League of Tax Free Shopping

In Preparation for a David vs. Goliath Matchup

Not surprisingly, the two top teams in the League of Tax Free Shopping remain in the race for the championship. But two other teams, Franchise 4 Kicking Your Ass (7-6-1) and Columbus Clobber Knockers (7-8), have fought and clawed their way into the thick of the postseason as well, despite sub-par records. In this week’s semifinals, the heavyweights, Jordan and Montclair Moonshiners, will duke it out like Ali vs. Frazier for a place in the final match, while the lower seeds will fight to be the underdog representative in the big game.

Jordan vs. Montclair Moonshiners

Matchup Analysis

Even if Donald Brown had a breakout game last week, Montclair Moonshiners is playing with fire by starting him. Considering his overall struggles this year and Joseph Addai’s scheduled return this week, his opportunities for points will be limited. Fortunately, Montclair Moonshiners has Michael Turner and Mike Tolbert to pick up the slack. Tolbert has quietly scored 4 touchdowns in the last five weeks and has become a consistent fantasy producer. In addition, he has the underrated Matt Schaub, who has scored at least 33 points in the past three games, and Roddy White. His team may lack overall balance, but it does have the necessary superstar power to overcome that.

Maurice Jones-Drew had a rare rough outing against the Colts, but Jordan should have no fears about playing him this week against the Redskins. Jones-Drew had six straight games of at least 100 yards on the ground prior to the game against the Colts, so he should easily get back on track this Sunday. Jordan also has some solid veterans in Reggie Wayne, Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger. What might be his weakness in this matchup is his tight end, Jacob Tamme. By having him and Reggie Wayne together in the starting lineup, Jordan is gambling that two players on one offense will play well. This is a scenario that happens all the time in fantasy football, but in a match that has a championship debut at stake, is it a risk worth taking?

Prediction

In this semifinal match, Montclair Moonshiners simply has better players than Jordan. You can play matchups all you want, but the facts are the facts are the facts. It won’t necessarily be easy, but Montclair Moonshiners should ride his star players to victory and into the final championship round.

Columbus Clobber Knockers vs. Franchise 4 Kicking Your Ass

Playing Ryan Fitzpatrick over Matt Ryan and Maurice Morris over Ryan Mathews? Franchise 4 Kicking Your Ass is definitely a bold one, and to a degree, these moves make sense. Matt Ryan hasn’t exactly put up outstanding numbers for the past few weeks, and Matt Flynn just sliced up the Patriots’ secondary on Sunday Night Football, throwing 3 touchdowns. Maurice Morris also is coming off a 30-point game, but facing a stout Dolphins’ run defense as well as the possible return of Jahvid Best doesn’t make this a very intriguing play. In addition, Franchise 4 Kicking Your Ass is starting three Texans in Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and Joel Dreessen. It’s unlikely that each player will put up good numbers, further handicapping Franchise 4 Kicking Your Ass’ team.

Ray Rice was played like a top-five pick in Week 15, so Columbus Clobber Knockers has to be excited for the possibility of his stellar play continuing into the rest of the playoffs. He also has rookie LeGarrette Blount, Phillip Rivers and Percy Harvin at his disposal. His weakness might be similar to his opponents, with Deion Brnach and Aaron Hernandez both in his starting lineup. Hernandez is already a risky play since it’s a tossup each week over whether he or Rob Gronkowski will get the touches at tight end for the Patriots. Adding Deion Branch into the mix for his team just makes it harder for him to maximize the potential points from each position on his team.

Prediction

In the battle of two average teams, one manages to stand far above the other. Columbus Clobber Knockers has a great set of players and might have suffered from sheer bad luck this season to end up with his record. He should win this matchup and take his team into the final round, in which he’ll have a great shot at winning the league title.