I hate goodbyes. I hate when Sundays end. I hate when I hear Carrie Underwood singing “You’ve been waiting all week for Sunday Night.” No, not because she is hotter than I am, or I am jealous of her perfect legs. I hate it because Sunday night signifies the end of the weekend and the end of my fantasy football game. Okay, I am being melodramatic; I still have Monday night to watch football. But by the time Sunday night comes, I already know if I won or lost. And so of course, yesterday I already had that same feeling, and it wasn’t good. So let’s make it into a metaphor… it’s the “Sunday night” of the fantasy football season for many of us, where most of the football games are behind us, and we are holding on to the last two weeks of fantasy land, the Monday night of the season.
With only two weeks left, I’m already starting to say goodbye to my fantasy team/season, since it will literally take me two weeks to find a new hobby to replace the time I spend on fantasy football… maybe I’ll take up fantasy basketball… (Ha! You don’t see Carrie Underwood singing the intro for basketball for a reason.) But I am taking this week to focus on the past season and start planning for next year (and maybe drown $20 over at DraftKings). And I want to pay tribute to all the fallen players (that fell out of my team and out of our hearts). Warning, I plan on never typing these names again…
Ben Tate – This year, he finally was out of Arian Foster’s shadow and was supposed to lead the Browns as their starting back. Well, that never happened and two rookies stole the job from him. He ended up as a free agent and now a Viking, where he will not be long. I will say the Browns have only won once since letting him go, so maybe he just brought luck to the team, not skill.
Zac Stacy – Another running back replaced by a rookie because of the busting for fantasy owners after his decent season last year. His fantasy value has dissipated, but we move on… right into the arms of Tre Mason.
Danny Amendola – He was predicted to do great things under Tom Brady. Even with Tom Brady getting his mojo back, he has yet to produce a fantasy worthy game. Ultimately, Amendola lost his appeal when he left the Rams.
While these players fell out of our fantasy world, rookies were right on hand to take their spots. This class of rookies proved to be some of the best waiver adds that won our team and theirs games. My favorite rookies (who will never fly under the radar again):
Odell Beckham Jr. – Hands down, the best rookie wide receiver of the year. His catches are awe-worthy, and he even makes Eli Manning look like Peyton (sometimes).
Kelvin Benjamin – Another rookie WR with a great year. He will be Carolina’s only draft worthy WR as of now, and his chemistry with Cam is going to continue to grow.
Mike Evans – I can only imagine what next year will have in store for him when he gets a stronger QB.
Of course, next time we are drafting our teams, we will have a whole new set of recruits. Since I like fresh blood, I am picking my favorite rookies that I will spend a pick on:
Marcus Mariota – Of course, the Heisman trophy winner is top of my list. The way he runs Oregon’s offense is best in the NCAA (sorry, Winston). He has been compared to many great QBs, and he will be a great leader for a team (I’m looking at you, Bucs).
Melvin Gordon– the best RB in this draft class, and after I mentioned all the RBs we said goodbye to this year, teams will need a guy like Gordon. This year’s rookie all-stars were all WRs. Next year, Gordon could make it all about RBs.
Next season, I think the world of fantasy football will continue to change. That the old school way of you having one team for a season will be low in popularity, while Daily Fantasy continues to soar. Other leagues will start taking a similar format, meaning your team will constantly be made of new players. Personally, I like to stick with my team through thick and thin (and my relationships…), but I think next year, we will have even more research to do to keep up with our constantly changing teams and staying up-to-date on cheap picks or sleepers that our opponents are missing.
I can’t believe it is time to say good-bye, but I know I will get over it about as quickly as Cam Newton got over that car accident. And you all will move on as swiftly as Manziel drank away his first start in the NFL.
Hope ya’ll have a great holiday season and New Year! See ya’ll in 2015!
