WRBL Week 15, 2019: Round 1 Recap/Championship Preview

Wisconsin Rapids Bro League

Week 15
Our 5th official season of blaming Cole Walters for scheduling my root canal for five days before Christmas.

Playoff Results

Round 1

#4 Nick Zurawski 164  #1 Andy Todd 145
#2 Scott Aschebrook 152  #3 Tyler Sneen 97
#8 Cole Walters 133  #5 Ryan Dougherty 168
#6 Darrin Aschebrook 92  #7 Alec Swanson 129

Heroes of the Week: QB Lamar Jackson (36 points), RB Christian McCaffrey (36), RB Miles Sanders (35)

NBC Sports
Hero of the Week: QB Lamar Jackson (Navy Is Illiterate)

Zero of the Week: DF Los Angeles Rams (-8, Alec)

Waiver Wonders: WR Breshad Perriman (34 points), WR Anthony Miller (26), DF Minnesota Vikings (26)

Rick Osentoski/AP
Waiver Wonder: WR Breshad Perriman (5 catches, 113 yards, 3 TDs)

Upcoming Week 16 Match-ups & NFL Schedule (in CT)

Championship/Shelby Bowl: #4 Navy Is Illiterate (Nick Zurawski) vs. #2 Rise From The Asches (Scott Aschebrook)

Not Sure How Competitive This Will Be If Cook Doesn't Play Bowl: #1 30 to 50 Feral Hogs (Andy Todd) vs. #3 SNEEN MACHINE (Tyler Sneen)

Homeowners Are Braver Than The Troops Bowl: #5 Team Easy Breesy (Ryan Dougherty) vs. #7 Tax Paying Homeowner (Alec Swanson)
The MoonBak Sacko Bowl: #8 Colieveland 96ers (Cole Walters) vs. #6 Team ChowHounds (Darrin Aschebrook)

SATURDAY Football: Houston @ Tampa Bay NOON
Buffalo @ New England 3:30 PM
LA Rams @ San Francisco 7:15 PM

Sunday NOON: Jacksonville @ Atlanta
Baltimore @ Cleveland
New Orleans @ Tennessee
Carolina @ Indianapolis
Cincinnati @ Miami
Pittsburgh @ NY Jets
NY Giants @ Washington

3:05 PM: Detroit @ Denver
Oakland @ LA Chargers

3:25 PM: Dallas @ Philadelphia
Arizona @ Seattle

Sunday Night Football: Kansas City @ Chicago 7:20 PM

Monday Night Football: Green Bay @ Minnesota 7:15 PM

Bro...

As "Dandy" Don Meredith once said at the end of Monday Night Football, "Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over"... well, for six of us the postseason party is over and our only entertainment left is watching two original co-founders of the Bro League battle it out for the right to their name on The Shelby trophy. After 15 weeks of trying to guess whether or not it's a James White week or reading the injury reports to see if T.Y. Hilton is active or not, there will be two rematches of playoff games from last season (for third and for last). After three and a half months of debating whether or not to keep David Montgomery, Duke Johnson Jr. or that second defense rostered, there will be another curveball thrown into the mix with three Saturday football games and no Thursday nighter (expect this to be posted later in the week as a result). It's a struggle and a grind but even those of us in the running for lesser prizes/recognition will still be willfully setting our lineups for the smallest of bragging rights because fantasy football is great.

In our semifinal week, we saw one upset lead to a surprise championship participant (which seems to happen every year but, y'all ain't ready for that discussion) and another, much more underwhelming upset lead to the seventh seed clawing it's way out of the Sacko, dragging the higher-rated sixth seed into the pit of despair against our season-long weak link. We'll start there as nobody cares for the sixth versus seventh match besides ole Cole Walters. Darrin's Team ChowHounds were the low-team on the scoring totem pole this week as nobody on his team broke 20 points and hypothetical loser Alec Swanson managed a 37-point win with both of his running backs healthy and performing up to their potential for the first time all 2019 (Saquon Barkley had 30 points and rookie Miles Sanders had 35). Frigid liquid man Cold Waters will fulfill our need for some entertainment outside of the championship as he once again faces Darrin in the MoonBak Bowl after he had a respectable 133 to Ryan's crazy dominant 168. "Oh sure, now you guys show up!" shouted Ryan at his ESPN Fantasy App. The Nobody Cares Tropical Smoothie Cafe Taco John's Noodles & Company Famous Potatoes Fifth-place Bowl will be between the now technically 8-7 Team Easy Breesy and Tax Paying Homeowner, Alec Swanson. In case you missed it, Christian McCaffrey (who is not Patrick Mahomes) got to 400(!) total points on the season before any other running back made it to 300 and with Jameis Winston playing lights out for the first time all year (he only forced one turnover!), Scott made Sneen his bitch in a 152-97 predictable outcome because Sneen does this every year he shows promise (he's like the Chiefs) and will now battle for third without Dalvin Cook (injured), Calvin Ridley (IR'ed) or waiver pickup Alexander Mattison (who he picked up after his own injury, only to beaten out by Nick Zurawski for the Vikings' ACTUAL RB this week, Mike Boone).

Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports
There is strong Bilal Powell/Tim Hightower/Damien Williams potential within Mike Boone.

Really, there was only one WRBL matchup worthy of watching this week and it was over by the late-afternoon games on Sunday. I was shocked Nick and I dragged it out for that long even once Lamar Jackson scorched the Jets' earth for 36 points and Hero of the Week honors. Going into Sunday, I was stress-free with no hope until DeAndre Hopkins and DeVante Parker went quiet for three quarters and it looked like Washington might pull the upset on Philadelphia's defense. The 30 to 50 Feral Hogs comeback case was aided by Travis Kelce being Patrick Mahomes' (who is not Christian McCaffrey) lone conscious receiver apparently and Tyler Lockett's first big game since his 40-point week 9. Unfortunately for my chances at repeating my 2015 feat, Hopkins and Parker showed up late and the Eagles grabbed an otherwise inconsequential touchdown at the end of their close win over Washington. Add in a dash of the Raiders' "Just Win Baby" attitude from both Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller and that's all folks! Of course, being down 49 meant Michael Thomas would have to have the game of his or any other receivers' life on Monday Night Football and while he did catch all 12 of his targets from a 19-year vet QB having the game of HIS life (Drew Brees). Because of their dominance, the Saints were up 34-0 and stopped passing after Thomas cut Nick's lead down to 19. The Hogs were still Feral and feisty and the reverse jinxes were flying back and forth like a tennis match but, Nick's team is actually made up of doctors while mine just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Sneen and I will match up for the forth time in five week 16 playoff games and it's Nick versus Scott for the 5th OFFICIAL WRBL Title. Here's a look at both lineups headed into the big game...

Navy Is Illiterate (Nick Zurawski)

QB - Lamar Jackson (#1 QB in scoring, facing hopeless Browns that somehow beat him earlier this year)

RB - Leonard Fournette (Bounceback year has made him an RB1, playing a hot/cold defense in Atlanta)

RB - Chris Carson (Scored 18 in first game against Cardinals, leads NFL in RB fumbles)

WR - DeAndre Hopkins (#2 WR in WRBL scoring, @TB)

WR - DeVante Parker (Just got paid during breakthrough season, playing at 1-13 Bengals)

FLEX - WR Breshad Perriman (Jameis's one healthy receiver, coming off first good game in a four-year career)
TE - Darren Waller (With Jacobs out, he may see some more opportunity, tied for season-low 7 in first game versus Chargers)
K - Harrison Butker (#1 scoring K in WRBL, plays Bears on Sunday Night Football)
DF - Denver Broncos (They still have Von Miller, the Lions have David Blough and someone named Wes Hills)

Rise From The Asches (Scott Aschebrook)

QB - Jameis Winston (His top two targets just went on IR and he's thrown 24 interceptions)
RB - Nick Chubb (One Brown that actually delivered this season, season-high 38 points in first game against Ravens)
RB - Christian McCaffrey (Not Patrick Mahomes, having greatest PPR fantasy season ever, obvious MVP with win or without any bias from Nick)
WR - A.J. Brown (Rookie getting first WRBL start, should get opportunities with his team playing either from behind or in a shootout, might be covered by Marcus Lattimore)
WR - Terry McLaurin (Rookie looking for redemption after only scoring 2 points in first WRBL start, seems to finally be on same page as QB Dwayne Haskins, playing Giants)

FLEX - RB Devonta Freeman (Healthy but seems matchup dependent, playing porous Jacksonville defense)

TE - Tyler Higbee (Has emerged in the post-Gerald Everett Rams' lineup as a new favorite safety blanket in garbage time for Jared Goff, should be plenty of garbage time in San Francisco)

K - Jason Sanders (Most receptions among NFL kickers, 45 points in last 3 games, listed as questionable but should play against Bengals)

DF - New England Patriots (#1 D/ST by a mile, scored 23 in first game against Bills, Bills look improved, game is on Saturday)

Good luck to all this weekend and may our Bro League Championship be void of any injuries! Tune in next week to see whether Nick fulfills the prophecy of this being HIS year or if Scott will just win it like it feels like he does every year.

Twitter
Maybe the ghosts of Dolphins' quarterbacks past, present and future will come to Nick in a dream Saturday night and show him the errors of his ways in holding an ailing Andy Todd out of the Shelby Bowl.

Scoring Leaders

QB

Lamar Jackson 339 (Nick)

Russell Wilson 262 (Andy/Alec)

Patrick Mahomes 240 (Cole/Andy)

Aaron Rodgers 240 (Sneen)

DeShaun Watson 237 (Darrin)

Drew Brees 175 (Ryan)

Kyler Murray 134 (Scott)

Tom Brady 130 (Andy)

Carson Wentz 105 (Scott)

Dak Prescott 74 (Darrin)

Jameis Winston 69 (Cole/Scott)

Josh Allen 50 (Ryan/Sneen)

Ryan Tannehill 50 (Cole)

Gardner Minshew II 40 (Ryan)

Sam Darnold 36 (Cole)

Kirk Cousins 31 (Nick/Scott)
Jacoby Brissett 26 (Ryan/Cole/Alec)
Matthew Stafford 24 (Ryan)

Baker Mayfield 23 (Scott)

Daniel Jones 21 (Andy)

Derek Carr 19 (Cole)

Matt Ryan 18 (Nick)

Cam Newton 16 (Alec)

RB

Christian McCaffrey 403 (Scott)

Dalvin Cook 280 (Sneen)

Ezekiel Elliott 257 (Ryan)

Derrick Henry 242 (Darrin)

Nick Chubb 233 (Scott)

Aaron Jones 231 (Ryan)

Leonard Fournette 223 (Nick)

Mark Ingram 209 (Andy/Cole)

Alvin Kamara 203 (Darrin)

Austin Ekeler 198 (Andy)

Le'Veon Bell 178 (Darrin)

Todd Gurley 171 (Ryan)

Saquon Barkley 156 (Alec)

Melvin Gordon 125 (Cole)

Marlon Mack 124 (Alec)

David Johnson 115 (Nick)

Josh Jacobs 114 (Nick)

Devonta Freeman 112 (Scott)

James Conner 106 (Sneen)

Joe Mixon 83 (Cole)

Miles Sanders 83 (Alec)

Chris Carson 82 (Nick)

Tevin Coleman 81 (Sneen)

Tarik Cohen 61 (Alec)

Latavius Murray 36 (Scott)

Kerryon Johnson 35 (Andy)

James White 35 (Andy)

Damien Williams 33 (Sneen/Andy)

Phillip Lindsay 30 (Andy)

LeSean McCoy 25 (Cole/Darrin)

Jaylen Samuels 24 (Andy/Sneen)

Frank Gore 23 (Cole/Darrin)

Ronald Jones II 21 (Sneen)

Chris Thompson 18 (Cole)

Kenyan Drake 17 (Cole/Alec)

Devin Singletary 15 (Andy)
Bilal Powell 10 (Andy)

Brian Hill 9 (Scott)
Sony Michel 7 (Cole)

David Montgomery 7 (Scott/Nick)

Duke Johnson 3 (Andy)
Jonathan Williams 3 (Scott)

Chase Edmonds 2 (Nick)
Benny Snell Jr. 2 (Darrin)
Jamaal Williams 2 (Sneen)

WR

Michael Thomas 330 (Andy)

DeAndre Hopkins 254 (Nick)

Chris Godwin 231 (Cole)

Julian Edelman 229 (Sneen)

Mike Evans 219 (Scott)

Allen Robinson 190 (Ryan)

Julio Jones 189 (Alec)

Amari Cooper 186 (Darrin)

Keenan Allen 173 (Alec)

Cooper Kupp 169 (Andy)

Davante Adams 164 (Sneen)

Tyreek Hill 160 (Ryan)

John Brown 137 (Darrin)

Tyler Lockett 127 (Cole/Andy)

Odell Beckham Jr. 121 (Nick)

Emmanuel Sanders 111 (Scott)

Adam Thielen 103 (Andy)

T.Y. Hilton 99 (Cole)

D.J. Moore 98 (Alec)

Kenny Golladay 95 (Alec)

Marvin Jones Jr. 85 (Ryan)

Calvin Ridley 83 (Sneen)

Jarvis Landry 68 (Scott/Cole)

Courtland Sutton 66 (Alec)

Stefon Diggs 65 (Alec/Nick)

JuJu Smith-Schuster 64 (Andy)

Golden Tate 64 (Scott)

Tyrell Williams 61 (Cole)

Brandin Cooks 58 (Ryan)

DJ Chark 57 (Cole)

Tyler Boyd 42 (Nick)

DeVante Parker 38 (Cole/Nick)

Deebo Samuel 37 (Scott)

Sterling Shepard 35 (Darrin)

Robert Woods 34 (Sneen)

Alshon Jeffery 28 (Darrin)

Sammy Watkins 27 (Nick)

Mohamed Sanu 26 (Sneen)

Larry Fitzgerald 22 (Sneen)

Antonio Brown 15 (Darrin)

Cole Beasley 14 (Cole)

Michael Gallup 11 (Andy)

Will Fuller V 10 (Ryan)

Christian Kirk 10 (Cole)

Auden Tate 9 (Alec)

Marquise Brown 6 (Alec)
DK Metcalf 6 (Ryan)

Curtis Samuel 6 (Darrin)

Terry McLaurin 2 (Scott)

TE

Travis Kelce 221 (Andy)

Zach Ertz 204 (Sneen)

George Kittle 180 (Cole)

Darren Waller 150 (Nick)

Austin Hooper 108 (Scott)

Evan Engram 105 (Darrin)

Hunter Henry 91 (Ryan/Alec)

Mark Andrews 58 (Nick/Ryan)

Greg Olsen 35 (Cole/Nick/Scott)

Jared Cook 32 (Scott/Darrin/Cole)

Vance McDonald 31 (Alec)

Will Dissly 30 (Alec)

Delanie Walker 30 (Ryan)

Kyle Rudolph 25 (Darrin)

Tyler Higbee 23 (Scott)

Gerald Everett 17 (Ryan/Sneen)

David Njoku 12 (Nick)

Jason Witten 10 (Ryan/Darrin)

Gerald Everett 7 (Darrin)

Darren Fells 7 (Scott)

Dallas Goedert 7 (Ryan)

Jimmy Graham 7 (Ryan)
Jacob Hollister 4 (Andy)

Mike Gesicki 3 (Cole)

T.J. Hockenson 1 (Scott)

PK

Harrison Butker 144 (Nick)

Wil Lutz 144 (Andy/Sneen)

Justin Tucker 128 (Alec/Andy)

Greg Zuerlein 88 (Ryan/Darrin)

Matt Gay 62 (Ryan)

Jake Elliott 58 (Sneen)

Matt Prater 49 (Alec)

Mason Crosby 48 (Cole)

Robbie Gould 48 (Cole/Scott)

Josh Lambo 34 (Darrin)

Stephen Gostkowski 32 (Darrin)

Austin Seibert 30 (Scott)

Ka'imi Fairbairn 24 (Scott/Nick)

Chris Boswell 21 (Cole)

Zane Gonzalez 21 (Darrin)

Younghoe Koo 18 (Cole)

Mike Nugent 13 (Scott)

Adam Vinatieri 13 (Cole)
Jason Sanders 8 (Scott)

Michael Badgley 6 (Scott)

Joey Slye 2 (Darrin)

DF

New England Patriots 191 (Scott)

Buffalo Bills 123 (Darrin)

Pittsburgh Steelers 95 (Cole/Ryan)

New Orleans Saints 86 (Alec/Sneen)

Baltimore Ravens 85 (Andy/Nick/Andy)

Chicago Bears 72 (Nick)

Los Angeles Rams 62 (Sneen/Andy/Alec)

Los Angeles Chargers 57 (Ryan)

Philadelphia Eagles 42 (Cole/Alec/Nick)

Carolina Panthers 38 (Cole/Darrin/Alec/Nick)

Dallas Cowboys 35 (Andy/Cole/Sneen)

San Francisco 49ers 31 (Andy/Nick)

Jacksonville Jaguars 26 (Scott/Cole)

Cleveland Browns 18 (Cole/Scott)

Green Bay Packers 18 (Cole)
Minnesota Vikings 17 (Scott/Nick)

Oakland Raiders 13 (Alec)

Washington 12 (Andy)

New York Jets 11 (Cole)
Tennessee Titans 7 (Andy)
Indianapolis Colts 6 (Alec)

New York Giants 3 (Cole)

Arizona Cardinals 2 (Cole)

Seattle Seahawks 2 (Andy)

Denver Broncos 1 (Cole)

Hypothetical Standings

30 to 50 Feral Hogs 11-4

Rise From The Asches 10-5

Navy Is Illiterate 7-8

SNEEN MACHINE 7-8

Team Easy Breesy 7-8

Tax Paying Homeowner 7-8

Team ChowHounds 6-9

Colieveland 96ers 5-10