How Did I Do? Week 2 - A Sense of Humor Helps

Do you hear that?....THAT is the sound of my butt hitting the bottom of my league standings chart. I am #12...out of 12 teams. And, 0-2.

Yep. I lost again. Ahhhhhhhhh...

Before you think I am being dramatic. Here is a picture of me taken by my league commissioner when I was on my losing streak last year:

That is me waiting to win again. She posted it on our gal pal webpage - it was all in good fun. (Thanks for the pic, Commish!)

It is important to keep a sense of humor in times of Great Sorrow. I am lucky that my league does not play for money. Actually, my league is fun because that we meet in the chat box on our league’s website during games and joke around. If you are losing, you will see supportive posts to you like: “Oh. That was bad. Sorry.”, “Hang in there!” and “Come on, Eli!” My fellow FF owners keep me from crying while My Guys get sacked or miss catching a ball thrown *right to them*.

I was ready to cry this Sunday. As you all know, Flacco is my starting QB. He did manage to score a touchdown, but also threw 4 interceptions. SI.com reports that Flacco's coach still has faith in him. My faith is a little shaken.

But, let’s start at the beginning…

Every Sunday during NFL football season is like Christmas to me. I wake up wondering how My Guys are going to do.

Will this be the day that one of them catches 3+ TDs and everyone pats me on the back for having the foresight to draft him?

I begin to prep. Get chores out of the way. Make breakfast. Then, I turn on the TV and watch the commentary:

Do you notice something? Yep. I do not have a wide screen TV. Maybe if I write a great blog, Santa will buy me one (Hint).

Then, I boot up the computer. The computer is even more important to the FF player than the TV. You can keep track of your scores on your FF league’s website:

Sorry it is hard to read. I’m trying to follow the “Keep It Real” commandment in the blogging world. Plus, I don’t know how to do screen captures.

Next, I check for injuries. Are all My Guys playing?

And then, I move to the NFL.com site and pull up the main game I want to track. Last Sunday it was the Buffalo Bills-GB Packers game:

Wow – that is a bad picture! But, you get the idea. The NFL.com site is SO useful because it will show you the plays with all the details. Here is what it looks like when a player catches the ball and runs all the way down the field:



This is very exciting to the FF manager that has player on their team (this has not happen to me yet) and very upsetting to their opponent (this will happen to me).

I like watching the game online better than watching it on TV because sometimes I do not know if My Guy has the ball or not. (I guess I could learn all of their numbers). And, I can bounce back and forth between games. (Thank you, NFL.com, for this feature!)

Back to the games...

The morning started off well. My GB players were doing well. One of my starting RBs, Jackson, scored. My TE Finley did well. And, my DEF sacked the Bills QB…many times… Okay, it was little painful to watch it because the Bills are My Team. But, at least I was getting points.

And then, it was all downhill from there.

Here are The Stats: 

My QBs:

Flacco BAL (my starter): 2 pts

Young TEN (on my bench): -2 pts

McNabb WAS (on my bench): 21 pts

Question: Who would you start next week?

RBs:

Jones-Drew JAX (starter): 2 pts

B. Jackson GB (starter): 9 pts (and there was much rejoicing!)

Stewart CAR (bench): 4 pts

Question: Do you think I need to start looking around for another RB? Or, do you think Jones-Drew is still the stud everyone says he is? (FYI, “stud” is an official term in FF.)

WRs:

Moss NE (starter): 9 pts (Yes! Randy beat Revis at the goal line!)

Smith NYG (starter): 3 pts (uh-oh)

Crabtree SF (starter): 3 pts (uh-oh again)

Washington TEN (bench): 9 pts

V. Jackson (bench): still has not found a home

Observation: I need Vincent Jackson to be traded and establish excellent rapport with his new QB ASAP. 

TE:

Finley GB: 10 pts (but at the Bills expense)

DEF:

Green Bay: 14 pts (but at the Bills expense…so sad…)

K:

Tynes NYG: 2 pts (Did you see the Manning bowl? Ouch!)

How did the guys I dropped from my team last week do?

Brown IND = 1 TD + yardage

Hester CHI = 1 TD + yardage

I must admit, I was nervous playing my opponent this week because:

1. She kicked butt last year – beating me three times, including the playoffs.

2. She is lawyer – and lawyers are smart and crafty.

I was right to be afraid. Here is the final tally:

The Fighting Irish = 54 pts

My Opponent = 81 pts

How did my opponent win it? One reason is that she had Houston QB Schaub and one of his WRs Jacoby Jones, which means she can get double the points for one TD. I will explain how this happens and other scoring issues in next blog on Thursday:  FF101 – How to Score (in FF, that is)!

And – a big Shout Out to my friend Nikki who was at the Panthers game! Better luck next week!