The Sanderson Gazette - 2019-12-11 - Collision Courses

"Love the Gazette. It keeps me moving each week. Without the Gazette, my life would be meaningless." - Richie, proud husband and father

Quarterfinals Recap

Derrek def. Pulley, 123.84-90.32:

Derrek won his sixth consecutive playoff game (seventh straight if you count the 2012 fifth-place game) convincingly. Emmanuel Sanders (32.68) and Philip Rivers (27.20) both had big games, which meant Christian McCaffrey's (16.23) second straight sub-twenty-point week didn't really hurt. Pulley got good games from Julian Edelman (19.47) and Amari Cooper (17.07), but Tom Brady's 10.95 and Darren Fells's 0.27 caused him to lose in the quarterfinals for the second straight season.

Mike R. def. Babel, 121.06-87.17:

Mike finally won an elimination game! He can thank some midseason trades for his victory; DeAndre Hopkins (23.20), George Kittle (14.93), Cooper Kupp (12.00), and Dak Prescott (19.80) all had good games, and none were drafted by Mike (more on this later). Babel got 21.70 from Ezekiel Elliott, but Baker Mayfield (12.40) and LeSean McCoy (4.43) didn't deliver.

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums:

Derrek's 123.84 was the high score this week.

Slapped Heartbeat:

Babel's 87.17 was the low score this week.

Weekly MVP:

Emmanuel Sanders (32.68) had both receiving and passing touchdowns this week for D.

Dud of the Week:

The two losers got barely a point combined from their tight ends. Babel played Mike Gesicki's 0.80, and Pulley suffered through Darren Fells's 0.27.

Start of the Week:

Derrek wasn't tempted by Jaylen Samuels's (4.00) matchup (@ARI), instead playing Emmanuel Sanders (32.68) and Mike Williams (14.40) in his flex spots.

Misplay of the Week:

Pulley cost himself nearly twenty points by playing Tom Brady (10.95) over Jimmy Garoppolo (30.05), but that wasn't even the worst QB play of the week. Babel left over thirty points on his bench, where Drew Brees's 43.55 sat while Baker Mayfield's 12.40 got the start.

Neither decision actually determined their game's outcome, but they were still both brutal.

Pickup of the Week:

Philip Rivers was added by D and scored 27.20 points.

Season Postmortems

Mark Babel, 8-5, 1,309.03 points, 5th, 6.39 expected wins

Babel had an odd year. He started 2-1, but it was one of the luckiest 2-1 starts in Blingaleague history. His luck evened out, and after five weeks, he was 2-3, having yet to score 100 points in a week. But in week six, he caught fire, breaking 100 points in seven of the last eight weeks and finishing the season on a 6-2 stretch.

His top historical comparison is the memorable "Video Game Bosses" version of himself. In 2012, he started 1-4, but rallied to 6-7 and even made Blingabowl V.

Adam Pulley, 8-5, 1,421.56 points, 3rd, 7.41 expected wins

Pulley was basically the mirror image of Babel. He had the most expected wins through three weeks ever and reached 4-0 before losing in week five. He scored 110 or more points five times in the first six weeks, and then didn't do so again for the rest of the year.

His most similar team is the 2016 version of his mortal enemy, Rob. Rob also had three great games to open the year and started 5-1 before stumbling to 8-5 and a quarterfinals exit.

Semifinals Preview

#1 schertzopotamus (Schertz, 9-4) vs. #6 D's Nuts (Derrek, 8-6):

Derrek leads all-time series, 5-3.

It was always going to be this way. Our two-time defending champ vs. the guy who's been in first place since week eight.

Schertz's roster has been stacked all year, and he traded for Tyreek Hill (vs. DEN) and Zach Ertz (@WAS) in week eleven to improve at WR and shore up his one weakness, TE. However, does he need to be concerned about as many as three core players this week? Russell Wilson (@CAR), Tyler Lockett (@CAR), and Saquon Barkley (vs. MIA) haven't been producing well since week nine. At least Barkley has a good matchup. Schertz can still win games without those three, as Derrick Henry (vs. HOU) has been awesome and Aaron Jones (vs. CHI) is capable of scoring thirty points any given week.

And yet, Derrek has the single best fantasy player in this matchup (and the world): Christian McCaffrey (vs. SEA). But after that, his team is arguably weaker at every single position than Schertz's. Derek Carr (vs. JAC) is slated to start for D at QB; Odell Beckham, Jr. (@AR) has been rather mediocre this year; Mike Williams (vs. MIN), Darius Slayton (vs. MIA), and Emmanuel Sanders (vs. ATL) have been hot and cold. Darren Waller (vs. JAC) has been reliable at TE, though.

Pick: schertzopotamus.

#2 Harrison Hammers (Matt, 8-5) vs. #4 Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 9-5):

Matt leads all-time series, 12-5.

It was always going to be this way. This is the eighteenth matchup between Matt and Mike; that ties the Clash of Hatred for the second most games between two teams ever. This is also the second straight year they've met in the semifinals. Last year, #4 Matt upset #2 Mike; can Mike slay his demons and return the favor?

Matt's been led by Lamar Jackson (vs. NYJ) all year, but the likely league MVP is battling a quad injury. Will he see his effectiveness drop? That could impact Matt's TE, Mark Andrews (vs. NYJ), as well. Todd Gurley II (@DAL) and Joe Mixon (vs. NE) have emerged late in the year for Matt, as well, and Dalvin Cook (@LAC) has been great all year.

Mike finally got his playoff win, but at what cost? Calvin Ridley is now on IR. DeVante Parker (@NYG) is questionable with a concussion. Tevin Coleman has been angrily cut. Mike's semifinals chances will depend on a couple of 49ers, both vs. ATL: George Kittle and Raheem Mostert.

Pick: Harrison Hammers.

Fifth-Place Game Preview

#3 Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 8-6) vs. #5 Baker Baker One-Nine (Babel, 8-6):

Pulley leads all-time series, 10-8.

This is the nineteenth game between Pulley and Babel, the most all-time.

Pick: Baker Baker One-Nine.

Special Feature: The Year in Trades

I figured this was as good a time as any to take a look at all the trades we made this year, which you can now find on blingaleague.com!

Week 1

Trade between Dave and Rob

Rob received:

  • Pick 2.11 (Brandin Cooks)
  • Pick 3.04 (Tyler Boyd)
  • Pick 11.04 (Justin Jackson)

Dave received:

  • Pick 2.05 (Zach Ertz)
  • Pick 3.10 (Aaron Rodgers)
  • Pick 12.05 (Damien Harris)

Through five weeks, it looked like Rob had won this trade based on the two teams' records. Boyd and Cooks were good to start the season, while Ertz and Rodgers struggled. But halfway through the year, there was a reversal of fate for those players, and Rob and Dave both saw their seasons turn around.

Jackson and Harris had zero fantasy impact this year.

Week 3

Trade between Mike R. and Scott

Scott received:

  • Adam Thielen - ineligible to be kept
  • Travis Kelce - keeper cost: 1st

Mike R. received:

  • Cooper Kupp - keeper cost: 3rd
  • George Kittle - keeper cost: 7th
  • Dak Prescott - keeper cost: 10th

Richie has not let Scott forget this trade, and in retrospect, he's absolutely right. At the time, Scott appeared to be upgrading slightly at TE and a bit more significantly at WR, so giving up a QB to even it out seemed fine.

Scott's had to deal with injuries to Thielen and his own QB, Patrick Mahomes II, which in turn affected Kelce. Meanwhile, Mike can point to his acquisition of a top five QB and TE and a top ten WR as a reason he's playing in the semifinals.

Week 5

Trade between Ed and Scott

Scott received:

  • T.Y. Hilton - keeper cost: 1st
  • DJ Chark, Jr. - keeper cost: 9th

Ed received:

  • Odell Beckham, Jr. - keeper cost: 1st
  • Golden Tate - keeper cost: 9th

Ed thought he was selling high on DJ Chark, Jr., but he couldn't have been more wrong: Chark wound up being the best player involved in this deal.

But it's debatable if Scott won this trade. Hilton's been injured for most of the time since, and Tate had some good games for Ed. Ed was also able to turn Beckham into even more value (more on that later).

Week 7

Trade between Babel and Pat

Pat received:

  • Allen Lazard - keeper cost: 9th

Babel received:

  • Christian Kirk - keeper cost: 7th

This was a panic trade by Pat on a Sunday morning when he had to scramble for a healthy player. Lazard has just been OK, and Kirk has had one big week since then, but this trade was mostly inconsequential in hindsight.

Trade between Richie and Rob

Rob received:

  • David Johnson - keeper cost: 1st
  • Sammy Watkins - keeper cost: 4th
  • Jared Cook - keeper cost: 5th
  • Philip Rivers - keeper cost: 8th

Richie received:

  • DeAndre Hopkins - keeper cost: 1st
  • Jared Goff - keeper cost: 6th
  • Mark Andrews - keeper cost: 8th
  • Derrius Guice - keeper cost: 9th

Rob's main impetus for this trade was getting rid of Goff as if he were a cursed Monkey's Paw. He thought he was buying low on Johnson, but he was wrong; in the four weeks Johnson was on Rob's team, he put up a combined -0.53 points.

Richie wound up with the two best players in this trade, Hopkins and Andrews, whom he ultimately used to get keepers for 2020.

Week 8

Trade between Derrek and Ed

Ed received:

  • Allen Robinson - keeper cost: 4th
  • Austin Hooper - keeper cost: 9th

Derrek received:

  • Odell Beckham, Jr. - keeper cost: 1st

Despite Hooper only playing two games for Ed after this trade was made, it still seems like a solid win for him. Robinson outscored Beckham in five of the seven weeks following this trade (including the quarterfinals), and you have to think D would prefer to have the Chicago WR over the Cleveland one moving forward.

Week 10

Trade between Mike R. and Richie

Richie received:

  • Michael Gallup - keeper cost: 7th
  • Kenny Stills - keeper cost: 9th

Mike R. received:

  • DeAndre Hopkins - keeper cost: 1st
  • DeVante Parker - keeper cost: 9th

This looked like a good win-win trade at the time. Hopkins would be crucial for Mike's playoff push, while Gallup looked like a solid keeper heading into next year. Both those things are still true, but it was Parker that was the steal of this one; the Dolphins WR was a stud down the stretch for Mike, and losing him to injury now could be devastating. It's hard to fault Richie for lacking that foresight, though.

Trade between Ed and Pulley

Ed received:

  • Melvin Gordon III - keeper cost: 3rd

Pulley received:

  • Julio Jones - keeper cost: 1st

Ed and Pulley have a history of giant trades, so it was a bit surprising to see how straightforward this one was. Ed was looking for a keeper, Pulley for an immediate boost. Neither had any duds since the trade (though Gordon had his bye and Jones missed week thirteen due to injury), and since Gordon actually outscored Jones since the trade, it looks worse for Pulley in retrospect than it did at the time.

Week 11

Trade between Dave and Schertz

Schertz received:

  • Tyreek Hill - keeper cost: 1st
  • Zach Ertz - keeper cost: 2nd
  • Alshon Jeffery - keeper cost: 4th

Dave received:

  • A.J. Green - keeper cost: 4th
  • Courtland Sutton - keeper cost: 6th
  • Dallas Goedert - keeper cost: 9th

Ah, the controversial one. Dave traded away two stud players (Hill and Ertz) for what appeared to most of the Blingaleague to be just one keeper (Sutton), so this trade naturally generated a lot of commentary. Sutton had two huge weeks since the trade, so it looks a little better, but Dave did give up a ton of value to the first place team.

Trade between Pat and Rob

Rob received:

  • Leonard Fournette - keeper cost: 2nd
  • Danny Amendola - keeper cost: 9th
  • New Orleans defense - keeper cost: 9th

Pat received:

  • David Johnson - keeper cost: 1st
  • Tyler Boyd - keeper cost: 3rd
  • Sammy Watkins - keeper cost: 4th
  • San Francisco defense - keeper cost: 9th
  • Carlos Hyde - keeper cost: 12th

Rob clearly had the goal of snagging Fournette as a keeper for next year, and he did. Pat gained a lot in this trade, but ultimately, it had no impact on the playoff race.

Trade between Matt and Richie

Richie received:

  • Evan Engram - keeper cost: 3rd
  • Austin Ekeler - keeper cost: 4th
  • DK Metcalf - keeper cost: 8th

Matt received:

  • Joe Mixon - ineligible to be kept
  • Kenny Golladay - keeper cost: 3rd
  • Mark Andrews - keeper cost: 8th

Finally, we come to Richie's second keeper-related trade. DK Metcalf is already a good flex player, so keeping him for an eighth will be nice. Golladay's been solid all year, and Mixon's emergence late in the year means that this looks like a nice win-win trade.

Closing Thoughts

If Derrek and Mike R. win this week, D will pass Matt as the franchise with the best playoff record. Here's the full list:

  • Matt: 12-5, 0.706
  • Derrek: 11-5, 0.688
  • Rabbit: 8-4, 0.667
  • Pulley: 12-8, 0.600
  • Rob: 10-11, 0.476
  • Kevin: 5-6, 0.455
  • Babel: 7-9, 0.438
  • Allen: 3-4, 0.429
  • Schertz: 2-3, 0.400
  • Ed: 5-9, 0.357
  • Richie: 1-2, 0.333
  • Mike R.: 2-7, 0.222
  • Dave: 1-6, 0.143
  • Katie: 0-0, 0.000
  • Pat: 0-0, 0.000
  • Scott: 0-0, 0.000

Also, please don't forget to vote on our rule change proposals for next year.