Last Place Wisdom: Week Eleven - Sleepin All Day Staying Up All Night

So I know the question that will be on everyone's mind right now; Did Papa John's let me down? I can say with no hesitation that is not the case. Unfortunately the truth of the matter is that it's more likely that I let Papa John's down. After 2 wins coming when I ordered 50% off Papa John's on Monday nights, I changed the routine and left the delicious combination of cheese, sauce, meat and dough in the store while I made some ultimately forgettable meal on my own. The rest is history; Andy Dalton and DeAndre Hopkins fall far short of what they needed for my Monday night miracle and I'm left questioning what could have been if only I had remained true to Mr. John. It puts me back in the fight of my life for the last playoff spot, and puts Mike one step closer to catching Dawson for the 1st overall position.

The 2nd question will be; are you getting sick of pizza? It is pretty Basic afterall? And in a sense that is correct; dough, sauce, cheese is really all you need. It's not like my dream last night where I'm ordering secret Vietnamese sauces from Hung Lee which have been deemed illegal by the government of Canada (I have weird dreams during football season). But while hipsters might like to crap all over things that are too Basic, sometimes basic is best. I think that's the case when it comes to fantasy football as well, when it comes to winning it's best to stick with the basics of what works. That's been a problem for me all year, and why I'm liking Mike's chances at success this year.

This has nothing to do with my post, but it's the best Simpsons pizza reference I could find and I've been slacking on my Simpson's quota for the week.

I think the basic key to success in fantasy football is have a QB you can trust every week, at least 1 star WR and then as many good RBs as you can get your hands on. I unfortunately have no RBs I can trust each week (maybe 1 with Danny Woodhead (more on him later)), a QB who is somewhat inconsistent and a ton of star WRs, and I really don't like my team's makeup. I tried to be cute when I traded for Calvin Johnson, and forgot my basic rule for success. I've also had little luck at finding a breakout RB midseason; Lewis was that guy until he got hurt and the jury is still out on McFadden (and science).

That has been Mike's great key to success, finding breakout RBs. I think with West, Langford (and Forte) and Ivory, Mike has the most RB depth at the moment, which he has paired with consistent QBs and solid WRs. Shayne's team is built alright, but he needs Hill to return to form in order to have the RB depth, while Dawson has lost his RB depth and consistent QB play thanks to injuries. Now that John has Brady, I think he has all the basic keys for success and will just have to overcome what I believe to be in general pretty bad fantasy football luck when it truly matters.

Mr. Manager of the Week Award
Andrew fighting for his playoff life, and when he needed it the most he made all of the right lineup decisions. Joe Flacco over Fitzpatrick or Stafford, Travis Benjamin over Marvin Jones; he needed both of those guys to win a squeaker over Shayne and put himself into a tie for the last playoff spot. If Andrew's Seahawks can come through for him while he's watching them live, maybe he can live up to his preseason hype and make the playoffs after all.

The Papa John's Pizza Emo Shoutout of the Week
I feel a little bad since I'm the one responsible for what I consider to be one of the most heartbreaking trades of the last couple of weeks. When I discovered I needed a RB after Lewis' injury, I tried to act fast to get the best player I could, and with Steve losing Big Ben to an injury I felt it made sense to trade Bortles to him for one of his RBs. At the time I thought the trade looked good for both of us, Bortles has been a solid QB and Woodhead has been good but not great. Woodhead went on to have a great game the night I traded for him and Bortles has had his 2nd worst game of the year. To top it off Ben didn't end up missing any time at all. I basically ended up getting a top 10 RB for a QB that Steve will probably never end up playing past this week. I feel bad for him, and because of that, I dedicate this week's Papa John's Pizza Emo Shoutout to him. As you listen to this melodic pop-punk and catchy electric violin, think of how everything is just so much more emotional when you're a teenager and remember that things will get better.

Well That Surprised Me

•  Peyton Manning throwing for 4 INTS and -6.6 points was pretty surprising. I'm not sure I can remember the last time anyone started a position player who ended up that far into the negative. It ended up costing Aaron the win as well, as all the had to do was start Winston instead and he could've taken out the Champ. Between this game and losing a heart breaker to Clarke last week, you might be wondering why Aaron hasn't gotten an Emo Shoutout yet. Don't worry, if Aaron's losing streak continues I have something in mind for the future.

That Wouldn't Surprise Me

• This is how I see the playoff situation looking
• The teams that are in: Dawson, Shayne, Mike, John, Steve, Stan
• Fighting for their lives: Keith, Aaron, Clarke, Andrew
• Longhots: Curtis
• Out of It: Travis
• Stan and Steve won this week and with that I think they are both in the playoffs (even if they've not technically clinched yet). Andrew pulling out the win puts him back into fighting for his life, while Curt gave it a good shot but remains a long-shot after narrowly losing to Steve. 
• None of the teams who are fighting for their lives play each other the rest of the year, so it will be tough to figure out exactly who is going to have the inside shot at pulling away from the pack.
• The trade deadline is this Friday, and I think it ends up ultimately being a quiet deadline, especially after you compare it with all the trades that have already been made. I don't know if there are a lot of clear sellers or buyers at this point, so we might not see a ton of moves, especially if there's still a 3 or 4 way tie for the last playoff spot.