Playoff Bracket
2015 Championship Predictions
Benny’s Playoff Preview
(1) Too Many Cooks
Season Summary
What a turnaround after spending two years in the dumpster! Strolling into
the playoffs on a five game win-streak ending with a thorough 206.6–98.9 spanking of Leegion of Boom, Too Many Cooks is primed to take home the trophy after earning a 1st round bye on the strength of a #1 overall scoring team, featuring a slew of top tier players (having also been fortunate enough to have the least points scored against).
Strengths/Weaknesses
With smooth trades and good fortune during the course of the season, Too Many Cooks currently boasts two top tier WR1s in Robinson & Green, two top WR2s in M.Bryant & Amendola, a TE1 in Reed and the RB1 Devonta Freeman, as well as a solid QB1 in Big Ben. The only weakness may be questionable boom/bust RB Darren Sproles and a relatively shallow bench, but at this point in the year, you need to ride your stars to the ‘ship, and Too Many Cooks has a lot of them.
Remaining Schedule & Matchups
Too Many Cooks faces a tough semi-final between the winner of j.maclin cheese and Vincent’s team, with several “red” rated matchups against the Broncos, Bills, and Cardinals and only one “green’ rated matchup. But, if he clears that hurdle, then there should be no problems in the Finals against whoever happens to meet him there.
Championship Chances
65%. Yes, the percentages are arbitrarily determined by yours truly — but with so many good players, Too Many Cooks probably has the lowest floor of any team left in the playoffs and only has to win two more. So, the odds are in his favor more than any other team.
(2) 1.21 JJ Watts
Season Summary
Not wanting to be stuck with the unenviable position of the #8 overall pick in this year’s draft, 1.21 JJ Watts swung for the fences in trading up for the #1 overall pick and parlayed that into the #2 seed after squeaking by j.maclin cheese in the last week of the season. (Quick quiz — how many of the players picking 8–13 made the playoffs? The answer is none, zero, zilch, nada… check the draft results for yourself.) The most important move might have involved landing top RB Le’Veon Bell’s handcuff: DeAngelo Williams.
Strengths/Weaknesses
Buoyed by a strong RB core of Gurley & Le’Veon Bell/DeAngelo Williams throughout most of the year, this team’s wins and losses ride mostly on the performance of these two guys. However, teams are stacking the box against Gurley, and the Rams’ hapless offense has all but destroyed the electrifying rookie’s value in recent weeks. Aaron Rodgers and Cobb have looked out of sync for the latter half of the season, and the WR corps does not have a true WR1, which is certainly an area of weakness. PPR back Shaun Draughn has proven to be a valuable pickup, but the team’s ceiling may not be high enough.
Remaining Schedule & Matchups
With mostly average (yellow) matchups for his players the rest of the way through, 1.21 JJ Watts faces the un-enviable task of having to pick and choose specific matchups. A misstep or two and 1.21 JJ Watts’ season could end rather abruptly. On the plus side, Watts faces what is probably the weaker side of the playoff bracket.
Championship Chances
25%. Despite a great regular season, 1.21 JJ Watts does not boast the top end WRs necessary to win the championship, having to rely on a good deal of matchup luck and “booming” players to advance.
(3) A-Aron Rodgers
Season Summary
Holding the pole position through the halfway mark of the regular season at an undefeated 6–0, the commissioner has gone 3–4 since then to hang on to a #3 seed, narrowly avoiding season ending disaster through several fortuitous trades that saw him essentially gain something from nothing as players end up on season ending IR weeks later. Also commendable is the fact that Alex was able to put together a winning team while maintaining order amid controversy as commissioner, despite watching the least football.
Strengths/Weaknesses
Cam’s MVP caliber season and Antonio make this a team to be feared on any given Sunday, and Lacy/Starks & West/Ware provide a solid group of RBs, though Lacy has been wildly inconsistent this year. “Barnkowski” has been one of the best waiver pickups of the year, providing Gronk-lite value as an every-week TE1 for A-Aron Rodgers this season. LaFell is a solid PPR option due to injuries on the Pats, and Maclin has regained WR2 value with injuries to Chiefs RBs. However, a bad week from Lacy combined with a pedestrian week from Cam or Antonio could spell doom for this team.
Remaining Schedule
Facing the weakest playoff team in The Primal Beings this week, A-Aron should have no problem advancing to the semis, where red rated matchups for Antonio Brown and West/Ware may be problematic. Were A-Aron to knock off 1.21 JJ Watts in a 50/50 matchup that week, he would have an excellent chance of winning in the finals with 6 favorable matchups vs 3 unfavorable ones.
Championship Chances
35%. Despite having other good players, the team’s fate most likely depends on whether Lacy can string together 3 good performances in a row. Based on what we’ve seen so far this season, it seems unlikely that it happens.
(4) Vincent’s Team
Season Summary
Vince may not have had the best W/L record at any point this season, but it was certainly agreed that Vincent’s Team was probably the scariest team of all until a devastating injury to Steve Smith in addition to injuries for Matt Forte and Kendall Wright brought Vincent’s team crashing back down to earth. Still boasts the best Total Win- Loss record and 2nd highest scoring team despite facing a difficult schedule.
Strengths/Weaknesses
Brady is the best QB out there, and Greg Olsen provides steady and reliable TE1 value. A WR group that on paper (Cooper, Dez, Calvin) looks good has not been exceptionally scary. The trade for Dez has not worked out so far with Romo being injured once again. Forte may now be part of a RBBC with Langford taking some of the load as the Bears look to be moving on from their workhorse RB at season’s end. Danny Woodhead also does not appear to be getting the touches he was earlier in the year, so there are plenty of concerns for Vince’s team.
Remaining Schedule
5 red matchups this week yet still has the highest projected score of any team not on bye, that should tell you how good Vince’s team looks on paper, though I personally rate his chances against j.maclin cheese this week closer to 55/45. After that, he has a great shot at upsetting Too Many Cooks with 5 green rated matchups and a decent shot of winning the title in the finals if he makes it there.
Championship Chances
40%. Vince has the toughest remaining road to the championship but has the 2nd best team left.
(5) J. Maclin Cheese
Season Summary
What a crazy year for reigning champion j.maclin cheese, whose team in Week 14 does not look anything like the roster he assembled at the start of Week 1. Wheeling and dealing his way into wins week after week despite the devastating losses of Jamaal Charles and Dion Lewis, j.maclin cheese has clawed his way into the playoffs, tenaciously looking to win back to back championships and claim the crown two years in a row.
Strengths/Weaknesses
Fortunate enough to own some of the top handcuffs out there, j.maclin cheese has several RB1 workhorses on the roster (Rawls, Buck Allen, Chris Ivory) as well as WR1s in Fitz and Mike Evans. The Gronk injury may hold him out through the rest of the regular season, which really hurts j.maclin cheese’s chances, despite Scott Chandler trying to do his best Gronk impression last week. Davante Adams and Ryan Tannehill have been very disappointing and are easy to point out as the weakest links of this team.
Remaining Schedule
5 red rated matchups this week against Vincent’s team could be tough to overcome, and of course a match against top seeded Too Many Cooks awaits after that. 4 more red rated matchups await in the finals. Tough sledding.
Championship Chances
15%. With Gronk, the chances may have been higher, but this team does not boast the top QB1s that other playoff contenders have, while also lacking a considerable advantage elsewhere. All this and a tough schedule with unfavorable matchups means it would be very unlikely we will see a repeat champion.
(6) The Primal Beings
Season Summary
The Primal Beings inched into the playoffs ahead of fellow 8–5 team Wussel Rilson after a rather un-dramatic season, memorable only for a controversial trade that was struck down by the commissioner. Pretty much alternating wins and losses since week 5, this team was involved in some major controversy that could’ve changed the entire landscape of the league, but luckily he got to keep Adrian Peterson.
Strengths/Weaknesses
The healthiest and most consistent RB combo left in the league with All-Day and Jonathan Stewart, plus the addition of David Johnson bordering on RB1 value now means that this is the best group of RBs in the playoffs. The WRs beyond Nuk Hopkins do not inspire much fear. The Primal Beings keeps extracting value out of guys like Marques Colston, Brian Hartline, or Torrey Smith, but can you really count on those guys come playoff time? Drew Brees is no longer an elite fantasy QB, and Witten has been solid, but unspectacular with Cassel at the helm.
Remaining Schedule
A mix of good/bad matchups at every step along the way.
Championship Chances
10%. The stats speak for themselves — the 7th highest scoring team and the 6th best Total Win-Loss record which is barely above .500, this is the weakest team contending for the title. Still, anything could happen for the manager sleeping on a bamboo mat overseas.
Bon Voyage (Players We Won’t Miss)
