Steven Jackson was the man! No player had a bigger impact on the greatest weekend of Robioland Football.
Bob, Rob M, Rich B, Matt, Colby, Griff, Molly and Don produce the greatest weekend ever in the 2011 Quarterfinals
You know, we all should have seen it coming. Heading into the first weekend of playoff football, any smart fantasy football fan would have smelled the greatness coming from a mile away. There were just too many great story lines.
In the 2011 Quarterfinals, we had two teams (Molly and Masterson) who both averaged over 1,500 points per game, the second and third most points scored by a team in the regular season. Molly alone had become just the fifth team to earn both the top seed and scoring title in the same season. She did it despite losing three elite players (Britt, Best and Austin) for nearly the entire season.
For Rob, after years of frustration, he finally had a championship caliber team at the end of the season and not just at the beginning. Wanting this title so badly, he sent Carolina’s Steve Smith, one of the best receivers and keepers heading into 2012, to last place Eric for top-pick and suddenly hot, Chris Johnson (Note: there were other parts of the trade too).
One spot below at the #3 seed there was Burrier, the man who had not won a playoff game in eight years. A division winner who had dropped five of six games heading into the post-season. Yet, he had also scored 1,623 and 1,782 points in his previous two games (the latter score was in defeat). Want more? How about the fact that Rich was starting the exact same roster he started in week one…something that had never been done before.
In the fourth spot there was Griff. A man who overcame the devastating loss of Jamaal Charles (a top-five back) to somehow win nine games. In fact, he was one of the hottest team in football, riding a five-game winning streak. His final win was a record breaking 2,155-1,795 win over Molly. First, the 2,155 points was a career high for Griff and (at that moment) was the 8th most points scored in a game. Second, Griff’s and Molly’s 3,950 was the most combined points scored in a game, breaking a record that stood for eight years.
Griff’s first-round opponent would be Colby, the other hot team coming in. Colby started his season off at 2-6, but thanks to some key free agent pick ups (L. Robinson) and a trade that landed him Tom Brady and a suddenly stud-like Antonio Brown, he had also won five in a row. It would be the first time in league history two teams riding five-game winning streaks would face off in the first-round of the post-season.
At the sixth seed sat my preseason favorite, Matt Neatock. Despite having one of the most complete teams, a team that finished third in scoring, Matt struggled to find wins (his opponents were third in scoring). In fact, Matt didn’t even qualify for a playoff spot until late Monday night. He trailed Burrier after Sunday by 302 points. He had Maurice Jones-Drew, who was on his way to earning the rushing title, yet he had never scored 302 points in a game this season. Well, you’ll never guess what he did Monday night. Yes, he did (quite easily in fact) and Matt got himself into the post-season in a re-match with Rich Burrier again. It was the first time in league history two teams who faced off in week 13, would face off again the the quarterfinals.
In the seven spot we had Bob, the defending champ. Like Colby and Matt above him, Bob rallied late in the season to get back into the post-season. He was 4-7 just two weeks early. He beat Don in week 12, but in the final week the only way in was to beat me, plus have two other teams lose (out of Jeff, Matt and Calderon). Well, Bob won and Jeff and Calderon lost and the defending champ was given a chance to defend that title.
In the final playoff spot, Don too had rallied from a rough start. He was just 2-5 after seven weeks, but won four straight. Sure he lost his final two games and was going to have to face Molly, but this was a guy who just knew how to win as a late seed. He was 7-2 as the 7th seed or below. In fact, he was 2-0 against Molly in the post-season, beating the #2 seed Molly in the 2006 quarters and then two years later he took care of business against the #1 seed Molly. In both those seasons, Don won the title.
Yes, that’s how exciting this weekend was going to be. I haven’t even begun to write about the games and I feel like I’ve already written a novel. So let’s get to those games. To tackle the scope of the four quarterfinals games, let’s just take them one at at time…starting with the least thrilling of the four.
#5 QUARTER POUNDERS (COLBY) OVER #4 THE GRIFFTERS, 2,197-1,227 This game wasn’t even close, but it still had plenty of great elements, including a top-1o scoring output. Colby got 812 points from his two players he received in the Bob trade (Brady: 460, Brown: 352). He also got 326 points from Laurent Robinson, a mid-season free agent pick up. If you add in free agent kicker Dan Bailey’s 110 points, Colby’s four players he didn’t have on opening day beat Griff alone, 1,248-1,227. In the end, it was a Bailey missed field goal Sunday night that kept Colby from having the fifth highest scoring game over. In the end, he had to settle for the 7th best game ever (and the third most points scored in a playoff game).
#8 GATOR NATION (DON) OVER #1 MOLLIPOP (MOLLY), 1,399-1,344 This one was technically not over until Monday night, as Molly trailed Don by 325, but she had the Chargers D that night. In the end, they performed well, scoring 270 points, but it would not be enough. She would lose by just 55 points, yet that really wasn’t the story. The fact was, no matter what Don did, there was no way his quarterback, Matt Ryan, could keep up statistically with Molly’s MVP quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. I mean, Rodgers had averaged over 200 more points per game than Ryan. Yet, the world was shocked when Matt Ryan out-scored Aaron Rodgers, 492-300. That was the difference in the game and just like that, the second greatest team in league history (based on regular season points) couldn’t escape the first-round. Molly fell to 0-3 against Don in the post-season. In all three defeats, she was either the #1 seed (twice) or the #2 seed.
Yes, this is the actual touchdown that ended Neatock’s season.
#3 TEAM 6 (RICH B) OVER #6 VICK IN WHITE (MATT), 1,760-1,617 A week after Rich and Matt combined to score 3,646 points, the pair was at it again. After Sunday afternoon games, the two were locked in another high scoring affair. Heading into the Sunday night game featuring the NY Giants and Dallas Cowboys, Matt had a slim lead, 1,617-1,602. However, Burrier had Dez Bryant left to play. This one should have been extremely easy. Even though Bryant had been inconsistent all year long, there was no way he wasn’t going to score 15 point. That’s basically an eight-yard reception (with no fumbles).
Well, the first quarter went by, no receptions. The second quarter went by, again no catches. Rich was starting to sweat. The third quarter went by and guess what? No receptions by Bryant. The fourth quarter began, five minutes in, no receptions. Wow. Five minutes later, no receptions. Shit.
With just under five minutes to play, the Cowboys had the ball, but they had the lead, they were going to sit on it, right? Not so much. Tony Romo threw a pass deep down the sideline, Bryant snagged it for a 50-yard touchdown. Ball game. It was his only reception of the game.
#7 WILDCARD BITCHES! (BOB) OVER #2 RICE, RICE BABY (ROB M), 1,625-1,623. Now this was a game. A lot of things went right for Rob on Sunday. Tony Romo outplayed Cam Newton, Ray Rice had a solid 249 points, Marques Colston and Roddy White combined to score over 500 points. Yet, Bob kept it close, thanks to Newton’s 304 and three players breaking 200. However, heading into Monday night, Rob appeared to have a comfortable 258-point lead over the defending champ. Yes, Bob had Steven Jackson (a RB he landed just prior to the trading deadline), but Jackson had yet to score 258 points in any game this season.
Against the Seahawks, things looked bad for Bob. Jackson got a respectable 40 points in the first quarter, but the Rams were down 10-0 after 15 minutes of football. If they fell down too far, they certainly wouldn’t be running the ball a lot. In the second quarter, the Rams made a concentrated effort to get Jackson the ball. On their first drive in the second period he got four touches, producing 28 fantasy points. However, he would only finish with 34 total. After a half of football, the Rams trailed 10-3 and Jackson had just 68 points, 191 short of what he needed to beat Rob.
The second half would look even worse, that is until the five-minute mark when Jackson would turn a Bradford screen pass into a 50-yard gain. Sadly, Bob would only get six more fantasy points that quarter. Still, heading into the fourth quarterback, Bob now trailed Rob by just 87 points. What was needed was a touchdown, but the Rams never sniffed the end zone, trailing 20-6.
In the fourth and final quarter, the Rams didn’t even get the ball until the 8:27 mark, but Bob had to shit himself as Cadillac Williams came into the game. Were the Rams sitting Jackson, down 23-6? With Williams in the game the Rams drove all the way down the field to the one. However, at first and goal, Jackson was still on the bench. Here is how the sequence played out.
1st and 1 at Sea 1 — C. Williams run, no gain. 2nd and 1 at Sea 1 — S. Bradford sneak, no gain. 3rd and 1 at Sea 1 — Still no Jackson. Bradford passes, incomplete. The Rams need two touchdowns and a field goal, so they must kick it, right? No wait…defensive holding. The Rams got first and goal again. Williams goes out, in comes Jackson. Bob squirts himself.
1st and 1 at Sea 1 — No!!! They don’t run it with Jackson. Bradford attempts a pass, but incomplete. Rob punches his wife. 2nd and 1 at Sea 1 — Again, no run!!! Bradford attempts pass, again incomplete. WTF? Rob punches his daughter. 3rd and 1 at Sea 1 — On their seventh attempt at the one yard line, the Rams finally hand it off to Steven Jackson, touchdown!
Bob jumps for joy, Rob collapses in horror, but still…Masterson remains in the lead. Bob still trails by 20 with about four and a half to play. The Seahawks have the ball, a 10-point lead and one of the best bruising backs in football. The Rams and Jackson may never see the ball again. Well, the Rams first try an onsides kick and it fails, but it gives the Hawks a short field. Lynch proves to be too effective as it only takes six plays before he scores a touchdown.
This gives the Rams, Jackson and Bob one last hope. With 2:57, the Rams actually run Jackson, but he gains one-yard. No fantasy points. Then they attempt three straight passes, completing two of them. The clock is running down. There is about ninety seconds to go. Then it happens.
Bradford throws a screen pass to Jackson, who takes it 13 yards. The fantasy world is stunned. Bob has taken a four-point lead.
The following play, Bradford gets sacked for 11 yards. There is no way Jackson is getting the ball…wait, they hand it off with under a minute to play, he’s stuffed for…what is it…every yard counts…no gain. Minus two points. It’s a two-point lead. One more play like that and the game is tied, which means Rob (the higher seed) wins.
But what’s this? It can’t be…the Rams yank Steven Jackson out of the game. In comes Cadillac Williams. He takes the last two carries and the game is over. Bob rallies from 258 down as Steven Jackson has his best game of the year (260), handing Bob the stunning 2-point win.
While bob celebrated the fact that a RB, who he traded for just prior to the trade deadline, saved his season, Rob thought about hanging himself because of a similar decision. Remember, right before the deadline, Masterson traded Steve Smith (along with a couple of other parts) for running back Chris Johnson. In the quarterfinals, Johnson struggled, scoring just 100 fantasy points. If Rob would have just kept Smith and gone three-wide, he would have enjoyed Smith’s 238 points in week fourteen…more than enough to earn the win.
In conclusion, this weekend was the greatest weekend of Robioland football; four games that featured a great upset, a stunning scoring title, a last minute win and a last second heartbreaking defeat. In fact, here are the stats from this weekend that found its way onto the playoff record books:
1. Most 1,600-pt games in one week…three teams broke 1,600, one broke 1,700 and one broke 2,100. That’s six in total who broke 1,600. The previous record was three in 2009 and 2010.
2. Most points scored in a playoff defeat. Masterson’s 1,623 points was the most points scored without a win in the post-season. Matt’s 1,617 was the second most in playoff history.
3. Bob beat Rob by two points. That’s the closest game in league playoff history.
4. The four quarterfinals teams scored a total of 12,792, an average of 1,599. The most in league history. Every team scored at least 1,200 points.
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