Evans World 2012 – Week 9 and 10

Greetings, friends … I apologize for missing the article last week.  Between family, work and the election there just wasn’t time to write and post last week.  My frustration from Week 8 has carried over into two horrendous performances and blowouts by my team.  I write to you today quite defeated and not enjoying my FF season at all.  It’s frustrating, and I know we’ve all been there, but when you draft what you think it a good team (not the best mind you, but better than this) and then even the simplest of expectations aren’t met, you lose interest.  I know I still have a lot to learn about FF, but a few successes would be welcome at this point.  I’m sure Jason can relate this year.  Hell, no one who plays at our level likes to lose, so you can imagine my frustration.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS

• In the past two weeks I have been outright pummeled by my opponent.  I have been outscored 232.42 to 99.37.   I don’t wish that kind of stretch on anyone, not even you guys who are kicking my ass.
• Last week was a huge week for Jason, most likely the only week about this season that he’d care to remember.  131 points is always a pleasure to make (unless you’re Tony P. and that’s just the expectation).  My favorite part?  Jason left 55 points on his bench.  It was a monster week, and I’m happy you had one.  Hopefully that and a few more wins will erase the sting of this season and a 7-game losing skid.
• Speaking of scoring big and Tony P. how about that record 142.17 point week he had in week 9?  In my other league there were a small handful of teams that had record-breaking scores.  Most of them came from players you didn’t expect like Doug Martin or the Chicago Bears (more on that next).  Congrats for making the record book once again.  At this point, averaging nearly 112 points a game, it’s a good bet that Tony P. will destroy the EW record for most points scored in a regular season … and then lose in the second round of the playoffs like always.
• Yeah, the Chicago Bears are blowing me away this season, as far as FF points go.  They’ve been massive on DEF.  Brandon Marshall exceeds expectations.  Forte is solid.  Even Jay Cutler has seen starts.  That’s so different from just one season ago.  It’s crazy to think about how the Bears are a more consistent FF powerhouse than the Packers or Patriots.  But, the numbers don’t lie.  I think I mentioned before how one team in my work FF league is 80% Bears players.  He’s cleaning it up so far.  So it goes in our league as well.  I don’t see that changing much the rest of the season.  Crazy.
• I really love to see Adrian Peterson coming back as strong as he is.  He’s clearly the winner of the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.  It’s great to see him run as angry as he used to.  Kudos to Berk for believing in him and starting him each week.
• I had an interesting choice to make in Week 9.  Do I start RG3 or go to Cam Newton?  Well, I chose incorrectly going with RG3.  Newton is hitting his sophomore slump hard.  I recommend you all remember that at next fall’s draft as you decide whether to take RG3 or not.  See all the great things I’m teaching you guys with my failures this year?  You should give me some of your winnings as thanks.
• Ritchie, your team perplexes me.  Your best players are your QB and TE.  And yet, you’re in third place in the league.  I have to say it’s bugging me and the rest of us.  Are you making another late-season push to the championship?  Only time will tell.  I, for one, am curious at what point Hartline makes it off your bench with his double-digit scores.
• Here’s a debate we had at work.  Curious to see where you guys fall.  So, week 9 Doug Martin has a monster day.  About 40 yards short of the all-time single game rushing record with nearly 8 minutes left to go.  And, the Bucs are only up by 10.  Not exactly the cushion an NFL coach would like.  So, do you bench your star who’s clearly in a zone or risk the injury and pursue the record?  Me? I say bench him once his time is done.  If he’s tired, if he’s being targeted by the defense (bounty or not).  You don’t risk a season on a record, and right now Martin is the only consistent offensive weapon the Bucs have.  Schiano must agree with me as he benched him.  Of course Blount came in and fumbled (as usual) for an easy pick-6 and now they’re only a field-goal ahead.  My co-workers say keep him in, keep running the ball, aim for the record and finish out the game.  I say bench him once his job is done; it’s not about the record.  10 points down, I say it’s safe to bench him for one series.  Then again look what happened.  Your thoughts?
• I like to watch Russell Wilson light it up for Seattle, but I’m pretty sure he’s an average to below-average FF QB until he gets someone besides Sydney Rice to throw to.
• I like Andy Reid, and we all forget he developed a team from pure crap into a Super Bowl team.  Expectations in Philly have always been high, no mistake.  It sucks that his career there will end so poorly.  I’m actually surprised he didn’t get the pick slip Monday morning.  The day after the season is over look for Reid to go walking out the door.  Somehow I expect Jerry Jones to give him a call.  Coaching for a division rival would be a great way to sock it to the Eagles organization.  I’d hate to see him land in Buffalo or worse.

WEEKLY AWARDS FOR WEEK 9

• MVP – I’d love to give it to Doug Martin who single-handedly scored almost as many points as my entire FF team.  Instead I’ll give it to Brandon Marshall for helping lift Jason to his monster weekend.
• Honorable Mention – Chicago DEF.  See above for the why.  I had to triple-check the score of that game.  Probably one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen since the 2001 Ravens or 1984 Bears.  Wow.
• Best Owner Choice – I like Martin here again, but I think he proved himself a solid start even before week 9.  I also like Nathan starting Josh Freeman, as average an FF QB as Wilson.  But I’ve got to give the award to Gary for starting Jay Cutler.  Not only for starting Cutler himself, but benching Eli for Jay.  That’s ballsy … or just a really, really good call.
• Unfortunate Bench – I could give this to me for choosing RG3 over Newton, but I’ve beaten myself up enough over this for a week and why give myself such a negative award?  It’s good to be the blogger.  So, I’ll give it to Nathan for benching Cobb.  Nathan … buddy … start him.  Nelson and Jennings are obviously not going to be at 100% for the rest of the season.  Jones won’t steal enough catches and Finley’s all talk.  Cobb is the guy in Green Bay now.  For the love of Vince, start him.
• Lawrence Philips Award – The Kansas City Chiefs are as much a fuck-up club as I’ve seen in a long time.  The fault is clearly, 100% on the coaching.  I don’t understand, nor can I forgive a team that has premiere rushers in Charles and Hillis and they carry the ball only a dozen times total in a game.  That’s just insane.  Even if you’re getting blown out in the first quarter, RB of that caliber shouldn’t be so limited in their carries.  Then, when they couldn’t answer why they did it that way, they demonstrated to the world their lack of organization and preparation.  Cremmel is not the answer, Chiefs fans, and I challenge you (Gary) to prove to me otherwise.  Demote him back to DC where he was good and bring in the next big guy.  Might want to take a long hard look at the coaches of TCU, Iowa or Oregon. 

WEEKLY AWARDS FOR WEEK 10

• MVP – This was definitely the week of the TE with stars like Graham, Gonzalez, Gronkowski, Gresham, Gates … hmm … any other G-names here?  Doesn’t matter.  Their 10+ point weeks had huge impacts across the board.  Me, I love it when a TE does this well.  I know we talked last year about having the TE available for the flex position.  I’ve got a feeling Marshall, Tong P. Ritchie and Gary might all agree this week.
• Honorable Mention – To Tony G.’s entire fricking squad.  Damn.  I love to see a team have weeks like this (preferably when they’re mine).  All players score well above expectations.  Great picks in all the positions and a huge win for Tony to keep his playoff hopes alive.  Great calls, Tony.
• Best Owner Choice – Berk made a big call starting Andrew Luck this week.  Perhaps he kept seeing those rushing TD’s add up, and they continued this week.  I’m not sure what to make of Luck’s achievements, but he has certainly passed expectations with the spotlight on him the whole time.  That team is something really special, especially the way they’ve rallied behind their youth, their coach and the poor performance of the past season looming over them.  Kudos to the Colts for a strong showing this week, and kudos to Berk for enjoying the benefits.
• Unfortunate Bench – I’ve got to give this one to Berk too.  Seriously, dude?  Benching Kyle Rudolph?  What kind of Vikings fan are you?  The guys a top TE this season.  Play him!
• Lawrence Philips Award – This week the award goes to Norv Turner who I can only hope will be looking for offensive coordinator jobs at the end of the season.  How and why he’s stayed in San Diego as long as he has is a friggin mystery to me.  Talk about mediocre.  Just about every year he’s had the talent on that team to go far, and they go nowhere.  Often they go backwards.  Since LT left the only consistently good player they’ve had has been Antonio Gates.   They let Vincent Jackson go and their draft picks to replace him have failed.  It’s time for new blood in there, and also at QB.  I trust the organization to do the right thing here.  From a FF perspective the Chargers should be helping us way more than they are.

LOOKING AHEAD

• I’m not 100% sure, but I think Tony P. locking up a playoff spot in Week 10 is an EW record for earliest lock.  Congrats!
• Unless Nathan’s team gets majorly hit by injuries he’s in. 
• That leaves the rest of us with 3 weeks to take a playoff spot.  Every win, every point counts now.  No lackluster performances allowed.  I think this week will start to weed out those who are unworthy.  But, I expect at least 4-5 teams .500 fighting for those last playoff positions in Week 13.  And that’s the kind of FF I love to watch (and unfortunately watch is all I’ll get to do after Tony P. makes it 3 blowouts in a row for me).
• Enjoy the weekend everybody!  I promise to be on time next week.