A Little Story About Redemption

It’s almost back. Football is finally almost back, and it feels so good. July is upon us. If you’re as avid an NFL fan as I am, you’re getting excited as you count down the days until the Hall of Fame Game (28 to be exact).

We football fans are a different breed. Since there are only 16 games in a season we know every game is absolutely crucial, and we are emotionally invested every time our team takes the field. We’re vulnerable. It’s not like baseball, basketball or hockey, where if you lose 3 or 4 games in a row you can shake it off and bounce back, and it’s typical. In the NFL you can seldom afford any type of losing streak and expect to make the playoffs. As a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan I’ve known this pain for all too long, it’s been 14 seasons since they’ve made the playoffs for crying out loud. Hopefully this is finally a turnaround season for the Bills. They need to redeem themselves. It’s a franchise and fan base that are both sick of losing. With that said, it’s redemption time in Buffalo.

I love that motive, redemption. It’s the driving force that keeps people competitive in all different aspects of any sort of game. Just as every NFL player and team will be looking to redeem themselves this year, every fantasy owner should seek the same. If you’re in a competitive league and finished last in 2013, you should have as much motivation to redeem yourself as Eli Manning does after leading the NFL in interceptions last year. In fantasy football redemption and desire are the two reasons that keep us all coming back for more every year. So now that it’s July, it’s about time to get back into the swing of things. Fantasy football is back!

This year I have as much motive as anybody to come back and win my league, and not to be cocky but after last year I feel as if I’m one of the favorites. I’m confident, and you have to be confident to bring home a title.

Last year for the first time in three years I had confidence about coming in and making the playoffs. It was the first time in 3 years that I had done my homework and come into the season thinking about a championship. As the season progressed, I was hovering around 6th in the standings. I was just kind of knocking on the door of the playoffs. In our 12 team league, 6 teams reach the playoffs each year and the bracket is set up the same way it is in the NFL playoffs, where the top 2 teams get a bye.

Week 8 was the turning point. I went out and laid an egg, my team scoring a grand total of 61 points (compared to the average of 105-110 in a PPR league) and I lost by 59 points. I was sitting at 4-4 and was 7th in league standings, but that’s when things began to turn around. After the most dreadful week imaginable I did a complete roster overhaul. I went out on a limb because at that point I knew I desperately needed change if I were to have any shot at the playoffs. I worked trades and studied the waiver wire endlessly. I ended up putting together a roster in which I brought in stud RB Jamaal Charles, stud QB Philip Rivers, an unheralded and unproven Gio Bernard, and Fantasy rock Brandon Marshall at WR. All of those bold moves paired with the return of Rob Gronkowski pushed me to a 4-1 finish over the last 5 games, in which I averaged 140 points and turned in a league high 175 points week 9, one week after a dismal 61 point performance.

I hadn’t just knocked on the door of the playoffs at that point, I had broken the door down. Finishing 8-5 had locked me into the second seed for playoffs, which allowed me to have a bye week in the first round. I rode that momentum all the way into the championship game, where little did I know the drama hadn’t even begun.

Championship Sunday. It came down to me and reigning league champ David Maginn. We both had stacked rosters. Mine was anchored by fantasy god Jamaal Charles and newfound quarterback Phil Rivers, as well as Vernon Davis, Vincent Jackson and Michael Crabtree. His all-star lineup was anchored by Megatron, Jimmy Graham, Cam Newton, Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte. How he wound up with all of those guys, the world may never know. It was a battle royale, as we kept virtually dead even through the Sunday 4 PM games.

That night, he had Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte left to play against a dreadful Philadelphia defense. In addition, he had kicker Phil Dawson playing the next night for San Francisco. I had Davis and Crabtree left to play Atlanta the following night, and the score was set at 94-78 in my favor as the Sunday night game kicked off. Things were looking grim for me to say the least.

That night however, I caught a miracle. Forte and Jeffery were held to a shocking 21 points by Philly’s defense, and I was left with a golden opportunity to win my first title. The score was 99-94 with only Monday night’s game left to decide the championship. All I needed was for Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree to combine for 5 more points than David’s kicker, which was as close to a sure thing as imaginable, given we play PPR. The perfect scenario of David’s all-star team underperforming had fallen into place and I was ready to take advantage.

Then the unimaginable happened. Through one half against the 25th ranked Atlanta pass defense, Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis had each been held without a catch. Via two Dawson FG’s and an extra point, David’s lead had actually grown by 6 to a solid 12 point margin. The scoreboard now read 106-94. I was dumbfounded. How could such an atrocity happen? It was finally my year. All I needed was a top 5 tight end and a top 20 wide-out to cumulatively outscore an average kicker by 5. It was elementary logic, I had the game won before the Monday night game even started! Or so it had seemed…

The second half kicked off and Crabtree took a page out of Kanye and Jay-Z’s book and just started going HAM. Through the first two drives, 3 catches for 80 yards had brought me back to within a point at 106-105. The game had finally begun going as it was scripted. Crabtree would go on to grab two more balls for an additional 22 yards and a total of 15 points (PPR scoring.) Vernon Davis would be held without a catch the entire game, and in fact dropped a sure touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter. I would be stuck on 109. With 5 minutes left in the 4th, we were tied again at 109. 

The 49ers had the lead by 10 and there was no reason for Dawson to take the field again. I owned the tie-breaker, bench points, so the title was mine to lose. I was so close to the title I could taste it. The Falcons drove down the field and with 2 minutes and some change remaining, scored a touchdown to make the score 27-24. Still, no reason for Dawson to take the field. Atlanta had no timeouts remaining and all the 49ers would have to do is cover up the onside kick and run the clock. Simple, right?

Wrong. 

The Falcons recovered the onside kick and I was left astounded knowing that the game could be decided with a Phil Dawson kick if Atlanta were to tie it. I began freaking out; just hoping the 49ers would force a turnover on downs so I could rightfully claim the league title and sleep well that night. But no. It couldn’t be that easy.

With just over a minute to play, the Falcons had the ball in the redzone. They had engineered quite the two minute drill as a last-ditch effort to come back. I was still clinging to my belief that Dawson had no reason to re-take the field if San Francisco could somehow get a stop. Then the impossible happened.

1:27 remaining in the game. Ryan takes the snap, Throws quick left on a slant route looking for his receiver and IT’S INTERCEPTED BY NAVORRO BOWMAN. ALL OF MY DREAMS HAD BEEN REALIZED, ALL HE NEEDS TO DO IS FALL ON IT AND SAN FRAN WINS, AND I GET MY TITLE AND HAPPY DAY.

But wait, he’s not just falling on it. He’s running it back. No Falcons in sight, and…. Touchdown. 1:19 remaining. Phil Dawson, extra point is good. Final score: 110-109. David Maginn wins the title because Vernon Davis decided it would be a good time to not record a catch and NaVorro Bowman decided he wanted some glory. Heart-breaking loss, and no, I can’t make this stuff up. I was within 1:19 of a title, and it was gone.

Thus, this year ought to be a year for redemption. Anything other than a league title would quite frankly be a disappointment, but just as I learned last year: You can’t predict ball. You just can’t.

That being said, I’m about to unveil my 2014 pre-preseason rankings. Somewhat ironic and hypocritical, I’m aware. But here goes nothing!