Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Regular Season All-Time: Owner

With a revamped -- and sortable -- historical spreadsheet, we can now easily parse out data from the last fifteen years of Maize and Blue. Fifteen years! Let's take a look at who the best regular season owners have been:


And below is by franchise, discounting ownership changes:

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

2019 West / White: The Big House

No draft review, no keeper core rankings, I’ve been negligent on all things MnB! I mean, aside from quitting. The real reason for all the delay is a writing deadline but damn the torpedos, let’s get a quick in-season look at some of the teams at least. We’ll start with a peak into The Big House, which has all four teams riding high at 2-1 for the season. [ 2018 Preview ]

Team Name, Current Record (Past two regular season)

MoRRie’s Pogiboys, 2-1 (10-3, 9-4)
Already in familiar territory, Pogiboys are leading the league with 115.7 points per game —outpacing the 107.0 points they put up last regular season, which was the best PF in the past five years — and could possibly be headed toward a fourth straight division title. But who cares about division titles?!? Certainly not Alvin. After making another Super Bowl appearance last season, the Pogis were upset in the big game and are still looking for a ring. Sigh…

The Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce connection will keep the fans thrilled, and having Nick Chubb solidify himself as a top ten runner has been a delight for a team that's needed a lead RB for awhile. Add in DeAndre Hopkins, the surprising Chris Godwin, and 2019 RD1.15 Curtis Samuel to give Mahomes even more targets to throw to and Pogis are stacked. In addition, the Patriots defense is the best in the fantasy so far and there's really no sign of any slowing down for them, or for Pogis. It’ll be a long few months ahead -- especially for any UMich fans, ahem -- but Alvin should already have his sights onto what he can do to finally capture that elusive championship.

The Autumn Wind, 2-1 (6-7, 7-6)
Our newest owner has hit the ground running and has already proven his bonafides, averaging a sterling 112.8 points per game, good for second in the league. Could it be possible that Aaron will challenge for a division title in his first year out, with an inherited roster that he’s barely had time to tweak? How far can The Autumn Wind get in their first go-around in MnB?

Dalvin Cook has emerged early on as the best fantasy running back around, while quarterback Dak Prescott has been incredible while playing for a contract. It looks like passing on Kyler Murray was the right choice here, even as 2019 number one overall pick Josh Jacobs has dipped after his historic opening game. If Jacobs can prove himself again soon, he and Cook will form a formidable one-two punch — even as Todd Gurley seems to be very limited in his playing time so far.

Meanwhile, on the receivers end, Larry Fitzgerald has rejuvenated himself under Murray’s arm while Calvin Ridley has been good to start off the year. Darren Waller was the second tight end Aaron drafted at RD5.7 but so far he’s been the best option here, especially after a huge WK3 that pushed him up to a top five TE ranking. This all sounds quite solid and we predict smooth sailing ahead for TAW.

Ann Arbor Bamfers, 2-1 (6-7, 7-6)
The Bamfers are coming off their third straight playoff appearance and have solidified themselves as the second best team in the division over the past three seasons. After years of futility and one of the worst all-time franchise records in MnB history, Randy’s team is now ready to take the next step and get a playoff win, which they haven’t done since 2012. They’ve been ousted in the first round each of the past three seasons — by Pogiboys, Pogiboys, and Grrrrrific — and will look for some postseason success now that they’ve stabilized their regular seasons. Note: A thrilling 96.5 to 95.0 win in WK1 was a super way to start off their year!

Draft pick 3.9 Mark Andrews has been the second best tight end on this young season, and heck, Austin Hooper has been the sixth best at that position as well, which gives Bamfers a stellar TE duo. Throw in receivers Tyrell Williams and Marvin Jones Jr. doing a few nice things — plus the eventual return of Golden Tate from suspension — and the passing attack is in pretty decent hands too, as piloted by Philip Rivers.

The problem is that there’s no real run game here, with not much hope on the way. Melvin Gordon continues to hold out and sophomore Sony Michel was recently called “the worst starting runner back” in the league by none other than Bill Simmons. So yeah, Gordon is going to have to come back quickly if Bamfers want to elevate themselves to the next level. For now, they’re averaging a respectable 82.6 points and are near even for PA/PF, which should help them get into another postseason!

Team Cameltoe, 2-1 (7-6, 6-7)
After two lower scoring games to open the season at 1-1, Cameltoe went over a hundred points last week to take down Pogiboys, which had to feel great for Felipe as Pogi had eliminated them last year in the opening round of the playoffs. After a five and six win season, last year’s 7-6 record and postseason appearance was still a successful one for Cameltoe, and they look like they’ll be slugging it out with everyone else in the division for another playoff showing. Currently they’re averaging a respectable 83.0 points, outscoring opponents by a PA of ten per game.

Julio Jones just signed a huge guaranteed deal and is now adding plenty of touchdowns to his stat line. He's been the leader of a talented Cameltoe receiving corps that includes keeper Christian Kirk, 2019 RD2.10 Courtland Sutton, and the still fast RD6.10 DeSean Jackson. That should give Jared Goff enough targets on the season, even if Goff has yet to really show what he’s capable of, as he’s barely playing better than backup Derek Carr.

Running back Mark Ingram has been incredible as he’s averaged 21.0 ppg and is the fourth best RB so far. Add in Marlon Mack doing top-seven RB things and the ground game for Cameltoe is looking fantastic. Tyler Eifert continues to be a tease, as does Trey Burton, but a few points here and there may not matter at the tight end position. It’s an ultra-tough Big House division this season, but as Felipe has already proven by toppling Pogiboys early on: anyone can take it!

Friday, September 20, 2019

Franchise ID Numbers

For the purposes of historical tracking, which I'll be working on over the next few weeks/months, every franchise now has a "franchise ID," prioritized by conference, division, owner start year, and owner alphabetical order.

Each franchise ID number stays with the franchise through all ownership handovers, thus making it easier to keep track for spreadsheets, and to dig up historical numbers. For example, the West conference only has five titles to the East's ten! More goodies to come...

East / Blue
1. Brian
2. Jose / Jayvee
3. Porta
4. Hong / Eric

East / Gold
5. Matt
6. Mike
7. Alan
8. Dave

West / Red
9. Chris
10. Oliver
11. Paolo
12. Donny

West / White
13. Alvin
14. Randy
15. Felipe
16. Aaron