AFFL2022 Week 10 Recap: Fantasy Magic
Week 10 in the AFFL is going to prove to be a pivotal week in the 2022 season with several games and outcomes that may ultimately shape the playoff picture It was a classic fantasy football weekend, filled with intense rivalry matches that will have post season implications, some highlight reel player performances for big chunks of points, one sided victories by obvious favorites, but also some important upsets, big comeback wins, and some very, very close ones including one that matches almost all of those descriptions headed into fantasy overtime. Basically, it was a weekend full of fantasy magic.
In the Lombardi Division, nothing magical about the Wranglers….they won again, moving up to 9-1; just an ordinary week in a season full of fantasy magic for Italy. The BC Blitz trailed the Wranglers by just one loss coming into week 10 and they faced their arch rival Prince George Generals in the annual Battle of Vancouver. These rival teams, coached by real life friends, slugged it out to the final whistle on Monday night with the Blitz’s MVP candidate Jalen Hurts leading a 31 point comeback attempt that fell just one point short in the 177-178 Generals’ upset victory. The outcome here gains added importance in the fact that the Generals are a common opponent tiebreaker between the Blitz and the Breakers. What a classic fantasy weekend for those teams as the game heads into the fantasy overtime period of stat corrections. Can the Blitz pull off some Fantasy Magic to keep a 2 loss record?
In the Paul Brown Division, the SoCal Gold struggled but came away with a win vs the Gamblers….or, a win vs Mahomes and CeeDee Lamb who combined for 93 of the Gamblers 145 points. Sleeperville’s offense was asleep in week 10, scoring just 59 points despite the defenes’s 90 point effort. It’s a 5th loss for the defending Division Champs who started the season in first and now risk falling out of relevance. The league sponsored Bandits cruised to a victory over Grand Strand, despite the Gunslingers’ QB Justin Fields scoring 65 as he led the offense to 114 point effort. Grand Strand’s defense scored only 32.
Despite likely being destined to be ruled ineligible for the playoffs by the Competition Committee, the autopiloted Bandits now sit in control of the division with a 6-3 record, a head to head win over SoCal and a head to head SWEEP over Grand Strand…..yet, they are 17th in the league in total scoring as they seem to get every opponent on that opponent’s down week. Only the cruel and fickle fantasy gods could wield that kind of fantasy magic. Incidentally, the Bandits’ weekly lineup is set based on the Fantasy Sharks line-up guide linked on the set lineup page….just in case their division rivals wanted to check that out.
In the cage match known as this year’s Halas Division race, the Tracy Bulls beat Pittsburgh for the season sweep to stay 5-5 with the pack, but they lost half of the league’s best WR tandem with Cooper Kupp likely done for the season. The Federals turned in a solid, balanced statline of 88/28/95 on off/spt/def in their win over the Outlaws as they continue to grind and improve their playoff chances. It was a pivotal weekend for them on the season as they stay 5-5 with the pack, move ahead of both the Raiders and the Express in the race for the points wild card, AND because SoCal is now a favorite for the Brown Division, the Federals are now first in line for the #1 Points Wild Card instead of the #2; if the Blitz loss stands, they enter the conversation for either standings WC as well.
But the Division leader remains the San Quintin Showboats who’s 196-171 win over the Renegades may turn out to be the most important one of the season. The win keeps them at 5-5 with the pack, but more importantly it completes a head to head sweep of Tampa Bay. they already have one over the Bulls. Owning those tiebreakers are going to be a huge advantage for San Quintin considering how close the race is in this division. To secure this latest win, the Showboats made a last minute decision to demote Elijah Moore to the TAXI-A spot, freeing up roster space to acquire the gameday services of kicker Cameron Dicker for $1.6 million dollars. It turned out to be money well spent considering Dicker’s 15 points providing what should be a stat correction cushion in the 25 point victory. We’ve all had those weeks where we pick the right guy for a last minute fill in and it pays off….how’s that feel when it happens? Like fantasy magic.
It’s also how the Wisconsin Dells Invaders are feeling today after demolishing the powerhouse Express in a 210-168 point trouncing. Though likely out of contention for the season, the Invaders upset is a different kind of fantasy magic that we’ve all felt before: it’s that feeling of redemption when a team that you know has talent, finally all shows up on the same weekend and gives you the kind of win you’ve been expecting all season. For Winston-Salem, the loss is most likely just a speed bump, since they remain 7-3 with a 5-2 division record and a 1-1 split with the Breakers who also move up to 7-3 after winning in New Orleans.
Which brings us to the Week 10 Highlight Game between the Bicton Breakers and the New Orleans Raiders. It’s a coaching rivalry that goes back to 2014 or 15, between two teams – the only two teams to have ever won the landry Division title – currently chasing the same points wild card spot, with both of them ranked neck and neck in scoring through 10 weeks….what a classic fantasy scenario…..
Let me get a little melodramatic and tell you a story about fantasy magic…….I started playing fantasy football in 2006, and once upon a time there wasn’t a play I missed in any game each week, not a piece of player news or info I missed. I could talk WR start/sit decisions based on likely match-ups vs individual defenders without looking up depth charts or defensive packages….but once upon a time I was 29 with my first child still on the way and all the time in the world. Now I’m 46 with kids and a business and responsibilities and commitments and, honestly, other interests more important than football, so there are some weeks where I don’t even get to watch much of any games at all.
I ended up working on Sunday, unexpectedly, but knowing the stakes of the game between the Breakers and my Raiders, I kept close watch on the score. Picture this, Sunday night, the game is close and I’m driving home. The first cold snap of the season just hit us, it’s cold and dark and the streets are empty. There’s a big bright egg-shaped moon with clouds drifting across it like in a horror movie, and nothing but the sound of the game on the radio…..and the sound of a ball game on the radio in the dead of night has such a nostalgic sound to it, doesn’t it? The moment all just FELT so footballish. And I found myself listening intently for my players, concentrating on the play by play and taking the long way home to hear the game play out as Garoppolo put me into the lead. The moment totally brought me back to my own golden age of fantasy and reminded me why I love it so much. I think, I hope, we all have had moments of fantasy magic like this.
But the game wasn’t over, and on Monday, all the aforementioned interferences of daily life made me forget about the game, thinking I had the win in the bag…..that was probably for the best so as not to spoil my day. Halfway around the world, on an otherwise mundane Tuesday, the Breakers got to experience their own fantasy magic, watching the score climb through their workday. Like the Showboats, Bicton made their own crystal ball player move, acquiring the gameday services of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave on Sunday morning before he delivered 37 points for the Breakers to seal the victory and the 7-3 standings tie with both B.C. and the Express.
Win or lose; up season or down season, I hope all of you get to experience that feeling of fantasy magic at least a few times every season in this league; that feeling that reminds you why you play this maddening little digital pastime. And to our American coaches, I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving week celebrating your friends and families….to our international coaches, I hope your week includes some celebrating of your friends and family as well.
Happy Thanksgiving; Happy Football!
Playoff Race as of Week 10:
Seed#:
- Italian Wranglers 9-1 (Lombardi DC)
- Winston-Salem Express 7-3 (Landry DC)
- SoCal Gold 6-4 (Brown DC Stand-In)
- Samn Quintin Showboats 5-5 (Halas DC)
- 2-0 vs Renegades; 2-0 vs Bulls; 0-1 vs Federals
- Bicton Breakers 7-3 (Standings WC #1)
- tied with BC Blitz, no head to head, next tiebreaker is win % vs common opponent
- Generals and Raiders are common opponents
- Blitz is .500
- Breakers are .667
- BC Blitz (Points WC #2) 2043 points
- the Blitz loss this week really throws a monkey wrench in the points wild card race
- Standings Wild Card #2…..in the hunt (NOTE: these are sorted by total points; BUT first tiebreaker would be head to head, but only if all 5 have played each other. NEXT tiebreaker would be win % vs common opponents among all 5, and THEN by total points):
- Ohio Federals 5-5
- Tracy Bulls 5-5
- Prince George Generals 5-5
- Grand Strand Gunslingers 5-5
- Sleeperville Outlaws 5-5
- Points Wild Card #2…..in the hunt:
- Ohio Federals 1899
- New Orleans Raiders 1883
- Tracy Bulls 1797
- Prince George Generals 1796
- Tampa Bay Renegades 1787