NBD - Season in Review, Pt. 4

OK, we've dispensed with the shitters, now it's time to start looking into the teams that really mattered this season: the contenders.

Michael~Burke City Giants (9-4 / 1,287 pts / 3rd Place Reg Season / 6th Place Overall)
The Draft in Hindsight
With a team that out-scored any other during last year's regular season, it should be no wonder that Michael Toobin sought to re-create the 2009 BC Giants as much as possible in 2010. That starts, of course, with keepers, and Michael had a solid pair in final-rounders Brent Celek and Jamaal Charles, who at the time was projected 14th among running backs and ended up finishing 3rd in total RB points scored. Not bad for a 14th-rounder. But the carryover from last season did not end with the keepers. In 2009, Burke City took Randy Moss in the first round and Peyton Manning in the second. And in 2010... Burke City took Randy Moss in the first round and Peyton Manning in the second. It's hard to argue with those traditionally dependable fantasy options, but it left Michael with only a timeshare running back in Charles and the first two rounds of backs off the table. What kind of shitter would the Giants end up with in the third? I'll give you a hint: he scored about 90 points more than the second-best running back this season. That's right, Arian Foster, who set the fantasy world on fire this year and out-scored even the top quarterbacks in the league, was a third round selection. Running backs selected earlier in that round include Jonathan Stewart and Ronnie Brown. Whoops!
Of course, this raises the question: with two of the top three running backs in fantasy and Peyton Manning in the stable, how did this team not dominate us all this year? Well, Randy Moss's fiasco of a season certainly didn't help, but Hines Ward (4th round) was his usual dependable self, and Ahmad Bradshaw (5th) out-played his draft spot, finishing among the top 15 RBs. All Michael needed was for a late-round WR or TE draft pick or free agent pick-up to work out, and he would have been a juggernaut. Let's see how that worked out...

Key Transactions
The Giants waiver wire moves were not without their successes this year. Everyone's (or at least the Sports Guy's and my) favorite up-and-coming quarterback, Josh Freeman (10/13, $5) was picked up cheaply by Michael. And everyone's favorite law firm, BenJarvus Green-Ellis (9/29, $31) was good enough to justify being Michael's biggest expenditure of the year. The problem is, those guys both play positions where the Giants were already stacked, so their impact was limited. At the receiving spots where Burke City really needed help, nothing ever really materialized. Mark Clayton, Louis Murphy, Danario Alexander, Kellen Winslow, Sidney Rice, David Gettis, Steve Breaston ($13), Brandon Pettigrew, Todd Heap, Ben Obamanu, Ed Dickson, and Brandon Pettigrew (again) were all given opportunities to shore up the Burke City aerial attack, but none proved effective. Interestingly, the real Peyton Manning and the real football Giants went through similar receiver struggles. Michael must have felt their pain every step of the way.

Crucial Victories and Crushing Defeats
I'm going to identify two games as crucial victories for the BC Giants this season, for vastly different reasons (and with vastly different scores). Week 3's defeat of Sex with a Pharaoh was Mr. Toobin's second-highest scoring effort of the season, and every single bit of it was needed in a game that ended 124 - 121. The Giants' scoring came from all corners that week, with Peyton dropping 25 and Randy Moss, Ahmad Bradshaw, Jamaal Charles, and the Philly D each contributing 16. Not only was this the kind of well-rounded team effort that I love to see, but it came at the expense of another playoff-bound team, giving Michael a leg up in the post-season seeding (not that that actually helped, but still).
The other high point of the Giants season came just two weeks later, though it featured their lowest winning score of the season. My dad and I often make bets on our fantasy face-offs, and if the Toobins do the same, then Michael came away with the choicest latke or whatever stakes these guys put up thanks to his Week 5, sputtering victory over his offspring, 79 - 70. It seems like ages ago now, but this was the week where Randy Moss had just been traded to the Vikings, Brett Favre was still kind of alive, and they connected early on Monday Night Football for a bomb that gave Michael his fourth win of the season.
As for Crushing Defeats, I'm going to resist the urge to make every playoff team's Crushing Defeat the one that knocked them out of the playoffs and stick to the regular season. The low point in Burke City's regular season undoubtedly came in Week 10, when they were taking on the lowly Woody's Warriors. A victory would have eventually given Michael, who finished with a three-game winning streak, the inside track on the regular season crown. And it's not like the Warriors put up an unbeatable fight, notching 89 points mainly on the shoulders of Jay Cutler (22) and Maurice Jones-Drew (24). But the Giants just totally failed to show up that week, limping to 69 points thanks to lame weeks by Peyton (7) and Moss (3) and a concussion on Hines Ward (0). Though they may not have realized it at the time, that loss probably cost the Giants a first-round bye, and - surprise, surprise - that's where they got knocked out of the post-season.

The Playoff Run
As mentioned in the last section, the Giants went on a tear to close out the regular season, averaging 112 points and scoring three wins over the last three weeks. Their first victim, in Week 11, was yours truly, who put up half a fight with Matt Ryan (21) and Santonio Holmes (25), who took the rest of the McClusterfuckers on their shoulders but ultimately couldn't measure up to the triple onslaught of Manning (29), Foster (24), and the Baltimore Defense (23), who Michael picked up that week in anticipation of their face-off with the bumbling Carolina Panthers. Perhaps if I had done that kind of match-up shuffling, rather than spending the second half of the season relying on the Seahawks Defense (what??), I might have won a few more games.
In Week 12, Michael handed Justin Koehler the last of his many, many NBD losses through the years. In fact, over the past five seasons, Koehler won just one game against Toobin the Elder while losing six. Michael may be as big a reason for the K-Dogg's departure as having a young child and being spread too thin between leagues. (Just kidding, we all know that Koehler left because of Elliott's obnoxious e-mails.) The latest episode in this series of domination featured an evenly-spread plethora of points by the Giants, who won 113 - 104 thanks to strong showings from Foster (22), Charles (21), Green-Ellis (18), Manning (15), and the incomparable Todd Heap (14). Though Koehler got a monster week from Dwayne Bowe (35), he didn't quite get enough support from the rest of the Dog-Lovers to overcome his long-time nemesis.
In Week 13, the Giants took out the eventual league champion Emailarrhea, meaning that they finished the regular season with the same record of 9-4. If the Giants had scored another 17 points, they would have held the tie-breaker, forcing Emailarrhea to play in the first round and allowing themselves a week of rest. Oh, what might have been. Another 17 points would have been a tall order, however, because Burke City already had a pretty impressive week, tallying a decisive 117 - 85 victory. Once again, the team was carried by its backs, be they quarter- or half-. Manning was typically solid (19), with Charles and Bradshaw (23 each) providing that week's rushing punch. A rare receiving display was put on by Burke City's Sidney Rice (23), though he immediately followed that up by getting concussed the next week, ensuring that no BC receiver came out of the season with any kind of success.
Unfortunately for Michael, Rice was not alone in his suffering during Week 14. After storming into the post-season with those three straight wins, Burke City apparently lost its mojo and fizzled once it got there. The typically unstoppable running back trio came up way short in Round 1, managing only 26 points between Charles, Foster and Green-Ellis. Manning (21) continued his characteristic consistency, and Derrick Mason (20) had an uncharacteristically competent outing, but the rest of the team wilted. That left the door wide open for Colly, whose Eagle-led combo of Vick-Jackson (24-28) were supported by Jason Witten (19) and Knowshon Moreno (18) in what turned out to be an easy victory, 106 - 87, sending the Burke City players to clear out their lockers and head home to their Merles.

What the Future Holds
Though Josh Freeman and BenJarvus Green-Ellis served mostly back-up or flex duty this season, they could very easily be penciled in as starters for 2011 and would cost Michael very little as 15th-rounders. That kind of value could render Ahmad Bradshaw an unlikely keep, as he offers similar value to Green-Ellis but would cost significantly more (5th round). Michael also has a rookie keeper opportunity, though he didn't play a snap of Burke City ball this year. Montario Hardesty was a 7th-round draft pick for the Giants who was lost for the season before it even began, but Michael declared him for Injured Reserve. I would assume Peyton Hillis will be Cleveland's starting running back next season, but with Mangini on the outs, they could be looking to move in a new direction. I'm sure there will be over-heated discussion of just such a possibility in the fantasy mags we will all be purchasing come August.

Jon~Wild Stallions (8-5 / 1,168 pts / 5th Place Regular Season / 5th Place Overall)
The Draft in Hindsight
Though they entered the season as defending champs, a large portion of the Wild Stallion team leadership from 2009 was left behind, unkeepable for one reason or another. With veterans like Aaron Rodgers and Larry Fitzgerald lost to free agency, the Stallions would look to build around a young nucleus of Percy Harvin (8th), Rashard Mendenhall (9th), and Mike Sims-Walker (15th). To that core of young talent, DeYoung added a hodge-podge of veterans and longshots in the draft, starting with DeAngelo Williams (1st), a player who has reached the heights of fantasy glory (finishing first among RBs a few seasons back) but who has never shaken the question marks of timeshare and injury history. The next three picks were among fantasy's surest options at their positions, Calvin Johnson (2nd), Philip Rivers (3rd), and Dallas Clark (4th), though Clark's season-ending injury suffered six weeks in goes to show that even the safest of fantasy bets is still a crapshoot. The rest of DeYoung's draft was hit or miss, with some prospective breakouts fizzling (Justin Forsett, 5th) while others flared (Dez Bryant, 6th). A veteran of high-powered offenses (Donovan McNabb, 7th) would inherit the sluggishness of his new team, while a rookie (Tampa Bay Mike Williams, 14th) would contribute to the rising youth movement of his burgeoning franchise. In short, it was an up-and-down draft for the Stallions, and a similar season would follow.

Key Transactions
With top picks DeAngelo Williams and Dallas Clark succumbing to early injuries, it's not surprising that most of DeYoung's free agent moves were RB- or TE-related. The tight end position, in particular, was an area of heavy activity for the Stallions, cycling as they did through Clark, Dustin Keller, Tony Moeaki, Ben Watson, and Jermaine Gresham. In fact, other than Toby Gerhart ($51, 12/1) - who Deezer splurged on basically because it was the end of the season and he had a bunch of money left - Watson ($20, 11/17) represented the season's biggest expenditure. In the running back department, Jon was content simply to pick up whichever Redskin or former Redskin had an outside shot at starting for a week or two, be it Keiland Williams or Ladell Betts.
Perhaps the most noteworthy of the Stallions' acquisitions came after DeYoung was already out of the running for the league crown. Going into Week 15, a little glitch in the fantasy matrix arose in which Joe Webb, the starting quarterback for the Vikings that week, was given eligibility at both the quarterback and wide receiver slots. This resulted, presumably, from the fact that Webb played a year at wide receiver in college and worked out as such at the NFL combine. Still, once he was drafted by the Vikings, he didn't play a single snap at receiver, and his coach announced that he would play exclusively at the quarterback position. His wide receiver eligibility was really just a loophole, one that only the most cowardly and desperate of fantasy owners would take advantage of. Personally, I didn't even notice DeYoung's pick-up, but a league member who will remain nameless (but you all know who it was) brought it to my attention and suggested a league-wide vote on such situations. Frankly, I'm tired of league-wide votes and discussions, so this was an issue I thought would be better dealt with via public shame. I e-mailed Jon about something else entirely, but mentioned to him that if he persisted in playing Webb at receiver, he should expect some very public and very scathing scorn. He assured me that it was not worth the hassle to him, and agreed to drop Webb. I scrapped my draft of a nasty league-wide e-mail and went about my business as usual. It was not until weeks later, when I started working on these reviews, that I realized that HE NEVER DROPPED WEBB AT ALL! In fact, he started him that week and won the 5th-place crown, in part, owing to Webb's 13-point day at "receiver!" So DeYoung is not only a cheater, but he is also a liar! And this from a man who speaks so fondly of the days of yore when the UVA Honor Code meant something. What would Mr. Jefferson say about your fifth place finish, DeYoung? In a single-sanction system, I would be forced to eject you from the league. Fortunately for you, ours is a more pliant and forgiving administration, but know this: your performance this year will forever be tainted, and the Commissioner's Office will not take being lied to lightly: we've got our eye on this franchise; my brother-in-law has always wanted to be in a league.

Crucial Victories and Crushing Defeats
The Stallions won quite a few games this season, some of them in impressive fashion. Week 4's 116 - 77 victory over This Team Here is Dead comes to mind, as it was their high score for the season and served as the last demonstration of a fully-powered Wild Stallion squad, before the injuries to Williams and Clark. Week 8 was a good one, too, as DeYoung beat fellow playoff contender Burke City Giants, 115 - 81, off a big day from Calvin Johnson (28). But neither of these is what I'll choose as DeYoung's Crucial Victory. Instead, I'm focusing on a week in which he scored a mere 89 points. A week in which he was led in scoring by his defense (albeit a pretty impressive 18 from the Chicago D). A week in which his opponent posed no threat to the Stallions' post-season chances. That's right, my favorite Wild Stallions victory of the season was Week 7's 89 - 88 victory over the Buck Stops Here. Any contest between Jon and my dad is instantly elevated to classic status from my perspective, and this one had some added bonuses. At this point in the season, we were really starting to notice the incredible trend of painful losses that had beset Ray, and he must have begun wondering if he were ever going to win again. After the Sunday day games, with an 88-72 lead, it must have looked pretty good for him. And then came the Sunday night game between the Packings and Vikings, and Percy Harvin scored enough - but just enough (17 pts) - to give the win to the Stallions. And in a season where you don't lay claim to a championship or top-money finish, the true joy comes in bringing pain and sorrow to your enemies. The Stallions did just that, in dramatic fashion, in Week 7.
Prior to Week 11, there were only two losses on the Stallions' record, and they looked like they were in good position to make a solid defense of their 2009 crown. But Week 11 would prove to be a turning point for two franchises, as last year's champs fell 132 - 94 to the eventual champions, Emailarrhea. The Stallions had a pretty decent day, with Philip Rivers (25) leading the team and the Chicago Defense (18) making another big contribution. But the monster output of Haller's squad, highlighted by Drew Brees' 29, 20 each from LeSean McCoy and Mike Wallace, and 19 more from Ray Rice, showed that despite their record, the Wild ones were not in the same league as this year's big boys. The loss must have demoralized the Stallions in ways we can't imagine, because they didn't manage to win another meaningful game in 2010, while Haller's team took this victory and ran with it all the way to the NBDBowl.

The Playoff Run
As if to further cement the notion that DeYoung's championship hopes ended with that Week 11 loss to Haller, the next week saw a re-match of last year's final and a reversal of fortunes with Deezer losing 72 - 101 to Sex with a Pharaoh. Although there were some strong Stallion performances - Rashard Mendenhall (19), Calvin Johnson (16), and kicker extraordinaire Dan Carpenter (15) - there were too many stinkers - nine points total from Mike Williams, Keiland Williams, Dez Bryant, and Ben Watson - to put up any kind of fight.
The trend continued in the final week of the regular season, with the Stallions putting up their lowest total of the year in a 60 - 83 loss to Papkin's Missing 3 Jacksons. No Wild Stallions scored more than 15 points, sending a clear signal to ownership that they were done for the season, and while their record was good enough to take them into the playoffs, their talent was not deep enough to take them any further. Sure enough, they were dispatched from the post-season a week later by that very same Missing 3 Jacksons team, posting an equally unimpressive 68 points in the face of a 99-point day from Papkin's boys. Once again, 15 (Rivers) was the high point score among Stallion offensive players, though the New England Defense did provide a useful 20 points. Useful, that is, to a team that wants to win. The Stallions clearly did not, however, as evidenced by the fact that Rivers was the only one of them to even make double-figures. An ugly end for a defending champ, buy hey, they'll always have 2009.

What the Future Holds
Besides the intense scrutiny of the Commissioner's office following the Webb Incident, 2011 will also see another youth movement for the Stallions. Two rookie receivers, Dez Bryant (6th rd) and Tampa Mike Williams (14th), proved themselves valuable assets for DeYoung this year, and I would expect to see both back next year. With their rookie status, that allows another keeper for Deezer, and while Dallas Clark (4th) is not an unreasonable keep, considering that he should be fully recovered and back to being Peyton Manning's favored touchdown option, I'd really love to see DeYoung retain waiver wire acquisition (and folk hero) Dan Carpenter.