GWBL - 2021 Season Recaps - 3rd Place
3rd Place: Trey Squared - Keetz - 9-5 record, 1,730 points (3rd)
What Went Right:
Starting at the top - points against. Keetz had the 2nd fewest points against, with just 1542. Him and Tieg were so far below the rest of the pack in points against that it wasn’t really fair during the regular season. The 3rd fewest points against belonged to Lamone with 1677, around 135 total points more than Keetz or close to 10 per week. 1542 points against only comes out to 110 per week, well below the league average.
There’s not much Keetz could do about that one, his opponents just stalled out sometimes. 5 of his 9 wins in particular came when his opponents scored 65, 58, 82, 73 and 102.
His Week 1 playoff matchup was a cakewalk and he escaped with a victory despite only scoring 106 points. Robby D’s team only managed 96 in Week 15, which was widely assumed to be the worst fantasy week of the year. The 96 Rob D put up was his lowest since Week 9, six weeks earlier.
I’ll round this out by mentioning some things Keetz did control - namely his draft picks:
Keenan Allen (4th round) and Tyler Lockett (5th round). Allen is WR13 and had a great season with Justin Herbert, while Lockett is WR12 and is coming off a career year. They weren’t sexy picks on draft day, but these two really carried Keetz’ team.
Nick Chubb (1st round) was solid for Keetz and he’s RB8 on the season. He missed a few games, but ultimately had a good season - averaging 19 points per game.
Last but not least was Najee Harris - Keetz second round pick. It’s always a little risky to spend early picks on young players, but Keetz didn’t hesitate and Najee didn’t disappoint. The Steelers rookie is RB3 on the season and totaled 1,600 yards and 10TDs. He had 74 catches which is insane for an RB, never mind a rookie. He also had a huge performance in the 3rd place game on Monday Night Football. Must have been fun to watch him rip that 30 yard TD in garbage time. Damnit.
What Went Wrong:
Clyde Edwards Helaire (3rd round) was a bust and is RB40. I just don’t think he’s cut out to be a starting RB in the NFL given his size but who knows. It’ll be interesting to see where he’s drafted next year.
Brandon Aiyuk (6th round) was a bust for much of the year. He picked it up late, but by then he was on my team.
TJ Hockenson’s injury didn’t help either. He was playing pretty well and averaging close to 10 per game, but he got hurt and missed the last 5 weeks of the season.
Aside from that it’s the playoff loss to Tieg in the semi finals. Keetz team performed poorly and put up 100, while Tieg went off for 152. I mentioned Keenan Allen and Tyler Lockett earlier….. but I might take that back because those 2 only combined for 10 points in this loss. Matthew Stafford also sucked - he scored just 8 points in a game he threw 3 picks. Tieg got 23 points from his defense and it was curtains on Keetz’s season. Just a bad time for his team to shit the bed.
Best Owner Move:
Adding Michael Pittman for $1 on Sept 8th was a great move. He’s WR18 on the season and looks to be a legitimate #1 NFL receiver.
Keetz had added Dernest Johnson and started him for that absurd Thursday Night game he had in Week 7. The relative unknown player rushed 22 times for 146 yards and a TD on his way to 32 fantasy points.
Adding Pat Friermuth was another solid FA pick. Hockenson got hurt and he needed a new TE.
Worst Owner Move:
I didn’t see this until just now….. but Keetz owned Justin Jackson as of December 23rd. Justin Jackson probably sounds familiar because Dylan picked him up 3 days later and started him against me in the semi finals. So not only did Keetz screw his own team by releasing Jackson and starting Clyde Edwards Helaire in the flex, but he arguably cost me my season as well (Helaire had 11 points, so he lost 21 points). Before taking the 3rd place finish and 100 bills from me. Thanks Keetz.
ESPN Projections:
Projected to finish 7th so ESPN got this one wrong. 5 for 8 ESPN.
Final Thoughts:
A chalk season for Keetz in this league - solid performance, active management, playoff result, top 4 finish. There aren’t too many constants in fantasy football, but Keetz making the playoffs in this league is one of them. I think we’ve been doing this league for 10-12 years and I’d be shocked if Keetz missed the playoffs more than 1-2 times (I know he did finish as Gabriel one year, but aside from that I’m not sure if he missed any years). In any case, a job well done and a 3rd place finish.
Oh yeah - congrats on the new baby, huge news there. Good luck and best wishes to the family.
