New year, new tune in Faiella’s camp

CHICAGO, Ill. — Stefano Faiella just got off a roller coaster, one with a whole bunch of twists and turns. That’s really the only way to describe his 2017 season in the Tiger Township Fantasy Football League, as well as the majority of his overall career. Faiella, who missed the playoffs each year from 2012-16, starred at an 0-3 start to his campaign last fall and looked as if he would become the first league member to ever miss the playoffs in six consecutive seasons. Then, things turned in a big, big way. Faiella won five straight contests at one point and finished the regular season with seven wins in the final nine weeks. His 8-5 record not only brought along Faiella’s first playoff appearance since 2011 but a first-round bye to boot. He went on to place fourth in the final league standings. “It was a really tough year for me, actually,” Faiella told Chibby’s Corner in an exclusive interview. “I started off so bad, and I was just so down again. But by the end of the year, it felt good. I got the monkey off my back.” The fireworks started before Faiella ever left the shores of Fort Lauderdale in 2017. His draft-night, beach trade with Ryan Shaheen was an interesting one, acquiring him the services of receiver Julio Jones and running back Isaiah Crowell in exchange for receiver Jordy Nelson and running back DeMarco Murray. Still, the Ohio State University graduate couldn’t help but feel a sense of anxiety following his rocky start. But for someone that hadn’t tasted success in that long, looking back, the feeling was understandable. “I thought I drafted well and made some trades at the beginning of the year that I thought made my team better, and I still started off slow,” Faiella said. “It was a struggle and it ate at me that I wasn’t doing well. By Week 5, I thought I wasn’t making the playoffs again.” Then, it all began to click. In Week 6, Faiella, who sat 1-4 at the time, dropped 202.3 points on Louie Thomas in a blowout win, opening the floodgates for a terrific home stretch. Faiella vaulted all the way into the league’s top two, earning a surprise bye week. As one of the hottest teams in the league, Faiella suddenly (and slightly) began entertaining the idea of his team going all the way. A week later, however, Faiella’s wild ride came to an end with a semifinal loss to eventual TTFFL runner-up Cee Jay Julian. He also fell to Grant Seanor in the third-place game. “Even in the last week (of the regular season) I thought I was fighting for my playoff life, and I ended up No. 2,” Faiella said. “It was definitely a very up-and-down year for me. … Cee Jay’s team was really hot, too, and I knew he was going to be a pretty tough matchup for me. I knew I was going to need a really good week to beat him, and it turned out that I had a pretty decent week, but it just didn’t work out.” Faiella credits his success with trading as a big reason why he was able to get his wheels turning last season. Perhaps his biggest move came on Sept. 26, when he shipped running back LeSean McCoy to Cee Jay Julian’s team for quarterback Alex Smith and receiver Alshon Jeffery. Smith, the No. 4 quarterback in fantasy, joined forces nicely with quarterback Kirk Cousins, who also enjoyed top-six production at the position. Those successes on the open market have given Faiella confidence to duplicate the actions again. Despite the postseason woes, Faiella’s journey was the feel-good story of the TTFFL last fall. And because of that, he enters the 2018 campaign in a great state of mind. Rather than once again trying to protect his image, Faiella is in a place where he can focus on earning more legitimacy by possibly making back-to-back postseasons. Faiella has been through a lot in recent TTFFL seasons. Since 2012, he has finished in 10th place or worse four times, and he hasn’t won a playoff game since 2010. Still, his breakthrough after five straight setbacks can’t be understated. “You’d love to say that you don’t think about the negative stuff and that it doesn’t bother you, but it’s on your mind every single day, every single hour,” Faiella said. “You never forget it, and it definitely motivated me. Getting to the playoffs was my No. 1 goal for me last year, and I’m trying to build on that.” Yet, some could argue that Faiella still doesn’t quite understand the feeling of true success. After all, he doesn’t exactly have a whole lot to boast on his TTFFL resume, and it’s hard to confirm whether Faiella has actually found an identity for his club or was the beneficiary of simple luck in 2017. The good news for him, however, is the hostile chatter around him has severely died down. And after half-a-decade of Hell, Faiella has a message for his critics. “Make the ‘offs, Mitchin,” Faiella said. “That’s all I have to say.”