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Pittsburgh
Franchise Football League
2008 News & Notes |
Week Seventeen |
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Congratulations to
the
Downtowners
THE 2008 PFFL Total Point Champions |
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Weekly Conference Winners |
TEAM OF THE WEEK |
| East |
Central |
West |
BOYS OF AUTUMN |
 |
| Boys of Autumn |
167 |
Twisted Helmets |
142 |
Irish Talbots |
144 |
Tommy Guns/
Green Apple |
130 |
Syndicate |
141 |
Rounder 17/
MNE |
141 |
Pittsburgh Survivor Football
Survivor 1: In the 8 years of the contest,
this is the 4th time the main contest has made it to the final week and it is
the second time there have been as many as 8 co-champions. In 2005 there were
also 8 contestants that picked a winner in week 17. In the contest's first
year in 2001 it was over by week 8! The 10 that entered this year's final week
all had Atlanta available to them except 1, and that one survived with
Baltimore. Seven of the 9 that could did take Atlanta and for a while it
looked like we would have just 1 or 2 champions. But Atlanta pulled it out
resulting in the 8 co-champions. I commend the two casualties for not taking
the obvious pick in Atlanta and going for the big win but I personally didn't
like their choice of Tampa Bay. It's very interesting that not one of the ten
picked Green Bay at home against Detroit as Green Bay was available to all 10.
Congratulations to the 8 co-champions of the 2008 Pittsburgh Survival Football
Contest.
Survivor 2: The 8 winners of Survivor 1 ties a record for most survivors
in that contest but the second contest's 70 winners not only sets a new
record, but doubles the previous total of 35 in 2005. And it's no wonder
because you didn't even have to make a pick to win the second contest. If you
did nothing and allowed the site to give you the default pick each week, you
survived to the end. As in the first contest the only loser chosen was Tampa
Bay as 8 of the 78 entering the final week were on the Buccaneers. Had Atlanta
not pulled out their game the record would still be 35 in 2005 because there
were 40 picks on Atlanta. Well the compensation isn't much but it beats
nothing at all. Congratulations to the 70 Survivor 2 co-champions!
PFFL Trivia
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What Super Bowl team had the worst regular
season record? |
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Buffalo Bills |
Los Angeles Rams |
Kansas City Chiefs |
Dallas Cowboys |
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PFFL TOTAL POINT CHAMPIONSHIP |
|
East Final Standings |
|
Rk |
Franchise |
PF |
|
1 |
7 Justice |
2135 |
|
2 |
2 Tommy Guns |
2117 |
|
3 |
8 Cleantown |
2078 |
|
4 |
1 Little Johnny's |
2006 |
|
5 |
4 Green Apple |
2005 |
|
6 |
5 Commish East |
1970 |
|
7 |
3 T Bones |
1963 |
|
8 |
9 Boys of Autumn |
1948 |
|
9 |
10 IC Lightning |
1946 |
|
10 |
6 Rebels |
1921 |
|
11 |
11 Aggravators |
1753 |
|
|
Average |
1986 |
|
|
Central Final Standings |
|
Rk |
Franchise |
PF |
|
1 |
1 Syndicate |
2192 |
|
2 |
2 Twisted Helmets |
2170 |
|
3 |
5 SS Stoggies |
2143 |
|
4 |
4 Weekend Warriors |
2128 |
|
5 |
6 Harmony Hornets |
1962 |
|
6 |
8 Steve Irwin Crocodile's |
1924 |
|
7 |
7 Knockout Kings |
1896 |
|
8 |
3 Nasty Aggravators |
1895 |
|
9 |
10 Reno |
1828 |
|
10 |
11 TnT |
1767 |
|
11 |
9 R&J Inc. |
1718 |
|
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Average |
1966 |
|
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West Final Standings |
|
Rk |
Franchise |
PF |
|
1 |
1 Downtowners |
2349 |
|
2 |
2 JR's Boys |
2166 |
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3 |
3 Rounder 17 |
2162 |
|
4 |
5 MNE |
2045 |
|
5 |
4 Commish West |
2032 |
|
6 |
7 Irish Talbots |
2021 |
|
7 |
10 French River |
1928 |
|
8 |
6 Brookline |
1890 |
|
9 |
8 Apaches |
1827 |
|
10 |
11 B&B |
1743 |
|
11 |
9 Sharks |
1726 |
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Average |
1990 |
|
Note the final top three in each conference
receive consideration
PFFL: A slow week 17 prevented the Downtowners from
setting any records but even a snails pace couldn't have prevented
them from winning their first PFFL Total Point Championship. The
110-point week was actually their third worst of the year and lowest
total since week 9. Their 2349 total fell 100 points short of the
record of 2449, but their 157-point margin of victory is the second
highest margin just 23 behind the record of 180 set in 2006.
EAST:
Justice's final score of 118 didn't make it easy, but it
certainly left a distinct possibility for one of the other two
contenders to keep them from the Title. Had they not broken 100 -
something they failed to do three times this year - the Tommy
Guns 130 points would have stolen the show. They are the only
Conference Point Champion to have a week below 100 points scored.
Cleantown was in no danger of losing third but their 116-point
effort left no chance for advancement. The victory give Justice their
second East Conference Point Title the first coming in 2004.
CENTRAL: With 23 points separating the top three, this
conference had the best chance for a change at the top. And with the
top four contenders all having players in the Sunday night game, it
was still undecided going into the last game. Going in the
Syndicate had a 15-point lead over the SS Stoggies
with Cutler and Royal and the Stoggies just had Gates, so they were no
real threat. But even though they were 49 behind, the Twisted
Helmets had 4 remaining in Rivers, LT, Brandon Marshall and
Vincent Jackson. A more than capable group to overcome a large
deficit. The four did outscore the Syndicate's two but they were only
able to make up 27 of the 49 needed. It was good enough to move them
up from third to second but not good enough to knock off the Syndicate
and stop them from earning their third conference point title. All
three were earned in different conferences. Their first was in the
South in 2004, last year in the West and this year of course in the
Central.
WEST: Although the Downtowners put up a modest 110
points, they actually stretched their lead from 165 to 183 over second
to win their first Point Title in a rout. At 165 behind the JR's
Boys had no chance of catching them but they almost blew their
53-point lead they had over the Rounder 17. With just 92
points scored on the week, they entered Monday night up just 22 and
the Rounder still had Eddie Royal in their arsenal. Royal put up 18
leaving them four short but the Rounders did enough to make the Boys
sweat by making up 49 points on the 53-point deficit going into the
week. |
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PFFL 2008 PLAYER AWARDS |
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Past PFFL MVPs |
|
Year |
Winner |
Pos |
Team |
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2002 |
Priest Holmes |
RB |
KC |
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2003 |
Priest Holmes |
RB |
KC |
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2004 |
Culpepper/Manning |
QB/WR |
Min/Ind |
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2005 |
Larry Johnson |
RB |
KC |
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2006 |
Ladainian Tomlinson |
RB |
SD |
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2007 |
Brady/Moss |
QB/WR |
NE |
|
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PFFL 2008 All-Star Team |
|
Pos |
Player |
Team |
Pts |
|
QB |
Drew Brees |
NO |
384 |
|
RB |
Matt Forte |
Chi |
302 |
|
RB |
DeAngelo Williams |
Car |
302 |
|
WR |
Andre Johnson |
Hou |
314 |
|
WR |
Larry Fitzgerald |
Ari |
306 |
|
WR |
Calvin Johnson |
Det |
278 |
|
Flex |
Maurice Jones-Drew |
Jac |
279 |
|
K |
Stephen Gostkowski |
NE |
163 |
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DEF |
Philadelphia |
Phi |
194 |
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This was one of the harder years to
pick an MVP since I started in 2002. Last year Brady & Moss' exploits
made it easy as did Priest Holmes in his day. This year there wasn't
that one stand out player or event that picked itself. One of the
criteria always considered is draft value and there was some serious
draft value picks for sure. The earliest Aaron Rodgers was drafted was
13th and he finished the year as the #3 overall scorer in the PFFL.
Philip Rivers and Kurt Warner weren't far behind at #4 and 5 in scoring
and both drafted 10th or later. And you won't find better draft value
than Matt Cassel who finished 12th overall in scoring yet was undrafted
in two of the three conferences. Matt Forte and DeAngelo Williams tied
as the top back 10th overall in scoring get serious consideration
drafted from the 5th and 6th and 7th and 9th spots respectively. No
player was better in the second half of the season than Williams. Andre
Johnson stands out as the best WR and ranked 6th overall in points, but
just a few points ahead of the second WR and drafted basically in the
2nd round, didn't make him a good candidate for MVP. Although not out of
the question, it would take a lot for a Kicker or Defense to get
considered. Since both top players in each of those categories were less
than 10 points ahead of the second best, there was nothing to consider.
I first started researching this before week 17 began
and besides the players listed above one player stood out, but not quite
enough that others were not being considered. But week 17 just seemed to
not only separate this player from the rest, but also cement his award.
He didn't break the record but I can't hold it against him for falling
just 16 yards short of Dan Marino's single season passing record while
finishing the year on a monster high note of 35 points. Now NFL records
don't necessarily make fantasy records, fantasy points do. So it's not
just the fact that he is one of only two players to pass for more than
5,000 yards in a season that gives him the award, it's the fact that he
not only scored the most fantasy points in 2008, but the separation
between him and the next player. The biggest gap between the top two
players in every category besides QB was 8. The difference between Brees
and the next player was 36 giving him the only clear separation.
Yes more often than not the award goes to the player or
players with the most points but not always. In 2005 Larry Johnson won
it with just the third most RB points because of his monster second half
and what he meant to the teams that had him. Kurt Warner was actually on
his way to winning this award considering where he was drafted, but he
faded out down the stretch. It wasn't a slam dunk as with some other
choices in the past but Drew Brees is the 2008 PFFL MVP! |
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PFFL 2008 FINAL STATISTICS |
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League Titles |
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2008 League Champion |
Rounder 17 |
West Conference |
|
League Total Point Champion |
Downtowners |
West Conference |
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Consolation Tournament |
T Bones |
East Conference |
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Highest Single Week |
Justice |
192 Points Wk 2 |
|
Coach of the Year |
JR's Boys |
90.00 Efficiency Rating |
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Conference Titles |
|
Head to Head |
Total Points |
|
East |
Tommy Guns |
East |
Justice |
|
Central |
Syndicate |
Central |
Syndicate |
|
West |
Rounder 17 |
West |
Downtowners |
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Money Leaders |
Miscellaneous |
|
Overall |
Weekly |
Category |
Team/Player |
|
Rounder 17 |
Downtowners |
Power Rank |
Downtowners - 37.45 |
|
Syndicate |
Justice |
Best Record |
8-3 Five Teams Tied |
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Tommy Guns |
Twisted Helmets |
Most Potential Points |
Downtowners - 2689 |
|
Downtowners |
Syndicate |
Highest week Player |
A. Bryant/R. Brown - 41 |
|
Twisted Helmets |
JR's Boys |
Most Points Player |
Drew Brees - 384 |
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FINAL PFFL STUFF
●
The Score: For the first time since the league moved online to the
MFL site, the final week was above average in scoring. With the exception
of 2006 when the final week hit right on that year's average, the final
week has been basically low scoring. This year's final week calculated out
at an above average 118. The Central actually held to tradition with just
a 113 showing but the East's 122 and the West's 119 propped up the
numbers. The final and official average for 2008 is 116.5, a full point
below the current scoring systems last two-year average of 117.5. The now
new three-year average in the current scoring system is an even 117.
●The Weekend Warriors had the most bench points 1563
and also the most points scored against 1401. Brookline had the
least bench points with 916. They also had the least amount last year. . .
. The Central Conference won just two of the 17 Team of the Week Honors.
The East had the most with 8 and the West next with 7. The Downtowners
won the most individual honors with 4. They won 3 of them in the
postseason. . . . The Sharks may have had a bad year but they are
still the only team to break 200 in a week. . . . Three of the four teams
that played in last year's championship game, IC Lightning,
Sharks and B&B, didn't even make the wildcard round this year.
The fourth team the Syndicate faired better with a repeat
performance. . . . Is the RB era officially over? Two WRs finished with
more points than the top RB. There were 12 QBs, 9 RBs and 8 WRs in the top
30. . . . No records of note were broken this year.
● PFFL Calendar: Playoff Tournament is Tuesday, December 30.
The final league meeting is Wednesday, January 7.
● The Last Word: We always say how fast the season seems to
go by well how about 17 seasons! ... I created the PFFL in 1992
because I saw the potential in the contention of franchise football. My
goal was to create a league that added worthwhile entertainment to the
competition of the game itself. Obviously I wasn't alone in my idea as
fantasy football as you know has become big business. As business is an
ever changing entity our league has incorporated many changes over the
years and your suggestions and ideas are always welcome. This past year
was a tough one in many ways for all of us and I would like to personally
thank each and everyone of you who participated this year. I wish all of
you a Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous
2009 and beyond!
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Happy New Year! |
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Final Point Rankings |
|
Rk |
Franchise/Week |
PF |
|
1 |
1 Downtowners |
2349 |
|
2 |
1 Syndicate |
2192 |
|
3 |
2 Twisted Helmets |
2170 |
|
4 |
2 JR's Boys |
2166 |
|
5 |
3 Rounder 17 |
2162 |
|
6 |
5 SS Stoggies |
2143 |
|
7 |
7 Justice |
2135 |
|
8 |
4 Weekend Warriors |
2128 |
|
9 |
2 Tommy Guns |
2117 |
|
10 |
8 Cleantown |
2078 |
|
11 |
5 MNE |
2045 |
|
12 |
4 Commish West |
2032 |
|
13 |
7 Irish Talbots |
2021 |
|
14 |
1 Little Johnny's |
2006 |
|
15 |
4 Green Apple |
2005 |
|
16 |
5 Commish East |
1970 |
|
17 |
3 T Bones |
1963 |
|
18 |
6 Harmony Hornets |
1962 |
|
19 |
9 Boys of Autumn |
1948 |
|
20 |
10 IC Lightning |
1946 |
|
21 |
10 French River |
1928 |
|
22 |
8 Steve Irwin Crocodile's |
1924 |
|
23 |
6 Rebels |
1921 |
|
24 |
7 Knockout Kings |
1896 |
|
25 |
3 Nasty Aggravators |
1895 |
|
26 |
6 Brookline |
1890 |
|
27 |
10 Reno |
1828 |
|
28 |
8 Apaches |
1827 |
|
29 |
11 TnT |
1767 |
|
30 |
11 Aggravators |
1753 |
|
31 |
11 B&B |
1743 |
|
32 |
9 Sharks |
1726 |
|
33 |
9 R&J Inc. |
1718 |
|
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Average |
1980 |
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PFFL
Trivia Answer |
Los Angeles Rams
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The Rams came to Super Bowl XIV with a 9-7
regular season mark. |
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