBN/AOL league.  In the overflow league I ended up winning 113.82-91.48 even though I had a coach rating of 77%.  My coach rating was so bad because I had Jay Cutler, who scored 39.78 points, and the Packers defense, which racked up 19 points, on the bench.  Thankfully neither of those mistakes mattered, as I still won comfortably.

In the SBN/AOL league, I won 83.2-81.9.  The closeness of the game was thanks to the battle between the 49ers and Cardinals.  Kurt Warner was my opponent’s starting QB and made this very close.  When Warner threw his third TD pass of the game, I thought I had lost.  Thankfully, though, passing TDs are only worth 4 points rather than 6 in the SBN/AOL league.  If this was like the two Pride of Detroit leagues, I would have had a crushing defeat.

The rest of the official POD league scores can be found below.

I was very lucky to play an opponent that only scored 57 points this week.  Scoring only 75.28 points is usually going to get you beat, but this week I caught a break.  Even if I would have lost I did have a pretty good excuse that was waiting to be used.  All but two of my bench players were on a bye.  On top of that, Matt Hasselbeck, who wasn’t on a bye, didn’t play due to an injury.  That meant that I had only one active bench player this week, and he was a kicker.

Here are the details of my win:

In the POD overflow league, I won 88.58-62.46 and had a 98% coach rating.  The win improved my record to 6-3, which is good enough for first place in my division.  In the SBN/AOL league, I suffered my first embarrassing defeat.  I got beat 104.75-61.4.  Before this, my only other loss was by .08 of a point, so this thankfully was a rare occurrence.

I’d like to say that it will be the last blowout I suffer in the SBN/AOL league, but injuries are becoming a problem for me.  Tony Romo has been out for the last few weeks and is on a bye this coming Sunday.  The player I replaced him with, Kyle Orton, is out for a month with an injury, meaning my QB situation is not looking very good.  To make matters even worse, Reggie Bush has been out with an injury, leaving me with a shortage of running backs.

Anyways, here are the rest of the results from the official POD league.