Super Bowl XII

In a re-match of last year's Super Bowl, Fat Jubas faced off versus defending champion Buffy with all sorts of history on the line. Could Buffy become our first back-to-back champ? Could Fat Jubas be our first two time champion from Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses? First, let's take a brief look at how they got here.

Both Buffy and Jubas defended their divisional champions, and since they met each other in Super Bowl XI, it's obvious that they've been CTDB's best teams for two years running, at least. Eric's team served a quick slap down to the upstart Philadephia Phreaks, 128.85 - 60.1, in the divisional finals, while Roger snuck by Chunky Monkeys, 87.85 - 82.5. That sub-nineties score was the lowest Buffy had all year, so there was some cause for concern that a Super Bowl letdown was coming. But it wasn't like the Jubas were on fire, as they'd lost four in a row heading into the playoffs, before righting the ship in round one. This Super Bowl was going to be anyone's game!

Roger pulled an audible before the game, picking up Sam Bradford off the free agent heap to start the championship game, ahead of Andy Dalton and Joe Flacco. If that's not a bold move, we don't know what else would qualify. Matt Forte was also inserted into the lineup for Danario Alexander. All that lineup shuffling didn't matter much as Arian Foster laid an absolute egg, putting up only 1.9 points as he left the game with a literally weak heart. Sam Bradford did better than Dalton but not as well as Flacco, but it's hard to say if Mr. Baltimore would have gotten the call. Buffy got a great performance out of Wes Welker and his 10 receptions and two TDs, but A.J. Green and Victor Cruz combined for only 18.2 points.

Fat Jubas took advantage by cashing in 24.5 points from Cam Newton, 21.5 points from Eric Decker, and then unleashing a Bears defense for two defensive touchdowns and 25.0 points. That Bears defense was a key reason Fat Jubas won earlier this season, and despite late season stumbles, they recovered just in time to shut down their opponents for this fantasy championship week. Eric's running game absolutely flopped, as Chris Johnson and Darren McFadden only musterd up 11.4 combines points but in this new NFL, running isn't the only way to victory. As Sunday wound down, it was clear that the Fat Jubas were on their way to a championship -- their second overall.

While Super Bowl XII wasn't the barn burner that last year's was, the Jubas' 116.0 - 89.6 victory throws a wrench into the conversation for greatest ever. They are at the very least the new contender for best Spunky Misunderstood Genius team ever, as they now have two titles to Gang Green's one -- or half of one, as the critics like to say. It's been a long seven years for the Jubas franchise and after years of divisional titles and on the bubble contention, they've broken through and established themselves as one of the top teams in Catch the Damn Ball. Congrats!

Toilet Bowl III

Gang Green (6-8) vs Tiiite End Jammers (6-8)
The Greenies dusted off Dirty Birds 116.1 - 103.4 in the first round of the Toilet Bowl, with a pyrotechnic display that was out of character for both teams. Lei's Tiiite End Jammers also put up over 110+ points in their easy dismissal of the Fobsters. That set up a potentially very exciting matchup to determine who would win the #1 pick in 2013's draft.

Tony Romo has been on fire recently and he came up big for the Jammers with 29.05 points, and he had a huge running game to support him too, as DeMarco Murray and Knowshown Moreno combined for 36.8 points together. Broncos DEF came up huge too, with 16 points. However, the air attack sputtered as Marques Colston, Demaryius Thomas, and Kenny Britt put up sub par numbers.

That gave Greg's team the opening to seize the day. Despite a crappy day from Stevan Ridley, everyone else on the roster put up over double digits, led by Stevie Johnson and Aaron Hernandez's 20+ points. The receivers for Gang Green really put in work as Brandon Marshall had a nice day too. Throw in Bengals defense's 19 points and it was cruise control for Peyton Manning and the boys, as they dispatched the Jammers 108.5 - 93.85.

Who will be the first pick next year? We don't know but the onus will be on Greg to select right! Congrats!

Division Finals Previews

Fat Jubas (7-6) vs Philadelphia Phreaks (7-6)
The Phreaks dispatched the Battle Angels pretty easily in the first round. In fact, some pundits were hoping for a record level blowout, as consistently freshing the scoreboard showed that at one point, Ping's team had 100+ points to Vu's twelve or so. Now the Phreaks will face off against Fat Jubas, in a Stanford mini-bowl to determine who'll get to go to the final round.

Last week, the Phreaks had Robert Griffin III, Doug Martin, Mike Wallace, and Jeremy Maclin all eclipse the twenty points scored mark. Sitting on the bench was Marshawn Lynch and his 30.8 points too -- subbed out for Bryce Brown. Clearly this team is firing on all cylinders at just the right time. Aside from figuring out which two RBs to start, Coach Ping will keep a careful eye on RG3's status. It's likely he could miss this crucial matchup and if that's the case, there is currently no backup quarterback on the roster.

As for Fat Jubas, the reigning Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses champ, this could be the first step to a back-to-back Super Bowl showing. Having been in this exact position last year, the Jubas know that they'll need to put a great week together to fend off their challenger. Luckily, franchise QB Cam Newton has picked up his game at just the right time -- averaging 42.0 points over his last three games -- and he'll lead the way. The receiving corps for Jubas is a little suspect right now, as Jimmy Graham and Eric Decker have been erratic, while Vincent Jackson has a boom or bust pattern. The ground game featuring Chris Johnson and possibly a just returned Darren McFadden could also be dicey.

In fact, are we more excited about the underdog Phreaks than the Fat Jubas?! If RG3 can get onto the field, he will cancel out Cam's contributions, and the could lead to a historic win for Ping and his long suffering fan base. We're calling it right now: upsetsville, Phreaks to the Super Bowl!

Buffy (11-2) vs Chunky Monkeys (8-5)
In a huge game between our past two champions, there's more than the usual at stake in this divisional championships. The last time these venerable franchises faced off in this round was back in 2006, when the Monkeys annihilated Buffy 128-70 -- Roger took a 2004 matchup. However, times have changed, and Buffy has been the odds on favorite to repeat as champion since WK1.

Evan is looking to put up a stiff fight though, after throwing up a nasty 130.5 points and avoiding the incredible defensive effort put forth by Ante Up. With every player, save his kicker, putting up double digits last week, there's some concern that the Monkeys have peaked already. Then again, the team is on a six game winning streak and has been over 120+ points each time during that span. The Monkeys are more likely hot at just the right time. The Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson connection is back in a big way, and Trent Richardson and Jamaal Charles are doing just enough on the ground to keep the defenses honest. The game will likely be won depending on if Reggie Wayne, Julio Jones, and/or Pierre Garcon and Randall Cobb can get some big games in. Evan will have to decide which WRs to use outside of Megatron, as he's got a lot of dpeth at the position.

As for the defending champs, Buffy has stumbled a bit of late, if you can call going 2-2 after nine straight wins "stumbling." They still averaged over 100+ over those four weeks, so this matchup is guaranteed to be a high scoring affair. Arian Foster leads a run-and-shoot attack featuring AJ Green, Victor Cruz, Danario Alexander, and Wes Welker. Matt Forte could be subbed in for one of receivers but he's not necessarily better than any of them, as he's been very inconsistent this year. The key for Roger's team is if Joe Flacco or Andy Dalton can keep up with Stafford, even a little. Coach Roger has been going with Dalton for the stretch run, but now Flacco is doing slightly better. Having waited on a QB during the draft, could this finally be when not having a single franchise level signal caller hurts Roger? Sources indicate that the decision will be Dalton, so the groundwork is set for fireworks coming out of the Inscrutable Drama Kings Stadium. Our prediction? A win for Chunky Monkeys, as Evan gives 110% to prevent a repeat championship by Buffy. For pride!

Recap: Round 1

Chunky Monkey Holds Off Ante Up
In one of the craziest playoff games in recent history, the Monkeys found themselves moving on to a long anticipated divisional battle with Buffy this coming weekend.  On the flip side, after a brokering a (semi-crazy and very lopsided) deal with the Dirty Birds to bolster their playoff run, Ante Up suffered a crushing loss despite having the Seattle D, who likely scored a record breaking 37 points for a DST.  Coming into the matchup, the Monkeys had been one of the hottest teams in the league having scored 120+ points in four consecutive weeks. Week 14 proved no different. All Monkey starters, except for the kicker, scored at least 15 pts.  Every starter had at least one touchdown -- except for Megatron who only had 10 catches for 118 yards.  Even the Browns DST had a return touchdown to secure 17 pts for the Monkeys. All in all, despite not having any player score 25 or more points, the Monkeys put up 130.5 points.

On the flips side, Ante Up was the model picture of inconsistency. Three players failed to score over 6 points while there highest scoring player was the Seahawks D with a preposterous 37 points. Already surrounded in controversy entering the match up, Ante Up to go with CJ Spiller over Alf Morris and new free agent Josh Gordon over 2012 draftee, Brandon Lloyd. Those two lineup decisions proved to be the ultimate difference. However, the game came down to Sunday night between the Packers and Lions. Entering the game slightly ahead behind the backs of the SEA defense, Ante Up had Aaron Rodgers against the Monkeys' Stafford and Megatron. Ultimately, Stafford and Megatron both carried their fair share.  Stafford ended up accounting for two touchdowns while Megatron continued his march towards Jerry Rice's yardage record with another 110+ yards.

As a consolation prize, Ante Up seems to have expanded their talent base entering next year. With Spiller, White, Morris as likely new keepers, experts think that Ante Up has greatly improved the overall talent base of the team.  For the Monkeys, a date with Buffy awaits...

Phreaks Dominate Angels
This was a laugher from the beginning. The Angels had the most of their team playing in the afternoon and SNF and was behind basically the entire day. However, they never came close to being competitive.

Already a seemingly weak team entering the playoffs -- the Angels were the only sub .500 team in the playoffs -- the Angels suffered from weak performances across their roster. The Angels had 5 starters score under 5 pts. This included the likes of Fred Jackson, Sidney Rice, Greg Jennings and Blair Walsh. While Brees and Andre Johnson performed admirably, the Angels were barely able to score over 60 points.  On the other side of the field, the Phreaks put up another strong performance.

After scoring 106 against the Angels, the Phreaks now have 7 games of 100+ pts in the last 9 weeks.  Led by the new "phaces" of the Phreaks, freshmen RGIII and Doug Martin combined for 40+ pts.  While Bryce Brown was relatively quiet after two ridiculous weeks, Week 15 saw the return of Phreak captains, Mike Wallace and Jeremy Maclin.  Both combined for another 40+ points.

Playoff Previews

Ante Up (8-5) vs Chunky Monkeys (8-5)
These two teams aren't strangers to each other in the playoffs. In fact, the two met in a tight divisional match up back in 2010 -- Roddy White, now on Ante Up, was a key contributor for the Monkeys that weekend scoring 14 pts.  This year is likely going to be very different. Ante Up is totally retooled for the playoffs after trading away an injured Lesean McCoy for Roddy White, CJ Spiller, Alfred Morris and Cecil Shorts -- despite grumbling by multiple GMs. We'll likely see White (against his old team!), Spiller and perhaps even Shorts in the line up this weekend for Ante Up. Here are the key match-ups.

QB: Aaron Rodgers and Matt Stafford.  Despite having been relatively quiet in recent weeks, Rodgers is still the superior quarterback here capable of putting up 40+ on any given night. Stafford has picked it up in recent weeks after a ridiculously slow start to the season.  EDGE: Ante Up

RB: Folks are projecting for Rice to line up with Spiller this week (despite the presence of Morris) who will be matched on the other side with uber-rookie, Trent Richardson and Jamaal Charles.    Both teams have power and speed and both backfields can put up points in a hurry. On the year, Ray Rice and Spiller are the #4 and #6 backs in CTDB respectively while Richardson and Charles are #5 and #10.  Ray Rice is clearly the best back here and we think that gives Ante Up a slight advantage.  EDGE: Ante Up

WR: This is where the Monkeys have shined this year.  Megatron, Julio, Wayne, Cobb and a surging Garcon likely represents the top receiving stable in the league.  Its tough to project who will start behind Megatron and Julio but its likely going to be Reggie Wayne.  Garcon has been on fire since coming back so will likely command some consideration and of course, GM Evan will also have to consider Cobb as a hedge against A-Rod.  For Ante Up, we'll likely see newly acquired Roddy White and Cecil Shorts with Lance Moore.  Shorts is coming off of a concussion so we'll have to monitor his progress.  Otherwise, with Denarius Moore getting benched last week for poor performance and Brandon Lloyd MIA all season, we don't think there will many surprises here. EDGE: Chunky Monkeys

K/DT: Ante Up has one of the best kicker / DST combos in the league with Robbie Gould and the Seahawks.  As for the Monkeys, Matt Bryant is locked in as the kicker though defense will likely be a last minute decision.  The Monkeys have streamed defenses all year and we'll likely see a new defense this week.  EDGE: Ante Up

The trade has really bolstered Ante Up for the playoff run.  While the Monkeys might be the hottest team in the league right now having scored 400+ points in the last 3 games, Ante Up will likely pose match up problems for the Monkeys throughout the weekend.   The Monkeys will need their passing game (likely much of it on SNF where the Pack are playing the Lions).  We think this will be a high scoring affair and Ante Up might just have enough to come out on top.

Philadelphia Phreaks (7-6) vs Battle Angels (6-7)
The Phreaks are back in the playoffs after a two year drought.  They were within ~10 points of securing a top seed in last week's regular season finale against the Jammers but unable to score enough points or secure a win, the Phreaks find themselves locked in a battle against the Angels in what will likely be a very intriguing match-up.

QB: This is all about old school vs new school.  The Angel's will feature Drew Brees, a guy that will certainly look to air it out while the Phreaks will counter with the all-world rookie, RGIII.  RGIII has been awesome this year.  However, Brees is the top rated quarterback this year scoring 340 pts in 12 weeks or a ridiculous 28+ pts per week.  There will be plenty of fireworks in this match up and we like the young 'un in this one.  EDGE: Phreaks

RB: The Angels greatest weakness, the running game. The Angels sole running game is Fred Jackson and he's not even a full time back.  There's no one else worth mentioning as the Angels are certainly likely to feature 4 receivers this week.  On the flip side, the Phreaks will counter a pair of rookies in Doug "Muscle Hamster" Martin and Bryce Brown.  Martin has been a top 3 back all season while Brown has been the top back the last 3 weeks ever since McCoy went out with a concussion.  The Phreaks ground game has been as good its been since the days of Clinton Portis and we like this duo to carry the load throughout the playoffs.  EDGE: Phreaks

WR: Unlike the Monkeys / Ante Up match up, the receivers in this game will be a little bit more of an adventure.  For the Phreaks, with Wallace questionable to play (depends on if Roethlisberger plays) and Desean Jackson out for the year, we will likely see TY Hilton, Jeremy Maclin and probably Chris Givens (depending on how much Ping wants to roll with Blackmon).  For the Angels, the receivers will be led by AJ, Sidney Rice and then it gets really suspicious.  The Angels have been playing Vernon Davis and Greg Jennings though neither have really done anything (or have been healthy for that matter).  There really isn't a bench either here so I suspect that these are the receivers will see this week unless the Angels make waves on the waiver wire in the coming days. EDGE: Phreaks

K/DT: Blair Walsh and the Packers DST vs Janikowski and the Giants. We love Janikowski  EDGE: Phreaks

On paper, the Phreaks have a pretty clear advantage. The Angels also just suffered a huge defeat against the Monkeys in the week prior so are likely a bit demoralized.  We think this match will be over pretty quickly - and it won't be good for the Angels.

Final Standings 2012

The Kitchen Sink

We've had some blockbuster trades in our history, but has there ever been in four-for-one?! Fueled by missing the playoffs, Dirty Birds' GM Jon moved quickly to blow up his team. After firing off multiple emails, he found a willing trade partner: Ante Up. Searching for another franchise caliber player, Jon and Jae quickly agreed on a trade. LeSean McCoy for Roddy White, C.J. Spiller, Alfred Morris, and Cecil Shorts.

Immediately a firestorm of controversy arose as the commissioners were called in to evaluate the fairness of such a transaction. On paper, it definitely seemed lopsided, as McCoy was not only currently injured, but engaged in a somewhat subpar season. In fact, both Spiller and Morris, at the time of this writing, were ranked higher than McCoy on the running back charts -- numbers six and tenth respectively. In addition, Roddy White has been a top ten receiver all season, while Shorts has been a free agent revelation, especially as he's been heating up with four straight games of 15+ points.

Digging a little deeper though, it was revealed that the trade was an ideal win-win for both sides. Ante Up needed to flank Aaron Rodgers and Ray Rice for a deep playoff run, something that having four new productive players will help with. The mega-trade immediately makes Jae a dark horse contender for the championship.

Meanwhile the Dirty Birds had a lot of extra talent on their roster, despite suffering from inconsistency and pathetic showings all season. Moving four players for one was no problem, as long as that returning player was someone like McCoy. An opposing GM, who wasn't against the trade, summed it up thusly: "McCoy's twenty four, he's the centerpiece of a franchise, and I have been trying to pry him away from Ante Up for years." The move will allow the Dirty Birds to pair McCoy with Adrian Peterson, potentially formed the best backfield tandem in the league.

The opposing view on the trade noted that C.J. Spiller is up-and-coming himself, so a trade with perhaps just him and Roddy would have sufficed. "Not even draft picks? Why couldn't the trade be consumated over the off-season? This upsets competitive balance for the playoffs! Conspiracy theorists could point fingers at the owners who now fear Ante Up, or perhaps at Dirty Bird's management, who has griped privately about "doing everything in our power to insure that Buffy and Chunky Monkeys don't win another title!"

Time will tell if this trade was indeed lopsided, but until then, we here at CTDB TV will be on the lookout for more blockbusters. Rumors are that this will be a wild off-season!

Who's In, Who's Out

Inscrutable Drama Kings Division

What We Know: This late in the season, bunch of seats are usually up for grabs but we have unusual clarity going into this last week. Buffy has locked up the top seed with a first week bye (probably did that like two weeks ago) while the Monkeys will be playing Ante Up in the first round of the playoffs.  The Monkeys are clearly peaking and will look to carry that momentum over against a depleted Ante Up team who will barely eek out a win this week despite scoring less than 80 points.

What We Don’t Know: Not much. The seeding might change between the Monkeys and Ante Up but besides draft positioning, there’s little that matters here. The Dirty Birds might’ve figured into the playoff picture but a loss to the Phreaks in Week 12 knocked them out of the race.


Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses Division

What We Know: This is where the story gets saucy. We know that the Jubas, Phreaks (the Phreaks?!), and the Battle Angels are all in.  Gang Green and Fobsters are now just trying to figure out draft order.

What We Don’t Know: Who gets first round bye? The Jubas had a stranglehold on the top seed until a two game slide really put  them in a pickle. We know the top spot will go either to the Phreaks or the Jubas at this point.  Depending on how much the Phreaks score tonight with Brown and Jackson, the two could be neck and neck in terms of points scored entering week 13 (points scored will be the tie break between the two as they are even in head to head and overall record).  Both the Jubas and Phreaks are playing struggling IDK teams and so both have a shot at winning which means this will come down to points scored in Week 13. The Battle Angels will be the third team in the playoffs.

Playoff Push: Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses

Three weeks left in the regular season and let's take a quick look at where everyone is headed shall we? The playoff spots are pretty much locked in on the Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses division but there's an outside chance for a wild card battle over in Inscrutable Drama Kings. Let's go!

Fat Jubas (7-3)
Already matching their win total from last season with seven victories, Eric's team is poised to double up in division crowns. They have a team game lead and is the highest scoring team in Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses by a wide margin. After shooting out of the gate with four wins, they stumbled a bit before recovering with another three win streak. With Cam Newton a bit shaky this season, much of the heavy lifting has been on the deep speed of Vincent Jackson, Eric Decker, and Torrey Smith. Chris Johnson is finally back but there is literally non one behind him as Darren McFadden is still hurt and nobody else has stepped up. The good news is that the incredible Bears defense has been a huge advantage and are one of the primary reasons for Eric's march to the top this season. The big question will be if the Fat Jubas can avenge last year's Super Bowl loss to Buffy…

Philadelphia Phreaks (5-5)
Last year this team had only four wins total but now they are poised to enter the playoffs. In fact, Ping's squad is a little bit on fire. Four century games and four wins from weeks six through nine, and also home to the new belle of the fantasy ball: Doug Martin. Having rookies Martin and Robert Griffin III on board has rejuvenated this franchise and they are dark horse contenders, perhaps for the first time in their history. RB Marshawn Lynch has been a top six performer and if DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace, and Jeremy Maclin can inject some explosiveness to the air game, the fans in Phreak land could have a lot to celebrate soon. We wish Justin Blackmon had emerged some this season, as that could be one of the best QB-RB-WR rookie classes in CTDB history. Still, what a haul!

Battle Angel (5-5)
Vu's team got into second place in this division despite being under 0.500 and it's possible they -- or someone else -- could do it again. They have righted the ship by going 3-1 in recent weeks and will now let Drew Brees lead them to the post-season. It's troubling that Brees has nobody supporting him, as the rest of the roster is devoid of firepower. For example, young Andre Roberts is leading a WR corps in points, despite having Andre Johnson, Sidney Rice, and Mike Williams around -- and Greg Jennnings out. It's true that Rice has come into his own again recently but not one of these receivers has cracked the top twenty at their position. Same thing with the running backs. Fred Jackson and DeAngelo Williams have not been the answer. Still, Brees has clearly been good enough to get this team to five wins and Vu is will see how far he can get in the playoffs with almost literally no running game.

Gang Green (3-7)
This team is in freefall. After mustering only five wins last year, the Greenies are headed toward a similar fate this season. All this after winning the championship in 2009. Has Greg finally lost the magic touch? With a five game losing streak this year, it's possible. The good news is that while one Manning brother (Eli) has slumped, the other has been outright amazing recently. Brandon Marshall has also been a revelation, reunited with Jay Cutler. He the second best WR this year, by a wide margin. Frank Gore has had a bounce back year too, and Stevan Ridley has totally eclipsed sad sacks Ahmad Bradshaw and Shonn Greene. And Steve Johnson and Hakeem Nicks should be fine as the second and third receivers -- if healthy. Here's the kicker: during that five week losing streak, Gang Green faced century opponents each time, and four of those games were against opponents who scored 120+ or better. Heck, Greg even lost 137.2 - 137.8 to Chunky Monkeys in WK5, likely our closest and highest scoring matchup ever. That's something to hang his hat on, right?

Fobsters (3-7)
Jimmy's squad snuck into the playoffs last year with a losing record but a 0-3 cold open following by their current four game losing streak has dashed this year's post-season hopes. Much like the Battle Angels, this team has one star quarterback - Tom Brady -- and a bunch of lesser lights. Willis McGahee and Michael Turner are erratic at best, and McGahee hasn't even played much for Fobsters. Losing Jordy Nelson to injury has hurt a lot, and while Dwayne Bowe, Steve Smith, Antonio Gates, and Dez Bryant have had their explosive games, they're hardly sure things week to week.  The Fobsters made a surprise run to the Super Bowl in 2010, so they've had some success recently. Perhaps they can get back to those glory days with a Toilet Bowl win, as a way to salvage another lost season?

Playoff Push: Inscrutable Drama Kings

Buffy (9-1)
To be honest, it would be tough to stomach a year where Buffy came off a championship and then went undefeated during the next season. That dystopia came very close to happening. After ripping off nine wins, it took a Herculean WK10 from Chunky Monkeys just to stop the streak. Whew! Buffy has been this year's top scoring team, gone over the century mark every week save one, and features the best RB and WR in the game: Arian Foster and A.J. Green. On top of that, there's a ton of depth with Matt Forte, Victor Cruz, Wes Welker, and Miles Austin. Quarterback could be a semi-weakness, but really, Joe Flacco, Jay Cutler and Andy Dalton have been good enough all year. So, Roger is poised to become the first back-to-back CTDB champion ever. Who's scared?

Ante Up (6-4)
Ante Up was second place in this division last year and they're headed toward the same fate this year. Clearly they have regular season success on lock with Aaron Rodgers, Ray Rice, and LeSean McCoy leading the way. However, Ante Up can be a bit erratic as they've been subject to a crop of receivers that are serviceable but tend to be a bit up and down. James Jones, Denarius Moore, Brandon Lloyd, and Lance Moore are mainly B-level WRs but as a fleet, they should be good enough to get Jae's team to the conference finals. The question is if they'll be able to fight through and get some post-season success this year. This top heavy team is too good not to challenge for a championship soon.

Chunky Monkeys (5-5)
After failing to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season, the Monkey are poised to return, albeit as a lower seed. Surprisingly, the traditional strong ground game has been eclipsed by the passing game of Matthew Stafford, Reggie Wayne, Calvin Johnson, and Julio Jones. But it's not like the running game has disappeared completely. Trent Richardson and Jamaal Charles are both in the top dozen overall RBs -- although Charles has faded badly recently. Ryan Mathews is proving not to be a franchise caliber player, and he will now cede top back of the future status to Richardson, who looks like a genuine stud. Evan's team is on a streak of three century games -- and just ruined Buffy's undefeated season -- so he's building good steam for a post-season upset or two.

Dirty Birds (4-6)
We've already documented the travails of the Dirty Birds this season. Great on paper, terrible in reality. Matt Ryan and the passing game are fantastic, with Roddy White, Rob Gronkowski, and Tony Gonzalez all performing as top ten WR/TEs, and Adrian Peterson has been hot like fire recently. Despite all that, Jon only has an outside shot of making the playoffs -- if they can keep winning. It's safe to say that this season has been disappointing after management began the year with championship aspirations. The Birds have gone over 100+ in each of the last five weeks but that has only resulted in three wins. Tough times. The trade lines are humming as the Dirty Birds contemplate their future.

Tiiite End Jammers (3-7)
After going 5-8 last year and dwelling in the cellar, Lei could repeat that performance this year. Four straight losses from weeks six through nine doomed them. There's an ultra strong receiving group here with Percy Harvin, Marques Colston, and Demaryius Thomas, but the lack of a ground game has weakened Lei's offensive attack. DeMarco Murray, Reggie Bush, and the injured Maurice Jones-Drew haven't cut it. Despite contributing the most points so far at the QB position, the Jammers just cut Ben Roethlisberger, clearing the way for Tony Romo to start again. After a mid-season slump, Romo has posted 20+ points in four of his last five games so he'll stabilize the team post-Big Ben. If they pull it together fast, the Jammers can aim for a rousing victory in the upcoming Toilet Bowl!

Freefalling

After coming off an uplifting 8-5 season last year, the Birds were hoping to aim high and push toward true contention.  Instead they've sunk to 1-3 amid a combination of horrible decisions and lineup changes.

During WK1, they lost 98.65 to 129.95 against Ante Up, with Adrian Peterson and his 21.2 points on the bench.  Then Coach Jon sat Larry Fitzgerald down for WK3, losing out on his 21.9 points while losing the Chunky Monkeys.  And that all culminated in last week's beatdown, where despite scoring 132.75 points, the Birds got pummeled by defending champion Buffy, who put up a rocking 151.30 points.  With every opponent over 100+ so far, and facing a Points Against that is 18+ more points than any other team in the league, the Dirty Birds are floundering.

This is despite the top QB in the game (Matt Ryan), a top two WR (Roddy White), a top three TE (Rob Gronkowski), and four RBs ranked in the top fourteen.  Heck, they even picked up Tony Gonzalez, the current top TE. With the Falcons defense also on board, the Dirty Birds are doing a Philly Phreaks strategy apparently.  However, all these gaudy numbers are still leaving them short of victories.  With steady rookie Andrew Luck waiting in the wings, is it time to blow up this team already?

Fans of the Dirty Birds are confused, even as the real life Atlanta Falcons are crushing the competition. Where's the magic for their comparable fantasy team?

Grading the 2012 Draft

It's a bit over due but another season has kicked off and its time to take a look at the draft that was.

1. Philadelphia Phreaks
Its rebuilding season and the Phreaks didn't putz around on this one. With 6 rookies taken with their first 7 picks, GM Ping has decided that now was the time to kick start the youth movement. This draft class is headlined with leading rookie including Doug Martin, RGIII and Justin Blackmon. The Phreaks rounded out their rosters with targeted picks of Brian Quick, Ronnie Hilman and Alshon Jeffrey. Sandwiched between all these rookies was Steven Jackson who was an absolute steal in the second round. It's too early to tell how many of these rookies will pan out but the Phreaks would be ecstatic if they could find 2 keepers here. Early read is that Martin and RGIII are already coming on as strong starters with Blackmon showing flashes of brilliance.
Best pick: RGIII - he's blown the door off first the two weeks. 
Draft Grade: B+ 

2. Tiiite End Jammers
The Jammers came into the draft looking to shore up his starting lineup. Kicking off his draft with Demarco Murray and Antonio Brown (two former Chunky Monkeys!), the Jammers found instant starters for their 2012 lineup. Reggie Bush, Kenny Britt and Malcolm Floyd form a solid bench core. The Jammer's draft seemed to be built around "best player available" while drafting to build a roster with depth all around. We like the Jammer's draft and think they've gotten better top to bottom.
Best Pick: Its hard to argue against Demarco Murray but Kenny Britt could be a huge steal. 
Draft Grade: A- 

3. Gang Green
The Greenies went veteran with picks like Frank Gore, Peyton Manning, Brandon Marshall and Anquan Boldin headlining their draft. Hernandez and Crabtree rounded out the experience laden draft. Marshall and Gore, taken with the first two picks, are immediate starters. Gang Green also plucked out Stevan Ridley and Michael Crabtree late - both are looking like excellent values. Its also worth noting that Greg decided to pair up the Manning brothers with Peyton backing up Eli.
Best Pick: Marshall. Even if he's a nutcase, we think he's a top 7 WR this year. 
Draft Grade: A- 

4. Fobsters
The Fobsters led off their draft with the selection of Dwayne Bowe and Antonio Gates. After shoring up their receiving core, the Fobsters went heavy on running backs and drafted 4 straight backs including Donald Brown, Peyton Hillis, W. McGahee, and Ced Benson. We don't love any of these backs from a keeper perspective but there will be at least one or two serviceable backs for this year. One interesting note is that the Fobsters chose not to draft a back up QB for Tom Brady and instead decided to load up on the position players.
Best Pick: Antonio Gates 
Draft Grade: C+ 

5. Battle Angels
Vu seemingly auto-drafted from his villa in Hawaii with some head scratching picks in this year's draft. Headlined by the a first round selection of James Starks who hasn't played a down this year, the Angels followed that pick with the drafting of Robert Meachem, Ryan Williams, and Mike Williams (no longer on the roster). None of the top 4 picks have contributed meaningfully from a fantasy perspective. On the flip side, Vu did save the best for last. Late round picks of DeAngelo Williams and Sidney Rice could be tremendous values and could help save the draft but neither has contributed meaningfullly. Schaub has looked like a nice back-up but will unlikely ever surpass Brees in the start QB slot. All in all, this looked like one of the worst draft efforts by GM Vu in recent years. We hold out hope that guys like Meachem, DW and Sidney could still have value but as of now, the team has little outside of Brees, VD and an aging Andre Johnson.
Best Pick: DeAngelo Williams 
Draft Grade: F 

6. Chunky Monkeys
Coming off their first ever season where the team was left off the playoff train, the Monkeys stormed through the inaugural toilet bowl and ended up winning the first overall pick which was parlayed into Trent Richardson. Time will tell if Richardson will end up a keeper in front of Ryan Mathews or Jamaal Charles. Backing up Richardson was Garcon who flew out of the gates in Week 1 before summarily getting hurt. When healthy Garcon seems to be the perfect WR3 behind Megatron and Jones. Roles players including Kevin Smith, Reggie Wayne, Denarius Moore and Brandon LaFell all are unlikely to see the starting roster but all have shown promise. Most importantly, GM Evan made it a point to bring Philip Rivers back in the fold for team morale.
Best Pick: Trent Richardson 
Draft Grade: B 

7. Ante Up 
Already loaded up with the likes of A-Rod, LeSean and Ray Rice, GM Jae was looking to load up on the receivers side. Using 5 of the first 7 picks on receivers, Ante Up certainly went heavy on the passing game. Brandon Lloyd has yet to blow up looks on the verge. Jermichael Finley, Nate Washington and Amendola have all had their moments but aren't starting materials yet. On the running side, Wilson and Tate are high upside backs that require an injury before being able to make an impact - perfect fits for a team already loaded with running talent.
Best Pick - Brandon Lloyd 
Draft Grade: B+ 

8. Dirty Birds 
Similar to Ante Up, the Birds came in loaded with skill position players but needed a QB to lead the ship. With one of the worst draft secrets leading up to the draft, GM Jon executed as promised spending the first two picks on young QBs that look ready to lead the franchise. Matt Ryan (first round) and Andrew Luck (second round) both already look like keeper materials. The Birds then took a few pot shots to round out their bench with the drafting of Daniel Thomas, Toby Gerhart, CJ Spiller, Robert Turnbin and Isiah Pead. We like the Birds' depth at running back but are slightly concerned with the lack of bench talent at the receiver position. With only Kendall Wright and David Nelson as qualified back ups (Nelson is also now injured for the year), the Birds are running extremely thin at WR.
Best Pick: CJ Spiller 
Draft Grade: B- 

9. Fat Jubas 
The Jubas were already loaded and they knew it. Eric Decker and Torrey Smith look like terrific picks so far. Third round pick, Rashad Jennings, is good insurance behind MJD (the potential holdout never happened but Jennings is still a terrific insurance policy). The Jubas rounded out their rosters with the selections of Witten, Law Firm, Greg Little and Jaquizz Rodgers. We like the blend of upside (Rodgers and Little) with experience (Witten and Law Firm).
Best Pick: Torrey Smith 
Draft Grade: A- 

10. Buffy 
When you're the reigning champion, you usually don't have many holes. This was the case with Buffy and so they went immediately to starting positions with early selections of Defense (49ers in the 2nd and Texans in the 4th) as well as Gostkowski as early as the 5th round. Buffy did add to his skill position arsenal with the drafting of Miles Austin who has starter material written all over him as well as Titus Young and Jonathan Stewart. Buffy did gamble somewhat by waiting on his starting quarterback. However, we're confident that either Flacco or Cutler will pan out this year.
Best Pick: Miles Austin 
Draft Grade: B 

2012 Keepers

2012 Draft Order

1. Philadelphia Phreaks (4-9)
2. Tiiite End Jammers (5-8)
3. Gang Green (5-8)
4. Fobsters (6-7)
5. Battle Angel (6-7)
6. Chunky Monkeys (7-6)
7. Ante Up (8-5)
8. Dirty Birds (8-5)
9. Fat Jubas (7-6) *Runner Up
10. Buffy (9-4) *Champion

Toilet Bowl Winner: Chunky Monkeys
Toilet Bowl Runner Up: Tiiite End Jammers

Tie-breaks:
Gang Green vs Tiiite End Jammers (5-8) H2H 1-0 for Gang Green
Fobsters vs Battle Angel (6-7) H2H 1-1, Points Scored Battle Angel was higher
Dirty Birds vs Ante Up (8-5) H2H 2-0 for Ante Up

Super Bowl XI

I mean, I guess when you win a record three CTDB Super Bowls you just let your actions speak for itself. We've never had a champion win and then refuse to write an "in your face" article. Well, this year, Buffy captured their third crown and owner Roger had steadfastly let his win just sink in. Since we believe in the power of posterity, we hired a scribe off Craiglist to throw up a little recap from Super Bowl XI. (It's April but we're backdating this entry to December.) Wipe that smug look off your face Roger!

Scoring the most points in the league, having the most wins (nine) in an ultra-tough division, and boasting a stellar lineup that torn teams apart all season, it seemed semi-inevitable that Roger was headed toward a title. I mean, that's how Buffy did it in Super Bowl I and IV.

When Roger's team is firing on all cylinders, we know it, there's no pussy footing around. The regular season is a setup for a march toward the championship, with Buffy capturing the top seed and then hurtling toward the finish line. This year they were almost upended in the divisional finals but both he and the other top seed, Fat Jubas, emerged with victories.

That set up a finale that had Buffy heavily favored. With Arian Foster, Wes Welker, Matt Ryan, Matt Forte, free agent find Victor Cruz, Antonio Gates, and rookie sensation (and 2011 first round pick) A.J. Green leading the way, Buffy was both deep and talented. The starting lineup hardly budged all season, especially when Steven Jackson was shelved and Foster returned from an early season injury. Really, Buffy were only worried about the magic of Cam Newton, who had the capability of engineering big upsets all season.

During the actual game though, Buffy locked up a win by halftime, ending up with a 130.95 - 102.95 victory. Ryan, Foster, Cruz, and Welker all had 20+ points, and Fat Jubas only had Newton's 39.05 points to hang their hat on. Even the post-game fireworks were subdued, as Roger kept it classy for the long flight home. Act like you been there...

By putting up 130.95 points, Buffy had the second most points in the Super Bowl, dating back to Super Bowl I (155 points). It's possible that Roger didn't even break a sweat for this, as Eric's roster wasn't very threatening. What we do know is that if Roger can somehow take this loaded attack intact into next season, we could all be in for another loooong season. We're still looking for our first repeat champs, will Buffy be it?

Also the argument begins anew: Who is the greatest CTDB team of all time? Buffy, with three Super Bowls in eleven years, is back in the (heated) conversation. Congrats Roger!