I knew my chances were somewhat slim, based on the matchups. Only a week after beating up the first-place team, nearly all my starters were on the road and facing tough defenses. I did what I could using up the last of my pickups to grab Ryan Moats and start him instead of Willie Parker, Lamont Jordan or Michael Bennet. He scored, Steve Smith came through again and it proved to be wise to sit Bledsoe, Rothlisberger, (and to dump Brad Johnson) in favor of picking up and starting David Garrard, but all that wasn’t close to being enough.
I knew the WB’s Seahawks-heavy team had an easy matchup, but they’d had an equally easy matchup the week before and only scored 24 points. So there was hope. But then Cooley, of all people, went off, the Seahawks blew up, and even if Marvin Harrison hadn’t dropped three potential TD passes, I wouldn’t have gotten within ten. It’s 48-22 right now, so unless the Atlanta defense scores nine touchdowns, I am done.
It was an unexpectedly good season and finishing 11-4 is no shame. But in the end, it’s just another year without a ring.