Boom!

Sorry, this isn't a poker post. You'll have to wait until Tuesday for that.

Instead, this is my final FF post of the year. A 94-54 victory this week guaranteed 1st place & $300 for me. What's somewhat amazing is that my final starting lineup wasn't that much different than my first week lineup, a sign that A) I drafted well & B) I was lucky that I didn't have very many significant injuries. On to the recap:

Starters

Peyton Manning - not his best game of the year, but overall he still had a solid season. Not enough to be the only QB drafted in the first round, something that will undoubtedly change next year.

Brian Westbrook - His worst week since week 7, and he still gave me almost 15 points. When your top RB is almost guaranteed about 90 yards & a TD, you're going to usually do well.

Earnest Graham - Although Westbrook was my MVP, Graham is probably the player who carried me in the end. The past 3 weeks have been huge, and he's averaged over 17 ppg in the last 8. I thought I'd have solid RB depth this year but I ended up using a waiver wire pickup for my 2nd RB.

Reggie Wayne - A disappointing way to end the season but he came though for me big time when I need WR the most. If Harrison retires this year, Wayne should be primed for a huge year next year.

Andre Johnson - If this guy stays healthy, I would've had the season locked up a couple weeks ago. He's a top 5 receiver if he can stay injury free.

Heath Miller - Ended the year on a downswing but found a TD this week to give me some extra points. I'm glad I was able to have a productive Steeler on my team this year.

Mason Crosby - My 3rd or 4th kicker of the year, he's been on fire lately, giving me a huge 17 points this week

Seattle D - What an awful week. They collapse at the end against the Panthers, and can't even register a turnover or a sack.

Bench

No one notable - Anderson, Lynch, & Galloway didn't outperform any of my starters. Green Bay would've given me more points as a defense, but I felt it was a tossup this week anyways.

Other Notes

1. I still have two weeks left, including next week against someone competing for the money. I think the right thing to do is continue to compete - it's not fair to the league to submit a lineup full of scrubs. Unless everything is locked up before the last game, it's pretty shitty to just give someone a free game.

2. Fantasy Football is primarily based on luck - you can be the best drafter, make the best decisions, grab the right waiver pickups, and still lose, especially when you have players go down due to injury. But there's something to be said for knowing what you're doing. I enjoy FF but I take it very seriously as well. I didn't win this league because I got lucky in my draft, or because I stayed injury free. I had to deal with losing a top WR (A. Johnson) for the majority of the year, having 2 of my 4 RBs disappear most of the season (T. Henry & T. Jones) and a horrible week 6 where I had 6 of my 8 normal starters on bye & started people like Jason Wright, Dwayne Bowe, and a then-unknown Derek Anderson. I won this league because I made pickups like J. Wright, E. Graham & D. Anderson, I won this league because I paid attention to injury reports & statistical information like points against. But most importantly, I realized that FF, much like poker, is more than about getting lucky. It's about making the correct decision with the information you have, having the confidence to make tough decision & key laydowns (or, in this case, key benchings), and trying to minimize the effect luck plays into your result. Come 10am on Sundays & I'm at the mercy of luck like everyone else, but I can guarantee you I put in more time during the week thinking about my lineups & gathering information, and my first place victory is a direct result of that.

3. I can also guarantee you that I will never, ever, have Joey Galloway on my roster again. I will draft three kickers & Vinny Testaverde as my 3rd string QB before I pick him again. He's one of the most frustrating FF players you'll ever have, and if there's any advice I could give a FF rookie, it is to stay away from Galloway.

Tomorrow, I'll return to making this a poker-only blog. Thanks for sticking with me.