GWBL - 2021 Season Recaps - 9th Place - Kev
9th Place: How I Metcalf Your Mother - Kev O - 4-10 record, 1,550 points (last):
What Went Right:
As with our 10th place team there isn’t much to pick from here. Aaron Jones (1st round) was a solid RB for Kev all year and has averaged 16 points per game. He’s had 5 games with 20+ and was one of the better players on Kev’s team.
I’ll also mention the second half of Kev’s season - a 7 game stretch where he went 4-3. Even though he was 0-7 heading into the second half, he didn’t quit on his team. He buckled down, set his lineups and won more than he lost the rest of the way. In doing so he avoided the Gabriel distinction - a distinction Kev has never earned. (That’s a victory in itself I say.)
He also got the league high score in Week 14 so that’s nice. $10 back in the pocket.
What Went Wrong:
While not as disastrous as Frader’s, Kev’s roster had quite a few defects that caused this catastrophic failure of a season:
DK Metcalf has largely been a bust and is WR22 on the year. Russel Wilson’s injury and his own inconsistent performance were the main factors there.
George Kittle missed 4 games including his bye - 3 of those 4 weeks were losses for Kev.
Amari Cooper (4th round) was a bust and is WR27. He had a covid stint and dealt with some injuries.
Julio Jones (5th round) was a bust, WR100 on the season. Injury prone and will possibly retire this offseason.
Jerry - 0 points in round 1 of the playoffs - Jeudy was a bum as well. He’s WR96 and has been injured, inconsistent and underutilized the whole season.
Devonta Smith - 8th round, has 5 or fewer points in 7 games this season.
Normally I would go with a crying Jordan meme here, but given his team name we’ll go with a crying Ted Mosby.
Best Owner Move:
Justin Herbert in the 7th round was a great pick. He was the 8th QB taken and is QB2 in our scoring. He’s really taken a step forward in his 2nd year and looks like he’ll be a stud in the league for a while.
James Conner in the 9th round was another good draft pick by Kev. He’s RB6 on the season and a big reason for Kev’s second half surge. He put up 10+ points in 12 of 14 games and put up 20+ points 6 separate times.
Worst Owner Move:
Hindsight is 20/20, but Kev’s approach in the draft was …. interesting. He only drafted 1 RB in his first 8 picks and the WRs he chose were suspect. Amari Cooper (4th) is always hurt/inconsistent, while Julio Jones (5th) was a head scratcher. That’s the highest I saw him drafted in any league I’m in (5, yes 5 leagues). Jerry Jeudy in the 6th was defensible given the offseason hype, but he had QB questions and competition (Sutton, Fant, etc). Devonta Smith in the 8th wasn’t bad, but Kev had already drafted 4 WRs at that point and Smith was his 5th. Seemed like a hat on a hat at the time and he proved to be a disappointing pick (WR30).
ESPN Projection:
ESPN ranked Kev as the 10th best team after the draft, but he eclipsed their projection and finished 9th. Not bad ESPN, 2 for 2.
Final Thoughts:
It’s been an unfortunate turn of events for Kev in the GWBL. Last year he was the #1 seed and had the best team, but he got boned in the finals and lost to an inferior squad (sorry Kev). While he didn’t reach the pinnacle, it seemed like he had established himself as a contender. Unfortunately things returned to normal this year and Kev got boned. Oh well, at least he’s not the Gabriel.
