PREAMBLE

Ah, the championship that everyone predicted at the start of this. The championship with the fifth and sixth seeds. I don’t think that fantasy football has any correlation to real football in terms of some rust after a bye week. These semi-finals are simply a case of a team getting all the right players at the right moment and the other team getting pounded into the pavement by the arm of a 100 year old quarterback.

Bove, the best team in the league all season long, never stood a chance this week. Vaghi had the highest scoring week of anyone this season, using an outrageous 52.5 point wide receiver effort to catapult his way to the championship match. Bove had an outstanding performance from one player, but a truly unPurdy performance to close out the weekend was the rain on his parade.

A more traditional fantasy matchup took place between Gabe and myself. It was unfortunate timing for Mr. Lizarazo that the Linsanity run for Mr. Tommy Devito came to an end after a half of poor football against the Philadelphia Eagles. Gabe also had some roster management troubles that contributed to his downfall.

So now it’s Jonathan Stanko and Matthew Vaghi for the Real Reason For Sunday 2023 Fantasy Football Championship. At the start of the year, according to ESPN, Vaghi had the worst team after the draft. According to ESPN, the post draft prognostications for my team had me as the best team.  Now we are in the championship. Pride and money on the line.

Let’s get going.

SEMIFINALS SCOREBOARD

  • Things started off great for my team with Jamhyr Gibbs scoring 24.0 points on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings. He ended up being my team’s highest scorer for the week, but thankfully for my team there were no truly horrendous performers to sink my battleship. Lamar Jackson performed well on Monday night after a slow start, and the trio of Eagles (D’Andre Swift, A.J. Brown and Jake Elliot) all performed adequately against the New York Giants. I did not have to eat crow seeing George Pickens on my bench with 35.5 points, and Romeo Dobbs with 17.9. Can’t afford the misjudgement of roster management in the championship match, so have to tighten that up.
    • The Eagles vs. The Giants game got competitive at the end, but that was thanks in large part to Tyrod Taylor coming in at quarterback, replacing Tommy DeVito. Gabe had DeVito as his starting quarterback. If he was watching, he was probably cursing bah-hum-bug to the high heavens. The other Monday problem for Gabe was Josh Jacobs. He was listed questionable all week, then was listed as out 90 minutes before kickoff. Gabe had no one to sub-in, there were no other running backs on his roster. Roster mismanagement led to a nutmeg on the scoreboard, and that proved to be very costly. The team with the fantasy MVP, Christian McCaffrey, suffers an L in the semifinals.
  • 190.4 points is a fuck ton of points. And over a quarter of those points came from one person. Cleveland Brown wide receiver, Amari Cooper. Cooper set a new franchise record. Over the past three games he has over 450 yards receiving. Bove can only shake his head at one of the most ridiculous stat lines of the entire season. It wasn’t only Cooper though; Puka Nacua did well on Saturday and stirred up 33.0 points, and Amon-Ra St. Brown out-kicked his projections with 28.6 points. For those counting at home, that is 114 points from three wide receivers, which would have been enough to beat Bove alone.
    • If you told Bove that he would get 43.1 points from Breece Hall in his flex spot, I think he would have jumped for joy. Not only for fantasy reasons, but also for Jets reasons. That was really the only outstanding performance on the Regular Season champ’s team. Raheem Mostert scored only 12 points, his fewest since week thirteen. DeAndre Hopkins scored just 4.8 points, and then Dustin Hopkins got hurt to make matters worse. Bove can only be frustrated and shake his head in furious anger.

SEMIFINALS ANALYTICS

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  • Vaghi’s 190.40 is the highest point total this season.
    • Makes sense that Vaghi’s +75.60 compared to projected is also this best for this season, whether it be pre or post season.
  • The top two scores from the semifinals did advance, so at least that makes logical sense.
  • Both losing teams had quarterbacks that did not score over three points. However, neither were the lowest for the season; that still belongs to List at 2.1 points in week 10.
    • Both losing teams also had tight end production of less than 10, but that is stretching it for comparison sake.
  • Bove lapped the field in terms of best running back points, nearly doubling up the second best.
  • Gabe, Bove, and myself combined for 87 points from our wide receivers. Vaghi’s wide outs had 114.1 points. I mean good lord man. Just nasty.
  • Bove had the only defense to score double-digit points.
  • All the kicking points came from one matchup; Gabe and I both had 15 points each while Vaghi and Bove combined for six.
  • I won despite having the lowest Highest Scorer.

ADDITIONAL STATISTICS

Margin Of Victory By Week
  • Week One: 35.96
  • Week Two: 25.74
  • Week Three: 25.97
  • Week Four: 27.31
  • Week Five: 48.05
  • Week Six: 18.00
  • Week Seven: 37.48
  • Week Eight: 22.20
  • Week Nine: 29.89
  • Week Ten: 22.17
  • Week Eleven: 17.38
  • Week Twelve: 32.87
  • Week Thirteen: 25.66
  • Week Fourteen: 29.62
  • Quarterfinals: 14.15 *2 Matches
  • Semifinals: 48.79 *2 Matches
  • Average Margin Of Victory This Season Is 28.82
Average Team Totals Per Week
  • Week One: 101.19
  • Week Two: 117.54
  • Week Three: 120.95
  • Week Four: 118.77
  • Week Five: 118.61
  • Week Six: 107.77
  • Week Seven: 111.97
  • Week Eight: 123.68
  • Week Nine: 104.25
  • Week Ten: 113.925
  • Week Eleven: 115.38
  • Week Twelve: 128.12
  • Week Thirteen: 115.93
  • Week Fourteen: 113.21
  • Quarterfinals: 104.79 *2 Matches
  • Semifinals: 129.99 *2 Matches
  • Average Team Total This Season Is 115.38

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP

WE WILL BE PREVIEWING THE ONLY MATCHUP THAT MATTERS. APOLOGIES TO ALL THOSE OFFENDED.
  • No. 5 Monkey Boys vs. No. 6 Look What You Made Me Koo
    • Vaghi and I have matched up twice this year, and Vaghi has taken the cake both times. Both matchups were close, being decided by less than five points.
      • In week two, the Monkey Boys came away with a 125.44 to 121.68 victory.
        • Saquon Barkley and Tyler Lockett scored 53.1 combined points. Vaghi overcame single-digit efforts from Jahan Dotson and Dallas Goedert. I had outstanding efforts from Lamar Jackson and D’Andre Swift and George Pickens, but A.J. Brown and the Texans defense had subpar days.
      • In week 13, neither Vaghi or I deserved to win, but in an exercise of pitifulness, Matt earned an 85.1 to 81.8 decision.
        • This was the game that Rhamondre Stevenson got hurt (I think), but Zach Charbonnet kept the team afloat with 16.9 points. Both teams had massive problems with byes; I was out Lamar Jackson and Vaghi was out with Saquon Barkley, Justin Fields and the Ravens defense.
MONKEY BOYS (VAGHI) AVERAGE TOTAL
 (Average Rank Per Week)		PARTICIPATION TROPHY (BOVE) AVERAGE TOTAL
 (Average Rank Per Week)
116.62 (5.93)Points Scored111.04 (7.43)
45.46 (6.50)Points On Bench39.83 (8.14)
162.22 (6.29)Full Team Points148.75 (8.21)^
+2.04 (5.36)Points Compared To Projected-6.39 (7.36)
18.55 (6.57)Quarterback Points18.12 (6.64)
29.33 (6.36)Running Back Points27.01 (7.57)
41.96 (5.36)*Wide Receiver Points39.93 (6.21)
8.46 (7.57)Tight End Points11.26 (6.07)
10.36 (4.79)*Defense/Special Teams Points7.29 (6.86)
6.93 (6.64)Kicker Points6.43 (6.29)
25.74 (6.93)Highest Scoring Player_Position26.01 (6.50)

* Ranks Best In The League | ^ Ranks Worst In The League

PUBLIC RELATIONS

For the second straight year, I have made it to the championship. Last year I was the top dog but felt myself losing steam toward the end. This time around I am the scrappy dog who is managing to find some wins against some high quality foes. Now I face Vaghi who has beaten me twice already this season. One weekend to decide everything. Coming runner-up in back-to-back seasons would really sting, but best of luck, Vaghi.

Jonathan Stanko – Manager of Look What You Made Me Koo

“Gotta give Bove credit for a great season, my team just fired on all cylinders this weekend. Amari Cooper was the greatest Christmas gift I’ve ever received. Hopefully the squad can keep it going for the title game.”

Matthew Vaghi – Manager of Participation Trophy

“Tough way for the season to come to an end. At least a last minute scratch of Pittman had no impact on the outcome. Kudos to the Monkey Boys. On to next year.”

Tim Bove – Manger of Participation Trophy

No Comment.

Gabe Lizarazo – Manager of Aaron Rodger’s Trip Sitter

OTHER MATCHUPS

STANDINGS

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