Stevens Bowl IX Preview

Every fantasy season is a bit like The Butterfly Effect, in that small moments can have an out-sized impact on the final result. Take this play from Week 7. If you showed that to a bunch of football fans at a sports bar and asked who deserves the fumble, the vast majority would say Curtis Samuel. But the fumble was given to Cam, along with the -2 points, which ended up costing me a victory against Bennett. That potential/deserved win cost me a bye, and if I had the bye, I would have beaten the Esco/Marco winner last week, and would be heading towards my first Stevens Bowl. Levine would likely destroy me once I got there, but being that close to a chance at a chef's coat is enough to make me seriously consider my future in this league. So I guess I really am the FALAFEL Marvin Lewis.

Anyway, on to what actually matters...

LEVINE! ESCO! GORDON! BURTON! IT'S THE STEVENS BOWL!


The Stevens Bowl: 3) Levine vs. 6) Esco

Quarterback
Russ finally had a rough game, but it didn't end up mattering as the rest of Levine's team broke 120 on their own. I don't see that happening two games in a row, especially against a team without a pass rush in JerryWorld. On Esco's side, he has his usual Keenum vs. Matty Ice decision. Both passers are on the road, and while Keenum has the better matchup, the Frozen Tundra might come into play and make it difficult to pass. I'd probably go Keenum unless precipitation is in the forecast, but either way it shouldn't matter.
Edge: Levine

Runningback
Freeman carried Esco to the promise land, and I like him to show up against the Saints as well, even if Coleman returns. Outside of that, I'm done trusting Lamar Miller and the Duke/Rod combo is a lottery ticket. If they were going up against Latavius Murray, Mike Davis and Kerwynn Williams, I'd give Esco the edge. But unfortunately those are Levine's backup RBs. No one's touching the Kareem/Ingram combo.
Big Edge: Levine

Wide Receiver
Last week, Esco had the bold strategy of only carrying two receivers. They didn't impress, but did just enough for the win. He'll roll them back this week, to which Levine's Avengers say, "That's cool. Watch this."
Big Edge: Levine

Tight End
Going into last week, the one minor blemish on Levine's roster was TE, where the Greg Olsen stash had yet to pay off. That all changed with his big day against Green Bay, and now there's really no one Esco can run out that would flip this position, even Trey Fucking Burton.
Big Edge: Levine

D/ST
The Chargers fell apart last week, and nearly cost Esco in the process, but they get the Bryce Petty Experience this week. As for Levine, Carolina's D has been legit all year and gets a turnover-prone Jameis team. That's not bad, but it's not Bryce.
Edge: Esco

Overall
In some years, the Stevens Bowl is a toss up and we have hotly a contested battle for the chef's coat. This is not one of those years.
Pick: Levine

On a lesser note, I'm taking Zacherman in the Rogers Bowl, giving him back-to-back third place finishes.

Matchup Predictions: 12-5 (10 game winning streak)

Gambling Corner

NFL Week 16 Bets
538 Leaderboard update: Currently in 125th out of 19,668: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/nfl-predictions-game/leaderboard/
Packers (+9) vs. Vikings
Saints (-5) vs. Falcons
Redskins (-3) vs. Broncos
Jaguars (-4) at 49ers
Cardinals (-3) vs. Giants
Last Week: 2-1-1
2017 Record: 39-26-1

NCAA Week 2 Bowl Bets
Florida International (+7) vs. Temple
Ohio (-7) vs. UAB

Wyoming (-1 ) vs. Central Michigan
Texas Tech (+3) vs. South Florida
Army (+7) vs. San Diego State
Appalachian State (+8) vs. Toledo
Fresno State (+3) vs. Houston
West Virginia (+7) vs. Utah
Northern Illinois (+5) vs. Duke
UCLA (+3) vs. Kansas State
Southern Miss (+16) vs. Florida State
Texas (+3) vs. Missouri
Iowa (-3) vs. Boston College
Purdue (+4) vs. Arizona
Virginia (+1) vs. Navy
Virginia Tech (+4) vs. Oklahoma State
Stanford (+3) vs. TCU
Michigan State (+2) vs. Washington State
Last Week: 3-4-1
2017 Record: 32-27-7