CB Posse Fantasy Football League: The Turkish Tornado: Murat’s Record Start

Thursday, October 10, 2019

The Turkish Tornado: Murat’s Record Start

This is, without question, finally Murat’s year. It’s been an astounding 23 years since he captured the CBPFFL, but this season has all the inevitability of a Trump impeachment.

Murat has been on the cusp of victory many times. He’s finished in the top three an amazing six times in the last nine years, runner-up three times. Last season was perhaps the most heart-breaking, as James Conner, the unquestioned free agent pick-up of the year, was almost enough, but a late season run by Gene snatched the trophy from Murat’s fingers. All the close calls make it only a matter of time.

This week, Murat smashed the all-time weekly score. The previous weekly high (since the advent of 21^st Century rules and record keeping) was my own 2011 championship team, in a season that produced two weeks of identical 215 points. But Murat shredded that like a tornado through wet toilet paper.

QB- Russell Wilson	37
RB- Ezekiel Elliott	16
RB- Austin Ekeler	21
W/T- Julio Jones	7
W/T- Adam Thielen	32
Flex- Amari Cooper	39
Flex- Will Fuller	53
K- Mike Nugent	9
D/ST- Philadelphia	35
TOTAL	249

This is a record that will stand for a good, long while. An incredible five players scored over 30 points! A record, despite his first-round pick limping out a lowly seven. But Will Fuller was the play that earned the record. Murat swapped in Houston’s second WR (after Hopkins, my own first-rounder) for a back-up Giants RB, that put up 27 the week before, managed one (!) miserable point, before exiting with a concussion. That single decision earned Murat 52 points, 100 jelly beans, and a record that will stand for many years.

So, barring the most phenomenal flame-out in the history of Fantasy Football, Murat will take The Caggiano this December.

Murat has averaged 170 points through five weeks and built a 193 point lead over a hungry horde of owners in second. The record for total score is (again) my own 2011 team, that averaged about 150 each week. And that was a 10 team league with a TE slot we no longer use!
Poor Holden, barreling towards last place and next year's top pick, on pace for third worst finish all time, sits an insurmountable 386 points behind, as Murat has outscored him by an average of 77 points (!) every week.
Murat's low score this season has been 130 (!), higher than two teams have yet to score.
In five weeks, Murat has finished with the top score twice, second twice, and a low rank of 5th once.

Murat drafted a nightmare team, with a nearly perfect first eight rounds:

Player	Pos	Draft	Current Position Rank
Russell Wilson	QB	Round 6	1
Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Round 2	11
Austin Ekeler	RB	Round 8	2
Julio Jones	WR	Round 1	7
Amari Cooper	WR	Round 4	4
Adam Thielen	WR	Round 3	14
Will Fuller	Flex	Round 7	8
Philip Lindsay	Ben	Round 5	12

Five weeks into the season, with the narrow exception of Thielen, every single player ranks as a first string starter. The most any other owner drafted during the first eight rounds is three. Murat did not miss on a single important pick. A couple owners whiffed on five of these picks.

Murat has had to watch his NYC crew capture three titles, as his mantel gathers cobwebs.

So, Cheers to Murat, well done.

History of the League

In the fall of 1991, six young boys entered the hallowed halls of the Banfield Academic Center to embark upon a journey that would make them into men. They were lead by the eponymous Carl Brown and his obsession with Dennis Hopper. His group, which gathered each day in their private, brick-walled alcove, consisted of Steven Caggiano, James Pickard, Sahil Tak, Hank Zakroff, and Murat Zincir. Though other people drifted in and out, this was the core of the entity that would come to be known as the CB Posse.

CB Posse FF officially began in 1993. The early years of the league would be dominanted by Murat and Pickard, who took the trophy three time each. It wasn't until the seventh year of CB Posse FF that this dynamic duo of NFL knowledge failed to capture first place. Sadly, in 1999, as the Posse members finished college, only four owners played, and, due to lack of interest, the league would begin a decade long hibernation.

In 2009, Pickard asked Hank whether he would be interested in getting the league back together. After an emphatic "YES!" from his friend, Pickard made some phone calls and the league was reborn like a glorious phoenix from the ashes. The 21st Century has revolutionized FF into a more competitive monster. CB Posse FF went completely digital, and unless you can navigate the nearly endless amounts of NFL information available on the internet, you don't have a chance. Sahil would emerge as the dominant force, and he destroyed the league for back-to-back championships.

21st Century CB Posse FF has seen significant expansion. Murat and Pickard have lured several local friends into the ranks. Murat's New York crew has been dominant, consistently finishing near the top, and even claiming several championships. CB Posse FF has also become multi-generational, as young Jack Caggiano has boldly followed his parents' footsteps. Even the trophy underwent massive expansion, and is renamed The Caggiano.