FADUCO Bowl Preview
I finally have time to write this, as I'm now back at work today. I've had to entertain my sister and her husband over the holidays, hence the absence of blog entries.
The 2005 season finally comes to an end, and like in 2002, it’s Hai vs. Larry in the final. Will Hai repeat’s Katy’s feat of worse-to-first? For those of you scoring at home, it’d be the third year in a row that the previous last place team wins the championship, as Victor also did that in 2003. In that year, both teams limped into the final and Hai won narrowly with 2 no-name RBs. This year, both have quite a few fantasy producers who won’t be contributing in the final week as there are a lot of meaningless games with a preseason feel to them. So both teams again may not see elevated scoring levels. The matchups:
QB: Hai is in a QB quandry. Though Cincinnati needs to win the game to ensure a 3rd seed and thus avoiding the Colts in the 2nd round, Carson Palmer’s status is iffy, but Cinncy does figure to be in a shootout. Roethlisberger is more of a sure thing, good for around 10 points, though with much less upside. And Boller is a high-risk, high-reward player given his last 2 weeks. Hai will probably stick with his team MVP. As for Larry, it is unlikely Plummer will play much. Larry will probably play Jamie Martin and so would doubly hurt Hai if Martin has a good game against the Cowboys. Since this is the 8:30 Sunday game, the last of the season, the FADUCO bowl may not be decided until the final minutes of the 2005 season. If Palmer does indeed play, Hai would have a strong advantage over Larry. If not, it’s a tossup.
RB: Again, both teams face problems at its #2 RB position. Hai will surely start Steven Jackson. If Dallas is eliminated from playoff contention, Hai can have a guilt-free experience watching Jackson. If Dallas is playing for a playoff spot, then Jackson will underperform in the yardage dept. but may get a score. Hai’s #2 RB is cloudy. High potential for inefficiencies here given Hai’s roster. James will probably not play that much, even if Indy wants to win their final regular season game to retrieve some momentum lost in the past 2 weeks. If Hai starts Dominic Rhodes, it’s a big gamble for big points. Cedric Houston faces a soft Buffalo defense, he may be the better start for Hai. Brown and Jones are not going to produce much this week. This may be a source of Monday morning pain for Hai, if he benches the wrong one. Larry has a more known quantity in his RBs. As Larry’s #1 RB, Shaun Alexander is definitely going for the regular season yardage title and breaking Priest Holme’s TD record. So he’s good for at least about 80 yards and a TD. On the flip side, Larry right now absolutely has no #2 RB. Both Bennett and Staley are injured/benched. Starting 3 WRs may not be out of the question. Slight advantage to Hai here, but if Larry picks up a useable RB, the advantage would swing back to Larry.
WR: The strength of both teams. Larry has been able to offset lack of production from his #2 RB by having 2 strong WRs during the recent weeks. Expect Holt and Boldin to continue producing for Larry in week 17, they should combine for 20 points or more. Should Larry have to play 3 WRs, Ernest Wilford is a boom-or-bust player. As for Hai, I was wrong about Santana Moss. He’s a stud. As for Randy Moss, he’s been a disappointment this season, but the Giants gave up 3 TDs to the other Moss last week and may do so again playing at Oakland. Still, it’s a slightly less certain situation for Hai, so the slight advantage goes to Larry.
TE: Which Witten will show up? St. Louis has a pretty bad defense, so chances are that Witten may seen the endzone this week, rather than getting a doughnut for Hai. As for Gonzalez, Cincinnati has lately been involved in shootouts, and the Bengals defense rather generous. So it’s a good opportunity for Gonzalez to steal a TD from mega-stud Larry Johnson, who people should pick #1 in their non-keeper drafts next year. Yes, even over LT and Alexander. There, my plug for LJ is done. Oh yeah, I give this a slight advantage to Hai because of Witten’s better chances for a TD.
K: Hai will be #1 Bengal fan this week if he plays Palmer. Graham may reach double digits in points. Larry’s Wilkins will also produce, but Dallas has been known to stop visitors from scoring much at home. So very tiny advantage for Hai.
Defense: It would be interesting if Larry started Atlanta, as they are playing Hai’s probable starter the Panthers. But the Redskins is the more sensible play against a ravaged Eagles. Larry is going to go against the other Cosgroves and root heavily against the Eagles. No moral dilemmas on both sides this week, however. Moderate advantage for Larry as the Redskins are playing for real stakes and facing a toothless Eagles offense while the Panthers are playing a division rival that is primed to play spoiler in its final home game.
This final will be another close one, like previous years'. Hai’s fate depends on more "If’s", if Palmer plays, if a Moss can explode, if his #2 RB pick is good. Larry will be more efficient, though that’s because he’s facing lack of depth in his RBs and WRs. Hai escaped last week thanks to a garbage TD by Vinnie, and two weeks ago due to a Witten garbage TD. The key game is the St. Louis – Dallas game. I fully anticipate that St. Louis will have have a garbage TD that will make the difference. If St. Louis scores through the air, Larry wins. If they do it on the ground, Hai wins. It’s a bit difficult to win 3 weeks in a row thanks to last-minute garbage TDs, so I’m predicting the Caucasians will finally win their first championship in 5 years, $20 bet to the Kevin and Kristy fund non-withstanding.
I finally have time to write this, as I'm now back at work today. I've had to entertain my sister and her husband over the holidays, hence the absence of blog entries.
The 2005 season finally comes to an end, and like in 2002, it’s Hai vs. Larry in the final. Will Hai repeat’s Katy’s feat of worse-to-first? For those of you scoring at home, it’d be the third year in a row that the previous last place team wins the championship, as Victor also did that in 2003. In that year, both teams limped into the final and Hai won narrowly with 2 no-name RBs. This year, both have quite a few fantasy producers who won’t be contributing in the final week as there are a lot of meaningless games with a preseason feel to them. So both teams again may not see elevated scoring levels. The matchups:
QB: Hai is in a QB quandry. Though Cincinnati needs to win the game to ensure a 3rd seed and thus avoiding the Colts in the 2nd round, Carson Palmer’s status is iffy, but Cinncy does figure to be in a shootout. Roethlisberger is more of a sure thing, good for around 10 points, though with much less upside. And Boller is a high-risk, high-reward player given his last 2 weeks. Hai will probably stick with his team MVP. As for Larry, it is unlikely Plummer will play much. Larry will probably play Jamie Martin and so would doubly hurt Hai if Martin has a good game against the Cowboys. Since this is the 8:30 Sunday game, the last of the season, the FADUCO bowl may not be decided until the final minutes of the 2005 season. If Palmer does indeed play, Hai would have a strong advantage over Larry. If not, it’s a tossup.
RB: Again, both teams face problems at its #2 RB position. Hai will surely start Steven Jackson. If Dallas is eliminated from playoff contention, Hai can have a guilt-free experience watching Jackson. If Dallas is playing for a playoff spot, then Jackson will underperform in the yardage dept. but may get a score. Hai’s #2 RB is cloudy. High potential for inefficiencies here given Hai’s roster. James will probably not play that much, even if Indy wants to win their final regular season game to retrieve some momentum lost in the past 2 weeks. If Hai starts Dominic Rhodes, it’s a big gamble for big points. Cedric Houston faces a soft Buffalo defense, he may be the better start for Hai. Brown and Jones are not going to produce much this week. This may be a source of Monday morning pain for Hai, if he benches the wrong one. Larry has a more known quantity in his RBs. As Larry’s #1 RB, Shaun Alexander is definitely going for the regular season yardage title and breaking Priest Holme’s TD record. So he’s good for at least about 80 yards and a TD. On the flip side, Larry right now absolutely has no #2 RB. Both Bennett and Staley are injured/benched. Starting 3 WRs may not be out of the question. Slight advantage to Hai here, but if Larry picks up a useable RB, the advantage would swing back to Larry.
WR: The strength of both teams. Larry has been able to offset lack of production from his #2 RB by having 2 strong WRs during the recent weeks. Expect Holt and Boldin to continue producing for Larry in week 17, they should combine for 20 points or more. Should Larry have to play 3 WRs, Ernest Wilford is a boom-or-bust player. As for Hai, I was wrong about Santana Moss. He’s a stud. As for Randy Moss, he’s been a disappointment this season, but the Giants gave up 3 TDs to the other Moss last week and may do so again playing at Oakland. Still, it’s a slightly less certain situation for Hai, so the slight advantage goes to Larry.
TE: Which Witten will show up? St. Louis has a pretty bad defense, so chances are that Witten may seen the endzone this week, rather than getting a doughnut for Hai. As for Gonzalez, Cincinnati has lately been involved in shootouts, and the Bengals defense rather generous. So it’s a good opportunity for Gonzalez to steal a TD from mega-stud Larry Johnson, who people should pick #1 in their non-keeper drafts next year. Yes, even over LT and Alexander. There, my plug for LJ is done. Oh yeah, I give this a slight advantage to Hai because of Witten’s better chances for a TD.
K: Hai will be #1 Bengal fan this week if he plays Palmer. Graham may reach double digits in points. Larry’s Wilkins will also produce, but Dallas has been known to stop visitors from scoring much at home. So very tiny advantage for Hai.
Defense: It would be interesting if Larry started Atlanta, as they are playing Hai’s probable starter the Panthers. But the Redskins is the more sensible play against a ravaged Eagles. Larry is going to go against the other Cosgroves and root heavily against the Eagles. No moral dilemmas on both sides this week, however. Moderate advantage for Larry as the Redskins are playing for real stakes and facing a toothless Eagles offense while the Panthers are playing a division rival that is primed to play spoiler in its final home game.
This final will be another close one, like previous years'. Hai’s fate depends on more "If’s", if Palmer plays, if a Moss can explode, if his #2 RB pick is good. Larry will be more efficient, though that’s because he’s facing lack of depth in his RBs and WRs. Hai escaped last week thanks to a garbage TD by Vinnie, and two weeks ago due to a Witten garbage TD. The key game is the St. Louis – Dallas game. I fully anticipate that St. Louis will have have a garbage TD that will make the difference. If St. Louis scores through the air, Larry wins. If they do it on the ground, Hai wins. It’s a bit difficult to win 3 weeks in a row thanks to last-minute garbage TDs, so I’m predicting the Caucasians will finally win their first championship in 5 years, $20 bet to the Kevin and Kristy fund non-withstanding.
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