We all know that Michael Murillo, Travis Henry and Mark Maloney were the big winners in the Fantasy Index Super League. But what about the other end of the scale? Which guys were the worst of the worst -- the bottom of the almost 600 entries?
I would like to spend more time looking at these kind of things during the regular season, but honestly I get too caught up in the more pressing duties around here -- getting the team capsules finished on Wednesdays, then updating everything for Friday. It's a challenge for me just to remember to get in a lineup for this contest every week.
But now that the regular season is over and there's a little time to breath, I can offer a few thoughts.
There is some luck involved
The "Hellooo Newman!" franchise, out of Texas (if I recall correctly) was the big winner last year. But Darrell Duke tailed off this year. He finished down in 195th. I glanced over his week-by-week lineups, and it looks like he was trying and submitting legit lineups (with this kind of contest, there's always the strategy of omitting a really good player in hopes of getting an edge and winning a weekly prize -- maybe you bench Jimmy Graham or Peyton Manning, thinking that if those guys struggle, you'll have an advantage against almost everyone).
But Hellooo Newman! didn't do that. He just had a lousy year. Finished in 195th. If you look only at the 245 guys who entered at least half of the year, he placed 210th (out of 245) in weekly scoring average.
I had an off year. I had two entries of the 245 who played at least half of the year. There was the "Fantasy Index (official picks)"; those were just the highest-rated guys via the Fantasy Index Weekly. That entry finished 41st of the 245 -- so top 17 percent. Not bad, but I would like to go higher.
My other entry -- Fantasy Index (Ian Allan) -- was usually pretty similar. I would change just a couple of guys when I had a feeling about one guy or another. Maybe I had a good feeling about LeVeon Bell but wasn't quite willing to make him a top-2 back on our regular board. But I tended to go backwards on that one. The Fantasy Index (Ian Allan) entry finished in 66th, but just 81st of the 245 entries in average score. So just in the top third, which is definitely below expectations. I will try to get that fixed in 2014.
The worst of the worst
I also like to recognize the worst entries. I will not mention these guys by name. I made that mistake a few years back and a guy's feelings were hurt -- he felt like he was getting called out. But with the safety of hiding behind team names, I will look at the worst entries of the 245 who participated for at least half of the season.
The worst entries (by far) belong to "90% Half Luck" and "End zone Machine". They both finished down around 109 points per game -- over a dozen behind all of the other really bad entries.
This doesn't necessarily mean these guys don't know anything about football. Instead, it's a reflection (I think) that they were trying to zig while others zagged -- maybe sneaking in for a weekly prize when Manning or Graham had an off game. Looking at 90% Half Luck, I see Geno Smith and Matt Schaub as attempted starters late in the year. I also see Jonathan Grimes as a Week 17 starter at running back.
But regardless. Score it up and 90% Half Luck is the biggest loser for the 2013 season. I raise my glass to you.
| SUPER LEAGUE -- THE BOTTOM 20 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise | Wk | Pts | Avg |
| 90% HALF LUCK | 17 | 1859 | 109.4 |
| Endzone Machine | 15 | 1644 | 109.6 |
| Clampinship | 15 | 1834 | 122.3 |
| The Rootcanals | 9 | 1103 | 122.6 |
| tull | 17 | 2204 | 129.6 |
| purplecrush | 14 | 1842 | 131.6 |
| Kyle Rudolph the Red Zone Commandeer | 17 | 2271 | 133.6 |
| Lionman | 17 | 2271 | 133.6 |
| Icetown Freeze | 16 | 2181 | 136.3 |
| Phoenix Patriots | 12 | 1651 | 137.6 |
| Ed'z Misfits | 17 | 2355 | 138.5 |
| pcp | 17 | 2356 | 138.6 |
| honest injuns | 17 | 2360 | 138.8 |
| Bastard Sons of Glenn Quagmire | 15 | 2084 | 138.9 |
| Caught MRSA in the Nicks of Tyne | 14 | 1947 | 139.1 |
| I'llBeInTheMagazine | 10 | 1395 | 139.5 |
| CowboysSB | 15 | 2095 | 139.7 |
| RedZone32 | 17 | 2378 | 139.9 |
| dough rollers | 13 | 1819 | 139.9 |
| 34cutters | 17 | 2381 | 140.1 |
Rules changes for 2014
If anyone would like to see rules changes for 2014, now would be a good time to throw those out.
Personally, I would like to see defenses included. That adds another couple of variables to work with. Maybe with the scoring system of 6 points for touchdowns, 1 for every sack, 2 for takeaways and 1 point for every 2 under 24 scored by the opposition. (So when the Steelers limited Cleveland to 7 points in Week 17, that would be worth 8.5 points).
I also think the competition might be made better by requiring all starters to be from different NFL franchises. That is, if you start Peyton Manning, you can't also start Eric Decker or Julius Thomas -- just one Bronco.
If you have a suggested improvement for 2014, put it in the comments section.
--Ian Allan