Happy Turkey Day. And there are very early Turkey Day games so don’t forget to set your line ups even earlier for this week’s Thursday games.

I sure didn’t expect this to have happened but there are 6 teams in real contention for 2 playoff spots. Even Rhett is in the hunt after recently performing quite well. And Chris, who I thought was a shoe in, is really struggling. And Dave is actually second in the standings with his 8th place point totals. AK is on a 3 game win streak and is outscoring everyone in his division. I’m glad I’m not part of the excitement. I have been in previous years and have proven that I am great at just missing the playoffs.

*Week 11 Review – Highlights from Week 11

My team does just enough to get the win over Dave. No thanks to Romo. And thanks to me for not picking a goose egg DST. I also have to thank Dave’s entire group of receivers. 6 of 7 of them combined for 16 total points. Rodgers is a fucking amazing fantasy QB this year. 104 points on the bench and I didn’t lose. That is called depth.

Kevin snaps a long losing streak by laying crazy beats on Chris. Chris went from 3 10 ten RBs to having just one productive RB. AND Vincent Jackson got him only 5 points. Kevin’s fortunes are the opposite. His team went off and he got 20 from his wire pickup. I’m kind of scared of Kevin’s team.

AK put himself in the playoff hunt by beating Matt. His RBs went for 44 points after Thursdays game and that was pretty much the game. Matt could have won if he played the right RBs and WRs but it must be a bitch having to choose between those guys every week.

Tim lost to Derek to give other guys a chance at the playoffs. Tim was hurt by not having a second reliable WR to go with Wayne. Derek’s starting lineup looks a lot like mine actually. Very solid starting RBs and WRs. Mid-pack QB. He has also avoided major injuries too. Especially at RB.

Rhett’s team has been playing well of late and he beat Brian. Brian could not have set his lineup any better even though Owens had 25 on his bench. I’m glad I don’t play Rhett again too.

*Best plays and worse plays (yeah, that’s right, not worst, just worse than the best)

Kevin for wire pickup Snelling. Good for 20 points. (Rhett was mysteriously not all over the wire last week.)

Chris picked kicker Bironas off the wire and put his 12 points on the bench. His starter got him 1 point. This add/drop was performed instead of finding the RB he needed.

Tim worked the wire too for Forsett’s 14 points.

*Weekly poll

Chris and AK both got 2 votes each in this week’s poll. Rhett and Dave both got one vote each. There was no runaway favorite for who won’t make the playoffs.

*Interview – Thank you Dave for your response

Newsletter: What’s going well for your team this season?
Dave: I have been winning games that I have no business winning, catching all of you other douche bags on your worst weeks.

Newsletter: What isn’t going so well?
Dave: My running backs haven’t exactly been lighting end zones on fire.

Newsletter: Who’s team do you fear facing the most?
Dave: I fear no man, but it was a pretty sure thing that you were going to beat me last week.

Newsletter: What has been the key to your success or the cause of your failures?
Dave: My secret is no trades and minimal drops/adds. For example, early in the season, RhettdubT was trying to get Rhoddy White off me for LT’s backup when LT just had a sprain, now he is my best receiver. People always try to come in and act like they are doing you a favor on trades when they should just be honest and say “Now I will fuck you up the ass with neither foreplay nor lubricant .” [Rhett might infamous for offering the shittiest trades ever. I’m actually shocked that he got a trade done with Tim. Would be interested to hear what some of the offers were before they reached an agreement. -ed]

Newsletter: Which of your guys has been the most surprising success?
Dave: Aaron Rodgers has been a pleasant surprise at QB. Good for 20+ week in and week out.

Newsletter: Which of your guys has been the most disappointing?
Dave: My entire running back core looked badass on paper (Slaton, Hightower, LT, Bush), but they are inconsistent so I can’t tell who the fuck to start each week.

I would just like to say that I have 3 games against losing teams left, so I’m fairly confident in reaching the playoffs. Also, suck it, all y’all! WHOAH YEAH! Thank you so much for your time.

*Looking forward

The top 2 teams are going head to head this week. I expect to beat Derek just because I’m writing this even though we are pretty evenly matched. Pretty much a meaningless game.

Rhett is up against Dave. This game is pretty big for both players. A loss for Dave would be a serious blow to his playoff hopes. Rhett needs this game badly too. Dave is confident about his chances because he plays 3 losing teams but Rhett’s team has been doing well lately and Kevin’s team is looking really strong too after that trade.

Kevin plays AK. Both are 5-6 and both are still in the hunt. AK has a 3 game win streak and will hope there is a shootout at New Orleans and continue to lean on his strong RBs. Kevin will hope Turner stays benched and hope his WRs have a good week.

Matt plays Tim this week and I’m sure Kevin and Rhett are cheering for Matt. Matt will focus on making the right starts. For example: don’t start Beanie Wells. Tim will hope Warner isn’t banged up from his concussion.

Chris is up against Brian. I have no idea how Chris’ rank for schedule difficulty went up. He plays Brian 2 more times and Rhett once. Chris is also 5-6 and has been on the skids lately. Brian can totally ruin Chris’ hopes with a win here.

I actually kind of like Chris’ chances of making the playoffs simply based on who he plays. (Sorry Brian). Maybe the schedule difficulty rank means #1 has the EASIEST schedule. That would explain my success. AK plays some pretty tough teams in the last 3 games and so does Dave. So while I think Chris’ team is pretty weak now, he might have the best shot at the playoffs (when Benson gets back, it will be much stronger).

Kevin has a pretty tough schedule for the last 3 games too. Rhett’s schedule is a bit easier. Tim’s isn’t so bad either. I think Tim might be going to the playoffs just because he is already ahead one game.

Damn shame no teams have any more games against division opponents any more. Would be more exciting if there were.

The big trade I was expecting happened. Kevin and Chris swapped a WR and RB. This season saw a lot more trading than the previous 2 seasons. A lot of meaningful trades happened and I enjoyed talking to about half the players about possible trades.

The other big news this week involve injuries. A whole shitload of players were hurt. Chris might have gotten the shortest end of the stick since he traded away his 3rd top RB and wound up with no depth at that spot. Can Chris still make the playoffs with that roster? Brian, AK and Kevin also took big hits at RB too.

*Week 10 Review – Highlights from Week 10

I lost to Tim. I’m a bit concerned about my record against Tim. I’m 1-5 in 3 seasons and that record fucking sucks. I could blame a ton of people for my loss. For example: Falcons DST for laying a fucking egg, MJD for taking a knee at the 1 yard line, Addai for not making it into the end zone on that last drive or Ray Rice for not going all crazy. Instead, I have to blame myself for picking the Falcons DST instead of any other team.

Rhett beat the shit out of Matt. Doubled his score is what he did. Matt’s playoff hopes might have been sealed with this loss.

Chris lost to AK even though Chris Johnson put up 35 points. Chris drops a game behind Dave.

Dave beat Kevin in a game with lots of playoff ramifications. Dave put up week leading points and Kevin’s WRs let him down. Dave is just a game behind division leader Derek. Kevin is now 2 games behind Tim due to his 4 game skid.

Derek continues to pile on wins. This week it was against Brian. Derek looks to be in good shape to get to the playoffs.

Week 8 saw some exciting games, some important games and some new strategies by coaches. We might be seeing the start of some separation in the 2 divisions.

Don’t forget there is one more set of games before the trade deadline.

There has been interest in the name of our Okayama League Hottie of the Week but sadly that will remain a mystery. Her name is just not available.

*Week 8 Review – Highlights from Week 8

Frankson’s Chinese is 7-1. Kevin’s team put up good points but MJD, Romo, Rice and the Bears DST put up huge points. Kevin will spend the week tormented by his coaching decisions as both his other QBs put up big numbers and so did Stewart. Would have been enough for the win. Kevin will be glad Forte finally started putting out.

Chris faced Dave in a showdown for leadership in the East. Chris put up an early lead but Roddy White pulls down one more point than he needed for the win. Nice come from behind victory. I thought Dave was done for after Slaton got pulled and the Cardinals DST did nothing but look at cheerleaders. But Aaron Rodgers putting up 25+ points every damn week and Chris scoring all of 4 points from ALL his WRs (bench players included) assisted Dave this week.

Derek put on a Ping Pong Show for AK. Derek’s entire team contributed this week. He didn’t need any help from his bench since only one guy put up points. AK used an interesting strategy this week and played only 7 players. It didn’t work for him this time but I think it is innovative.

Matt was impressed by AK’s bold new strategy and also played only 7 guys. Matt’s execution was better and he was able to win with 7 against Brian. Turner put up the points Brian expected when he drafted him early in round 1 but they weren’t enough.

Rhett’s investigation into his opponent Tim’s workplace habits led to his neglect of his coaching duties. His loss this week clearly teaches all of us that it is important to play the  guys on your team that will score points. It also teaches us to back up smack talk with wins. This was a big loss for Rhett against a division rival. A win would have put him in a 3 way tie for second. Now, Tim is in sole possession of second place. Rhett lost his stud TE early.

*Best plays and worse plays (yeah, that’s right, not worst, just worse than the best)

Kevin gets double whammy as he would have beat anyone else this week except the person he played.

AK and Matt both went with the 7 man team. Hope you guys continue with this strategy.

Players out for the season should probably be dropped. I.E. Leon Washington.

Props to Chris congratulating Dave for his victory after the Monday night game in the live chat.

*Weekly poll

There is broad agreement about Tim and Rhett’s romantic or perhaps just sexual escapades.

The newsletter editor has proven to the world his fine taste in hot Japanese girls. Sure spent enough time gawking at them. More to come.

*Interview

[Kevin didn’t respond to the request. I’m going to start interviewing myself next week.]

*Looking forward

Frankson has a difficult matchup against Rhett next week. Rhett really, really needs a win  but his RB is on bye. But Rhett needs to beat Kevin and Tim, not so much me. Prediction: Frankson

AK also really, really needs to win against Dave next week. The fight for the East is still fierce. Dave’s keys to victory include figuring out what to do with Slaton. AK’s keys include getting Brady back from bye and hoping the Dolphins’ running game shows up. Prediction: AK <<AK needs a dependable WR2. Williams should have been traded after his big game.>>

Tim is up against Chris in a non-division game. Chris will rely on his stellar running game and Tim will pray his RBs deliver again. Prediction: Chris <<Chris has 3 very excellent RBs. I think he should look into trading one for a top WR or 2 good ones. Tim has 2 good TEs and Rhett needs one but trade talks could easily… get heated and pornographic. Tim has 1 amazing WR but I suspect it is hard to figure out who isn’t going to suck every week at WR2>>

Derek is up against Matt. This is a big game. Matt really needs this to keep things evenish. Derek can start pulling ahead if he gets the victory. Derek drop some of that dead weight from your roster! Prediction: Matt <<Derek has great starters but lacks depth at RB and WR. He might not need any going forward else he would have picked up Moats. Matt moved his broken WR for a startable WR and RB. He needs to send GB a better O-line.>>

Brian takes on Kevin. Brian can put a dent in Kevin’s plans for the postseason here. Kevin is hoping for the consistency he has seen from his WRs in his RBs. Prediction: Kevin <<Kevin has 3 very good WRs. If Westbrook can stay healthy and Forte can keep producing he is fine but that’s iffy. Folks needing WRs should be making him offers with RBs.>>

Prediction: Larry Johnson doesn’t play another game for KC.

Prediction: Rhett’s bench shows us what a good job he has done picking guys off the wire.