Mr. Neatock has won three championships in this league, but the other previous two times he brought home the title, he didn’t impress much when it came time to defend those titles. Back in 2008, he entered the season with his two great keepers (Peterson, Welker), nailed a stud Aaron Rodgers pick in round nine and finished with his first seven picks all on his roster, but all that talent did was win Matt three games, averaging just 1,090 points per game, in arguable the league’s worst title defense ever.
After bouncing back in 2009 and winning it all with one of the greatest squads ever, Matt had one of the more stranger title defenses in league history. With no more Peterson or Welker, he still got to keep LeSean McCoy, Aaron Rodgers and Hakeem Nicks. Yet, despite a solid 3-0 start, Matt went with a complete overall. By season’s end, he made five trades, involving 16 players (four of which would finish as starters), shipping away all three of his keepers. A team that featured just four players that he actually drafted, managed to win nine games, going an impressive 6-0 in his division (remember divisions?). Yet, in the quarterfinals, the 3-seed Neatock was upset by Colby, 1,726 – 1,311.
This season, he appears to have solid keepers entering the season. Will he become just the third person to repeat in this league?
| Year | Team | Record | Win % | Points | Pt Per Game | Seed | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Robio | 10-4-0 | .710 | 19,902 | 1,422 | #2 | Repeated as champ |
| 2001 | Robio | 9-5-0 | .643 | 18,061 | 1,290 | #2 | Lost in semis |
| 2002 | Team left league | ||||||
| 2003 | Robio | 9-5-0 | .643 | 20,389 | 1,456 | #1 | Lost in quarters |
| 2004 | Rich B | 9-5-0 | .643 | 19,975 | 1,427 | #3 | Lost in quarters |
| 2005 | Bob | 3-10-0 | .231 | 14,621 | 1,125 | Missed Playoffs | |
| 2006 | Griff | 7-6-0 | .538 | 16,105 | 1,239 | #6 | Lost in quarters |
| 2007 | Don | 8-5-0 | .615 | 18,474 | 1,421 | #2 | Lost in quarters |
| 2008 | Matt | 3-10-0 | .231 | 14,171 | 1,090 | Missed Playoffs | |
| 2009 | Don | 7-6-0 | .538 | 16,187 | 1,245 | #7 | Lost in quarters |
| 2010 | Matt | 9-4-0 | .692 | 18,223 | 1,402 | #3 | Lost in quarters |
| 2011 | Bob | 6-7-0 | .462 | 17,016 | 1,309 | #7 | Repeated as champ |
| 2012 | Bob | 6-7-0 | .462 | 17,387 | 1,338 | #7 | Lost in semis |
| 2013 | Robio | 10-3-0 | .769 | 19,489 | 1,499 | #1 | Lost in semis |
| 2014 | Rich C | 6-7-0 | .462 | 15,948 | 1,227 | #8 | Lost in quarters |
| 2015 | Bob | 11-2-0 | .846 | 19,594 | 1,507 | #1 | Lost in semis |
| 2016 | Griff | 4-9-0 | .308 | 16,734 | 1,287 | Missed Playoffs | |
| 2017 | Rich C | 8-5-0 | .615 | 16,373 | 1,260 | #3 | Lost in quarters |
So what did we know about title defenses?
- Defending champs do well in the regular season. They’ve won 55.6% of their games (125-100).
- They’ve scored a total of 298,649 points in their follow-up season, which is a solid 1,327 points per game average.
- Defending champs have made it to the post-season an impressive 14 times in 17 tries. Nine times earning a three-seed or better.
- Three defending champs have earned a top-seed the following year. Me twice (2003, 2013) and Bob once (2015)
- Four times a defending champ has led the league in scoring (Don once, Bob once and me twice).
In the post-season though, life has not been so good for title defenses.
- Overall, defending champs are 10-9 in the post-season. Not great.
- Defending champs are just 6-8 in the quarterfinals. Not good.
- Between 2002-2009, no defending champ won a playoff game (dropping seven straight).
- Four out of the last seven defending champs have failed to finish above .500 for the year.
- Only
Fun facts that may only interest me.
- There have been two repeat champions; Robio in 2000 and Bob in 2010. Both of us won 7-straight playoff games before losing in the semis in our quest for a three-peat.
- Bob (2004), Matt (2008) and Griff (2016) are the only three defending champs to miss the post-season. Bob and Matt both finished 3-10 and in last place, while Griff managed to win four games and finish in 10th place.
- If you have faith in my season’s ranked list, then Bob’s 2004 was the worst title defense in league history, even though Matt scored less points. While Matt’s 2008 season is ranked #205, Bob’s 2005 is ranked three spots back at #208. The difference? Bob had six games below 1,000 and four weekly low scores, compared to Matt’s three sub 1,000 games and one weekly low score.
- Again, going by my season’s ranked list, despite not winning the title, Bob’s 2015 title defense is ranked as the best. He won 11 regular season games, earning the scoring crown, averaging 1,507 points per game. He also earned the top seed (becoming the first title defender to earn both a scoring crown and a top seed the following season. However, he was knocked out in the semifinals.
- Of the two teams that have gone back-to-back, my 2000 repeat job is ranked 18th, compared to Bob’s 2011 repeat, which is ranked #41. Reason being, in my repeat, I won eight games, scored over 1,400 points and had ten games over 1,500 (including all three in the postseason). For Bob, his 2011 championship team actually entered the playoffs below .500 (6-7), averaged 1,309 points per game and hit 1,500 five times. That squad would score over 1,500 twice in the postseason, but scored 800 less points than my 2000 group.