Last Place Wisdom: Week 9 - Everybody swap teams with the owner sitting accross from you!

Well not very much has happened this week, so I'll probably just keep this blog post to a minimum.

JK Lol. Mike and Shayne basically just traded half their teams to one another, throwing their teams and the league into chaos. I'm going to spend most of the post giving my thoughts on this event, because it could have lots of impact going forward.

So, to start it off with the trade. Apparently Shayne's frustration at being unable to make a trade caused him to eventually go crazy and trade as many guys as possible. I'm going to deal with the 2 seperate trades on their own.

1. Calvin Johnson, Carson Palmer, Trent Richardson for Gronkowski, Eli Manning and Taliaferro.

I told Mike a couple of weeks ago that before he traded Gronk or Foster to Shayne or John (called it), that he should check with me first, because I would do what I could to try and beat their offer. Mike didn't check with me, but I'm not even mad, since I think Mike comes out the big winner on this part of the trade and I don't think I would've moved my comparable players anyways (Marshall or Hopkins with his keeper value, Stafford). Megatron and Gronk are pretty comparable, I like Megatron more but it's close. After that, I like Palmer much more than Eli and Richardson more than Taliaferro. I get that Shayne needs to move a WR with Gordon probably coming back soon, and Gronk is a great target (if injury prone), but moving Megatron and Palmer is too much in my mind.

2. McFadden, Forsett, Wheaton for Boldin, Steven Jackson, Chris Ivory

I think this trade comes out slightly on the side for Shayne. I think Forsett is the best player in this deal, and I usually believe in the adage that the team who gets the best player wins the deal (I think Megatron is the best player, and that's why Mike wins the first trade). Forsett is a better RB2 than Ivory,  and Mike picks up a decent WR in Boldin who is on a bit of a hot streak lately.

Overall, here's what I think was going through their minds. Shayne has 4 receivers that should be starting each week if healthy (Johnson, Cobb, Maclin, Gordon), and his only holes are at RB2 and TE (although Walker is decent). He has now upgraded at RB and TE, but gave away his best WR to do so and got slightly worse at QB. It's not a bad move by any means, and if Gronk stays healthy and keeps doing Gronk stuff (see below) it could work out huge for Shayne. 

This is a beautiful sight, unless Gronk comes down from that catch holding his knee, which he's about due for any time now.

Mike is in desperation mode, and what these trades do for him is one thing in particular....gets around his bye weeks. When you have to win every week in order to make the playoffs, it doesn't help when your best players are out on bye. By making the trades, Mike gets to put Megatron in this week, when otherwise Gronk would be on his bench. The same goes for Boldin, who has had his bye, as well as for Jackson. I initially thought that Ivory would be able to play an extra week while Forsett was not, but they both have a week 11 bye. The trades help Mike win now, while not hurting him in the long term either (Calvin Johnson is just as good of a keeper for him as Gronk).

Other than the trades, it was another exciting week that came down to Monday night. I came back to beat Mike thanks to Antonio Brown being the best WR in football, a Baltimore kickoff return TD to save their score against Big Ben (and make me feel better for starting the D playing my team), and Andrew Luck connecting with Dwayne Allen once again. Mike can still make the playoffs with a couple of wins against the teams he's chasing, while I move into the 4 way tie for first.

Stan pulled an Andrew and lost with the 2nd highest point total of the week, while John rebounded from 3 bad weeks in a row to put up the highest score. Curtis beat Steve without getting a single point from Tony Romo, and Steve could be in a little bit of trouble after an injury to Foles. Dawson survived leaving Tannehill and Edelman on his bench to beat Aaron in a low scoring affair and position Dawson nicely for the playoffs. Finally, Andrew got another chance to take advantage of a 6 TD game from Big Ben, and this time could actually win with it. He's still alive, but probably has the hardest schedule of the teams fighting for the last playoff spot. Shayne called his loss early in the week, and got that call right.

Mr.Manager of the Week Award

This award is John's this week. Martavis Bryant was a smart call (he's no Antonio Brown but is looking good in the Pittsburgh offense). The move that paid off the most however was getting rid of Phillip Rivers for Drew Brees. River's -2.18 rather than Brees 18 cost Aaron a win this week, and the opposite allowed John to get his win. I still stand by my initial opinion that this trade was ultimately not a good move for John, but for this week at least it paid off as well as it could.

Random Thoughts

Part of what I love is looking at a bad team without a lot of good keeper options for next year, and trying to turn them around by finding some solid late round gems who can become key contributors for them next year. I was able to help Curtis out last year with Ellington and Allen (1 out of 2 isn't bad, and I have no idea why Allen is having such a bad sophomore slump).

For the teams who are desperate for solid keeper options for next year (Curtis, Mike, Aaron), I think there are about 5 no-brainer players out there worth picking up to see how they finish the season and what their role might be come training camp next season. I'm not going to put the players into the blog here, I don't want to be letting too many thoughts go, but I'm certainly open for consultation. Parity makes the league more fun, and coming from someone who has a recent last place finish under his belt, I have a level of compassion for those whose teams are currently stuggling.

Week 10 Preview

The Keith-glorius Basterds vs NFL Owner – First place is on the line, and I don't get to use Andrew Luck for a week, but at least I don't have to face Gronkowski. Also on the plus side for me, I can hope for a huge game from Stafford without having to worry about him also making it a huge game for Megatron as well. I'm not liking my chances with who I have out and my matchups, so it's going to take some luck (and not Andrew) on my part.

What are the Chances vs The Fear Boners – Curt was able to win without Tony Romo last week, but I don't think that will be the case this week. Curt will need Romo to have a big week this week, both for his case and for Terrence Williams. Because of the byes he will need to pick up another WR, and should look at Allen Robinson, Jordan Matthews John Brown, or Marques Colston. There's not a lot to say for John's team, it's pretty consistent and pretty good.

Sideliners vs  RW Throws a Sexy Deep Ball – Andrew's ability to play spoiler, or potentially make the playoffs begins here. He has good matchups, and his players have turned it around lately. He surprisingly appears to be benching Alshon Jeffery for Tate or Evans, which could come back to bite him. Steve's run at the playoffs is going to rely on Mark Sanchez, which isn't as terrifying as Vick, but might be close. I think Sanchez will be a fine QB for Philly, so I don't think he's as much of a problem as is Steve's lack of a 2nd RB.

BISP vs AARON - PRIMETIME- CLAPPERTON – Mike wasn't able to win out, but all is not lost for him (as long as Arian Foster doesn't miss anytime). Palmer and Megatron should be upgrades for Mike, and best of all for him has fewer bye weeks to deal with now. Aaron is hit hard by the bye week and injuries (Rivers, Watkins, Bradshaw, Vereen, Martin). A win here will allow Mike to pass Aaron in the standings, and could let him pass Stan for the final playoff spot depending on how the games turns out.

oh that's nasty vs NINERS – Ok, I was feeling bad about bye weeks, but after looking at Stan's team and who he has on bye, I have no reason to complain. Seriously, go look at his team and who he has on his bench if you want to feel good about your own situation. He's filled his roster up admirably, and he has a shot this week, but I like Dawson's chances a little better. I think Dawson can almost guarantee himself a playoff spot if he can win this week (will put him 2 games up), and his tough future matchups mean he could certainly use the win now.