"Does this prove that Yahoo is a liberal or is it just aligning itself with the Truest Blue liberal so that Allen believes it?" - Babel

Week 11 Recap

Rabbit def. Schertz, 126.58-122.17:

Rabs moved into a tie for the last playoff spot with a Monday night comeback, as Robert Woods put up 15.60. Julio Jones added 21.73 and Matt Bryant added 17.00 to a total team effort, where only one player scored less than 12 points (Michael Gallup with 1.33). Schertz got only 1.07 from Marquez Valdes-Scantling and zero from Nelson Agholor, which offset Saquon Barkley's 33.53.

Ed def. Scott, 123.29-118.04:

T.Y. Hilton (32.67) and Andrew Luck (26.85) put Ed out to a big lead going into Monday night, but Scott had his own QB/WR stack yet to go. And boy, did they! Patrick Mahomes II (39.20) and Tyreek Hill (40.67) put up nearly 80 points between them, which combined with Todd Gurley II's pedestrian game (10.70) for Ed to make this one close.

Babel def. Kevin, 152.01-116.90:

Kevin continued his 100-point streak, but took his fifth 100-point loss of the year because of Babel's huge game. Jared Goff (36.75), Mike Evans (28.00), and D.J. Moore (26.93) all had huge games for Mark, while Ben Roethlisberger and Stefon Diggs put up equal 22.80 games for Kev.

Derrek def. Rob, 75.19-60.07:

A game between two teams tied for first? More like Pooisville Fartinals. D did get 22.13 from Davante Adams, and Rob got 22.30 from Mark Ingram, but beyond that, no one else broke 13 points.

Pulley def. Matt, 143.95-97.23:

Pulley very nearly took home Team Blangums, thanks yet again to Drew Brees (34.15), Ezekiel Elliott (28.73), and Michael Thomas (18.27). Matt pulled a Pulley and got -1.00 from each of Graham Gano and the Chargers defense.

Mike R. def. Richie, 115.72-68.81:

Our points leader was treading water for a while, but Antonio Brown (21.60) and Cam Newton (26.55) had strong finishes to their games, and Travis Kelce (22.93) delivered in the Monday night shootout. Richie got 15.97 from David Johnson, but his surprising high scorer was the Rams defense, with 18.00.

Pat def. Dave, 88.40-75.93:

Pat won his second straight game, as Lamar Jackson (16.20) outdueled Carson Wentz (0.90). Dave did get 26.93 from Tre'Quan Smith, but that was his lone bright spot.

Standings

1. Mike R., 8-3, 1348.50
2. Pulley, 8-3, 1325.46
3. Derrek, 8-3, 1298.44
4. Matt, 7-4, 1223.12
5. Rob, 7-4, 1125.00
6. Kevin, 6-5, 1258.24
7. Rabbit, 6-5, 1147.18
8. Richie, 5-6, 1062.01
9. Scott, 4-7, 1247.03
10. Ed, 4-7, 1165.90
11. Babel, 4-7, 1161.73
12. Schertz, 4-7, 1137.61
13. Dave, 4-7, 1013.82
14. Pat, 2-9, 946.07 (e)

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums:

Babel's 152.01 is only the second time someone has cracked 150 in this high scoring season.

Slapped Heartbeat:

Rob's 60.07 gets him his second Slapped Heartbeat in the last five weeks (which means he has doubled his all-time total in the last five weeks).

Weekly MVP:

Some really good options this week, but I'll go with Jared Goff. His 36.75 was less than four points off the highest scoring player this week (Tyreek Hill), and was the highest score on Babel's

Dud of the Week:

Dalvin Cook's -1.07 was a big driver of Rob's awful week. (You could also argue for Carson Wentz's 0.90 for Dave, against a Saints defense that has had no problem giving up QB points on the year.)

Start of the Week:

Pat subbed in Christian Kirk (16.27) in place of the questionable Sammy Watkins (0.53) and won by less than 13 points.

Misplay of the Week:

Rob traded Tyreek Hill's 40.67 for DeAndre Hopkins's 11.47 and lost by just over 15 points.

As an honorable mention, Schertz played Nelson Agholor's zero over Peyton Barber's 17.13 and lost by less than five points.

Pickup of the Week:

Rabs grabbed Matt Bryant and was rewarded with 17.00 points.

Blessed Cahoots:

Somehow, Richie's defense scored 18.00 fantasy points in a game where they gave up 51 real points, which saved him from a sub-60 score and a Slapped Heartbeat.

Pryor Play of the Week:

Jordan Reed hasn't been bad this year, given the overall lack of reliability at the tight end position, but his 15.47 was the first time he broke into double digits since week one, and was instrumental in Rabs moving to 6-5 on the season.

Special Feature: The Scott / Richie Trade

I know I said I'd continue this despite Scott trading DeAndre Hopkins for Tyreek Hill, but the accounting is just too tricky. Prior to the Hopkins/Hill trade, Scott had gotten the better side two of three weeks.

Playoff Scenarios

Mike R. clinches a playoff berth with:

• a win

OR

• a Kevin loss

OR

• a Rabbit loss.

Pulley clinches a playoff berth with:

• a win

OR

• a Kevin loss.

Derrek clinches a playoff berth with:

• a win

OR

• a Kevin loss

OR

• a Rabbit loss.

Matt clinches a playoff berth with:

• a win

AND

• a Kevin loss OR a Rabbit loss.

Rob clinches a playoff berth with:

• a win.

(Pat has been eliminated from playoff contention.)

Week 12 Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 6-5, 7th) vs. Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 8-3, 2nd):

Rabbit leads all-time series, 6-5.

Rabbit still plays: Derrek.

Pulley still plays: Rob.

Rabs has won three tough games in a row to pull himself into a tie for sixth place. Despite that, he still might need to win out; he trails Kevin by over 100 points right now. Given that Kev is seemingly a lock to score at least 100 every week, Rabbit making up the point difference is not the best approach to take.

Rabs can also have a huge impact on who gets the two byes, as he plays two current 8-3 teams his last two weeks. Pulley is definitely looking for one of those byes (for the fourth time in five years!), so while his chances of actually missing the playoffs are very small, getting a win this week is still important.

Thanksgiving night looms large for this matchup. Rabbit has Matt Ryan and Julio Jones on one end of the ATL@NO matchup, while Pulley has Drew Brees and Michael Thomas on the other. While Brees and Thomas have been otherworldly lately, I could see that matchup going either way, as the Saints could decide to pound the ball on the weak Atlanta run defense.

Pulley also has two running backs in the Thanksgiving afternoon game, Adrian Peterson (@DAL) and Ezekiel Elliot (vs. WAS). That's better than anything else Rabs is throwing out there.

Pick: Pullman's MondoSquad.

Other Blingamatches

Rob for Today (Rob, 7-4, 5th) vs. The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 6-5, 6th):

Rob leads all-time series, 8-4.

Rob still plays: Pulley.

Kevin still plays: Dave.

Rob has gone from scoring 115.95 points per game during his 6-0 start to scoring 85.86 during his current 1-4 skid, falling all the way to 11th in total points. If he loses this game, he could be outside the playoff picture heading into a rivalry game against the red-hot Pulley.

Kevin has been amazingly consistent this season. His current pace puts him on track to have the highest minimum score we've ever seen for a single season (100.96) and the second lowest standard deviation among his scores (10.79, second to 2008 Babel's 10.61). And yet, he already has as many regular season losses this year as he had the two previous combined. It doesn't help that he lost his highest scoring game of the season.

Rob will likely have a fully health A.J. Green (vs. CLE) this week, and instead of having Tyreek Hill on his bye, he'll be able to stack DeAndre Hopkins (vs. TEN) with his regular QB, Deshaun Watson (vs. TEN). Who knows who will step up for Kev (outside of Alvin Kamara (vs. ATL), of course), but given his track record, at least three players will.

Pick: The Chocolate Donuts.

D's Nuts (Derrek, 8-3, 3rd) vs. HuntFournetteOctober (Babel, 4-7, 11th):

Babel leads all-time series, 6-5.

Derrek still plays: Rabbit.

Babel still plays: Ed.

Derrek was in line for a bye and in position to challenge some all-time scoring records before his dud in week eleven. And while his still-stellar point total means he's a lock for the playoffs, he'll need to have a strong two weeks to auto-advance to the semifinals.

Babel's playing out the string for pride, mostly, as the only real impact he can have is regarding which teams get byes (see the above paragraph). That said, his team appears to have finally reached its full potential, with Leonard Fournette (@BUF) healthy and rookie receivers D.J. Moore (vs. SEA) and Anthony Miller (@DET) emerging as solid options for their teams.

Derrek's going to need a big rebound from James Conner (@DEN), and he'll be looking for the GB@MIN game to turn into a shootout, as he has Kirk Cousins and Davante Adams.

Pick: D's Nuts.

Live Commish (Ed, 4-7, 10th) vs. Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 8-3, 1st):

Ed leads all-time series, 6-5.

Ed still plays: Babel.

Mike R. still plays: Matt.

Ed had some rough luck through week eight, when he made a blockbuster trade to get Todd Gurley II (bye). His luck would have turned around if he had stood pat - he'd have gone 3-0 since and would actually be ahead of Kevin in the standings - but as it is, he's in a similar position to his rival: he can mess up some bye hopes this week.

Mike's been the class of the 2018 Blingaleague since week four, as he's been first or second in place and expected wins every week since then. But he's definitely worried that we're in a repeat of 2012, when the same was true until he got bumped to third by Matt during Rivalry Week.

But Mike is getting Ed at the right time: Todd Gurley II is on bye. Adam Thielen (vs. GB) and Odell Beckham, Jr. (@PHI) should be enough for Bernie to remain at the top of the standings, still nervous about facing his rival in week thirteen...

Pick: Bernie's Bullies.

Harrison Hammers (Matt, 7-4, 4th) vs. The Vistas are Back (Pat, 2-9, 14th):

Matt leads all-time series, 6-4.

Matt still plays: Mike R.

Pat still plays: Schertz.

Matt's loss to Pulley means he has to sweat out a playoff spot, but at least he plays against the last place team this week, right? Well, would you believe that from week six on, each of these teams has broken 100 four out of six weeks? Matt's still better (averaging 106.67 vs. 102.01 over that span), but the gap isn't as wide as the full season view would suggest.

Pat can pull himself out of the cellar with two straight wins to close the season, along with two straight losses by any one of Dave, Schertz, Babel, Ed, and Scott (though realistically, he can only catch Dave in points).

Matt will be without his top WR, Brandin Cooks (bye), and possibly his best QB, Mitchell Trubisky (@DET). Rob Gronkowski (@NYJ) is probably back, but he hasn't been his old self this year. Pat will be starting whichever QB the Ravens go with vs. OAK.

Pick: Harrison Hammers.

Ova 4-4 40 boys (Richie, 5-6, 8th) vs. schertzopotamus (Schertz, 4-7, 12th):

All-time series tied, 3-3.

Richie still plays: Scott.

Schertz still plays: Pat.

The first game between these two outside of Rivalry Week is kind of a dud, as only Richie has a realistic shot at the playoffs. Even then, it's a very, very slim chance, as he'd need to go 2-0 and hope Rabbit and Kevin lose out.

Schertz's own longshot was ended last week when Rabbit came back on Monday night, but with Saquon Barkley (@PHI) and Aaron Jones (@MIN) rostered, at least he looks good heading into next year.

Pick: schertzopotamus.

Chili Right Away (Dave, 4-7, 13th) vs. Not an MD (Scott, 4-7, 9th):

All-time series tied, 4-4.

Dave still plays: Kevin.

Scott still plays: Richie.

Dave hasn't had a year this bad since our inaugural season. It actually makes the list of 15 worst seasons based on expected wins through 11 weeks.

Scott, meanwhile, is having a typical Dave year. He's fifth in points, but only 4-7. He's the first team to have more than six expected wins, but four or fewer actual wins through 11 weeks. If you loosen that criteria to five or fewer actual wins, you wind up with four different Dave seasons. In fact, his 2.29-win drop from expected to actual wins of 2.29 is fourth all time after 11 weeks (behind 2012 Rob (3.96), 2013 Babel (3.29), and 2008 Matt (2.45)).

This week, Scott will be without Patrick Mahomes II and Tyreek Hill, both on bye. But against Dave's disappointing team, that might not hurt him that much.

Pick: Not an MD.

Closing Thoughts

To put in context how crazy this year has been, here are the average scores (regular season only) for each season we've played:

• 2008: 92.45

• 2009: 99.57

• 2010: 96.99

• 2011: 101.33

• 2012: 96.36

• 2013: 97.29

• 2014: 98.61

• 2015: 96.98

• 2016: 99.14

• 2017: 95.61

• 2018: 106.88

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