NFL.com Fantasy Playoff Challenge - Still Alive?

by Chris Pokorny on Feb 1, 2012 7:55 PM EST

For those of you still alive in the NFL.com Fantasy Playoff Challenge, how has your team been doing?

My team was finished as soon as Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers were eliminated from the playoffs. I ended up banking on a Patriots-Giants Super Bowl heading into the Conference Championships, so at least I will get "x2" for all of my players (and "x3" for two of those players). That should boost my final score to be moderately respectable, but still no where near the top.

The one I am excited about is my brother's team. He picked a Giants-Patriots Super Bowl from the very beginning, meaning he will have the all-important "x4" bonus for each player this Sunday. He currently sits in 3,955th place overall. Considering a bunch of the teams ahead of him had players from the Saints or other teams, his ranking can only move up. I'm not getting ready to pack my bags for next year's Super Bowl or anything, but just the thought of "being up there" is pretty exciting.

His team has been the following:

QB Eli Manning
RB Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Brandon Jacobs
WR Victor Cruz, WR Wes Welker
TE Rob Gronkowski
K Stephen Gostkowski
DEF Giants Defense

I'd say the key for my brother's team to really make a run at it (against teams who also picked at Pats-Giants Super Bowl) is for Cruz to outdo Hakeem Nicks, Wes Welker to actually get some production this postseason, and for either Bradshaw or Jacobs to have a big day.

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My problem is trying to score as many points as I can when I start. I’ve got it ingrained in me to play the matchups, so by force of habit, that’s exactly what I do in Week 1. That said, I scored the most points in Week 1, but it’s a shame that it means absolutely nothing in with the Playoff Challenge multipliers. Before “Championship Week” I went the exact same route you did, banked it all on the Pats/Giants (but mostly Giants). I still have zero chance of coming back. “Little Oscar” played it perfectly.

by Jon @ DBN on Feb 1, 2012 8:03 PM EST reply actions

Yeah, there’s an intrigue to the first method of playing as a fantasy playoff format. I guess that by having the multipliers involved, you are more likely to have a more decisive “top x number of contenders” for the grand prize. It all comes down to picking the right Super Bowl match-up out of 12 playoff teams.

My dad had an all-49ers vs. Ravens Super Bowl for his team. If those two teams would’ve made the SB, I think a lot less people would’ve picked that matchup, causing his ranking to be higher.

Side note: during the regular season, my brother and I re-pick fantasy teams every week. Picks are done in a snake draft format for two people, and we have a rule where you can only pick a maximum of one player per team per week. Coin flip decides the order of the “draft” each week. We’ve been doing the format for friendly competition for three years now; always turns out to be pretty fun.

Dawgs By Nature - Covering the Cleveland Browns on SB Nation.

by Chris Pokorny on Feb 1, 2012 8:16 PM EST up reply actions