The NFL season is 17 weeks long.
With each team having a bye week that means each team plays 16 games, however that last week is nothing like the other 16.
Football is a grueling sport and at the end of the day teams that won’t be going to the playoffs have little to play for. Teams that already have locked their place into the playoffs have little to play for- they don’t want to risk injuries to their stars before the playoffs. Take the case of Pittsburgh, who saw their star quarterback suffer a concussion in a meaningless Week 17 game- now they might have to enter the post-season with backup Byron Leftwich under center, not a comforting thought.
So this means that the players you have counted on all season to take you to the promise land may not be playing in the last game of the season or worse, they may play for a little bit then take the rest of the day off- like Peyton Manning always does. I will say however, it was really funny to watch Peyton on the sidelines with a headset, yelling at his backup Jim Sorgi. Imagine what it’s like to backup one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. At least he knows that he’ll get to play in at least one game every year- the last one.
The point is you don’t know who’s going to play and who’s not going to play- so trying to pick players for Week 17 is really tricky and unlike anything you’ve had to do any other time in the Fantasy Football season. Dave Richard over at CBS Sports and Matthew Berry over at ESPN know it. Most leagues only have their season run til Week 16 to avoid the chaos. 2 of my 3 leagues were done after Week 16, with only my Yahoo! league going til Week 17. As great as it was to play in the championship game, I couldn’t believe I was trying to pickup terrible Torry Holt because I thought he might actually play compared to my other stars.
All in all it’s the end to a very successful fantasy season for me, let’s see how I did:
TMG Sportsline League (13-3)
We don’t play for money but to me it’s all about the bragging rights. Maybe next year we should put some money on the line. But til next season, I can now walk around the office as the fantasy football champion. Last week I questioned my choice to start Tyler Thigpen over Tony Romo in the championship game- and the decision paid off. Once again I had great running back depth but struggled to pick the winners as I must of left a lot points on my bench. Larry Johnson is terrible and I’ll never draft him again. I’ve also learned that whoever I draft in the first round in this league will also be a bust. Thank goodness I banked on Tony Romo once again to throw my team to victory. I also made sure to take a chance rookies like Matt Forte and it’s always nice to have one of the two receivers in Arizona, last year I had Larry Fitzgerald and this year I had Anquan Boldin. I already can’t wait to start analyzing players for next year.
Yahoo! League (9-4-1)
While I was the loser in the Week 17 championship, I’m still happy to do well in what a league that was very competitive compared to last year. While my friend Sean is the comissioner in this league, I am pretty much the head recruiter. I am thrilled that Falkor and Wendi had fun playing in the league and I already have a few more people to try and get into the league for next year. I’m hoping to fill out the league with competitive managers and maybe next year we can even hold a live draft.
Diet Yahoo! League (9-5)
I ended the season as the top seed but finished 4th thanks to a disappointing playoff run, but like I said before, things are so ridiculous in a six team league that it only makes sense. This was the first team that was a clever pun on my name, and I think I’ll have to start thinking of cool names like that for future leagues. I particularity enjoyed how I actually drafted Donte Stallworth with my last pick only to drop him an hour after the draft. If this league decides to play again next year I think I’ll have to help them recruit some more players.
Well that’s it for fantasy football in 2008, I already printed out the rosts, draft results, and stats from these leagues for my archives. They might come in handy if I have to look back to see how certain leagues play out and how certain managers draft players. Til next year it’s time to sit back and enjoy the playoffs but it’s only a couple of months til April and Baseball season!
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