Now that the 2015-16 NFL.com Football Fantasy season is over (year 15), none of my three teams made the playoffs. On a high note, two of my teams made a bit of a turn around to finish the season .500 and above. One team was inches away from making the playoffs.
The Highland Executions (7-7-0) started the season terribly with a 2-5-0 record (14 weeks were played this year, weeks 15 & 16 were playoffs), but made a huge turn around and finished the season 7-7-0 and placing 5/10 in their league. The team did miss the playoffs, but managed to head into the consolation bracket as the 3rd place team (out of 4 teams) and the Executions dominated and became the winner of the consolation playoffs.
Heading into the consolation game, the team was on a 3 game winning streak, and won both their consolation games (2-0-0), thus they'll head into the 2016 NFL.com Football Fantasy Season on a 5-game winning streak.
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The Executions went on a 2-game winning streak after week 8 and turned their 2-5-0 record into 4-6-0. After a week 11 slip by 7 points, the team won their final 3 games of the season and turned their horrible start into a 7-7-0 finish.
The 2014 season looked exactly the same for the team, as they finished 7-7-0 and had a 2-5-0 start and actually placed 5/10 teams in their league. Unlike this season, Quarterback (QB) Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos) was the starter for that entire season. This year it was QB Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) who led the charge this season. Manning was the backup, as QB Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) was traded for him during week 3.
The team did a lot of moves this season, most noteable during the first half (picked up off waivers) were wide receiver (WR) Rishard Matthews (Miami Dolphins) during week 4, running back (RB) Jonathan Stewart (Carolina Panthers) week 7. The trade for Manning and the pickup of Matthews and Stewart didn't seem to help for week 7, as the Executions lost by 0.40 points, the 2nd most devastating loss in team history.
Things would start to turn for the better on week 8. Both Stewart and Rivers started putting up great fantasy points. The pickup of the year (off waivers) was Steelers RB DeAngelo Williams, whom had been injured, but returned. The three mentioned above were on a roll.
Heading into the final stretch of the season the team was 5-7-0. Weeks 13 & 14 were slow for Rivers, as he didn't make it past the 10 point mark both games, but Stewart and Williams (both weeks) continued to mount up the points. A last second pickup helped the Executions tack on some points. The team picked up Seattle Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin, who in recent weeks had gone under the radar in my league. Him, Stewart, and Williams helped the Executions secure their final game with a 106-99 victory.
The team headed into the consolation bracket on a high note. The team was 2 games out from making the playoffs. The Executions had no problems winning the consolation bracket, taking game 1 with a score of 134-82 and their 2nd game 97-68.
Player of the year: RB DeAngelo Williams
Biggest Disappointment: QB Peyton Manning
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The Highland Executions are 3-time NFL.com League Champions (2000, 2005, 2011) and 4-time Division Champions (2000, 2005, 2007, 2011).
TEAM HISTORY (2000-2015)
Highland Executions
Est. 2000
Overall Record: 116-107-1 (224 games)
Winning Percentage: .520 (52%)
Playoff Record (including Consolation): 13-5-0
Playoff Winning Percentage: .722 (72%)
3-time NFL.com Fantasy League Champions (2000, 2005, 2011)
4-time NFL.com Fantasy League Division Champions (2000, 2005, 2007, 2011)
City: Highland, MI
Stadium: Ford Field: Detroit, MI
Coach: Jesse Richardson
Best Record: 12-2-0 (2007)
Worst Record: 4-10-0 (2010)
Division Champions-
2000, 2005, 2007, 2011
NFL.com League Champions-
2000, 2005, 2011
-------------------------------
*2000*
11-3-0 (Central Division & NFL.com League Champions)- NFL.com
Note: 2001 NFL.com became a pay only Fantasy League. I switched over to Yahoo.com.
*2001*
7-7-0 (Lost in 2nd round of playoffs; finished season 5/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
*2002*
4-10-0 (Missed playoffs for the first time in team history; finished 8/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
*2003*
6-8-0 (Lost in 2nd round of playoffs; finished 7/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
*2004*
6-8-0 (Lost in 1st round of playoffs; finished 6/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
Note: 2005 NFL.com returned to being a free Fantasy League. I switched back.
*2005*
8-6-0 (Central Division & NFL.com League Champions)- NFL.com
*2006*
8-6-0 (Lost in NFL.com League Championship game)- NFL.com
*2007*
12-2-0 (Central Division Champions, but lost in first round of playoffs)- NFL.com
*2008*
6-7-1 (Missed playoffs, 2nd time in team history)- NFL.com
*2009*
8-6-0 (Missed playoffs 2nd straight year)- NFL.com
*2010*
4-10-0 (Missed playoffs 3rd straight year, worst record in team history 12/12)- NFL.com
*2011*
11-4-0 (Central Division Champions & NFL.com League Champions,)- NFL.com
*2012*
5-9-0 (Missed playoffs)- NFL.com
*2013*
6-7-0 (Missed playoffs 2nd straight year 7/12)- NFL.com
*2014*
7-7-0 (Missed playoffs 3rd straight year, finished 5/10 consolation bracket)- NFL.com
*2015*
7-7-0 (Missed playoffs 4th straight year, finished 5/10 consolation bracket)- NFL.com
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The Highland GraveDiggers (6-8-0) couldn't find that 'umph' this year to end the season on a high note, or a winning record for that matter. The team started out 3-4-0 through the mid way portion of the season (14 weeks were played, weeks 15 & 16 were playoffs), thus the team had plenty of chances to make the playoffs, especially with their lineup. They finished 6-8-0, thus missing the playoffs, but making the consolation bracket and placed 6/10 in their league. A discouraging season to say the least, especially since they were league champions last season.
Heading into the consolation bracket, they had lost their final game of the season, but were 1-1-0 in the consolation bracket.
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The GraveDiggers lost their week 8 game, but started the Denver Broncos defense. They picked up Pittsburgh Steelers running back (RB) DeAngelo Williams off waivers and sparked a win in week 9, thanks to Williams and fellow teammate and wide receiver (WR) Antonio Brown. Week 10 the team was back at .500 with a 5-5-0 record, thanks to quarterback (QB) Tom Brady, Brown, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans for putting up huge points that week.
The team was on a 2-game losing streak heading into the final stretch of the season with a 5-7-0 record. The pickup of Williams, and the solid playing by Brady, Brown, Evans, and Buccaneers RB Doug Martin weren't enough to turn the tide. Week 13 the team picked up a win, but failed to do so in week 14, their final game of the season.
The team didn't do a ton of moves during the 2nd half of the season, mostly because they already had a lot of great players, some mentioned above. Others included Arizona Cardinals WR Doug Brown and the Broncos defense.
The GraveDiggers won only one of their consolation games by a hair (0.30), and lost their 2nd one by 0.04 points. That was the teams most crushing loss in team history.
Player of the year: QB Tom Brady
Biggest Disappointment: RB Andre Ellington (Arizona Cardinals)
Biggest Disappointment: RB Andre Ellington (Arizona Cardinals)
TEAM HISTORY (2001-2015)
Highland GraveDiggers
Est. 2001
Overall Record: 106-103-1 (210 games)
Winning Percentage: .507 (51%)
Playoff Record (including Consolation): 9-8-0
Playoff Winning Percentage .529 (53%)
2-time NFL.com Fantasy League Champions (2005, 2014)
2-time NFL.com Fantasy League Division Champions (2005, 2010)
City: Highland, MI
Stadium: Ford Field: Detroit, MI
Coach: Jesse Richardson
Best Record: 9-5-0 (2005)
Worst Record: 4-10-0 (2008)
Division Champions
2005, 2010
NFL.com League Champions
2005, 2014
------------------------------
*2001*
7-7-0 (Lost 2nd round of playoffs; finished 6/10 teams)- Yahoo
*2002*
9-5-0 (Lost 2nd round of playoffs; finished 5/10 teams)- Yahoo
*2003*
8-6-0 (Lost 2nd round of playoffs; finished 4/10 teams)- Yahoo
*2004*
7-6-1 (Lost 2nd round of playoffs; finished 4/10 teams)- Yahoo
Note: NFL.com returned to being a free Fantasy League. I started playing on NFL.com
*2005*
9-5-0 (Western Division & NFL.com League Champions)- NFL.com
*2006*
9-5-0 (Missed playoffs for the first time in team history)- NFL.com
*2007*
8-6-0 (Missed playoffs 2nd straight year)- NFL.com
*2008*
4-10-0 (Missed playoffs 3rd straight year, worst record in team history)- NFL.com
*2009*
6-8-0 (Missed playoffs 4th straight year)- NFL.com
*2010*
8-6-0 (Division Champions, lost 3rd place game)- NFL.com
*2011*
5-9-0 (Missed playoffs, placed 3/4 division, 8/12 league)- NFL.com
*2012*
4-10-0 (Missed playoffs 2nd straight year)- NFL.com
*2013*
8-6-0 (Lost 1st round of playoffs; finished 5/12 teams)- NFL.com
*2014*
8-6-0 (NFL.com League Champions; 4/10 teams)- NFL.com
Note: Most exciting playoff series in fantasy history, defeated two 12-2-0 teams, won both games by 6 points.
*2015*
6-8-0 (Missed playoffs, finished 6/10 consolation bracket)- NFL.com
===================================
The Highland LavaRockets (8-6-0) had a pretty good season, but missed the playoffs by an inch. They were tied (record wise) for the final playoff spot, but lost that spot due to not having more total points than the other team. Through the half-way mark of the season (week 7) the team was on the right path with a 4-3-0 record. 14 weeks were played, weeks 15, 16, & 17 were playoffs. The team had a bye the first week of the consolation game and went on to win the next two games, 2-0-0 and placed 7/16 in their league.
Heading into the consolation bracket, the team was on a 2-game winning streak, and since they won both their games, they'll head into the 2016 season on a 4-game winning streak.
With a 5-4-0 record after week 9, the team changed quarterbacks (QB) from Denver Broncos Peyton Manning to Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blake Bortles, which would turn out to be a great move. Wide receiver's (WR) Kendall Wright (Tennessee Titans) and San Francisco 49'er Torrey Smith were benched for the rest of the season, Smith was let go to make room for Houston Texans WR Nate Washington.
Week 11 the team was 6-5-0, but needed a little 'umph' and the team got that with Carolina Panthers running back (RB) Jonathan Stewart putting up a ton of points. The LavaRockets won their final game of the season with the help of Bortles, Stewart, and Pittsburgh Steelers RB DeAngelo Williams putting up a ton of points. Other two players that were solid through the season were Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald and also Denver Broncos defense.
Player of the year: QB Blake Bortles
Biggest Disappointment: WR Kendall Wright
Highland LavaRockets are 1-time NFL.com League Champions (2010) and 1-time NFL.com Division Champions (2010).
Highland Lava Rockets
Est. 2001
Overall Record: 100-106-4 (210 games)
Winning Percentage: .485 (48%)
Playoff Record (including Consolation): 13-5
Playoff Winning Percentage: .722 (72%)
1-time NFL.com Fantasy League Champions (2010)
1-time NFL.com Fantasy League Division Champions (2010)
City: Highland, MI
Stadium: Ford Field: Detroit, MI
Coach: Jesse Richardson
Best Record: 8-5-1 (2005)
Worst Record: 3-11-0 (2001)
Division Champions- 2010
NFL.com League Champions- 2010
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*2001*
3-11-0 (Missed playoffs; finished 10/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
*2002*
7-7-0 (Missed playoffs; finished 7/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
*2003*
9-5-0 (Lost 2nd round of playoffs; finished 4/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
*2004*
6-8-0 (Lost 2nd round of playoffs; finished 6/10 teams)- Yahoo.com
Note: NFL.com returned to being a free Fantasy League. I started playing on NFL.com
*2005*
8-5-1 (Lost in Divisional Playoffs)- NFL.com
*2006*
6-6-2 (Missed playoffs)- NFL.com
*2007*
7-7-0 (Missed playoffs 2nd straight year)- NFL.com
*2008*
4-9-1 (Missed playoffs 3rd straight year)- NFL.com
*2009*
6-8-0 (Missed playoffs 4th straight year)- NFL.com
*2010*
9-5-0 (Division & NFL.com League Champions)- NFL.com
*2011*
6-8-0 (Lost in Divisional Playoffs; 7/12)- NFL.com
*2012*
8-6-0 (Lost 1st round playoffs; won 3rd place, 3/10)- NFL.com
*2013*
5-9-0 (Missed playoffs; placed 9th in consolation bracket; 9/16)- NFL.com
*2014*
8-6-0 (Missed playoffs 2nd straight year, placed 5th in consolation bracket; 5/10)- NFL.com
*2015*
8-6-0 (Missed playoffs 3rd straight year, finished 7/16 consolation bracket)- NFL.com
