And then there were two! Congrats to both the Dorne Dynasty and ANUS for advancing to the championship next week – I can’t say enough how enjoyable three straight weeks of win-or-go-home competition is, especially when games bleed in to Monday Night Football, and this week wasn’t too disappointing.
First, let’s give love to the pending dynasty that Mark assembled. He’s one win away from being the first multi-year champ (and still, at this point, the only champ in league history). Meanwhile, he took Gronk’s best swing – 40+ from a once-considered-deceased Kareem Hunt and a two touchdown game from Michael Crabtree. Even if Galen used KC’s Defense (a bad decision before those Saturday games so it makes sense that it never happened), Dorne still would’ve held on for the win, thanks to CTE Freeman’s beast mode last night. The Dynasty had four players post 20+ points and a 5th had 19.9 (by comparison, Dorne’s FIFTH best player this week performed better than EVERY PLAYER for ANUS AND Trubisky Business). He didn’t have a 40+ point game, but Dorne’s team delivered high points up and down the line-up for a strong victory.
Speaking of gritty, we can’t ignore the ANUS/Trubisky match-up. No player on either team exceeded 19 points (Jacksonville’s Defense and Kirk Cousins), but ANUS held strong and a late breakout performance by the oft-ignored Mike Evans sealed the deal (also, it’d be great if ATL would at least look at Julio Jones last night, but whatever). ANUS was worried all weekend about Jones, who had dropped 50+ three weeks earlier on the Tampa defense, but last night, CTE Freeman’s running game made a booming passing game all but unnecessary. ANUS did just enough to survive, posting just three touchdowns amongst his entire roster, but Trubisky put forward an abysmal performance. Aside from Cousins, he didn’t have a single player score a touchdown all week en route to his worst output this season (real bad timing…).
So, now we are on to the finals, and aside from not winning myself, I’m actually thrilled to see this match-up. First, I appreciate potential dynasties, so Mark being in it is actually pretty neat. Fortunately, Alex Smith woke up from his coma before the post season started, and Dorne’s late season slip up (losing his last 2 games of the regular season) are all but forgotten. More encouraging, Dorne has posted two of his top five point totals in the last two weeks, and his team seems to be clicking at the right time, including Michael Thomas dropping 30+ two weeks in a row. When Dion Lewis’ strong showing this week – 15 points – is your 6th best performance, things are looking up. Nonetheless, the Dynasty has been consistently a top two team all season… he started 9-2 before that late season slip-up, but it ultimately benefited him with a favorable first round match-up. If Alex Smith stays hot, the dynasty could be on the rise for the foreseeable future.
On the ANUS side, we can’t sleep on him – he’s a finalist, and he’s won 12 of his last 14 games after starting the season 0-3. The team is flat out scary – easily the highest scoring team in the regular season, but Silvio should have some legit concerns moving in to the finals. First, his last two weeks have actually been some of his worst performances all season; his 106 point semifinal performance is his worst since his 0-3 start at the beginning of the season, but it may have a lot more to do with match-ups for Russell Wilson than anything else. Wilson squared off against Jacksonville and LA Rams the last two weeks, both of which all but shut Jimmy Graham out. Meanwhile, the Seahawks get Dallas this week, so there’s that… speaking of Dallas, guess who’s set to return against a defense that allowed FOUR touchdowns to Todd Gurley last week? I tried to warn Mark and Galen that neither really wants to face ANUS this week; Ezekial Elliot is set to return (meaning Alf is benched), and it could be a massive performance. Elliot averaged 22 points per game this season with only one single digit output. Couple Elliot’s return with Seattle facing more pedestrian defenses, and ANUS could see his fortunes rise.
In any case, there’s a lot at stake for these two gladiator owners; a dynasty, $800 cash money, an off-season of championship celebrations… I’m excited. If the championship is anything like the last few weeks, we are in for a massive treat…
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