Mors Tua, Vita Mea
Image by Nick M. W.
By Nick M. W.
Rebel Scum’s playoff run is one and done.
“Your death, my life.”
That’s what the Latin phrase in the title of this week’s AGS retrospective means. In sports, in the playoffs, one team meets the end of their season, another is given life and has an extra week to play for league immortality.
All good things come to an end, including winning streaks. Rebel Scum had the longest winning streak in the league going. The last game that coach and owner Nick M. W. lost was back in early October. He was feeling good about his chances to win it all this season despite losing one of his best players weeks ago (Cooper Kupp). It felt like it was his destiny, but like Qui-Gon Jinn, the great Jedi master, who got stuck through the heart with one of the pointy ends of Darth Maul’s lightsaber, luck and the Force were not with Rebel Scum in last week’s duel with T. Ruth.
This is why fantasy football sucks. One week your squad looks unbeatable; the next week you get tea-bagged. When all you need is one more catch for that half-point PPR love, but your dudes get benched because of the real game’s circumstances, or your dude shreds their ACL, or they get hit so hard they start throwing gang signs while they’re unconscious…and you can’t do a damn thing about it but watch your win transform into a loss. This is why fantasy football sucks.
If you got bounced from the postseason tourney this week on some bullshit, we feel ya. If you’re going to the Super Bowl because you were on the right side of luck, suck it. If you are still in the hunt for the title because you know what you’re doing, hats off to you. Good luck in Week 17.
Reactions to Week 16:
Nick: That’s pretty much it right there. I came so far, got so close, only to completely boof it in the semifinal game. In last week’s write up, I predicted that I would “bust it open” on Monday night and “punch my ticket to the AGS Super Bowl”. Here was the final result.
T. RUTH vs. Rebel Scum. 2022 AGS Semifinal Round.
I was down by 30.5 going into the MNF game, and I had the Chargers Mike Williams and Austin Ekler. I felt good about my chances. The Monday night games this season treated me really well up until Week 16. I lost that close one to Rudy’s Replacements back in Week 4, but I won 4 or 5 the next 10 games on Monday night.
I could put the blame on some of the dudes who underperformed—Aaron Jones, Mike Williams, Tony Pollard, or Geno Smith. Any one of those guys should have given more, half a damn point more. I would’ve won the tie-breaker, completing a thrilling comeback win, extending my winning streak to 11 games, and punching my first-time ticket to the AGS Super Bowl.
Instead, and the real reason why I didn’t why, is because I started Aaron Jones instead of A.J. Dillon, his “backup”, who is actually his equal in the backfield. I didn’t consider the fact that Dillon has been scoring touchdowns while Jones has been running through the middle of the field. I made a bad decision, and it cost me a shot at the title.
There’s no chance for Rebel Scum to play for and win the 2022 AGS Championship, but there’s still something to play for. What’s your frame of mind going into the 3rd place game this week?
Nick: I want to win. It would be my best finish to date in the league; it would be an improvement from last season; it would earn me one additional keeper; and it would give me a bit more motivation to be a better coach next season.
It’s not the spot that I wanted to finish when the playoffs started, but it’s where I want to end the season now.
Week17/Playoff Round 3 Predictions:
Nick: Well, I won’t have Tony Pollard, which means I’ll have to run both Dillon and Jones as RB2 and FLEX. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Ekler will play against the Rams this weekend because otherwise I’ll have to slide both Green Bay running backs into the RB slots and toss Chris Olave into the FLEX as the next best option I have. I don’t like his matchup against the Eagles, who need a win this weekend to set their playoff table.
If I can run my optimal roster out there this weekend, I like my chances against The Curse. He’s going to throw everything he’s got at me, and he’s got a squad, but I see Rebel Scum coming out on top of this matchup, again.
For the AGS Super Bowl, Ambassador of Quan has a better roster, especially since T. RUTH will be without Derrick Henry, but Jamon has some magic going on right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a little more saved up for this week, enough to win him his 3rd AGS title.
