CFFL 2023 Champions

Congratulations to Maulers on winning the 2023 CFFL Championship, coming from behind to defeat Torpedoes 111.25 – 109.5 in the title game. This is Maulers second win in the last three years, and their third title overall.

Maulers win capped off another great year, one in which they 1) overcame the loss of QB Justin Herbert, 2) had the foresight to pick up Puka Nucua after week 1 and the Jaguars defense before week 17, and 3) had the stones to bench franchise star Ja’Marr Chase for the championship game.

Over the last three years Maulers has gone 33-9 with two #1 seeds, a #2 seed, two championships and one semi-final, which is probably the best three year run in the CFFL since SOL’s heyday. Granted, it helps to have Chase, Deebo, and Cooper Kupp for all three of those years and Travis Kelce for two, but someone had to draft those guys. With Mayhem sneaking a title in there, we might be living in the second Maulers/Mayhem era, a mere twenty years after the first. But this time around I’ll concede that Maulers is the dominant squad. Congrats Mike.

A tip of the cap to Torpedoes, who finished the regular season with the #1 Power Ranking and came so close to winning it all. Of their six losses this year, three were to Maulers, and if any one of those had gone Torpedoes’ way they’d be the champs instead.

The championship game itself was a doozy. Unofficially it was the second-highest scoring title game (after Maulers 145.75 – 112.5 win over Weasels in 2021) and third closest (after SOL winning by .25 in 2016 and by .5 in 2011). As with any close game, there are a bunch of things Torpedoes can point to that cost them the game:

• Saquon Barkley was open for a late two point conversion but Tyrod Taylor botched the throw.
• Rachaad White, Demarcus Robinson, and CeeDee Lamb all lost fumbles, with Lamb’s going through the end zone and costing Torpedoes six points (plus a presumed Brandon Aubrey PAT).
• If George Kittle had one more catch for one yard, Torpedoes would have lost by .25 points, which would have been fitting given that was their margin of victory in the semi.
• But maybe the biggest factor was that Torpedoes left 39 points worth of RB performance on their bench. If they had started James Conner and Jerome Ford instead of Barkley and White, they would have set the record for most points scored in a championship game. Alas, it was not to be, and Torpedoes are the 2023 runner-up, which is a result all but one of us would trade for in an instant.

Ruminations and Cogitations

(That’s A Wrap edition)

The Player of the Week was Lamar Jackson (Guns) with 35 points. This was Jackson’s third POW award, which is fitting for the soon-to-be NFL MVP.

The other top scorers:

RB Kyren Williams (Mayhem), 28

WR CeeDee Lamb (Torpedoes), 28

TE Juwan Johnson (FA), 19

PK Harrison Butker (MSG), 24

DST Texans (Torpedoes), 22

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The final transaction pool was $723, making the final payout pool is $1,323, split out thusly:

Those of you who didn’t win will be paying their transaction fees to Carl in the coming days. Emails will go out to everyone this week with payment details.

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Mayhem would have scored 130 in week 17, I’m just sayin’.

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Top 10 Plays from the CFFL Championship game

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The 2024 draft order is set:

The following players have reached three years of service and are returning to the draft pool for 2024:

RB

• Cam Akers
• Nick Chubb
• James Conner
• Austin Ekeler
• Tony Pollard

WR

• Davante Adams
• Ja’Marr Chase
• Gabriel Davis
• Tee Higgins
• Cooper Kupp
• CeeDee Lamb
• Deebo Samuel
• Amon-Ra St. Brown
• Jaylen Waddle

Week 17 Overreactions

• The very real possibility exists for a Browns/Lions Super Bowl. This is the first time in human history that sentence has ever been written.
• The Eagles are one and done in the playoffs.
• Jerry will draft a RB in the first round.
• As dominant as the Ravens are right now, I’m still not convinced they’ll get it done in the playoffs. I think this mostly stems from Lamar Jackson’s previous playoff disappointments.
• If the Dolphins beat the Bills this week, they’ll most likely host the Bills again the following week. If they lose they’ll go to KC. They might have a better chance on the road.

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Trivia question: Dak Prescott could become the second Cowboys QB to lead the NFL in TD passes. Who was the first, and in what season?¹

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Bonus Overreactions – top 5 that I got right:

• Week 2: The Chiefs will have to win this year with defense, because the whole “spread it around” thing only works when your WRs aren’t total crap.
• Week 3: The Cowboys defense will recover and will dominate the Eagles in one of their matchups this season.
• Week 3: The Packers’ have their next long-term QB in Jordan Love. He’s not Favre or AA-Ron but he looks pretty damn good so far.
• Week 7: The entire NFC South should be relegated.
• Week 11: The current NFL leader in passing yards, pass attempts, completions, and sacks taken [Sam Howell] will be out of job next season, and might not survive this one.

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Let’s face it, certain sports allegiances are tougher than others. Whether it’s the coach taking a loaded gun to the airport, an owner who constantly whines about officiating, or players who fall down in agony after getting breathed on, some teams are just harder to root for than others.

Which brings me to Florida State.

On one hand it’s hard to blame the players who opted out of the Orange Bowl. They had zero incentive to play, other than the possible distinction of going 14-0 and not winning a national championship. And we’re now in a long overdue era where players are finally empowered to make business decisions of this nature.

But on the other hand, how many programs would have given anything to play in the Orange Bowl? Yes, FSU got screwed by the committee, but guess what? Sometimes life isn’t fair but you still have to show up and give it your best effort.

Look, I’m a fan but I’m not blind. A full-strength FSU wouldn’t have beaten Georgia. But they should have had some respect for themselves and taken the game more seriously. It’s hard to argue you belong in a better conference when you lose by 60 to that conference’s runner-up (actually I think they’re headed to the Big 10 but you know what I mean).

I will still defend the position that FSU deserved a spot in the playoff, but I can’t defend what happened after they didn’t get in.

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2024 1st Team All-CFFL

QB: Josh Allen (SOL), 373 points

RB: Christian McCaffrey (Factory), 318; Raheem Mostert (Torpedoes), 239

WR: CeeDee Lamb (Torpedoes), 241; Tyreek Hill (Snappers), 238; Mike Evans (Weasels), 195

TE: Sam LaPorta (Yankees), 176.5

PK: Brandon Aubrey (Torpedoes), 169

DST: Cowboys (Factory), 171

2nd Team All-CFFL

QB: Jalen Hurts (Snappers), 357

RB: Kyren Williams (Mayhem), 220; Travis Etienne (Maulers), 207

WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown (SOL), 186; D.J. Moore (MSG), 178; A.J. Brown (Guns), 178

TE: Travis Kelce (Maulers), 166.5

PK: Justin Tucker (Maulers), 154

DST: Browns (Mayhem), 167

Cheat Code is the only repeat 1st teamer from last season.

Allen, McCaffrey, and CeeDee were 2nd teamers last season.

McCaffrey provided the biggest positional advantage, outscoring the next closest RB by 79.

Kyren Williams and the Browns DST are the only undrafted free agents on either list.

The biggest surprises for me are that Travis Kelce made the 2nd team and Puka Nacua didn’t.

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The Commish Track is Diamond Mountain by Luka Bloom.

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Bonus Overreactions part 2 – top 5 that I got wrong (and there were a lot to choose from):

• Week 4: Sam Howell is for real.
• Week 5: The league MVP will be Hat Trick Cojones, Tua, Jalen Hurts, or Brock Purdy.
• Week 6: The Jets defense will keep them in the wild card race all year.
• Week 8: Cincinnati, currently in last place in their division, will win the AFC.
• Week 10: All four AFC North teams will [make the playoffs].

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The Jimmy Johnson Ring of Honor induction was cool, and Jimmy provided the best possible sign off, but the best clip around the whole thing was when The Rock walked on to the Fox set and gave Jimmy his original letter of intent to play for Jimmy at the U. If you haven’t seen it check out the vid, it’s really cool.

Stray observations:

• Jimmy is a crier. He admits as much in his book Swagger, which I recommend.
• Looking at them together, it’s hard to believe Jimmy played the same position as Howie Long in college.
• Jay Glazer is so short the internet can’t agree on it. A quick Google search says he’s anywhere from 5’7″ to 6’0″. Judging by the vid I’m going with 5’7″ tops.

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The Football Babe of the Week is Kaylee Foster, a Mississippi high school senior who in 2018 was voted homecoming queen, then went out and kicked two field goals and the game-winning extra point in a 13-12 win.

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Well another great season is in the books. Thanks to all of you for making this the best fantasy football league around. I can’t wait to do it again, and always remember – I miss the old days, you know, when we were strangers.

The Commish

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1. Trivia answer: Roger Staubach, 1973.
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