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Scott Fish Bowl

Start, Sit & Laps Around This Fish Bowl

by Seth Woolcock

We once thought it was easy, figuring out this whole life thing. 

As carefree adolescents – causing riff-raff in our local Napa Auto Parts stores’ parking lots – we didn’t know any better.

Because as damaged as most of our parents were, they were pretty good at faking it. Posing as if somehow they knew exactly what they were doing. Yet, with each lap around the sun, we came closer to realizing that no one has it truly all figured out. Time is rarely as perfect as it is fleeting.

As much as we realize about the world around us each year – good and bad – we learn more about ourselves. Who “our people” are, what passions will help guide us and if we’re lucky, our place in making this world a better place.

It Comes in Waves

I think the same can be said for the “Scott Fish Bowl” (SFB). With each lap around the world’s largest and premier pro-am fantasy football league, participants grow in ways beyond fantasy football strategy and concepts.

SFB’s commissioner, Scott Fish, is the founding father of Developmental (Devy) fantasy football. He is also the creator of Fantasy Cares – a non-profit that strives to inspire fantasy football leagues to incorporate a charitable aspect and raises money for multiple charities, including Toys for Tots

He also happens to be one of the most genuine and generous people you’ll ever meet.

It should be no surprise that Scott and each appearance in SFB have changed my life for the better. His encouragement has helped my company find a charity we’re passionate about helping. His support has helped fuel us as we continue our mission. And each lap around this fish bowl has connected me with influential strangers turned colleagues and acquaintances.

Perhaps, more than anything, SFB reminds me how much good can be done when righteous people come together. With the league’s online drafts kicking off on July 10 and its capacity increasing yearly, I wanted to uncover just how far its impact goes. 

Here are some of the findings:

Inspiring Future Creators

Matt Donnelly’s Dynasty Vipers Network got its start following Donelly’s appearance in one of the single-digit additions of SFB. After the Alberta, Canada, native played his first season as a fan, he was bound to return as an analyst. So he began his own company and website and did just that. 

Matt has since become a fan favorite amongst many fantasy football enthusiasts and has used his platform to help position diverse voices in this industry.

Zach Berger, from Orlando, Fla., is a fantasy football analyst for Dynasty Vipers, Fantasy in Frames, Club Fantasy FFL and Triple Play Fantasy, while being an involved member of the community. 

According to a July 3 Twitter comment, “None of that would have happened without Scott Fish Bowl 10 (SFBX).”

Chris Wise of Lousiville, Ky., is new to SFB this year. 

“Of course, it’s premature to say that SFB changed my life, but I would like to think that it eventually will,” Chris said in a July 6 Twitter direct message (DM). “You see, that invitation inspired me to do something I have wanted to do for years but just didn’t have the courage nor the motivation to do.”

After hitting the “tweet” button for the first official time ever, sharing the news of his invite to Scott Fish Bowl 12 (SFB12), Chris set out to become an analyst himself. Like Matt did years ago, Chris is in the process of creating his own fantasy football site.

Chris plans to document his journey in SFB on the platform and hopes to launch a podcast and YouTube channel eventually.

Honestly, without my invitation to SFB, I can’t say I would’ve been motivated enough actually to make it all happen,” he said.

Encouraging to Give Back

John Bosch is the mastermind behind the Fantasy Cares Eliminators initiative, creating eliminator-style fantasy leagues with at least one celebrity or influencer headling each league. In addition, John has also made SFB shirts and been involved in the SFB Podathon. With his efforts combined, John raises countless amounts for Fantasy Cares. 

“I’ve met a ton of folks and have played in a ton of fun leagues,” John said in a July 5 Twitter comment. “I’ve podcasted as host/guest all over. It all goes back to SFB (and, of course, Scott). Game changer.”

Running With a Purpose

“‘Do you want to make friends? Do you want to get in shape? Do you want to be part of something bigger than yourself?’ I had only been in Chicago less than a year, and yes – of course – I wanted all those things,” Bethany L Peters, Ph.D., Director of Analytics at Media Culture, said in a July 5 Twitter DM. “The last one resonated the most with me, and that’s what fits in with the SFB.”

bethany

Bethany salutes Scott Fish and the SFB community on Oct. 3, 2021, at the London Marathon.

After being inspired by Scott’s care for children and the less fortunate, Bethany joined Team World Vision – a non-profit organization dedicated to producing global development, humanitarian aid and advocacy.

Bethany’s first marathon focused on clean water in Africa, while her appearance in the London Marathon focused on child sponsorship.

“Now I am coming closer to home (literally, I grew up in Beaverton, Ore.) to run the Hood to Coast Relay on Aug. 26-27,” she said.

Her organization’s 10 teams of 12 runners are raising $1.5 million for flood relief and clean water in South Sudan. Her personal goal for this marathon is to raise $30,000, and she’s almost over the $21,000 mark. According to Bethany, $50 provides clean, lasting water to one child.

Bethany applauds this community for consistently supporting her efforts. Kown industry names like Matthew Freedman, JJ Zachariason, Pete Overzet and even former NBA Champion Shane Battier are just a few SFB participants who have donated to her campaigns.

“Helping people is easier when you do it with others, like with SFB,” Bethany said. “Go farther together.”

Healing

Three years ago, Dave Wright was recovering from kidney surgery overnight in the hospital when notified that he had won an SFB spot in a giveaway from Peter Howard’s podcast.

A shadow box honors the Wright’s child, Lily.

The news helped motivate him both in his recovery and as a creator. Dave released his first spreadsheet shortly after that got eyes on this work, leading to his first writing gig in the industry. A year later, he became involved with the SFB Podathon.

However, in March 2020, during the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave’s wife suffered a late-term miscarriage. 

“We were devastated,” Dave said in a July 5 Twitter DM. “I couldn’t even accompany my wife to what was supposed to be a normal ultrasound because of the pandemic. She called me with the news, and I had to rush over there to be with her.”

A few weeks before the tragedy, Dave volunteered to help with the Podathon. Little did he know how much that decision would end up helping him.

Dave and his wife pose following the birth of their son on Aug. 2, 2021.

As Dave and his wife continued to heal, the Podathon gave him something to pour his free time into. He contacted thousands of potential sponsors and helped change how sponsorships work for the Podathon. 

It kept my mind out of some dark places,” Dave said. “I didn’t even really realize at the time how important the Podathon was to me. But I’m incredibly grateful that it was an outlet to raise money for so many important charities.”

Dave and his wife have since had a healthy and happy baby boy, and things are going well for the couple. Yet, he still realizes the impact the 2020 Podathon had, helping him work through his grief and the early unknowns of the pandemic.

“It’s a comfort knowing our baby girl who passed has helped motivate me to be a small part of raising over $100,000 for Toys for Tots, the Equal Justice Initiative and The Trevor Project,” Dave said.

The Big Kahuna

Every so often, life throws us a cruel curve ball, showing us the unfairness of it all. But when we come together as a community as we do with the help of Scott and SFB, we can be powerful agents of social change and begin to heal.

If anything, the stories above show the impact that one game, one league and one man can have on the world.

Alright, and here we go.

The following start/sit selections are based on not only stats, trends and film research, but also the current Average Draft Position (ADP) taken from four separate SFB12 mock drafts.

For more information about the scoring and rules for SFB12, please visit the league’s official site.

Players I Would Draft in SFB12

D.K. Metcalf (WR, Seattle):  Due to SFB’s tight end premium and super-flex nature, receivers are faded more than usual. So much that in the four mock drafts I ran across the last several weeks, D.K. Metcalf’s average ADP stood at 63 overall, going as late as pick 6.9.

D.K. Metcalf

D.K. Metcalf has scored 22 TDs over the past two seasons.

While Metcalf loses Russell Wilson this season, there’s still hope he could return high-end WR2 or low-end WR1 numbers if things go his way. Baker Mayfield was just traded to the Carolina Panthers. So unless the 49ers will trade Jimmy Garrappolo within their division, Metcalf’s QB will either be Drew Lock or Geno Smith. For the sake of Metcalf, fantasy managers should hope Smith wins the job in training camp.

In the four games last season where the former West Virginia Univesity (WVU) Mountaineer saw action, Metcalf averaged 19.8 Points Per Reception (PPR) points per game and was the PPR WR4.

Smith did carry an absurd TD Percent of 5.3 that will regress. But if you remember Smith from his WVU days, you should recall his arm strength and play-making ability. With Metcalf seeing 30 deep balls last season (third-most amongst WRs) and 19 red-zone targets (11th most), it should be enough to at least return value at the current cost.

Aaron Rodgers (QB, Green Bay):  What’s even better than a value at WR in SFB is a value at QB. Enter Aaron Rodgers, the No. 1 overall scorer in SFBX and No. 6 in Scott Fish Bowl 11 (SFB11). Across the mock drafts I ran, Rodgers never went above pick No. 16 and slid into the late second round numerous times.

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers has thrown 15 interceptions since 2018.

Sure, Rodgers’s 85 TDs over the past two seasons have helped him reach such heights in this format, but so has his efficiency. The last two seasons have been his two best in terms of completion percentage since becoming the Packers’ full-time starter in 2008. He also held a strong Yards Per Attempt (Y/A) with 8.2 in 2020 and 7.7 in 2021.

But most impressive has been his lack of turnovers, which you’re heavily penalized for in SFB. He’s thrown nine interceptions in the past two seasons combined and has an Interception Rate of less than one percent.

He loses Davante Adams but gains a potential young star in rookie Christian Watson, and trusty tight end Robert Tonyan should be good to go by Week 1. Since 2014, when Adams wasn’t on the field, Rodgers held a steady 66.9 percent Completion Rate – which is enough to get you bonus points in SFB scoring. Rodgers is a mid-low-end QB1 candidate this season with the potential for more if his supporting cast is up for the task. I’ll take that every day as my QB2 in this league.

Dalton Schultz (TE, Dallas):  Don’t look now, but Dalton Schultz has been a PPR TE1 in back-to-back seasons and is coming off a TE3 overall season. With the Cowboys losing Amari Cooper this offseason, I’m taking my shot on Schultz in the mid-round of drafts instead of paying up for the less-proven CeeDee Lamb.

Cooper vacates 104 targets, and fellow TE Blake Jarwin accounted for 22.3 percent of snaps. While others, like rookie TE Jake Ferguson out of the Univesity of Wisconsin, will take their share of this, Schultz should see an increase in snaps, routes and targets across the board.

If that happens, we know he will likely continue being hyper-efficient as he posted a career-high 75.5 percent Catch Rate last season – better than Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews. He also can make some plays happen on his own, as he was a top-40 weapon in Yards After the Catch (YAC) in 2021. 

Schultz’s ADP has been a bit all over the place, but he consistently goes as the TE6 off the board in the fifth or sixth round. He’s a solid anchor TE at that price or a great FLEX option if you use a TE-heavy strategy.

Players I Wouldn’t Draft in SFB12

D.J. Moore (WR, Carolina):  I’ve been consistently out on D.J. Moore the past two seasons due to his inflated ADP and inability to help fantasy teams succeed at the next level. But with the Panthers just acquiring Mayfield from the Browns for a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick, it’s worth breaking down again.

D.J. Moore

D.J. Moore has scored four TDs for three straight years.

Moore’s usage was off the charts in 2021, finishing top six in targets (162), top five in Target Share (28.4 percent) and seventh in Route Participation. Yet, he scored more than 20 PPR points only three times, all of which came in the first month of the season. 

Moore creates about average Target Separation at 1.59 yards (56th best amongst WRs) and is OK at contested catches with a 29.3 Percent Contest Catch Rate (66th best).

His target quality will likely improve with Mayfield. But I don’t think the QB that held Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) to seven TDs across two and a half seasons is the answer to Moore’s touchdown problem (14 in four seasons). 

Moore has an almost identical ADP to Metcalf in mock drafts. That is too expensive to pay, especially in a league that only rewards a half-point per reception.

Cole Kmet (TE, Chicago):  Cole Kmet is another example of a volume hog lacking efficiency with an inflated ADP. Kmet saw the eighth-most targets among TEs (93) and held a high Red Zone Target Share (19.7 percent), yet he finished with 60 receptions, 612 receiving yards and zero TDs.

Truthers will be quick to point the finger at poor Chicago QB play. However, they didn’t benefit when targeting him as they held an 83.3 QB Rating per Target when eying Kmet.

Chicago didn’t invest heavily in improving their skill-position players this offseason, so Kmet should hold his high volume. However, I don’t see rookie defensive head coach Matt Eberflus and rookie offensive Luke Getsy able to help Kmet or the Bears get over their inefficiency in year No. 1.

Kmet held an ADP of TE12 in the mocks I ran and was gone sometime between rounds eight to 10. With so much solid talent on the board at other positions, I advise passing on Kmet and taking a shot on a high-ceiling TE like Cameron Brate or Hunter Henry later on.

Robert Woods (WR, Tennessee):  “Robert Woods is not the WR you are looking for.” Woods is returning off a torn ACL to a new team in the Tennessee Titans. Woods has consistently been going in the ninth or 10th round of mock drafts, ahead of high-upside WRs like Christian Kirk, Chase Claypool and Watson.

We need to pump the breaks on Woods, especially considering WRs see a drop-off in the first year returning from an ACL before seeing more normal production in year two. Woods should return by training camp, but it’s hard to put much stock into him, considering he is joining the team that ran the ball the most in 2021 (551 times). 

With Ryan Tannehill now looking like he’s on the decline of his career and without A.J. Brown, I expect the Titans to regress harshly this season – meaning I want no part in the Tennessee offense, aside from Derrick Henry.


If you have a feel-good story that you would like to share for an opportunity to be featured in an upcoming edition of “Start, Sit & Seth,” please reach out.

And for more fantasy football and uplifting content, you can find me on Twitter @Between_SethFF.

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