Fantasy Football Diary: Hanging On For Dear Life
November 7th, 2006 by Michael Stephens
51 points.
That was the margin I enjoyed going into Sunday night’s much-anticipated Colts-Patriots battle, with my star receiver, Reggie Wayne, still to play and my opponent enjoying the services of both Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison. We were cautiously optimistic, but would need almost every one of those 51 points to hold on for a gut-wrenching, desperate fantasy football win.
Mr. Britney Spears, a team that may have to rename itself Britney’s Divorce Lawyers in light of recent events, wouldn’t have had that cushion to begin with were it not for a complete team effort in the 1:00 and 4:00 games.
There was no margin for error. The Boss Bombers, led by a general manager for whom The 40-Year-Old Virgin is not just a movie but an inevitability, somehow held a firm grasp on first place at 7-1. We came in at 4-4 and battling for our playoff lives. Everything had to click for us Sunday.
For the second straight week, giving Philip Rivers the start at QB over Drew Brees (the irony) proved inadvisable. But aside from that, it was smooth sailing right up until the night game. Larry Johnson ran for 172 yards and a touchdown, then offered this quote after the game to further motivate his teammates.
“I’m a little disappointed because I feel we did leave 200 yards of rushing on that field,” LJ said. “The way we were going out there and just pushing them backward and shakings things up, we should have done even more.”
That’s the kind of attitude we’d need if we were going to knock off the Bombers, and LJ’s teammates responded. Tony Gonzalez caught a pair of TD passes. Chester Taylor was able to grind out 96 yards rushing and catch eight passes out of the backfield for 14 points at the other running back spot. Mark Clayton got into the mix with eight catches of his own, while San Diego’s defense notched two turnovers — one a fumble returned for a score — against the beleaguered Browns.
But the game ball goes, without question, to Javon Walker (above). We drafted Javon high and had big expectations for him coming into the year, and while he’s played some good football, this served as his coming out party — and we’re not talking Neil Patrick Harris style.
With six receptions for 134 yards and two TDs, and a 72-yard reverse that also went for a touchdown, Walker established himself as a premiere threat in this league — and staked us to the 51-point edge we’d take into the Pats-Colts bloodbath. Little did we know how vital that would be.
With Reggie Wayne on our roster, the opportunity for him to mitigate the damage Peyton Manning would invariably cause us existed. However, Marvin Harrison was also lining up for the Boss Bombers, and we knew full well that he would get the majority of the looks. Ideally, New England would simply shut everyone down, but our NFL expert picked the Patriots to win this week, so I knew that wasn’t happening.
In the first quarter, Manning and Harrison (above) hooked up to give the Colts an early lead. Man, will that make you question the safety of a 51-point lead in a hurry. In the third quarter, the evil, unstoppable twosome linked up again. All of a sudden, we faced the prospect of an unthinkable collapse.
Peyton Manning racked up 326 yards in the air. Eight catches, 145 yards and a pair of scores for Harrison. Six catches and 90 yards for Mr. Wayne. Not shabby, but not putting the nail in the Bombers’ coffin, either. Late in the game, we led only by 10 — with the Colts driving. A Manning-to-Harrison touchdown would effectively do us in.
With under five minutes remaining, on 3rd-and-long, deep in New England territory, Peyton took a shot at the end zone. Our entire bench stood in unison as the pass feel harmlessly incomplete. Indianapolis settled for a field goal, and shortly thereafter, the Red Auerbach victory cigars were lit.
Having been written off at 2-4, this team has responded by prevailing in three straight must-win games. The time has come for a new challenge — avoiding the letdown that can follow a huge win. Sitting at 5-4 and in fourth place out of 14 teams (thanks in large part to our league-leading point total), with the top six qualifying for the playoffs, we’ve gotten ourselves back into this. Now we must capitalize.
Britney’s Divorce Lawyers take on the B-Town Billygoats (5-4) this weekend. Losing? Not on the agenda.
