Another year of many disappointments was 2017 for me, especially since my old rival Klent eliminated me in round two of the playoffs on his way to a second career championship. Our draft day has come and gone, and the NFL kicks off on Thursday. Will Klent be the first back to back champion in league history? Probably. What do I know about winning anyway?
Here is my analysis for 2018:
First, I’m doing to ditch the format I was using. I honestly can’t decide who I think is in the top three. I believe that almost everyone is a wild card this year and no particular team stands out as a super team to me at this point. I will touch on a few teams that have certain features that I like (or don’t) instead…
Andwise Puddifoot (Jake Thompson)
I’m going to borrow from Lil’ Jon here…BACKS! BACKS! BACKS BACKS BACKBACKS! Jake’s got them and you probably don’t. Zeke’s been like a son to Jake, according to Jake himself, and the combination of David Johnson, though coming off of a serious injury, gives him an advantage. He also has a nice combination of receivers that will compliment his strong backfield. I think Jake will go somewhere around 9-4, unless he gets beat by the schedule again this year.
Dol Guldor Tsundere Towers (Braxton Koehler)
…BACKS! BACKS! BACKS! BACKS! BACKBACKS! Have you already heard this one? Braxton has Gurley and Melvin Gordon in his backfield with a decent receiving corps around them. He also has Aaron Rodgers. It’s never a bad decision to take Rodgers…unless you take him too early, which Braxton possibly did by taking him in the 2nd. He also wasted two picks at the end of the draft. While they usually aren’t important picks, our not having a kicker position didn’t do Braxton’s favorite player Gostkowski any hope of actually making his team. I predict that Braxton will go around 10-3, because he’s Braxton.
Prancing Ponies (Seth Svebakken)
Seth gave zero faith to running backs this year and his best and starting running back is Jay Ajayi. He also passed on Odell Beckham Jr. with his first pick in favor of AJ Green. I actually am going to predict Seth to have a high winning ratio, but I can tell you from experience last year that having an overloaded receiving corps will only leave you with heartbreak in the playoffs (I had Antonio Brown, AJ Green, Kyle Rudolph, Chris Hogan and Dion Lewis. They gave me around 9 points combined.) 10-3, but eliminated in round one or two of the playoffs.
Manning Helm’s Deep (John Barrett)
John took a bold pick in round two with Deshaun Watson. It’s not that I don’t like Deshaun or the pick, it’s just that it was in ROUND TWO. You don’t take a QB until round 5 or 6! Tragically for John, his top pick of Jerrick McKinnon tore his ACL on the last play of the last day of practice right after our draft wrapped up, and that’s going to sting. Due to the injury, I believe that John will fall to around 5-8 this season.
Playoff Predictions
Now that I’ve commented on a few teams here and there, I’ll reach up into the air, grab a prediction by the tail and put it into my pocket. Here are my playoff predictions:
Miss the playoffs:
- The Shire Hobbit Weed
- Manning Helm’s Deep
- Newton’s Nazgul?
- Nathan’s Cowboys (because of the name of Tim’s team, and only that. He should compete otherwise!)
Runner up: Riders of Romohan
Champion: Saucy’s Werewolves
