League History
(Rankings 3, 4, 7, 8, and 10 written by Jim Ayello. Rankings 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9 and the intro written by Tim Martens)
Stuck in quarantine, waiting for a draft (even when it is moved up) can seem endless. So what are two morons like Jim and Tim to do with all of the extra time on their hands? Well, we decided we would break down all the top teams in Will Carter Bowl history.
With 13 seasons of WCB action, there is a lot of data to break down, so we had to think of the fairest way for us to start cutting off the excess fat and getting to the good meat of this league. Jim and I started with figuring out who were the top three scoring teams in points-for in a given year. After that, we looked at overall regular season record. Lastly, we figured out the league average in points-for on the year and calculated how many points these teams had scored above league average on the year. When you see points above average below, that is the yearly points a team scored over the league average in yearly points (If an owner scored 1400 points on the year and the league average was 1300, his points above average is 100).
For a final note, we figured out how many points was the average weekly score for a team in our league and we went back week-by-week to find out how many times a team scored above league average for all 13 or 14 weeks of the regular season.
As we dissected everything, one major aspect came into play: what is the worth of winning a Will Carter Bowl vs. being a runner-up or not making the Will Carter Bowl at all? It was tough to figure out, but in the end I think we have a great list here. Seven of our top ten teams were teams that won a Will Carter Bowl and the three teams that didn’t were very much the best team in the league in that particular year, but they happened to meet an unfortunate end in not winning the league.
Jim made sure to make me mention in this introductory paragraph that Will need not read this article as his name will not show up. He stressed this point many times, so here is that paragraph to note this.
***For context, we do not have access to the 2007 or the 2013 league years anymore. All we have are the final standings that we have screen-capped on willcarterbowl.com. Therefore, we cannot see week-to-week results or rosters for teams in this year and this could have skewed some of the rankings.***
So, without further ado, here are the top ten teams in Will Carter Bowl history…may the arguments commence.
10. 2018 Tom: The Reign of King Henry
8-5, 119.37 points above average, scored over average 9 of 13 weeks
Though Tom’s 2018 title run will likely be best remembered for Derrick Henry’s reign of terror, Tom put together an outstanding overall season while battling injuries and suspensions. The aptly named “Commissioner Exempt List” started the year 8-2 before a late-season nosedive kept it from wrestling away the bye week from Joe. Still, Tom managed to finish the season third in points while scoring above the weekly season average nine times. He cruised through the playoffs, demolishing all in his path (scoring 1st, 3rd, and 1st most points in weeks 14, 15, and 16) en route to a second championship and the last spot on this hallowed list.
9. 2014 Sean: A Day Late and a Yard Short
10-3, 174.41 points above average, scored over average 11 of 13 weeks
The 2014 Sean squad is one of those should-have-been-Champion teams. With a lineup that included Drew Brees, Marshawn Lynch, Jamaal Charles, Davante Adams, Jarvis Landry, and Emmanuel Sanders, Sean burst onto the scene his first year with a 10 win season, and the most points scored in the league. His story also ended in the most heartbreaking way, losing Will Carter Bowl VIII to Tom by .02 points…which is literally a yard from any player. Sean would play in two more WCBs before leaving the league, but 2014 was his best team and one of the best teams to never win it all.
8. 2017 Conor: Better Than the Browns
10-3, 198.63 points above average, scored over average 11 of 13 weeks
Conor’s 2017 season ended in tragedy when he put up more than 107 points in the KFC Championship and still lost to Sean. Thus closed the book on the greatest team in league history never to play for a championship. Had Conor won a title, he’d have a case for a spot in the top three on this list with his 10-3 record and his 198.3 points above the weekly average. While “Cleveland Browns SB420″ will be remembered fondly for its lethal rookie RB duo of Alvin Kamara and Leonard Fournette, what will haunt Conor forever is the heartbreak of losing the title combined with the disappointment that resulted in trading DeAndre Hopkins for Dez Bryant and Alshon Jeffrey. He may never trade again.
7. 2015 Cam: The Dawning of the “Dudley Boyz”
9-4, 85.69 points above average, scored over average 10 of 13 weeks
It didn’t take Cam long to take power over the Will Carter League of Champions. In 2015, just three seasons into his tenure as a WCB league owner, he claimed his first championship after coming agonizingly close his rookie season. Behind a balanced attack (top three in both RB and WR scoring), the “Dudley Boyz” cruised to a TFC championship, blowing out Tim by 40 points in the championship game. Though he finished third in total points that season, no team was more consistent than Cam, scoring above the average 10 times in 13 games (12-of-15 if playoffs are included).
6. 2017 Jim: The Year the Music Died
10-3, 129.45 points above average, scored over average 10 of 13 weeks
First off, Jim is a piece of shit. It was the most fun watching him lose year after year, even when he was in the top three in scoring six different years before 2017 and had never won the title. But alas, all dreams have to end. An idiotic fake punt from their own 10 yard line gave Dallas a first down in Jim’s TFC Championship Game that year and Dak Prescott ended up piling up the yards and running in a touchdown to end that drive…a drive that should never have happened. Jim won that TFC Championship by a point and smoked Sean in Will Carter Bowl XI aka the darkest of day of our league. His team was good…whatever…good record, lots of points, consistent week after week, blah blah blah…please let me move on…
5. 2019 Jim: The 2007 Patriots
10-3, 244.71 points above average, scored over average 13 of 13 weeks
I have to fucking write about him again? Fine. This one is at least a little more fun. If Jim had pulled off a win when it mattered most, in Will Carter Bowl XIII, he would likely be the best team of all time. Scoring above league average every week of the regular season, Jim became the first team in 12 team/dynasty format to eclipse the 1,400 point total on the regular season. An absolute powerhouse, Jim was destined to win it all, until he didn’t. Always the little brother, Jim was put in his place by Dan in Will Carter Bowl XIII leaving the proverbial poo stain all over his 2019 team’s legacy. He scored over league average every single week of the year, except when he choked in Will Carter Bowl XIII with a measly 76 points. Ranked better than his own championship winning team, the 2019 team should have been everything…all of it…but Jim totally blew it at the end and maybe created a more upsetting legacy than losing to a certain someone we will hear about later on.
4. 2016 Cam: Dudley Domination
9-4, 156.97 points above average, scored above average 11 of 13 weeks
In 2016, for the first time since Aaron kicked off this glorious venture in Will Carter Bowl I and II, another owner won back-to-back titles. After conquering the league in 2015, Cam became the first to win consecutive crowns in the dynasty/12 team era in 2016. (He and Tom are the only team to have twice in this time period). Behind an electric David Johnson, the “Dudley Boyz” were even more dominant (156.97 points above the weekly average) and more consistent (11 of 13 games above average) than his run in 2015. From Week 6 to the championship, he lost one game, walloping everyone in his path, including Sean by a staggering 56 points in the title game.
3. 2007 Aaron: The Gold Standard
11-3, 185.5 points above average
Unfortunately, some of our league archives have been lost to time, thus, we cannot fully explore the depths of Aaron’s dominance. But take it from those of us who were there to experience his early wrath – and the vulgar, abusive rants that came with it – the 2007 team was one for the ages. Aaron not only paced the league in points that season, but was the only squad to exceed 1,400 points (1,414). Aaron decimated his foes by margins that would make you blush, winning 11 times in the regular season and housing Rob in the championship, 93-78. While Aaron would blow out Rob yet again the following season, there’s no debate that this is the finest team Aaron has ever assembled.
2. 2009 Rob: Holy Shit, Remember When Rob Beat Jim, Hahahahaha
11-3, 217.24 points above average, scored above average 11 of 14 weeks
I know it’s fun to give Jim a super hard time about how he fought really hard to get to Will Carter Bowl III and played pretty well in it just to watch Rob Dvorak take a big old dump on him, but there is no joking about how good Rob’s team was. He was 11-3 and that includes scoring 135 points in one of his losses. Back when we were a re-draft league, having a good draft was important (like Rob drafting CJ2K in 2009, the year he got his nickname), but assembling a great squad on the waiver wire was important too…which Rob certainly did. Ray Rice, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Lawrence Maroney…all waiver pick-ups…got Rob 3,800+ yards and 24 TDs that season. His points above average were 113 more than Jim (the second highest scoring team) and he beat the team that scored the most points in a losing effort in a Will Carter Bowl *checks notes* who was also Jim. Rob beat Jim.
1. 2011 Tru: Tru(th) Hurts
10-4, 207.45 points above average, scored above average 12 of 14 weeks
I know you all jumped to the bottom of this list right away to see the number one team… hoping it was you. Well it isn’t…unless you are reading this right now, Tru…which in that case, congratulations. Somehow not talked about enough, Jim and I were amazed when we went back and looked at the 2011 Tru season. Tru scored 1,580.12 points on the year (most ever), had 207.45 points above average (second most ever), and almost tripled the next highest team above average (Conor at 72.23 points above average) which is far and away the biggest separation anyone has had in points above average. This team consisted of Tom Brady (5,235 passing yards, 39 passing TDs, 3 rushing TDs), LeSean McCoy (1,624 yards from scrimmage and 20 combined TDs), and (the greatest free agent pickup in Will Carter Bowl history) Rob Gronkowski (1,327 receiving yards and 18 combined TDs). Any absolute powerhouse, this team could have been even better if Tru had not traded away Mike Wallace and Jordy Nelson (2,456 combined yards and 23 TDs between them) to Will (ha, I did mention him in this list, Jim) who would actually hand Tru two of his four losses that year, but go 4-8 in the rest of his games (sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned you, Will). This team was unstoppable and was unanimously selected by two morons who are bored in quarantine as the Greatest WCB Team of All-Time
For further reference on this list, here are the rankings we created of every Will Carter Bowl Champion in league history:
| 1. 2011 Tru: 207.45 and 12 of 14 (10-4), 1st in scoring that year |
| 2. 2009 Rob: 217.24 and 11-14 (11-3), 1st in scoring that year |
| 3. 2007 Aaron: 185.5 (11-3), 1st in scoring that year |
| 4. 2016 Cam: 156.97 and 11 of 13 (9-4). 2nd in scoring that year |
| 5. 2017 Jim: 129.45 and 10 of 13 (10-3), 2nd in scoring that year |
| 6. 2015 Cam: 85.69 and 10 of 13 (9-4), 3rd in scoring that year |
| 7. 2018 Tom: 119.37 and 9 of 13 (8-5), 3rd in scoring that year |
| 8. 2008 Aaron: 56.4 and 8 of 14 (10-3-1), 3rd in scoring that year |
| 9. 2013 Stoy: 115.32 (8-5), 3rd in scoring that year |
| 10. 2019 Dan: 91.37 and 7 of 13 (8-5), 3rd in scoring that year |
| 11. 2012 Tim: 38.68 and 7 of 14 (11-3), 4th in scoring that year |
| 12. 2014 Tom: 25.97 and 7 of 13 (9-4), 6th in scoring that year |
| 13. 2010 Tim: 8.87 and 8 of 14 (9-5), 5th in scoring that year |
“Still Henry?”
A single text message from Tom Hazelhurst to fellow owner Aaron Mackel asking if he still believed it was the right call to start Derrick Henry on Thursday Night Football against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14 of the 2018 Will Carter Season.
Years in the future, when each owner picks up his grandson and sits him on his leg to tell the story of this historic night, one detail could very easily be lost: the night almost never happened.
Worried about the output Henry could give his team, especially after an untimely release of Kareem Hunt and injury to AJ Green put his squad in shambles, Hazelhurst was having a hard time choosing between Henry and Ravens RB Ty Montgomery to be his flex starter in a pivotal first-round playoff matchup against defending Will Carter Bowl Champion Jim Ayello.
Tom had reason to have his doubts about Henry. In the 12 previous games in the 2018 season, Henry was averaging just 6.96 fantasy points a game. In his three year career of league play, Henry was averaging just 6.58 points per game.
“Still Henry?”
Hazelhurst knew the decision he was making could very well make or break his entire fantasy season. Yes, Henry had broken out for big games a few times before, but these outbursts were so few and far between. It is far more likely that Henry would end up with a score in the single digits than in the teens, twenties, thirties, or the almost unheard of forties.
But the fact was that Montgomery wasn’t exactly the best option either. Henry, while inconsistent, probably gave Tom the best chance to get a leg up. Playing against a Jacksonville defense that had under performed all season, maybe Henry could find a way to get into the end zone.
After sitting with Montgomery in his lineup for the entire week, Hazelhurst made the switch with five minutes to spare before kickoff lockout. He rolled the dice with it all on the line. But the question still ate at him as the ball was kicked into play. Was this the right call?
“Still Henry?”
Tom’s decision only took a few minutes to be confirmed as the right move. While it took until the Titans reached the Jaguars 19 yard line on their first drive for Henry to touch the ball, he quickly showed this night would be different. A run of 14 yards. A dive for 2 yards. A 3 yard dash off the left guard into the end zone. Three plays and Henry had racked up 7.9 points for Tom with 9:35 still remaining in the first quarter.
For Tom, this output for the entire game could have been considered successful. But Henry, who had only scored two rushing touchdowns in a single game twice in his career, was far from done.
Backed against his own goal line, the farthest distance an offensive player can be on the field from the end zone, Henry broke past his offensive line and ran left on what looked like a gain that would get the Titans out of field position trouble. But just as the thunderous waves crash upon Neptune’s sacred palace, Henry exploded into AJ Bouye, creating room for a historic rumble down the field. Several stiff arms later, Henry was gliding into the end zone to become only the second player to rush for a 99-year TD in NFL history
The damage was immediate. Henry had already tallied nearly 25 points for Hazelhurst’s team. But, only as the smartest predator knows, Henry/Hazelhurst double-tapped the opponent and made sure the beast was absolutely dead. Adding TD runs of 16 and 54 yards in the second half, Henry finished the evening with 238 rushing yards, 4 TDs, and (most importantly) the second highest RB output in Will Carter League history with 47.8 fantasy points.
From a questionable start to an incredible night, Henry had given Hazelhurst a lead of which had never been seen after a Thursday Night Football game, while Ayello had gone from fighting tooth and nail to make the playoffs on the very last night of the regular season to being all but eliminated three nights later.
At press time, Hazelhurst expressed his gratitude. “Legendary. He made up for his disappointing season in a huge way tonight.”
Finally asked by press if he had thoughts of who he would be starting in the flex position in the TFC Championship (should he advance), Hazelhurst, played it coy at first, saying he still needs to survive the week. But when pressed further for an official answer, he couldn’t resist replying with a smile:
“Still Henry.”
Arguably more exciting than the first week of the year and the Will Carter Bowl itself, draft day is a franchise changing moment for many teams. Finding the sleepers, avoiding the busts, and fixing the holes on a roster, each owner does their best to find the future stars of the league and add them to their roster.
There are many different tactics that owners have in the draft. For some, trading roster players to get higher up in the draft is the best strategy. For others, trading out of the first round or the draft all together is the best way to rebuild your team.
But one of the most interesting tactics ever seen in Will Carter history was that of Joe’s “Joe for Broke” roster in the second round of the 2016 Rookie Draft. With talent like Ezekiel Elliott, Michael Thomas, and Derrick Henry already off the board, Joe took a page right out of Jason Licht’s playbook. Just like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who drafted kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, Joe decided that the 17th overall draft pick of the Will Carter Rookie Draft should be Aguyao.
Upon ridicule for the pick moments after the selection was made, Joe commented “Just wait. You’ll see.” It is unconfirmed if Joe’s binder of pie charts and bar graphs were on-hand during his draft that year.
Coming off a year where Joe’s relatively unknown kicker, Adam Vinatieri, averaged 8.3 points a game, Joe banked on Aguayo to come in and increase his weekly totals with unheard of kicker numbers. However, things didn’t go according to plan.
Aguayo averaged just 6.375 points per game in the 2016 season, making only 22 of his 31 field goal attempts. Included in this rough season for Aguayo was a tough season for Joe, where he finished 4-9. Looking deeper at the stats, we see a match-up during Week 2 where Joe lost to Jim by 4.9 points in which Chandler Catanzaro outscored Aguayo 11 to 1.
While Aguayo may have only directly cost Joe one game, there is also the fact Joe missed out on players such as Jordan Howard, Kenyan Drake, Dak Prescott, and Jared Goff, all drafted after Aguayo. Howard has averaged 12 points a game in his two years in the league thus far, Drake had 4 games of 15 points or more in the final 8 games of 2017, Prescott has averaged 17 points per game since entering the NFL, and Goff’s sophomore season had him averaging 17 points per game as well.
While we will never see a kicker drafted too early in the league again with the kicker position being eliminated from the rosters, we can always remember this Great Moment in Will Carter History…a fond memory for at least 11 members of the league.
Sun. Dec. 23, 2012
Big games call for big performances. And when the lights shine down on the field during any championship game, it is often times the last person you would think of that steps up to win the big game. Mike Jones. Adam Vinatieri. David Tyree. And now another player performance when the stakes are the highest will go into the record books: the Seattle Defense in Will Carter Bowl VI.
Losing 90.08-84 with only the Sunday night game to go, Tim put everything on the line (an 11-3 regular season record, wins in 12 of his last 13 games, and a Will Carter Bowl VI championship) with the Seattle D in a home match-up with the San Francisco 49ers. Not only did the Seattle D need to make up the deficit created by the early games, but they also had to hold off San Francisco’s Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree, who had combined for 40.4 points the week before for Mike. Before the night game even began, Tim seemed to be giving up all hope. Instead of laying down some confidence in the smack talk box, Tim stated “Yup. I’m fucked. Congrats Mike.” Little did Tim know that he was about to be given the greatest Christmas present of all-time two days early.
And with the odds stacked against Tim, the Seattle D came out fighting. Allowing no points in the first quarter, the Seattle group made one of the biggest plays of the game three plays into the second quarter. Seahawks DT Red Bryant blocked a 21 yard David Akers FG, and the loose ball was picked up by Richard Sherman, who returned the blocked kick 90 yards for a touchdown. Allowing only 13 points and racking up an INT, fumble recovery, blocked kick, defensive touchdown, and one sack while holding Gore to just 28 yards rushing and Crabtree to only 65 yards receiving, the 17 point performance by the mighty Seahawks D was enough for Tim to pull off the improbable; a 101-98.38 Will Carter Bowl VI victory.
Though Calvin Johnson would later be named MVP for his 20+ point performance, the Seattle D was the role player that made Tim’s championship dreams become reality.
Box score:
