2023 FINAL REGULAR SEASON RANKINGS
The 2023 Regular season is now complete after going quietly into the night at the conclusion of yesterday's MNF matchup between the Jaguars and Bengals. And how perfect was it that it ended with one team starting a backup QB and the other having to switch to their backup QB after Trevor Lawrence left the game with a sprained ankle. That has been the story of the entire 2023 season. Of the 29 QBs that were selected in the draft, 7 of them sustained season ending injuries (Rodgers/ Watson/ Tanehill/ Richardson/ Burrow/ Cousins) while 5 others missed at least one full game due to injury (Stafford/ Lawrence/ Pickett/ Carr/ Garoppolo). Use that information any way you would like next year when it's time to select keepers and draft your team.
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There really wasn't much drama on the last day. The first 3 spots were sewn up coming into the weekend, while Pete and Jared needed to score a ton of points to overtake CJ. Pete and Jared held up their end of the bargain by scoring 212 and 178 points respectively. Unfortunately CJ continued his high scoring ways (191) and locked up the 4 seed.
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So we are left with a Final Four of Stick Rock, Wrath of Kahn, Springfield Flanders and Milford Football Team. (#1) Stick Rock has selected to play (#4) MFT in the first round. It was an easy decision once I explained to Rocky he couldn't select to play himself. That leaves the 2nd matchup a battle between (#2) Wrath of Kahn and (#3) Springfield Flanders. Here is a preview:
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If this game was played before Halloween, Rocky would be the clear favorite. But it's not, so he won't be. Rocky was averaging 165/game through the end of October, but only 140/game since November 1st. That's like going into a game with one less superstar player. I know he lost 2 QBs for the season, but everyone has had to deal with injuries this year. This team just got old fast. Austin Ekeler missed time in the middle of the season and has yet to score over 10 points since his return. Russell Wilson has had a nice bounce-back season, but would you really trust him in a playoff game? DeAndre Hopkins is a perfectly suitable replacement for Justin Jefferson... If this were 2017. Swift, St. Brown and Keenan Allen will have to carry this team if they have any hope of advancing.
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If you are looking for the polar opposite of what Stick Rock has done this season, look no further that his opponent this week, MFT. CJ's team averaged 148 points over the first two months of the season but started to heat up once the weather turned cooler. Since Nov. 1, CJ has averaged 164/game along with having the #1 ranked RB (CMC) and the #1 QB (Josh Allen). Mike Evans is a solid, if not spectacular receiver and Nico Collins should see more volume with Tank Dell out for the season (Oh, did I forget to mention that above? Yeah, Rocky lost Tank Dell and Christian Kirk to season ending injuries this week.) If CJ loses this game, it will be because his receivers do not matchup with Rocky's.
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Prediction - MFT wins 310 to 280
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(#2) Wrath of Kahn v. (#3) Springfield Flanders
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This looks like the real Championship Game. Hopefully the winner here will not be too hung over celebrating their victory and look past the #1 v. #4 winner.
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As much as the other 3 teams in the playoffs have had up and down seasons, Kahn has been remarkably consistent. Jim's team averaged 159 points/game before November 1st and 161 after. Tyreek Hill has been piling up points all season long and Travis Kelce is still one of the best TEs in the game, giving him a huge advantage over his opponent. The RBs are good, but not game-breakers and the WRs not named Tyreek Hill are spotty at best. Jim has been able to stay atop the standings this year due to incredible injury luck but this team is not the deepest, so it will need that luck to hold out over the next month if he hopes to hoist the Kaos Cup. They'll probably go as far as Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert will take them.
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Springfield Flanders is another team that started strong (171/game pre Nov. 1) and started to fade in the 2nd half of the season (143/game after Nov 1) before recovering nicely with a 209 point effort in week 13. Flanders looks like the most complete team in the playoffs. Solid QB play (Purdy/Goff) an explosive RB duo (Kamara/Etienne) and the best trio of WRs (Diggs/Puka Nakua/AJ Brown). Each one of these players is capable of putting up 30+ points/game.
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Prediction: Springfield Flanders wins 358 to 327.
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We also have our Consolation Game this week. The winner will win $50:
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(#5) Mel Kipers Best Available v. (#6) Peeping Tomlins
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Both teams played well down the stretch but came up a little short. Mel Kiper's BA had his best season in a while, mainly due to his teams ability to stay healthy for most of the year. Sam Howell was a late round lottery ticket that paid off with a #5 overall QB ranking. Derrick Henry was his usual reliable self while De'von Achane was electric when he was on the field. After a slow start, CeeDee Lamb took off and is the #3 overall WR while Sam Laporta looks like a future Travis Kelce.
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Jared's team battled injuries all year long. Anthony Richardson and Nick Chubb suffered season-ending injuries early on but he was able to piece together a roster that stayed competitive till the end.
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Prediction: MKBA's playmakers are too much for the Tomlins to keep up with. They win 304 - 286
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And for the rest of us losers, we have the Tank-A-Thon tournament. The winner of the tournament will get the first pick in the 5th round of next year's draft. Matchups are as follows:
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(#7) 69 Olds v. (#10) Dark Helmet
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Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes on the same team playing for a draft pick. You really do not need any more proof that this is not a QB league.
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Dark Helmet has Tua and that got him 10th place.
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Prediction: Both Ray and Dan will draft Wide Receivers early and often next season.
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(#8) Black Ghostbusters v. (#9) Skoal Bandits
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Nothing went right for either of these teams as they used the draft and regular season to reset their rosters with a look ahead to 2024. Both teams have come out of it with a solid set of Keepers:
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Skoal Bandits - four among: Bijan Robinson, Jahnyr Gibbs, Nick Chubb, Chris Olave, Michael Pittman and Anthony Richardson
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Black Ghostbusters - Four among: Jonathan Taylor, Breece Hall, Ja'marr Chase, Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp and Jordan Love.
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That's a wrap for this week! Good luck to everyone! Don't forget that the next 2 rounds are two-week matchups. You will have an opportunity to make changes to your lineup after the Week 14 games wrap up next week.
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