An Accounting of 2021 through Week 5

 Facts to establish off the bat:

 

-When I refer to the league, I of course am referring to the eight-man collective that is Bragging Rights

-Through the 2020 season, the league average for points scored for per week is 99.7

-Through the 2020 season, the league average for points scored against per week is 99.86

-Through the 2020 season, our collective league record is 503-505 (.499%)

-As a league, we will forever have a losing record and will forever be in the red for scoring

I wanted to establish that off the top because it speaks to the spirit of this league. This league is gritty, full of grinders that refuse to quit. 

After starting the season 0-5 and accepting the likelihood of having the first losing season in our franchise history, we shift our attention to avoiding the worst record in league history, the infamous 3-13 Glenn’s 2014 season. In order to sustain some optimism, we turn to the numbers. Here's the information that has My Dads Drinking Problem buzzing:

With 1,639 points in 2014, Tyler has the league record for most points in a regular season. He has set the regular season bar with 117 points per week. Notice the distinction, "regular season". I understand that the scoring title is a regular season award. For too long, we've all parroted that Tyler has the "Highest Scoring Season" in league history. As someone who values the playoffs and considers them a critical part of the season, I present the truth:

	Tyler 2014	Sloan 2015*	Pat 2018
Regular Season	1639.38	1531.48	1608.72
Playoff 1	105.18	157.56	106.94
Playoff 2	73.06	130.6	101.68
True Total	1817.62	1819.64	1817.34

*Won the Title

 

Alex Sloan, the leagues consistent record keeper, has not received the shine that he deserves for having the true Highest Scoring Season in league history. Through the 16-game slate of 2015, he averaged 113.73 points per week. 

At the other end of the spectrum, Travis holds the distinction for "Lowest Scoring Season" after putting up 1,162.52 in the 2015 regular season. This title is actually well-deserved, as his total 1351.84 points in 2015 represent the lowest output in league history. That amounted to 84.49 points per week. As the commish would say, that's tuff.

Fun fact: 2015 had Sloan's highest scoring season in league history and Travis' lowest scoring season in league history. In Week 12 of that season, Travis beat Sloan 96.80-73.18. Any given Sunday indeed.

 

Why bring this all up? To get ahead of the “Is this the worst team in league history?” narrative? It helps. Mainly, to establish some context for how ludicrous these first five weeks of the 2021 season have been.

Through the first five weeks of the season, we have four teams on pace to break the mark Sloan set for Highest Scoring Season in league history. In any other league, I’d expect “random” drug testing to be required for these teams. With the commish leading the pack at 120.35 points per game, we can expect inaction on the testing front. Would love to know what Gruden would say about Regular Season Rick.

Three of the eight organizations in #thisleague have not won a championship. Steve and Jacques are clearly hell bent on getting their hands on The Rendleman, Tyler is content being outscored by the 0-5 team.

This has been, without a doubt, the most explosive start to a season we’ve seen. As league historian Alex Sloan noted, Week 5 marked the second time in league history that all eight teams scored 100+ in a week. There are clearly some grudges against the most vocal supporters of the one-time auction draft, as Kevin, Max, and myself face scoring outputs each week that would shatter the Highest Scoring Season of all time.

I originally dove into these numbers to convince internal stakeholders that our team had a historically average offense and were simply facing an unsustainable onslaught every week. I came away wanting to highlight the remarkable start to the season several organizations have had.

In summary: Shits been wild. Props to the teams on an absolute tear so far, I look forward to seeing who can sustain it.