Kamikaze Nation Wins 2005 NYOFACE Championship

Patrick shares how he won the 2005 championship.

How Did I Do It?

As for the keys to my own team, here are some reasons why i won the title. I'm not trying to brag, i'm trying to point out ways your own team might be able to succeed too! If the NFL is a copycat league, then chances are the same thing can happen here.

1. The Eli Manning trade. I started the season hopeful that Chad Pennington could carry the load... then my hopes were dashed. Then my team started playing a little better, so i thought that i could get by with a mediocre QB off the waiver wire. Once the opportunity to get Manning came, however, i gambled and gave up Anquan Boldin, Thomas Jones and Ashley Lelie for Peyton's lil brother. The result was that Ron got a solid RB and a stud WR, while i depleted my RB and WR depth to get an above average QB with mad potential. Even though his play tailed off towards the end, i know have a QB of the future who'll only get better with time. (Interesting fact - all three years that i've won the title, i've relied on RBs like Ricky Williams and Shaun Alexander, while getting by with a serviceable QB like Vick, Pennington and Eli. Remember this the next time you have to decide between a QB and a RB.)
2. Defense wins championships. Thanks to our balanced offensive/defensive scoring system, having good defenses on your team is vital. I started the season thinking i had no talented defenses at all (OAK and DEN). Next thing you know, Denver's D steps it up, I get Carolina D on waivers, and i have a monster two-headed DEF unit. What made me nervous was making sure i picked the right D each week though. If i hadn't been able to do that often enough i wouldn't have made the playoffs.
3. Alexander the Great. Simply put, Shaun Alexander won me the 2005 NYOFACE Football Championship. LT, LJ and Tiki all had terrific years, but for 2005 Alexander conquered all. He might not be the NFL MVP, but in my book he's definitely the fantasy football MVP! He was the reason i was able to gamble and get Eli... his production alone often matched or exceeded the production of two RBs, so i was a little more willing to give up Thomas Jones.
4. Peaking at the right time. This reason is also called "luck." At the start of the season my team was up and down, then i lost pennington to injury. Once i got Eli things started to stabilize, but i faced a hard road to the playoffs with the 'Bees, Wonders and DP in the way... only to watch as my team went on a hot streak at the end, tearing through the playoffs and ultimately, to the title. 

So, while at the beginning of the season i had doubts about being a serious title contender, a big trade, some key roster moves and a heavy dose of good timing got me my third trophy. We've got a great league here, with the potential for anyone to win the title (maybe not the Jollibees... hahaha j/k), so learn from this season. Happy New Year to you all, good luck this offseason and in 2006!

Patrick
Kamikaze Nation
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