Let's vent about how the fantasy gods did us dirty!

[joeday]

It has been a crazy year for me in terms of life outside of fantasy football so I haven't posted hardly at all this season. Ironically I want to change that now that we are closing in on the postseason and I thought it would be fun to do a little venting. I always say that misery loves company so after I vent, I definitely want to hear from everyone else. I am in 23 leagues and was lucky enough to make the playoffs in 20 of them (with 9 championship appearances) but like most of us (I think) I can't help but think of the leagues that didn't make it to the finals and what went wrong. Here are mine...

Bombers - I waited one round too long to take Kyren. The team that took him just a few picks in front of me just made the playoffs by one game (Kyren only helped him win one more additional game but that was enough to get him in). Ironically, as the 6th seed, they beat the 3 seed in round one and just beat me in the semis (we had the two highest scores this week by a lot but I was the 2nd highest). As a side note, this is the second year in a row I earned the one seed but the team I played in the semis was the hottest team going into the playoffs. If I take Kyren I don't think my season changes too much (chances are I would have traded him and Cam Akers assuming they would cannibalize each other) but it is all about how Kyren helped that other team.

Mastodons - Literally every decision I made this season was the wrong one. I kept Jamaal Williams as my 10th instead of Keenan Allen (when Kamara was suspended). I drafted Zamir White in the 3rd round instead of Raheem Mostert (when Jacobs was holding out). I rejected an offer of CeeDee Lamb for Justin Jefferson when JJ went down...it was right before Lamb took off. I traded for Kyler when Burrow went down instead of just sticking with Mayfield. I didn't play K9 in the first round of the playoffs. Any of those decisions would have either won me more regular season games (which would have given me the bye) or helped me win in the first round. I would have easily won in the semis and be playing for the ship this week.

mouse rat - I would say trading Puka to the Cooper Kupp owner for Quentin Johnston, but, honestly, even with Puka I don't think my win/loss record changes and I don't think I win in the semis even with Puka's big game. I would have needed to keep Puka but also lose one more game to be the 6th seed because I would have beat the 1 seed. Long story short, I think this league was set in stone.

Gotham City Rogues - nothing I really could do this season to change my fortunes but I really should have tried to lose more games sooner to improve my 2024 draft position lol.

Scarecrow Boat - My team was 5-3 and looking solid to make a run at the ship. I lost 3 games but it was teams that absolutely blew up against me. Then I lose Kirk Cousins, who was a top 5 QB at the time. Week 9 I have to decide between Kenny Pickett on TNF or Taylor Heinicke (who just got named the starter). My gut was saying Heinicke but all the rankings (and even my friend group) said Pickett. So I started Kenny. I lost the game by 3.45...Heinicke outscored Pickett by 6.40! I made some other bad lineup decisions that week but this one was the one I was stressing the most about. With that additional win I win the division and the bye and top seed. I would have easily won in the semis and be playing for the ship this week.

Beefsquatch - I outkicked my coverage with this team and went 9-5 and lost in the first round. I probably should have won 5 games...in hindsight, I wish I did haha.

Wonderdogs - This one hurts. This is, by far, the best team I have ever assembled...from the start up to great rookie draft picks to smart trades. In the 6 years this league has been around I won it once...and have lost in the semis 5 times...including this year. I went 11-3, had the most points scored by over 300, and didn't win my division. Annoying, but figured I would just have to play one more game. Crushed my opponent in round 1. Then, in the semis, I was going back and forth on whether or not to play Chris Olave over Pollard, Waddle or Adams. Seeing I already had a lot of Olave stock playing I decided I wasn't going to. I also was at a holiday party that night so I didn't even think to look to make a final decision if I should play him until right when the game was underway. I play Olave and I win and play in the finals. Simple.

BURGER BOSS - It's a decent team but a really tough division. I went 9-5 and lost in the first round. This feels accurate.

Mr. Jim Business - This is a 16 team league. Going into the season my QBs were Daniel Jones and Geno Smith. We may not remember this but in the summer that was a good pair of matchup based guys. In the draft I am able to move up for cheap into the middle of the first round. I have to decide between Quentin Johnston (I have Jefferson, Kupp, and Godwin at WR) or CJ Stroud. Guess which one I picked. I would have made the playoffs and probably lost in the semis but it was the long term ramifications of not drafting Stroud that upsets me.

Kegel the Elf - The NFL schedule makers killed me here. I played in the first round with my 10-4 record. I probably should have won one more game in the regular season but it wouldn't have made a difference...I would have been the 3 seed regardless. Not paying enough attention to the injury report I don't realize that Olave has a legit chance to miss the week 15 game. When he is deemed inactive on Sunday I go to replace him and realize that all of my options already played (namely Jordan Addison and Joshua Palmer). Either one of those guys gives me the win replacing emergency pick-up Cedric Wilson lol. Doing the math, I probably would have lost by 0.35 in the semis so maybe this was for the best lol.

One Eyed Snakes - Losing in the semis seems accurate for this team. No complaints.

Upper St. Clair Sh*t Storm - If I earn the 1 seed I play a different opponent and make it to the finals. Nothing I could have really done but two straight weeks I lose on the last plays of the game (MVS dropping the TD vs. the Eagles and Zay Flowers scoring on the reverse instead of sliding after they got the 1st down vs. the Chargers). This one makes me believe there are fantasy gods and I angered them in some way lol. PS I just remembered there was one game I lost close and I had switched out kickers minutes before kickoff. That decision cost me the game, so this one is on me too lol.

So that's it. Not sure if anyone will read or enjoy this but maybe my stupid mistakes will make someone else feel better about some of theirs! So what are yours? How did one or two decisions cost you the chance to play for your championship?

[Anteaters]

Fantasy injuries taketh away, but they also giveth.

Addison - would not have been as good for his fantasy managers if Jefferson never got injured.
Nacua - would not have been ROY if Kupp played all season
Gus Edwards - would have been stuck in the worst RBBC mix ever if JKD was healthy
Purdy - does he ever get to play this year if injuries didn't force him into the lineup last year?

I try not to blame the almighty Injury excuse too much.

[TheTroll]

True but for those of us that bank on deep rosters stowing away 2nd and 3rd string players in the beginning we are betting on an injury to give our dudes a chance once opportunity knocks.

[abloom]

Largely avoided injuries or had plenty of backups for injuries... Until this week. We'll see if team #2 can scrape together some QBs.

Miami and SF not doing great last week resulted in me missing out on one final. 3/5 championship games seems good though

[Prison_Mike]

I only have two:

- My best team (Team 2) narrowly missed the bye as it lost two games by less than 2 points and then lost the tiebreaker to the #2 seed in Wk13. Then my best friend beat me with a roster that on paper, has no business advancing in the playoffs. (He's said so himself). He lucked out in round 2 as well and is taking this team to the championship: (12tm/PPR/SF) - Starters: Goff, Zappe, Walker, Conner, DJM, Addison, McBride, Evans, McLaurin, Gus. His luck probably runs out this week. I've (...mostly jokingly) been shunning him for the past week.

- 12tm PPR SF - Was the #1 seed all season with the most points scored, secured the bye. Lost in round 2 by less than 2 points to a particularly cocky #6 seed. I went into Monday with a 15% chance to win (per Sleeper). I watched my team claw all the way back as the Eagles fed D'Andre Swift on their final drive. He got me within a point, then the Giants tackled him in the backfield, forcing 3rd down, so they threw to my opponent's Devonta Smith to seal his victory. (Saquon had a catch for me on the ensuing drive, but it wasn't enough). I guess this one could be blamed on my lack of preparedness as I only rostrered 4 WRs all year - 2 of them were injured coming into the week, and one of them got injured during the game (Chase, Keenan, Waddle, Jakobi)

[murphysxm]

Anybody that thinks they can "manage" a title is a tad crazy IMO. Injuries happen. Russ Wilson's getting benched for financial reasons happens. We can't control what happens in real life. It is a hobby, no sense gripping that your fake team had bad luck

[joeday]

Anybody that thinks they can "manage" a title is a tad crazy IMO. Injuries happen. Russ Wilson's getting benched for financial reasons happens. We can't control what happens in real life. It is a hobby, no sense gripping that your fake team had bad luck

lol it was more just going back and seeing what things I could have done better at. Sure, it's a hobby but I am guessing it's a hobby that most people take very seriously (especially if you are on this site). This wasn't meant to be a gripe thread, just a thought exercise. I'm not losing sleep over any of these things but I think its fun (painful fun) to see where things went wrong. Ok, maybe I am losing sleep on not taking Kyren in my main league...haha

[joeday]

I only have two:

- My best team (Team 2) narrowly missed the bye as it lost two games by less than 2 points and then lost the tiebreaker to the #2 seed in Wk13. Then my best friend beat me with a roster that on paper, has no business advancing in the playoffs. (He's said so himself). He lucked out in round 2 as well and is taking this team to the championship: (12tm/PPR/SF) - Starters: Goff, Zappe, Walker, Conner, DJM, Addison, McBride, Evans, McLaurin, Gus. His luck probably runs out this week. I've (...mostly jokingly) been shunning him for the past week.

- 12tm PPR SF - Was the #1 seed all season with the most points scored, secured the bye. Lost in round 2 by less than 2 points to a particularly cocky #6 seed. I went into Monday with a 15% chance to win (per Sleeper). I watched my team claw all the way back as the Eagles fed D'Andre Swift on their final drive. He got me within a point, then the Giants tackled him in the backfield, forcing 3rd down, so they threw to my opponent's Devonta Smith to seal his victory. (Saquon had a catch for me on the ensuing drive, but it wasn't enough). I guess this one could be blamed on my lack of preparedness as I only rostrered 4 WRs all year - 2 of them were injured coming into the week, and one of them got injured during the game (Chase, Keenan, Waddle, Jakobi)

The amount of games that come down to less than 2 points is crazy considering how random the actual games are.

Yeah, those monday games were rough on me in the leagues I lost in the finals. I needed Mahomes to be more like the old school Mahomes and he wasn't even close to it.

[qazxswedcvfrtgbnhyuj]

This year has been one to mostly forget for all but one of my teams.. but two things really did stand out to me:

1. In a work redraft league of mine with mostly beginners only one guy declined any help from veterans because he "wanted to show everyone how it's done". He was clueless of course, went qb round 1 and kicker round 6 (the sleeper app actually sent him a dm asking wtf he was doing - hilarious).... and promptly won the championship last week with by far the lowest points against all season, including every opponent collapsing in the playoffs.

2. I never expect to win any league, but for the 2nd year in a row now my by far best team of my 12 leagues (at least on paper) just barely made the playoffs and then immediately got crushed first round.
The team consists of Mahomes,Lawrence/kamara, chubb, mixon, Pacheco, Walker, cook/Jefferson, Chase, Diggs, Metcalfe, Cooper (plus Dell and Rice added this year), Kelce, McBride and a few more... but man... they just can't seem to do well the same week.


The combination of those two things just made me lean back and relax a bit more honestly, because it just goes to show how enormous the amount of luck is that you need to win in this hobby of ours.

[Prison_Mike]

This year has been one to mostly forget for all but one of my teams.. but two things really did stand out to me:

1. In a work redraft league of mine with mostly beginners only one guy declined any help from veterans because he "wanted to show everyone how it's done". He was clueless of course, went qb round 1 and kicker round 6 (the sleeper app actually sent him a dm asking wtf he was doing - hilarious).... and promptly won the championship last week with by far the lowest points against all season, including every opponent collapsing in the playoffs.

2. I never expect to win any league, but for the 2nd year in a row now my by far best team of my 12 leagues (at least on paper) just barely made the playoffs and then immediately got crushed first round.
The team consists of Mahomes,Lawrence/kamara, chubb, mixon, Pacheco, Walker, cook/Jefferson, Chase, Diggs, Metcalfe, Cooper (plus Dell and Rice added this year), Kelce, McBride and a few more... but man... they just can't seem to do well the same week.


The combination of those two things just made me lean back and relax a bit more honestly, because it just goes to show how enormous the amount of luck is that you need to win in this hobby of ours.

Yep, I've got a friend like that. I joined the work league this year (wasn't with the organization prior). He won it last year because he traded Dameon Pierce to a woman who doesn't follow football. He lucked into the playoffs this year after losing JJ and is now carrying a very mediocre roster to the championship.

It's frustrating. The luck of redraft enables the arrogance of the novice lol

[abloom]

Well cooper being out along with Keenan Allen and waddle is potentially gonna hurt my championship matchup with team #3 (must start 3 wrs)

[joeday]

Well cooper being out along with Keenan Allen and waddle is potentially gonna hurt my championship matchup with team #3 (must start 3 wrs)

Hahaha I literally have those same exact WRs out for one of my teams! I have Tyreek, Lockett annnnnnd Cedric Wilson rolling out this week. I wish I could play Njoku or Kittle at WR!

[MacDaddy123]

It's a game of luck, always has been.
Only people with good luck or delusional cannot see that.

I just went through many of my leagues the past week, and in general:

- Teams in Finals had few players on IR
- Teams that didn't make playoffs had their IR slots over-flowing onto their benches, even in leagues with 10 IR slots.

Don't over-think it.
Luck is with you all the time, just a matter of good luck or bad luck.

[Pac_Eddy]

It's a game of luck, always has been.
Only people with good luck or delusional cannot see that.

I just went through many of my leagues the past week, and in general:

- Teams in Finals had few players on IR
- Teams that didn't make playoffs had their IR slots over-flowing onto their benches, even in leagues with 10 IR slots.

Don't over-think it.
Luck is with you all the time, just a matter of good luck or bad luck.

I agree, luck is a huge factor. The policy for my teams is to just get into the playoffs. I've had some bad #6 seed teams win titles. And like all of us, some fantastic #1 seeds lose in the first round. Obviously getting a bye is a huge advantage too.

What's tough about this season is that studs that have been in a slump stayed there. And average players on hot streaks have tended to still be hot. So "start your studs" has been harder to do.

[abloom]

It's a game of luck, always has been.
Only people with good luck or delusional cannot see that.

I just went through many of my leagues the past week, and in general:

- Teams in Finals had few players on IR
- Teams that didn't make playoffs had their IR slots over-flowing onto their benches, even in leagues with 10 IR slots.

Don't over-think it.
Luck is with you all the time, just a matter of good luck or bad luck.

Like poker it's a game of skill and luck. Skill gets you in position to win more often, luck closes the deal. You need both to be a consistent champion