Of the several fantasy leagues I was in this year, I managed to qualify for the playoffs in three of them. Two of them are Expert Leagues: Blog Wars and our own Fantasy Knuckleheads Experts League. A dynasty league that my Dad and I share also made the playoffs and earned a first-round bye, but no need to talk about that one for right now. Although, we have Antonio Brown, so those points he scored against the Browns would have been nice.
For the Blog Wars League, Tom Diggs' knowledge of IDP has helped IMMENSELY. This being my first ever auction draft, my players weren't as good as they would have been if it was a regular league draft, but finishing in the No. 3 seed feels pretty damn good.
I will be playing Mike Clay from Pro Football Focus. Just look at him. He's so smug. lol. Actually Clay is a nice guy. But when it comes to playoffs, everyone is your enemy. I had to make a couple changes this week that could come back to haunt me. First, I had to substitute Scott Chandler in for Fred Davis, who is now out for the rest of the year while serving a suspension. If that wasn't bad enough, it looks like Patrick Willis will sit out against the Cardinals because of a right hamstring injury. The best I can hope for is that Leroy Hill has a field day against a suspect Rams offense. Between Davis and Willis, That's a lot of points I lost between those two, so I am praying Tom Brady works his magic against the Redskins and Shonn Greene can put up enough points to make up for, what I am expecting will be, the loss of Joseph Addai. I have asked this before: Do the Colts even have a clue what they are doing? Even if I do lose, to come in No. 3 against 11 other Fantasy Football sites is an honor in itself.
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I wound up dipping in our site-sponsored league. I got knocked down because Frank Gore struggled early and I was one of the many owners who got killed when Antonio Gates was knocked out earlier in the season. Luckily, I managed to pull some strings and landed Willis McGahee late and also made a trade, shipping Austin Collie and nabbing Percy Harvin in return. It's not like Harvin has been lighting the fantasy world ablaze, but I'll take what I can get. This game is also extra special for me because I am playing against my former employee. So if I can get by to the second round, Mike Woellert's inbox is going to be flooded with smack talk. I am the No. 6 seed going up against the No. 3. But as with any fantasy league, it only takes a couple of lucky breaks and ANYONE can win.
So for those who landed a bottom seed, keep your chin up. A guy who is predicted to do zip just might surprise.
