Good evening, Coaches! We’ve made it to the end of the regular season! Our new, expanded playoffs which I totally understood all season and in no way misled anyone. There is plenty to celebrate for some, a rookie in the playoffs, consecutive regular season crowns, and, most impressively of all, a first season (by this writer) with no missed articles! I jest, I’m clearly just green with envy at having no fantasy success of my own to celebrate. Anyway, as has become tradition, the final Power Rankings of the season will be a look back at how teams were ranked after draft day, when we all still had hope in our heart. And, if you can’t be bothered with all that, my thoughts on the playoffs are at the end. Either way, enjoy this final edition!
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To refresh everyone’s memory, teams are shown in order of final standings, with my Week 1 ranking in brackets.
12. U R Gould (10) 3-11 Final Record
The most notable thing about this team, post-Draft, was that they came away without a QB. Perhaps I underestimated quite the influence that would have – OBJ wasn’t the only person who spent too much of the season relying on Baker. I wasn’t too far off the mark though.
11. Burdettinators (8) 5-9 Final Record
Another team I overestimated slightly, although they lost Gus Edwards before the season had even started and Calvin Ridley part way through, understandably affecting their final standing. In general, I questioned the depth and thought Dak could be a steal, not bad again.
10. Tom’s Tyrants (9) 5-9 Final Record
More or less on with this one as well, overly reliant on Murray to be an x-factor in a team that struggled for standout performers. A decent points scored and end of season form showed the makings of a solid team, but it was never any more than that.
9. Patistan (1) 5-9 Final Record
Yeah, so, miles out. But, they did make the playoffs based on their points scoring, so I’m going to cut myself a little slack. They stayed at the top of the Rankings for a while, and then, as is tradition for Patistan, the injuries set in. All in all, they’ll be happy they’re in the playoffs, that’s all that matters.
8. FTMAL (12) 6-8 Final Record
There was a short while when I thought that FTMAL, and the gods of the auto-draft, were going to make me, and the rest of the league, look rather silly. As it was, they ran out of steam and did topple down the rankings, still far exceeding my early season expectations mind.
7. Gridiron Gang (5) 6-8 Final Record
Not far off in placement, but way off in analysis. Zeke and Nuk, who I questioned, were the driving force behind the more successful parts of Gridiron Gang’s season. Injuries were a constant issue for them, but I was correct with questioning whether QB would hold them back – it did.
6. Buccing The Trend (2) 7-7 Final Record
A team I was clearly too high on, for times this season they looked like they would like up to my dark horse label. I wasn’t convinced by Sanders, but it turned out they had several other question marks leading to vastly inconsistent scoring throughout the season.
5. Bear Necessities (4) 7-7 Final Record
Pretty close on this one, but off the mark on analysis again, thinking Diggs and Wilson would be the x-factors, when in fact Swift and Fournette were the difference makers. I’m not giving myself any points for calling Kelce a key player, that’s the equivalent on betting on another Covid Christmas…
4. Napolitans (6) 7-7 Final Record
For a long while, my ranking looked terrible, a team that nothing was going right for up until mid-season. From there, it became the Jonathon Taylor show, as he dragged them into the playoffs. Lamar and, eventually, Kittle also proved key, with the what I deemed a ‘good value’ draft proving correct.
3. IKSAN (11) 9-5 Final Record
My biggest failing, they far exceeded my expectations. Because I absolutely refuse to be entirely wrong, I will point out that my biggest negative on them was a lack of spark, and that has been the case for a decent part of the season. A well-balanced team was their greatest strength.
2. The Dream Team (3) 12-2 Final Record
Pretty close here, as they only slightly exceeded my expectation. I liked the explosive players and high upside rookies, all of whom seem to have come off. And that’s how to go 12-2, folks.
1. Forge Flyers (7) 12-2 Final Record
The other run-away team this year, but I was a long way off post-draft. There isn’t too much to report really, I was just very wrong. Coach Leach saw the potential in these players where I, and others, doubted it, and to say he proved his point doesn’t quite do it justice.
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Believe it or not, that is actually slightly better than I managed last year. The analysis was invariably closer than the actual rank, admittedly. None bang on the money either, which I’ll admit has disappointed me – luckily I’ve gotten used to disappointment this season.
So, let’s try our luck with some playoff predictions. Last year I did nail this but, as I’ve already mentioned, I’ve only just grasped the playoff format, let alone the teams in it.
Let’s see, the battle of the wildcard, in which health/covid looks to be playing a key role. For me, the matchups are near unilaterally with IKSAN, who have also been the more consistent team of late, hard to go any other way.
The next round is when the big hitters come in, and we’ve seen what they’ve been doing all season. Outside of another Jonathan Taylor 50-pointer, I think it would be crazy to bet against either of them.
Which leaves us the big one. Anyone following the rankings this season will have spotted that I have been a bigger fan of The Dream Team, partly due to health, but Forge Flyers constantly defied my doubts to claim the Regular Season Crown (again). The matchup of the week is undoubtedly Rodgers against the Vikes, with most others being middling to poor. Having said all that, I’m sticking to my guns. Coach Nathwani to pick up a first (and overdue) Stubbs trophy.
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And that is that, another season in the books. I hope you all enjoyed it, and are now redy and raring either for playoffs or for next year. I also hope these weekly ramblings provided at least some entertainment. Good luck to those of you still chasing the big prize, but that is all from me. EDOTLOCCA signing off. Laters.
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