Evans World – Week 10

AND NOW THINGS GET REALLY INTERESTING

Three weeks of the regular season left and 10 teams still in contention for the playoff spots.  God, I LOVE this year!  This morning I took some time to break down the current standings as well as the upcoming matchups and try to predict, somehow, just who might make it into the playoffs.  Let’s see if you like/agree with what I came up with.  It’s definitely going to be a VERY fun three weeks.

• So, it’s pretty clear to me there is only one person who has a guaranteed money playoff spot and bye week:  Berk.  Berk’s team is averaging 101.17 points per week, and his next two opponents are the bottom 2 teams in the league.  Even if Ritchie manages to beat him in Week 13, I don’t think it changes a thing.  Congrats to you, Berk, on a successful regular season.
• Of the current 6-4 teams (Mike, Ritchie, Marshall and Jason), they all will be playing each other in the next three weeks.  That makes for very hard matchups for each of them that could keep the top spots in the league changing each week.  Strangely enough I think the upcoming Week 11 matchups between Mike and Marshall and Jason and Nathan will have the biggest impact on the top 6 spots in the league.  Those 2 matchups are definitely going to be must watches for everybody to enjoy and see where your team falls in the standings afterwards!
• Of the current 5-5 teams (me, Nathan, Tony P, Kevin), there’s a pretty big difference in total team points that anyone who is 5-5 today should be considered in a must-win situation all 3 weeks and we also need some high point totals in order to get above each other.  Nathan’s sitting the best of the 5-5 teams, for sure, and he faces me and Tom before the playoffs.  Assuming Nathan can survive this week’s matchup with Jason, I think he’s got an easy run to the playoffs.  Kevin could win his last 3 matchups and still not be able to make the playoffs because of his team point total, but we’ll see.
• I think Tony P has the hardest schedule of everyone in the league, facing Ritchie, Kevin and Marshall in the weeks ahead.  Tony P could become this year’s spoiler as he makes his run at a 5th straight playoff appearance.  The numbers are against you, Tony, but I know that’s never made a difference in the past.  Good luck!
• Gary’s sitting at 4-6 and if he hadn’t lost that nail biter of a matchup this past week against Ritchie, I’d say odds were more in his favor.  I think he’d have to have a LOT of things go his way to make it into the money playoffs.  I do love to see how hard his team has played in the past few weeks to keep him in the thick of it.
• As for me, my odds are especially poor.  Without Aaron Rodgers, my chances of beating Nathan and Mike in Weeks 12 and 13 are slim, not to mention my anemic team point total would keep me behind other teams like Kevin to try to get that last coveted playoff spot.  I don’t see it happening this year.  As with every year, it only matters that I beat Tom and I like my odds against him this week.
• Tom, I’m sorry dude, but this week you made the EW Record Book with your 6th straight loss.  Assuming I can beat you this week, you’re looking at finishing with a 2-11 regular season record and a 9th straight loss, both of which earn you a few more spots on the EW Record Book.  I’m glad you’re back this year and you stuck with it.  I think this is yet another reason to do a live draft and not let Yahoo! pick for us.  Tom’s 100% Yahoo-picked team is coming in dead last.

In case you were wondering, here’s the table of data I used to make those conclusions.  Glean from it what you will.  The listings include the team’s average weekly point total and their current record.

 

Player	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13
Berk	Tony G (79.00, 3-7)	Tom (78.06, 2-8)	Ritchie (101.44, 6-4)
Brad	Tom (78.06, 2-8)	Nathan (111.82, 5-5)	Mike (99.06, 6-4)
Gary	Kevin (88.95, 5-5)	Marshall (97.44, 6-4)	Jason (90.72, 6-4)
Jason	Nathan (111.82, 5-5)	Mike (99.06, 6-4)	Gary (90.33, 4-6)
Kevin	Gary (90.33, 4-6)	Tony P (91.92, 5-5)	Tony G (79.00, 3-7)
Marshall	Mike (99.06, 6-4)	Gary (90.33, 4-6)	Tony P (91.92, 5-5)
Mike	Marshall (97.44, 6-4)	Jason (90.72, 6-4)	Brad (88.6, 5-5)
Nathan	Jason (90.72, 6-4)	Brad (88.6, 5-5)	Tom (78.6, 2-8)
Ritchie	Tony P (91.92, 5-5)	Tony G (79.00, 3-7)	Berk (101.17, 7-3)
Tom	Brad (88.6, 5-5)	Berk (101.17, 7-3)	Nathan (111.82, 5-5)
Tony G	Berk (101.17, 7-3)	Ritchie (101.44, 6-4)	Kevin (88.95, 5-5)
Tony P	Ritchie (101.44, 6-4)	Kevin (88.95, 5-5)	Marshall (97.44, 6-4)

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR WEEK 10

• Everyone enjoy the Annual Battle of the Evans between Nathan and Marshall this week?  Well, everyone except Nathan maybe.  The Cowboys-Saints game had a massive impact on FF leagues everywhere, no where more so in our league than in this matchup.  Even with Brees’ monster day, the combined performances of Thomas, Murray and Graham were enough to keep Marshall ahead of the game and keep Nathan from locking up a playoff appearance.  Great matchup indeed!  Pierre Thomas has been a bit of a dud for Marshall this year, but on the one week he needed him he turned up huge.  Great win.
• In the less exciting Battle of the Basement Tony G finally got Manning to throw the ball to Thomas for some TD’s and kicked the crap out of Tom.  I’ve got a feeling that Tony was cheering for Thomas the same way that Mindi has been all season.  Did you jump around in front of your TV and cry “OOO! OOO! OOO!” each time he caught a TD?  Yeah, we know you did.  You girl.
• Wow, we’re looking at a season with no trades.  Amazing.
• I love to watch Adrian Peterson run.  He runs angry and hard and fights for every down.  Eddie Lacy did the same thing this week, but got Nathan a few points. 
• My heart goes out to the Green Bay Packers who need to somehow stay alive in the next 6 weeks with backup QB’s in place.  They’ve got the WR in place to keep it close, and Lacy and Starks showed what they could do.  All I know is it will be a very long Thanksgiving day for Brad if the Cowboys win and the Packers don’t.
• I honestly don’t know who’s going to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year.  Every team in that conference is a mess.  I’d say Seattle has the best chance, no question, but I’ve got a feeling someone is going to show up in the playoffs and be the spoiler for them and the others, just like the Pack did a few years ago.  I’m just not sure which team that will be at this point.  Detroit?
• So, here’s what I think about Ritchie Incognito and the whole Jonathan Martin mess:  kick them both out.  I’ve never been in a football locker room at any level, but from what I know it’s not a place for the timid.  It’s a place of fire and blood and pain and drive and anger and rage.  It is also a place of teamwork and motivation and preparation and bonding, no mistake.  The best teams rise and fall together.  What forges those types of team differs in each environment, at every level.  But, there is a point where you go too far, where the behaviors outweigh the benefits.  That happened here.  The team gained nothing from either player’s actions, and the repercussions of the public nature of this problem on the Dolphins will last a very long time.  Neither player should be rewarded for this in any way.  Should Martin have stood up for himself more?  Yes.  If he felt action was needed there were team captains and coaches and team administrators to hear his case and advise on how to proceed.  There was a severe breakdown in the team here, and there is no place for either of them on the Dolphins or any other team at this point.  It’s sad that it came to this, for both the players and the team, but I don’t feel much remorse or pity or a need to reward anyone here.
• On a related side note, I think anyone who uses the word n----r in ANY context is an idiot.  It’s one of those words that should just die out and never be used, even in a joking or derogatory way.  Anyone who uses it maintains all of the centuries of pain and oppression that come with it, whether you’re a football player or a rapper (black or white).  Just don’t use the word.  Ever.

WEEKLY AWARDS

• MVP – Like I said, the Cowboys-Saints game had a huge impact on FF teams all over.  The MVP awards go to those players and teams who benefitted the most.  I already mentioned Marshall and Thomas, but Sproles for Berk and Coulston for Mike each helped get them wins.
• Honorable Mention – It really looked like Kevin was going to walk away with his matchup with Mike until a kicker showed up.  Kevin got beat by a kicker.  Love it.  Kudos to Hauschka for helping Mike to the win.
• Best Owner Choice – More great choices this week.  I think Mike’s gotten enough awards this week, but kudos to him for the Giants DEF and Riley Cooper.  I’d give it to Marshall for starting Bell, but I think I’ll be a little different this week and give it to the loser of the matchup, Nathan, for picking up and starting Andre Brown who had a huge week even when the Giants shouldn’t be doing anything huge other than losing.  Great pick.
• Unfortunate Bench – Berk, I was with you all this year until this week. Seriously, Jake Locker over RG3?  I’d love to know why, but I think even now you’re questioning that call.  Not just because RG3 had a monster day or that Locker is out for the season, but more because you just should have known better.
• Lawrence Philips Award – This week’s award goes to Spike Lee who is being sued by the elderly family in Florida who had to flee from their home because Lee had mistakenly posted their address as the home address of George Zimmerman.  This is a wonderful example of a celebrity failing to take his status seriously and fail to see ahead to the consequences of his actions.  Spike Lee is an idiot, and he’s keeping race relations back in the realm of hate and anger instead of healing and understanding.  I hope that Florida family wins a very healthy settlement, healthy enough to keep Lee out of the limelight for a while.

WE ARE A PART OF THE HUSKER NATION

• I know I’ve been ragging on Papuchis the past few weeks, but when a defense shows up and gets 7 sacks, negative total rushing yards and holds a home team offense to less than 200 yards and wins the game … you get a high five from me.  That defense played above and beyond its level last week, and that had to have some influence from the coaches to make that happen.  I still think he needs to go, but I think he’s shown us just what those kids can do when prepared properly.  Assuming these players continue to develop as you’d expect from this level of program, the Huskers could have some serious shit in the fall of 2015.
• I didn’t see much of the game (which is probably why we won), but I think the second most impressive thing about this win was how those young kids on both sides of the ball, especially Armstrong, went into one of the largest, loudest, most oppressive environments in football and came out and played a poised and professional game.  I didn’t see any impact of the home field on that team.  For kids that young, that’s a priceless achievement they should all be incredibly proud of.

A COUPLE OF RANDOM THOUGHTS THAT I JUST NEED TO THROW OUT INTO THE ETHER, SO BEAR WITH ME

• I think the Republican Party, the Tea Party, FOX News and anyone who wants the Republicans to be taken seriously from this day on needs to call Sarah Palin and tell her to get out of the limelight.  Stay in Alaska.  Cancel your shows.  Don’t let gossip hounds near your family.  Go back to local politics and be quiet.  It’s bad enough to have to deal with the myopic views of Cruz and the centrist positions of Christie, but as long as she keeps sticking around there is little to no hope any Republican candidate will ever be taken seriously.  Guilt by association.  It’s as big now as it ever will be.
• On a similar note, there needs to be some hardcore decisions about what to do with the Tea Party members.  The public perception of the Republican party gets grayer by the minute as more and more real Tea Party members like Cruz are stepping up with their agendas and supplanting the agreed agenda of the actual Republican Party.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say there is a a split personality in the party, but there is certainly a lack of cohesion of strategy and direction that it throws party unity out the window in any discussion.  That’s not good.
• One last note on the Republicans … I’m very much in line with Newt Gingrich’s approach to the 2013 Republican Party.  It can’t just be about beating the other guy or making him look bad or waiting for his plans to fail.  You need to come with your own ideas and plans, better ones, and then convince everyone that they the approach we should go with.  That’s called governing.  The current strategy is just politics and that leads to debt, indecision and stagnation.  My point is this … if the plan is to wait until the Democrats’ plans fail, are the Republicans supposed to then just swoop in and save the day simply because they’re the only alternative at that point?  Seems to me the better thing for them to do is swoop in and save the day with this great plan that we have NOW. 
• In case you’re wondering, I’m a registered Independent and former Democrat.  The current Democratic Party is way too far left for me to stomach these days, so it’s hard to throw my support behind the party as a whole, much less individual candidates or party platforms.  It seems to me that the Democratic Party believes it’s the government’s job to take care of everyone but no one needs to ever pay for it.  That’s not good either.
• I think Miley Cyrus is the car wreck on the highway that I’d rather zip past and put out of my memory.  Sadly, society is slowed to a crawl to watch every torrid detail and the traffic jam is pissing me off.
• I loved what I saw on the CMA’s last week.  It highlights some of the biggest differences between country music and the other genres.  There’s honesty, humor, beauty, originality, friendliness and an overwhelming sense of community.  Nobody is calling each other n---r or parading their private lives around publically.  It’s about the music and the achievement.  It was a refreshing change of pace from the past few months since the VMA’s when it’s been nothing about the music and only about the personalities.  That being said, I think it’s wrong to put Taylor Swift up there with Garth Brooks just yet.  I have to think there are more worthy candidates for that type of award.  Sadly, there isn’t and it just seems a little odd to me.
• I swear to God, there are cameras in my house and the writers of “Mike & Molly” are using our lives to write their show.  I love their show, by the way.  Hilarious!

Good luck to you all this week!  I welcome comments in each post, either here or on the league site, with your thoughts on the weeks to come.