Week 11: A review

Serkus owner Stan Goff comments on his win over Newt: "I see a 56-47 win for me, thanks to Big Ben's 20 points and Foster's 15 (along with TDs from Dez Bryant and Calvin Johnson)...I survived a zero from Gore and a mistake to bench Miles Austin the week he gets 2 TDs. 

A normal game from Andre Johnson and you would have beaten me....Happy Thanksgiving to all! I will be in New York for work Nov. 27-30 (at a convention on a Sunday while football games are being played---but with the Cowboys playing Thursday I will get to see them and also will have to turn in my lineup by then)."

Nike slideshow

Week 10: A review

Random thoughts around the League from owners:

Serkus' Stan Goff: "Thanks DJ...I got sidetracked and kinda forgot...I was nervous about all the TDs last night but looks like Moss did not score any points amazingly. I have Vick in another league but wasn't smart enough to use Mr. 6 TDs.

Actually, DJ I think Manning may have gotten you 15 points for his 2 TDS and topping the 350-yard mark for 9 more points,  new this season."

Eggers' Mike Miazga: "Comeback of the century. I trailed 29--0  after Thursday and 29-11 going into Monday night (I had only Chris Johnson's 11 points).

Vick scores 34 points by himself (333, 4 TD, 2 Rush TD, 80 yards rushing) and Akers kicks 8 PAT and a 40-something FG for 13."

 

Barrels' Chris Traczek: "Things were looking bleak for the Creighton Barrels as they faced a 40-21 deficit (why didn’t I start Brandon Lloyd?) against the Dublin Brawlers with only Tom Brady left to play against the supposedly vaunted (but undoubtedly cheap-shot) Pittsburgh defense on Sunday night. But Brady shook off a season-long stretch of blah performances with a 24-point game, highlighted by 350 yards passing (this owner’s first chance to take advantage of the new expanded scoring rules) and a 3-yard touchdown run to post a come-from-behind 45-40 victory that completes a season sweep of the division leaders and hopefully gives a much-needed jolt to the Barrels’ playoff chances."

 

 

 

Week 9: A Review

What's it like to participate in a Finks League matchup with your wife? Eggers owner Mike Miazga did in back-to-back weeks with Brawlers owner Kris Herigodt. Husband-and-wife split their games.

Miazga gives us a summary: "Brawlers take the Household Bowl round 2 by a 46-39 count. HNE took a 39-23 lead into the Sunday night game, but Rodgers and Jennings combined to score as many points (23) as

Kris' entire team had up to that point. This is one of those could, have, should, have type games. If I start Akers and S. Johnson instead of Janikowski and Maclin I have 47 points, though if Kris starts Cle's Hillis (180-plus rushing and 2 scores), she blows me out by a good margin."

No regrets for Knights' Pearlman :: FOOTBALL :: YourSeason

No regrets for Knights' Pearlman :: FOOTBALL :: YourSeason

Week 8: Review

The anticipated first showdown between husband and wife Mike Miazga (Eggers) and Kris Herigodt (Brawlers) fizzled. The Eggers won 58-20 behind PK Janikowski's 19 Finks points. But the couple meet again for Week 9, which should make things interesting if the Eggers could sweep the first place Brawlers.

The middle of the season is confusing in terms of the schedule. Week 7 and Week 9 are actual randomly determined games. Those weeks determine the two opponents you will meet twice in the other division. Since Week 8 is part of a regular crossover week, it is possible to meet twice on back-to-back weekends this time of the year. I know Dah Commish's Cymbe will play Newt back-to-back in Weeks 8 and 9.

Serkus is looking to break away from the pack in its division with a convincing Week 8 win over the Posse.

Here is owner Stan Goff's take: "As far as the Serkus Act goes, thanks to 3 TDs and 23 points from Calvin Johnson, I won 54-18 even while getting ZERO points from Big Ben. I have an uneasy feeling about this 6-2 team....last year my .500 squad someone won it all, but I'm worried this one may pile up wins in the regular season before pulling a 'Cubs' and bowing out of the postseason quietly."

Mid-Season Report Cards

We're half way there without a dominant team and wide-open races in each division. Through Week 7, Dah Commish asked each owner to submit a mid-season report card on their team's progress with each owner providing a letter grade.

Here are the report cards from those owners that submitted one in order of the standings from best to worst:

BRAWLERS

I would give my team an A.  It has changed a lot since draft day, but the pick up of LT and Hillis have been great additions for me. 


NEWT

The RB and WT positions have been strong but the QB has beem as unsettled as the Bears O-line.

With Stafford in the fold the area could be in for a shot in the arm. If not.....heads will roll in the coach and upper management positions.

With the disappointment of last year's playoffs still fresh, a Finger Bowl title is the only acceptable goal. GRADE: C


EGGERS

Once again, I might be the unluckiest Finks League owner in the league's history. A 3-1 start now smothered by three straight losses of 9, 2 and 2 points. All three losses could have easily been wins. I succumbed to Josh Scobee hanging a 27-point outing on me in one of the losses. This past week, Romo breaks his collarbone before the half. Kitna comes in and throws two more scores. If Romo could have waited to break his collarbone until after he threw his second touchdown, I would have won. Instead, I waste a 17-point kicking effort from Akers (making his first HNE start of the year due to Kaeding being hurt)

I've been hampered by Chris Johnson's ineffectiveness (I believe 3 games of 0 points this year), Tom Coughlin's insipid insistence in using Brandon Jacobs on goal line situations (I have Bradshaw, who has been a 100-yard machine this year but no touchdowns) and poor WR play/poor selection of WRs by the HNE owner (I knew it would be a weakness going into the season), but if I play SF TE Davis this past week, I win. If I start Green-Ellis instead of Bradshaw, I win. Both moves I thought about right up until kickoff.

I thought I had made two hideously bone-headed transactions involving IND WR Collie (the week after I cut him he went off for 200 and several scores at Denver) and SD WR Floyd. I feel a little better with Collie being hurt in recent weeks. And now Dallas Clark is fried for the rest of the year, so that's 33 percent of the starting lineup out the window, 50 percent if you count Kaeding, who had started the previous 6 HNE contests and had numerous double-digit efforts.

The good news I can't set a new low for HNE wins in a season (I've already tied the low-water mark of 3).

Hopefully a little luck will be on my side in the second half and I can turn it around. But I see I play my wife this week and that will end up being a loss, just because I have no luck and just so she'll be able to rub it in (I believe she leads the all-time series 2-1 or something like that).

But as always, I'm having a blast playing.

GRADE: C-minus

BARRELS

Would have invested in a case of Dramamine if I knew my team was going to be this up-and-down. Queasy feeling started on draft day when I emerged with an RB core that had similar (and unreliable) talents and injury histories. While Darren McFadden has emerged for the Raiders, his injury history (which was the reason why I didn't start him this week when he had FOUR TOUCHDOWNS and 165 YARDS RUSHING, costing me a victory) makes him an unreliable every-week starter, Forte is used at the whim of "Mad Genius" Mike Martz and Beanie Wells was last seen on the back of a milk carton, which means I am flipping coins, rolling dice, consulting palm readers, reading tea leaves (pick your favorite sign of desperation) to come up with an RB tandem every week (though Torain has been an astute free-agent signing so far).

It's the same story for my receivers, with not even Anquan Boldin a reliable every-week starter, Giant Steve Smith used at the whim of the flighty Eli Manning, Panther Steve Smith looking increasingly old and slow (and quarterback-less) and Brandon Lloyd sure to crash and burn eventually. But when I look at the players available, nothing gets the pulse racing. My QBs have been "blah," with Brady resorting to dink-and-dunk in the absence of Moss and Palmer looking to have lost it before this weekend's explosion against Atlanta. I signed Ryan Succop (had two PKs on bye) so he could kick six PATs this week (at the expense of not signing Dan Carpenter or Olindo Mare and their five FGs) and Neil Rackers is made redundant when the Texans fall behind 31-7 every week and need to score TDs to win.

Still, I stand 3-4 with some nice wins (58-31 to hand the Brawlers their only loss) and some horrible losses (70-14 to vb5ds and 52-23 this week to Eye of Newt, which--I remind you again--I would have won if I had played McFadden!!!) and somehow I've managed to have three POWs (though Boldin in Week 3 came in a loss). I even stood third overall in points scored entering Week 7, though I had by far "allowed" the most points of any team (287), a tally that increases greatly again after this week's shellacking. (Note to self: Ask Commish why Points Allowed is a tiebreaker, when WE HAVE NO FREAKIN' CONTROL OVER HOW MANY POINTS THE OTHER TEAM SCORES!)

In the end, being in the pathetic Elway Division still gives me a shot at the playoffs, which will probably afford me nothing more than a chance to upset Stan and his posse of Cowboys and Texans in the first round.

GRADE: C-minus/D-plus

QUAGS

The Hurricanes only play bi-weekly: winning on odd number weeks and losing in each of the even number weeks. They could kick themselves for their poor draft at kicker. Both have been cut by their respective NFL teams. Over because of a better than .500 record the Grade is a C-plus.


CYMBE

It doesn't get much worse than an 0-5 start. The auction provided few impact RBs and WRs. Only RB S. Jackson STL remains from that group. It's hard to believe my other opening week starters were P. Thomas, Sims-Walker and Colston in those spots. The numbers are grim with a total of 25 players that have been on the roster, including a numbing six alone at QB. GRADE: F-minus.

POSSE

The former Las Vegas Posse are the Finks League version of the NFL's San Diego Chargers as both currently sit a 2-5. It seems very appropriate then that Las Vegas owner Matt Simo is gambling big on San Diego's Philip Rivers and Ryan Mathews to turn things around in the second half. Simo has already replaced 75 percent of his opening-week roster through a trade and several free-agent moves, with only Mathews, LeSean McCoy and Matt Bryant remaining from the original squad. His is also in the process of filing a team name change with the league to be called "The Replacements" from here on out in hopes of jump-starting his player and duplicating last year's success. Stay tuned... GRADE: F