This is the end. This is the end, my friends. In what seemed like it was just yesterday, the 2016 season has come and gone. However, a whole season is about to begin. That's right, it's playoff time baby. For some select teams, it has been playoff mode since the beginning of November. I would also like to say I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving with your respective families and you know for a fact that I made it aware I was thankful for this league and all of you. The break from reality this league provides me on a daily basis during the fall is unmatched by anything else and the ability to stay in touch with each of you distance-aside is fantastic.
We've had a great season thus far and it can only get better from here. I wish you all the best of luck in the playoffs and the consolation bracket. As we've seen from this year and TY Beanies, all it takes is one 1st round pick to change the entire fortune of a franchise. I don't know if next year's rookie class may yield talent like this season but we can certainly hope for reviving the non-playoff teams of 2016. This league prides itself on the basis of being consistently inconsistent, where teams rise and fall with each passing year, keeping everyone on their toes. Whatever happens from this point forward, will certainly not be replicated this time next season. At the end of the recap, I'll make my best attempt to determine the playoff seedings and what it will take for team's to make the playoffs at this point. Best of luck to all the rest of the way and remember to set those lineups. Playoff seeding, berths and draft picks are all at stake at this point.
GAME OF THE WEEK
(7-5) Why You Pee On My Car? - 132.9
(5-7) Dirty Birds, Inc. - 99.9
After making a hefty wager in the beginning of the season pitting each team's respective studs against each other (Brown and Jones), Aaron took a step closer to the $100 wager with a massive game from his conglomerate of Steelers. Brown, Roethlisberger and a stingy Pittsburgh defense set the tone early on Thanksgiving night, easing their way to Aaron's 7th victory of the season. Now slotted in the 3rd seed, WYPOMC has officially clinched a playoff berth after the truly unfortunate 2015 season that left fans of the team and front office wondering what could have been. Not anymore. Aaron's team rebounded from a slow start to form one of the more potent lineups in the league. Owner Aaron Pommer must be ecstatic to be back in the big dance to continue his redemption tour and has his team's sights set on the ultimate prize. A win this weekend in the season finale will officially clinch the 3rd seed, although it could be anyone in the 6th seed for his potential matchup. Who knows, it could even be Brian the way things are shaping up.
It is do or die for the final time this season for Bri. After a loss to Aaron put him in the 9th seed at 5-7, he will need to beat Dave in order to make the playoffs and will need some help from Joe as well. Julio Jones and Matt Ryan got the W against Arizona but their scores weren't too flattering. Nonetheless, with yet another Super Bowl rematch this week against Dave, Brian has the chance to get into the playoffs with a victory. What seed he would be if he wins remains to be seen but the only thing that could keep him out would be a loss at this point. He would hold the tiebreaker over Dave with another win and if Chris happens to upset Joe, we could potentially see a Josh-Brian matchup in the first round. Talk about a true gauntlet after scratching and clawing his way to this point. Currently projected to beat Dave and enact his revenge on last year's champ, Brian will be out for blood
(5-7) Hogan Knows Best - 91.4It is do or die for the final time this season for Bri. After a loss to Aaron put him in the 9th seed at 5-7, he will need to beat Dave in order to make the playoffs and will need some help from Joe as well. Julio Jones and Matt Ryan got the W against Arizona but their scores weren't too flattering. Nonetheless, with yet another Super Bowl rematch this week against Dave, Brian has the chance to get into the playoffs with a victory. What seed he would be if he wins remains to be seen but the only thing that could keep him out would be a loss at this point. He would hold the tiebreaker over Dave with another win and if Chris happens to upset Joe, we could potentially see a Josh-Brian matchup in the first round. Talk about a true gauntlet after scratching and clawing his way to this point. Currently projected to beat Dave and enact his revenge on last year's champ, Brian will be out for blood
(6-6) EBDB BnB - 124.1
Dave finally pulled the plug on the Blake Bortles experiment and he kept his playoff chances alive. Following a huge Thursday game from Kirk Cousins, EBDB BnB rebounded to get back to 6-6. Staring at 5th straight loss, Dave's players rallied around their owner and picked up a crucial victory. We knew the defending champs would not go quietly into the night and now have another must win game this weekend. Kelvin Benjamin was once again kept in check besides a long TD and Gurley had another lukewarm performance but now is not the time to hold back. Facing Brian in a Super Bowl rematch with win and get in stakes, it is all hands on deck this weekend. Carolina plays on Sunday night while Cousins faces a difficult road test in Arizona. Brian's team has played well of late and of course, will rely on the Falcons to win him the matchup. Can Devonta Freeman steal points from Jones and Ryan to vault Dave into the playoffs? Did I mention he could knock Brian out. What a matchup it will be.
This could be the final stake in Will's season. After showing flashes of hope for the playoffs last week, he stumbled to another loss, putting him in 10th once again. Needing losses from Chris and Brian seem reasonable but the task of beating Josh seem insurmountable. Only once has Josh lost this season and Will needs a heroic performance from his squad to pull it off. It all starts on Thursday Night, it is imperative that Minnesota holds Zeke in check while Dak has the best game of his young career (update, Will started Kaepernick anyways). Then he must dodge more bullets than Neo to even consider the upset victory. Strong games from Jamison Crowder, Sammy Watkins and Fat Rob Kelley would certainly be appreciated. If all else fails, Will's team would be in great shape to snag that #1 pick for next season to start the rebuilding process.
(4-8) The Shitty Beatles - 89.3
(8-4) Brule's Rules - 77
This season most likely ends with another season without a playoff berth but you can't say anything negative against the fight in Dom's team. He'll come up a game short of the postseason but he has the chance to win 5 of the last 6 matchups to get back to 5-7. In addition, the one loss included a nailbiter against the best team in the league. He was plagued by bad luck and got beat by an ungodly amount of points each of the first five weeks but it wasn't all a wash. He totes an impressive arsenal of draft picks, readying him for a revival in 2017. Hopefully he avoids the license plate holder game and can solidify his keepers for next season in the process. Trust the process in 2017. Hopefully we can see Dom back in the spotlight for something other than massive fire sales next season.
(3-9) Schenectady Schmeckles - 107
(5-7) Team New Year - 84.9
At this point Chris is simply trying to play spoiler and he has succeeded so far. In what looked like a much needed victory for Chreeyusz, the Schmeckles held firm and knocked Chris down to 5-7 with the help of Aaron Rodgers, Tavon Austin and Terrelle Pryor. This was especially comforting as it is now starting to look like Pryor could become a viable keeper option for 2017. He will most likely post 1,000 yards with a pair of incompetent quarterbacks. Rodgers will remain a top-prize QB for a few more years and with a strong draft next year, Chris can start to climb his way back to fantasy relevancy. A consolation championship is the next step from here. Also, he has the chance to potentially knock Ben out of the playoff race this weekend. Very exciting, if you're into that kind of stuff.
It seems like it's been said every week but another frustrating loss for Chreeyusz and Team New Year. Russell Wilson turned in yet another poor performance while Allen Robinson and Jarvis Landry were non-factors on Sunday. With the loss, Chris still remains in the 8 seed for the time being but he desperately needs a win. Upsetting Joe this week would give him an automatic berth in the playoffs. However, a win by Brian and a loss to Joe would result in Chris being relegated to the consolation bracket once again. Great news for Chris coming across the wire (in terms of fantasy), Gronk will not be a factor this weekend against him. However, his Patriots suffer a massive loss going forward. I'm sure a playoff berth will help ease the pain. Team New Year has not been able to score all season and this trend must end tonight if he wants in on the big dance. His trio of receivers must step up this week and strong start from Stefon Diggs and Jerick McKinnon would be vital.
(6-6) Start The Carr - 110.1
(6-6) Kissing Suzy Kolber - 143.8
Vinnie keeps his season alive once again with a convincing win over Start the Carr this weekend. After a huge performance from Jordan Reed on Thursday, Tom Brady and company sealed the deal to vanquish the Cookie Man. Interesting side note, Vinnie was highest scorer this week and his two top receivers gave him a combined score of -0.1. Unprecedented. The rest of the team certainly picked up the slack with 5 players scoring of 20 points to help him inch closer to the playoffs. With the win, KSK now sits in the 5th seed at 6-6 a few weeks after staring elimination square in the face. This weekend, he hopes to cement a top seed as he faces the Shitty Beatles. Although a playoff spot is not 100% guaranteed at this point, it is safe to say Vinnie will be in the postseason for a third straight season to start his career. Currently, he's slotted to face Joe in the 4/5 matchup but with the fluidity of the playoffs, who knows who he'll be matched up against opening round weekend.
Cooks was unable to officially seal a playoff spot but he is still in unless a nuclear meltdown occurs this weekend. However, he is hoping to avoid a 7 or 8-seed to ensure his season doesn't end promptly in Week 14. Especially since his team is finally starting to gel. Rookie Michael Thomas continued his fantastic rookie season while Derek Carr performed well once again but it was simply not enough to stop the highest scorer of the week. This weekend he'll face a Schmeckles team playing much better of late. Aaron Rodgers holds a favorable matchup which could make Ben weary. I don't believe he would be able to lose his playoff spot with a loss, unless Brian, Will, and Chris all win but we'll see. I'm honestly too lazy to go check it again and my fingers hurt from typing out scenarios. But you got this Cooks, it's not like Chris hasn't already started playing spoiler...
(10-1) TY Beanies - 140.8
Another convincing performance from Josh on the backs of his stud players. Led once again by David Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott and Odell Beckham, Josh cruised to his record-tying 11 win this season with his sights on history next weekend. Not much else to say about this team as they enter the postseason as the overall #1 seed and the odds-on favorite to win this whole thing. Anyone on the top half of the bracket and the doomed 8th seed (currently Chreeyusz) are hoping to avoid Josh at all costs. Next week, he'll face Will in an attempt to make Slushie Sunday history with his 12th win in 2016. In addition, a win can drive a stake in any playoff hopes Will had for this season. All Josh can do is sit back and see who his first victim is next week. Could be anyone at this point. May god have mercy on whomever gets that dreadful draw.
Joe had the opportunity to officially seal a playoff spot against his oldest rival but was blown away by the juggernaut that is TY Beanies. Le'Veon played well once again in addition to superstar Mike Evans but Drew Brees was sat and Rob Gronkowski is now out for the season. At full strength, there is no question this team can compete for the title but the inconsistency has really plagued this team. Can they rebound from this injury and make a deep playoff run for the first time in Joe's career? For starters, he has to win this week to ensure he has a spot to begin with. Highly unlikely that Will, Dave and Chris all can swing upsets but you never know at this point. Anyways, Chris had a decent trio of performances on Thursday and now Joe has his work cut out for him in terms of clinching. Le'Veon faces the Giants while Drew Brees is poised for another shootout against Detroit. If Joe wins, he has the potential to remain in the Top-5 for seeding and will avoid a tougher opponent. But, the win is also crucial to his playoff chances. Chris will not hold anything back.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS:
(Tiebreakers are a giant bitch to figure so I won't even bother at this point. I will be more than happy to break them down this weekend as matchups become more clear...to the best of my knowledge of the tiebreaker format. Strictly requirements for playoff berths below.)
Josh, Nick & Aaron: Clinched
Joe, Ben, Chreeyusz, Dave & Vinnie: Win & In
Brian: Win + Loss from Chreeyusz
Will: Win + Losses from Chris & Brian
Dom & Chris Casey: Eliminated
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