Boring Home-League Rant
I'm in 14-team league with basically the same people (with about four teams rotated every so often) for the past 15 years.
Yes, I'm dating myself. I've had success, but haven't won in too long a time. Six teams make the playoffs. It was four teams out of 12 before we expanded a few years ago. I've made the playoffs every year since Neal Anderson and James Brooks were my starting running backs (Anderson got hurt, I think, and I just missed the dance). That's 13 or 14 years straight making the playoffs. I've had the most total points at least a half-dozen times. I've had the second most points a handful of others. But I've only won two championships as I've had the absolute worst luck in the playoffs.
This league is like the wild west. Seriously, one guy had his father come in this year and wouldn't advise him how to navigate our Byzantine keeper rules. So instead of tossing everyone back and getting the No. 1 pick and LT, he kept the No. 4 overall slot and ended up with Priest Holmes and Alge Crumpler as his only keeper of any note (and we don't even have to play tight ends). Game over for dad. I've seen drafts in friendly leagues where people help out owners late who are fumbling around for guys to fill out their roster. In my league, you offer that and you'll be shot right between the eyes by five guys.
This is long expostion to set up the fact that we don't allow any transactions after Week 13. The trading deadline is Week 11. And once you spend your free agent money, you can't make zero bids (and the minimum is like $10). Owners hope someone will get hopelessly screwed (just not them).
Now, I was floundering around this season until Larry Johnson paid dividends. But my QB situation was hit or miss. Drew Brees was solid, but was heavily invested in him anyway because I have Gates (we have bonus scoring for tight ends that basically makes them about 25 percent more valuable than a WR with the same stats). I had Jake Plummer, too, but also was playing Mike Anderson at times (I have Droughns and Kevin Jones too in a 14-teamer) and have the Broncos as my team in fantasy scoring that is determined by winning or losing and is based on how many points Denver actually scored. So, I was always uncomfortable investing that heavily in Denver, who are hit or miss offensively.
So, I get Gado before he does anything and, as soon as he does, package him and my QBs right at the trading deadline for Bulger, Jamie Martin and Andre Johnson (to be my fourth receiver, as I have Marvin Harrison and Roy Williams). I wanted that Rams passing game with three indoor games playoff weeks 14, 15 and 16. It gave me distance scoring explosion (distance is huge in our league), great diversification and guaranteed indoor starts for my QB in the dead of December. Remember, too, that Martin had a great distance scoring game against Jacksonville when Bulger was hurt earlier in the year.
Well, you know what happened next. The guys in my league are yucking it up, saying I made a dumb trade. But two QBs injured is two injured and it could just as easily have been Brees and Plummer. Plus I was trying to go for the throat of the Tomlinson owner, who I was chasing for the total points prize, too.
There's nothing I can do except play Martin and hope Fitzgerald gets hurt or benched. (Yes, I hope he gets hurt. Screw him. He has an Ivy League education to fall back on.) There are no moves. And even if I kept my $10, I would have been outbid for Fitzgerald and there is no contingency bidding (and few QBs as of Week 13, when all tranactions ended).
Of course, L.J., Gates and Harrison can continue to carry me. But that's unlikely as the playoff competiton gets better.
The hysterical thing is that the same thing happened to me the week before a championship game in 1998 when Mark Brunell and his backup were my QBs. The backup had showed flashes, so I figured I was alright securing the Jaguars QB when aggressively trading to fortify other positions. But Brunell's backup got hurt right after Brunell did, leaving me without a QB in that pivotal game, which I ended up losing by a whisker. That Brunell's backup that year? I kid you not, Jamie Martin!
Next year, the playoff teams are getting some extra moves. Like getting two timeouts in overtime. This is a silly way to lose.
Yes, I'm dating myself. I've had success, but haven't won in too long a time. Six teams make the playoffs. It was four teams out of 12 before we expanded a few years ago. I've made the playoffs every year since Neal Anderson and James Brooks were my starting running backs (Anderson got hurt, I think, and I just missed the dance). That's 13 or 14 years straight making the playoffs. I've had the most total points at least a half-dozen times. I've had the second most points a handful of others. But I've only won two championships as I've had the absolute worst luck in the playoffs.
This league is like the wild west. Seriously, one guy had his father come in this year and wouldn't advise him how to navigate our Byzantine keeper rules. So instead of tossing everyone back and getting the No. 1 pick and LT, he kept the No. 4 overall slot and ended up with Priest Holmes and Alge Crumpler as his only keeper of any note (and we don't even have to play tight ends). Game over for dad. I've seen drafts in friendly leagues where people help out owners late who are fumbling around for guys to fill out their roster. In my league, you offer that and you'll be shot right between the eyes by five guys.
This is long expostion to set up the fact that we don't allow any transactions after Week 13. The trading deadline is Week 11. And once you spend your free agent money, you can't make zero bids (and the minimum is like $10). Owners hope someone will get hopelessly screwed (just not them).
Now, I was floundering around this season until Larry Johnson paid dividends. But my QB situation was hit or miss. Drew Brees was solid, but was heavily invested in him anyway because I have Gates (we have bonus scoring for tight ends that basically makes them about 25 percent more valuable than a WR with the same stats). I had Jake Plummer, too, but also was playing Mike Anderson at times (I have Droughns and Kevin Jones too in a 14-teamer) and have the Broncos as my team in fantasy scoring that is determined by winning or losing and is based on how many points Denver actually scored. So, I was always uncomfortable investing that heavily in Denver, who are hit or miss offensively.
So, I get Gado before he does anything and, as soon as he does, package him and my QBs right at the trading deadline for Bulger, Jamie Martin and Andre Johnson (to be my fourth receiver, as I have Marvin Harrison and Roy Williams). I wanted that Rams passing game with three indoor games playoff weeks 14, 15 and 16. It gave me distance scoring explosion (distance is huge in our league), great diversification and guaranteed indoor starts for my QB in the dead of December. Remember, too, that Martin had a great distance scoring game against Jacksonville when Bulger was hurt earlier in the year.
Well, you know what happened next. The guys in my league are yucking it up, saying I made a dumb trade. But two QBs injured is two injured and it could just as easily have been Brees and Plummer. Plus I was trying to go for the throat of the Tomlinson owner, who I was chasing for the total points prize, too.
There's nothing I can do except play Martin and hope Fitzgerald gets hurt or benched. (Yes, I hope he gets hurt. Screw him. He has an Ivy League education to fall back on.) There are no moves. And even if I kept my $10, I would have been outbid for Fitzgerald and there is no contingency bidding (and few QBs as of Week 13, when all tranactions ended).
Of course, L.J., Gates and Harrison can continue to carry me. But that's unlikely as the playoff competiton gets better.
The hysterical thing is that the same thing happened to me the week before a championship game in 1998 when Mark Brunell and his backup were my QBs. The backup had showed flashes, so I figured I was alright securing the Jaguars QB when aggressively trading to fortify other positions. But Brunell's backup got hurt right after Brunell did, leaving me without a QB in that pivotal game, which I ended up losing by a whisker. That Brunell's backup that year? I kid you not, Jamie Martin!
Next year, the playoff teams are getting some extra moves. Like getting two timeouts in overtime. This is a silly way to lose.
Entry #113476808670394512 posted by Catherine Salfino at 3:38 PM
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