FB Guys Dynasty League Playoff Preview

FB Guys "Dynasty Thread League" Playoffs Site

The FB Guys Dynasty league regular season was exciting to the finish, with Fear & Loathing narrowly edging ChuckLiddell in total points during Showdown Week. Both teams managed to leapfrog FUBAR, pushing him into third place. Twinkilling.com’s Week 17 victory vaulted him into fourth place while Gorf fell to fifth. Neo’s total points suggest he deserved a better fate than the last seed.

The inaugural season didn’t feature a flurry of last-minute blockbuster deals, but we did see Fear & Loathing, Twinkilling, and ChuckLiddell tweaking their rosters for a run at the title. With less than an hour til game time, Twinkilling is still feverishly working the phones. As the owners get more comfortable with the various strategies and avenues available in the coming years, we can expect a pre-playoff trading hysteria down the road.

Congratulations to all of the playoff owners for getting this far. Remember: championship banners fly forever. Swing for the fences.

No. 1 Seed: Ship of Fools [+50 points]

Week 1 Lineup:
QB:
RB: Ray Rice, BAL @ NE [+27.90]
RB: Ryan Grant, GB @ ARI [+9.30]
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI vs. GB [+24.20]
WR: Miles Austin, DAL vs. PHI [+21.20]
WR:
FL: Fred Taylor, NE vs. BAL [+0.10]
TE: Ben Watson, NE vs. BAL [+1.30]
K: Jay Feely, NYJ @ CIN [+6.00]
D/ST: Patriots, NE vs. BAL [+4.00]

Week 2 Lineup:
QB: Kurt Warner / Brett Favre
RB: Ray Rice / Pierre Thomas
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI @ NO
WR: Miles Austin, DAL @ MIN
WR: Reggie Wayne, IND vs. BAL
K: Garrett Hartley / Ryan Longwell

Bench: Willis McGahee, Mike Bell, Early Doucet

Strategy: It’s a well-balanced approach, featuring Fear & Loathing’s patented “piggy-back” gambling approach that his served him well over the years. Austin is too good to sit. Starting both Taylor and Rice guarantees that either Rice or Pierre Thomas will start in Round 2 while Grant and Fitz guarantee that one of those two studs will move on. Shockey, Saints D/ST, Hartley and Longwell aren’t high scorers, so the decision to gamble with the trio of Watson, Patriots D/ST, and Feely makes sense. Warner would be too much of a gamble to risk losing Favre.

Outlook: Ship of Fools need the first round games to go as planned, so he can plug in Favre, Thomas, Wayne, Shockey, Hartley/Longwell, and Saints defense in Round 2. With the homefield advantage, Fear & Loathing could be sitting pretty even if one or two of the first round matchups don’t go as planned. It’s imperative that he builds a big lead in the first two rounds in case the Chargers go all the way.

No. 2 Seed: Gefilte Fish [+40 points]

Week 1 Lineup:
QB:
RB: Cedric Benson, CIN vs. NYJ [+25.60]
RB:
WR: Patrick Crayton, DAL vs. PHI [+6.40]
WR: Donald Driver, GB @ ARI [+6.30]
WR: Jeremy Maclin, PHI @ DAL [+27.60]
FL:
K:
D/ST:

Week 2 Lineup:
QB: Philip Rivers, SD vs. NYJ
RB: Joseph Addai, IND vs. BAL
WR: Bernard Berrian / Malcom Floyd
FL: Malcom Floyd / Visanthe Schiancoe
TE: Antonio Gates, SD vs. NYJ
K: Nate Kaeding, SD vs. NYJ
D/ST: Vikings, MIN vs. DAL

Bench: Billy Volek, Lance Moore

Strategy: Go Chargers! With Rivers, Floyd, Gates, and Kaeding waiting to be used in Round 2, ChuckLiddell has to be considered the favorite if the Chargers end up winning in Miami next month. Getting big Week 1 performances out of Benson, Crayton, Driver, and Maclin will go a long way toward helping his Chargers in the later rounds. The luxury of plugging in Addai and Vikes’ Berrian/Defense duo is an added bonus.

Outlook: It’s Chargers or bust. Gefilte Fish’s only legit chance to win the whole schmeer is for San Diego to make it all the way to the Big Game. Having the Vikes as an opponent isn’t necessarily the best case scenario, as Ship of Fools can counteract with Brett Favre and Ryan Longwell.

No. 3 Seed: FUBAR [+30 points]

Week 1 Lineup:
QB:
RB: Brian Leonard, CIN vs. NYJ [+1.70]
RB: LaRod Stephens-Howling, ARI vs. GB [+5.20]
WR: Anquan Boldin, ARI vs. GB [+0.00]
WR: Jordy Nelson, GB @ ARI [+8.00]
WR: Sam Aiken, NE vs. BAL [+1.50]
FL:
K: Shaun Suisham, DAL vs. PHI [+11.80]
D/ST: Ravens, BAL @ NE [+11.00]

Week 2 Lineup:
RB: LaRod Stephens-Howling, ARI @ NO
WR: Anquan Boldin, ARI @ NO
FL: Devery Henderson, NO vs. ARI
TE: Dallas Clark, IND vs. BAL
K: Shaun Suisham, DAL @ MIN
D/ST: Ravens @ IND

Bench: David Thomas

Strategy: Is there one? FUBAR had a fantastic regular season, but his best players failed to make the playoffs this year. He’s left to throwing out dregs and scrubeenies in what amounts to a Hail Mary pass from the back of his end zone.

Outlook: Prognosis negative. FUBAR’s playoff performance could lead to a team name change to the “Scrub All Stars.”

No. 4 Seed: Twinkilling.com [+20 points]

Week 1 Lineup:
QB: Tom Brady, NE vs. BAL [+10.16]
RB: Brian Westbrook, PHI @ DAL [+3.20]
RB: Bernard Scott, CIN vs. PHI [+0.00]
WR: Derrick Mason, BAL @ NE [+1.80]
WR:
WR:
TE: Jermichael Finley, GB @ ARI [+21.90]
FL: Brent Celek, PHI @ DAL [+8.90]
K: Shayne Graham, CIN vs. NYJ [+2.00]
D/ST: Bengals, CIN vs. NYJ [+0.00]

Week 2 Lineup:
WR: Percy Harvin, MIN vs. DAL
WR: Derrick Mason, BAL @ IND

Bench: Empty

Strategy: Twinkilling made a blockbuster trade to acquire young studs Harvin and Finley, but he still lacks a coherent strategy. Brad is counting on Brady leading the Pats to the Super Bowl against an Iggles squad riding Celek and Westbrook. A key decision will be trying to piggyback the Bengals and Colts kicker and defense: Do you roll the dice with the Bengals trying to make up ground in the first round? Or do you play it safe and guarantee that you can plug in the Colts in the second round?

Outlook: Twinkilling’s only shot is a Pats-Eagles Super Bowl, with Brady, Celek and Westbrook racking up mucho points along the way. Can Finley and Harvin contribute enough to make a crucial difference in the final standings? Not bloody likely.

No. 5 Seed: Gorf [+10 points]

Week 1 Lineup:
QB: Carson Palmer, CIN vs. NYJ [+10.04]
RB: Thomas Jones, NYJ @ CIN [+9.40]
RB: Brandon Jackson, GB @ ARI [+1.00]
WR: Greg Jennings, GB @ ARI [+27.00]
WR: James Jones, GB @ ARI [+14.00]
WR:
TE: Todd Heap, BAL @ NE [+0.00]
FL:
K: Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs. BAL [+2.00]
D/ST:

Week 2 Lineup:
RB: Thomas Jones
FL: Darren Sproles

Bench: Donald Brown

Strategy: Gorf’s playoff roster wasn’t strong enough to for a major run at the title, so he’s going with whatever he has at his disposal. He’s hoping the Packers advance to the Super Bowl with role players Jones and Jackson becoming burgeoning young stars. Hey, a man can dream.

Outlook: Do you believe in miracles? Gorf can’t possibly win unless a plague strikes the other five playoff rosters. Even if the Packers go all the way, their biggest scorers are spread out on several teams. There’s always next year.

No. 6 Seed: FBombs [0 points]

Week 1 Lineup:
QB:
RB: LeSean McCoy, PHI @ DAL [+3.80]
WR: Julian Edelman, NE vs. BAL [+22.40]
WR: Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ @ CIN [+12.70]
WR: Laveranues Coles, CIN vs. NYJ [+14.80]
TE: Jason Witten, DAL vs. PHI [+6.70]
FL: Martellus Bennett, DAL vs. PHI [+0.00]
K:
D/ST: Packers, GB @ ARI [+3.00]

Week 2 Lineup:
QB: Peyton Manning, IND vs. BAL
WR: Marques Colston, NO vs. ARI
FL: Austin Collie, IND vs. BAL
TE: Jason Witten, DAL @ MIN

Bench: Matt Leinart

Strategy: Neo will be rooting for Witten and Bennett to star in a Cowboys win while hoping McCoy finds the end zone on a big play for a losing Eagles team. By Round 2, he can plug in Peyton Manning at QB while replacing either Cotchery or Coles with Colston. Should the Cowboys win, Neo can then replace Bennett at flex with Collie.

Outlook: FBombs need the Colts to go all the way with Manning hitting Collie for multiple scores. With a homefield disadvantage, the outlook is bleak. Only a Colts-Cowboys Super Bowl would give Neo a chance, and even then, it’s a severe long shot.