Week 14

Well I know we said we were going to add a week to the regular season when the NFL expanded the regular season but as far as I am concerned Week 15 is basically the Playoffs in 2021. Talk about excitement we have only 1 team that has clinched a playoff spot (Umphlett), another team that hasn't clinched, but would have to really really really screw up to not make the playoffs (Aaron) and then 5 other teams that literally have a extremely realistic shot to make one of the final two spots. What is even crazier is that basically these teams play each other in Week 15 which creates a Do or Die scenario unlike any I can ever remember in the Regular Season of the Playoffs!?! league. I figured we could go ahead and break down each of the teams that are vying for a spot and talk a little bit about their performance to date, their Week 15 prospects, and the future outlook.

Andy's Face Shield

Umphlett has already clinched a spot in the Playoffs based on the performance of multiple players but Deebo Samuel and Leonard Fournette have been two unlikely heroes for this team that have helped carry this team to first place in the standings. Umphlett has the inside to track to first, but technically he is playing this week only for seeding. There are realistically only two teams that could catch him in points even if he won so he would have to have a really bad week to fall out of first. But he is in the way of someone else on this list so his opponent is going to be highly motivated to win.

This Is The Way

Apparently blowing up your house is a catalyst for Fantasy Football success. I like the commitment. Aaron is playing against a struggling Kayak Pirate franchise in Week 15 and after a Mahomes/Kelce duel Aaron is still the favorite to win. Even with a loss, it is highly likely he will win any point tiebreakers.

The real story here though is Cooper Kupp. How is he not the Fantasy Football MVP this year? What he is doing is unreal.

The Institute

This is where it starts to get really interesting. Quite honestly I am not really sure how VZ's roster has won 8 games. A huge part of it has been the performance of Joe Mixon (you are welcome for the jersey, I still don't think you have said Thank You). In Week 15 The Institute plays Dirty Mike in basically an elimination game (because VZ has a game up on the rest of the group he technically could advance on points, but he has the least amount of points of the group of 7-7 teams so he would need a big scoring week). So it depends on what the teams in #5, #6, and #7 do, but #5 and #6 play each other so someone is winning.

Dirty Mike and The Boys

Things are unraveling quickly for Dirty Mike. He has now lost three consecutive games and things seem to be going downhill quickly. The slide appears to coincide with the insertion of Cordarelle Patterson into the starting lineup AS A RUNNING BACK. As you are aware Cordarelle Patterson is a Wide Receiver. He is not a running back. Yet for some reason the Falcons, Yahoo, and Brent Cozart think he is a Running Back. So even though Cordarelle Patterson, WR has scored 43 Fantasy Points over the past three weeks, Dirty Mike has lost three consecutive times by a combined total of 29 points over the three matchups. Cause or Correlation? I will let you decide but Jeff Wilson Jr has an opinion I bet. A win in Week 15 and Dirty Mike is advancing. If he loses he is eliminated and has to carry the shame of not doing his job and letting The Institute advance. Tyrek Hill had a strong start on Thursday night. Will it be enough?

showemedamoney!

And here comes Billy sprinting into fifth place. Billy has had a very rough year with CMC going down again, but he is like a cockroach, he just won't die. With his 146 point explosion in Week 14 he now finds himself in a do or die matchup with The Commish. If he wins he has a great shot to make the playoffs. If he loses he is eliminated. Last week every single member of his lineup scored double digit points led by Josh Allen's 36. This week he finds a slightly bigger challenge in front of him with two WR on the COVID list (although technically they may be able to test out of the list in time, but can you gamble on waiting for them)? He also didn't get a huge performance from Ekeler on Thursday night (although he did get a TD) but Javonte Williams has been huge for this franchise over the past month and Billy needs another big week from him if he wants to advance past Week 15. Billy is also facing an uncertain prospect of Josh Allen with apparently a banged up foot (although he avoided the final injury list). He should still be able to have his normal amount of "HUT"'s though.

The Commish

You didn't think I was going to sit this one out did you? After starting 1-4 it was safe to say that there were multiple pepole that were writing me off. After my week 12 victory over my rival Umphlett, I was basically in a fantastic spot to clinch a playoff spot. I had won 6 of 7 matchups things were looking swimmingly. Fast forward 2.5 weeks and well I have my work cut out for me. Two straight weeks of facing 135 point outbursts from teams lower in the standings has a way of humbling you and while we are definitely not where we want to be, we are certainly not giving up. Just like for many others right now, we are in a three week playoff and basically we are manically focused on winning this week and scoring as many points as possible. We are going to put out a strong lineup and play with pride, passion, integrity, and teamwork and do everything we can to qualify for our 12th playoff appearance which would tie us with the Kayak Pirates for most playoff appearances.

One player that will be key to our performance this week (and future weeks) is Tee Higgins. We knew there was greatness inside of Tee and our faith is being rewarded with his top 10 level performance. We know there are big things in store for him.

black is for sunday

Honestly (other than myself obviously) this is the most interesting team in the hunt in my opinion. Brent started the year 0-4 but things turned around in Week 5 with a 153 point explosion against yours truly that started his turn around. Despite not being a top 4 team at any point this season, he finds himself in a position to win and potentially get in if he can win a point tie breaker (which is a very realistic scenario if he repeats what he did last week). He already is off to a great start with Keenan Allen catching a TD on Thursday night, but beating Umphlett will not be easy. He is heavily invested in the Cowboys offense with Lamb and Gallup and it will be interesting to see if that pays off again next week. One thing is for sure, he has no risk of starting Jeff Wilson (at least I don't think he does) but more on that later.

The key here is going to obviously be Alvin Kamara. Brent's entire roster is built around Kamara and with him back in the lineup he has a punchers chance and he needs Alvin to have a huge game on Sunday, just like he did in Week 14.

Overbay and Jeff

It just wasn't their year in 2021 (even though Overbay did score a ton of points). Better luck next year to these typically annual playoffs stalwarts.

KRABS

I guess we aren't all KRABS after all.

*insert Revenge of the Sith type video here referencing Justin Jefferson*

Well it's going to be an interesting couple of days of football. Enjoy it!

Before we get to the awards, lets check out this week's episode of Gridiron Heights!

Let's get to the awards...

Move of the Week

We talk consistently in The Notes about the importance a dominating defense can play in a weekly matchup. While it is sometimes difficult to get the right defense on the right week, Aaron aced the test in Week 14 by starting a suffocating Dallas defense in a intra division matchup with the Redskins. The Cowboys lit it up on Sunday with 5 sacks, 1 interception, 3 Fumble Recoveries, 1 Defensive touchdown and they even blocked a kick for a sweet 22 Fantasy Points. They were actually the high scorer for Aaron in a critical win over KRABS. In fact if Dallas onlys cored their projection Aaron would have lost and would be basically tied with the massive pack fighting for the remaining playoffs spots so you can basically say the decision to start the Dallas defense effectively clinched his playoffs spot. Congrats to Aaron for winning Move of the Week!

Manager of the Weak

This one is tough because I want to give it to Overbay for not starting Dalvin Cook as he ran for 200+ yards but the guy scored 119 points anyway (James Conner continues to haunt me). Then I wanted to give it to Brent Cozart for losing his 3rd matchup in a row as his team sputters going into the final week of the regular season, but I mean he scored 109 points so that doesn't seem fair. Then I wanted to give it to myself for losing two critical matchups that I should have won, but my opponent scored 135 points two consecutive weeks so I am sort of like "ugh". So because I am out of options I am just going to go with old faithful and give it to KRABS.

MVP

Melvin Gordon III, Najee Harris, Dallas Defense, Javonte Williams, James Conner

Don't look now, but the TAR HEEL Javonte Williams is on a tear with three straight weeks of 16 or more fantasy points and two straight with 20 plus. It feels like he is busting out a highlight run a week running over, through, past, and around NFL defenders and he appears poised to be a difference making NFL RB for years to come. It is awesome to see and he was a critical part of a HUGE victory in Week 14 for Billy. Even splitting work with Melvin Gordon didn't slow him down and Javonte is making Billy forget about Run CMC quickly. Congrats to Javonte for winning the Week 14 MVP!

Manager of the Week

What the heck lets go ahead and put a picture of the other Denver Running Back in here too. But let's be honest, this isn't the RB that was on Brent's roster last week that everyone wants to talk about.

As you may be aware, Brent had the AUDACITY to pickup Jeff Wilson Jr. on his roster Sunday morning. To make matters even worse, for a short period of time, HE WAS GOING TO START JEFF WILSON JR. In a MUST WIN matchup against THE GOLD STANDARD. People you don't get more ballsy than that. Of course Brent realized the error of his ways and he benched Jeff Wilson Jr (and subsequently dropped him) and of course Melvin Gordon went off and scored 23 points leading black is for sunday to a massive victory over The Commish moving them into spitting distance of making the Playoffs. Could the curse have been reversed? Some people would say that the injury to Lamar Jackson was a result of the curse, but could it be a blessing in disguise?!?!?!?

We discussed a ton about this team above, but their performance in Week 14 was huge (despite the flirtation with disaster) and Brent will be looking to keep the momentum in Week 15. Congrats to Brent and black is for sunday for winning the Week 14 Manager of the Week!

Changing topics, as I am sure you know already, three games were rescheduled due to the OMICRON variant of COVID. Two games will now be played on Tuesday night (and an extra game on Monday) and both games will count towards Week 15. We are operating under our normal rules as we have all year, with the only exception being that three games have been delayed by 1 or 2 days. The ONE exception is that Yahoo has decided that since games will be played on Tuesday now, the waivers will clear on THURSDAY morning and not Wednesday morning. So you have an extra day to make any decisions on FAAB next week.

It looks like the NFL is finally starting to see the light per reports this AM and they are changing their testing protocols to not test vaccinated players as often (which will make a dramatic difference in the number of COVID roster issues in the NFL). It is probably smart because I am already starting to read reports that the post OMICRON variant (the Web.com Gasparilla Gaylord Hotels Music City Duke's Mayo Beef O Brady Variant) is even more contagious. It is always smart to ensure we practice an abundance of caution.

Also I really apologize for this getting up so late this week. It has been a long week at work and well a really tough one and just haven't had time to get away to finish this. I have had half of this written for a few days but just couldn't get it done. Again I am sorry. But with that said, let's play some football!

Until Week 15...

- The Commish