Congrats to bckey and his team, Bad Clams. The lowdown on how he did it:
HPF Dynasty Championship Game VI
Bad Clams (bckey) 152.5 vs. SweetPea (jcp) 133.5
How They Did It
The Bad Clams claimed their first-ever league title following a 7-6 campaign in 2008 and a wild card round playoff loss as the #6 seed. Last year's campaign marked a turning point of sorts though, as it was the franchise's first playoff appearance since the inaugural season in the dynasty format.
2009 - 11-2 (1st, champion)
2008 - 7-6 (6th)
2007 - 5-7-1 (9th)
2006 - 3-10 (14th)
2005 - 3-10 (12th)
2004 - 8-5 (5th, runner-up)
But a deeper look at how the Clams were built shows that they began the slow climb back to the top after bottoming out between the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Regularly using early draft picks to build a stable of outstanding running backs, the Clams went four straight drafts hitting the jackpot at the position (DeAngelo Williams-2006, Adrian Peterson-2007, and Matt Forte-2008). They also stuck it out with QB Eli Manning, which was never a stable commodity but one that eventually helped lead the team to success.
As good as Clams were at drafting running backs, four key moves pushed this franchise from playoff contender to league champion. First, recognizing their abundance of talent at running back, the Clams unloaded one of their earlier first round backs in LenDale White and sent him with tight end Anthony Fasano to the Macho-Macho Men (machoneil) shortly before the 2008 draft. The move netted the Clams tight end Tony Gonzalez along with a first round pick and a little insurance for Peterson in Chester Taylor). Then the Clams got lucky in free agency, picking up Cedric Benson just before the 2008 season started, rostering him through an explosive 2009 season.
Still bereft at the wide receiver position, the Clams made two moves before the 2009 season that truly carried them over the top. First, with the ninth overall pick in the draft, they selected Percy Harvin, and the rookie delivered a stellar first season as a receiver and a returner. Then buoyed by last year's success in moving a back for a position of need, they dealt Forte to Tequila Mockingbird (Keith) for wide receiver Randy Moss. Building a dynasty winner didn't happen overnight for the Clams, but these four shrewd moves combined with continued success at adding running backs in the draft proved to be the right formula for a 2009 champion.
Key Players - How the Clams were built:
QB - Eli Manning (2004 Trade), Trent Edwards (2007.4.01)
RB - Adrian Peterson (2007.1.01), DeAngelo Williams (2006.1.03), Marion Barber (2005.2.10), Cedric Benson (2008 Waiver)
WR - Randy Moss (2009 Trade), Percy Harvin (2009.1.09), Jacoby Jones (2007.2.01), Bernard Berrian (2004.22.3)
TE - Tony Gonzalez (2008 Trade)
K - Ryan Longwell (2009 Waiver)
DEF - New York Jets (2004 Trade), Dallas (2004.9.12)
Note - Draft pick in parens shown as YYYY.Round.Pick. The 2004 draft was the league's inaugural selection. Subsequent drafts consisted of rookies and free agents.
Side note - The Maroons (Warren), who finished 13th in the regular season, won the Petey Faggins Award as the champs of the consolation bracket.
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