The Sanderson Gazette - 2021-12-22 - Tuesday Night Drama
Quarterfinals Recap
Rabbit def. Babel, 95.47-93.58
The first playoff matchup between Rabbit and Babel since Blingabowl VII came down to the wire on Tuesday night. Matthew Stafford (15.90) was doing well enough - and Darrell Henderson, Jr. (2.83) poorly enough - for Babel to cling to a tiny lead late in the game. But the Rams had a drive stall, and Matt Gay (10.00) came on to kick the game-deciding field goal in Rabbit's favor.
Gabriel Davis (23.33 for Rabbit) and Hunter Henry (22.27 for Babel) were the only two twenty point scorers in this one.
Dave def. Richie, 121.22-77.43
Our other quarterfinal was essentially over a good deal earlier, as Dave had absolutely huge games from Travis Kelce (37.47) and Tyreek Hill (25.73) on Thursday night. Richie's best player, Austin Ekeler (14.97), also went on Thursday. Outside of those three, the only other player to beat their Yahoo projection was Noah Fant (7.60) for Richie.
Weekly Awards
Team Blangums
Dave's 121.22 was the highest score of the week.
Slapped Heartbeat
Richie's 77.43 was the weekly low.
Weekly MVP
Travis Kelce (37.47) put up a tight end game for the ages.
Dud of the Week
The Cardinals defense faced off against the woeful Lions, but somehow put up a zero for Babel.
Start of the Week
All our quarterfinal teams left points on their benches, but to be fun, I'll give this to Babel for playing the aforementioned zero from the Arizona defense over an even worse option, Green Bay's -3.00.
Misplay of the Week
Babel could have played Tim Patrick's 11.60 over Donovan Peoples-Jones's 6.40 or Melvin Gordon III's 6.37 and won.
Pickup of the Week
In a move so good that we could consider retiring this award, Rabbit claimed Gabriel Davis off waivers and got 23.33 points out of the deal.
Season Postmortems
Richie, 9-5 (0.643), 1,628.09 points, 5th, 9.59 expected wins
Richie scored more points than anyone else this year, won Team Blangums three times, and made the playoffs for the first time since 2015. His season has to be seen as a success, even though he bombed the quarterfinals and is likely quite disappointed this morning.
Babel, 10-4 (0.714), 1,568.78 points, 3rd, 9.25 expected wins
And yet, Richie can't even be as disappointed as Babel. Mark was just 0.36 points from becoming our first 8-0 team ever, but then, like in 2008, he faltered down the stretch. Unlike 2008, he didn't crap the bed in the playoffs, though he still lost a heartbreaker.
Semifinals Preview
#2 Harrison Hammers (Matt, 11-3) vs. #4 Super Bash Bros. (Dave, 11-4)
Matt leads all-time series, 10-5.
Matt's lived a bit of a blessed life this year. The difference between his winning percentage (0.786) and his expected winning percentage (0.521) was the largest in history (that's on the positive side; 2012 Rob had a bigger gap in the other direction). It's not that he doesn't deserve his playoff spot, but it does mean he's an underdog despite having a bye.
Or, at least, Matt will be an underdog if Dave's team is at full strength. As of press time, Travis Kelce (vs. PIT) and Tyreek Hill (vs. PIT) are in the COVID-19 protocols, which would be a huge blow to Dave's chances. Kyler Murray (vs. IND) has a tough matchup, too, though Davante Adams (vs. CLE) seems matchup-proof and A.J. Brown (vs. SF) should return this week.
Matt has the always dependable Dalvin Cook (vs. LAR) and Mark Andrews (@CIN) and should also expected Lamar Jackson (@CIN) to play. Will that be enough to make the Blingabowl for a record fourth straight year?
Pick: Super Bash Bros.
#1 D's Nuts (Derrek, 12-2) vs. #6 Pralines & Dick (10-5)
Derrek is on a five game winning streak against his rival, having scored at least 108.18 in each of those games. (Meanwhile, Rabs hasn't topped 105.51 against D in that stretch.) Patrick Mahomes II (vs. PIT) could be without his top two receivers, but Derrek has frequently won in spite of the Chiefs' QB this year. That's because Jonathan Taylor (@ARI) and Justin Jefferson (vs. LAR) are among the top players at their positions and Diontae Johnson (@KC) and Rob Gronkowski (@CAR) have consistently delivered. Saquon Barkley (@PHI) has yet to break out, but at this point, can we expect him to?
Rabbit did a great job reinventing his team for the quarterfinals, as Gabriel Davis (@NE) and DeVante Parker (@NO) both came through with solid games. But upsetting the downward-trending Babel and the juggernaut D are very different challenges.
Pick: D's Nuts.
Closing Thoughts
Merry Christmas, everyone!