--I have won the Championship of my 10-team Keeper/Money League, and this is the article I posted on the homepage of that league. Over the years, I have urged on the tradition of the League Champion posting an article boasting their bragging rights and hopefully annoying the rest of the league in a motivational fashion. Oddly enough, I happen to be the only league member to have posted a "bragging rights" article, even though another league member was a repeat Champion in 2007-2008. Maybe some of us just are not as into it like I am....haven't you read the title of this blog?!?! My last Championship article I posted on that homepage was in 2006. Other players on my team not mentioned in this article include Adrian Peterson, Reggie Wayne, Marques Colston, and Greg Olsen. Along with Owen Daniels, I also lost Leon Washington to IR. In case you are wondering how I got away with murder during my draft, this is a keeper league where we can keep two players (three players starting in 2010) in the original rounds they were drafted, and we can own them for a grand total of three years (year drafted, two years kept). My two keepers were Adrian Peterson in the 5th round (final year) and Chris Johnson in the 8th round (second year).--
He's Baaaack!!!
Finally, the Championship has returned back home! Some might say the win was ugly, or maybe Drewbacca didn't put up much of a fight, but I will simply call it destiny. It would have been a vast disappointment if Undertow fell short of the Title after having a ridiculously sweet draft, where many babies were robbed of their lollipops. And let's not forget the trade for Andre Johnson to complete Undertow's well rounded starting lineup, when Buzz was willing to sell AJ in a bold move to bolster his RBs and make a playoff run. After two years of disappointments, injuries, and busts, Undertow has finally put together a Championship caliber squad that could dominate in any given game, and more importantly, they stayed relatively healthy throughout the year.This season's draft alone was enough to crown Undertow the preseason "Paper Champion," but everyone, including myself, knows that means nothing until it is proven throughout the season. This draft certainly rivaled Undertow's 2005 draft (the team was then known as Love My Johnson) when that team ended the season by winning the Championship on a 13 game winning streak, decimating the competition with the help of Larry Johnson's breakout season. Picking up sleepers like Ray Rice, Matt Schaub, and Owen Daniels in the middle and late rounds of this recent draft, and acquiring Mike Sims-Walker along with various defenses off of the waiver wire, were what really propelled Undertow to be the points leader every week of the entire season, and eventually win the Title.
Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Matt Schaub, and Owen Daniels all outperformed everybody's expectations in phenominal fashion. Johnson and Rice were supposed to be in a committee situation with LenDale White and Willis McGahee respectively, while Schaub had been notoriously injury prone his entire career as a starter. Owen Daniels, who was the 10th overall TE selected, was well on his way to being the best fantasy TE until a torn ACL ended his season and devastated fantasy owners everywhere. Not only was his season abruptly ended, but now there will be questions as to how fast he can fully recover going into the 2010 season. Without these overachievers, Undertow would have certainly fallen short of a Title.
It has been a long three season wait for Undertow to return to prominence in this league. Unfortunately, it will be yet another long offseason before they have a chance to defend the Title with Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, and Co. Undertow's 2009 draft may have been way too easy, but the competition during the season was certainly very intense and very exemplary. I hope to see more of that next year, but I certainly won't mind if my team's path to a repeat ends up being a cakewalk.
Is it me, or do these seasons seem to get shorter and shorter?
