The ATQ Fantasy Football Tournament: The Elimination Round

After last week's voting, The Fightin' Takimotos join Team jtlight in the semifinals, edging out PaulSF by only four votes. With only 65 total votes in last week's poll, now would be a good time to remind you that the poll is after the jump. You have to read the whole article to get to the poll at the bottom. I know, it's a lot of work. You can do it. I believe in you. 

With two of the four semifinal spots set, it's win or go back to the basement for the remaining four teams. The first of our head-to-head battles is Team ntrebon vs. Team Matt Daddy. Here's how the teams shake out:

Team ntrebon
QB - Bill Musgrave, RB - Jonathan Stewart, RB - Jeremiah Johnson, WR - Keenan Howry, WR - Tony Hartley, TE - Justin Peele, OT - Jim Adams, OG - Bob Grottkau, C - Dan Weaver, OG - Mark Lewis, OT - Josh Beckett, DE - Devan Long, DT - Rollin Putzier, DT - George Dames, DE - Will Tukuafu, LB - Tom Graham, LB - Peter Sirmon, LB - Bruce Beekley, CB - Herman O'Berry, CB - Jarius Byrd, FS - Eric Castle, SS/ROV - Chad Cota, K - Tommy Thompson, P - Kurtis Doerr

Team Matt Daddy
QB - Dennis Dixon, RB - Rueben Droughns, RB - Kenjon Barner, WR - Pat Johnson, WR - Jordan Kent, TE - Jed Weaver, OT - Geoff Schwartz, OG - Jordan Holmes, C - Max Unger, OG - Jeff Kendall, OT - Nick Steitz, DE - Nick Reed, DT - Junior Siavii, DT - Brandon Bair, DE - Kenny Rowe, LB - Jerome Boyd, LB - Matt Smith, LB - Spencer Paysinger, CB - Alex Molden, CB - Aaron Gipson, FS - JD Nelson, ROV/SS - Eddie Pleasant, K - Matt Evenson, P - Norm Van Brocklin

Once the matchups were set, I sent an email out asking for the mods to state their case as to why their team is the best. Nick sent me back a couple paragraphs. Matt did not. Will that affect the voting? Hopefully Matt will edit the post with his words later, or make his case in the comments section, but for now, here's Nick's writeup:

ntrebon - At the quarterback position, I think the selecting the "best" comes down to personal preference.  Do you prefer the QB who was a four-year starter and still holds many of the school's all-time passing records?  Or, do you prefer the QB who finally put everything together for 9+ games of his senior season that many thought made him the favorite for the Heisman?   At the remainder of the skill positions, I feel like I have an advantage.  First, at running back, I have my first overall pick (Stewart) who is the most physically talented back.  I also have Jeremiah Johnson who not only is 6th all-time in rushing yards but also has the highest yards-per-carry (by more than 1 yard of) any back in the top 10.  At receiver, I think I have a sizable advantage with Howry and Hartley (two of the top three receivers in terms of yardage in school history) over Johnson and Kent.  While Johnson may have the blazing speed, I think it is interesting to note that Hartley's yards-per-catch is only 0.2 yards less.  At TE, Peele and Weaver both had productive seasons at Oregon.  However, Peele had two  years as a starter (including his 8-TD, first team all-conference performance his senior year) whereas Weaver only had one year as a starter.  The only spot on offense that I feel Matt *may* have an advantage is at the offensive line where he boasts more big-name players than I do.  However, my line consists of players who were significant contributors to some of the most successful offensive seasons in school history. 

As I mentioned last week, on the defensive side of the ball is where I feel my team has the biggest advantage over Matt's.  I think the lines are pretty evenly matched.  Reed and Rowe at DE for Matt is pretty nice, but I also like Long and Tukuafu on my team.  At DT, I have two older players that some may not be familiar with, but both earned first team all-conference honors---a relatively rare feat for defensive tackles in Oregon's history.  At linebacker, Matt Daddy again focused on more recent players while I gathered the best set of linebackers of any team in the draft, including the top two tacklers in school history.  In the backfield, while Molden might be the best CB of the bunch, I have a very large advantage at the other spots, particularly at the safety positions (Cota and Castle over Nelson and Pleasant).  This advantage would be even more pronounced if our two teams were to actually meet on the field given that Matt chose to draft a sprinter as one of his receivers.  

Next up, we have Team David Piper vs. Team PaulSF.

Team David Piper
QB - Akili Smith, RB - Onterrio Smith, RB - Maurice Morris, WR - Bob Newland, WR - Lew Barnes, TE - David Paulson, OT - Paul WIggins, OG - Adam Snyder, C - Fred Quillan, OG - Palauni Ma Sun, OT - Tom Drougas, DE - Matt Brock, DT - Igor Olshansky, DT - Steve Baack, DE - Peter Brantley, LB - Ernest Jones, LB - Casey Matthews, LB - Derrick Barnes, CB - Cliff Harris, CB - Walter Thurmond III, FS - John Boyett, ROV/SS - Michael Fletcher, K - Jared Seigel, P - Len Isberg

Team PaulSF
QB - Dan Fouts, RB - Mel Renfro, RB - LaMichael James, WR - Jeff Maehl, WR - Cristin McLemore, TE - Russ Francis, OT - Darrion Weems, OG - Bo Thran, C - Dave Tobey, OG - Mark Richards, OT - Mark Asper, DE - Reggie Lewis, DT - Ricky Heimuli, DT - Marcus Woods, DE - Dave Wilcox, LB - Darrell Mehl, LB - Wesly Mallard, LB - Reggie Jordan, CB - Kenny Wheaton, CB - Justin Phinisee, FS - George Shaw, ROV/SS - Keith Lewis, K - Morgan Flint, P - Josh Bidwell

One of these mods just had a kid. The other didn't send in a writeup. Paul, the same rules apply to you: edit the post with your writeup, or throw it in the comments. Here's what Dave has to say about this week's matchup.

Team David Piper - To me, this matchup is as simple as looking at the lines, and it becomes abundantly clear that Paul's decisions to draft his lines last are going to be his undoing. Its undeniable that Paul has excellent players on the offensive skill positions, but if you look at the line disparities, he'll never get the chance to showcase that. Among his draftees at the offensive line are guys like Mark Asper and Darrion Weems. While those are quality offensive linemen, they are not among Oregon's all time greats at the position, which is necessary in this kind of competition. With Olshansky and Baack clogging up the middle, I can unleash a pass rush containing some of Oregon's all time great sack artists in Jones, Brock, and Brantley, putting a lot of pressure on Fouts to throw interceptions to Harris and Thurmond. Having such great cover corners also gives me the flexibility to bring up Boyett to help stop the run.

On offense, the line dominance shows yet again, where you see on Paul's team a guy like Ricky Heimuli who is a sophomore that is yet to start a game, and a few other non-descript players that Paul picked up in the later rounds. They will be easily controlled by guys like Oregon's best O-lineman of the last twenty years in Adam Snyder, first team All-American Tom Drougas, and the anchor of the 90s in Wiggins. This will allow me to gain big chunks of yardage with Onterrio Smith and Mo Morris, as well as pick my spots for the strong armed Akili Smith to throw to two All-American receivers, with Phinisee being a clear weak link on the defense.

Bottom line, this is a matchup of the ALL-TIME GREATS. Names like Weems, Heimuli, Thran, and Asper don't exactly conjure up those images. As my line dominates the game, the victor becomes clear.

Now it's voting time. Four teams enter, two teams leave at the end of the week. It's up to you, ATQ readers.