Fantasy Bowl XIII: CheektoWojo vs. Andy's Red Hots

 

FANTASY BOWL XIII

(2) CheektoWojo vs. (5) Andy’s Red Hots

Matchup Data

Lifetime Playoff Series: CheektoWojo leads 1-0, with a 199.3-167.92 victory in the Semi-finals in 2005. 

Season Series: CheektoWojo swept the season series 2-0, with a 172.26-140.37 win in Week 1, and a 195.53-141.32 victory in Week 13. 

Lifetime Regular Season Series: CheektoWojo leads 15-7. 

Yahoo! Projection: Andy’s Red Hots wins 156.18 – 148.93 (if RGIII is out).  CheektoWojo wins 155.99 – 156.18 (if RGIII plays).

MATCHUP TRIVIA #1: Along with Hartman/Synrod and Hoskyns/Todd, Andy/Adam is tied for the most-played matchups in AldenLeague history, with 22.

MATCHUP TRIVIA #2:  Both teams were members of the Central Division, Sandridge Division, and now the Cobras Division.  Of the 9 years of divisional play, these teams have combined to win 7 of those divisional titles.  

TEAM PROFILE – CHEEKTOWOJO

Since joining AldenLeague in 2001, Adam leads the league in Fantasy Bowl appearances with 5, making it to the finals in 2001, ’05, ’07, ’08, and now ’12.  He is tied with Puzan for the most league championships with 3: 2001, ’07, and ’08.  A win this week would clinch that undisputed record for himself.  This year, CheektoWojo scored a 10-3 record (2^nd best in franchise history) with an 8-2 record in the new Cobras Division to claim its title, Adam’s 5^th overall.  He finished 6^th in points scored, and had the 2^nd-fewest points scored against.  Having earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs, CheektoWojo advanced to the Fantasy Bowl by defeating The Skyns last week, 170.31 – 163.87.  Going into the Sunday Night game, they led by 7.73 with The Skyns’s RB Stevan Ridley still to play.  However, an ineffective first half paired with two fumbles sat Ridley on the bench with only 1.29 fantasy points scored.  Ridley did get one more chance with a goal-line carry later in the game, but was stuffed by San Francisco, sending Adam to the Big Game.

TEAM PROFILE – ANDY’S RED HOTS

This is the first-ever Fantasy Bowl appearance for Andy’s Red Hots, who joined AldenLeague in 2002.  The franchise scored back-to-back 3^rd place finishes in 2005 and 2006, but were unable to take the next step – until now.  Andy led the league in points scored for the majority of the season, lost it temporarily due to late surges by The Skyns and Most Murderous, but regained it in a last-minute stat correction and took the prize home by a meager 0.74-point differential.  This is the franchise’s second Most Points award, also having brought it home in the 2010 season.  Their 2,040.17 total is the 3^rd best in the league since 2008.  The Red Hots finished the 2012 campaign with a 7-6 record, and an even 5-5 record against Cobras Divisional foes.  In the playoff’s first round matchup against the cross-town rival L.A. Ninjas, it all came down to the Monday Night game of New England against Houston.  QB Tom Brady put on a clinic, running up 46.74 fantasy points and drastically outscoring Andre Johnson (13.57) and Stephen Gostkowski (6.00) of the Ninjas to squeak by with a 155.08-153.63 victory.  The semifinals were a bit more comfortable, as Most Murderous self-destructed and put up miserable point totals from many of their key players, giving Andy a 154.09-112.77 victory and launching him into the Fantasy Bowl.

The Matchup

CHEEKTOWOJO

QBs: Cam Newton vs OAK, Robert Griffin III @ PHI, Russell Wilson vs. SF

RBs: Steven Jackson @ TB, Shonn Greene vs. SD, Bryce Brown vs. WAS, Jonathan Stewart vs. OAK

WRs: Brandon Marshall @ ARZ, Jeremy Maclin vs WAS, Miles Austin vs NO, Darrius Heyward-Bey @ CAR, Brandon Tate @ PIT

TE: Heath Miller vs. CIN, K: Lawrence Tynes @ BAL, DEF: Green Bay vs TEN

ACQs left: 2

ANDY’S RED HOTS:

QBs: Carson Palmer @ CAR, Tom Brady @JAX

RBs:  CJ Spiller @ MIA, DeMarco Murray vs NO, Shaun Draughn vs IND, Isaac Redman vs CIN, Daryn Richardson @ TB

WRs: AJ Green @ PIT, T.Y. Hilton @ KC, Victor Cruz @ BAL, Justin Blackmon vs NE, Mario Manningham @ SEA

TE: Martellus Bennett @ BAL, K: Adam Vinatieri @ KC, DEF: Atlanta @ DET

ACQs left: 1

Lineup Debate:

Red Hots:  Justin Blackmon had a good week last week, giving him 3 nice performances in 5 weeks.  He plays a soft New England pass defense, and could warrant consideration starting.  Whose spot could he take?  How about Victor Cruz?  He put up only 2 points last week, and now faces a Baltimore defense that limited Peyton Manning last week to 204 pass yards.

CheektoWojo: Philadelphia RB Bryce Brown has been frustrating to own: two enormous (35+ pt) games to start his career, which he followed up with two stinkers (less than 7 points) the last two weeks.  His potential replacement spot could be that of Shonn Greene, who has 4 sub-10 point games in the past 6 weeks, including last week’s 9.86 vs. Tennessee. 

Injury Report:

CheektoWojo: The big question is, of course, Robert Griffin III.  CheektoWojo’s high-scoring player missed last week with a sprained knee, despite practicing.  He remains day-to-day this week, but his status could be less in demand due to the decent performance of backup QB Kirk Cousins.  If he is out, the replacement could likely be Russell Wilson again, who put up almost 51 points, his second game of 40+ in three weeks.  Wilson plays against San Francisco, so it’s not a pretty matchup.   Reserve RB Jonathan Stewart remains out with an injury.

Red Hots: WR Victory Cruz took a hard hit last week, but remained in the game and is not expected to miss any time.  Reserve WR Mario Manningham has now missed two games in a row with a shoulder problem.  His return this week seems unlikely.