The Great Division

It's long been a fact that the Marvel division has been superior to Capcom in every way -- see here for the old division names -- but the question is by how much?

For the regular season splits, Marvel is 626-537-8, taking 0.538 of their games while Capcom is at 537-630-4, which translates to a 0.460 winning percentage.

• Four of the top five all time regular season records belong in Marvel, with Gang Green being the only Capcom franchise that has an overall winning record in eighteen compiled seasons. Sometimes the regular season difference has been pretty stark between our two divisions. For example, there was one year, 2014, when Capcom boasted only one team above 0.500 — Phreaks at 7-6 — and everyone else finished at 5-8 for um, a pretty bleh year.

Also, when adjusted for owner and not sorted by franchise, Marvel owns all five of the top five regular season winning percentages — as Frank’s 35-30 and 0.538 win rate puts him at number two all time during his five seasons in the league. Basically, once Ante Up left CTDB, the division disparity got even bigger.

• With 12.5 Super Bowl titles going to Marvel, compared to Capcom’s 5.5 — it was half a title each for Dirty Birds and Gang Green resulting from their tie in Super Bowl VII — Marvel has most of the rings in CTDB history as well.

• Marvel also holds the edge in teams that paced a regular season in wins. There have been 15.5 Marvel teams with regular season high marks compared to just 3.5 for Capcom -- and three of those Capcom regular season win titles were by Battle Angel.

•  Heck, Marvel even holds the edge in Toilet Bowl Finals appearances — 10 for Marvel, 8 for Capcom — as well as having won five Toilet Bowls to Capcom’s four. (Note: This is possible because the Toilet Bowl is reseeded without regard for division.)

• In addition, with Athena Nike winning the 2018 title, every franchise in Marvel has won a championship, whereas two in Capcom have yet to grab a ring. Philadelphia Phreaks have yet to even make a Super Bowl, putting them on par with our three newest franchises and our old ones, Ante Up and Skool.

• Things even out a bit more for franchises with the most playoff appearances. Chunky Monkeys leads the way with sixteen appearances but Capcom’s Fat Jubas and Philadelphia Phreaks aren’t far behind with thirteen and twelve, respectively.

• As for variety in division title winners, Capcom has the edge there as four of their franchises rank in the top five of “most division titles,” while Marvel is paced by Chunky Monkey’s league-leaguing nine division titles.

So yeah, it's clear Marvel has historically been far greater than Capcom, but now we’re headed into a new era of CTDB, one which will be division-less and feature every team battling with every other team in the standings!

Championships:

• Dirty Birds (3.5)
• Chunky Monkeys (3)
• Fat Jubas (3)
• Buffy (3)
• Tiiite End Jammers (2)
• Gang Green (1.5)
• Battle Angels (1)
• Athena Nike (1)
• Philadelphia Phreaks, Fobsters (0)

Toilet Bowl Winners:

• Chunky Monkeys (2)
• Dirty Birds (2)
• Battle Angel (1)
• Buffy (1)
• Fat Jubas (1)
• Fobsters (1)
• Gang Green (1)
• Tiiite End Jammers, Athena Nike, Philadephia Phreaks (0)

All Time League and H2H Records: 2011

All Time Head to Head Records: 2010

Ocho-Oucho

All that stands between the Fobsters and immortality is...the Dirty Birds. The Fobsters can complete an un-winning season by losing this week to the Birds -- who, at 3-8-1, is 29.2% better than the Fobsters in the win column. Having already set a record for far and away the worst losing streak ever (12 games and counting), the Fobsters are still talking tough and hoping to pull out a victory here. It's going to be an uphill battle both ways however.

How bad have the Fobsters been? Consider that they average 74.5 points per game, almost a dozen points below their next closest competitor. The league leading Chunky Monkeys average 135 points per game. See the difference? Granted, the Fobsters have faced far and away the toughest schedule in the league (opponents average 113 points), but there must be some blame placed at their feet. Not even one win? How is that possible?!

Blame the so called "stars" of the team. Chad Johnson may average almost 15 points a game this season but to be quite honest, before his 45 and 41 point explosions in WK 10 and 11, he was hardly the stuff that legends were made of. But we'll give Cinco Cinco a pass as he's still this team's vocal and on-field leader. What about leading RB Tiki Barber? He's been steady, but not every explosive (only 1 TD this year) and he's leaving after the season to pursue a career in...well, who knows? The other RB spot has been tossed around by NO teammates Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush. Bush has been a bust, straight up, but his tantalizing talent has made Jimmy start him a few times over the far more productive Deuce. Whoops. I guess next year could be more of the same. Decisions, decisions.

And let's talk about terrible decisions by Jimmy. QB Matt Hasselbeck has been in the starting lineup for the past few weeks. Isn't Seneca Wallace the Seahawks QB? Why, yes he is! Bigger whoops! In fact, the best player on this team, Philip Rivers, was just acquired a few weeks ago off the waiver wire and hasn't started a game for the Fobsters -- despite Hasselbeck being hurt. The rest of this team hasn't fared well either.

Todd Heap has been pretty steady, but better off as a third receiver, not as your second. Keyshawn has disappeared, especially now that the Steve Smith experience has returned to Carolina. At least young WR Chris Heny has logged a few explosive games, but his inconsistency has kept him firmly planted on Jimmy's bench for most of the season. And last and definitely worst, Cadillac Williams has proved that even a young Caddy can lose a few wheels. 3 TDs on the year, 697 yards, 3.8 yards per carry. The Caddy needs a new nickname -- the Hyundai perhaps?

Such a talented group of players have gelled this year to produce a historic record. The Fobsters have eclipsed the century mark only twice, in a WK 6 loss to the Phreaks (121-101) and another loss to Buffy in WK 10 (149-109).

The closest they ever came to victory this season? Week 11, where they "only" lost by 15 to the Fat Jubas. The worst beatdown they took? Green Team annihilating them by 93 points in WK 4 (145-52), in what was surely a sign of things to come. Records are being made here gentlemen, and not of the good kind.

So can they do it? Can they finish the season totally defeated? Who will they go with? Matt Hasselbeck (returned from injury) or Philip Rivers? Can Chad Johnson put up another 40+ points in a losing effort? Do the Fobsters even have a future in this league? We will see come Sunday: Battle of the Worst!

Record Breakers

Hong Kong, China - October 29, 2006

CTDB 2006 has been a wild ride for the Monkeys. GM Shiue said at the beginning of the season that this would be the year that we would see the team truly play its best football – and so far, he’s been right. As the Monkey’s cruised to another victor over the struggling Dirty Birds, the team is making history while they are at it. The team broke the cherished CTDB Points Scored in a Single Game record originally set by the Phreaks in 2004 by scoring 178 points in Week 8.

While featuring the likes of Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Javon Walker, and Julius Jones – the Phreaks scored an unprecedented 174 in 2004. The record stood for over two years and was never really threatened until Buffy scored over 160 two weeks ago. Until now – backed by a stunning 121 points scored between Peyton Manning, Larry Johnson and LaDainian Tomlinson alone, the Monkeys made history as they won their 7th game this season by scoring 178 points. Despite the press surrounding today’s achievement, the Monkeys are actually in the midst of another record breaking stretch – the team has scored a total of 149, 153 and 178 in the last three weeks for a total of 480 points since Week 6. The league has never seen a dominating offensive streak like this before.

In a post-game interview, GM Shiue tried to downplay the team’s accomplishments. “The goals of this team have always been the same – win home-field advantage in the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. We are well on our way to our first objective but until we get the second one, none of this matters frankly. The team is of course, very proud of today’s accomplishment. The record set by Phreaks was a high bar and it took a couple of seasons for us to reach it. Its something we cherish and hope will stand for a long time. However, we need to continue working hard and putting points up on the board. We’re very fortunate to have one of the most talented and explosives lineup and its up to us to make it count.”

ESPN Analyst, John Clayton made little effort to hide his praise for the team. “Hands down this is the best team in CTDB history but until they win that ring, this team will be just like the Bills. However, the ability and the explosiveness of this Monkey’s team is frankly just not in the same league as the rest of the teams. Larry Johnson and LaDainian Tomlinson easily represent the best 2 running tandem this league has ever witnessed. Peyton Manning has been and remains one of the most dangerous quarterbacks and with the acquisition of Anquan Bolding, the trio of Bolding, Terrell Owens and Andre Johnson gives the Monkeys a receiver set that now really has no weakness. The offensive explosion we’ve seen this year should not be a surprise. GM Shiue had a plan for the team and they are simply executing that plan better than the rest of the league. Now they just need to win that league title.”

Phreakin Record!

Shanghai, China,

Even in a losing season, the Philadelphia Phreaks are not going quietly. In dismantling division-leading Green Team, the Phreaks set an all-time CTDB record for most points scored in one game - 174. The 174 points shatters the unofficial record held by the Phreaks, 167, set in week 14 of last year - and easily bests the official record of 155 points, set by Buffy way back in week 16 of the 2001 season.

On their way to 174 points, the Phreaks even found room to leave 57 points on their bench, with Clinton Portis and Kevin Jones combining for 4TDs and nearly 400 total yards. Phreak captain Donovan McNabb led the charge with 51, Brian Westbrook lit it up with 41, and rookie sensation Julius Jones chipped in with a relatively "measly" 39 points. All told, the Phreaks rolled up 1,016 yards of total offense and 12 TDs, dominating the 392 yards and 3 TDs from Green Team.

"All I can say is 'wow'," said McNabb, "What we showed here today is the potential that we have for next year, and the explosiveness that we bring to the table. How many teams do you know that could go off for 174 points in one game? Some teams out there need two weeks to get 174."

Rookies Julius and Kevin Jones (no relation) were simply sensational this weekend, combining for 394 rushing yards and 5 TDs. Clearly the top two running backs in this year's class, the Phreaks will have an interesting dillema on their hands when it comes time to trim the keeper roster down to 5 players. "The Phreak backfield, after struggling for much of the season, has really come on as of late," said ESPN's Ron Jaworski, "the two Jones boys, Westbrook, and even Portis, have been unreal. The Phreaks always have this potential - it's just baffling that through a combination of luck and scheduling, they have been struggling so much in recent seasons. But this is a young, young team, and also a very good one, so the future is very bright for these guys."

Greatest Day Ever

Shanghai, China –
“Greatest day ever.” Those were the first words from Phreaks GM Ping Shen when asked to describe Clinton Portis’ mind-numbing 218 yards (9.9 per), 5TD, 57 fantasy point outburst this past Sunday. Turns out, Shen was right on the money – a history check indicates that Portis’ monster day was in fact the greatest fantasy day in the history of football – surpassing Jerry Rice’s and Shaun Alexander’s one-day totals.

Portis’ opponent in the game was Priest Holmes, who some consider to be the best back in the NFL. Holmes had a good game - 90 yards and 2 TDs, but that looked downright pathetic compared to Portis’ beastly output. CP, for his part, wasted little time in declaring himself the best back in the NFL. After rushing for 488 yards and 7 TDs over the past 2 games, who can argue with him? ``I always admired Priest Holmes. I thought he was the best back in the NFL,'' Portis said. ``I felt like if I go out and outperform Priest Holmes in head-to-head competition, well I can't help but feel like I am the best back in the NFL.''

“I think the Phreaks finally wised up and realized that they have the best back in the NFL in their backfield, and if they want to win, they should just keep feeding him the ball. Three weeks ago, they only gave him the ball 14 times – and he ran for 160 yards! But they stopped giving him the ball in the second half even though they were still very much in the game, and they ended up losing. How can you go away from a guy averaging over 10 yards per carry? But they figured it out, and have given him 56 carries the past two weeks, and, well we all know what’s happened,” said ESPN’s Chris Berman. “Portis is averaging 5.8 yards per carry this season. That’s just nuts. Nobody else even comes close.”

One anonymous league GM commented to ESPN, “The Phreaks have Portis who scored 57 fantasy points in one game, Jamal Lewis who leads the NFL in rushing and is on pace for 2,000 yards, and they only won two games this year? How does that happen?” That’s a question that the Phreaks must be asking themselves. The primary culprit appears to be the league’s toughest schedule by far – facing an opponent who scores over 100 points each week will test even the best of teams. A CTDB owner said, “If the Phreaks get any, and I mean ANY receiving help next year, the rest of the league might as well just concede that they are playing for second place.

Barring an injury, nobody, and I mean NOBODY can stop Portis and Lewis. Those two are just ridiculous. Ahman and Priest are decent, sure, but who can compete with one guy who sets the single game rushing record, and another who sets the single game fantasy points record? And Priest is on the wrong side of 30 – you know he won’t be around much longer. Portis and Lewis are what, 24? Those guys are going to be good for a long long time. And they’re still getting better! I don't think we've even seen all of Portis' potential. By the time he's done in this league, we might not be talking about the greatest day ever, we just might be talking about the greatest ever. And that’s unfortunate for everyone else in the league.”

Record Book: Season 1

Winning % Regular Season- Buffy (76.9%)*
Lowest Winning % Regular Season- Flaming Shrapnel (23.1%)*
Hardest Schedule- 102.5 (Ante Up)*
Easiest Schedule- 90.8 avg (Buffy)*
Largest Margin of Victory- 68 (Tiiite End Jammers 129- Skool 61 WK13)
Most Wins Regular Season- 10 (Buffy)*
Least Wins Season- 3 (Flaming Shrapnel)*
Longest Winning Streak- 8 (Buffy)*
Longest Losing Streak- 4 (Flaming Shrapnel)
Highest Individual Score- 50 Peyton Manning (Chunky Monkeys WK2)
Highest Team Score- 146 (Buffy WK9)
Lowest Team Score- 45 (DIRTeByRDeeZ WK3)
Most Century Games- 10 (Buffy)*
Least Century Games- 1 (Skool)*
Longest Century Streak- 9 (Chunky Monkeys)*
Longest Streak between Century games- 9 (Skool)*
*- new season record

ALL PRO Team- In a crazy year, turnover among the top players was perhaps more than in any of the past few seasons. Only 25% of the players from last year's ALL LEAGUE team remained on this year's list and three of those were wide receivers (R Smith, M Harrison, R Moss and M Faulk). Most surprising was the FIRST TEAM performance put forth by Priest Holmes, who ended up with 219 points after being drafted in the last round with the last pick.

ALL LEAGUE FIRST TEAM QB- Jeff Garcia (298) Marshall Faulk (235) Priest Holmes (219) WR- Terrell Owens (221) Marvin Harrison (213) Rod Smith (206) K- John Carney (98) D- Cleveland (139)

ALL LEAGUE SECOND TEAM QB- Kurt Warner (285) Ahman Green (214) Curtis Martin (201) WR- David Boston (200) Randy Moss (179) Jimmy Smith (178) K- Jason Elam (92) D- San Diego (138)

GM of the Year- Buffy
Buffy- A record setting team can't just be put together through luck and Buffy has proven that with a smart draft and a few key acquisitions, a good team can become a dominant one. With a good but not great draft (K S Janikowski in the 6th round and lack of a third WR) Buffy parlayed his early choices (M Faulk, T Holt, R Smith, R Gannon, C Dillon) into a solid lineup. The keys to Buffy's season however was the Free Agent unearthing of WR Qadry Ismail (who had 150 points and was a top 15 WR). Indeed, the Rocket actually outperformed perennial star Torry Holt. The other great move by Buffy was the mid-season acquisition of talented WR David Boston (for mercurial RB Corey Dillon). After being acquired by Buffy, Boston positively exploded (20+ points in last 4 of 6 games) and was the best WR the second half of the season.

GM Runner Up- Tiiite End Jammers- Rookie GM Lei Pan showed that he had the stuff that contenders are made of by starting off with a great draft. With what looked like a solid quartet of stars in RBs R Williams, J Stewart, QB K Warner and WR E McCaffrey, the Jammers spurted out to a 5-0 record. As injuries started to hit (top WR E McCaffrey was lost for the season and M Mohammed was banged up all season), the team stumbled but recovered nicely with three straight wins to end the season. While the receiving corps never fully recovered from the loss of the pale colored McCaffrey, serviceable replacements were found in J Rice and C Conway. But, the biggest coup that the Jammers pulled was drafting Priest Holmes with the last pick of the draft. Holmes went on to a breakout season and literally pulled the Jammers into contention in the last few weeks.

League MVP-
This year's MVP could go to a wealth of players. In a league full of surprises, victories often came down to which player was the most explosive or the most underrated. Superstar caliber numbers were coming in all directions and from unpredictable players. Nine of the top scorers were QBs and only 4 WRs (TO, Rod, Marvin, Boston) and 3 RBs (Faulk, Holmes, Green) cracked the top 20. Great players made a case for MVP consideration but due to injury or late season fall out, some of those were weeded out (D Culpepper, P Manning, R Smith, C Martin). Some players had explosive second halves (R Gannon, R Moss, D Boston) and could be considered but an MVP produces in the clutch and all season long. And wins. A MVP must lead his team to victories that matter (thus eliminating J Garcia and B Favre). A MVP must be a big reason for victories. And with that criteria set, lets look at our MVP candidates.

MVP RUNNER UP #2- Donovan McNabb. While McNabb may not have had the greatest season, he did have a most influential season. Finishing fourth in the league in scoring, McNabb led his team to victories down the stretch when it counted. With a dearth of talent on his team, McNabb led TAG with 268 points and that helped push TAG into the playoffs. Hobbled by the lack of a running game (RBs S Davis and E Smith were disappointments, to put it mildly) and a superstar WR (the best WR was Keyshawn who was inconsistent), McNabb put the team on his back and took TAG to the playoffs.

MVP RUNNER UP #1- Marshall Faulk. The first pick in the draft, Marshall Faulk disappointed no one with a stellar 235 point season. The only non-QB to crack the top ten in scoring, Faulk was explosive and consistent all year long. Even with a few games missed in the middle of the season, Faulk continued his reign as the greatest offensive threat in football. As Buffy mowed down the competition, Faulk led the way with nine 20+ games. Marshall was the main cog in a churning offense and his success was helped by the consistency of his teammates but without him, the deadly Buffy run-and-shoot attack would of never materialized.

LEAGUE MVP 2000- Kurt Warner and Priest Holmes. Once again, co-MVPs will have to awarded for two deserving candidates. This time, the co-MVPs are from the same team because it is hard to distill the team's success down to just one player. Without the contributions of QB Kurt Warner and RB Priest Holmes, the Tiiite End Jammers wouldn't have been able to late push into second place in their division, thus securing home field advantage. In a neck and neck race to the end of the season, Warner and Holmes took turns alternating 40+ points in the last two weeks. Both players were undervalued and underappreciated as the season started. K Warner slipped to the second round, behind four other QBs and Mr Holmes was nearly not drafted at all. Both players notched two 40+ games and also contributed a combined 7 20+ games. While they may not have been the most consistent players all year, they were the most important when the chips were down and a victory was needed. To this year's co-MVPs, Kurt Warner and Priest Holmes!

SUPER MOJO AWARD- Skool. Introducing a new award for this year and possibly only for this year, the SUPER MOJO award goes to the team that defies all expectations. Lambasted all year by critics and league experts, Skool proved the doubters wrong by finishing at 6-7 despite going past the century mark only once (103 in WK10). The amazing year put together by Skool wasn't even due to a weak schedule because they faced the fourth toughest schedule in the league. Despite some huge blowouts (61-129 in WK13 and 87-146 in WK9) Skool remained undaunted and forged ahead, never losing more than two games back to back. We may see more dominant teams but this observor would go out on a limb and say that we may never witness a season as intriguing as the one put into the record books by Skool in 2001.

Record Book: Season 0

Highest Winning % Regular Season- Green Team (0.692)
Lowest Winning % Regular Season- Athena Nike (0.308)
Largest Margin of Victory- 85 (Green Team 155- Battle Angels 70 WK7)
Most Wins Regular Season- 9 (Green Team)
Most Wins- 9 (Green Team*)
Least Wins Season- 4 (Athena Nike)
Longest Winning Streak- 5 (Ante Up, Green Team, Chunky Monkeys*)
Longest Losing Streak- 5 (Ante Up)
Highest Individual Score- 47 Jimmy Smith (Ante Up WK2)
Highest Team Score- 156 (Chunky Monkeys WK10)
Lowest Team Score- 41 (DIRTeByRDeeZ WK2)
Most Century Games- 9 (Green Team)
Least Century Games- 4 (Athena Nike, Escaflowne)
Longest Century Streak- 6 (Chunkey Monkeys)
Longest Streak between Century games- 4 (Ante Up, Athena Nike, Escaflowne)
*- pending playoffs

ALL LEAGUE FIRST TEAM QB- Daunte Culpepper (275) RB- Edgerrin James (280) Marshall Faulk (274) WR- Rod Smith (224) Marvin Harrison (212) Isaac Bruce (209) K- Matt Stover (107) D- Buccaneers (201)

ALL LEAGUE SECOND TEAM QB- Jeff Garcia (268) RB- Eddie George (229) Charlie Garner (227) WR- Randy Moss (190) Eric Moulds (184) Torry Holt (166) K- Martin Gramatica (102) D- Ravens (184)

GM of the Year- DIRTeByRDeeZ
DIRTeByRDeeZ- Battling injuries and frustration, the Birds GM unearthed waiver wire gems like Terrell Owens and Joe Horn. But most of all, this award is given for the big trade that netted Daunte Culpepper and Eddie George, thus shoring up the QB and RB positions. Smart plays by the GM helped to turn around a team devasted by injury and bad luck.

Green Team- The Green Team had a great season, buoyed by pickups like Donald Hayes and Tiki Barber who had explosive games when they got on the field for the Green Team. The drafting of Rod Smith in the lower rounds was a coup and the waiver wire additions of Brian Griese and Derrick Alexander were also ingenious. However, the early cuttings of Ricky Watters and Terrell Owens cannot be forgiven and so, the Green Team is only runner up to best GM of the year award.

Ante Up- Deserving of an honorable mention for GM of the Year is Ante Up. Draft day netted Duce Staley and Jimmy Smith who propelled early season victories. But it was when the going got tough that Ante Up started to make some moves. With the loss of Duce and the slow recovery of Fred Taylor, Ante Up brought in Jerome Bettis and Tim Biakabutuka. When Kurt Warner went down, Mark Brunell and Brett Favre were brought it. The quick moves by Ante Up are noteworthy and deserving of recognition.

Chunky Monkeys- Not to give an award to everyone but surely, the best pickup of the year was for Trent Green. A contender for league MVP picked up at mid season? Amazing.

League MVP-
It’s tempting to argue for a player who pulled his team towards the playoffs, such as a Trent Green. Or to vote for a player who suddenly emerged out of nowhere to become a superstar (Charlie Garner, Jeff Garcia, Daunte Culpepper, Rod Smith). It’s easy to argue that without Jeff Garcia or Peyton Manning, Athena Nike and Escaflowne would not have won 4 and 5 games respectively. But they don’t give out the MVP award to losers. The MVP has to be the cornerstone of his franchise, as well as having such a great year that without him, you could not envision his team winning as many games as it did. The league MVP has to play well down the stretch and in the clutch, when his team needed him. That’s some tough criteria to fill. But here we go. The MVP awards.

MVP RUNNER UP #2- Robert Smith. A surprising name emerged as an MVP candidate as I looked across the charts. While Trent Green may have been the leader that pushed the Monkeys to the top, he could not have done it without the legs of Robert Smith. Consider Smith’s numbers the last four weeks as the battle for a playoff bye raged. 23, 22, 30, 21. Those are the type of stud numbers that show Smith produced when his team needed him.

MVP RUNNER UP #1- Edgerrin James. The quintessential running and receiving threat. He gets the nod over all the other running backs for his consistency. Marshall Faulk may be a better player but this year, he got hurt when his team needed him. Edgerrin paced the league with 280 points and was the rock that the Green Team needed to roll to victory after victory.

LEAGUE MVP 2000- In a close race, the award for Most Valuable Player goes to Daunte Culpepper. Second year player. First year starter. He may not be the highest scoring player in the leauge and may not have started a game until inserted onto the Birds roster in WK3 but there is no denying that this young man has been instrumental to any success the Birds have had. One of a handful of players to never dip below double digits all season, Culpepper has exceeded all expectations. He is the league MVP for putting up 29 and 25 points in back to back weeks when wins were needed.