Another UMassBallers season is in the record books and I, for one, am not sad to see it go. There were many infuriating events that occurred throughout the year, from injuries to suspensions to inexplicable coaching decisions, and generally the worst football I've ever seen. However, one GM was not fazed by the season's events...
 |
| Wow, and this team was almost .500. |
There was a lot more that happened over the course of the year, though - let's take a look back at all the highlights and hilarious bloopers, from the draft through the playoffs.
Past season champions (w/ links to season revues):
The Draft
Like last year, I did some simple math to try to arrive at a value for each team's draft - below is a simple calculation of drafted player points (Weeks 1-16) per dollars spent. Rather than simply dividing by the $200 budget, I divided by the actual dollars spent, since the remainder could be carried into the regular season.
denis's Neat Team - 11.093 (wild card)
Forte Shades of Jay - 10.196 (league champion)
Chicago Ferrets - 10.133
HERE COMES THE BOOM - 9.521
Crushing It - 9.305 (division champion)
Bear Down - 9.299
Farts Are Funny - 9.016
Crushing It - 9.305 (division champion)
Bear Down - 9.299
Farts Are Funny - 9.016
Serious Cat - 8.492
Nickel Blitz - 7.217 (runner up)
Just as I predicted at the beginning of the season, I saw denis's Neat Team as having the best draft of the bunch. Unlike many other teams, his running back selections returned solid value, and Philip Rivers and Ryan Tannehill were both bargains.
I also identified division rival Nickel Blitz as the worst. His rough draft included picks like Knowshon Moreno, Danny Woodhead, Aaron Dobson, and Jarrett Boykin, who all provided almost no value. Ryan Mathews, as always, busted. He also only drafted 1 QB - a high-scoring position which has a substantial influence on this simplistic analysis. Fortunately, many of those busts were ones that he did not need to rely upon as Drew Brees, Eddie Lacy, and Martellus Bennett all ranked highly within their positions, plus DeAndre Hopkins and FA pickup Brandon LaFell had career years.
All-Bargain Team
 |
| They don't make political cartoons like they used to. |
QB: Russell Wilson - Farts Are Funny - $2
The #3 fantasy QB went for peanuts on draft day, scoring more points than Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. While his 3,475 yards and 20 TDs seem pretty pitiful for a full-time starter, he made up for it with 849 rushing yards and 6 running scores. One other miraculous stat: of his 11 fumbles, NONE of them were recovered by the other team. The guy must have one hell of a rabbit's foot.
Honorable mentions: Ben Roethlisberger - Deals and Steals - $1; Ryan Tannehill - denis's Neat Team - $1
WR: Emmanuel Sanders - denis's Neat Team - $14
In his first season in Denver, Sanders nearly doubled his previous career high in yards, setting a career mark of 1,404 to go with 9 TDs. I give him the edge over Evans due to being startable all year long, but Evans has the makings of a WR1 going forward. Too bad I wasn't patient and opted to stick with Brandin Cooks, who of course landed on IR.
Honorable mentions: Mike Evans - Serious Cat - $2; DeAndre Hopkins - Nickel Blitz - $3
 |
| He also led the league in hurdles and YWA (yards while airborne). |
RB: Le'Veon Bell - Chicago Ferrets - $36
Bell actually had more fantasy points than Murray through Week 16, so he's 1A to Murray's 1B. Both had 2,000+ total yards and double-digit TDs, and both went for $20+ less than the original top tier RBs in the draft. Lucky bastards.
Honorable mentions: DeMarco Murray - mangenius - $42; Arian Foster - Forte Shades of Jay - $41; Jeremy Hill - Forte Shades of Jay - $5; Lamar Miller - Cash4Gould - $8
TE: Antonio Gates - Farts Are Funny - $1
If Tony Gonzalez taught us anything, it's that tight ends can provide consistent fantasy value despite advanced age. Gates is a different animal than Gonzalez as he already has had his share of dings, but at $1 Farts was flatulating all the way to the bank. Gates scored 12 TDs and was second only to Gronk in TE scoring.
Honorable mentions: Rob Gronkowski - HERE COMES THE BOOM - $27; Martellus Bennett - Nickel Blitz - $4
All-Bust Team
 |
| All we are is dust in the wind, dude. |
 |
| This INT is like crack for my eyes, love it. If only it ended with Manningface. |
As far as busts go, the ones in the QB category aren't that bad - it really just has to do with the timing of the picks. HCTB and Nickel Blitz both set the tone with higher bids early in the draft, but once it became apparent that RBs and WRs were getting the lion's share of everyone's budgets, QBs ended up being quite cheap as time went on. I have Manning as the biggest bust for being the most expensive but also for playing with a noodle arm, though he did have a very good year.
Honorable mentions: Drew Brees - Nickel Blitz - $45; Robert Griffin III - Farts Are Funny - $8
WR: Calvin Johnson - Deals and Steals - $55
Having drafted Matt Stafford and Megatron, Simon's season depended very heavily on the production of the Lions passing game. Unfortunately, Johnson got injured and actually had fewer fantasy points than teammate Golden Tate, resulting in a cellar dwelling finish for Deals and Steals.
Honorable mentions: Brandon Marshall - mangenius - $46; Victor Cruz - Chicago Ferrets - $24
RB: Adrian Peterson - Cash4Gould - $63
This game of fantasy football is crazy, innit? Usually when you go into a season, you just hope that your best players don't succumb to injury, but the big story at the beginning of the season ended up being physical abuse, specifically by Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice. It was sobering to hear/see two of the league's most popular players involved in beating defenseless people, and I'm glad they were not reinstated to play this year.
From a fantasy perspective, Peterson was the third most expensive player in the draft, and C4G got just 1 week of fantasy production out of him before giving up hope and trading him for the lowly Toby Gerhart. I don't blame him.
From a fantasy perspective, Peterson was the third most expensive player in the draft, and C4G got just 1 week of fantasy production out of him before giving up hope and trading him for the lowly Toby Gerhart. I don't blame him.
Honorable mentions: Montee Ball - Serious Cat - $52; Zac Stacy - Farts are Funny - $34; Doug Martin - Deals and Steals - $32; and many more
There's a very good case that Jimmy Graham should go here, and I won't dispute that. Graham, at $52, would have needed to produce like a top-5 WR1 to merit that kind of price tag. Instead, he needed at least 70 more fantasy points to even enter that discussion. But at the end of the day, he produced points and was startable.
Davis, besides a nice Week 1, wasn't worth starting at all for the rest of the season. He scored only 36 fantasy points in total despite only missing about a game and a half to injury. He actually had fewer fantasy points than Dion Sims. Who is Dion Sims? Great question, I have no freaking idea. But evidently he exists, and he was better than Davis this year.
Davis, besides a nice Week 1, wasn't worth starting at all for the rest of the season. He scored only 36 fantasy points in total despite only missing about a game and a half to injury. He actually had fewer fantasy points than Dion Sims. Who is Dion Sims? Great question, I have no freaking idea. But evidently he exists, and he was better than Davis this year.
Honorable mentions: Jimmy Graham - Chicago Ferrets - $52; Jordan Cameron - Bear Down - $20
Terrible Trades
Once the dust settled after the draft, there were a few transactions that took place over the course of the year. As far as trades go, I again led the league with two, although most of my proposals were greeted with the reaction below.
- September 4 - Serious Cat sends Julian Edelman to Forte Shades of Jay for Jeremy Hill
- Continuing my post-draft tradition, I made a trade prior to the first week of games. Needing some depth at RB, I took a chance on prospect Hill, who turned out to be the lead back for Cincy starting in Week 9. Meanwhile, FSoJ enjoyed a solid season from Edelman, who managed to avoid injury until Week 16, although he certainly wasn't needed in the championship.
- Winner: Draw - Hill produced more points on the season than Edelman and is a potential RB1 going forward, but he was only startable for half the year. Meanwhile, Edelman had a fairly consistent year as a WR2.
- September 25 - Serious Cat sends Toby Gerhart and Golden Tate to Cash4Gould for Adrian Peterson and Cecil Shorts
- In what could have gone down as one of my favorite trades of all-time, I sent the bumbling Gerhart for a 1% chance of Adrian Peterson returning to the field this season. Just jettisoning Gerhart at all was a pleasure in its own right.
- To make things interesting, however, WRs were also swapped. I remembered how good Shorts had been in 2012 with Chad Henne under center. Everything I read said that Blake Bortles was going to be better. Everyone was dead wrong...
- Meanwhile, Tate benefitted from a Megatron injury shortly after the trade to put up a few huge weeks.
- Winner: Cash4Gould gets the last laugh
- October 9 - Cash4Gould sends Isaiah Crowell to Bear Down for Carlos Hyde
- I imagine both teams were sick of waiting for their backup RB to make some noise and thought the grass was greener on the other side.
- Ultimately, Crowell had more standout performances, hitting double figures for points in Weeks 10, 12, and 14, including a big 20.8 point effort in Week 12. Hyde was an intriguing speculative addition though in case Frank Gore ever wore out.
- Winner: Bear Down
Trades were one way to improve our teams, but most turned to free agency and the waiver wire. Some spent their FAAB dollars more wisely than others...
Most Hilariously Wasteful FA Bids:
 |
| I played him for 1 game and got 3.8 measly points. |
- Serious Cat: DeAngelo Williams for $41 (no other bids)
- I already explained my twisted logic, but the simple fact is that this transaction will live, and should live, in eternal infamy.
- Chicago Ferrets: Adrian Peterson for $33 (beat a bid of $16 from Cash4Gould)
- AP went from top pick to traded to waived, but there was still enough intrigue for Ryan to blow a third of his auction budget on the 1% chance that he got reinstated and played a snap.
- Bear Down: Donald Brown for $38 (higher waiver priority than... his own bid at $38)
- He was so anxious to get Brown that he bid on the Charger twice. In reality, the next highest bid was Chicago Ferrets at $16. He promptly averaged a little over 2 yards per carry and never scored a TD, giving way to injury and Branden Oliver.
- HERE COMES THE BOOM: Vernon Davis for $35 (exceeds a bid of $7 from mangenius)
- He never exceeded 2.6 points in a week after this acquisition.
Biggest FA Bid Steals:
- Cash4Gould: Justin Forsett for $27 (bests a $17 bid by Chicago Ferrets)
- Forsett came out of nowhere to become the 8th best RB in fantasy, amassing over 1,500 total yards and 8 TDs. Interestingly, mangenius originally picked him up after Week 1 (for $26) only to drop him after a couple mediocre weeks.
- mangenius: Mark Ingram for $14 (beats $9 bid from denis's Neat Team)
- Who could've guessed that Ingram, after years of disappointment, would break out with RB1/2 numbers? JMac did.
- Forte Shades of Jay: Mike Evans for $11 (exceeds bid of $9 from denis's Neat Team)
- The rookie really came into his own in the second half of the year, and FSoJ reaped the benefits. Although I drafted Evans, it was Denis who picked him up as a free agent earlier in the year only to drop him and then fail to win him back with FAAB bucks. I preferred him as the stud receiver on my weekly RFO teams...
- Bear Down: C.J. Anderson for $5 (beats bid of $0 by Chicago Ferrets)
- Put up monster RB1 numbers for the rest of the season following this acquisition, making Montee Ball a distant memory in Denver.
All-Free Agent Team
No fantasy season is complete without some great free agent pick-ups over the course of the year, and 2014 was no different as several free agents changed the fortunes of a few lucky teams.
QB - Eli Manning - You're probably as shocked as I am that Eli was the best free agent QB this year after last season's 18 TD:27 INT debacle. However, with a shiny new target in ODB Jr., he threw for 4,410 yards, 30 TDs and just 14 INTs. HERE COMES THE BOOM eventually snagged him.
 |
| No post about this season would be complete without "The Catch." |
RB - Justin Forsett - Already gave him plaudits earlier in this post, but the guy was a yardage machine. He led the league with the most rushes for 20+ yards and average 5.4 yards per carry, tops for lead backs. Without Forsett rising to the occasion, the Ravens probably wouldn't be in the playoffs right now.
TE - Delanie Walker - Despite some atrocious QB play in Tennessee, Walker managed to cobble together a very productive breakout season, accumulating 890 yards and 4 TDs. With a consistent QB under center, I've got to imagine he could achieve even better career highs.
 |
| Pac-man Jones just gets destroyed by Mr. Intensity. |
W/R - C.J. Anderson - The guy was a godsend to owners from Week 10 on, averaging 19.6 points per week for Weeks 10-16. Somehow, Bear Down didn't even manage to reach the playoffs.
W/R - Matt Asiata - Easily the most boring player on this FA team, the Somewhat Stormin' Mormon averaged a plodding 3.5 yards per carry, but accrued 10 total TDs. Mike Tolbert called, he wants his role back.
 |
| Check out ESPN's player profile on rookie Eagles kicker Cody Parkey... |
DEF - Buffalo - The Bills had the 2nd highest scoring defense in fantasy thanks in large part to a league-high 54 sacks and the 2nd fewest points allowed. Having finished 9-7 this year, I think they could make the playoffs next season if they replace Kyle Orton with a good QB.
Odds and Ends
- FSoJ's 12 wins were tops for the league, but Farts Are Funny still holds the record for most wins with 14, set in 2011.
- Deals and Steals ties a league record with 11 losses.
- The smallest margin of victory this year was 0.62 (HERE COMES THE BOOM over Farts Are Funny). The all-time record is 0.18 (also HERE COMES THE BOOM, over Chicago Ferrets).
- FSoJ's 63.56 margin of victory in the championship was by far the largest in league history. The next highest was 35.82 in 2009 when the Chicago Ferrets beat Straight Cash Homey.
- denis's Neat Team set a record for the hardest strength of schedule, which is surprising given that he played my team and Deals and Steals twice each.
- Alex Smith is so noodle-armed that Kansas City never had a wide receiver catch a touchdown pass this season. Dwayne Bowe almost caught one from Chase Daniel in Week 17, but upon review he was ruled down at the 1. Nice try, Chefs!
Also, thanks to everyone for playing, and for Spaldawg for organizing and making sure the league operates smoothly. It was fun as always.
---
Shameless personal plug: if anyone's interested, I run a fantasy baseball league that's free but very active. Also uses an auction draft and includes keepers. Send me an email or comment below if you're interested!
---
Shameless personal plug: if anyone's interested, I run a fantasy baseball league that's free but very active. Also uses an auction draft and includes keepers. Send me an email or comment below if you're interested!
I made sure to read your blog every week, thanks for the quality reading material all season!
ReplyDeleteThanks Denny, glad you enjoyed it! I'm happy that someone else besides just Spaldawg reads this. Congrats again on the win!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete