Meanwhile, Mike has won 5 of his last 6 to end the season, picked up the first round bye and destroyed Eric's team with fantasy MVP Charles and will look to end the season with his first championship under Commissioner Simon. He's been a very solid fantasy player in the past 4 years, only missing the playoffs once (2012, this year was all messed up as we saw JY, Paul, and Dan all make the playoffs...), and getting 3rd place the other 2 years. Could this be the year it all comes together?
The first time these 2 matched up in week 7, Graham was on a bye, Josh Gordon and Antonio brown had their worst outputs of the year, and DeMarco Murray was still injured in a contest that Biggie ended up winning, handing Mike one of his 3 losses on the year. A lot has changed since then and this rematch should look nothing like their first meeting.
MOTY
1. taeyeon (Mike) vs. 2. its my vick in a box (Biggie)
QB: Although he's been rather cool in his last 3 starts, Philip Rivers has put together a monster fantasy season. Nobody expected him to even be a top 12 QB but he's putting up top 10 numbers on the season. Against a floundering Raiders defense, he should end up ranking in the top 5 this week.... BUT his opponent is Peyton who is coming off a loss against SD and has a chance to break the record this week against a reeling Texans defense. Don't bet against Manning. Edge: Biggie
WR: This could be the deciding factor. Although the projections don't end up meaning anything, just look at the projected totals in this matchup: All 3 of Mike's WRs are projected to score double digits and all 3 of Biggie's are not. Although Gordon will have Cromartie shadowing him all day, Hilton will have the same problem with Flowers. I'm giving Mike's entire WR corp the GAMECHANGER label for this week. Edge: Mike, by a lot.
RB: Of course, I could have just take the easy route and used the GAMECHANGER label on Jamaal as he seems to outscore his projections every week. And against and Indy team that, although much improved from the past, has historically never been able to stop the run or checkdown game? He might be able to beat both of Biggie's backs by himself. While I expect Bell and Bush to basically cancel each other out, Murray remains quite a mystery. He threw his helmet off in frustration last week when the Cowboys wouldn't run the ball with him in the second half, eventually costing themselves the win. Will Jason Garrett come into the week ready to feed the ground game? Or will he resent Murray for showing his disdain for the coach last week and throw the ball even more? Edge: Mike
TE: These two TEs face each other in real life as well. Olsen has been a great end zone target for Cam and could put up numbers in a grudge match against New Orleans. The Saints have been beatable on the road and with playoff seeding on the line, you can expect the Panthers be highly motivated. But how can you pick against Graham? He already scored 2 TDs against this team 2 weeks ago and as great as Kuechly has been, he has no chance guarding Graham in a one-on-one situation. The only week Graham put up a mega-dud was when the Patriots covered him with Talib (a top 10 corner), had a linebacker underneath AND a safety over the top. The Panthers know that if you triple-cover Graham, you leave too many other options so I doubt they'll be replicating that gameplan. Edge: Mike
K/DEF: Although Seattle is the best defense in the league (no arguments there) Detroit gets to face the inferior Manning at home who's been on a turnover-tear lately. With a spot to the playoffs on the line, you'd have to assume the Lions will come out and just destroy this pathetic Giants team. Seattle gets a much improved Arizona team, but no defense becomes scarier at home than the legion of boom. Edge: Even
Winner: taeyeon (Mike)
Mike captures his first league title behind one of the most solid teams we have seen in a while. If your weakest spot is a 3rd WR named Mike Wallace or a QB that's still has top-10 value, everybody else is in for a long season. And we all experienced it... Congrats, Mike.
Also, one interesting sub-plot: can Mike win both the league AND the pick'ems? He'll need Dan to slip up for a chance to catch up on the two games he's trailing but it is possible. Also, I never put in a rule for what happens in the case of a tie so I'm making the declaration here:
IF TWO PEOPLE HAPPEN TO TIE IN THE PICK'EM STANDINGS, THE WINNER BE DETERMINED BASED ON WHOEVER HAS A BETTER WIN % (IN THE CASE OF NOT HAVING THE SAME NUMBER OF GUESSES)
IF THE PEOPLE STILL HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF GUESSES, WE WILL USE WEEK 17 OF THE NFL TO PLAY A CONFIDENCE GAME BETWEEN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TIED. WHOEVER WINS THE CONFIDENCE GAME WILL WIN THE MONEY (THE CONFIDENCE GAME WILL BE EXPLAINED IF THERE HAPPENS TO BE A TIE).
GAMECHANGER record through week 11: 4-10
MOTW record through week 15: 7-7
P.S. HOW ARE ERIC AND PAUL PROJECTED TO TIE?!?!?!?! WTF...
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
