Fantasy Football 2011 Recap

In the wake of a new fantasy season, shall we delve into the triumphs and failures, tight finishes and runaways, and busts and surprises of the prior season?

Draft Busts
Its easy to immediately mention Jamaal Charless name (1st round, 4th pick). Charles suffered a season-ending injury before many of us could even set our Week 2 lineups. But questionable draft selections rule this category, and there were plenty. No matter your contribution to the draft day keg, try to refrain from joining this class.

3rd Place: Peyton Hillis (Paul G: 1st round, 12th pick)

Only 3 TDs in 10 games and a total of 587 yards -- less than half his 2010 total. God speed Madden 13 poster boy Calvin Johnson.

2nd Place: Chad Ochocinco (Pete: 7th round, 105th pick)

Yes it was it more than 100 picks in, but 21.3 combined points in the first 13 weeks? 21.3??

1st Place: Chris Johnson (Tony: 1st round, 2nd pick)

Ah, the man without a contract. Good enough for Tony to bypass an undrafted Arian Foster and Aaron Rodgers. Johnson gathered a whopping four rushing TDs, two of which came in a single Week 13 game, after Johnson had already switched owners. Honorable mentions: Jahvid Best (2; 24), Felix Jones (3; 39), Santonio Holmes (3; 40), Joseph Addai (4; 45)

Draft Goldmines
Clever maneuvering or just plain luck?

3rd Place: Willis McGahee (Summa: 11th round, 149 pick)

With Todd Heap nowhere to be found, a (drunk?) Summa grabs a guy who managed a resurgent 1200 rushing yards after combining for 1,595 the three seasons prior.

2nd Place: Rob Gronkowski / Fred Jackson (King / Pecorini: 9th round)

Jackson was on his way to a top-five RB finish before his Week 11 injury derailed a breakout season. And 18 TDs later, Gronk found himself a regular home on NFL Gameday highlights.

1st Place: 49ers Defense (Adam: 15th round, pick #210 out of 224 total)

In garbage time, as loose draft cheat sheets were finding the trash, Adam just happened to pick up the No. 1 overall ranked fantasy defense. Talk about value. Honorable mentions: Darren Sproles (14; 183), Jordy Nelson (10; 129)

Stupidest Trade
Is there any argument? King, hope you enjoyed the early Christmas present from Summa. A shady agreement indeed.

Toughest Break
Fresh off the Jamaal Charles disaster, Team Pecorini traded average-at-the-time Fred Jackson for early standout Kenny Britt. A week later Britt tears his ACL and Fred Jackson becomes more than relevant in Fantasy circles.

Narrowest Win
Week 10 (Eder = 78.3 over Paul Js 78)
behind newly acquired Chris Johnson and his 130-yd, 1 TD performance Honorable Mention: Week 6 (Paul G = 79.4, Adam = 79)

Widest Margin Victory

Week 8 (Eder = 156.8, Paul G = 67.6) an astounding difference of 89.2 points!
Honorable Mention: Week 5 (Eder = 119.1, Fredo = 56.2)

Lowest Weekly Point Total

38.2 (Fredo Week 7)
This plane crashed before it even left the ground. Kicker Matt Bryant (yes, kicker) led the team with 13 points. QB Fitzgerald had 7.8, and Jordy Nelson tallied 5.2. No other player had more than 4 points.

Highest Weekly Point Total

156.8 (Eder Week 8)
Dwayne Bowe (6.2) and Heath Miller (8.5) were the only players in single digits. Cam Newtons 24.9 points were third highest on team behind Lions D (28) and Steven Jackson (31.1)

Win With Lowest Total Points

Paul J over Fredo (Week 7: 64 points over 38.2)
Honorable mention: Adam over Creighton (Week 10: 72.4 over 45.6)

Most Consistent Performer

Matt King

Tough choice between Allie and King, but I give the nod to King because he lasted one round later in the playoffs. Of course, Allies team being stripped of Peterson, Forte, and DeMarco Murray did not help her cause.

Most Unlikely Playoff Berth

Paul Jackinovich
Practically dead in the water, Paul received a fortunate draw in Week 7(as Fredos team rolled over with a meager 38.2 points). But he revitalized Team Aw Nuggets by trading Aaron Rodgers to Summas Zipper Fairies for essentially half of Summas team. A once 4-7 team managed the No. 5 seed and put up a good fight in an eventual Round 1 loss to King.

Most Regrettable Sits

Summa Playoffs Round 1
Chose Texans Defense (7pts) over Eagles (22). Lost to Eder by 10.2 points.

Creighton Week 12
With a playoff berth at stake, started Jake Ballard (4.7) over Dustin Keller (18.1). Lost to King by 5.2 and ended up missing the playoffs by a game.

Carson Week 9
Remained loyal to opening day QB Sam Bradford (8.4) over Tim Tebow (24.8). Lost to King by 14.1.

Paul G. Week 9
Steve Smith had a BYE while benched Julio Jones went off for 28.4 points. Way to pay attention. Honorable Mention: King Week 4: Beanie Wells had 31.8 points wasted on the bench while his RB slots got a combined 18.8.

Most Regrettable Start

Paul G. Championship Game
Tony Romo (0) with a big goose egg at crunch time.

Pecorini Week 2
Started Chargers defense (-7) and lost to Eder by 3.8. Cue the beginning of the end for Team Pecorini. Honorable Mention: Allie Week 12: Giants defense had -12 fantasy points after allowing 49 points to New Orleans. Allie still beat Fredo by 20.

Most Traveled Player(s)

Dez Bryant and Daniel Thomas four owners a piece

Single-Game MVP
Week 4: Rodgers gets 45.9 points for Paul J. (46.5% of his points) and carries his team to victory over King.

Wildest Matchup Finish

The Tie. Matchup: The Furkels vs. Zipper Fairies
This will never happen again in our Fantasy Football league again. It cant. To tie to the hundredth of a point for two teams vying for playoff seeding, so many factors have to align perfectly: - Earl Bennett dropped a TD pass (adv Furkels) - Delanie Walker decided to take a game off; Devin Hester also had 0 points (adv Furkels) - Carson Palmer got 17.1 points for The Furkels while avoiding WR DeNarius Moore, whom Zipper Fairies had (1.4 points) (adv Furkels) - Fred Jackson left midway through game (adv Zipper Fairies) - McGahee got -0.2 points vs. Jets (adv Zipper Fairies) - THE DAGGER: DeSean Jackson lost The Furkels 5 points for taunting after his 50-yard reception (adv Zipper Fairies) Even with all that, The Furkels still had a chance to pull through on Sunday Night Football. With the clock winding down and the Eagles having already cemented the victory over the Giants, LeSean McCoy broke away for a 40+ yd run and had an open lane to the end zone. If he scored, The Furkels (owner of the Eagles kicker) would have won with the extra point. Alas, McCoy never reached the end zone and was instead tackled at 3-yard line by a hustling Giants defensive back. Tie remained in tact.

Road to the Championship: The Boston Houstons of LI

The enigma that is The Boston Houstons of LI. Gregov pretty much ignored BYE weeks all season long and had an underwhelming Peyton Hillis as his first round showing. A mediocre team at best throughout the season, the Boston Houstons of LI settled into the sixth and fnal spot of the playoffs. After pulling off the upset over the No. 3 seeded Furkels, this Shonn Greene-led team muscled its way to the Bowl game only to witness its QB break down. Pauls team could not overcome the devastating blow and conceded the trophy to Carson.

Road to the Championship: The Dharma Initiative

It was an early struggle for the eventual League Champion. His Week 1 total of 70.7 points was best exemplified through Sam Bradfords 4 points and the Chiefs defense contributing a total of -1 points.

However $45 later, the team with QB problems found a light in the likes of one Tim Tebow. Suddenly, Carson had a team to be reckoned with, even while never quite breaking into the top tier of teams. A combined 59.1 points from Kings two 1st round picks could not stop the rolling Dharma Initiative in the second round of the playoffs. And with the help of a Seattle Seahawks defense (of all teams) that accumulated an outrageous 29 points, the Dharma Initiative took the grand prize over the Boston Houstons of LI.

That puts a lid on 2011. Looking forward to what 2012 has in store!