Empty the Bench

In The Red Corner…

Rushmore Calligraphy (#5 Seed)

- Regular Season Record: 7-6
- Managed By: Inherently Funny
- Got Here By… First defeated the #4 seed (ETB’s site designer, Will Tran) by 20 points, then knocked off the #1 seed by 0.52 points in the semi-final (thanks to Adrian Peterson’s final carry of -2 yards and Westbrook’s decision not to punch that TD in)
- First Five Draft Picks: Peyton Manning, Cedric Benson, Torry Holt, Carnell Williams, Baltimore Ravens DEF

Overview

It’s a minor miracle that Rushmore Calligraphy will compete for the coveted ETB Fantasy Football League Crown this week. As you can see above, no less than three of Rushmore’s top five picks have been major fantasy busts, and you could argue that Manning has not lived up to his lofty draft status either (third overall). Undeterred by rolling with a RB1 last clocked at 13.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash, Rushmore stormed the competition early, getting off to a torrid 5-0 start before hitting a wall and finishing out 2-7. In fact, he came dangerously close to falling right out of the playoffs, period. A timely waiver-wire move (Aaron Stecker) and enlisting two of the top eight fantasy tight ends (Jason Witten, Donald Lee) paid dividends, and he now sits on the verge of securing his very first Yahoo! fantasy title.

A Look at the Lineup for Week 16

Mr. Corporate-Endorsement Shill himself, Peyton Manning, should find the going a little easier this week in a home matchup against Houston, which sports one of the top two NFL secondaries in the state of Texas. The minimum projection for Manning has to be around 250 yards and 2 TDs. Pairing his WR1, Torry Holt, with his teammate Isaac Bruce ensures Rushmore locks up 90%+ of all fantasy points for Rams wideouts, but the Steelers have the league’s third-best pass defense in terms of yards allowed (174.6). We don’t feel too good about his WR3, Chris Chambers, against Denver.

Rushmore faces somewhat of a crap shoot with his running backs. Kevin Jones has the talent to be a solid RB2, but unfortunately he’s directly tied to the incomprehensible whims of OC Mike Martz, who could feed him anywhere between 3 - 25 carries. And right now, the Lions offense just isn’t clicking and the team has pretty much packed it in after losing six straight. Aaron Stecker has done a fantastic job filling in for the injured Reggie Bush, and could be in line for the 20ish carries and 3 - 5 catches out of the backfield he’s gotten over the past two weeks. The key word is “could,” as HC Sean Payton thinks Bush might be available against Philadelphia (we have our doubts).

Jason Witten is the best tight end in the NFC this season and should be good for at least 5 receptions, 65 yards, and a possible score (or two). For his two flex spots, Rushmore will start another tight end, Donald Lee, who almost always catches at least three passes and is an every-week threat to score. Lee draws a thoroughly mediocre Bears defense that has little more to play for than pride. The other spot goes to Deion Branch, who caught 8 passes last week has scored 3 TDs in the past four games. He’ll face the Ravens, who as we’ve been saying for a couple weeks now have quit on their season and will likely offer little resistance to the top-tier Seahawks pass attack. Rushmore’s team defense, the Dallas Cowboys, are a solid if unspectacular start on the road against the quarterback-less Carolina Panthers.

And In The Blue Corner…

The Ghosts (#2 Seed)

- Regular Season Record: 11-2
- Managed By: The Ghosts of Wayne Fontes
- Got Here By… First round bye; Somehow survived Tony Romo’s 0.73 effort last week thanks to 23.50 points from the Tampa Bay Bucs DEF to defeat the #6 seed by 28 points.
- First Five Draft Picks: Frank Gore, Stevonne Smith, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Marshawn Lynch, Julius Jones

Overview

The Ghosts pretty much cruised through the regular season, with the only two blemishes on his record coming at the hands of ETB’s very own Andrew Thell and… his opponent in the title match, Rushmore Calligraphy, who won by nearly 22 points in their Week 5 head-to-head matchup. If The Ghosts hope to enact a measure of sweet, sweet revenge this week, he’ll need a better effort from Tony Romo and to capitalize on his significant advantage at running back. While The Ghosts competes for the ETB title this weekend, over in his league, The Blogger Invitational, team Empty the Bench will be vying for a championship as well. An even trade it would be.

A Look at the Lineup for Week 16

ETB’s scoring format doesn’t weigh as heavily towards quarterbacks as many leagues do, but that doesn’t mean The Ghosts can afford another wretched performance from Tony Romo to win. Manning is a near lock to earn a minimum of 15 points and quite possibly more, and given Romo’s recent struggles and wobbly thumb, this could be a matchup that swings in favor of Rushmore. Then again, there are plenty of weapons in the Dallas passing attack and Romo could get back on track against a middle-of-the-pack Panthers secondary.

If Stevonne Smith had a legitimate quarterback, The Ghosts could win the title strictly because of the strength at wide receiver. As it is, Smith isn’t a shabby WR3 having caught at least 6 passes in each of his past four games. The yardage and touchdowns aren’t there, but we are a PPR league. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has cooled considerably since setting the field on fire in the first half of the season, but that has as much to do with sub-par play from Carson Palmer as it does with T.J. Named this week to the Pro Bowl and fresh off setting the Bungles all-time record for most receptions in a season (101), he’ll face the Browns, whom he torched for 8 catches, 69 yards, and 2 TDs back in Week 2. If you’ve been keeping up on ETB’s fantasy football coverage all season long, you know that Brandon Marshall holds a special place in our collective heart. “Baby T.O.” has been a beast over the past two weeks, racking up 21 catches for 222 yards and 2 TDs combined. Rookie wideout stud Dwayne Bowe gets the nod as his W/T flex play and could easily exceed 100 yards receiving and find the endzone against the sorry, pathetic, miserable quitters on the Detroit Lions. (Sorry, it had to be said.)

Of The Ghosts’ three starting running backs, Ryan Grant of the Green Bay Packers probably has the best matchup, at Chicago, though for some reason I have a feeling he could be held in check. Believe me, I know the Bears defense is far from special, but I don’t expect huge things for some reason. Frank Gore might have trouble finding much running room against the bruising Tampa Bay Bucs, who have no reason to respect the passing game with Shaun Hill back there trying to look like a real-life NFL quarterback. He is not one. Rookie Marshawn Lynch could be the saving grace here. He looks to be as close to full speed as a RB can get at this point in the season, and should be in line for over 20 carries against the Giants, who are pretty solid against the run but do give up big plays from time to time.

Back in Week 2, Kellen Winslow Jr. went off on the Bungles to the tune of 6 catches, 100 yards, and a score. Cincinnati seems incapable of stopping anybody, and Winslow should have an extra skip in his step after being denied his first Pro Bowl (named as an alternate). The Ghosts start the Tampa Bay Bucs DEF–they will inflict significant bodily harm on Hill that should result in a few turnovers. Last week they embarassed the Falcons, whose offense is on par with San Francisco’s. Tampa Bay is ranked second overall in the Week 16 Position Ranks.

Prediction

As the underdog in both of his fantasy playoff matches, Rushmore Calligraphy had had a steep mountain to climb to get here, and for that we offer him a sincere Empty the Bench salute. From our view, however, it looks like he’ll be adding another silver medal to his Yahoo! fantasy sports profile, not his first gold. It’s going to be decided by less than 10 points, but The Ghosts’ stronger stable of running backs (Ryan Grant, Marshawn Lynch, Frank Gore) coupled with two guys who should catch a lot of passes (T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Brandon Marshall) will prove to be the difference. Take solace, Rushmore–you still got your funny animals link out of it.