Yeah, that’s tough to find.
Unintuitively, you go to your team’s roster. At the top it says there is a pending trade, click for details. From the details screen you can vote against it.
Out of curiosity, what seemed lopsided about it to you? I didn’t really look at it.
Cotchery and Breaston are pretty much equal in value, so it comes down to White/Roethlisberger for Chambers/Rivers- and while Rivers is a bit more valuable than Roethlisberger, White is about a million times more valuable than Chambers.
I’m not going to vote against it but it looks a tad unfair to me.
Although I was hoping to do this a couple weeks ago, I got busy with real life and didn’t really have the time. So, for now, I’m going to call it my Slightly After Midseason Report.
There is only one place we can start in the review, and that is celebrating (or damning) the complete and utter dominance of the league by none other than bababooey’s
DrewBree’sBirthmark
This is the only team to break 1000 points already (I’m not sure Spiritus is going to get there the whole season) and is a whopping 10-0. This team has scored below 90 points only once all year. They are all but assured a playoff spot, and are clearly the Tiger Woods of the league. Here’s hoping a series of knee injuries gives the rest of us a chance.
Kurt Warner (who I said: “could be the steal of the draft.”) is having an outstanding year, and is the MVP. But the great thing about this team is that it has suffered it’s fair share of injuries, with Stephen Jackson gimpyness and losing Nate Burleson for the year. But the depth, especially with Tim Hightower and Julius Jones having an occasional great week, has kept this team on top. Include Thomas Jones turning into a scoring machine and add in some help from Bironas and the Titans D, and we have a clear #1 team in the league. However, and this is a big however, everything can go to crap in a heartbeat for this team. While Warner has been a monster, he’s also an injury risk and is only backed up by gulp Daunte Culpepper. If Warner goes down, this team could easily go from Hero to Zero. There is still a weakness at the #2 WR position to deal with. This team should be proud of the great start, and, if Warner remains healthy, DrewBreesBirthmark is the odds on favorite to take it all.
After that juggernaut, there is a huge dropoff to the next team. Down 3 games to DBB, the next team has a one game lead on the rest of the pack. And that team is:
Munch’s Urban Achievers
This team owes a great deal of its success to Adrian Peterson, who has lived up to the #2 pick overall. Munch also did a great job on some of his lesser picks, including Calvin Johnson, Steve Slaton, and Matt Ryan who have all emerged as solid starters. Add in players who have had occasional good games, like Ricky Williams, Tony Scheffler, and the Bears D, and this team has earned it’s #2 spot. While not a sure thing for the playoffs, if his rookies don’t hit a wall, this team will surely complete. Especially with All Day.
After those two teams, there are 10 teams bunched together from 6-4 to 4-6. Any of these teams can make a run and make the playoffs, but some have a much harder row to hoe to get there. I think the top team of this next group is:
Baltimore Weirdos
This team has rattled off 3 straight wins and 5 of the last 6. It has a nice balance of studs, with Drew Brees, Brian Westbrook, and Jason Witten doing the heavy lifting. After that, though, there are some question marks. The WR crew of Lee Evans, Donald Driver, Vincent Jackson, Lance Moore and the rest are inconsistent, but capable of big games now and again. And after Westbrook, there is Ronnie Brown who has been servicable, but of late has dropped off, and LeRon McClain who is an afterthought with a healthy McGahee. I think in a 14 team league, it’s the studs that carry teams, and Brees, Westbrook and Witten (if Romo is healthy) fit that definition. So this team should compete. But I don’t think the strength of the WR crew and depth at RB is going to get this team too far. Still, never count out Brees and Westbrook.
After the Weirdos, there are two more 6-4 teams, and the better of those two is:
Omni’s Omnipotents
This team is a roller coaster, starting with 4 straight wins, then 3 straight losses, then two wins, then one loss. And, in that season, he’s won a couple of low scoring affairs (nobody should win with 65.84 points); but lost the only two times he’s scored about 100 points. It’s bizarro-fantasy football, when he scores low, he wins, when he breaks 100, he loses. Part of that is due to the inconsistency of the players. Chris Johnson, Big Ben, DeSean Jackson, and Randy Moss are all capable of putting up really nice numbers, but they rarely do it consistently and at the same time. Luckily, Omni has a couple of stable players in Forte and Lewis and maybe Roddy White, who, while rarely reaching stud status, can bring in the carries and catches over the whole season. I really like this team to contend in the latter half of this year. So you big dogs, keep an eye out.
After Omni, there is only one more team with a winning record and that is the:
Crabby Hermits
Talk about Hero to Zero, the Hermits, after a blazing fast start of 6-1 with 4 games over 100, this team is on a three game skid and actually scored only 33 points in week 9. Ouch. But much of that had to do with injuries, including losing Romo, Plastico, and now Portis. This team has some very nice players, with Portis, Romo, and Larry Fitz making a helluva starting trio. The problem is injuries and lack of depth. As I said in my draft review, I really loved the first 4 picks (those three and Burress), but after that it was worthless. Don’t count this team out, because, if healthy, it can certainly string together some wins. But the lack of a solid 2nd rb, poor depth, and injuries may really hurt this team. I feel bad because in a 14 team league, injuries are magnified. But with better luck and more depth, I’d feel better about feeling bad for this team.
So, those are your 5 teams with winning records, and there are 3 more teams sitting at 5-5 and hoping to make a move. The team I really think has a chance to make a move is…
Shut Your Mouth Abel
4 wins to start, then 5 losses in a row, then a big win last week. 3 times breaking a hundred, but one score in the 40’s, another in the 50’s, and 2 in the low 60’s. What the fuck is up with this team? They certainly have some studs in Jay Cutler and Anquan Boldin. But there are also some risks with Willis McGahee (injuries, # of carries), Tony Gonzo and Dwayne Bowe (QB problems) and Marshawn Lynch (a big disappointment so far). However, of all the middling teams, I think this is the one is capable of making some big noise in the run to, and completion of, the playoffs. If Cutler stays studly, Boldin stays healthy, Thigpen stays surprisingly good, McGahee stays healthy and focused on, and Lynch stays the starter on a good team, I think this team can beat anyone (except maybe Brees). If you’re looking for a team to pick to really come on, this is that team. It seems that, finally, all the pieces may be in place.
Next up on the cavalcade of fantasy football is (with the exception of 10-0 Birthmark) on the longest current winning streak. And that is:
Freshman 16 (RNATB)
This team, unlike the other 5-5 teams, seems to have a bit of consistency. 4 straight wins, with 3 of the 4 scoring in the 90’s is a nice little run. But don’t let that fool you, because I don’t think this team doesn’t have the legs or real team consistency, to make the playoffs. This team seems to have a lot of middle-of-the-road talent, but always seems to be starting the one who has a career week. Whether it is Kevin Smith finally having a great week, or Antonio Bryant breaking out, or Leon Washington racking up the numbers (should have started him this week, eh?); some player always seems to step up. But I don’t think you can count on getting hot at the right time to win it all. The only true scorer on the team is McNabb, and Barber/Parker have been inconsistent and the WR crew has been, for the most part, atrocious. One thing I will say, however, is that, for a lack of talent, this team is pretty well coached. This team has made the most transactions in the league, often with positive results like Benjarvus Green-Ellis, Antonio Bryant, and Kevin Faulk. And he seems to generally be starting the right guys at the right times. But, and this is a big but, your fantasy football roster isn’t always going to include someone who is playing the Chiefs, Broncos or Lions every week. This team has done well, for what it has, but it hasn’t got enough.
And the last 5-5 team is also on a nice little run, winning three in a row:
VarlosZZZZZZ
The one thing I didn’t mention about those three wins was that they weren’t all dominating performance, especially a 69 total point win over co-.500 team Abel. But this team is all about disappointment. LT has, by and large, been a disappointment. Chad Johnson/Marvin Harrison/Earnest Graham all disappiontments. Still, there are some nice highlights, like the (hopeful) emergence of Cotchery, the shining star of Phillip Rivers, and an occasional helping hand from Taylor, Aaron Rodgers, or Dallas Clark. This team has the tools to make a run, it’s just that, at this point in the season, it’s hard to see the disappointments finally turning it on. If they do, however, and LT, OchoCinco, and Earnest Graham live up to expectations, this team will compete. I just don’t see that happening.
Well, that’s just about enough for now. Next week I hope to continue with the rest of the teams, including an autopsy of some bad team. Including mine.
Woot!
D’oh!
Rivers is a LOT more valuable than Big Ben - he can be kept next year in the 7th round.
You’re quite right. I didn’t factor that in.
I withdraw my pseudo-objection.
On your roster page, click on “[details]” to the right of where it says there’s a trade pending, and there should be a “Vote Against Trade” button on the bottom of the screen, in the middle.
Two questions:
One-sided in which direction? [ETA: Ah, I missed the most recent posts. I see.]
What, do you think, are the proper criteria for voting down a trade? There seem to be different ideas about this, but I always thought that to veto a trade either (A) it had to be *extremely *unbalancing and one-sided, to the point where one owner was probably confused about something, or (B) there was some reason to believe the owners were colluding to unbalance the trade. If everyone vetoes every trade where they think one side got a better deal than the other, you’ll never have any trades.
Didn’t you mention before that you had been in a league in which almost every trade was vetoed? Man, I’d hate that.
Yeah.
My original objection was that I thought Chambers was on IR, so it was effectively a 3-for-2 deal. I also don’t really think in a keeper-league mindset, so it didn’t occur to me to think in those terms until Ellis was like, eh?
Anyway, just to expand a bit on the trade:
This helps both teams. Rivers has been a very good fantasy QB this year (best in our league), but looking forward I probably wasn’t going to be using him very much. I also have Aaron Rodgers, who’s been nearly as good, and who has a *much *easier slate of pass defenses on his remaining schedule. So it’s a very small downgrade for me at QB, but I get Omni’s top two (IMO) WRs, ranked 2nd and 11th in points this year for us, both of whom are better than anyone I had at the position.
I actually think that Omni gets a little more out of the trade than I do. Losing Roddy White is a blow, but he had great WRs going into the trade and gets to go forward with the trio of Randy Moss, DeSean Jackson, and Cotchery, which is still above average. Rivers helps him a ton, since he had an otherwise great team with the worst QB situation in the league: Pennington and Roethlisberger, 16th and 22nd in a league that starts 14 QBs. Plus Rivers is a very good keeper next year (which, for me, is easily the biggest downside).
You should have been more concerned with your keeper situation, since all of you are playing for second place anyway.
A post-trade re-evaluation might be in order as well.
What an amazing prognostication. I DID wind up playing for second place…and you called it months ago. That’s astounding, how did you do it?
Congratulations to Dave on his victory. The season long dominance of DrewBreesBirthmark ended in the finals, with the help of… Drew Brees. The irony burns.
After a letdown of a season, at least I was able to grab the number pick in next years draft. Having forsaken picking keepers to try and get wins, I’m going to be starting fresh next year (Goodbye Michael Turner. Farewell MJD). And no better place to start than at the top.
Congrats to all on another fun season.
I’m amazed that I won, actually. Not only did I come into the season with no keepers, but of the 9 players I had starting at the end of the year, five, count 'em five, of them (Both WR, flex back, K and Def) were people I picked up off the waiver wire. Not only did I not have the advantage of any solid keepers, but I didn’t even draft that well. Crazy.
Last year is proof that luck has more than a little to do with winning it all!
Anyone thinking about doing a post-season team-by-team summary and analysis?
For the love of mercy, no!
heh.
Congratulations, Dave. A well managed and well earned win.
I can’t remember a NFL season in which so high a percentage of the 1st round picks were busts or serious underachievers.
Particularly among running backs. There were only two non-busts by midseason - Portis and Barber - and they fell apart shortly afterwards.
Don’t forget Adrian Peterson and Westbrook. They were legit, if a little streaky. The 2nd rounders almost universally sucked too, though, at all the positions. Only the WR position was somewhat normal, though the 2nd tier guys all outperformed the 1st tier guys.
I think the biggest surprise this year what how high the percentage of successful Rookie RBs was.