The Sanderson Gazette - 2025-01-03 - And So It Ends

Blingabowl XVII Recap

Dave def. Rob, 120.56-91.44

This wasn't really a Blingabowl to remember. Dave's score slots in as the exact median among winning Blingabowl scores, while Rob's fits in the bottom third of losing ones.

Bijan Robinson (22.07) and the Eagles defense (21.00) were Dave's best players, while Rob got a whopping 33.47 from Tee Higgins. But the biggest story here was probably Rob being forced to scramble at QB after Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out; he made the worst possible choice in Aaron Rodgers, who scored just -0.40.

Another "fun" fact about Blingabowl XVII: kickers Brandon Aubrey (Rob) and Ka'imi Fairbairn (Dave) each scored exactly zero points. Rob Bironas must be turning over in his grave!

Mike R. def. Babel, 102.49-94.90

The third place game was a lot more exciting, as Mike got just enough from Jared Goff (27.85) on Monday night to steal the prize money. Babel was led by Josh Allen's 24.80.

Final Standings

  1. Dave
  2. Rob
  3. Mike R.
  4. Babel
  5. Richie
  6. Matt
  7. Schertz
  8. Rabbit
  9. Ed
  10. Pat
  11. Kevin
  12. Scott
  13. Pulley
  14. Derrek

Final Payouts

  • Dave: $312 (Blingabowl champion plus three Team Blangums awards)
  • Rob: $146 (Blingabowl runner-up plus one Team Blangums award)
  • Mike R.: $102 (third-place game winner plus three Team Blangums awards)
  • Richie: $40 (two Team Blangums awards)
  • Babel: $20 (one Team Blangums award)
  • Schertz: $20 (one Team Blangums award)
  • Ed: $20 (one Team Blangums award)
  • Pat: $20 (one Team Blangums award)
  • Kevin: $20 (one Team Blangums award)

Awards

Team Blangums

Dave won the Sanderson Cup, finished second in points, and third in expected wins, all while playing the most difficult schedule this season.

Slapped Heartbeat

Derrek finished in last place by record, points, and expected wins, and had his heartbeat slapped thrice.

Player Awards

For the first time ever, we had the league vote on the end-of-year player awards. Thank you to everyone who voted (we had ten responses). Here are the results...

Regular Season MVP

Saquon Barkley (Rob, 4 votes) finished just ahead of Josh Allen (Babel, 3) for this award.

Playoffs MVP

Bijan Robinson (Dave, 6 votes) ran away with this one. Jared Goff (Mike R., 3) came in second.

Pickup of the Year

Sam Darnold (Kevin, 4 votes) edged out Jordan Mason (Mike R., 3) for this award.

Keeper of the Year

Despite his high cost (a 1st round pick), Saquon Barkley (Rob) got 4 votes here.

Best Prospective Keeper(s)

Brock Bowers (Rob, 7th round cost, 6 votes) and Brian Thomas, Jr. (Rabbit, 7th, 5) were the clear choices in this category.

Dud(s) of the Year

Christian McCaffrey (Schertz, drafted 1.01, 5 votes) and Travis Etienne, Jr. (Derrek, 1.05, 5) tied for this award.

Robby B. Memorial Award for Excellence in Kicking

Chris Boswell and Brandon Aubrey each received 5 votes, but by commissioner fiat, I'm going to award this to Boswell, who didn't score zero points in the most important week of the year.

Game of the Year

Kevin's Rivalry Week victory over Dave, in which he broke the single-game scoring record (and Dave put up a very good score himself), easily won this award with 6 votes.

Season Postmortems

Rob, 12-2 (0.857), 1,536.43 points, 1st place (regular season), 2nd place (playoffs), 8.95 expected wins

Rob came close to being our first repeat champion since 2018 Derrek and did become just the fourth 12-win team ever. But he fell short in the Blingabowl and probably isn't reading this with a smile.

Brock Bowers (7th) was voted as the best prospective keeper, so Rob has that going for him as we look ahead to 2025.

Dave, 9-5 (0.643), 1,545.16 points, 3rd place (regular season), Blingabowl XVII champion (playoffs), 8.59 expected wins

Dave took home his second Sanderson Cup in four years, though had much better playoff showings this time around.

He very well could choose to run it back with Justin Jefferson (1st) and Bijan Robinson (1st) as his keepers for next year, too.

Blingapower Rankings

14. Scott, 2018-2024 (last year: 14th)

  • 2024: 5-9, 1,300.76 points, 5.73 expected wins
  • Last three years: 19-23, 4,052.42 points, 19.09 expected wins
  • All-time: 39-56, 9,084.60 points, 41.17 expected wins

At one point this year, Scott looked like he was a true contender. But he fell out of the running pretty quickly.

NFL equivalent: New Orleans Saints.

13. Pat, 2009-2024 (last year: 13th)

  • 2024: 6-8, 1,361.16 points, 6.05 expected wins
  • Last three years: 19-23, 3,969.23 points, 17.68 expected wins
  • All-time: 83-129, 19,201.64 points, 82.81 expected wins

Pat stayed relevant longer than Scott did, but then moved back into his nearly-perpetual status as an also-ran.

NFL equivalent: Arizona Cardinals.

12. Derrek, 2008-2024 (last year: 5th)

  • 2024: 4-10, 1,189.84 points, 4.07 expected wins
  • Last three years: 17-25, 3,935.80 points, 17.59 expected wins
  • All-time: 120-105, 22,018.13 points, 109.69 expected wins

Derrek has finished 12th and 14th the past two seasons and is dead last in points scored in the past three. He'll take a big tumble because of that.

NFL equivalent: New England Patriots.

11. Kevin, 2008-2024 (last year: 11th)

  • 2024: 5-9, 1,516.33 points, 7.61 expected wins
  • Last three years: 15-27, 4,092.86 points, 18.92 expected wins
  • All-time: 105-120, 22,295.71 points, 112.00 expected wins

Fewest wins, 2022-2024: Kevin.

Most points scored in a single game, 2022-2024: Kevin.

The latter keeps him from sliding into our bottom three.

NFL equivalent: New York Giants.

10. Pulley, 2008-2024 (last year: 9th)

  • 2024: 4-10, 1,217.06 points, 4.27 expected wins
  • Last three years: 19-23, 4,033.91 points, 18.25 expected wins
  • All-time: 125-100, 22,807.59 points, 118.31 expected wins

Pulley squeezed into the playoffs in 2023, so he doesn't fall into the bottom four. But he also hasn't won a playoff game since 2020 (and has just two since he won the Sanderson Cup back in 2015).

NFL equivalent: Miami Dolphins.

9. Richie, 2012-2024 (last year: 12th)

  • 2024: 8-6, 1,536.89 points, 8.26 expected wins
  • Last three years: 18-24, 4,106.26 points, 19.24 expected wins
  • All-time: 75-98, 16,599.72 points, 77.36 expected wins

Richie had an exciting, if ultimately unfulfilling, 2024, but these rankings don't forget his 13th place finishes in 2022 and 2023. The end result is he'll just barely pass Pulley here.

NFL equivalent: Washington Commanders.

8. Schertz, 2012-2024 (last year: 10th)

  • 2024: 7-7, 1,390.94 points, 6.89 expected wins
  • Last three years: 19-23, 4,297.06 points, 21.83 expected wins
  • All-time: 86-87, 17,382.69 points, 87.75 expected wins

Schertz hasn't made the playoffs since his 2019 championship, but he also consistently puts out competitive - sometimes even downright scary - teams. He led the league in points in 2022 and hasn't won fewer than six games since 2017.

NFL equivalent: Cincinnati Bengals.

7. Ed, 2008-2024 (last year: 8th)

  • 2024: 6-8, 1,403.62 points, 6.86 expected wins
  • Last three years: 24-18, 4,284.95 points, 22.15 expected wins
  • All-time: 111-114, 22,614.96 points, 117.25 expected wins

There's a decent gap between the bottom half and the top half of these rankings. Ed's won at least six games each of the past four years (and has had at least 6.86 expected wins each of the past five), and is just one year removed from a first place finish and Blingabowl appearance.

NFL equivalent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

6. Babel, 2008-2024 (last year: 9th)

  • 2024: 9-5, 1,389.34 points, 6.63 expected wins
  • Last three years: 21-21, 4,117.37 points, 19.58 expected wins
  • All-time: 117-108, 22,912.49 points, 119.56 expected wins

Babel's finished third or better in the regular season three of the past four years, and made the semifinals in one of the others (this season). That's enough to look past his last place 2022 and slot him in sixth.

NFL equivalent: Los Angeles Rams.

5. Rabbit, 2008-2024 (last year: 2nd)

  • 2024: 6-8, 1,445.85 points, 7.45 expected wins
  • Last three years: 22-20, 4,405.96 points, 23.68 expected wins
  • All-time: 131-94, 23,392.54 points, 126.00 expected wins

Rabbit missed the playoffs this season for the first time since 2020, and even that needed him to suffer some bad luck. He'll slide to fifth because it's competitive at the top.

NFL equivalent: Dallas Cowboys.

4. Mike R., 2008-2024 (last year: 6th)

  • 2024: 9-5, 1,589.70 points, 9.24 expected wins
  • Last three years: 25-17, 4,369.36 points, 23.07 expected wins
  • All-time: 112-113, 22,342.59 points, 113.44 expected wins

Mike's earned two byes in the past three seasons, taking home the Sanderson Cup in one of them. He also led the league in points and expected wins this year. He's clearly shed his ne'er-do-well status and emerged as one of the current premier Blingafranchises.

NFL equivalent: Detroit Lions.

3. Matt, 2008-2024 (last year: 1st)

  • 2024: 8-6, 1,423.83 points, 7.41 expected wins
  • Last three years: 23-19, 4,400.98 points, 23.89 expected wins
  • All-time: 129-96, 23,327.17 points, 125.31 expected wins

Speaking of premier franchises, we come to Matt. Yeah, he finished in "just" sixth place this year (and eleventh in 2022), but he has three Sanderson Cup wins, two separate runs of three consecutive Blingabowl appearances, and has earned a bye more often than not since Scott joined the league in 2018.

NFL equivalent: Green Bay Packers.

2. Dave, 2008-2024 (last year: 7th)

  • 2024: 9-5, 1,545.16 points, 8.59 expected wins
  • Last three years: 23-19, 4,396.47 points, 23.08 expected wins
  • All-time: 104-121, 22,325.33 points, 113.72 expected wins

Dave's second title - and third time in the money - in four years vaults him up the rankings. Funny enough, while his 2024 champion (.613) is better than his 2021 version (.514), it's actually just his fifth best year by expected winning percentage! His 2017 (.701), 2022 (.655), 2014 (.646), and 2015 (.624) all rated higher by that metric.

NFL equivalent: Kansas City Chiefs.

1. Rob, 2008-2024 (last year: 3rd)

  • 2024: 12-2, 1,536.43 points, 8.95 expected wins
  • Last three years: 30-12, 4,546.04 points, 25.95 expected wins
  • All-time: 124-101, 22,893.23 points, 120.51 expected wins

Rob's current run of three straight Blingabowl appearances matches 2009-11 Rabbit, 2011-13 Matt, and 2018-2020 Matt as the longest such streak. And while the former two won more Sanderson Cups in their runs than Rob has in his, he can at least hold his 2023 championship over Matt's second fruitless run.

NFL equivalent: 2015-2017 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Draft Lottery and Rule Change Results

The rule proposal to limit the lottery to just pick 1.01 did not pass, so we will continue to apply the lottery logic to each of the first eight picks.

That said, the odds for pick 1.01 are:

  • Derrek: 19.35%
  • Pulley: 19.19%
  • Scott: 14.41%
  • Kevin: 13.15%
  • Pat: 9.77%
  • Ed: 9.53%
  • Rabbit: 9.28%
  • Schertz: 5.31%

Closing Thoughts

Thank you all for another great season, and happy (belated) New Year!