Week 12 Review

Welcome to the penultimate review of the Millbrook Fantasy Regular Season. 1 week remains as the Fantasy Playoffs loom overhead with 4 spots now locked up. GM Ian and the Raviolis have packed their bags, stored the formuoli, and punched their ticket to the playoffs joining the ranks of the Nice Guys, Hoochie Mamas and Scoregasms. Likewise, the bottom 4 teams have all received their invitations to the Dansky Classic and will be using this last remaining week as a tune up in preparation for the challenges ahead. That leaves 4 teams left, each with a single matchup to decide their fate. We'll break into the Playoff Picture in just a moment, but first let's take a final look at the Power Rankings and see where the teams stack up for the playoffs. This segment will be replaced by a Playoff breakdown in the following Wrap-Up reviews.

1. Mr. Nice Guy: The current favorites for the Championship just proved their worth by winning with 119 points despite a Rams bye week. Good Lord
2. Ravioli Ravioli: A week 12 explosion puts the Raviolis up to 2nd with the greatest RB duo in the league, a solid set of WRs and flex options for support and a spectacular QB to lead the way.
3. Hoochie Mamas: Their RBs and TE are balling and QB Mahomes is the best there is, but WR problems will need to be fixed before playoffs if they hope to make a run.
4. Scoregasms: Falling out of the bye week, GM Brody will need newly acquired WR Hill to lead the way alongside Diggs and Woods.
5. Belichick Yo Self: Back to back 100+ point games for the Belis puts them in 5th thanks to the reemergence of RBs Michel and Miller to support their star studded WRs.
6. Crunching Munchies: The return of RB Fournette has given the Munchies their 3 greatest weeks of the season as they are 5th in points since his return.
7. Ravagn' Rainbows: A RB Gordon knee injury could prove to be crippling as the playoffs have already started for the Rainbows but they still have big play potential with Juju, DJ and Gronk
8. Miking Mikes: Not much is going well for the Mikes as they must once again rely on Kamara since Boyd has no QB, RB Carson is not getting utilized and QB Rodgers has been reduced to a streaming QB option rather than a weekly must start.
9. Grafton's A Bum: A strong resurgence for the Bums has put them in great opportunity to avoid the Dansky due to RB Jones balling while OBJ continues to carry.
10. Tittsburgh Feelers: An up and down team all year, RB Howard has fallen off the map and awful management has led to multiple players starting while injured, hurting the team.
11. Bigpapihugetime: The ex-champions are just a shell of their former selves and will need both Thomas and Hopkins to snap out of it in time for the Loser Bracket.
12. Pasca's Ex-Daddy: Hahah Dom you SUCK suck huh

With the final round of matchups set to begin Thursday night, here's what each team needs to qualify...

First Round Byes

1. Mr. Nice Guy (9-3)                                                                        2. Hoochie Mamas (9-3)

Both the Nice Guys and Mamas jumped over the Scoregasms this past week to take control of the first round bye and will solidify their top seeding with wins this upcoming week. GM August and the Mamas face off against Pasca's Ex-Daddy in a matchup in which they are heavy favorites with an over-under swing of +60 points. GM Grafton and the Nice Guys face a much tougher season finale against the piping hot Raviolis, fresh out of the oven. If either team slips up, Scoregasms will reclaim their top seed with a win.

Leaders of the Pack

3. Scoregasms (9-3)                                                                         4. Ravioli Ravioli (8-4)

Both the Scoregasms and Raviolis have clinched playoff spots however are on the outside looking in on the bye week seeds. Scoregasms has a slim chance of jumping back up to 2nd if Mr. Nice Guy falls to the Raviolis but will need to win themselves as they are far behind on the points scored tiebreaker. Meanwhile the Raviolis will be looking to extend their 7 game win streak over the top team. The Raviolis have found the formuoli for winning, and have been mass producing wins ever since, as they continue to ooze in sauce. The Raviolis have solidified their spot and will be looking for a fun tune up match at home as their dedicated fans celebrate the successful season and send them off to the playoffs.

In the Hunt

5. Miking Mikes (7-5)                                                                6.. Ravagn' Rainbows (6-6)

7. Tittsburgh Feelers (6-6)                                                           8. Belichick Yo Self (6-6) 

4 teams remain in the hunt as they fight for the last 2 remaining spots for playoffs. The season finale pits the Mikes against the Rainbows in a win and in situation for both teams while the Feelers and Belis have to win and get some help. With GM Connor and the Rainbows dominating the points scored column, they can claim the 5 seed with a victory. However, a defeat will put them in danger of the Dansky as a victory by either the Feelers or Yo Selfs will spell doom for the Rainbows. The Mikes have a more solidified claim to their playoff seed, but if they fall to the Rainbows, it will come down to a close points-scored tiebreaker with the Feelers who currently lead by a slim margin of 4 points. GM Matt and the Feelers actually have a pretty straightforward path to the 6th seed thanks to the scheduling committee placing the two teams ahead of them against each other. If the Feelers win, they will knock out the loser of the Mikes vs Rainbows matchup into the final spot of the playoffs. GM David and the Belis on the flip side, require both the Rainbows and Feelers to lose in order to sneak into the playoffs as they are too far behind on points scored to rely on anything other than record. Time will tell which two teams find themselves in the playoffs and who gets left out to fend for the Dansky.

Dansky Watch

9. Pasca's Ex-Daddy (4-8)                                                                  10. Bigpapihugetime (3-9)

11. Grafton's A Bum (3-9)                                                              12. Crunching Munchies (2-10)

The only thing left for the losers here is to figure out seeding and who gets the bye week. GM Michael and the Munchies have already locked up the first bye week spot but could jump up to the 11th seed with a victory and Bum loss. GM Kelly and the Bums have a chance to break out of the bye week with a victory and Huge Time loss or a loss by GM Dom and the Ex-Daddy's. 

After the matchups conclude Monday Night and the brackets are finalized, a full analyzation of both postseason tournaments will be presented in the next Weekly Wrap-Up along with a list of Team  Odds and an opportunity for fun participation from managers and fans across the league.

Matchup Highlights:

Mr. Nice Guy (9-3) scored another victory over GM Darren and the Miking Mikes (7-5) in the Wildcat Matchup of the Week. Despite not having any of their star players from the Rams, GM Grafton and the Nice Guys still dominated over a struggling team of Mikes with a 119-81 blowout victory. RB Lindsay stepped up for the Nice Guys in place of RB Gurley for 17 points while WRs Jones and Hilton put up 13 each. The Mikes got burned by a hideous QB performance from Rodgers with only 14 points, while star RB Kamara also disappointed on Thanksgiving by skipping the TD feast instead settling for 10 points. 

For the first time in franchise history, Crunching Munchies (2-10) emerged triumphant over GM Dom and Pasca's Ex-Daddy (4-8) with a 110-68 victory. After starting the rivalry 0-4 against GM Dom, GM Michael was finally able to claim a win thanks to the recent destruction that has demolished the Daddy's. Fournette's return also proved key for the Munchies' recent success as he put up a 3rd straight 20+ performance despite being ejected in the third quarter. TE Ebron also rebounded with 2 more TDs and will look to continue this as his teammate Doyle will be out for the remainder of the season on IR. Thielen performed well for the Daddy's as usual, being their sole bright spot on the dark canvas that is the second half of the season for Dom. However, there wasn't much else that was done by his teammates as 5 players put up less than 4 points in the defeat.

Ravioli Ravioli (8-4) continue their 7 game win streak with a boat-race victory over Scoregasms (9-3). The 148-100 victory was all thanks to RB CMC who cooked the competition with 36 points from 237 all purpose yards and 2 TDs. The Raviolis didn't look back as the piled on the points with QB Cam and WR Edelman for 27 and 14 respectively. The Scoregasms elected to concede defeat before this matchup even started as they traded away their star RBs for WR Hill who was on bye this week. WR Diggs continued to ball regardless with another 15 point performance. 

Press Conference:

GM Darren of the Miking Mikes was called into the media room this week ahead of his great matchup against GM Connor and the Rainbows. In a must win situation, Darren was asked to reflect on the recent defeat to the Nice Guys and how he is preparing for the upcoming game. "A big part of the Mikes defeat last week was players not even reaching their projections." he took a moment to cough but clearly emphasized his disappointment with Aaron Rodgers and the Jacksonville Defense. "With a few acquisitions at kicker and defense the Mikes are feeling pretty good [ahead of our matchup with the Rainbows.] The Mikes are confident that a pissed off Rodgers and Star Kamara will bounce back. The Mikes are ready." When asked what he thinks about GM Connor of the opposition, Darren responded, "I hope he loses, I would like to win". Excellent trash talk as usually from GM Darren.

GM Connor also welcomed reporters into the conference area at Ravagn' County Facilities, where he addressed his perspective of the must win matchup over GM Darren and the Mikes. "My team shouldn't be worried, I know their morale is low losing the rock of the team in RB Gordon, but this means that more opportunities will be given to some other players to step up big in this last game of the season. Especially facing a rival who we lost to earlier in the season, it is important for us to bounce back after an up and down season and continue the dynasty we have built in previous years and ravage Darren to lock up a playoff position. Darren needs to ready his troops because the Rainbows are about to unleash the luck of the Irish and the remaining anger and determination all the way back from the division of Ireland, the potato famine, and the Thierry Henry handball." It will sure be a tense and emotional matchup with everything on the line for both teams.

GM Ian was also welcoming to the media crew where he reflected on the successful season from the Raviolis and their final matchup against the top dog Nice Guys. "As for the final regular season game against Grafton, it will be a lot of fun. It is clear that the consensus number one team all year has been Mr. Nice Guy. The problem is, there's a team better than them, and they have the formuoli. That is all I'll say on the subject." Ian was also asked about the struggles of his fellow champions throughout the season and the possibility of him being the only one to qualify for playoffs. "If Connor makes playoffs, I'll be glad as it's always nice to see another champion. If not, I would say to my non-champion opponents that [the key to success in the playoffs] is all about decisive decision making, Something that Kurt,  Connor, and I have perfected as seen by our champion status. I wish luck to everyone going into playoffs, they'll need it to beat the hottest Ravioli... I mean team in the league." Always a delight to the media and reporters, GM Ian's press conferences have been a staple in the league this season and we look forward to some more playoff edition interviews in the coming weeks.

Weekly Awards:

• Murphy Mixup:

GM Kelly once again claimed the mixup by benching QB Cousins who went off for 33 points, well over the Starting QB Ryan who disappointed with only 25 points. That along with the RB Johnson's awful performance of 3.9 while WR Keelan Cole was left on the bench with 14.7 points. Great work Kelly.

• Oh Boy! Play of the Week:

The Oh Boy Play of the Week goes to the GM Ian and the Raviolis for picking up and playing the Baltimore defense for 19 points, leading the way to the victory. Another excellent play by GM Ian.

• DTDB Moment of the Week:

Dom continues to suck. You think his throat would be a bit sore after being dominated by Darren for the past few weeks. 

• Pasca's Ponderable:

Ha, I'm better than Dom. And since I beat Dominic and Connor does that mean Connor is just as bad as Dominic?

Next Week's Matchups: 

• Miking Mikes (7-5) vs Ravagn' Rainbows (6-6): Wildcat Matchup of the Week

It all boils down to this. A must win game for both teams who have struggled with inconsistency all season. Both teams will require the absolute best from their stars, RB Kamara against Cook and DJ, and WRs Allen and Boyd against Juju. Expect RB Carson and WR Moore for the Mikes to be the keys to victory however, as they will be the extra umph needed to fly over the Rainbows and into the playoffs. Meanwhile, if QB Brady finds himself in a shootout with Minnesota, GM Connor could obtain the bitter victory with a clutch performance from Gronk, who is an ex-Mike. Whoever comes out on top, expect this one to come down to the wire on Sunday night where Juju and Allen will fight for their teams' playoff chances.

• Scoregasms (9-3) vs Tittsburgh Feelers (6-6):

Both teams in this one also need the victory as Scoregasms are looking to get back into the bye week while the Feelers need to win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. GM Brody will need a big game from WR Hill while GM Matt will be requiring RB Hunt to ball out. I got the Scoregasms in this one since Matt will end up starting another injured player instead of benching him for someone who is actually active.

• Grafton's A Bum (3-9) vs Bigpapihugetime (3-9):

A big matchup between the Bums and the Huge Times will decide who ends up with a bye week come postseason. The Bums have been getting hot lately and Odell will carry them to victory over a struggling group of Papis led by Mixon who will be stifled without his QB.

• Pasca's Ex-Daddy (4-10) vs Hoochie Mamas (9-3):

LOL this is gonna be a repeat from 2015 isn't it? 

• Mr. Nice Guy (9-3) vs Ravioli Ravioli (8-4):

This game might as well be termed the night sky at the poles... because there are so many stars in it. The two top teams of the Power Rankings will be facing off in a victory lap to celebrate their seasons. I have the Raviolis with the upset with WR Sanders breaking the tie.

• Belichick Yo Self (6-6) vs Crunching Munchies (2-10):

The Munchies have locked up the first round bye and will be low on RBs this week with Fournette suspended while Kerryon nurses a knee injury. Expect Golladay to celebrate Thanksgiving late this year with a buffet of targets but to be overshadowed by Brown and Adams in the Beli win.

That's all for this week. Good luck to everyone in the final regular season game of the season. Make sure to tune in next week for a complete breakdown of the Playoffs and a review of the season.