The 2009 Brothers Keeper Champion: Yer X-MOM

The number 8 seed debunked the number 1 seed Yankinfowlsandfeline (J Smith) and Simba's Buttkicker! (R Johnson) to make it to the championship against the number 2 seed Yer X-MOM (P Smith). While Yer X-MOM was grateful to see his fantasy arch nemeses J Smith and R Johnson dismissed by his friend, the Sea Buzzards (M Peltonen), he was out to win it all since the 2009 Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football BBQ Draft in Slidell, LA.

The smack talk began when Yer X-MOM wrote "If a tree in the middle of the forest falls on a sea buzzard and no one is around.... does anyone care?" on Dec 22, 2009.

Then came the next gut check... a late Christmas day "present" to Sea Buzzards. This "present" was akin to the pink easter bunny outfit Ralphie got in A Christmas Story: C Johnson (RB) and P Rivers (QB) combined for a total 48.51 fantasy points for Yer X-MOM compared to R Bironas's (K) 6 fantasy points for Sea Buzzards. It was going to be a long Christmas weekend after that Dec 25 NFL game.

"You'll shoot your eye out" was haunting the Commissioner until finally he got his "Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock." Yer X-MOM had activated S Jackson (RB) but Jackson was ruled out of Sunday's game due to injury. Jackson had played injured the previous 4 weeks and prduced as he had all season. The early games sprinted Yer X-MOM to a large lead but Sea Buzzards pursued hard with a large number of late afternoon gamers active in his fantasy lineup. Ralphie couldn't wait to try out his new BB Gun.

It was no use. Although Ralphie got his Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas, his worst fears came true. His first shot produced broken specticles. He had lost. Despite S Jackson producing zero fantasy points, Yer X-MOM won handedly.

Final Score:

(8) Sea Buzzards = 108.44

v

(2) Yer X-MOM = 136.31

Brothers Keeper League Powerhouse Yer X-MOM finally dominated the playoffs in full. His prior two seasons saw him as the number two seed and was the 2008 season point total champion lose in the semifinal to the champions of 2007 (Yank) and 2008 (PAIN). This year he overcame.

When asked how he managed to finally push through the semifinals to become champion P Smith responded:

It all began at the end of last season. I studied like mad. I crunched numers. 2009 began in 2007 even. I knew that in order to win the championship all I had to do was modify my strategy slightly for 2009. I was on the cusp of winning every year. Sure I wanted to be point champion again, but all that matters to anyone in an 8 team playoff is being in the playoffs in the first place and that doesn't require being point champion again. I was real surprised Kabuki Strikes Back (J Fullerton) and CustodianPandimonium (R Smith) did not make the playoffs. Both were built to be playoff contenders according to the preseason projections I considered along with Redmans CatPunters (D Pilcher). Players like M Forte (RB), L Tomlinson (RB), P Thomas (RB), B Westbrook (RB), and B Jacobs (RB) all underperformed. But teams like Simba's Buttkicker! (R Johnson) and Farve$Footlong (D Kessler) who I thought did not have a chance to even make the playoffs made it. They must have had a few lucky bye week games or an easy schedule as in the case of Farve$Footlong. But seriously, you just never know until you are in the playoffs. Someone could pick up P Thomas (RB), some no namer who has never produced, and watch him have the game of his life and beat a league powerhouse like PAIN (D Kessler) did to me last year. All I did was stack my team with talent and monitor their matchups for the playoffs. For example, I expected S Holmes (WR) and D Bowe (WR) to have tough week 16 [Championship Week] matchups but they both out performed my expectations. All you can do is put yourself in a good position and eventually you'll win it all. Just look at the Indianapolis Colts. Every year they put themselves into the position to win in the playoffs and after a number of years P Manning (QB) and gang had all the things go their way and now they own a Super Bowl Championship ring. This was my year. Next year may be completely different. For instance Yank won in 2007 but did not make the playoffs in 2008. PAIN won in 2008 and should not have made the playoffs in 2009 (he has a ridiculously low point total but he also had a low point total scored against him). The number 10 draft spot is mine next year and I hope to break the cycle of bad rebound years and continue to be a league powerhouse. I've already begun my 2010 campaign. It'll be a challenge but I believe I have the talent on my team to keep it going. But you're always an injury away from losing. Sometimes you overcome those injuries with depth of talent on your team. For instance, S Slaton (RB), R Brown (RB), and S Jackson (RB) went down with injuries and D Bowe (WR) who I traded for, was suspended for 4 games. But the likes of A Johnson (WR), P Rivers (QB), and J Witten (TE) sustained my team's ability to win close games. Now is the time to prepare for 2010. My thirst for dominance in this league is constant. I'm just motivated to win and that's fun. I can't give away all my secrets to this year's success, but it is a good league of solid fantasy players who will figure their own way out to winning their own Brothers Keeper championships. It's a fun league and I had fun this year thanks to all my competitors. It was a fun draft and fun season and fun playoffs.

There you have it folks. Straight from your 2009 Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football Champion: Yer X-MOM (P Smith).

The Championship is Upon Us

The Semifinals are complete. The results are in. Yer X-MOM (P Smith) outscored CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS (R Smith) while the commissioner's team, Sea Buzzards (M Peltonen), held off Simba's Buttkicker! (R Johnson). Simba's Butt Kicker! was trailing Sea Buzzards after Sunday's games 104.2 to 117.38 with Q Ganther (RB) in the lineup on Monday night for Simba's Buttkicker! needing to score more than 13.18 points to win. He failed by 22 yards. The moral of the story, don't start unproven players. Starting B Roethlisberger (QB), A Bradshaw (RB), or M Sims-Walker instead would have given Simba's Buttkicke! the chance at a title. Now that Simba's Buttkicker! plays for the bronze instead means he will suffer a later draft pick position in the 2010 Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football Draft. Losing a week earlier would have given Simba's Buttkicker! a better draft pick position. Regardless, in this writer's estimate, he will be back in the non-playoff spots next year, where he has been historically.

The problem with Simba's Buttkicker!'s goes deeper than starting Q Ganther in the playoffs. Nor is it soley because M Turner (RB) got injured earlier in the season (because everyone should know of the curse of 370 which Simba's Buttkicker! totally neglected to consider when trading L Tomlinson (RB) to Kubuki Strikes Back (J Fullerton) for Turner in 2008). The problem is a combination of poor management and strategery. According to The Sons of the Tundra: Dynasty Rankings blog, Dynasty Owners are Chess Masters. There are a lot of variables to consider in order to be successful year in and year out and push far into the playoffs. Brothers Keeper's league power house, Yer X-MOM, has gone deep into the playoffs every year. Yer X-MOM has yet to miss the playoffs. One way to learn is to compare and contrast Simba's Buttkicker!'s waiver wire pickups and sit and starts over the past 3 seasons with Yer X-MOM's. What I suspect is case is that the core of the starters on Yer X-MOM stays relatively similar compared to Simba's Buttkicker!'s high variance in lineups from week to week. Yer X-MOM may have more waiver wire transacations, but he does not utilize streaming as a strategy to win, unlike Simba's Buttkicker!. If Yer X-MOM does utilize streaming it is strategically for future games, not past games.

Enough of the thought provoking analysis, on to the championship!

Final
(8) Sea Buzzards
v
(2) Yer X-MOM

The 2009 Semifinals Are Upon Us!

What a competitive first round of playoff action! 2009 has not been a dissappointment on the competition front. The number one seeded team, Yankinfowlsandfeline (J Smith), went down with a thud by the number 8 seeded team Sea Buzzards (M Peltonen). Frankly, A Rodgers (QB) and the decision to start the historically bad Tampa Bay DEF sank an otherwise mighty team. Sea Buzzards received a significant boost from F Gore (RB) and the almighty R Bironas (K)! So this was part David's slingshot and and part Goliath's effort since Goliath pretty much brought the sword that offed his head.

Yer X-MOM was not disappointed in pulling out his big stick, C Johnson (RB) to take on Ghost's A Peterson (RB). Yer X-MOM also received high pointage from A Johnson (WR) thus survivng the onslought of A Peterson (RB), T Jones (RB), and D Clark's (TE) 20+ point games. Yes, you read that correctly. D Clark got a majical 3 TDs and 43 yards in 5 receptions. That'll make a gamer sweat for sure.

The Quarterfinals results thus produced these Semifinal matchups:
(8) Sea Buzzards
v
(5) Simba's Buttkicker!


(3) CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS
v
(2) Yer X-MOM

NFL Distribution Maps: For Your Viewing Pleasure

So what game is going to be on your local TV stations each week? Which fantasy players will I be able to pay attention to? One guy has made it easy for us to know which game we will see locally with detailed maps: NFL TV Distribution Maps

Hope it helps you as much as it has helped me and has made my Sunday afternoons more enjoyable.

The 2009 Playoffs Are Upon Us!

The League Standings after 12 weeks:

*1. Yankinfowlsandfeline 10-3-0 .769 1717.89 L-1 4 27


*2. Yer X-MOM 8-5-0 .615 1492.55 W-2 10 29

*3. CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS 8-5-0 .615 1356.46 L-1 6 13

*4. Favre$Footlong 8-5-0 .615 1247.90 W-4 1 25

*5. Simba's Buttkicker! 7-6-0 .538 1455.30 W-3 5 19

*6. Redmans CatPunters 6-7-0 .462 1494.79 W-1 7 14

*7. Ghost 5-8-0 .385 1502.85 L-4 8 8

*8. Sea Buzzards 5-8-0 .385 1396.22 L-4 3 16

9. CustodianPandemonium 5-8-0 .385 1279.83 L-2 2 14

10. Kabuki Strikes Back 3-10-0 .231 1298.73 W-1 9 8




Hence the Playoff Bracket,
Top Bracket:
1 v 8
4 v 5

Bottom Bracket:
3 v 6
2 v 7

Simba's Butt Kicker! has finally made the playoffs for the first time. 16 out of 20 teams have made the playoffs the last two years in our keeper league and he was 2 of the 4 teams that did not make the playoffs.

Yer X-MOM, while a league powerhouse, hopes to not get stuck losing to an underdog in the semifinals. He has had a number of set backs with R Brown (Mia) and S Slaton (Hou) placed on IR and D Bowe (KC) serving a 4 games suspension for using an illegal drug to help him keep weight off. Normally that drug is used in conjunction with steroids rather D Bowe has had weight problems. Yer X-MOM was hoping to employ a new strategy this year in Brothers Keeper in order to get past the Semifinals. S Slaton, R Brown, and D Bowe all had matchups Yer X-MOM hoped to exploit.

I interviewed CustodianPandimonium's owner R Smith by Gmail Chat yesterday. When asked what happened to his team this year he replied:

Westbrook was obviously a big bust for me, but other than that it is hard to say. Had a couple of games that I lost by less than 5 points, so that's just unfortunate. There were a few other injuries that got me as well, (most notably Welker in the first few weeks). And I admittedly goofed up by focusing on my wedding a couple of weeks and forgot/didn't get time to edit the lineup as much as I'd have liked to.

Going into the season I felt I had a really strong team based on a ridiculously good WR core. They couldn't stay consistent though. Steve Smith from the Giants started out just freaking amazing. And after that he went up and down, averaging around 10 or 11 points, not the 20ish he did previously. Vincent Jackson was real nice up through midseason too. But the last 4 or 5 weeks he's been garbage.

According to the players stats pages before week 13's playoffs, he has 5 of the top 16 WRs in total fantasy points. Pop Warner (Ari) , his QB, is ranked 10th overall while his top RB, K Smith (Det) is 16th overall in points scored. On a bright note, he's considering keeping the late season performer J Charles (KC) as a developmental for next season. Charles replaced L Johnson at RB in KC after L Johnson was released by the team... only later to be picked up by Cincinnati to help their injured RB C Benson. Charles, while ranking the 21st in points scored for the season among RBs has only been started one time this season by CustodianPandimonium. QB J Flacco (Bal) is also still eligible as a possible developmental player having only been started twice this season.

With the second pick overall in 2010's Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football Draft, R Smith is poised for a monster redemption. The League History would demonstrate this one fact: Keep Hope Alive: 2007's last place team was Junior Asparagus (D Kessler). Kessler promptly changed his name to PAIN in 2008 and won in an incredible playoff surge thanks in part to the first pick overall int he draft and a few hot waiver wire pick ups (e.g., RB P Thomas [NO]). Yer X-MOM (P Smith) was even defeated in that playoff success story and has taken note. Only Yank (J Smith) has had a similar turn around. He is currently poised as the number 1 playoff spot for 2009 after being the second to last place team in 2008... following his 2007 championship. If there is one thing Jerry knows... it's the roller coaster of life. There may be many ups and downs in this last playoff push, but one thing is set in stone: Kabuki Strikes Back (J Fullerton) and CustodianPandimonian are both eliminated from the status of Champion of 2009.