Championship Showdown!
Our second champion will soon be crowned
Thank you everyone for a great season! Two years down and we’re only getting started. I’ve got some ideas and proposals to throw at you guys this offseason, and of course I’ll do a couple articles just to make sure The D|League is never far from your thoughts, even during our dead period. But enough about that, we still got some match-ups to cover.
One disadvantage of the playoff restructure is it did end the non-playoff brackets in Week 15 instead of Week 16, but it does heighten the focus on our Super Bowl and 3rd Place match-ups. As part of the last preview of the season, let’s also take a look at how those teams got here.
Third Place — (3) Binh vs (4) Lando
Binh (8–5, 1575.72)
Last Year’s Finish: 3rd
Preseason Ranking: 5th
“Another playoff run is likely for Binh…however, with the worst TE group in the league, I have no choice but to slot him 5th.”
Mid Season Ranking: 5th
“Binh should have been at the top of Tier 2, but the Rodgers injury pushes him down.”
2017 MVP: Todd Gurley (RB 1, 323.70)
Binh consistently outperformed my rankings for his team as Todd Gurley easily made up for any lack of production from the TE position, and Jared Goff was actually a solid starter in relief of Aaron Rodgers. Binh had the second most points scored, had a chance to overtake Kurtis in Week 13 for top seeding, and he freaking scored 163 points in a loss last week.
But alas…the only 2016 playoff team to make a repeat appearance in 2017 is once again playing for 3rd Place. It’s an impressive run of success for sure, but chances are Binh is just bummed to fall short of the Championship Game once again.
Lando (8–5, 1474.62)
Last Year’s Finish: 11th
Preseason Ranking: 12th
“Lando’s starters are solid… However, outside of Winston and Cook, there’s not a lot of 2017 breakout potential.”
Mid Season Ranking: 2nd
“[Lando’s] scored the 2nd most points despite losing Dalvin Cook in Week 4…and Antonio Brown’s scored 30 more fantasy points than any other WR”
2017 MVP: Antonio Brown (WR 1, 268.30)
I underestimated Lando’s team in the preseason, assuming there wasn’t enough breakout potential for his players, but reversed my tune by mid season. Mark Ingram blew up for a career best year, and would likely be even higher than RB 5 overall if the Saints didn’t try that awful Adrian Peterson experiment early in the season. Lando also snagged Robby Anderson off the wire, who has more points than Mike Evans, Doug Baldwin, and Dez Bryant, to name a few.
And at the end of the season, Lando made all the right moves for his all-in championship push. Instead, the fantasy gods rewarded him with an Antonio Brown injury and an awful Rivers performance. Rivers had gone into Week 15 with a scorching hot 8 TDs to 0 INTs in his last 4 games but decided to fall flat in the biggest game of the Chargers (and Lando’s) season. Even so, a rise from 11th to potentially 3rd is a successful season, and I won’t be underestimating this team next August.
Championship Game — (1) Kurtis vs (2) Tani
Kurtis (10–3, 1594.42)
Last Year’s Finish: 14th
Preseason Ranking: 7th
“A jump from the worst record into the top 6 will be too much to overcome… but [will] be primed for another leap in 2018.”
Mid Season Ranking: 1st
“Kurtis’ dominant season…puts him on pace to score 1770 points”
2017 MVP: Kareem Hunt (RB 3, 255.10)
I did predict a jump for Kurtis after his 14th place finish in 2016, but as we all witnessed, he wasted no time going straight to the top on the backs of Hunt and Fournette (with an honorable mention to Alex Smith and Zach Ertz). By mid season he was 6–1 and ranked 1st. He slowed down considerably after that though, averaging 101.5 points in Weeks 8–12.
However, with Kareem Hunt ending the season strong, Kurtis looks primed to finish strong as well. Obviously a Championship would be the ultimate cherry on top, but there’s no question Kurtis has enjoyed an amazing season and a hell of a rebound.
Tani (9–4, 1,413.32)
Last Year’s Finish: 8th
Preseason Ranking: 1st
“With or without a dominant Jay Ajayi, Tani is still the unquestioned title favorite going into the season.”
Mid Season Ranking: 3rd
“Tani hasn’t been the Goliath we imagined coming into the season, but his roster is still strong…”
2017 MVP: Le’Veon Bell (RB 2, 297.90)
Tani finished last season 5–1 over the last six weeks, and carried that momentum into 2017 as the preseason title favorite. However, Jay Ajayi proved my concerns to be correct, and by mid season Tani’s team was struggling compared to what I expected thanks to injuries to Greg Olsen and Aaron Rodgers (which torpedoed Jordy Nelson’s production).
Tani is once again finishing the season strong though, with 162.62 points in Week 13 and a ridiculous 187.18 points last week. Kenyan Drake is doing what Ajayi was supposed to do in Miami, Greg Olsen is healthy, and Tani’s team is looking like the juggernaut it was supposed to be.
Will Tani complete my preseason prophecy as the championship favorite?
Or will Kurtis be the David to Tani’s Goliath, completing his own amazing jump from last to first…
It all comes down to Week 16.
That’s all folks! Merry Christmas, and have a great weekend with your friends and family!
