GIve me a thumbs up Rich if you’re tired of being the greatest team to not win a title. Thanks.
Fucking 15 years old. Robioland Football is still jailbait, but damn we’re getting old.
Can you believe it? Fifteen years of Robioland football. It seems like just yesterday I sat in my living room with Griff and six other guys, with our shirts off, rubbing each others’ nipples…no wait, that was something else.
Actually, the first draft was held in a booth at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Sarasota, Florida. Good times.
TEAM-BY-TEAM CAREER THOUGHTS
ROB After a nine-year absence that saw me lose three title games in a five-year span, the drought finally came to an end. With an amazing playoff run, I FINALLY won my fourth league title and first since most of the current league members have been with us. With my latest mug, I take my place back on top of just about every major category; career championships, winning percentage, points per game, you name, I got it. However, there is one impressive number that may never be matched…I have now scored over 1,500 points in 15 of my last 18 playoff games. The three times I didn’t were all in title games. However, I finally put that baby to bed when I beat Eric in arguable the greatest title game in league history.
GRIFF Like myself, Griff is entering his fifteenth season in Robioland and he has shown no signs of heading slowly into that good night. Instead he has really come on strong lately. After missing the post-season in 2007 and 2008, Griff has rolled off four straight nine-win seasons (Bob and myself are the only other people to do that). Last year was his best ever regular season, as he averaged a career high 1,434 PPG, going 10-3 and earning his first career top-seed. Yes, it took Griff 14 years to get a top seed.
However, the glory days of Griff making sweet, sweet love to the title game (he went to five of the first seven title games) appears to be over as he has struggled to advance in the playoffs. In fact, he has dropped four straight post-season games dating back to 2009, failing to escape the first-round the past three years, despite being one of the best teams in that time span.
DON One of the greatest streaks in Robioland history came to an end last year when Uncle Don missed the playoffs for the first time in eight freaking years. That was a eight-year span that saw Don earn one top seed, deliver one scoring title and let’s not forget his two league championships. However, like Urban Meyer coaching for the Florida Gators, all good things must eventually come to an end. Since winning his last title in 2008 and then going 7-6 the following season, Don hasn’t had a winning season since, finishing in the bottom half of scoring in each of the last four seasons.
ERIC Finally. That’s all I need to write, right?
The Ryan Leaf of fantasy football finally put together a season to be proud of. This is a man who produced just one single winning season (2007). A man who failed to qualify for the post-season eight times in 11 seasons. A man who had the worst back-to-back seasons ever, going 3-23 and becoming the first person to “earn” the top pick in the draft two straight seasons. All of that, forgotten (at least for one year) after he nearly went wire-to-wire as the league’s top team in 2012. Eric won nine games in the regular season, he earned his first scoring title, he even scored more than enough points to win it all in the title game, but the fantasy gods were not on his side. Now go prove it wasn’t a fluke.
MOLLY Coming off one of the greatest regular seasons known to man in 2011, no one could blame Molly is she was caught napping in 2012. In fact, I predicted she would miss the playoffs. While it wasn’t easy, she proved me wrong. Despite never sniffing a three-game winning streak, she made it back to the playoffs. Unfortunately yet again, she couldn’t parlay that into a post-season victory. She fell in the first-round for the the sixth time, a current league record.
Despite making it to the playoffs for the 8th time in 11 seasons, for Molly, it has always been about removing that “lucky” label tattooed somewhere on her ass. You know what? Maybe it’s time. Over the last seven seasons, Molly has scored in the top half of the league in five of the last seven years. Three times, she’s finished in the top three. That’s not Bob good, but that’s pretty damn good.
RICH B To judge whether Burrier has found his groove in this league comes down to how you want to judge things. After nearly becoming just the second person ever to miss the playoffs three straight years, Rich has actually crashed the post-season three straight seasons. During that time, he managed to end his seven-year playoff win drought and he has actually won three playoff games the past two seasons. All positive things.
On the flip slide, Burrier has produced just one winning season since 2007. That’s five losing seasons in six years. If he delivers another losing season in 2013, he’ll become the first person ever to have six losing seasons in a seven-year span. Let’s face it, Burrier is stuck living by a different standard than most people thanks to his incredible 2003-2007 run that saw him go 38-23, win four division titles and a championship. My real point…that one championship was 11 years ago, which means of all the former champions in this league, Rich has now gone the longest without repeating.
ROB M Can we finally say it? Can we finally say Masterson has figured it out? I want to. I really do. After a stunningly bad run that saw Rob produce just two 7-win seasons, four playoffs missed and one post-season victory between 2005-2010, he has actually delivered back-to-back impressive seasons. In 2012, he became just the third team to average 1,500 points per game in a regular season (falling short in the post-season).
Last year, Rob had the greatest turnaround in league history, turning a 1-5 start into a winning season and a playoff trip. He became the first person to do that in a 13-week schedule. For Rob, the next goal is simple, turn these regular season success stories into playoff victories. The last time he tasted a post-season victory was when he defeated the #1 seed Burrier back in the 2006 quarterfinals (this is the longest active streak, excluding Jeff of course).
RICH C The title of “greatest team to never win a title” remains firmly on Calderon’s backside, made even worse by the fact the label appears to hold true in Robioland baseball (Eric might argue with that).
Right now, Rich is running through an impressive run that’s seen him crash the post-season party five times in six seasons, producing just one losing season. In that time frame he’s won at least nine games four times, winning two division titles, finishing top-five in scoring five times and delivering one scoring title in 2010. However, a familiar pattern has begun to develop. When Rich has an okay team, he finds a way to win a post-season game. When he has a title contender-worthy team that produces a championship caliber regular season record, he collapses in the playoffs. The three times he’s won at least nine regular season games, he has failed to escape the first-round.
BOB It’s one of the most incredible streaks in league history; six straight seasons of 9+ wins. It’s never been done before and it might be a while before it’s done again. Of course, it finally came to an end when Bob was bounced in the semifinals this past season. Yet, what’s most impressive is, no matter how bad of a draft Bob seems to have or how awful his season begins, it always seems like come playoff time, he’s one of the biggest threats. It certainly helps that he’s a stunning 7-1 in the first-round of the post-season (second best in the league).
So what more does Bob have to accomplish? Well, if you let me nitpick, it would be nice if he got back to his winning ways in the regular season. He’s finished 6-7 the past two regular seasons. However, Bob has a chance to tie some history this coming season. If he can make the playoffs again, he will tie Don for eight straight post-season appearances in a row.
MATT It appears that Matt is starting to develop a reputation as a hit-or-miss guy in this league. He’s accomplished some pretty amazing things. He’s won two titles, one that featured the greatest season ever. He’s finished top-four in scoring five times. Yet, he’s produced just four winning seasons in 10 years. He’s made the playoffs only 60% of the time, not good when 66% of the league makes the post-season each year (only Jeff and Eric have worse percentages). He’s finished 11th in scoring three times. See what I’m talking about?
COLBY If Calderon is the “best team” to never win a title, Colby is the logical choice as “second best team” to not win a title. The problem is, Colby is still best known for being a lover of trades and not a lover of championships. Colby took a step back last year. Despite having what many thought was his best opening day roster (he won the preseason championship poll), he got crushed under the weight of expectations. The reality is, Colby is the king of miss expectations.
When you think he has a bad team and will miss the post-season, he rises out of the ashes with a few trades and comes within one game of the title game (something that happened three times in four years (2008-2011). However, when he has what we believe is an elite team, he tends to struggle, missing the playoffs three times in six years. For a guy who lives and breathes Robioland football almost as much as me, that has to be maddening.
JEFF If you base it on percentage of seasons where the team made the playoffs, Jeff is officially the “new Eric.”
In five seasons of solo ball in Robioland, Jeff has produced just one winning season and one playoff appearance. Last year, he finally sank to the bottom, finishing last in the standings and last in points. But like they always say, sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can rise up and be a champion. For Jeff, he’s got a fresh start, much like Eric did last year. However, it will be harder for Jeff because Eric also had great keepers to go along with the top pick in the draft. Jeff does not.
2012 A WALK BACK
If you’re desperate for football to start and starving for any kind of information, then try taking a walk back in time to last season. Plenty of write ups.
Remember the 2012 Draft? Find out who was the best picks, greatest sleepers and worst mistakes with the 2012 DRAFT RECAP.
Want to see how wrong I was? Go back and see the PRE-SEASON PREDICTIONS.
Have you already forgotten who were the great players from last season? Check out the 2012 ALL-ROBIO TEAMS.
Don’t forget about the 2012 SEASON REWIND. A look back at every Tuesday Thought written.
Every year when the season is over, I’m looking for the moments that stand out, something that makes our league historic. I found two from last year.
First up, ‘The Rally’. Masterson rallies from a 1-5 start to finish with a winning record. A first in Robioland.
The ‘Game of the Century’. You know what I’m talking about, Robio vs. Eric…for the title.
2012 RECORDS
Records are meant to be broken and some were broken last year.
Eric scored 2,041 points in a week five victory over Matt. The 21st most points ever scored by a team in a game.
Griff beat Robio by 10 points (1,155 – 1,145) in week nine, tied for the 15th closest game ever.
In the 2012 title game, Eric and Robio combined to score 3,844 points, the second most combined points ever.
Griff won seven straight games, tied for 9th longest in league history.
Jeff lost eight straight games, tied for 4th longest losing streak ever.
Don dropped six straight games, tied for 10th worst losing streak.
Eric averaged 1,503 points per game, becoming just the fourth person ever to average 1,500 PPG.
Eric scored 24,225 total points (regular and postseason), third best and most ever for runner-up.
Robio scored 22,513 total points (regular and postseason), 11th most in league history
Jeff’s opponents scored 1,453 PPG, the second most ever.
Don’s opponents scored 1,395 PPG, the ninth most in league history.
Matt failed to score 1,000 in week seven, ending his 29-game 1,000-pt streak…second most ever.
Rich B failed to score 1,000 in the semis, ending a 22-game 1,000-pt streak…5th longest ever.
Eric is currently riding a 16-game 1,000-pt streak…tied for 14th longest streak.
Rob M had a 15-game 1,000-pt streak end in 2012, tied for 18th longest ever.
Rich C is riding a 14-game 1,000-pt streak, the 24th longest streak.
Griff scored over 1,250 points in seven straight games, tied for 9th all-time
Eric scored over 1,250 points in seven straight games, tied for 9th all-time
Rich B produced 1,250 points in seven straight games between 2011-12, tied for 9th.
Matt had the weekly low score in week seven, his first in 50 games, third longest streak ever.
Bob’s week one weekly low score ended a 34-week streak, 10th longest ever.
Bob got a weekly high score in week 12, his first in 32 weeks, the 10th longest streak ever.
CAREER RANKINGS (POST-2003)
I did this last year (only ranking the teams starting with the 2003 season). I liked it, so I’ll did it again. TeamWinsLosesWin %PointsPT %Pts allowPA %1,0001,2501,500HighsLowsTopScorePostSemisFinalsTitles 1. Bob86640.573195,3451,302185,4201,23612882371110008733 2. Griff86620.542198,7941,343187,2791,2081299440186218441 1. Robio76710.517196,7991,339189,1171,2871258446218226541 4. Matt70720.493183,4591,292182,2301,283120683273116222 5. Rich B75700.517186,9221,289184,4091,27211264381210108321 6. Rich C78660.542187,5671,303181,4761,2601247336133017410 7. Don72740.493175,0721,199182,8541,2521227523514118422 8. Molly74660.529175,1411,251175,6721,2551186529916227200 9. Colby62670.481165,7561,285164,7881,2771086428911016410 10. Rob M61790.436177,9481,271183,9171,31411479321212006300 11. Eric54840.391164,0661,189177,8051,288985619614014110 12. Jeff26410.38878,0011,16486,6201,2934725728001000
No. 1 BOB He didn’t three-peat, but he’s still the king of the post-2003 Robioland. He’s tied for first in wins and playoff appearances and third in points. He’s also top three in both 1,000 and 1,250 points games. While he’s failed to win a single scoring title or earn a top seed, he’s the league leader in trips to the semis (7) and of course the only three-time champion since 2003.
No. 2 GRIFF I realized I messed up my math last year and I had Griff too low at the four spot. Anyhow, thanks to that math correction and another solid season in 2012, Griff slides all the way up to number two on the list. He’s first in points scored with a 1,343 ppg average (yes, even above me by four points per game). He’s tied with Bob at 86 wins, tied with Calderon in winning percentage and is first in both 1,000 and 1,250 point games. He’s second in 1,500 games and has produced the second most weekly high scores and third least weekly low scores. In the post-season, he’s tied with Bob, Don and Burrier with eight appearances, tied with me with four title games and earned that one title in 2005.
No. 3 ROBIO With my first post-2003 title, I move past Matt, but allow Griff to steal second. I’m second in both total points and points per game, but just fourth in wins because only Eric and Jeff’s opponents have scored more points since 2003. I’m top three in both 1,000 and 1,250 point games, but I’m first in 1,500-point games and in weekly high scores (21). I’m one of only two people (Molly is the other) who has earned two top seeds and two scoring titles. I’ve only crashed the post-season six times, but when I’m there, I’m solid. I’m second in semi appearances, tied with Griff with four title game trips, earning my first post-2003 title this past season.
No. 4 MATT Matt becomes the first person on the list to sit below .500. He’s fifth in scoring percentage, but only 8th in wins. Again, lay some blame on opponent scoring. Matt’s have scored the fourth most points. He’s tied with Calderon for least amount of weekly low scores (three), but he’s produced just seven weekly high scores, only good enough to top both Vozzola’s and Jeff. However, he does have those two championships, one that featured a top seed and a scoring title.
No. 5 RICH B He’s +5 in the standings (only four people have done better) and is sixth in scoring percentage. He’s just ninth in 1,000-pt games, but is a solid third in 1,500-point games. He’s produced one high seed and is tied with Bob, Don and Griff for most playoff appearances. He’s reached two title games and won it all back in 2003.
No. 6 RICH C I’m itching to put Rich ahead of both Burrier and Matt. Based on regular season performance, he certainly deserves it. Calderon is third in wins, tied for second in winning percentage fourth in points, fourth in 1,000-pt games, fifth in 1,250-pt games, sixth in 1,500-pt games and tied with Matt with the least amount of weekly low scores. He has made seven trips to the post-season, including four to the semis and one title game.
For now, I keep Matt and Burrier ahead. Matt has two titles and is close enough in stats to justify a higher ranking. Burrier’s stats are nearly identical, slightly lower, but with a title. If Calderon won a title tomorrow, he’d jump up to fourth on the list with ease.
No. 7 DON He’s tied for seventh in winning percentage, but is just 10th in scoring average. He’s produced just five weekly high scores, the lowest among teams that have played every season since 2003. His 14 weekly low scores are tied for second most (with Eric). However, he’s got both a top seed and a scoring title, plus an impressive eight playoff trips and two championships.
No. 8 MOLLY She’s sixth in wins and her +8 in the standings is tied for third best with Calderon. However, she’s still just ninth in scoring average. She’s 9th in 1,000-point games, 10th in 1,250-point games and 10th in 1,500-point games. Her nine weekly high scores are third worst in the league. She’s made an impressive seven trips to the post-season, but has reached the semis just twice and hasn’t sniffed the finals in the post-2003 era (she did reach the title game in 2002).
No. 9 COLBY He’s 7th in points per game, but only 9th in winning percentage. Based on his averages (since he’s been in the league one less year), he’s tied with Matt for sixth in 1,000-point games, 10th in 1,250-point games and 9th in 1,500-point games. He’s had more weekly low scores (11) than high’s (9) and he’s never been a top seed. He did win one scoring title and has been to the post-season six times, advancing into the semis four times. He played in one title game, but did not win it.
No. 10 ROB M Masterson came close to passing Colby, but he’s still not quite there yet. He’s 10th in wins and 9th in scoring. In fact, he’s ninth or 10th in just about every category. However, what really doesn’t help is the fact he’s the only person whose opponents average more than 1,300 (1,314 to be exact). He’s crashed the post-season party six times, but Rob is the only non-Jeff veteran to never earn a top seed, never win a scoring title and never appear in a title game.
No. 11 ERIC Mr. Vozzola moves out of last place for the first time ever in Robioland. Thanks to a fantastic 2012, he’s no longer last in winning percentage or points per game. He’s now second to last in 1,000, 1,250 and 1,500-point games. The same holds true in weekly high’s and weekly low’s. He’s only appeared in four playoffs, but he does have one scoring title and one trips to the finals.
No. 12 JEFF It’s official…Greenblatt is the worst. Jeff has appeared in half the seasons as the rest of us (going back just to 2003). So to truly measure him against everyone else, I just doubled all his stats. Yet, by doing that, it just proved that Jeff is last in everything, wins, points, 1,000-pt games, 1,250-pt games, 1,500-pt games, weekly high scores, weekly low scores and playoff appearances. Of course the good thing about being in just half the amount of seasons is, a couple good years could lift you up quickly.
WHO YOU’ll FACE TWICE
We no longer have divisions, which means you play everyone at least once, but two teams twice. CBS is the decider on this one. Who will you face twice?
ROBIO WILL FACE ROB M & MATT TWICE Based on history, I couldn’t ask for better match ups. I’m a combined 20-9 against Rob (11-6) and Matt (9-3). It appears CBS really thinks Masterson and I are a sweet pair. This will be the third straight season we’ve been matched up twice.
GRIFF WILL FACE BOB & COLBY TWICE Griff is 15-11 overall against Bob and Colby, producing winning records against both. Six of these 26 match ups came in the post-season, two of which came in title games. Griff of course lost to Bob in 2004 title game, but then defeated Colby in the 2005 finals.
DON WILL FACE ERIC & JEFF TWICE The elder Vozzola gets to take on the two worst teams (based on career results). He’s just 3-3 lifetime against Jeff, but he’s doubled up his son at 12-6. If he beats Eric in week one, he’ll become the second person to earn 13 wins against a single opponent.
ERIC WILL FACE DON & MOLLY TWICE The younger Vozzola doesn’t have a winning record against most people in this league (in fact, the only person he does have a winning record against is Burrier). However, Don and Molly are two that have been particularly cruel. Eric is just 6-12 against both Don and Molly, although he defeated both last year.
MOLLY WILL FACE RICH B & ERIC TWICE She’s crushed Eric 12-6 in their career, but is even Steven with Burrier at 5-5. However, she’s dropped three of her last four to Eric, but has defeated Rich in three straight games.
RICH B WILL FACE MOLLY & BOB TWICE Burrier is 5-5 against Molly and 5-7 against Bob. Not tragic, but lately, he’s struggled. He’s dropped three straight to Molly and four of five. It’s worst against Bob. He’s dropped six of his last seven, including the 2011 title game.
ROB M WILL FACE ROBIO & RICH C TWICE If history mattered, these are not the two guys Rob would want to face. In fact, Calderon and myself have produced the most wins against Masterson. Against me, Rob is 6-11. Against Calderon, he’s just 3-11. He’s beaten Rich just once since 2006, while he’s turned things around with me, taking two of the last three.
BOB WILL FACE GRIFF & RICH B TWICE Mr. Castrone has a losing record against just two teams in this league and one of them is Griff. He’s 7-8 against man Coomer. He had won three in a row (2010-11), but lost twice to Griff last year. Bob is 7-5 against Burrier. He struggled at first, as Rich won four of the first five between the two, but Bob now owns Burrier, taking six of seven, including the 2011 title game.
RICH C WILL FACE MATT & ROB M TWICE Calderon has owned Rob, taking 11 of 14. For whatever reason, Rob tends to not show up. He’s failed to hit 1,000 five times against Calderon. Against Matt, Rich is 7-7. He’s 7-5 against Neatock in the regular season, but 0-2 in the post-season.
MATT WILL FACE RICH C & ROBIO TWICE Against me, Matt is just 3-9 and has beaten me only once since 2006. Against Calderon, he’s tied 7-7. Matt has never won a playoff game in a season where he has at least one loss to Rich. That means nothing, but I thought it was cool.
COLBY WILL FACE JEFF & GRIFF TWICE He’s 3-1 against Jeff. He lost his first meeting in 2009 against his former partner, but hasn’t lost since. Against Griff, he’s just 4-6 and he hasn’t beaten Griff in the regular season since 2006. However, he did beat him in the first-round of the playoffs in 2011.
JEFF WILL FACE COLBY & DON At least CBS tries to be fair. Jeff, who finished in last place last year, is the only team lucky enough to face two teams twice that failed to qualify for the playoffs last year. He has split six games in his career against Don, but is just 1-3 against his old teammate.
NEW RULES/SCORING CHANGE
Guess what…there are new rules. None. But this is a good time to remind everyone about 2014’s scoring change. Here it is…
– No more (-2) for rushes, receptions and incompletions. – Passing yards are 1 point for 1 yard. Starting in 2014, it wil be 2 points for every three yards – Turnovers were -40, now they will be -30 – Defensive turnovers were -40, they will become -20. – Defensive touchdowns were -60, they will become -40
KEEPERS
Obviously you can see your keeper options on your team page on CBS. You can also see everyone’s keeper options right HERE.
MONEY OWED
This includes the money you’ll owe me for this coming season.
MATT – $450 (He owes for three seasons. Time to pay up) GRIFF – $250 (Owed $250 last year, won $150, but still owes $100 in back fees) BOB – $200 (Never paid last year, but won $100 for reaching semis) JEFF – $150 DON – $150 COLBY – $150 ROB M – $150 MOLLY – $150 RICH B – $150 ERIC – $150
RICH C – Already Paid
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