Beth Ann Makes First Title Look Easy
In the first (and only) episode of this year’s Worst Cast, Alex and I recorded a segment called “Roster Envy.” The premise was simple—if you could swap your roster straight up with any other team owner’s in the league, whose would you pick?
Right off the bat, we each chose Nick and Geoff. No surprise because they both finished in the top three in scoring in Week 1. And as it turns out, those two did go on to have great seasons, make the playoffs and even played in last week’s consolation game.
But for our last choice, we both bypassed Erik, the other team owner with a top-three score in Week 1, and picked a team owner further down the Week 1 rankings. Alex chose Whitney. (Whoops! That one didn’t exactly pan out.) But I picked the team owner Whitney beat in Week 1—Beth Ann. Yes, you read that right. This year’s eventual champion lost to this year’s eventual Poop Bowl loser in Week 1. Fantasy be crazy, right?
Here’s a little bit of what I said about Beth Ann, which starts at around 42:49:
“I like this team. At RB, I think Kamara is obviously a home run. David Montgomery had a solid game yesterday, over 100 yards rushing last night…. So I think those are two really solid players. And then I think the reason I really love this team is Ja’Marr Chase. Justin Jefferson had just a quiet game. Diontae Johnson did too. Ja’Marr Chase though in his first game had 20 points. And he looks like he’s going to be a permanent fixture in her flex for awhile. And so I think those three…it’s going to be some really great receptions.”
It’s going to be some really great receptions? Okay, grammar aside, all of that checks out. Kamara and Montgomery were studs when healthy. Beth Ann did lead the league with 28.9 receptions per game. And Ja’Marr Chase was not just a fixture in the flex, he was a monster. Though Alex, at the time, was not much of a believer:
“I’m not big on Ja’Marr Chase. I’m still buying the preseason nonsense on him. You look at that 20.9. He caught one long touchdown.”
Yup, he really said that. And those words came back to haunt him as Chase caught multiple long touchdowns against Alex in the championship game. In Week 17, Ja’Marr Chase snagged 11 balls for 266 yards and three TDs for an eye-popping total of 55.6 points. That was not only the most points this season, it was the most by a player in a playoff game in Worst League history, breaking the record of 47 points set by Le’Veon Bell back in Week 14 of 2016. In fact, the only greater performance in league history was Tyreek Hill’s 57.9 points in Week 12 last year.
Chase’s big day essentially ended any title game drama before the afternoon games even began with his output accounting for over half of Alex’s entire roster. It was a fitting end to a brilliant season for Beth Ann. The cherry on top. And that’s because the rookie WR from Cincinnati was the biggest reason for Beth Ann’s success this season. No, he wasn’t her best player. That honor probably goes to Justin Jefferson, who was WR4 on the season. But drafted in the seventh round, Chase was hands down the best value.
In fact, let’s take a look at that draft. Specifically, here are Beth Ann’s first seven picks, ending in Ja’Marr Chase, with their VBD (or Value Based Drafting) ranking among all players regardless of position listed for each. (For a refresher on VBD, check out the 2018 Draft Rewind.)
1.3 Alvin Kamara, 20th
2.22 Justin Jefferson, 6th
3.27 David Montgomery, 47th
4.46 Diontae Johnson, 17th
5.51 Mark Andrews, 15th
6.70 Aaron Rodgers, 51st
7.75 Ja’Marr Chase, 9th
That’s an absolutely incredible run. Yes, Kamara and Montgomery technically underperformed their draft-day value. But with her first seven picks, Beth Ann successfully drafted five of the top-20 players in the league in Jefferson, Chase, Andrews, Johnson and Kamara. That’s 25% of the top-20 all on one team. No wonder she was so dominant. The next-closest team owners were Jess (Jonathan Taylor, Deebo Samuel, Stefon Diggs) and Samantha (Josh Allen, James Conner, Ezekiel Elliott) with three top-20 players each. And by contrast, three team owners (Alex, Brandon and Whitney) failed to draft even a single top-20 player. No wonder my team sucked so much.
Put it together and you’ve got what is statistically the best draft in league history (or at least since 2014 when I started collecting this data). The VBD total of her first 10 picks is 23.52 points higher than the next-closest competitor (Brandon’s championship team from last season). And if we include all 16 picks, which I usually don’t because those last six rounds tend to skew the final numbers with kickers, defenses and backups who rarely make the final roster, Beth Ann’s draft ranks third overall. It trails only Alex’s Thanos team from 2018 (when you’ll recall he drafted Patrick Mahomes in the 12th round) and somewhat surprisingly Beth Ann’s own team from last year.
Given the strength of her draft, it makes me wonder—was this the easiest, Breesy-est title of all time? Beth Ann made just 11 moves all season, only three more than Whitney who made the fewest. For the season, she got over 90% of her scoring from players she drafted, including 92.4% in the playoffs. (Among former playoff teams, only Greco comes close to this rate.) And in the playoffs, her starting lineup included eight players that were drafted out of a possible nine, which includes her kicker. In fact, the only non-drafted player she started in the playoffs was the Dolphins D/ST. No one, not even Greco in 2012, has won a championship relying so heavily on the draft. Which means, if you think about it, Beth Ann had the championship locked up less than halfway through draft day way back in September. The rest of us were just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
And yet, none of us knew. We were all so blissfully ignorant. The truth is I don’t think many people, myself included, saw Beth Ann’s as a particularly dominant team this season. Maybe it was because of unsexy names like Diontae Johnson, David Montgomery, Mark Andrews or even Aaron Rodgers. Maybe it’s because of the efficient way with which she plays, just 19 moves in three years. Or maybe it’s because Nick consumed most of the oxygen (and the word count) this season. Whatever the reason, Beth Ann flew quietly under the radar.
But make no mistake, she was a silent assassin. After starting 0-2 (the first champion to do so), Beth Ann quickly vaulted to second in the Power Rankings by Week 4 and briefly flirted with the number-one ranking the next week. Eventually, she took over the top spot from Nick for good in Week 11 and never looked back. And in the playoffs, she broke the record for most points scored in a playoff game. And then did it again the next week. As a result, her playoff scoring average of 163.5 ppg is the highest ever by nearly 20 points.
She’s now just the fourth one seed to win a championship and only the third team to finish first in the final Power Rankings AND win a title. The others were Jess (2014) and Brandon (2017). But Beth Ann’s team this year bested both of those former champions in TW% and points, giving her a strong argument for the greatest team this league has ever seen. In fact, her team ranks fifth all time in TW% (.721) and second in scoring (131.8 ppg). But again, none of the teams above her were able to win a championship. Given all of that, there’s no doubt this is the best champion we’ve ever seen.
Seven picks in September. That’s all it took. And now Beth Ann has her first title in just three seasons. She’s also our first new champion since Geoff in 2016, she’s the first non-founding member of the league to win a championship, and she’s the first female champion since Jess in 2014. The rest of us may scratch and claw for points, scour the waiver wire, compile spreadsheets and write lengthy analyses. Beth Ann simply picks winners.
Like Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, she made it look so easy this year. Winning your fantasy football league. What, like it’s hard?
The Scoreboard
For posterity, here are the box scores with notes to follow:
Beth Ann won her first championship with a playoff record 163.82 points. Nick defeated Geoff in the consolation game for his first top-three finish.
As was mentioned above, Beth Ann scored a playoff record 163.82 points en route to her first championship in a win over Alex. Ja’Marr Chase was the star with a season-high 55.6 points, second-most in league history. But Aaron Rodgers, Alvin Kamara and David Montgomery weren’t too shabby either, each with 20+ points scored. Just 3.0 points combined from her defense and kicker? No problem. The 55.26-point margin of victory was second-largest in a title game in league history, trailing only last year’s championship game.
As for Alex, I know he was hoping to come away with his second title, but this team was just happy to be here. And all things considered, he honestly played well. But when you’re starting Dare Ogunbowale, you’re just overmatched. It would have been interesting to see how Alex might have fared against Beth Ann with Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin in the lineup. But unfortunately, injuries to both players in the first round of the playoffs were too much to overcome against such a quality opponent. He is now 1-2 in championship games, having lost previously to Brandon in 2011. Despite the loss, he now ranks fifth in career playoff wins (five) and top-three finishes (three), trailing only Brandon, Gray, Greco and Jess. Considering all the adversity he dealt with this season, including the 12th pick in the draft, it was a tremendously successful season for Alex, arguably his best since the Thanos days.
In the consolation game, Nick picked up the win over Geoff. With Ja’Marr Chase catching all those TDs, Joe Burrow (34.84 points) racked up plenty of points, himself. In his first game since Week 12 with Austin Ekeler, Dalvin Cook and D’Andre Swift all healthy, Nick saw Cook and Swift combine for barely more than 10 points. But it was more than enough as Geoff was seriously hobbled by the loss of Lamar Jackson, Miles Sanders and Adam Thielen. Najee Harris’ 29.6 points on Monday night merely made things respectable.
With the win, this was Nick’s best season and finish ever. It’s his first ever top-three finish, having only previously made the playoffs once before in 2018 when he finished fourth. Were it not for Beth Ann’s spectacular team, he very well could have come out on top. In fact, his 135.3 ppg average during the playoffs is fourth-most all time. He is now 2-3 in playoff games and now ranks ahead of Erik, Josh and Whitney in career playoff wins. As for Geoff, this was his worst playoff showing in three tries, having previously finished first (2016) and third (2011). Still, it was a great season in which he tied his career high with nine regular season wins before ultimately fading down the stretch thanks in part to untimely injuries.
Of course, these two games weren’t the only ones of note this week…
Whitney Loses First Inaugural Poop Bowl
For the first time in league history, two team owners played in the Poop Bowl to determine the recipient of our first-ever last-place punishment. And the loser was…Whitney!
Whitney becomes the first-ever loser of the Poop Bowl.
Outscoring every other team owner this week not named Beth Ann, Greco actually played well. With 30+ points from both Davante Adams and DK Metcalf, she displayed some of the explosiveness she’s flashed in limited moments throughout the season, most notably a Week 5 weekly prize win in which she scored 180.12 points. By winning two of her final three games in the consolation ladder, Greco survived the Poop Bowl despite finishing as the 12th-place team in the final Power Rankings. That’s at least some consolation despite her third season in the last four years with a TW% of .330 or lower and four or fewer wins.
As for Whitney, is there anything more “Poop Bowl” than starting two inactive players in the Poop Bowl, itself? With Kareem Hunt and Emmanuel Sanders both inactive in her lineup, Whitney scored just 83.6 points, not that anyone on her bench would have made the difference. Throughout the postseason, Whitney averaged just 79.3 ppg, losing all three games to Erik, Brandon and Greco. It was a stark turnaround for this season’s last undefeated team owner who started the year 4-0 but became the first 4-0 team to miss the playoffs. By losing 10 of her last 13 games (including the postseason), she became the first-ever loser of the Poop Bowl. With her second straight season to start her career finishing 11th in the final Power Rankings, she’ll hope to improve upon that performance next year.
But before we get there…the punishment awaits. Here is the specific language we adopted during the preseason, which can be found in the season preview:
“If you have a house, you have to use sidewalk chalk and write ‘I am the worst Fantasy Football player alive’ on the sidewalk outside your house until it naturally goes away. If you live in an apartment, a sign on your door for a week.’”
According to the rules, Whitney must also share photo/video evidence with the league, including any stories of people who have inquired about her public shame. And ironically, it was Whitney who also provided this important caveat:
“***if you live in the same house as another team manager, your name must be displayed on the sign as well.”
Be careful what you wish for.
Closing Thoughts
If you won a weekly prize this season and did not send a Venmo request Alex’s way, make sure to do so. This year, a record nine team owners won weekly prizes. For reference, these are this year’s winners with the weeks they won:
Beth Ann: 3 (Weeks 7, 11, 14)
Nick: 2 (Weeks 1, 2)
Gray: 2 (Weeks 6, 10)
Erik: 2 (Weeks 8, 9)
Samantha: 1 (Week 3)
Geoff: 1 (Week 4)
Greco: 1 (Week 5)
Brandon: 1 (Week 12)
Josh: 1 (Week 13)
As we do every season, now is also a great time to look at the updated All-Time Power Rankings to see how things have changed with another season, our 11th, in the books.
Beth Ann jumps three spots into second place following her first championship.
Despite finishing eighth in the final Power Rankings with the second-worst TW% of his entire career, Gray still has plenty of breathing room at the top of the career rankings. But thanks to her second terrific season in a row, Beth Ann has now jumped up into second place all time, surpassing Alex, Josh and Brandon. She now has a better TW% than all three with just as many championships as Alex in eight fewer seasons. Granted, it’s easier for her to move up or down these rankings from year to year thanks to a smaller sample size.
Besides Beth Ann, the other big mover up the rankings this year was Samantha who also jumped three spots into seventh place. Thanks to the best season of her career by TW%, Samantha is now just a few percentage points out of the top half of the league, though like Josh she is still gunning for her first championship.
Finally, with Samantha moving up, Greco moves down three spots into ninth all time. With three mediocre seasons in the last four years, it’s been rough for Greco lately. Though she did finish second in the playoffs just last year.
And with that, we put the finishing touches on another fun fantasy season. Thanks once again for all the comments, trash talk and reaction GIFs in the group chat. With an extra regular season game, controversial trades and the introduction of the Poop Bowl, this was our most eventful season yet. In fact, it was our most active season yet with nine total trades (third-most all time) and an average of 2.1 moves per team per week—the most in league history.
Enjoy the offseason, everyone. You earned it. We’ll see you again in September.
