Scottish Rebels find a way...

This week strengthened my belief that the United States can win a World Cup, because if my mismanaged trash heap of a team can somehow scratch together a Weekly High Score, well, anything is possible.  My weekly shuffling of runningbacks was easier this week since I traded away Jamaal Williams, and I only ended up with one bench runningback going off (Miles Sanders 27 pts), instead of three.  (But it should be noted, both of my bench runningbacks outscored the active a-hole Dalvin Cook, who finished with only 5 points.)  In spite of that, I had Josh Jacobs lead all scorers this week with 44 points, along with my other Josh, Josh Allen logging 29 points.  Ultimately my Rebels finished with 134 points, which ties for the 4th highest score this season and became the 8th different team to claim a prize this season!  Unbelievable.

Alright we’ll get right into playoff scenarios, because the South Division is wild.  But first, in the North Division, Joe’s Pats currently holds the top spot by virtue of having a better divisional record (4-2) than Attack of Mahomes (3-3).  Wyld Ass Monkeys, Coors Light Drunk Guys and Scottish Rebels have all been eliminated.  So the North division really only comes down to seeding between those two… Joe’s Pats can claim the #1 seed a win or a loss from Attack of Mahomes.  Attack of Mahomes can claim the #1 seed with a win plus a loss from Joe’s Pats.  If both lose, Joe’s Pats will claim the top spot by having the better divisional record.

The South Division is the craziest I think I’ve ever seen.  Two weeks ago I thought Young Guns, with 7 wins, would be in for sure, but for now it is still not settled.  All teams are still alive to get in and three teams could still take the #1 seed. With a 4 game win streak in progress, the top team in the South is now sprouts, who sit at 7-4-1.  Sprouts can claim the #1 seed in the South division with a win or losses from Young Guns and American BadAss.  Also, by virtue of having only 4 losses (and one tie) it looks like sprouts has clinched a playoff spot.

American BadAss can claim the #1 seed in the South division with a win plus a loss from sprouts. 

Young Guns can claim the #1 seed in the South division with a win plus losses from sprouts and American BadAss.

Big Sack No TD’s can claim the #2 seed in the South division with a win plus a loss from Young Guns.  (BSNTD’s would claim the 2nd seed by virtue of a better division record, 4-3, than the next closest team.)

Injury Prone can claim a wild card spot with a win and a loss from Big Sack No TD’s.

The crazy scenario with all South division teams finishing with 7 wins is still possible.  If Big Sack No TD’s beats American Badass, Injury Prone beats sprouts and Wyld Ass Monkeys beat Young Guns, four teams will finish at 7-6 and sprouts will be 7-5-1.  If that happens, sprouts will be in as the top seed, and a crazy series of tie-breakers will ensue, all culminating with a 7 win team missing out on the playoffs for the first time in Sacred Sundays history.  Just crazy…

In the event those four teams end up tied at 7-6, the 2nd seed spot would go to Big Sack No TD’s by virtue of having the best division record (4-3). For the final three remaining teams, it would come down to head-to-head records, then total points scored.   

Here is how the head-to-head advantages break down:

American BadAss – Split 1-1 with both Young Guns and Injury Prone.

Young Guns – Split 1-1 with American BadAss, 1-0 advantage over Injury Prone.

Injury Prone – Split 1-1 with American BadAss, 0-1 disadvantage to Young Guns.

So with no clear winner in the head-to-heads, it will come down to points scored.  Through Week 12, points are 1103 for American BadAss, 1058 for Injury Prone and 936 for Young Guns.  In the event of a tie in total points, it will come down to a coin flip.  (Getting all the way down to the coin flip has also never happened in Sacred Sundays history, so this is going to be fun to watch!)

BEST BENCH

It wouldn’t be a complete week without awarding the Best Bench, and it is especially nice to do so when it isn’t me!  First though a special shout out to sprouts who had an optimal week last week and only a 1 point improvement this week, and Joe’s Pats who had an optimal week this week.  That there is some good team management.  But this week there were three teams with improvements in the teens and one with a 22 point improvement, but ultimately, with a 30-point improvement possibility and claiming a 2nd Best Bench this season, the Week 12 winner is… Young Guns!  John needed to swap out three players to get there:  C. Watson for C. Kirk +13, D. Foreman for D. Pierce +11 and K. Cousins for T. Tagovailoa +6.

Okay get those rosters ready for the final week of the regular season!  Also the Yahoo! tie breakers are different than the ones we use, so I'll send out an update on Monday night with final playoff qualifiers.  Good luck to all!!

Attack of Mahomes claims a Third!

 

Just a quick update as we head into the Thanksgiving weekend… big congrats to Attack of Mahomes who claimed their 3^rd Weekly High Score Prize of the season with a dominating 126 point performance!  Timmy had huge games from Travis Kelce (29 points) and Mahomes (of course, 27 pts), along with 30 points from his wide receivers (D. Samuel 14 pts + C. Olave 16 pts) en route to a 29 point victory!  The win moves Attack of Mahomes into first place in the North Division and assures a trip to the playoffs.  Nice job Timmy!!

In other league standings, the North Division can really only play spoiler, as the entire South Division is still wide open.  There is even a scenario where all 5 teams in the South Division could finish with 7 wins, but one of those teams would miss the playoffs.  It could happen where the South Division teams all finish with 7 wins, and the 2^nd place team in the North Division only has 6 wins, so a team with 7 wins would miss the playoffs while a team with a worse record would qualify for the playoffs.  This has never happened in the history of Sacred Sundays, so certainly crazy times!  At this point, any team with 4, 5 or 6 wins needs to win games to get into the playoffs.  Based on how tight the South Division is, it is likely to come down to tie breakers.  As a reminder, here are the tie breakers for divisional and wild card standings:

Divisional standing ranking

Overall record

Division record

Head-to-head record

Points scored

Coin flip

Wildcard standing ranking/tiebreakers

Overall record

Head-to-head record

Points scored

Coin flip

BEST BENCH

Can’t get away without giving out the Best Bench, especially when it’s not me!  With a solid 27 point improvement possibility, the Week 11 Best Bench goes to… Wyld Ass Monkeys!  Rob needed 3 player swaps to snag his 3^rd (technically 2 ½) Best Bench this season:  J. Williams for C. Patterson +13, C. Sutton for D. Duvernay +8 and D. Jones for J. Herbert +6.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Young Guns are in control!

Fantasy football can be crazy!  In Week 9, Justin Fields scored 44 points in a monumental effort, with 4 total TD’s plus 178 yards rushing.  Usually that type of production would land a player in the top scoring spot for the week.  But this time, 44 points was 9 points shy of the high scorer… Joe Mixon who notched the 4^th highest single player score in league history with 53 points by way of 211 total yards and 5 TD’s!  Crazy!

That Justin Fields performance leads to the first congrats this week, going to sprouts who claimed a first Weekly High Score Prize in Week 9 with an impressive 134 point performance!  Russ had big games from Fields (44), Kenneth Walker III (24) and Kenyan Drake (22), en route to an 80-point victory!  Excellent work sir!

In Week 10, scores came back to earth a bit with nary a team cracking the triple digits.  This is the second time this season where this has happened.  But coming super close, and snagging the Weekly High Score Prize was Young Guns with a 99 point final score!  John had big games from Saquon Barkley (24), Tua Tagovailoa (23) and Christian Kirk (22) leading to his 7^th victory this season.  The 7-3 record puts Young Guns in first place overall with just 3 weeks of the regular season left.  This was Young Guns first Weekly High Score prize this season and are the 7^th different team to claim a prize so far.  Nice work John!

Okay so this week we’ll take a first crack at playoff scenarios, and hand out 3 Best Benches!  (Last week was a record-setting tie!)  Onward!

BIG TIME

• Justin Fields, QB, sprouts – 38 pts – Apparently Fields can run pretty well, because after 178 rushing yards last week, he added 147 more this week to go along with 2 rushing TD’s.  He also threw for 2 TD’s.  The 82 points he’s scored in just the last two weeks has outscored every single tight end for the season, except for Travis Kelce.
• Patrick Mahomes, QB, Attack of Mahomes – 30 pts – This is the 5^th time this season Mahomes has scored 29 or more points.  He was lethal through the air racking up 331 yards and 4 TD’s, but did have 1 interception.
• CeeDee Lamb, WR, Coors Light Drunk Guys – 30 pts – Eleven catches for 150 yards and 2 TD’s.  This is only the fifth time this season a wide receiver has gone for 30 or more.

COME ON MAN!

• Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Attack of Mahomes – 0 pts – He only saw the field for four snaps.  Not a lot of opportunity for production.
• Taysom Hill, TE, Big Sack No TD’s – 0 pts – Hill was able to gain exactly 1 foot with each of his 3 carries, finishing with 1 yard. 
• Younghoe Koo, K, Coors Light Drunk Guys – 1 pt – Koo made 1 field goal, and missed not one but two extra points.  Brutal.
• A.J. Brown, WR, Joe’s Pats – 0 pts – Brown had an injury scare which kept him out of a portion of the game, but finished with only 1 catch for 7 yards.

PLAYOFFS?  DON’T TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!  PLAYOFFS?!?

Standings are tight and amazingly there is still a path to playoffs for every team.  With 7 victories, Young Guns has at least secured a playoff spot.  Even if the Guns don’t win again in the next 3 games, there is no way to keep them out of the top 6.  Three teams with 6 victories (American BadAss, Sofa King Good and Attack of Mahomes) need to just win one game to secure a spot.  Teams with 5 victories (sprouts, Joe’s Pats and Big Sack No TD’s) need to win two of the 3 remaining games.  The Wyld Ass Monkeys, currently at 4-6, need to win out in order to claim a spot.  

Now, there is a path for my Scottish Rebels and the Coors Light Drunk Guys to make it in, but it is a longshot.  Basically Shawn or I will have to win out plus have multiple losses from Joe’s Pats and Wyld Ass Monkeys.  Shawn and I play each other in Week 11, so one team will for sure be eliminated this week.

More detailed scenarios for each team still alive next week…

BEST BENCH(ES)

Week 9 was a crazy week for Best Bench, as two teams set a new record!  No, not for the highest Best Bench ever, but for the lowest Best Bench in Sacred Sundays’ history.  With just a 13-point improvement possibility, the Best Bench for Week 9 is split between Big Sack No TD’s and the Wyld Ass Monkeys!  Jens needed 3 player swaps to get there:  A. Lazard for T. McLaughlin +9, D. Swift for E. Benjamin +2 and D. Carr for L. Jackson +1.  Rob needed just one swap to get there:  C. Patterson for D. Jackson +13.  (The previous record for lowest Best Bench was 14, set by the Coors Light Drunk Guys in Week 10 last season).

In Week 10, things were back to normal as I continued to shove my head further up my own ass.  If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was just intentionally trying to get Best Bench every week.  At least it was my lowest Best Bench total of season, but none-the-freaking-less, with my FIFTH Best Bench this season, and with a 24-point-improvement-possibility, it is my Scottish Rebels.  Three swaps would’ve gotten me there:  A. Jones for M. Sanders +15, M. Pittman for J. Jeudy +5, D. Cook for J. Jacobs +4.

So close to playoff time! It’s now or never!

 

Midterms are in!

Big scores in Week 8!  After having only one team in triple digits for each of the last two weeks, we have a point explosion with 3 teams going over one hundo, and having 949 total points scored across the league!  This was 73 points more than the next highest scoring week this season (Week 4 with 876 points) and it was a crazy 141 more points than last week.  Speaking of crazy scores, how about the performance from Joe’s Pats taking the Weekly High Score this week with 149 points!  Joe’s roster was basically a who’s who of the top scorers for the week, as he had A.J. Brown with 36, Jalen Hurts with 28, DeAndre Hopkins with 24 and Nick Chubb with 24.  All four of those players ranked in the Top 10 scoring for the week.  The 149 points ties for 5^th all-time in league history.  (The single week record still stands at 160 points, set by Attack of Mahomes in Week 10, 2019.)  This is Joe’s 2^nd Weekly High Score Prize this season, and the victory moves him in a tie for first place in the North division at 5-3.  Excellent work Joe!

The standings are shaping up to be very tight, as there are four teams tied with the best record at 5-3, two teams at 4-4, and the bottom four teams are within a game of each other.  Suffice it to say, it is still anyone’s game from this point, as there are still 5 more regular season games to go before playoffs begin in Week 14.  Last season one team made it in with a record of 6-7, so more than 6 wins should punch a ticket to the playoffs this season.  But talking about the playoffs may be a bit premature as this week is all about midterm grades!

Same grading system applies as in year’s past.  Teams are graded on 8 categories and awarded points on a strict curve based on ranking within each category.  Grades are also awarded on a strict curve.

Here is a summary of the categories:

-Overall Record – More points awarded to teams with better records.

-Points For – More points awarded to higher scoring teams.

-Points Against – More points awarded to teams with more points scored against them.  This category is meant to offset bad luck from matchups as you don’t have any control over what your opponent scores.

-High Scores – More points awarded to teams who have won Weekly High Score prizes.

-Best Bench – More points awarded to teams with least amount of Best Benches.

-Waivers – More points awarded to teams with more waiver claims.

-Keepers – More points awarded to teams with highest keeper production this season.

-Utilization – More points awarded to teams with highest utilization rate.  This measures a team’s actual scores this season versus their optimal lineup.

Joe - Joe's Pats		Pts
Record:	5-3	8.5
Points For:	779	10
Pts Against:	671	7
High Scores:	2	9
Best Bench:	0	4
Waivers:	10	2.5
Keepers:	286	10
Utilization:	89.0%	8
Total Points:		59
Grade		A+

•  Joe gets a big boost for having the most points scored, highest keeper production plus being tied for best record and most Weekly High Score prizes.

Timmy - Attack of Mahomes		Pts
Record:	5-3	8.5
Points For:	750	8
Pts Against:	615	1
High Scores:	2	9
Best Bench:	0	4
Waivers:	25	5
Keepers:	265	8
Utilization:	92.7%	10
Total Points:		53.5
Grade		A

•  Timmy has the highest utilization rate and is tied for best record and most Weekly High Score prizes.  He also has the most waiver claims so far.

Jason - American BadAss		Pts
Record:	5-3	8.5
Points For:	755	9
Pts Against:	643	3
High Scores:	2	9
Best Bench:	1	1.75
Waivers:	7	1.75
Keepers:	191	5
Utilization:	88.3%	7
Total Points:		45
Grade		B+

•  Jason is the 2nd highest scoring team, and is tied for best record and most Weekly High Score prizes with 2.

James - Sofa King Good		Pts
Record:	4-4	5.5
Points For:	704	7
Pts Against:	646	4
High Scores:	1	6.5
Best Bench:	0	4
Waivers:	7	1.75
Keepers:	194	6
Utilization:	91.4%	9
Total Points:		43.75
Grade		B

•  James has the 2nd highest utilization rate and is the 4th highest scoring team.

Russ - sprouts		Pts
Record:	3-4-1	4
Points For:	642	4
Pts Against:	739	9
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	0	4
Waivers:	13	3.25
Keepers:	148	2
Utilization:	83.3%	4
Total Points:		30.25
Grade		C+

•  Russ has had the 2nd most points scored against him, and has not had a Best Bench.

Shawn - CL Drunk Guys		Pts
Record:	2-5-1	1
Points For:	544	1
Pts Against:	786	10
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	0	4
Waivers:	5	1
Keepers:	211	7
Utilization:	84.7%	6
Total Points:		30
Grade		C

•  Shawn has had the most points scored against him, and has the 4th highest keeper production.

John - Young Guns		Pts
Record:	5-3	8.5
Points For:	632	3
Pts Against:	648	5
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	1	1.75
Waivers:	15	4.25
Keepers:	156	4
Utilization:	79.4%	2
Total Points:		28.5
Grade		D+

•  John is tied for the best record and has the 2nd most waiver claims, but ranks 9th in utilization.

Jens - Big Sack No TD's		Pts
Record:	3-5	2.5
Points For:	675	6
Pts Against:	726	8
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	1	1.75
Waivers:	13	3.25
Keepers:	48	1
Utilization:	84.4%	5
Total Points:		27.5
Grade		D

•  Jens has had the 3rd most points scored against him and ranks 5th in scoring, but has the lowest keeper production.

Rob - Wyld Ass Monkeys		Pts
Record:	4-4	5.5
Points For:	663	5
Pts Against:	640	2
High Scores:	1	6.5
Best Bench:	1	1.75
Waivers:	4	0.5
Keepers:	152	3
Utilization:	80.2%	3
Total Points:		27.25
Grade		F+

•  Rob has won a Weekly High Score prize, but ranks 8th in both keeper production and utilization.

Jerry - Scottish Rebels		Pts
Record:	2-4-2	2.5
Points For:	621	2
Pts Against:	654	6
High Scores:	0	0
Best Bench:	4	0.5
Waivers:	15	4.25
Keepers:	279	9
Utilization:	73.1%	1
Total Points:		25.25
Grade		F

•  Just a steaming pile of garbage.  Lowest utilization rate, 9th in scoring and tied for 2nd worst record.  My only redeeming point is keeper production, where I rank 2nd, but that's really only because of Josh Allen.

Last season’s midterm A’s (sprouts and Scottish Rebels) finished the season ranked 4^th and 5^th, while the eventual champ, Joe’s Pats, received a C+.  But here’s the crazy one… last season’s lowest midterm grade was the Coors Light Drunk Guys, who ended up finishing in 2^nd place!  That at least gives me some god damn hope to turn this thing around!!  F’N’A Shawn!!  Let's go!!

 

BEST BENCH

Those of you keeping score above may have already gotten a spoiler on this week’s Best Bench, as I found myself in a situation where if I could have made a roster change, I should have made a roster change.  I don’t have a backup tight end or kicker, but if I did, they most likely would have outscored my starters as well.  In the end, taking home my 4^th Best Bench this year, with a FIVE-F*(&ING-player swap, for a 34 point improvement it’s once again my Scottish Rebels.  Here is the laundry list of changes:  D. Cook for J. Jacobs +15, J. Williams for M. Sanders +6, J. Jeudy for A. Thielen +6, T. Lockett for M. Pittman Jr. +5 and G. Smith for J. Allen +2.  It has been over two years since we have seen a 5-player swap Best Bench...

 

Okay get those waivers in and get ready for Week 9!  It’s the highest number week yet!!