OBITUARIES - 7TH PLACE

7TH PLACE

Team/Record/Owner:

Finishing in 7th place with a 6-7 record and 1,496.8 points for (8th most) is The GOAT and His Kids owned by Kevin O’Connell.

What Went Right:

The first 8 weeks of the season went pretty well for Kev. He started out the season 2-0 and averaged 147 points per week. While he dropped 3 of his next 5, he still came out of Week 8 with a 5-3 record and was firmly in the playoff hunt. He was averaging nearly 130 points per game and everyone thought this could be the year he’d make a deep playoff run.

His team was getting great performances from James Conner (RB1 through 8 weeks), AJ Green (top 15 WR), Mike Evans (Top 15 WR) and Jarvis Landry (top 20 WR at the time). Marshawn Lynch was having a good year as well, averaging more than 15 points per game.

He hit the apex in Week 8, when he scored 142 in win over Keetz. This would be Kev’s second highest output of the year and gave Keetz a 3-5 record. It seemed like he had ensured a playoff run while simultaneously eliminating the reigning champ. Everything was gravy.

What Went Wrong:

I won’t bury the lead here – Le’Veon Bell really hurt Kev. For the first time in our league’s history, Kev had a top 3 pick. Todd Gurley went off the board at #1 and Kev was happy to take Bell at #2. We all know how that went, as Bell sat out the entire season in one of the most unprecedented and selfish moves we’ve ever seen in the NFL. Not only did Bell forfeit around 12 million dollars this year, he also robbed Kev of his 1st round pick while also jamming up a roster spot this season.

Aside from that, the last 5 weeks of the season were an unmitigated disaster for Kev and he saw his team go 1-4 during that time. Go 2-3 and he makes the playoffs, but go 1-4 and miss it by 1 game.

Part of it was injuries to Marshawn Lynch and AJ Green. Marshawn Lynch was averaging 15 points a week through the first 6 games. Kev’s 6th round pick was returning 3rd round value, but he hurt his groin and didn’t play another game for the rest of the season. AJ Green was another key contributor who got hurt during the year. Through 8 weeks, he was averaging 16 points per game and was a top 20 WR. Since Week 8 he’s played in just 1 game and has 1 catch for 7 yards. Despite missing all that time he’s still WR31, which shows how well he was playing before the injury.

Injuries were a problem, but Kev’s team just shit the bed in those last 5 weeks. From Weeks 9 through 13, his highest score was 114.5 and he failed to top 90 points in 3 separate games. All in all he averaged about 93 points per week in that 5 game stretch. The average team scored 126 per week this year, so Kev was really struggling. It seems like it was a result of all of his good players playing poorly. TB12, Jarvis Landry, Alshon Jeffery and Mark Ingram all played below their expected level during this time.

Best Owner Move:

The best owner move was drafting James Conner with the 142nd pick in our draft (round 15). Kev wisely handcuffed his first round pick and it was the best handcuff these eyes have ever seen. While he’s missed the last two games, Conner still ranks as RB6 on the season and averages more than 21 points per game. He’s rushed 201 times for 909 yards, caught 52 passes for 467 yards and has 13 total TDs. In terms of fantasy, he put up 15 or more points in 9 of the 12 games he played. He also had some huge games, going for 30 or more in 5 of 12 games.

Worst Owner Move:

Tom Brady in the 4th round was Kev’s worst draft pick of the year. Gronk almost retired during the offseason, Brandin Cooks was gone and Julian Edelman was suspended for the first 4 games of the season. There were a number of warning signs, but Kev ignored them all and went with the homer pick. It’s gone poorly for him as TB12 is QB13 as of press time. He’s on pace for his lowest touchdown total since 2013 and only has 2 multi touchdown games in his last 7 tries. Tom only has 2 games with over 30 points this year while tallying 2 games with under 10 points. #1 in our hearts, #12 in our programs, but #13 in fantasy.

The other worst move was a trade he made. On Friday, November 2nd Kev traded Amari Cooper for Evan Engram. This was right after Week 8 and Evan Engram was coming off of an 11 point performance. Cooper had been traded to the Cowboys and was coming off a bye. TE is a wasteland, so I can’t blame him for trying to upgrade the position. Unfortunately for Kev, he gave up one of the best WRs in football over the last 7 weeks of the season.

Since the trade, Evan Engram had a bye, missed 2 games with injury and combined for 35 points in his 4 other games. Meanwhile, Amari Cooper has scored 131.7 fantasy points over 7 games (average of 18.8). Obviously no one could have predicted Cooper’s breakout, but damn this was a bad trade in hindsight. Kev really could have used another WR after AJ Green went down…… sadly that WR was playing for Ken’s team.

Draft Recap/Prediction:

“Kev will finish 7-6 and lose in the first round of the playoffs. While I love his team, Kev has yet to get any luck in this league. On paper he could definitely win, but he does have some question marks on the roster (Bell’s durability, Lynch’s age, Ingram’s role when he returns, Alshon Injury, TB12’s weapons, etc etc etc).”

Yikes, another miss here I am not doing well on these recaps. I was only 1 game off on the record and that was the difference between the playoffs and a 7th place finish. I actually pointed out some of his issues though, so it wasn’t a horrible prediction. I’m going to stop keeping track though, I clearly didn’t do well on these predictions.

Applicable Quote:

“Worse?!?! How can things get any worse?!? Take a look around you Ellen! We’re at the threshold of Hell!!”

Obviously this is a quote from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It’s when Clark Griswold is about to give up all hope and is in the middle of a meltdown. This is fitting for Kev’s last few years in this league, culminated by this season. Worse?!? How can things get any worse?!?

Final Thoughts:

You gotta feel bad for Kev – yet again. Year in and year out he brings his best to the draft and comes in with enthusiasm. Year in and year out he’s kicked in the nuts by the fantasy gods. By my count Kev has missed the playoffs in 4 straight seasons, which is the longest active streak of any team. Regardless of what happens in the finals this year, I think we’re all rooting for Kev next year.