Hello league mates and Happy New Year to you and your families. After a very hectic but happy Christmas break in which I stayed clear of the computer for the week, it's time to get back into the swing of things and tie up some loose ends and ask our erstwhile banker Rich D. to cut the checks. What a playoff season..and that's an understatement. Congrats to the Northboro Steroids on a very dominant regular season, and a very fortunate playoff stretch..it's incredible to win two games by a total of three points! Here's my take on the Nelson Bowl and a wrap up of the money.
NORTHBORO 59
GARVEY'S GANGSTERS 57
I will think long and hard before complaining about a loss after the way this game ended. To me, the key play happenned Sunday afternoon around 7 PM in Oakland where the Colts were holding on to a 5 point lead over the pesky Raiders. On a third and long from the Raider 31 and a minute and a half left in the game, Peyton Manning runs a " waggle " which is a fancy term for naked bootleg. He fakes a hand off to the right and goes left with the ball..not known for his running, he is all alone chugging down the sidelines with no one within 5 yards of him. At the four yard line he SLIDES, thus keeping the clock moving and NOT going into the end zone!! He kneels down the next two plays and I shudder, " this is going to cost Garvey his first Super Bowl, I just know it ". I'm sure Peyton's logic was, just keep the clock moving and don't give the ball back to the Raiders, even though they would need two scores, but, the Colts would be kicking off to the dangerous Jacoby Ford. In real life, a smart, safe play, in fantasy, a killer. Being I love parity, ( I've always been a good sharer ), I have to admit I was pulling for Garv, but when this game went to Monday, oops Tuesday night and the lead was just 12, I thought tossup, and I thought of , " the slide ".
This game broke great for Bob as most people, myself included thought the Eagles would roll and McCoy would share the fantasy goodness in an easy vctory over the road weary Vikings. Well as we know, Joe Webb looked like Warren Moon in his prime and AP manned up and the Birds lost out on the 2nd seed, something that thrills me. With the Birds playing from behind, it meant that Vick was going to be very active with both his arm and legs. Finally about 10:30 this game was decided on the 10 yard QB draw by the talented and tainted QB who I'm sure led many a fantasy team to playoff money.
Reid was actively criticised for not running the ball enough that night..funny many of the sport talk show calls the next day came from people complaining from Levvittown. Three other thoughts: kudos to Garv who almost pulled this out WITHOUT his top back. You would have thought MJD home to Skins would have been a great draw. Instead, Garv was forced to use Marshon Lynch at Tampa where the Hawks got drilled. Second point, kickers played a huge roll in this game as Bob wisely stayed clear of Bironas at KC and used Rackers in the high altitude of Denver..plus the Bronco D is awful. Garv had a huge playoff run with my lookalike Janikowski, ( I do kick lefty ). Sebastian had 15 against me Week 15 and was huge again in the Nelson Bowl. While Bob did catch some breaks in the playoffs there is no denying he had the best and most consistent team all year. He correctly points out that waivers, starting with Vick were tremendously helpful in his season. Outstanding depth. It also didn't hurt he made the best draft pick of the year with Foster in Round 4. In both leagues I play in, Foster led teams won the Super Bowl. Think about it..an undrafted free agent might be the top pick in fantasy drafts all over the country next year.
This game was a classic and the emails back and forth at the end of the night from Bob and Garv were top notch sportsmanship. That's why this league is so great. Congrats to both of you.
Believe it or not, we DID have a Nelson Bowl go into bench points. Year Two, John and I played an awful game. It ended a 22-22 tie. Remember scoring was different then, with bonus at 75 yards for RB's and WR's, so scoring was lower. On a Monday night game, my receiver Keith Jackson of the Dolphins caught a 50 yard TD pass from Dan Marino against the Bills giving me an apparent win..I was going nuts. Well I continued two minutes later going nuts, but for a much different reason. The play was called back for a hold. I was livid!! This is before computers, so I pulled out both of our rosters as the fourth quarter hit and saw I had a two point lead on bench if we stayed tied. John had Kenneth Davis, Thurman Thomas backup on his bench, and I was still holding out for some Keith Jackson magic. Well the Dolphins had the lead big so Jackson sat and so did Thomas. Davis catches a garbage time long gain on a swing pass putting John ahead on bench and giving him the trophy. Some things never change..weird shit always happens when I play John.
Keep in mind we need to watch the whole situation with the potential of the expanded season. If that happens and the NFL starts play a week earlier, we may have to adjust when we draft. But for now, enjoy the real football and THANKS TO ALL FOR A GREAT SEASON. CONGRATS AGAIN TO BOB AND GARV AS THE TWO BEST TEAMS GAVE US A TERRIFIC NELSON BOWL.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
COMMISH
