Playoff Picture

As many of us descend upon our nation's capital this weekend, one thing is on everyone's mind: Playoffs. Rather than break down playoff odds, or try to project what will happen in the future, here is a breakdown of each team's situation heading into Week 13. The order is what would happen if the playoffs started today, including NiJo and Division rules.

Team-by-Team Playoff Picture

Technically no team is officially eliminated because of the NiJo Rule, but for these purposes I'm going to assume that no team can make up more than 50 points in a given week.

14. Bruno - Eliminated from Playoff Contention. It was one thing to miss the draft and fall prey to an unfortunate ESPN auto-drafting strategy. It was another to get repeatedly trade raped by others in the league without so much as consulting current or former league members on said trades. But not starting Devonta Freeman over Cameron Artis-Payne and throwing Barnard a life raft is unforgiveable. The asterisk now applies to Gutman, myself and Barnard.

13. Esco -  Eliminated from Playoff Contention. Don't look now, but Esco has missed the playoffs three years in a row, and will finish with 9+ losses in two of them. This dry spell came on the heels of back-to-back Stevens Bowl appearances, and one Chef's Coat, but a once-proud franchise is now in a state of disarray.

12. AGD - Eliminated from Playoff Contention. Speaking of once-proud franchises, AGD came of back-to-back Stevens Bowl appearances themselves, and will now fall just about as far as you can. Prior to the season AGD mentioned the possibility of splitting up if they had another deep playoff run. Obviously that didn't happen, but maybe the stress of a potential 10-loss season will have the same effect. #TroubleInParadise?

11. Weissbard - Eliminated from Playoff Contention. It was fun while it lasted. After a mediocre-at-best draft, followed immediately by a string of injuries, Weiss made a nice go of it to stay relevant until Thanksgiving. Earlier in the season it looked like he was headed towards the Long Line, but he managed to avoid that and then organize the First Annual FALAFEL Secret Santa. Things are looking up for Weiss.

10. Ajay - NiJo Rule Eligible. He can't make it in based on his record, but this is the first team that can potentially make up 50 points on 3rd place in scoring. All Ajay needs to care about is putting up as many points as possible and then rooting against pretty much everyone else, namely me, BAM, Gutman, Bennett, and Marco. So you're telling him there's a chance?

9. Marco - Still alive. From a record perspective, Marco needs to beat Levine and then hope for the best. He needs to root for Esco and Bennett, and also make up points on Zacherman, Gutman and whoever loses the Kumpf/Barnard bloodbath. From a NiJo perspective, Marco is in pretty much the same situation as Ajay, but with 5 less points to make up. The Division Champion path is still a possibility as well, but that would involve Marco winning, Barnard losing, and the NiJo rule not being enacted. Marco's done an underrated job of recovering from a slow start, and trade raped the shit out of Z to get Dez, so we should all be thankful for his presence in the league. As we've seen, it could be a lot worse.

8. Bennett - Still alive. A huge Week 12 puts the BMO within shouting distance of a playoff spot, with multiple paths towards the postseason. From a record perspective, it's similar to Marco. Bennett needs to beat Gutman and root for Esco, as well as make up points on Zacherman, Gutman, Kumpf/Barnard. Bennett also has an 18 point lead on Marco, so he's in better position to be in play from a NiJo perspective, especially given his team's propensity for boom/bust weeks. No division title is in play, but I think Bennett will be relevant throughout most of Sunday.

7. Gutman - Likely controls his own destiny. An 8-5 team has never missed the playoffs, but given the weirdness of this year and our convoluted playoff rules, Gutman could potentially be the first (so could Barnard, me and Z). If Gutman beats Bennett, he's likely in play for a top 3 scoring team, which would protect him. However, if he is not top 3 in scoring and ends up in 6th, he would be vulnerable to both NiJo rule from a handful of teams, as well as the Division Champ rule from Barnard or Marco. Gutman really just needs to root for himself to win and put up points, but he should also root against me, as Barnard beating me and/or me falling out of top 3 in scoring would both be beneficial for him.

6. Barnard - Likely controls his own destiny. Barnard is in a similar position to Gutman. If he wins, he clinches his division and can only miss the playoffs by virtue of the NiJo Rule. The most likely candidate for that would be me, but if Barnard beats me, there's a good chance that I'm no longer top three in scoring. Bennett is the other candidate here, and given that he's the only team to be NiJoed out of the playoffs before, it would certainly be poetic. If Barnard loses, he could still make the playoffs if he wins the division over Marco, and a non-top three scorer (likely Gutman or me), is in sixth. Barnard should obviously root for himself, but also for Levine and Gutman, and definitely against Bennett.

5. Kumpf - Likely control my own destiny. I'm essentially in the same spot as Gutman and Barnard, just with more points banked and minimal shot at the division. I could shockingly end up anywhere from the 2 seed to out of the playoffs entirely. I just know I need to root against Alan and BAM for the bye, and then anyone close to me in points. I could win and miss the playoffs or lose and make the playoffs, and that lack of certainty has me extremely stressed out.

4. Zacherman - Likely controls his own destiny. Same situation as me, just with 4 more points and no shot at the division. The biggest factor for Z is that Tennessee and Cleveland are on the bye, and with them, his only semblance of a RB corps. If Z loses, he's a potential NiJo candidate, but given how the rest of the league has gained ground in the last two weeks, I wouldn't feel too safe. Z should be as stressed out as I am.

3. BAM - Control their own destiny. Finally some certainty! If BAM wins, they have no shot of ending up in the vulnerable sixth seed, and would make the playoffs as a top three seed. To get the bye, they need to win and have Levine lose, or have Alan lose, or have Alan win and make up 31 points on him. If they lose, they're still pretty safe. They need to hope that Barnard beats me, so ensure they don't end up in sixth, but even if I beat Barnard, the most likely NiJo threat would be in the playoffs already. This is the first team that can breathe somewhat easily.

2. Alan - Controls his own destiny. Alan can also breathe pretty easily, as it would be an absolute shock if he ended up falling to sixth and getting NiJoed with a loss. If he wins, he's in and likely has a bye, and if he loses, it would take absolute chaos for him to miss the playoffs. The Masandiassance lives on.

1. Levine - Clinched the playoffs. If Levine wins, he clinches the one seed and a bye. If he loses, he can't fall farther than third, but that bye is pretty important for our 4th lowest scoring team. Outside of that, he should just be rooting for the more dangerous teams to lose to make his absurdly easy schedule continue in the playoffs.

My head is spinning so there could be some inaccuracies in there, but here are the basic facts:

• Weissbard, Esco, AGD and Bruno are eliminated.
• Ajay can only get in via the NiJo rule, but it would take a miracle. He needs to put up a shit ton of points and hope for the best.
• Marco and Bennett have multiple paths to the playoffs, but none is very likely. They both need to win, root for for each other (but not too much) and Esco, and hope things break their way.
• Gutman, Barnard, myself and Z likely just need to win, but we also probably need to put up enough points to stay out of 6th. A loss wouldn't officially eliminate any of us, but those situations aren't ideal.
• BAM and Alan control their own destiny, and neither one is really in much danger of missing out.
• Levine is sitting pretty but still needs to win for the bye.

Everyone still has something to play for, whether that's a playoff berth, a bye, avoiding shots at next year's draft, or plain old spite. Best of luck to everyone but Barnard. See some of you on Friday.

Week 11 Recap

The byes may be over, but this league has a long way to go before we know who's making the playoffs. Levine improbably takes over first place with a dominating performance, while Barnard, Alan and I all suffer injuries that may hurt our once-strong chances. We can finally say with certainty that AGD, Esco and Bruno have been eliminated, but with two short weeks left, no one has actually clinched a playoff spot.

Here's how things would look if the playoff started today:

1. Levine - BYE - Division Champ
2. Zacherman - BYE
3. Alan - Division Champ
4. Gutman
5. BAM
6. Kumpf

Huge wins by Gutman and BAM did wonders for their playoff chances, while the final playoff spot will likely come down to me and Barnard. Similar to how the NFL flexes the most important Week 17 game into primetime, Barnard and I face off next week in what is potentially the first "playoff" game.

Playoff Odds

After Week 11:

No team has started 11-0, 10-1, or 9-2

100% (6/6) of 8-3 teams made the playoffs

88% (7/8 of 7-4 teams made the playoffs

38% (3/8) of 6-5 teams made the playoffs

33% (2/6) of 5-6 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/5) of 4-7 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/7) of 3-8 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/1) of 2-9 teams made the playoffs

No team has started 1-10 or 11-0

After Week 12:

No team has started 12-0, 11-1, or 10-2

100% (4/4) of 9-3 teams made the playoffs

100% (5/5) of 8-4 teams made the playoffs

63% (5/8) of 7-5 teams made the playoffs

38% (3/8) of 6-6 teams made the playoffs

17% (1/6) of 5-7 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/7) of 4-8 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/3) of 3-9 teams made the playoffs

No team has started 2-10, 1-11, or 0-12

Not a lot of certainty here. Levine is as good as in based on his record, but if he loses out and things break the wrong way, he could be NiJoed. The 5-6 crew doesn't have a ton of hope, but a team like Ajay with a newly re-relevant Thomas Rawls could make a late push. My biggest takeaway here is that lineup decisions matter more than ever, especially now that byes are over.

NiJo Rule Watch

Potential Candidates:

• Kumpf - 6th seed, 3rd in points
• Barnard - 7th seed, 6th in points (42 points out of top 3)
• Ajay - 8th seed, 7th in points (46 points out of top 3)

Potential Victims:

• Levine - 1st seed, 11th in points (141 points out of top 3)
• BAM - 5th seed, 5th in points (29 points out of top 3)
• Gutman - 4th seed, 4th in points (18 points out of top 3)

The race for top 3 in scoring has tightened a bit, so whoever lands in the dreaded 6th seed will likely be sweating out the final week.

Playoff Predictions

1. Levine - BYE - Division Champ
2. Alan - BYE - Division Champ
3. Zacherman
4. BAM
5. Gutman
6. Kumpf

Green's injury likely ends things for Barnard, as his chances of winning matchups drops, as does his ability to make up points in the NiJo race. But every team here is flawed, so things will very likely change over the next two weeks.

Team of the Week - Levine

Beating a banged up Barnard team isn't necessarily impressive on its own, but this win means that Levine only has to win one more matchup to clinch the playoffs. His last two are against Ajay and Marco, two disappointing teams that still bring it every week, so that's not a given. But still, a roster as mediocre as this shouldn't be the first team to clinch, yet Levine has made it work with moves like the Mariota trade, picking up Dion Lewis, and managing his lineup effectively. I agree with AGD that it's been a weird year, and that Levine's team is terrible, but he also hasn't been beating himself.

Lineup Decisions

I really wanted to give Best of the Week to BAM for starting CJ over Witten literally just to spite me, but they would have barely won either way. Other than that, there really wasn't much to celebrate or bitch about. Most teams that made poor lineup decisions won in spite of them, and most teams that made good lineup decisions lost anyway. I could give myself Worst of the Week for starting Kelvin Benjamin over Rishard Matthews, but I'm not in the business of being self-critical.

Biggest Surprise of the Week - Zacherman's lack of depth

We all know that Z's team is top-heavy, but this week illustrated just how reliant he is on a few players. Despite a huge game from Brady, a solid game from DeMarco and a TD from Jordy, Z still only managed to put up 76 points. Granted, this was without Gronk, and Make Cameron Brate Again shat the bed, but come playoff time, I don't think there's a single team that I would be comfortable betting on.

Biggest Matchup of Week 12 - BAM vs. Gutman

I know I buried the lede, but... THE KURSE IS OVER! THE MASANDIASSANCE LIVES! Thanks to Alan, I now have a newfound faith in my ability to make predictions. This week that involves a matchup that basically clinches a playoff spot for the winner, and leaves the loser potentially vulnerable to being NiJoed. We should know a lot about how this one will end up by the time we finish our turkey, as Zeke, Witten and Hilton all play on Thanksgiving. Both teams are strong on paper, but my pick is based off the fact that Gutman has several lineup decisions between the Saints RBs, a banged up Diggs, and James Starks, while BAM has no depth, leaving them with no decisions to make outside of their much-ballyhooed TE battle. My complete lack of faith in Gutman's decision-making leaves me picking BAM. #ReverseTheKurse

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Week 10 Recap

The Kurse strikes again! This is honestly getting silly. I've made a legitimate prediction for who will win the Matchup of the Week every week  since Week 2 in this space, and my record is 0-9. In my defense, I picked some pretty damn good matchups, as most of them were decided by less than 10 points, but the fact that I haven't been right once? Now I know what Barnard feels like on a daily basis. I've also spread the love in terms of Kursing teams, other than AGD, who I've hit up three times. Heavy are the heads that wear the crown I guess.

Also, because we're now dangerously close to the playoffs, this is where we would stand if the season ended today (ignoring the default ESPN seeding and using our NiJo/Division rules):

1. Zacherman - BYE - Division Champ
2. Levine - BYE
3. Alan - Division Champ
4. Kumpf
5. Barnard - Division Champ
6. BAM

Gutman would currently miss the playoffs by 1.1 points. Also, don't look now but Alan is in a bit of a freefall after losing 4 of his last 5. He already owns the biggest collapse in recent history, missing the playoffs after being 7-4 a few years back. Given his total points, I think Alan only misses the playoffs if he loses out, but the Masandiassance is on life support.

Playoff Odds

After Week 10:

No team has started 10-0 or 9-1

100% (2/2) of 8-2 teams made the playoffs

100% (6/6) of 7-3 teams made the playoffs

71% (5/7) of 6-4 teams made the playoffs

36% (5/14) of 5-5 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/4) of 4-6 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/6) of 3-7 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/3) of 2-8 teams made the playoffs

No team has started 1-9 or 0-10

After Week 11:

No team has started 11-0, 10-1, or 9-2

100% (6/6) of 8-3 teams made the playoffs

88% (7/8 of 7-4 teams made the playoffs

38% (3/8) of 6-5 teams made the playoffs

33% (2/6) of 5-6 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/5) of 4-7 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/7) of 3-8 teams made the playoffs

0% (0/1) of 2-9 teams made the playoffs

No team has started 1-10 or 11-0

This week tells a different story from last week, where 6 losses was a death blow. After 11 weeks, having 5 or 6 losses is essentially identical. You need to win out to have a realistic shot, but if you win out, you're in pretty good shape. This means Ajay, Marco and even Weissbard still have an outside shot of crashing the playoff party. They would potentially be NiJoed out, but crazier things have happened. I mean, Levine is looking at a bye while being 12th in scoring! This gives us 4 very interesting matchups in Week 11.

NiJo Rule Watch

Levine, Barnard and I escaping with wins makes it a lot less likely that we'll see the NiJo (or Division Champ) rule enacted, but it's still possible if things break the right/wrong way.

Playoff Predictions

1. Zacherman - BYE - Division Champ
2. Alan - BYE - Division Champ
3. Kumpf
4. Barnard - Division Champ
5. BAM
6. Levine

This puts Levine in danger of being NiJoed, but it would require Gutman to make up 35 points on me to get into the top three. Then again, if Levine keeps his highwire act going, this won't matter anyway.

Team of the Week - Bruno

It's not just that he got the high score of the week, but as usual in this space, it's how he did it. First of all, he got big games from the random ass dudes that he drafted for $1 in Perriman, Powell, Smitty and Crowder. Next, he dropped an absurd $25 bid for Tampa's D, only to see them put up their best performance of the season by 11 points. But finally, after weirdly picking up Mariota, he curiously traded him for Kyle Rudolph, who also put up a big game! He was on Bruno's bench, but still! Congrats Bruno. This may be your last hurrah, but it's a hurrah nonetheless.

Best Lineup Decision of the Week - Barnard starting Tyler Eifert over Julius Thomas

Lots of close matchups this week, so I won't list out all of the decisions that were made. Given that I gave Barnard a Worst of the Week award for making this exact decision a few weeks ago, it's only fair that I give him credit when he gets it right. Why he's carrying two TEs is beyond me, but I guess it gives the potential for a bad lineup decision every week, so I'll take it.

Worst Lineup Decision of the Week - BAM starting C.J. Fiedorowicz over Jason Witten

With respect to Gutman's James Starks/Alshon situation, and AGD's entire team, I have to also return the favor on BAM, who got Best of the Week for this situation previously. You know what they say, if you have two tight ends, you have no tight ends, and you guys really have no tight end. That loss hurts.

Biggest Surprise of the Week - Close Matchups Galore

After no matchup was closer than 12 points in Week 9, Week 10 gave us 5 such matchups. This obviously makes lineup management a huge deal, and while we did well overall as a league, teams that don't have a clear-cut starting lineup will have to think long and hard each week moving forward.

Biggest Matchup of Week 11 - Alan vs. Bennett

As shown above, you really want to be 7-4 or better after Week 11. We have three matchups between teams that are in the thick of the playoff race, but two of them are guaranteed to end with at least one team at 7-4. The other is me vs. BAM, and given our points scored, both teams are likely to remain in the playoff picture anyway. That leaves us with Alan's free-falling team trying to right the ship against BMO, who is trying to keep their season alive. Alan's team is finally back at full strength after a string of byes and injuries, so he looks to have the upper hand, but Bennett's WR duo are capable of keeping him in any game. I think Booker's bye will end up being Bennett's undoing, so while I hate to do this, I have to go with Alan. We'll see if the Masandiassance can reverse the #Kurse.

Week 9 Recap

As we head into the final four regular season weeks, we can rule out a few more teams. As mentioned last week in this space, 3-6 or worse means your season is historically over, so it's "wait til next year" for Ajay, Marco, Esco and the latest #KumpfKurse victim, AGD. It's honestly shocking how bad I am at predicting who will win the matchup of the week. Let's jump right into the playoff discussion...

Playoff Odds

After Week 9:
No team has started 8-1 or 9-0
100% (3/3) of 7-2 teams made the playoffs
100% (6/6) of 6-3 teams made the playoffs
27% (3/11) of 5-4 teams made the playoffs
33% (3/9) of 4-5 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/4) of 3-6 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/5) of 2-7 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/1) of 1-8 teams made the playoffs
No team has started 0-9

After Week 10:
No team has started 10-0 or 9-1
100% (2/2) of 8-2 teams made the playoffs
100% (6/6) of 7-3 teams made the playoffs
71% (5/7) of 6-4 teams made the playoffs
36% (5/14) of 5-5 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/4) of 4-6 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/6) of 3-7 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/3) of 2-8 teams made the playoffs
No team has started 1-9 or 0-10

Six losses still spells doom this week, keeping Weissbard's season perpetually on the line. Every other non-eliminated team is either 6-3 or 5-4, making for a couple of juicy matchups with massive playoff implications. Ending this week at 5-5 doesn't eliminate you, but with all the potential NiJo/Division scenarios, 6-4 looks a hell of a lot nicer.


NiJo Rule Watch

Potential Party Crashers:

• Kumpf - 6th place, 3rd in scoring
• Barnard - 7th place, 4th in scoring

Potential Victims:

• BAM - 4th place, 8th in scoring
• Levine - 5th place, 12th in scoring

ESPN currently lists Barnard as 3rd place, which is not accurate due to our complicated playoff rules. If the season ended today, the NiJo rule would not need to be invoked because I am already in 6th place due to the standard seeding rules (record, then points). Despite being a Division Champ, Barnard would be out of the playoffs because the NiJo rule trumps the Division rule. Once again, despite me potentially benefiting from them this year, I think we need to simplify our playoff rules.

Playoff Predictions

1. Alan - BYE - Division Champ
2. Zacherman - BYE - Division Champ
3. BAM
4. Gutman
5. Levine
6. Kumpf

Gutman's upset of Alan keeps him out of 6th, and saves him from being potentially NiJoed. As just mentioned, this situation has Barnard in 7th as a Division Champ, and not in the playoffs assuming I end up as a top 3 scorer.

Team of the Week - Weissbard

Between subpar drafting and even worse injury luck, Weissbard has spent most of this year trotting out a shitter lineup than Bruno, which is saying something. He did benefit from some absurd schedule luck, but still, no one took him seriously as a playoff contender. Well don't look now, but Weiss almost hit 100 this week, and has a generally respectable roster. I don't know that anyone is really scared of him on a weekly basis, but if he wins out, he controls his destiny. We may be witnessing an underdog story on par with Rudy, complete with its diminutive hero.


No Lineup Decisions of the Week

Between a lack of close games, and a ton of bye weeks leading to relatively empty benches, no team won or lost a matchup based on a start/sit decision. The closest anyone came was Marco starting Devante Parker over Kapri Bibbs, but he still would have lost by less than 1. Hopefully we have better stories next week.


Biggest Surprise of the Week - The Eliminated Teams

Ajay, AGD and Esco make up 4 of our 7 Stevens Bowl champions, and 8 of our 14 Stevens Bowl participants. That success was truly impressive, but it's just as amazing that they're all eliminated after Week 9. Given the performance of the historical powers, one might guess that the first-year teams are experiencing beginner's luck, as was the case early in FALAFEL's history. But that's not the true either, as the only other eliminated teams are Bruno and Marco. It's looking more and more like we're going to get the equivalent of a Cubs/Indians matchup between two long-suffering teams in the Stevens Bowl.


Biggest Matchup of Week 10 - Gutman vs. Kumpf

I've avoided putting myself in most of these sections throughout the year, but the playoff implications here are too big to ignore. Alan vs. Zacherman is obviously a huge matchup, but both of these teams are extremely likely to make the playoffs. Weissbard vs. Levine will be an ugly slugfest, and honestly I've given Weiss too much love already this week. So I settled on the Crow's Nest Bowl, where byes will play a big factor. Gutman loses T.Y. Hilton, but can just plug in Alshon after trade raping Esco. On my side, the over reliance on Oakland is going to hurt a lot as I'm likely starting multiple players in the Tennessee passing game, as well as Eli. I like my team, but not enough to win without my Raiders. Gutman, you've been #Kursed.

Week 8 Recap

I make a lot of terrible predictions in this space. This year, I've been so bad at picking the winner of my self-chosen Matchup of the Week, that the kids have started calling it the Kumpf Kurse, with Bennett being the latest casualty. But the first prediction I made is looking pretty good, as my preseason Stevens Bowl picks, Zacherman and Levine, look like solid bets to be relevant in December. Unfortunately, while Z is still an absolute contender, we have a new favorite to win it all. After his trade rape of Marco last week, I think Barnard has the best team as the calendar turns to November. The best team doesn't always equate to a Chef's Coat, or even a playoff berth, but if Barnard wins this thing in my first season as Commish, something has gone horribly wrong. This is in no way a reverse jinx.


Playoff Odds

After Week 8:
No team has started 8-0
100% (1/1) of 7-1 teams made the playoffs
100% (6/6) of 6-2 teams made the playoffs
63% (5/8) of 5-3 teams made the playoffs
38% (4/13) of 4-4 teams made the playoffs
13% (1/8) of 3-5 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/3) of 2-6 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/3) of 1-7 teams made the playoffs
No team has started 0-8

After Week 9:
No team has started 8-1 or 9-0
100% (3/3) of 7-2 teams made the playoffs
100% (6/6) of 6-3 teams made the playoffs
27% (3/11) of 5-4 teams made the playoffs
33% (3/9) of 4-5 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/4) of 3-6 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/5) of 2-7 teams made the playoffs
0% (0/1) of 1-8 teams made the playoffs
No team has started 0-9

As you can see, being 6-3 or better after Week 9 is a huge delineation, and there is essentially no difference between 5-4 and 4-5. We currently have five teams that are 5-3 or better, meaning that at least one playoff spot is "up for grabs." It also means that all is not officially lost for the multitude of 3-5 teams out there, and that only Bruno is eliminated based on historical league performance. Given the current breakdown of the standings, shit is going to get very interesting between the NiJo Rule and the Division races.


NiJo Rule Watch

Potential Party Crashers:

• Kumpf - 7th place, 3rd in points
• Barnard - 8th place, 4th in points

Potential Victims:

• Levine - 2nd place, 12th in points
• Gutman - 5th place, 5th in points
• BAM - 6th place, 6th in points

Levine's win over Gutman was huuuuge last week as it distances him from the vulnerable 6th place in the standings. Given Barnard and my chances of ending up top 3 in scoring, we are increasingly likely to see the NiJo rule enacted this year.

Playoff Predictions

1. Alan - BYE - Division Champ
2. Zacherman - BYE - Division Champ
3. BAM
4. Levine
5. Barnard - Division Champ
6. Kumpf - NiJo Rule over Gutman

This shows how truly important Levine's win was this week, and how much Gutman is gonna hate reading this week's post.

Team of the Week - Zacherman

Yes, he had the most points this week and one of the biggest weeks of the year. But he did so with his entire bench on a bye. If you're a fan of roster quirks, and I am, this week was fun for Z. No start/sit decision to make, limited pressure going up against Weissbard, and he put up an insane score. This team is inherently flawed at three positions, but given the way Tom, Gronk and DeMarco are playing, it might not end up mattering.


Best Lineup Decision of the Week - BAM starting C.J. Fiedorowicz over Jason Witten

When I saw you guys started the notorious CJF last week, I assumed it was as a bye-week fill in for Witten. I didn't realize he was your secret weapon. You benefited from some extremely questionable roster management from Bennett, but that doesn't change the fact that your TE held down the fort while Beckham was on a bye.


Worst Lineup Decision of the Week

This was quite a battle between Bennett and Gutman. Some of these decisions were just bad luck, but all of them cost these teams their matchups:

• Bennett starting Kadeem Carey over T.J. Yeldon
• Bennett starting Cameron Meredith over Vernon Davis
• Bennett starting Cameron Meredith, Mike Evans, and Michael Thomas over Rishard Matthews
• Gutman starting Mark Ingram over Tim Hightower
• Gutman starting TY Hilton and Brandon LaFell over Stefon Diggs, Tim Hightower, Jordan Matthews, and Russell Shephard
• Gutman starting Demaryius Thomas over Stefon Diggs

In the end it comes down to Carey/Yeldon vs. LaFell/Diggs to me. Both of these were abjectly terrible decisions at the time, and they honestly may cost both teams playoff berths. In Gutman's own words:

"Let me just say, I was traveling for work and drank half a bottle of tequila, then put in LaFell because I got in an argument with a Redskins fan coworker, then slept through the game."

That's some New Gutman shit if I've ever heard it, but I do respect the drunk/spiteful lineup management. Bennett starting Kadeem Carey over T.J. Yeldon is the Worst Lineup Decision of the Week.

Biggest Surprise of the Week - Gutman vs. Levine

In a matchup of supposed playoff teams, Gut and Levine combined for 95.8 points, less than three teams put up individually. This tells me two things: 1) Neither of these teams is a favorite moving forward, and 2) The next five weeks will be verrrrrry interesting, as the standings don't nearly match the quality of the teams at this point.


Biggest Matchup of Week 9 - Weissbard vs. AGD

The eventual playoff teams are still fully in flux, but the following teams (other than Bruno) can be "eliminated" by being 3-6 or worse after this week: Esco, Weissbard, AGD, Marco and Ajay. Weiss and AGD face each other, making this a Loser Leaves Town matchup. AGD is decimated by byes, but has built some nice depth and will be able to put together a solid lineup anyway. Weissbard has a ragtag squad of underdogs who still have yet to break 75 points. It's been a nice run for Weiss after his early rash of injuries, but his playoff dreams die this week. AGD, you've been #Kursed.