One Primate to Rule Them All

Historical Record
After a rough couple of years that featured only a 38-22-1 record, the Chunky Monkeys decided they had enough in 2006 and went on a 12-1 tear that threatened to rip apart the fabric of the CTDB universe. That one loss was a squeaker in WK6 versus Buffy, and it took 163 points to do it. Two weeks later, the Monkeys set the regular season high for points in a game with 178 points -- they were coming off of 149 and 153 point weeks. That year they set the record for Most Points Scored (2054), Highest Average Game Score (136.93), Most Wins (14), Best Average Point Differential (+40.60), and Most High Week Scores (10). They literally rewrote the record book. Oh, and they came back to avenge that one loss in the playoffs, annihilating Buffy 128-70 in the division finals before winning Super Bowl VI.

In the past five years, the Monkeys have compiled a regular season record of 47-18, won every division title during that span, been to four Super Bowls, and taken home two championship trophies. A case can be made that the Chunky Monkeys have been the greatest franchise in CTDB history. They have an all time record of 103-53-2, a sterling 65.8% winning percentage. That's twenty more wins than their next closest competitor in that category by the way. They've never had more than five losses in a season, been under 0.500 only once (!), and... Okay, we could go on. It's hard to argue that CM haven't been one of the best ever. The question is: Why isn't that a definitive "The Monkeys are the best ever!"

Well, the answer to that is because the Monkeys were for a very long time perceived as chokers. Despite being favored many times and usually heading into the playoffs cushioned with a bye, the juggernaut Monkeys have also folded just as many times as they've won. Sure we're rating them on an impossible scale but when your team is perceived as the most talented year after year, the fan base expects rings. In their first five seasons, the Monkeys regularly ripped off regular season wins only to collapse in the playoffs. The one time they made it to the Super Bowl, they lost to the Fat Jubas without putting up much of a fight.

Insert Peyton face.

There are some people who would argue that other teams have a spot at the top of the charts. Just two years ago, Green Team seemingly ended the Team of the Decade debate. In head to head matchups, the Greenies are the only team to have a winning record versus the Monkeys, none bigger than their stunning upset in Super Bowl VIII. Some had argued that other franchises' two championships make them the best team ever. For awhile, that was a viable stance.

Oh, but wait, the Monkeys have their two championships now too. If they can win another championship soon, while avoiding another Super Bowl upset, they could make their case for the Greatest Team of All Time, forget just Team of the Decade. Right now, they are simply "The Winningest Team" or "The Most Consistent Team." We feel like the Monkeys need to have more wins in the Super Bowl than they do losses before we're ready to give them the crown. Plus we need a reason to believe that the rest of us have a chance.

Core Roster
At the beginning of our first keeper season in 2001, a younger Evan drafted Peyton Manning and a Chargers' rookie named LaDainian Tramayne Tomlinson. Those two stalwarts laid the groundwork for a decade of success. Operating with the philosophy that two stud running backs wins games, Evan featured Fred Taylor and Terrell Davis early on, before turning to LDT as the featured back. Blessed with both Peyton and Brett Favre, an early season trade netted WRs Johnnie Morton and Keenan McCardell. However, a weak WR corps would plague the Monkeys for years. Joe Horn emerged as a serviceable first receiver but he was far from the superstar that Evan coveted. Other receivers that first season included Jerome Pathon, Germane Crowell, Derrick Mason, and Wayne Chrebet.

Superior running backs would come and go over the years as the Monkeys became famous for their awesome pairings. Shaun Alexander ran alongside LDT for many years, both men churning into endzones on the regular. Then when Alexander was traded, Larry Johnson stepped up to the plate. Gifted with an eye for drafting young RBs, Evan always had many an emerging runner on his roster. Frank Gore, Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, and Jamaal Charles all came up through the Monkeys' farm system. Many of the RBs would be shuffled around but the Monkeys always had a stable of studs. At one point in 2009, the roster boasted LDT, Chris Johnson, Forte, Charles, and Larry Johnson. Goodness!

The passing game, on the other hand, usually lacked consistent performers. An aging Jimmy Smith faded away, Joe Horn was traded after two seasons, David Boston never panned out. A trade for Javon Walker seemed to amply fill the hole at third receiver but Walker's best year (singular) was already behind him. Same with Chad Johnson, who was unceremoniously cut the same season he arrived via trade for an declining Larry Johnson. Donald Driver and Darrell Jackson were steady veterans but never quite the stars Evan was looking for. A string of young receiving talent would go on to bomb: Kevin Dyson, Travis Taylor, Brandon Lloyd, Michael Clayton, DJ Hackett, Jerricho Cotchery, Anthony Gonzalez, just to name a few. The Monkeys did draft Andre Johnson but early on he would proved to be injury prone and was eventually released. By 2008, the Monkeys did settle into a nice core of Terrell Owens, Anquan Boldin, Vincent Jackson, and a brief fling with Antonio Gates.

Last year's new look receiving corps was the strongest Evan ever assembled: Roddy White, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Marshall, and an ailing Anquan Boldin. They led the way for a new passing attack centered around QB Philip Rivers, who was acquired in the trade that sent Peyton Manning packing. The traditional two headed RB monster is now just one, Jamaal Charles, as rookie Ryan Mathews has yet to prove that he was worth Chris Johnson. With Peyton and LDT both off the keeper roster, a new era of Monkey madness has begun, one that might see less WK16 sit downs and bow outs.

One thing's for certain, the Monkeys never stand pat. They've moved more superstars around the league than Drew Rosenhaus. Over the years they've participated in about one big deal per year. Let's go take a look. See a pattern? Evan tends to mine young RBs and then swap them out for a WR or two. The hunt for a dominant air game has cost them at times. In 2005, they moved franchise player Shaun Alexander and subsequently lost the championship to Fat Jubas -- the team that received Alexander. All that wheeling and dealing has kept life exciting though, and Evan has proven that he's a GM who takes risks and works every angle to maintain an unparalleled level of excellence.

Season Breakdowns
2010: 9-4; Won the division and dominated throughout the playoffs, winning a second Super Bowl by defeating Fobsters
2009: 8-5; Won the division but lost to major underdog Gang Green in the Super Bowl
2008: 8-5; Won the division after starting off slow (1-2), lost to the favored Battle Angels in the Super Bowl
2007: 10-3; Won the division but upset by eventual co-champ Dirty Birds in the divisional championship game
2006: 12-1; Won the division, rewrote the record book, nearly went undefeated, and stampeded their way to a Super Bowl win
2005: 8-4-1; After handily winning their two playoff games, including upsetting Ante Up, they lost to Fat Jubas in the Super Bowl
2004: 9-4; Won the division but lost in the division finals to eventual champion Buffy
2003: 9-4; A second seed but then upset in the first round of the playoffs by Ante Up
2002: 8-5; A second seed but lost to eventual champion Dirty Birds in the divisional championship game
2001: 8-5; Led by ROY LaDainian Tomlinson, racked up nine century games in a row but lost in the playoffs to eventual champion BuffyStats (full)
Highest Avg Game Score, Season: 136.93 (2006)
Most Points Scored, Game: 178 (2006)
Least Points Scored, Game: -- (----)
Best Margin of Victory, Game: 87 (2009)
Worst Margin of Defeat, Game: -54 (2008)
Longest Winning Streak, Season: 9 (2005)
Longest Losing Streak, Season: 3 (2005)