So hey guys, it’s been awhile.
A long while. And I’m not referring to since the last WNQ, which has been a while, but since I even logged into the league. To all of you surgeons out there (Kyle), I feel your pain. Surgical services are nightmares.
There are a LOT of things that need to be addressed. And I will try to address them all. First, we will bring up the soon-to-be-infamous Defensegate scandal of Week 8.
Jason called to my attention on Sunday morning that he had failed to get a defense, and not from lack of trying. He ran into the classic Saturday nightmare situation where you put in $0 bids for a couple of defenses assuming you’ll get one…and don’t. He asked me if I could add on a defense for him and I said I didn’t think that would be fair…but would be okay doing it if the rest of the managers said it was okay. Jason got some positive responses…but I also got some people saying what’s fair is fair, suck it up. Ultimately he got no defense, and lost by 3 points. For the record, the defenses he was trying to get, the Saints and Bengals, put up 8 and 24 points, respectively. The D/ST he said he would add if given the chance was the Bills, who put up 26. This decision did cost him the game.
So who’s in the right here? I feel for Jason, because that’s a terrible way to lose. HOWEVER, I need to look at this from a fairness perspective. I was equally FREAKED out because I logged in one minute too late on Wednesday to pick up a defense, and knew I’d have to scramble on Saturday. Travis and Jason were also looking for defenses. So I decided to lay down some free-agent cash…$2, to be specific, which won me a defense from the three I tried to get (if I had just let Travis have the Saints, I would have gotten the Bengals instead. Curses!). Travis, clearly also worried about not getting a defense, dropped $1 for the Bengals. Jason got hosed because he only bid on two defenses, and bid $0 for both of them.
Jason is in a particularly hard situation. He’s got 5 FA dollars left. It is hard to justify spending one fifth of your remaining cash on a defense. That being said, I have discussed in depth that I believe Jason to be a wanton early season spender of free agent cash. No one made him drop all those cash bombs for players that both did and did not work out.
Ultimately, I look at the situation and think Jason had ample opportunity to get a D/ST and committed the dual sin of not bidding on enough defenses (when I run into this freak out situation, I bid on 3+, at a minimum) and not bidding anything, essentially being last in line for all defenses. I think the outcome is unfortunate, because no one should lose a game or a playoff spot because of an honest mistake, but rules are rules.
I want to also address want Donel proposed as a solution: a waiver period from Saturday night until Sunday before the first game starts. I think that is a decent solution…as by that point in time I’d expect most people worth a darn would be picked up during the auction. HOWEVER, the ESPN league does not let me set this. What I can potentially do is set up a THIRD free agent auction that ends Sunday at noon. The problem I have with doing this is that we’re going to start running into Thursday and Saturday games, which make this a moot point. I don’t think I care one way or another about this…but what I propose is a vote at the end of the season on this issue, which I think will have clear pluses and minuses. In that regards, I am officially creating a list of Proposals to the Constitution, which I will keep compiled for end of season discussion.
Proposals to the Constitution!:
Extra FA Auction time Sunday at noon to prevent someone from being physically blocked from starting a player at a position
Change the Division names to something better
That’s it right now, but I’m sure there will be more.
Also, then there’s the question of league fees, which, technically, Jason would owe due to not starting a D/ST. It’s a pittingly $2, and not going to break the bank, but if Jason wants to appeal I’m certainly open to discussion, because I think that is a reasonable fine to dispute given the full circumstances.
I, however, will be paying my $4 for my wretched managerial performance this week. I will, however, take this time to SHAME you all, as my 7 person team had the fifth highest score of the week.
Fines, at this time:
Rob: $4
Jason: $2
Kyle: $4. I’m instituting a $2 penalty for starting Malcolm Floyd despite his being out. I DO NOT have full details on when he was declared out, and this charge may be dropped pending my investigation
Scott: $2. I’m institution a $2 penalty for starting Ryan Mathews despite his being out. I DO NOT have full details on when he was declared out, and this charge may be dropped pending my investigation
Donel: $2 for Kevin Faulk this week. I believe this was a very late developing event so this fine will likely be dropped.
Kim: $2. Cedric Benson was suspended the week you played him. This fine is sticking.
Okay, in the meantime, there are some league-related things I think warrant mentioning. I’m not going to dwell on Week 8, but let me send big props to Kyle for recording that first win. It’s hard to have a team you didn’t pick yourself and stay up with it, but I believe he’s trying. Now if Drew can just have his first loss I’ll be thrilled.
I also want to address the divisions. When I made these, I expected them to be fairly even. That has not played out. The Baker division has three teams over .500 with at least a 6-3 record; the F/F division just has Drew. It is not unrealistic at this point to believe the Baker division will field 4 playoff teams. Peter is one game behind Jason and holds the definitive tie-breaker (head to head win, this week), so if he can keep up with Jason this season he will beat him to a playoff spot. He’s also just 1.5 games behind Travis, so one hot streak could carry him through him, as well. Kyle will not make the playoffs, but that’s cool. He and Donel were appropriately placed in separate divisions.
Okay, now for the good stuff…
Here’s what I had to say about Week 7:
Some records were set last week, which warrant acknowledgement.
27. That’s the number of points Peter put up this week, tying the all-time weekly low score set by Karen way back in Season 1. With that loss, Peter’s team is not only yelling “help, we’re dying,” but he also claims 2 of the 3 worst weeks ever. Peter also scored 37 points back in Season 4. How hard is it to score 27 points? Well, that’s just 3 points per player. Even a bad team having a terrible week can usually still muster 40 points because SOMEONE must be able to at least score a touchdown. Peter’s high-scored, Philip Rivers, is the ONLY person on his team to score a touchdown…and then he nullified it with two INTs. Congratulations, Peter, you’re giving Kyle hope for a win this season.
40. That’s the number of points Arian Foster put up for me this week. Yes, that’s right, Arian Foster beat Peter’s team by 13 points. That’s his second time over 40 points in a week, and only the third time ever.
18: Looking at the bright side of a dark, dark season, Kyle’s kicker, Olindo Mare, put up 18 points this week, landing himself a spot in the top 10 Kicker performances ever. His performance gave Kyle a chance against Jason this week, and looking at his bench, he almost pulled out a win this week. In general it was a great week for Kickers, as Ryan’s Mason Crosby also posted this number
-7. That’s Kyle’s defensive score this week. Oh right, that’s why he didn’t win.
31. It’s not a top-10 worthy achievement, but damn if DeMarco Murray didn’t say “hey, I’m ready for the big time” in his debut.
33. Drew Brees this week for Ryan. That makes his third entry on the list, to which I can only say: yawn.
Some other records during the past two weeks:
Vincent Jackson, Week 9, 32 points, enters into a tie for 5th place WR [Donel]
Lions D/ST, Week 8, 29 points, enters into a tie for 3rd place D/ST [Donel]
Bengals D/ST, Week 8, 26 points, enters into a tie for 10th place D/ST [Travis]
David Ackers, Week 9, 16 points, enters into a tie for 10th place K [Kim]
Lost bench points!
It’s been three weeks, so there is a lot of data to add to this list…
Rob: 3 + 7 + 20 = 30
Donel: 0 + 10 + 4 = 14
Jason: 34 + 8 + 22 = 64
Kyle: 20 + 0 + 4 = 24
Travis: 14 + 10 + 16 = 40
Ryan: 14 + 1 + 47 = 62
Drew: 1 + 0 + 19 = 20
Peter: 3 + 13 + 29 = 45
Kim: 7 + 4 + 0 = 11
Scott: 13 + 0 + 5 = 18
1) Donel: 63 points ; Last Week 3
2) Travis: 79 points ; Last week 1
3) Rob: 83 points ; Last Week 4
4) Peter: 87 points ; Last week 2
5) Scott: 88 points ; Last Week 7
6) Drew: 98 points ; Last Week 6
7) Kim: 101 points ; Last Week 8
8) Kyle: 120 points ; Last Week 9
9) Ryan: 138 points ; Last Week 5
10) Jason: 166 points ; Last Week 10
That’s all I can make happen this week. I’ve got to go operate on brains. Hopefully I will be seeing many of you in Ann Arbor next weekend.
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