Last Place Wisdom: Championship Week - TFLOEG History in the Making

It’s Championship Week, Christmas Week, and the wrap up of the official 2018 Fantasy Football season (yes I know the season doesn’t really wrap until after the belt is presented at Superbowl, and the Manager’s meeting in the summer), and it’s time for some Last Place Wisdom. Not that you should be expecting any wisdom out of it; I haven’t exactly been following closely to NFL news these past few weeks, however given the occasion it’s worth reflecting on how we got here this season.

Maybe I’m out of touch with the mood of the league, but I feel like the Championship matchup should be a bigger deal than it has been. Clarke is attempting to pull of the incredibly difficult task of winning back to back, something I wasn’t able to accomplish last year and cementing his team as a fantasy football dynasty. Obviously the stakes are high for him, but even that might pale in comparison to what Mike has the chance of pulling off. Being able to go undefeated in Fantasy Football is an incredibly improbable feat, and I never would have expected to see it happen given the good fortune required to pull it off. It’s not that Mike’s success has been entirely based on luck, he did create a team that put up the 3^rd most points in the league, however it did require him to have the fewest points scored again, including one week where he scored the 3^nd fewest but still managed to come away with a victory.

Needless to say, there’s a lot drama for the championship. I know the overwhelming sentiment is that Clarke is the clear favourite and this is his Championship to lose, going all the way back to the draft. Coming from a strictly rationalistic perspective, I can’t really disagree with this; my entire focus since my loss last year has been with an eye at defeating Clarke after all. But as a believer in memes, magic, the immaterial, fantasy gods, or whatever you want to call it, I’ve been firmly of the opinion that someone else would find a way to win this year, and I think that’s Mike. It probably started at the moment when Mike went all-in in acquiring Antonio Brown. Maybe it’s just me over valuing my favourite player given Brown has only merely been “good” rather than “game-changing”, or maybe I just appreciate the hustle Mike has shown at improving his team, but I think there’s something to the good fortune Mike has seen this year and I think it continues.

The Championship might come down to a few key issues. Will Mike’s stack of Roethlisberger and Brown pay off, considering he’s been planning for their matchup in the finals since mid-season? Can Clarke overcome the injury question he’s now facing? A killer RB core of Gurley-Hunt-Jones might now have none of them playing in the championship. Does Clarke try to negative-stack Ebron and Hilton by playing Luck, or does he roll with Wilson in a good matchup? Is Kalen Ballage a league-winning pickup for Mike? (for the record, I loved the move and told Mike so earlier. He was almost my pocket player this year) Does Clarke play 3 TEs again, or does he roll the dice on picking the best 2 and Alan Robinson instead? Can Mike piece together another win with a 0RB strategy by picking the right plays out of Coleman, McCoy and Peterson?

As you can see, there’s a lot of interesting storylines this week, but to be quite honest I’m already as excited about next year as the finals. People gearing up for a possible switch to 2QB, the potential for a Christmas day blockbuster once the trade freeze is lifted, and being able to start mock drafting for 2019. Although this particular season was filled with more downs than ups when it comes to the Basterds at least, and some questioning about how to improve Fantasy (MQMA), I have to say I’m as excited about the future as I ever way.

To get serious for a moment, it’s worth mentioning how much I appreciate the league and everyone involved in it. I might have less social interactions with most of you than in the past (3 kids and all….it wouldn’t be a post without a mention), but the connection this little piece of fantasy brings is something I very much value. Obviously I appreciate John’s commissionership, but also his and Shayne’s perennial ability to remain invested despite being always the bridesmaid. Andrew has his unique draft strategies, and I always get excited when it works out for him. Aaron has remained involved despite his neverending rebuild, while Stan has taken some lumps this year and remains far more positive than I think I could have been in his place. It’s great to speak deeply to Mike about football strategies (amongst other things), while Dawson is surprisingly thoughtful when I get to speak with him given his usual quietness on the subject. I don’t know Brett or Steve outside of Fantasy, but they know their stuff and the league is much better off because of it. I feel Travis has been a major reason the podcast has been back in its limited form, and he tries hard to keep things on the rails, and it’s still one of the best things about the league. Clarke has caused everyone else to step their game up, and I think it has made everyone in the league better fantasy players. Basically, thanks for making the TFLOEG so much fun to play in, and have a great holidays.

On the next Last Place Wisdom

• The ultimate Mr. Manager of the Week is determined
• 2019 Mock Draft!
• 2018 Movie Recap – Despite 3 kids I might actually have a Top 10 this year