Super Bowl

Super Bowl 50 is upon us, bringing us an intense matchup between the stellar defense of the Denver Broncos and the MVP season in Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. While it’s disappointing that the Patriots fell short of their second straight Super Bowl appearance, I can’t wait to see how Cam will perform against the #1 Broncos defense. This football season flew and I really can’t believe there’s only one game left.

The Broncos started off the season extremely strong, going 6-0 before their week 7 bye. Even with Peyton Manning’s early struggles, the Broncos were still able to thrive. Howevr, they lost four out of their next 8 games (weeks 8-15). Their run game was very inconsistent and their quarterback situation was underwhelming. Then they won their final two games of the season, clinching the #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the tournament. Even though the Broncos were the top seed in the AFC, they still weren’t favored. They were barely able to squirm past the injured Steelers on their final drive. Next, they had to beat the defending champs in the Patriots. This was easily their toughest matchup of the season. How dominant was the Broncos defense? The entire country witnessed Tom Brady being hit a total of 20 times (the most times a QB was hit in the whole 2015 season.) Even while taking this beating and throwing two interceptions, the Patriots still remained in the game and came so close to going back to the Super Bowl for the 2nd consecutive season. Most people say that defense wins championships. This theory was proven on point during this game. The Broncos made Brady look like Nick Foles (quarterback for the St. Louis Rams who badly struggled this season), throwing 2 interceptions and completed only 42.21% of his passes.

In my opinion, I think the Broncos will have to play at their best this on Super Bowl Sunday. They haven’t faced a team with the level of all around talent as the Carolina Panthers. While the Broncos defense is dominant, it’ll have to contain the MVP front runner in Cam Newton. The Panthers defense is also having a huge season, so Manning is going to have to step up his game. Manning doesn’t have much left in him and I think he’s going to struggle.

The Panthers on the other hand have been consistently dominant all season and haven’t gone through any struggles. The former #1 overall pick of the 2011 draft has had an up and down career and has struggled with turnovers and his throwing motion. Cam Newton is coming off his worst season in 2014, where he missed a few games and only had 5 wins out of 14 games (worst record in his 4 year career). However he had a huge bounce back season leading his team to a 16-1 record in the regular season and on his way to his first MVP. While Cam is a big reason why his team is playing for the NFL Super Bowl, he’s not the only reason. The running game led by Johnathan Stewart has been fabulous this season along with their stingy defense. The Panthers defense ranks 6th in yards per game, 4th in rushing yards per game, and 6th in points per game. They have the top linebacker core in the NFL including Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis (both pro bowl selections) along with a stellar secondary led by cornerback Josh Norman. The Panthers only lost one game this season; a divisional matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in week 16. In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Panthers shut out the Seahawks in the first half 31-0. While the Panthers were then shut out in the second half, they were still able to come out with the victory. After that, the Panthers faced the top notch offense in the Arizona Cardinals and were still able to destroy them 49-15.

I think we all know what team is expected to win this game, but the NFL has no script. Cam has had a marvelous season, but he hasn’t faced a defense at the level of the Broncos. The Panthers offensive line is up for a big challenge. This game is bigger than Cam Newton. The Panthers run game and defense must continue their dominance.

Do you want to hear my Super Bowl predictions? I project the first half to be a score of 20-7 with the Panthers on top. The Broncos will be able to tie the second half 10-10, but that won’t be enough. The final score of Super Bowl 50 will be Panthers: 30 Broncos: 17.

Here are my projected top players and their stats for both teams:

 

Carolina Panthers: 30

Passing    Cam Newton: 18/32 285 2 TD

Rushing    Johnathan Stewart: 18 carries 62 yards 1 FUM

Cam Newton: 8 rushes 32 yards

Mike Tolbert: 5 rushes 10 yards 1 TD

Receiving   Devin Funchess: 2 catches 28 yards

Ted Ginn: 5 catches 86 yards

Corey Brown: 3 catches 31 yards 1 TD

Greg Olsen: 6 catches 105 yards 1 TD

Kicking    Graham Gano: 3/3 FG 3/3 PAT

Denver Broncos: 17

Passing    Peyton Manning: 18/38 200 yards 1 TD 1 INT

Rushing    C.J Anderson: 15 carries 63 yards 1 TD

Ronnie Hillman: 10 carries 33 yards

Receiving    DeMaryius Thomas: 4 catches 44 yards

Emmanuel Sanders: 6 catches 88 yards 1 TD

Owen Daniels: 4 catches 55 yards

Kicking    Brandon McManus: 1/1 FG 2/2 PAT

 

FFL All Pro Linuep

 

2015 Fantasy Football All Pro’s

QB

1. Cam Newton- Carolina Panthers

Cam has taken a lot of criticism on his play style over the last few games, but he showed the entire world how dominant he can really be. Newton was as perfect as you can get, winning 16 games, leading all quarterbacks in total touchdowns, all while being the center of attention. Newton also ranked #1 overall in total fantasy points, averaging 23.3 points a game this season.

2. Russel Wilson- Seattle Seahawks

After a mediocre first half of the season, Wilson took off in the second half. From weeks 1-8, Wilson totaled 9 touchdowns, 8 turnovers, and averaged 15 fantasy points a game. From weeks 10-17, Wilson totaled 26 touchdowns, 3 turnovers, and averaged 25.25 fantasy points a game. Even without Jimmy Graham and Marshawn Lynch, Wilson excelled at a time that fantasy owners needed him at his best.

Honorable Mention, in order: Tom Brady, Blake Bortles, Carson Palmer, Matthew Stafford, and Drew Brees.

RB

1. Adrian Peterson- Minnesota Vikings

Peterson seemed to have picked up from where he was in 2013, by leading the NFL in rushing carries, yards, and T-1st in touchdowns this season. Peterson not only carried his team to a division title, he was also a fantasy stud finishing 2nd in total points for RB’s only to Devonte Freeman. However, unlike Freeman, Peterson was a steady competitor this entire season. He outscored Freeman 141-83 in fantasy points from weeks 8 and on.

2. Todd Gurley- St. Louis Rams

Other than Gurley’s back to back disappointing performances in weeks 12 and 13 of combining only 6 total fantasy points, Gurley was a fantasy study this year. Similar to Peterson, Gurley carried his team’s offense. He still ranked 3rd in rushing yards, and 5th in rushing touchdowns, even though he missed the first two games due to injury and was limited in his third.

3. Doug Martin- Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Up until week 10, Martin was a boom or bust player week to week producing 3 games of 15 or more points, and 3 weeks of 5 or under. However, Martin was more consistent in weeks 11-17, only producing one game under 9 fantasy points. Muscle Hamster ranked 2nd in rushing yards this season, and came through with 3 rushing touchdowns in his final three weeks. 2015 was a big bounce back year for Martin.

Honorable Mention, in order: Deangello Williams, Devonte Freeman, Johnathan Stewart, Matt Forte, and LeSean McCoy.

WR

1. Antonio Brown- Pittsburgh Steelers

It is clearly proven that when Big Ben is under center, Antonio Brown is the best wide receiver in the game, period. In the four games that Big Ben missed this season, Brown averaged only 4.25 catches, 58.75 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 5.5 fantasy points. Excluding those games, Brown averaged 9.92 catches, 133.25 yards, .83 touchdowns, and 18.42 fantasy points. Brown has consistently shown that he’s the best wide out in the game.

2. Julio Jones- Atlanta Falcons

Before this season, Julio had everything going for him except touchdowns. Jones was a great fantasy player in 2014, but he only scored 6 touchdowns. That was quickly fixed this season, when Jones scored 8 touchdowns. Jones took on every team’s best defensive back and was still able to rank T-1st in catches, 1st in receiving yards, and 2nd in fantasy points for wide outs. When Jones is healthy, he is virtually unstoppable.

3. Odell Beckham Jr.- New York Giants

Other than three scattered games where Beckham totaled under 5 points, Odell was a fantasy machine. For all wide outs, Beckham ranked 8th in receptions, 5th in yards, and 4th in touchdowns. He also had a historic streak of 6 games (weeks 8-14) where he averaged 7.2 catches, 132.67 yards, and 1.3 touchdowns. Not many performed better than Beckham this year.

Honorable Mention, in order: Brandon Marshall, Doug Baldwin, Allen Robinson, Eric Decker, and A.J Green.

TE

1. Rob Gronkowski- New England Patriots

Gronk has engraved his name as the #1 tight end in the NFL. Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski were basically neck to neck as the best tight ends in the league for a few years. However, Graham was traded to Seattle this season and regressed. Gronk hasn’t regressed one bit, by ranking 8th in catches, 1st in yards, and T-2nd in touchdowns for tight ends. If he and Brady are both healthy, Gronk is an automatic #1 tight end every year.

2. Gary Barnidge- Cleveland Browns

Who was more consistent this year than Gary Barnidge? Barnidge only had six games where he produced under 8 fantasy points (2nd to only Rob Gronkowski for tight ends). Barnidge literally came out of nowhere this season and ranked an impressive 3rd in catches, 4th in touchdowns, and 4th in yards for tight ends.

Honorable Mention, in order: Greg Olsen, Delanie Walker, Jordan Reed, Zach Ertz, and Benjamin Watson.

K

1. Stephen Gostkowski- New England Patriots

Gostkowski is one of only two kickers who landed in the top 10 in total fantasy points in the last two years. He ranked 1st in both years. Gostko is on the best offense in the league, giving him many chances for field goals and he rarely misses anything. Gostkowski averaged an absurd 10.5 fantasy points per game this season. (Unfortunate shocking end to the Pats season, with Gostko missing his first PAT in over 500 attempts).

Honorable Mention, in order: Chandler Catanzaro, Graham Gano, Blair Walsh, Chris Boswell, and Justin Tucker.

 

Lakeside Leeches

This week’s article is about my ESPN’s Angle Pond For Real fantasy football league played with my friends from New Hampshire. It’s a ten man redraft league. This is the third year this league has existed. Since I won the last two years, the pressure was definitely on me this year. I got the 9th pick in the draft, which was unfortunate. I chose Jeremy Hill as my first pick who was a big bust this season. I have to say it was disturbing to look back on this draft. Other than Rob Gronkowski, my other drafted players had underwhelming seasons. Some of my high draft selections that were disappointing included Jeremy Hill, Peyton Manning, Andre Johnson, and Isaiah Crowell.

After my draft on the night of September 9th, I was upset I wasn’t able to get Doug Martin. Therefore, I decided to send a few trade offers to his owner. I ended up trading Markus Wheaton for Doug Martin! I started the season off very slow. After week 2 I was 0-2 and decided to trade Isaiah Crowell and LaGarrette Blount for Melvin Gordon and James Jones. Looking back at this, it was a meaningless trade since all of these players didn’t have good seasons. I decided to make another trade after week 3. I acquired Arian Foster, who gave me a few good weeks before going down for the rest of the year, for Golden Tate. 

After the first month of the season, I was in a position that I’ve never been in in my fantasy football career. I was 0-4 and I was as angry as could be. Peyton Manning’s inconsistency was hurting my team a lot. However, my other players weren’t helping either. After week 8, I was 2-6 and it seemed like a long shot to make the playoffs. I added Marshawn Lynch, Andy Dalton, Eric Decker, and Ben Roethlisberger on waivers along the way. I won my next two games in weeks 9 and 10. Rob Gronkowski, Eric Decker, and Josh Brown were a big part of these wins. I was now an improved 4-6 heading into week 11. However, I went back to my poor play again in week 11 by putting up only 64 points and a loss. I just couldn’t get a lineup that would produce a consistent 90-100 points per game.

Many times I started the wrong players. In week 11, Jeremy Hill put up 16 points, Doug Martin put up 23, and Andy Dalton put up 20, all of which were on my bench. I added Scott Chandler and Doug Baldwin after week 12, who were key adds for my successful end of season push. My team bounced back big and totaled over 125 fantasy points in two consecutive games (weeks 12 and 13). Only 2 players produced under 9 points in both of these games. Big Ben, Bengals Defense, Doug Baldwin, and Thomas Rawls carried my team through weeks 12 and 13.

Week 13 was the last week of the regular season and only 4 teams make the playoffs. I came in 5th place! I was a little upset, but I was proud that I was able to come back from having a 2-6 record mid-season to 6-7 at the end. I won 4 out of my last 5 games in the regular season. I won the loser bracket, but it didn’t mean anything.

I have to say, my awful draft was the biggest reason I didn’t make the playoffs this year. Once I started making trades and picking up other players later, my team started to come together and put up points. While I don’t usually like to make excuses, my friend who won the league had an 11-2 record with 1169 points for, while I went 6-7 with 1154 points for. That is fantasy football. No one said it’s fair.  While this stat didn’t help me out, my team was just simply not good enough until the end of the season.

With fantasy now over, I can just sit back, relax, and watch some exciting NFL playoffs!

 

Gronk Spike

Here is the recap of my fantasy football season. I focus on the moves I’ve made and playoff success I had during the season.

Coming into my draft this past August, I have to admit I was a little nervous. I knew I was going to keep Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Rodgers, but I worried I wouldn’t get all the players I wanted. After the draft, I was thrilled because I drafted a lot of the players in my early rounds I wanted including C.J. Anderson, Justin Forsett, Keenan Allen, Andre Johnson, Davonte Adams, and Julian Edelman.

Now looking back on my draft, I have no idea how I managed to win my fantasy league. I started only 2-2 through the first month of the season and I needed to make some changes. Very early on I made some key moves including adding Chris Ivory, Danny Woodhead, Broncos Defense, and Jeremy Maclin. After week 8, I was 5-3 and in an okay position. My season was won simply because of key acquisitions and lineup changes. The only players who were consistently in my starting lineup were Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, Aaron Rodgers, and Stephen Gostkowski. When Jamaal Charles went down, I made an important move by grabbing Charcandrick West in free agency, who produced a few big weeks. I also made my first trade of the season after week 9. I traded C.J. Anderson in return for Eddie Lacy. After week 10, my record was 6-4 and there were only two weeks left until playoffs. In week 11, I had my worst week of the season, putting up a pathetic 56 points and I was annihilated. With only one week left, I needed to get my team back on track. I made some bold moves by starting Eddie Lacy and Javorius Allen who totaled 30 fantasy points. In my final week of the regular season, my team came up with a huge victory by putting up 122 points.

Now I was strolling into the playoffs as the #3 seed with confidence. I dominated the 6 seed in the first round 120-83, despite Eddie Lacy and Stevie Johnson putting up zero points. Javorius Allen, Antonio Brown, and Aaron Rodgers carried my team that week by totaling 75 points. I was now heading into the second round, where there were only four teams left. I was going to face the 2 seed that had arguably the best starting lineup in the league. My buddy had Ben Roethlisberger, Adrian Peterson, Devonta Freeman, DeAndre Hopkins, and Tyler Eifert. However, his team fell flat that week and I was able to scoot by him by 23 points. Now it was up to me and the 4 seed for the finals. My opponent had the highest potential week to week and posted an absurd 173 points in the first round of the playoffs. To be honest, I didn’t believe I had a shot at winning. His team had insane depth. The day before the big Sunday of the finals, I decided to grab Ted Ginn Jr. off of free agency for my bench and cut Leonard Hankerson (a flier I decided to pick up earlier). On the Sunday of week 16 at 12:55pm, I was worried about keeping Frank Gore in my starting lineup, due to his recent mediocre play. What do I do? Should I play Frank Gore, DeSean Jackson, or Ted Ginn Jr.? I was still leaning towards Gore because of his impressive stat line against Houston earlier in the season, but I knew Ted Ginn had the most potential to produce a big game for my flex. At 12:59pm, a minute before the deadline, I finally decided to put Ted Ginn Jr. in my starting lineup instead of Gore. This last minute lineup change ended up saving my fantasy football season. I won the Super Bowl by 9 points 125-116! Ted Ginn posted 20 points and Frank Gore delivered 5 points that day. If I had kept Gore in my starting lineup, I would have lost by 6 points. I also had big help from Antonio Brown, who put up 30 points and Stephen Gostkowski, who posted 16 points.

To be honest, I had one of the worst looking lineups by the end of the season, but I made some huge, bold moves that saved me. Constant injuries made it difficult to continue winning. Keenan Allen and Julian Edelman hurt me the most, but Charcandrick West and Rob Gronkowski also missed a few games late in the season, when I needed them most. Winning this year was not easy at all. I had to work hard for every win. My streak of winning at least one of my two main leagues every year has now reached 3. It was a very stressful season, but it truly feels great to finally have your hard work pay off. I hope you all were successful in your leagues as well. And if not, there’s always next season.