![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sUoq3EqD-ozGnJxhFoE8JQuHhmNTri-e0ZicLwmItcDr9S3Q4ZENMycQ-CPtgr4dhjWyemya0Q1Y9ASFJkodpuw9WONfkEnxCnFeEirTivLhcGmQ0NRJTDJ2lEGnsmJLrbne9kxckkT6TUAwT4r0FWtkUSckmIVOVldBFrR1t0Dw=s0-d)
I'm not doing rankings this week because I mean, come on. Who is still playing fantasy football in Week 17? Hopefully not you. If so, feel free to send a question my way and I'll answer it for you. This week, I'm just going to do a quick recap of my Week 16 picks versus the ESPN experts, and I'll give a little preview of next week's article. Yes, I'll be blogging next week. I'm off work until January 5th. What else am I going to do? Clean my house? Ha!
Anyway, it was another good year for me in fantasy, but I didn't win a championship. I finished in the top-3 in total fantasy points and was actually in 1st place before the fantasy playoffs started. In fact, I had a very similar season last year in my money league. At least this year I didn't score the most points in Week 16 (like last year) because then this part of the article would sound even saltier. But like last year, a different seed in the fantasy playoffs would have won the whole thing for me. Strange enough, last year I needed one more regular season win and this year needed one more regular season loss. If things had fallen a little differently in one week or another, I'd have my name on the trophy. But it wasn't meant to be this year either. And I know this all sounds bitter, but I also realize that's just how fantasy works out.
So I finished 3rd (again), and my finishes from 2003-2014 are now as follows:
1st, 4th, 3rd, 7th, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 4th, 7th, 3rd, 3rd... I guess I'll take it.
As for next season, I've set myself up with some decent keeper options too. I still have Jordy Nelson for another year, and in addition to him will have the following options (can only keep one):
Cam Newton, Latavius Murray, Bishop Sankey, and Jordan Matthews.
But enough about my team. Let's look back to last week and see what I got right and what I got wrong...
It was ANOTHER rough one for fantasy QBs. Andrew Luck actually had negative points before getting pulled in the second half in a blowout loss to the Cowboys. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady each only threw for one TD pass. And Peyton Manning threw for 2 TDs but also had 4 picks and nearly finished outside of the top-20! That being said, I was high on Tony Romo for the second week in a row (ESPN #10, ME #6), and he finished as the 3rd-best fantasy QB for the second week in a row. Nailed that one.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tpJ87VnHwYCr3AzGGRxoOLCbgVHy0ohPhCbEmWLZrSRXQcwkF3YjBvnADinQcyh5GDJF-l-QAhXCkkFe3fkZG96_cUD4blvJcXNQofiMhanAhti3a7iAUupo519iwYkE9AHe_d8kp7QdEaDuTFPdQCUHPdHy0ood1ne_8S97emEru46-5hvVpuSA99AcgiDbS7O_RdB2hdzVruTdstdBqEMGsWH109su7l7YaTihLFInbdHA=s0-d) |
I know. I was shocked you played well too. |
Of course I was also down on was Philip Rivers (ESPN #15, ME not ranked), who had a terrible first half and looked like he'd be outside of the top-20 fantasy QBs...and then the 4th quarter happened. He turned things around and led a huge comeback win and finished as a top-5 fantasy QB. I'm sure glad my opponent played Big Ben instead of him last week!
Back to nailing it though.
I got it right with Matt Asiata (ESPN #26, ME #20), as he ran all over the Dolphins in a high scoring game. He was a top-3 RB and came close to having another three touchdown performance. As for Giovani Bernard (ESPN #22, ME #30), I was wrong there. He actually was very productive with his touches and even found the endzone against Denver on Monday night. He finished as a top-15 RB.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I was also wrong about Golden Tate (ESPN #22, ME #15), but Anquan Boldin (ESPN #33, ME not ranked) also put up mediocre numbers. Both guys finished outside of the top-40 wide receivers in Week 16. I was also fortunate that Owen Daniels (ESPN #17, ME #11) had a quiet day, along with all of the other Ravens except for Torrey Smith.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As for the defenses, I was high on the Jags (ESPN #17, ME #10) and Titans (ESPN #18, ME #12) versus the ESPN experts because I was predicting a low-scoring Thursday night game with two brutal offenses. The Jags won the game 21-13 and were actually a top-12 fantasy defense. The Titans were not. But you know who else wasn't a top-12 defense?...the Arizona Cardinals (ESPN #6, ME not ranked). I said they wouldn't come close to winning this game and that Seattle would score 20+ points while not turning the ball over. Well that's exactly what happened. Arizona gave up 35 points, had just one sack, and they were the WORST fantasy defense you could have started in Week 16!!! How's that to an end to my 2014 picks versus the ESPN guys, huh?!?
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sFdWetVS7sHqm9bCwoUTwXoeiNai_NeWVPnEEBYQkl5RSBYBb4wRThyve1_q4TUeczaF_-kKgjV7vcS1-WaxQ3qqi8Y36wgN3YMAHBIb84gGDr1hu4wy5k99h3e0Po1XdGCUTF_UYpB8ijVPJbQ7ZDn7mf7V8y4cDjexwBVFR35S86dibqjVs_HoC0i42sdWHN-asnzaQ2FflrXdojLNgPZIQ0bw=s0-d)
So that's it for 2014. Like I said, I'm going to do another article next week, but it'll likely be later in the week (and thus in 2015). I'll be recapping my preseason picks to see what I got right and what I got wrong there. For instance, I was high on guys like Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph. Luckily I didn't end up with either in my leagues because they were huge busts this season. But I also suggested not to reach for WRs like Percy Harvin or Reggie Wayne. So you win some and you lose some. I'll also be recapping my REAL football predictions, which are looking pretty good (aside from the Titans...yikes).
Anyway, good luck to anyone who is still playing in Week 17. And if you are, maybe join a different league in 2015 (or at least talk to your commish about changing the rules!).
Cheers,
Bart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|