2009 Final Rankings and Predictions Revisited

Bill won the FLOF Bowl and for that he will forever get credit for being the best of 2009. But as I look back on the 2009 season I rank the performance of all 12 teams a little differently then the Ws and Ls. These rankings are based on looking at total scores each week to produce an expected number of wins based on those scores as they compare to historical scoring over the last 2 years.

So, the final 2009 Rankings.

The Good:

1. Malleus: Expected Wins 9.5, Actual Wins 9, Division Runner-Up, Playoff Final-4, Pre-season rank 6th, predicted Wild Card. Not bad. The team was a lot stronger then I expected but end result was pretty much the same.

2a. Drow: Expected Wins 8.8, Actual Wins 7, Lost Division, Just Missed Playoffs, Pre-season rank 4th, predicted Division win. Again my prediction was semi-right. I thought I had a decent team and I was right but I didn't get the results I had hoped for and the remarkable parity in FLOF this year means that losing 1 game meant the difference between a Division win and missing the playoffs.

2b. IC Lagers: Expected Wins 8.8, Actual Wins 7.5 (a tie), Just Missed Playoffs, Pre-season rank 12th, predicted Division lost. This one caught me by surprise. Kudos to Tim. I placed Drow in the 2a slot because they had a slightly better offensive median this season (median power was the same for these two as well).

4. Rednecks: Expected Wins 8.5, Actual Wins 8, Wild Card, Lost Wild Card game, Pre-season rank 1st, predicted Division winner. Rednecks were a strong team as I figured they would be but I didn't figure on the insane competition they would face in-side their own division.

5. Beavers: Expected Wins 8.3, Actual Wins 7.5, Division Runner-Up, Wild Card, Lost Wild-Card game, Pre-season rank 7th, predicted 3rd in division. Beavers did a little better this year then I thought they would and cashed in with a playoff appearance.

The Average:

6. Bill: Expected Wins 7.9, Actual Wins 9.5, Division Winner, FLOF Bowl Champ, Pre-season rank 10th, predicted division loss. Bill's Team was a stronger team then I thought they would be and they peeked at the right time, playing strong to close out the season and through the playoffs to capture the flaming football.

7. Old No. 7: Expected Wins 7.9, Actual Wins 6, Division loss but Just Missed Playoffs, Pre-season rank 8th, predicted 3rd in division and just miss playoffs. Apparently I got Old No. 7 all figured out.

8. Capo: Expected Wins 6.6, Actual Wins 6.5, Division runner-up, Just missed playoffs, Pre-season rank 2nd, predicted division winner. The whole right division pretty much threw me for a loop this year. I expected Capo to fight for the division this year but not because everyone in the division was a mediocre team at best.

9. Mimes: Expected Wins 6.3, Actual Wins 9, Division winner, lost Wild Card game, Pre-season rank 3rd, predicted division runner-up. Another team the under-performed my prediction in someways but not in wins and losses. Mimes had the largest discrepancy between expected wins and actual wins by far. Most teams landed within a win or two of expected. Mimes won nearly 3 games more then they probably should have.

10. Ramjets: Expected Wins 6.3, Actual Wins 7, Division winner, FLOF-Bowl runner-up, pre-season rank 11, division loss. Ramjets were pretty much as bad as I thought they would be this year but no one in their division was really strong so they hung around, got hot in the playoffs, and almost won it all.

11. Hamburglers: Expected Wins 6.1, Actual Wins 5, 3rd in division, Toilet Bowl loser, pre-season rank 9th, predicted 3rd in division. This was the only team in the Right Division I had pegged from the start. Although they fooled me after they started the season strong only to fall back to where I thought they'd be.

And the Bad:

12. Flannel: Expected Wins 4.4, Actual Wins 2, Division loss, Toilet Bowl winner, pre-season rank 5th, division runner-up and wild card. Clearly this team did not perform as well as I thought they were going to on any level.

If I give myself a win for predicting a team's final ranking within 3 spots of my pre-season ranking I got .500 this year. Three teams outperformed my pre-season rank, three did worse, and I predicted six teams pretty well.

FLOF Bowl Summary

Bill lead the league with 4 pro bowl players and 3 1st teamers. Ten franchises were represented at the Pro Bowl. Only Mimes and Ramjets failed to have any player named to the pro bowl.

Bill's Team: Chris Johnson (1), Larry Fitzgerald (1), Jon Beason (1), Adrian Wilson (2)

Beavers: Patrick Willis (1), Adrian Peterson (2), Charles Woodson (2)

Hamburglers: Darrelle Revis (1), Reggie Wayne (2), Jared Allen (2)

Drow: Nate Kaeding (1), Aaron Rodgers (2)

Old No. 7: DeSean Jackson (1), David Akers (2)

Capo: Drew Brees (1)

Lagers: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (1)

Flannel: James Harrison (2)

Malleus: Brian Dawksin (2)

Rednecks: Andre Johnson (2)

Coach of the Year

A primary vote gives a coach 2 pts and a runner-up vote gives a coach 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Coach of the Year:

Coach of the Year: Bill (9 pts, 4 1st place votes)

Runner-Up: Hadyn (3 pts), Roger (3 pts, 1 1st place vote)

Also receiving votes: Tim (2 pts, 1 1st place vote), Darin (1 pt)

Bill's team won the regular season with an impressive 9-4-1 record considering he had to out-duel Hadyn's very strong team for that honor in addition to other strong divisional foes. Roger is an interesting case here with a team that made the playoffs on a .500 record and then stepped it up to contest a FLOF Bowl. An argument could be made that Roger had less talent on his roster then many other teams.

I think there are a lot of ways to try to judge success as a coach. Although I think my approach is a little flawed, I like to look at improvement from year to year. For that, Tim can't be beat. He took over a Brawlers team that was horrible and despite a rough start generally improved his team significantly on the field. Hadyn got my other vote. I know he won the FLOF Bowl last year but I think his team was much better this year and then what I felt was a rather average team last year that performed a bit above its head and did well in the playoffs.

Goat of the Year

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Goat of the Year:

Goat: Brandon Jacobs (3 pts, 1 1st place vote)

Runner-Up: Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Brian Westbrook, Carson Palmer all received 1 1st place vote

Also receiving 1 reunner-up vote: Matt Hasselbeck Jason Witten, Kerry Collins, Clinton Portis, Eli Manning

Brandon was the only guy to appear on two ballots. But goat is a pretty inexact science.

Brandon was my first choice actually, Witten was my second choice. But I mostly focused on people who played more and still did not do well. Kerry Collins was a particularly interesting choice as someone who ended up not playing much, but could have been expected to do better, or at least finish out the season starting in the NFL...

League MVP

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

League MVP

MVP: Chris Johnson (7 pts, 3 1st place votes)

Runner-Up: Drew Brees (6 pts, 2 1st place votes)

Also receiving votes: Aaron Rodgers (2 pts, 1 1st place vote), Patrick Willis (1 pt), Brett Favre (1 pt), Adrian Peterson (1 pt)

For the second year in a row, the league MVP was NOT the offensive MVP. In an interesting reversal, Brees and CJ switch spots for over-all MVP. Maybe CJ got a boost for helping Bill to the league best record while Brees' CAPO team failed to make the playoffs or even finish over .500 on the season.

Shockingly to you all, my man-crush on Rodgers continues through to this category. I was also the only person to give some love to defense. This is where I remind you that he had 9 games where he scored 7 or more pts and never scored less then 5 points in a game. That may not seem like a lot compared to an average RB but he averaged nearly 5 pts better every game then the counterpart on the team he played that week. That's worth something in my book.

No really bad votes here either so I'll call myself out for being the only person to vote for neither Brees nor CJ.

Offensive MVP

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Offensive MVP

MVP: Drew Brees (8 pts, 3 1st place votes)

Runner-Up: Chris Johnson (5 pts, 2 1st place votes)

Also receiving votes: Aaron Rodgers (3 pts, 1 1st place vote), Adrian Peterson (1 pt), Peyton Manning (1 pt)

The top two was probably predictable here. It was likely CJs early season stumble that gave Brees the top spot here. It is interesting that CJ got as much love as he did from a raw statistical perspective since he placed 5th in total points scored this year and 4th in pts per game.

I voted as I did for QB giving Rodgers my top vote and Manning my second vote. To me, CJ is the RB equivalent of Brees. Really, really good but he had a couple more stumbles this year then Rodgers and Peyton in a year with several excellent offensive players.

I don't really see a bad vote among this group although my runner-up vote for Peyton looks like the most on the limb vote since he didn't even make the top 2 at his position.

Pro Bowl Quarterbacks

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Pro Bowl Quarterbacks

First Team: Drew Brees (8 pts, 4 1st team votes)

Second Team: Aaron Rodgers (4 pts, 1 1st team vote)

Also receiving votes: Peyton Manning (2 pts), Kurt Warner (2 pts, 1 1st team vote), Brett Favre (1 pt), Tony Romo (1 pt)

This was the year of the QB. Previously I would have gone with 2004 which headlined Peyton Manning's then record setting 313 pt, 26.08 pts/gm season -- records for any player let alone QB. But 2004 also had Daunte Culpepper put up 232 pts at 19.33 per game and McNabb contributed 223 (18.58 per). At the time those were the 3 best QB seasons for total points and 3 of the top 5 for pts / game.

Now this: Brees and Rodgers come in with the 3rd and 4th best per game average for a QB ever, Manning ties for 6th and Favre and Brady come in 14th and 15th. Those 5 QBs each scored more total points this season then all but 2 QBs ever (Brady in 07 and Manning in 04). Oh, and Rivers chipped in with the 12th best season total for a QB. Rivers scored the most points by a QB in 2008, scored more points this year and was the 6th best in 2009 in total points scored.

In the end, Brees and Rodgers finished in their order of total points and pts/gm. But I was one of the two people to give my 1st place vote to someone not named Brees. In fact, I ranked Brees 3rd behind Rodgers and Peyton Manning. Looking at per game totals the gap between Peyton and Brees is less then 2 pts per game. Rodgers had only 1 game all year where he scored less then 13 (median for QBs recently) and he scored 17 or more in 10 of his 12 starts. Peyton never scored less then 9 pts in a game all year and had 7 games of 17 or more pts. Brees also had 7 games with 17 or more points but had two games where he scored 6 and 2 pts respectively.

Any way you slice it we're splitting hairs amongst most of these QBs, so I have trouble faulting most of the votes. That said, I think Romo was a bit of a reach and Warner was another silly vote. Warner played in only 2 regular season games. And while his 17.5 pts per game is nice, its 8th among all QBs this year, behind other luminaries like Jason Campbell and Matt Cassel who both played 1 game this year.

Pro Bowl Running Backs

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Pro Bowl Running Backs:

First Team: Chris Johnson (11 pts, 5 1st place votes)

Second Team: Adrian Peterson (7 pts, 1 1st place vote)

No one else received a vote. There have been a couple seasons where only 3 RBs received votes but this is the first time we've only seen 2 vote getters. Which seems to reflect the difficulty in finding a good RB this year.

Chris Johnson had far and away the most points by any RB this year with 232. Peterson was second with only 169. CJ tied for the 3rd most points ever by a RB in a FLOF season with Priest Holmes circa 2002 and behind TD from 1998 and LDT from 2006. His 19.33 pts/gm mark ties him for 4th all time for a RB.

I know I gave CJ a hard time at the beginning of the year -- his first 4 FLOF games started with a 43 pointer but was followed by 3 efforts of 6 pts or LESS. But he never failed to score double digits again all year and 5 of his last 8 games were over 20 pts.

AP was my runner-up as well. He had 7 games of 12 or more pts during the year and only once scored less than 5 pts but he just wasn't as explosive as CJ.

Pro Bowl Wide Receivers

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Pro Bowl Wide Receivers:

First Team: Larry Fitzgerald (10 pts, 4 1st place votes)

First Team: DeSean Jackson (6 pts, 3 1st place votes)

Second Team: Andre Johnson (4 pts, 2 1st place votes)

Second Team: Reggie Wayne (4 pts, no 1st team votes)

Also receiving votes: Percy Harvin (3 pts, 1 1st team vote), Randy Moss (3 pts, 1 1st team vote), Greg Jennings (2 pts, 1 1st team vote), Miles Austin (1 pt), Roddy White (1 pt), Donald Driver (1 pt), Anquan Boldin (1 pt)

Despite the fact that 11 different WRs received votes Fitzgerald appeared on every ballot, usually as a 1st teamer. This was an interesting list of players and people seemed to have very different approaches to picking their favorites here.

Fitzgerald clearly was the favorite of most but he was 2nd in total pts and 4th in pts per game.

My top 5 included all 4 pro-bowlers at this position. But I had Percy Harvin rated as my best WR this year and was the only top receiver I looked at who never scored fewer then 2 pts in a game this year. But after that I feel in line with the rest of the group with Jackson as my other first teamer and Fitzgerald as my top second teamer, Wayne as the other and Andre Johnson just missing out on my ballot.

This was another position with a wide array of options but my biggest surprise would be Greg Jennings who was not on my radar as a top WR. I was also a little surprised that Colston got no love.

Pro Bowl Kickers

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Pro Bowl Kickers:

First Team: Nate Kaeding (9 pts, 4 1st place votes)

Second Team: David Akers (6 pts, 1 1st place vote)

Also receiving votes: Stephen Gostkowski (2 pts, 1 1st place vote), Garret Hartley (1 pt)

Kaeding, Akers, and Gostkowski were 1-3 in pts/gm this season in FLOF. Kaeding was particularly explosive this year as well scoring 12 or more points in 6 games this year.

Interestingly, I was the guy who voted for Akers then Kaeding. In the end, Akers and Kaeding both scored double digit points 7 times but Akers scored fewer then 8 only once while Kaeding had 4 sub-8 pt games including twice scoring 4 or less.

Hartley was the odd vote here. Gostkowski had a pretty strong case for being one of the top kickers this year but Hartlet only played 1 game in the regular season for FLOF but he did score 15 points for Bill en route to a championship including 10 pts in the FLOF Bowl so that may have swayed his backer, despite the fact that these are supposed to be regular season awards.

Defensive MVP

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Defensive MVP: Patrick Willis (7 pts, 3 1st place votes)

runner-up: Darrelle Revis (6 pts, 2 1st place votes)

also receiving votes: DeMarcus Ware (2 pts, 1 1st place vote), Jon Beason (1 pt), Jared Allen (1 pt), Nick Barnett (1 pt)

Defensive MVP was the category that had the lowest point total for the winner, which shows that people were pretty much undecided about the award. That said, Since Revis and Willis were the top vote getters at their position it is not surprising that they captured all but 1 first place vote between them here.

Willis and Revis was exactly how I voted. Although Revis has a better pts/gm of 12.8 over Willis' 9.5. Willis did it for a full 13 games to Revis' 8 games. I also love Willis' low score of 5 pts. Revis had only one game score lower then that, but I think Willis being able to do it for the full season was what game him my first place vote in a close decision.

At first glance, DeMarcus Ware and Nick Barnet look like odd votes here since they did not receive votes for DF. But Ware was at least on my short list of DFs to consider where as Barnet was not. In fact, Barnet only played 3 games this year and averaged less then 5 pts per game.

Pro Bowl Defensive Fronts

A first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Pro Bowl Defensive Fronts:

First Team: Patrick Willis (10 pts, 5 first place votes)

First Team: Jon Beason (9 pts, 3 first place votes)

Second Team: Jared Allen (7 pts, 3 first place votes)

Second Team: James Harrison (3 pts, no first place votes)

Also receiving votes: Ray Lewis (2 pts), Karlos Dansby (2 pts, 1 1st place vote), David Harris (1 pt), Aaron Schobel (1 pt), London Fletcher (1 pt)

If you decided that 7 games or more was your cut-off then the 4 pro-bowl DFs were top 4 in both total points this season and points per game. In fact, they appeared in that order, except for Beason and Allen who ranked 2-3 in pts and pts/gm but came out in the opposite order in pro bowl voting. Unlike the DB voting, the 4 pro-bowlers were pretty much full-time starters all season long -- either 12 or 13 starts.

Willis was crazy good this year. He scored 7 or more points 9 times in 13 starts. [7 points represents the top 1/3 of a DF score over the past couple of seasons.] And his lowest score all season was 5 pts. The average pts for a DF this year was 5.89 per game. He basically never scored less then that.

I also had Willis and Beason 1-2 in my voting. Beason never scored less then 3 pts all season which isn't quite like Willis, but that still means he never failed to contribute. I picked Ray Lewis and David Harris for my second teamers but Harrison and Allen were certainly on my radar. I think that after Willis there were a bunch of solidly good DFs this season so I certainly understand where the Allen and Harrison arguments are coming from. I think Allen is another Charles Woodson in many ways. Allen had 6 games with double digit scores but 4 games where he scored 1 or 0 pts -- which is very much what you can expect from a really good DE in FLOF and I rewarded consistency with my voting more then boom-bust.

Aaron Schobel was the Bernard Pollard vote for this position. He was not on a FLOF roster this year either. In fact, he hasn't scored a FLOF points since 2006 despite playing 1 game last year. And no, the same person who voted for Pollard is not the same person who voted for Schobel.

Pro Bowl Defensive Backs

First in a series of posts on the 2009 FLOF Pro Bowl results. This will allow me to talk more in depth about some of the players and I will also note oddities and trends in voting and defend my own votes. Obviously those others who voted can discuss in the comments. For all categories a first team, or primary vote gives a player 2 pts and a second team or runner-up vote gives a player 1 pt. Most points wins. Since 6 people voted, 12 pts would be a unanimous selection.

Pro Bowl Defensive Backs

First Team: Darrelle Revis (8 pts, 4 1st place votes)
First Team: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (8 pts, 4 1st place votes)

Second Team: Charles Woodson (5 pts, 1 1st place vote)
Second Team: Brian Dawkins (3 pts, 1 1st place vote)
Second Team: Adrian Wilson ( 3 pts, 0 1st place votes)

Also receiving votes: Asante Samuel (2 pts), DeAngelo Hall (2 pts, 1 first place), Ed Reed (2 pts, 1 first place), Bernard Pollard (1 pt), Darren Sharper (1 pt), Cortland Finnegan (1 pt)

The voting here seemed to go pretty much along pts/gm lines while ignoring the guys with only 1 or 2 games this year. Everyone here averaged more then 7 pts/gm over at least 7 games worth of work. Interestingly none of them played more then 11 games. And other then Woodson most of them were late season plays, all but one start among the other 4 DBs occurred after week 4.

Revis, by the way, was an absolute beast. He was a mid-season free agent acquisition and didn't start a game until week 6 but of his 8 games, 6 were 10 plus games, in only 1 game did he score less then 3 pts.

This outcome was almost exactly my thinking on the issue. Woodson is the only guy here I'd argue with. Sure his 7.3 pts/gm looks good but I think its way skewed by the fact that he had 4 10+ pt games including a 25 pointer. Sure that's impressive, but he also had 5 games where he scored 2 or fewer points. So in half of his 10 starts he basically did nothing for his team. No one else on this list had more then 3 games of 2 or fewer pts. That said, Woodson was certainly on my short list of candidates and not an unworthy vote.

There were some players receiving votes that were unworthy here, the worst would have to be the vote for Bernard Pollard who never even made it onto a FLOF roster this season.

2009 Pro Bowl

Also, very late with this. But lets go ahead and open up the Pro Bowl voting for the 2009 season for a couple of weeks. Remember, this is supposed to be a Pro Bowl taking into account only the regular season.

Login, then vote here.

FLOF Bowl MVPs

I'm a little late with this, but I'm giving Favre the FLOF Bowl MVP. His 27 pts and last second timing give him the nod over OMVP Larry Fitzgerald.

Suggs picks up the defensive MVP hardware and the FLOF Bowl Dud is easily Shayne Graham who came real close to putting up a negative score.

I'm not sure I've ever done this before, but I've got to give Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie the Playoff MVP and DMVP award, he scored a high of 44 pts over 3 games and his 14.67 pts per game average was still second amongst players with more then 1 game.

First in the pts per game was Matt Schuab (also a Ramjet) who scored 34 pts in 2 playoff games.

Bill Wins His First FLOF Bowl

Bill 16 - Ramjets 0

In someways this game was not very close -- Ramjets were 11 points in the hole after only 1 offensive player scored points in this game. But, Ramjets' D made Bill work for it. After all but Brett Favre had played, Bill was also 11 points in the hole. But Brett came through with his best FLOF post season performance by far to give Bill his first FLOF Bowl victory.

Congratulations Bill.

FLOF Bowl Half-Time Report

At the half FLOF Bowl 14 is locked in a 0-0 tie.

Mostly this is because Roger's offense has sucked and his defense has played well. 4 of Roger's 5 offensive players scored 0 pts. McGahee's 10 pts and the 1 receiving point scrounged together between 3 players is all he's got right now. However, Sugg's 13 pts and Rodgers-Cromartie's 8 provided a solid base for a defense that still has one more player to play.

Fitzgerald has provided the only offense so far for Bill with 13 points but the story for Bill is who hasn't played yet, not who has. Bill currently has a 12 point deficit and 2 offensive players who can score points this upcoming weekend.

Bill has Brett Favre, Garrett Hartley, and either Will Smith or Bradie James left to play in next weekend's games. Roger has Gary Brackett playing this weekend. So this FLOF Bowl will likely come down to Favre and Hartley against Brackett and a 12 point cushion. In all likely hood, Roger's best bet is to have the score tied after this weekend. Of course if Brackett were to score a touchdown...

Tie-Breakers:

Time to dust off the FLOF Bowl tie-breaker rules. Some of you will remember 2002's crazy 0-0 FLOF Bowl between Drow and Deadheads that resulted in an unsatisfying use of the last tie-breaker: Super Bowl total score predictions. The tie-breakers were re-written that off-season resulting in:

1) If the score is tied. All current starters are locked in place and any stats they accumulate the next weekend are added to their current stats and we re-score the game. We continue to do that every week through the Super Bowl if we have to. If that doesn't break the tie...

2) We un-round all point calculations and see if that breaks the tie. This really only affects yardage numbers and maybe tackle numbers and would likely not do anything to break a tie if its a 0-0 defense fest. If that fails to break the tie...

3) Instead of subtracting defensive points from opponent's offensive points we add each team's offensive and defensive points together (while retaining the un-rounded stats from above). This seems likely to produce a winner with un-rounded yardage stats and no chance for a 0-0 defensive tie, but there is more if we need it...

4) Calculate how many points players on the bench would have scored in the FLOF Bowl and add that to our calculations to this point. (keeping the rules from #2 and #3 above). If that doesn't do it Doug pulls out his hair and we will be reverting to our last tie-breaker...

5) Prior to the Super Bowl both teams must guess the total score of the Super Bowl, making sure there is no chance for a tie here...

FLOF Bowl 14 Preview

Lets look at each team's rosters heading into week 1 of the 2-week FLOF Bowl. Remember that a player's stats can be counted from either this week or next but not both.

QB -- Roger had two potential starters bumped from the playoff in the last week of NFL games and currently does not have a starter on his roster. Although he's looking at Tom Brady's back-up, hoping maybe the ribs give out mid-way through the game. Bill actually has two choices but he picked up Favre for the playoffs and that looks like the smart play given Palmer's recent production. Favre will play next week. Obviously this is a huge advantage for Bill.

RB -- Cedric Benson was acquired for the playoff run and has been solid if not spectacular so far. Benson even got rest up last week but will face a stiff Jets D. This could be the biggest issue for Bill. CJ carried this team all year but will not be available so will chose between Chris Wells and Marion Barber. This could be an advantage for Roger but its not clear cut.

WR -- Neither of Ramjets' starters down the stretch will be available for him but he will get to choose between Derrick Mason, Braylon Edwards, and Bernard Berrian (who will play next week). Bill will not have Marshall's services for the playoffs but his leading receiver Fitzgerald will be there and Donald Driver will get the start for Marshall. This should be an advantage for Bill.

K -- Roger will dip into the free agent pool for a kicker this week. Bill picked up Hartley late in the year to serve in the playoffs. Both kickers will play so its hard to do anything but call this a push.

DF -- Roger's two best DFs down the stretch -- Bracket and Suggs -- made it to the playoffs and will start. Bill picked up Bradie James for this occasion but is dipping into free agency for someone to start opposite him. This should be an advantage for Roger.

DB -- Roger's two hottest DBs made the playoffs including current playoff MVP Rodgers-Cromartie. Bill got all 3 of his DBs to the playoffs but I give Roger an advantage here.

In the end I think it will be hard for Roger to over-come the QB advantage Bill will have in this game and so I predict Bill will win his first FLOF Bowl, but its a one-game tournament and anything can happen. If Favre revisits his not so distance past, he is perfectly capable of being outscored by a back-up QB who never sees a snap.

Good luck to both.

FLOF Bowl Preview: Bill's Team

Bill's Team are a career 0-1 in FLOF Bowls -- losing their only appearance to Deadheads in 2005. Bill's Team are 6-7-1 all time against Ramjets including a loss in their lone playoff match up: a 45-12 loss in 2003's wild card round. They tied in their only meeting so far this season 27-27 in week 7.

How They Got Here:

Bill's Team has been one of the most explosive teams in the league during the second half of the season. They scored in the top 1/3 of scores 5 times in their last 7 regular season games as well as in their lone playoff game so far. But their winning streak goes back even farther. After starting the season a rough 2-3, they would close out the season 7-1-1 to finish with the league's best record. Despite the gaudy numbers, it also took Bill a week 14 show-down with a division rival to secure the division championship because Malleus went on a nearly equal run to close out the season.

The chart below tracks Bill's total points scored every week. The grey bar is the middle 1/3 of scores in FLOF over the last 2 seasons (from 61 to 72 pts). The white line is the median over the last 2 seasons (68 pts).

Key Players:

Carson Palmer was not his usual self this season but he held down the fort all season. Bill drafted Carson in the 7th round back in 2003.

This was the Chris Johnson show all season long. CJ went through a slow patch weeks 2-3 but has not scored fewer then 10 pts in a game since including a 3-game stretch were he never scored fewer then 25. CJ also came up big in the biggest games: scoring 30 in week 14 with the division on the line and scoring 20 in last week's playoff win. Chris Johnson was the 2nd pick in the 2008 draft (by Bill).

Larry Fitzgerald has been a beast as well this year averaging 8 pts per game with consistent scoring. Fitzgerald was acquired via trade with the Rednecks in 2007.

Olindo Mare was serviceable most of the year at the kicker position for Bill averaging 7 pts per game with few really terrible games. Mare was a 7th round draft pick this year.

Jon Beason is another star for this team that seems loaded with them. Beason averaged just under 8 pts per game and saved his best for the stretch run -- scoring 8 or more for the last 3 weeks of the regular season and 17 in last week's playoff game. Beason was a 2nd round draft pick this year.

Adrian Wilson was a post-draft free agent pick-up for Bill this year and has been a solid starter since appearing regularly in the starting line-up week 9.

FLOF Bowl Preview: Ramjets

Ramjets are a career 1-2 in FLOF Bowls. They won the first ever FLOF Bowl back in 1997 and appeared in 2 more over the next 4 years. Ramjets are 7-6-1 all time against Bill's Team including a win in their lone playoff match up: a 45-12 win in 2003's wild card round. They tied in their only meeting so far this season 27-27 in week 7.

How They Got Here:

Ramjets got off to a good start going 3-1-1 before hitting a 0-3-1 slump mid season. That left them 3-4-1 after week 9 but in the Right Division that meant they were only 1/2 game behind division leader CAPO. From that point on Ramjets played pretty strongly and matched CAPO win-for-win and loss-for-loss until their week 14 show down for the division title which Ramjets obviously won. Ramjets have remained hot through the playoffs.

The chart below tracks Ramjets total points scored every week. The grey bar is the middle 1/3 of scores in FLOF over the last 2 seasons (from 61 to 72 pts). The white line is the median over the last 2 seasons (68 pts).

Key Players:

Matt Schaub took over for Eli Manning early in the season and was the Ramjet's biggest contributor all year averaging 14.44 pts/gm. Schuab has been particularly strong in the playoffs with two 17 pt games and is second in points scored this post season. Schaub was acquired from Drow the end of last year in a trade.

Ronnie Brown was a steadying influence at RB for the beginning of the season after taking over for Portis. But he broke in week 10 and that nearly killed Ramjets playoff hopes. Brown was a first round draft pick this year.

Cedric Benson has not been phenomenal since joining Ramjets after being acquired in a trade with the Drow at the deadline but he has been solid and that's better then what they had.

Wes Welker and Steve Smith (Car) held down the fort at WR for most of the season. Welker has largely been solid but not excellent and Smith has been hot or cold but Smith has really come on in the playoffs with 21 pts in 2 games. Welker was a 2nd round darft pick 2 years ago by the Ramjets and was franchised this season. Smith was acquired in an early season trade with Drow.

Matt Prater gave the kicking game a boost for the final 4 weeks of the season by averaging 2 more pts per game then Kris Brown had prior to that but came up small in the playoffs averaging 4 pts over two games. Prater was acquired in free agency this year.

Terrell Suggs was a solid season long DF for Ramjets but has not had much affect in the playoffs so far. Suggs was a 2nd round draft pick for the Ramjets this season.

Gary Bracket was a 6th round draft pick for the Ramjets this year who gave the defense a little boost for the last 4 games of the regular season but also has not had much affect in the playoffs.

Brandon Meriweather and Richard Marshall (both 4th round draft picks) were a solid duo at DB for Ramjets all year but Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (acquired at the trade deadline from IC Lagers) has been the playoff MVP so far with 36 points over 2 games, the most of any player so far.

Playoffs: Ramjets, Bill Advance

Bill 18 - Malleus 10

Two of the hottest teams in FLOF met for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. Last time, Bill won the Middle Division. This time, Bill advanced to his second FLOF Bowl. Both teams produced a lot of points on both sides of the ball but Bill's outstanding defensive effort trumped Malleus' better offensive effort.

Kurt Warner and Thomas Jones paced Malleus' offense but no one stood out on the defensive side of the ball for them. Bill's offense was carried by Chris Johnson and the defense got two superb efforts from Jon Beason and Adrian Wilson.

Ramjets 33 - Mimes 8

Mimes lost for the third time when attempting to make a FLOF Bowl. They've never gone to one. Ramjets continued their dominating post-season run to make their 4th FLOF Bowl, but their last appearance was in 2001.

Brandon Meriweather and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie contributed double digit scores to a big defensive effort complimented by Matt Schuab and Cedric Benson on offense. Mimes got good efforts from Philip Rivers, Frank Gore, and especially LaMarr Woodley but pretty everyone else contributed little.

Reminder that the FLOF Bowl will start the weekend after this.

Playoff Review

Malleus (1st wild card) @ Bill (Middle Division champ)

These two teams fought tooth and claw all season long for the Middle Division championship and had two of the best records in the league. They split their season series with Bill winning the season finale to gain the championship and home field for this rematch. Malleus is the defending FLOF Bowl Champion and is 3-0 in the playoffs while Bill has only won 1 playoff game in 6 tries but that was in 2005 when the win put them in their only FLOF Bowl appearance.

Ramjets (Right Division champ) @ Mimes (Right Division champ)

One of these two teams will be in the FLOF Bowl and hoping to end one of the longest FLOF Bowl droughts in the league. Mimes have never made a FLOF Bowl since entering the league in 2002 including twice losing the game prior to the FLOF Bowl. Ramjets last made the FLOF Bowl in 2001 and have not won a FLOF Bowl since becoming the inaugural FLOF Bowl champ in 1997. Mimes won their only meeting this year in week 5. (For the record, Beavers have not seen a FLOF Bowl since they won it in 1998, Bill and Rednecks have not won a FLOF Bowl since entering the league in 2001 although both have been in FLOF Bowls since then.)

Wild Card Review

Malleus 41 - Rednecks 13

For all the offensive fireworks in this game including 21 from MJD and 16 from Dallas Clark, the lack of Redneck defense (8 total pts) sunk them especially compared to Malleus' 31 defensive points. Malleus advances to the next round of the Middle Division gauntlet that will be Haydn's 2009 playoffs to visit Bill this weekend.

Ramjets 32 - Beavers 15

Both teams crashed the playoff party on the last weekend of the season and both put up monster scores in this playoff game. Ironically both teams' big offensive imports for the playoffs put up weak totals. Cedric Benson scored only 3 for Ramjets while the duo of NO WRs combined for 6ish points for Beavers. Instead it was holdover QBs McNabb and Schuab who led their respective teams but it was a complete team effort by Ramjets for the win. Ramjets advance to face Mimes this weekend.

Toilet Bowl:

Flannel 29 - Hamburglers 14

Both teams looked decidedly un-Toilet-Bowl-esque this week with big scores. In fact, Peyton and Mike Wallace paced Flannel's top offensive total of the week while Hamburglers' D had the best defensive showing of the weekend. Both teams advance to the draft lottery for their troubles.

Thursday Night Re-cap

Just a quick note for those still paying attention. Flannel, Malleus, and Hamburglers all risked playing Indy starters, and were all rewarded with solid games from Manning, Wayne and Dallas Clark. MJD had an excellent game as well and gives Rednecks a slight lead over Malleus going into the weekend. Peyton had a very good game for Flannel (28 points) as well but it's balanced against a 100+ yard and a TD game from Wayne for Hamburglers in the Toilet Bowl. Advantage Flannel, but QB vs. WR isn't really equal. Only one other player, Brackett for Ramjets had a decent 9 tackle game and get's things started for the second Wild Card game.

One more thing: Saturday game this week (Dallas/New Orleans) remember to set your rosters.

Wild Card Preview

Rednecks (2nd wild card) @ Malleus (1st wild card)

Rednecks got here on the strength of good run at the end going 3-1-1 to close the season. Tom Brady and MJD was probably one of the best tendems in FLOF all season and the rest of the team is no slouch. Interestingly Rednecks have not been very active this week, but perhaps they don't really need to.

Malleus were riding a 6 game win streak heading into the final 2 games of the season. Its not that they dropped the ball as much as the ball got ripped from their hands. They scored the 2nd highest totals the last two weeks of the season but played the team with the best scores that week and lost to Bill in the final to fall to a wild card spot. Malleus has been riding Roethlisberger and the two-headed monster of Thomas Jones and DeAngelo Williams but he recently traded for Kurt Warner for the playoff run.

Malleus beat Rednecks both games this year although both games were close affairs and the most recent game was week 9. The winner of this game moves on to play Bill if Ramjets beat Beavers this week. If Beavers win then the winner of this game meet Mimes next week.

Beavers (3rd wild card) @ Ramjets (Right Division champ)

After week 10, Beavers had lost their 5th in a row to fall from the Left Division lead to last place and 2 games under .500 with only 4 games left in their season. But they go 3-0-1 to finish the season and get a little help to get in the playoffs. McNabb and AP have been the bedrock for the franchise all year but its been mostly McNabb's team during the recent win streak. Beavers revamped their WR corp this week to prepare for the post season and went all in on the Saints.

Ramjets were the only team in the Right Division to not fall to 2 games or more below .500 at any point this season and was never more then 1/2 game behind the division lead after week 1. That said, Ramjets are one of the weaker teams in the playoffs this year especially struggling with RBs (either due to effectiveness or health) and WR. Also active this week, Ramjets picked up Benson to address the RB situation.

Beavers beat Ramjets by 1 pt (at Ramjets) a mere two weeks ago. If Ramjets advance, they will face Mimes in the next round while Beavers would visit Bill if they were to advance.

Toilet Bowl: Flannel (2-12) @ Hamburglers (4-8-2)

As befits this season, this is a weird toilet bowl match-up for me. Early in the season, both teams looked like contenders. After week 4, Flannel had gone 2-1 in games in which they participated (yea, not counting week 1 there) and looked pretty strong doing it. They did not win another game all season. Peyton was fabulous all season as usual but the rest of the team struggled. For example Jeremy Maclin started 8 games for Flannel and averaged only 2.88 per outing at WR.

Hamburglers were the last team to lose a game this season -- waiting until week 5. But half of those not-loses were ties instead of wins so they were only 3-1-2 after week 6 -- 2 games over .500 despite only 1 loss. Then they lost 7 in a row, breaking that string only by beating Flannel last week. Hamburglers seemed stuck this year between aging players and youth not yet ready. Neither Hasselback nor Matt Ryan really produced at QB and neither Moreno nor McFadden could take the load over from a fading Tomlinson.

Hamburglers' last two wins have been against Flannel.

Week 14 Review

Ramjets 35 - CAPO 31

Ramjets become the first .500 team to win a division in the history of FLOF. The Right Division was the first division to not have a single team above .500 at the end of the season. Ramjets get to host Beavers this week in the wild card round of the playoffs.

Bill 33 - Malleus 13

Both teams scored over 100 this game in what should be a preview of the FLOF Bowl if the gods of football are just... of course we know that they are not so enjoy this game now. Bill earns the top seed in the playoffs and a bye with the win. Malleus get to host Rednecks this week in the wild card round to the playoffs.

Mimes 22 - Drow 5

Drow would have won the division and picked up the #2 seed. Instead Mimes pick up the win and division and Drow go home. Mimes get a bye this week.

Beavers 23 - Lagers 4

With Drow's loss and Mimes' win, the winner of this game was guaranteed a wild card birth and no more. And Beavers picked it up to complete an improbable run to the playoffs on the back of 3 straight wins to close the season.

Rednecks 34 - Old No. 7 32

Rednecks eek out a win that puts them in the playoffs. Old No. 7 would not have made it in with a win in any case because the rest of the games did not fall out in their favor. If Rednecks had lost here Lagers would have gone instead.

Hamburglers 23 - Flannel 0

Hamburglers have shut out Flannel twice now this season and get to play them again next week for Toilet Bowl honors.

Week 14 Preview

This is shaping up to be one of the best last weeks in FLOF history -- or at least my memory. Only one game has no meaning whatever on the post-season. Not a single division championship has been decided. Two divisions will be decided head-to-head this weekend. Only 2 teams have no shot at the post-season and only 1 of those playoff eligible teams will really need a ton of help.

Ramjets (5-6-2) @ CAPO (6-6-1)

The winner of this game is Right Division champ and the loser goes home. CAPO have been playing better lately -- especially on offense -- while Ramjets have had trouble getting the offense going the last couple of weeks. The winner will be the #3 seed in the playoffs and host a home game next week against the worst wild card team.

Lagers (7-5-1) @ Beavers (6-6-1)

The winner of this game will most likely be a wild card team. Lagers could win the division if Mimes fall and could also sneak into the playoffs if they lose along with Drow and Rednecks. Beavers could win and miss out on a wild card if Drow and Rednecks also win. Neither Lagers nor Beavers have lost in their last three outings. Beavers have been consistently average while Lagers have been hot or cold.

Old No. 7 (6-7) @ Rednecks (6-5-2)

Rednecks are in complete control of their playoff destiny. A win and they will be a wild card. A loss and they go home. Old No. 7 can get in with a win and lots of help: losses from Drow and Beavers. These are also two of the hotter teams in the league right now. Rednecks have not dipped below the league average in pts since week 8 and Old No. 7 are riding a streak of consecutive 90+ pt games.

Mimes (8-5) @ Drow (7-6)

A Drow win here gives them a shot at the division crown and a loss sends them home. Mimes are in one way or the other. A win clinches the division for them while a loss only drops them to a wild card spot. Drow can win and fail to make the playoffs -- should both Lagers and Rednecks win. Mimes have actually been playing pretty poorly lately, having put together only 1 really solid game since week 6 but they've been getting wins anyhow. Drow stumbled with poor performances weeks 9-11 but have come on the last two weeks, especially on offense.

Bill (8-4-1) @ Malleus (9-4)

The two best records in FLOF battle for the Middle Division crown. The loser will settle for a wild card spot (likely the #4 seed). Malleus continues to fire on all cylinders as the season comes to a close -- their last game scoring below the league average was week 2. Bill has responded well to week 11's bad game with 2 strong outings the last 2 weeks.

Flannel (2-11) @ Hamburglers (3-8-2)

Early in the season these teams looked solid. But this game is just a tune up for their inevitable re-match next week in the Toilet Bowl. Hamburglers have shown marginally more spark lately.

Updated Playoff Status/Scenarios

Lets cut to the chase...

Four playoff eligible teams have pretty clear cut scenarios set up next week.

Bill has clinched a playoff spot with his win and other happenings. With Malleus' loss, the winner of their game this week will go in as the playoffs top seed and get a bye. The loser will enter as the top wild card and get a home game that first week of the playoffs.

CAPO and Ramjets both lost close games so it all comes down to a winner takes all game next week. The loser goes home and the winner enters as the 3rd seed and gets a home game the first week of the playoffs.

Six other teams are involved in a fight for the Left Division championship and/or last 2 wild card spots. Note that I did not run any scenarios involving ties -- hence the slight uncertainty.

Mimes appear to have clinched at least a wild card spot. If Mimes beat Drow next week, they will win the division, be the #2 seed, and have a bye in the first round of the playoffs. If they lose, they will be a wild card.

Lagers appear to control their own playoff destiny. A win puts them in either as a wild card or as the division winner and #2 seed if Mimes were to lose. They could still get in with a loss if Drow and Rednecks were to also lose.

Rednecks also appear to control their own destiny. A win gets them a wild card spot while a loss bounces them. Nothing else seems to matter here.

Drow must beat Mimes to have a shot at the playoffs. If they do win and Lagers or Rednecks lose, Drow will be in the playoffs. If they get in the playoffs with a Lager loss, Drow will actually be the division champ and #2 seed, otherwise they will be a wild card.

Beavers have similar odds to make the playoffs as Drow but no shot at the division title. Beavers must win this week. If they do and Drow or Rednecks lose, Beavers will be a wild card. If both Drow and Rednecks win, Beavers have no shot.

Old No. 7 does have a slim shot remaining to make the post season. A win combined with a Drow and Beaver losses would put Old No. 7 in the playoffs as the last wild card.

Week 13 Preview

Rednecks (6-4-2) @ Bill (7-4-1)

A great battle between two of the better teams in the league. The winner should be guaranteed at least a wild card spot and Bill could still have a chance at the division title. The loser would fall back toward the pack and would likely have to win next week to get into the post season.

Malleus (9-3) @ Old No. 7 (5-7)

Malleus can be the first to clinch a division title this week. They continue to produce consistently good scores. Old No. 7 just broke out of a run of bad play with a 100+ pt week last week. Old No. 7 needs the win or they can forget even their slim hopes at the playoffs.

Beavers (5-6-1) @ Ramjets (5-5-2)

I've been down on Ramjets all year, but if they win this game they will get a winner takes all game next week against CAPO for the Right Division title. If they lose, they must hope CAPO also loses. Beavers need to win to stay relevant for the playoffs.

Drow (6-6) @ CAPO (6-5-1)

CAPO can clinch the division if they win and Ramjets lose but if CAPO lose here, it doesn't really matter much as next week's game with Ramjets would decide things. Drow need to win or help to stay in the playoff hunt.

Lagers (6-5-1) @ Hamburglers (3-7-2)

Lagers have really been playing well lately and are currently the last wild card team and only 1/2 game behind Mimes in the Left Division. But the margin is pretty thin as 3 teams sit 1 game or less behind them. Hamburglers are just playing for pride.

Mimes (7-5) @ Flannel (2-10)

Mimes have not been playing well lately, but Flannel have been playing worse. Mimes control their destiny but can't clinch anything by themselves this week.

Playoff Update, Week 12

Middle

The middle division closes out the season with back-to-back division games but Malleus is real close to clinching the division and the top seed in the playoffs.

Malleus: have clinched at least a wild card spot. Clinch the division with a win this week or next or a Bill loss this week. Clinch the top seed in the playoffs with a win this week or next or a Mimes loss this week or next.

Bill: will play for the division next week if they win and Malleus lose this week. Would clinch a playoff spot with one more win or one more loss for Drow and Ramjets.

Rednecks: were swept by Malleus earlier and so are removed from contention for the division. Would clinch a playoff spot with one more win or one more loss for Drow and Ramjets.

Old No. 7: are eliminated from contention for the division. Could theoretically tie one or more people at .500 in contention for a wild card spot. But lose tie-breakers against Lagers, Drow, Beavers, and Ramjets. However, could end up sweeping Rednecks. Still the odds are long here.

Left

Left Division gets the much maligned Right Division this week before finishing up their division games in week 14.

Mimes: a win plus Lager and Drow losses would clinch the division. A win plus Drow and Ramjets losses would clinch a wild card spot.

Lagers: need a win or Mimes loss to stay in the division race.

Drow: need a win or Mimes loss to stay in the division race. Need a win or Lagers loss or Redneck loss to stay in the wild card hunt.

Beavers: need a win and losses from Mimes and Drow to stay in the division hunt (they would then need to beat Lagers and have Drow to beat Mimes the next week). Need a win or Lager loss to stay in the wild card hunt.

Right

One more non-divisional game to set-up their last week of division games.

CAPO: a win and Ramjet loss would clinch the division. Otherwise, it will be a winner-take-all game week 14 for the division and possibly for any kind of playoff spot.

Ramjets: a loss and CAPO win would bounce them from their chance for the division crown. A loss plus wins from Lagers and Rednecks would eliminate them from wild card contention.

Hamburglers and Flannel have both been eliminated from the playoffs.

Toilet Bowl

Flannel have clinched a spot in this game of ignominy. Hamburglers can clinch the other spot with one more loss. Old No. 7 or Beavers could replace them if either were to loss-out while Hamburglers ran the table.

Week 12 Quick Review

In the Left the top 2 teams were beaten by the bottom 2 teams: Lagers 52 - Drow 19 and Beavers 21 - Mimes 20. Beavers won after Monday night heroics by Darren Sharper.

At first blush this means that all 4 teams in the Left are still in the hunt for a Division title and all 4 are definitely still chasing a wild card spot.

Meanwhile, the Middle Division swept the Right Division, again. Malleus 10 - CAPO 7, Rednecks 20 - Ramjets 0, Old No. 7 31 - Hamburglers 7, and Bill 44 - Flannel 5.

Quickly, that means Old No. 7 and Hamburglers can no longer win their Divisions. Hamburglers have also been eliminated from wild card contention.

Week 12 Preview

Ramjets (5-4-2) @ Rednecks (5-4-2)

A win here would help consolidate at least a wild card spot and bump the loser out of the playoffs for now. Ramjets are also still very much in the hunt for the Right Division championship. Rednecks have only a very slim chance at their Division's top spot.

Drow (6-5) @ Lagers (5-5-1)

Both teams started out in huge holes this season and then fought their way back into contention. But Drow have been dropping again lately while Lagers continue to play well. The winner becomes Mimes primary competition for the Division championship and both teams are in the mix for a wild card berth.

Beavers (4-6-1) @ Mimes (7-4)

This is Beavers last gasp for a shot at the Division, but its likely too late for that. However, three wins to close the season would certainly put them in contention for a wild card spot. A Mimes win is important to keep the gap between them and the winner of the Drow-Lagers game.

Hamburglers (3-6-2) @ Old No. 7 (4-7)

Both teams are on the verge of elimination but both teams can get back to .500 if they win out and then they can hope for some help to make the playoffs. But the loser of this game is probably done.

CAPO (6-4-1) @ Malleus (8-3)

While it is a match-up of Division leaders, both teams are more concerned about the teams chasing them in their divisions right now. CAPO has an especially thin lead over Ramjets. Win or lose, Malleus will still be leading the Middle next week.

Flannel (2-9) @ Bill (6-4-1)

Flannel's once promising season came to a halt last week. Now they can relax and play spoiler, starting with Middle Division hopeful and current wild card Bill. Bill can not afford to give up any more ground to Malleus and still have a chance to win the Middle Division.

Per-Week 12 Playoff Update

If the season ended today...

byes

1. Malleus (8-3, Middle Division Champ)

2. Mimes (7-4, Left Division Champ)

home field in first round

3. CAPO (6-4-1, Right Division Champ)

4. Bill (6-4-1)

road teams in first round

5. Rednecks (5-4-2)

6. Drow (6-5)

Rednecks are 1-0 against Drow. Drow are 1-1 against Rednecks and Ramjets. Ramjets are 0-1 against Drow. Ramjets and Rednecks play next week.

Note that I calculated the below rather quickly so I may have missed something but this is my quick read on the possibilities this week.

Right Division

CAPO can't clinch anything this week.

Ramjets can't clinch anything this week.

Hamburglers must win and have both CAPO and Ramjets lose to stay in play for the Division.

Hamburglers must win or have Drow lose to stay in the wild card hunt.

Middle Division

Malleus can clinch the Division with a win and Bill loss.

Bill must win to stay in the Division hunt.

Rednecks must win and have Malleus lose to stay in the Division hunt.

Old No. 7 must win to stay in the wild card chase.

Left Division

Mimes can't clinch anything this week.

Drow can't clinch anything this week.

Lagers must win or have Mimes lose to stay in the Division hunt.

Beavers must beat Mimes this week to stay in the Division hunt.

Beavers must win or have Drow lose to stay in the wild card hunt.

Week 11 Review & PoWs

I'm a bit late to this party, so I'll focus on the implications from last week.

Ramjets 28 - Flannel 0

Ramjets stay only 1/2 game behind Right Division leading CAPO and pull even with a couple other teams for the last wild card spot. Flannel are eliminated from the playoffs.

Lagers 33 - Old No. 7 6

Lagers remain 1.5 games out of the lead in the Left Division and are 1/2 behind the log-jam for the last playoff spot. Old No. 7 can forget the Division championship and are now 2 games behind 3 different teams for the last playoff spot. So the odds there are very slim.

Malleus 59 - Drow 19

Malleus extend their lead over Bill in the Middle Division to 1.5 games. Drow fall to 1 game behind Mimes in the Left Division and tied with 2 others for the last wild card slot.

Mimes 24 - Bill 13

This was essentially the other half of the Malleus-Drow game. Mimes gain a 1 game lead over Drow in the Left and Bill fall to 1.5 games behind Malleus in the Middle. Bill would be the top wild card team at this point though.

CAPO 22 - Hamburlgers 11

CAPO stay 1/2 game ahead of Ramjets in the Right Division and push Hamburglers to the brink. Ham are now 2.5 games behind CAPO with 3 games to play and 2 games behind runner-up Ramjets and the 2 other teams tied with Ramjets for the last 2 wild card spots.

Beavers 42 - Rednecks 42

Sometimes there is nothing more frustrating then the late season tie. Beavers are now 2.5 games behind Left Division leading Mimes but remain within 1.5 games of the last couple wild card spots. Rednecks fall to 2 games behind Middle Division leader Malleus but are tied with 2 others for the last couple wild card spots.

PoW for week 11 Drew Brees pretty much carried CAPO to victory this week.

OPoW 4-way tie with Brett Favre (ICL), Calvin Johnson (Bvr), and Nate Kaeding (Drw)

DPoW London Fletcher (Mal)

Week 11 Preview

Booze Bowl 1!

Old No. 7 (4-6) @ IC Lagers (4-5-1)

The schedule gnome may have set up some tasty looking week 14 games, but I can't believe he made me wait till week 11 for this! The big problem I have with this game is that I'm not a big whiskey drinker so I don't feel qualified to comment on the attributes of Jack Daniels but I have to assume its a better drink then the piss water Tim named his team after (sorry, had to say it). Back to the football, both teams are knocking on the playoff door. Both teams have played a couple real stinkers recently (like last week) and both have played some really good games.

4-game trends give Old No. 7 a 67% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Lagers 19 - Old No. 7 18

CAPO (5-4-1) @ Hamburglers (3-5-2)

After being the last team to record a loss, Hamburglers have racked up 5 in their last 6 games. And yet they can get right back into the contest for the division title with a win over current Right Division king: CAPO. Conversely, a CAPO win would put Hamburglers on series life-support.

4-game trends give CAPO a 79% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Hamburglers 27 - CAPO 13

Ramjets (4-4-2) @ Flannel (2-8)

Ramjets will keep one eye on the CAPO Hamburgler game this week as it will mean as much to their standing after this week as their game in Export. Flannel need to win and have CAPO lose to stay in the hunt for the division title. If they lose and both CAPO and Rednecks win, Flannel will officially be removed from all playoff considerations.

4-game trends give Ramjets a 65% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Flannel 25 - Ramjets 22

Malleus (7-3) @ Drow (6-4)

The first of two huge match-ups between Left and Middle heavies. Malleus has been the ultra-consistently good team this year while Drow have had runs of offensive explosiveness but have had a couple bad games recently. Both divisions have proven to be very competitive and very good this year, so all wins are important especially this late in the season and especially with possible seeding tie-breakers at stake.

4-game trends give Drow a 52% chance to win (essentially home field advantage)

Yahoo predicts Drow 28 - Malleus 23

Bill (6-4) @ Mimes (6-4)

Bill has been on a tear lately and Mimes have generally been in a funk but have picked up wins anyway. Bill hasn't lost since week 5 while Mimes have won 3 of their last 4. Mimes have a real chance here to prove that I'm wrong to doubt them.

4-game trends give Bill a 79% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Mimes 29 - Bill 21

Rednecks (5-4-1) @ Beavers (4-6)

An excellent slate of games this week when the last game I get to is still a very, very intriguing match-up. Beavers were this close to being 5-5 heading into this game and are ready to have some luck turn their way while Rednecks demolished Drow last week. Both teams have been on a bit of an upswing recently and while looking up at a lot of teams above them in their divisions, both should have a solid chance to contend for the Division or Wild Card this year. Of course, the winner of this game will be on much better footing.

4-game trends give Rednecks a 61% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Rednecks 27 - Beavers 23

Yahoo and I continued to suck eggs predicting last week. I got 2 right, Yahoo 1. So I take a big lead in the season total 19-14 to 18-15. We only picked 2 games the same above, so who knows.

2009 3/4 Pole

Four games remain in the 2009 season. Half of which will be division games as everyone ends the season with one. Amazingly no one has clinched anything and no one is completely eliminated from playoff hopes (even if some might be a bit delusional).

If the season ended today, the playoff seeds would be:

1. Malleus (7-3, Middle Division Champ)

2. Mimes (6-4, Left Division Champ)

3. CAPO (5-4-1, Right Division Champ)

4. Bill (6-3-1)

5. Drow(6-4)

6. Rednecks (5-4-1)

The division races and predictions:

Middle:

Malleus and Bill are seperated by 1/2 game and will meet the last week of the season with a potential #1 seed on the line. Neither can clinch anything this week.

Rednecks are lurking just a 1.5 games behind Malleus and have a date with Bill week 13.

Old No. 7 is on the verge of having to give up on a division title. A loss and Malleus win this week would lock them out. However, a wild card spot is still a possibility.

Prediction: Both Rednecks and Old No. 7 are probably good for 2 more wins over their last 4. Bill has an easier remaining schedule then Malleus but it could very easily come down to that last game and I've got to give Bill the slight edge right now.

Left:

Mimes and Drow are locked in a virtual tie atop the division and like their counterparts in the Middle Division can look forward to a final week showdown. Both teams also face more difficult schedules then Lagers and Beavers so those teams can not be counted out yet. The deciding factor for these two teams may be which one can turn their recent poor play around quicker.

Lagers face a very interesting schedule that matches them up with teams playing very similar to Lagers. Lagers could run the table, lose out, or any where in between and I will not be surprised.

Beavers actually have the easiest of the schedules remaining in this division and I would not rule out a 4-game winning streak to end the season and launch Beavers into the playoffs or even to a Division title.

Prediction: I think (hope?) Drow are most likely to finish strongest and edge out Mimes and a resurgent Beavers for the division. I think Mimes and Beavers will finish at 7-7 and Lagers will finish 6-7-1 or so.

Right:

Go schedule makers! The top two teams in the Right are also on a collision course for a game the last week of the season that could easily decide the Division title. I would not be surprised if the Right Division did not win another game outside their division this year so this will be all about the division games and any cushion CAPO have so far. That also makes it unlikely that a Right Division team will be in contention for a wild card.

Prediction: It really should all come down to the last game of the season between CAPO and Ramjets (only 1/2 game behind), unless Ramjets stumble this weekend and CAPO do not. Or someone gets a win over a non-Right Division team. I'll give CAPO the edge right now to win the division with a 7-6-1 record after beating Ramjets the final week of the season. Ramjets would finish 5-7-2 while Hamburglers and Flannel could easily play both the last week of the season and again the next week in the Toilet Bowl. Flannel could end up with 12 loses if they lost-out.

Prediction Summary:

1. Bill (9-4-1, Middle Division Champ)

2. Drow (8-6, Left Division Champ)

3. CAPO (7-6-1, Right Division Champ)

4. Malleus (9-5)

5. Rednecks (7-6-1)

6. Beavers (7-7)

Mimes also finish 7-7 but get swept by Beavers in this scenario to lose out on the playoffs.

Week 10 Rankings

At the Peak

1. Bill (up 4)

A new #1 this week. Bill has not lost since week 5 and has had quite a run during his last 4 games: sandwiching two decent games around two excellent games all while showing balance and consistency.

2. Malleus (no change)

Eight straight weeks scoring at least 70 pts. Most of those weeks were just above 70, like the 73 this week. And that is likely the only thing keeping them out of the top spot here. Still, this is one of the strongest teams in the league.

Either Climbing or Falling

3. Drow (down 2)

Week 8 was Drow's second consecutive 100 pt game. Week 10 was their second consecutive sub-median game and worst outing of the season. Obviously they are falling.

4. Rednecks (up 2)

They had a bad outing week 8 but have been pretty solid otherwise. You have to back to week 4 to another blemish. Definately climbing -- as if the Middle Division needed another hot team right now.

5. Beavers (up 4)

You'd not know it from their record but Beavers have been competitive the last four weeks. They've certainly had some bad beats though -- scoring 91 in a loss in week 8 and scoring 73 only to lose by 2 on Monday night this past week. Definitely an improving team.

6. Old No. 7 (down 2)

Two excellent outings weeks 7 and 8 have been followed by two very poor outings as the offense has failed to compensate for their middling defense. Sounds kind of like Drow, except not quite as explosive. They are sliding at a time when the rest of their division is climbing.

7. IC Lagers (down 5)

Last week they had scored two consecutive wins off 80+ pt games and looked like a riser. This past week was a clunker that has them looking like a team falling.

8. CAPO (down 1)

They may have dropped one spot in the rankings due to Beavers' rise, but this is a team on the rise as well. This past week was their second consecutive 70+ pt game and first good showing by the offense in many weeks.

Mostly Falling

9. Ramjets (up 3)

Orton sparked the offense... and then got hurt. That seems to pretty much summarize Ramjets' season. Sparks followed by flame outs.

10. Mimes (down 2)

Their offense scored almost half of their total from their breakout performance week 9 but Old No. 7 let them off the hook.

11. Hamburglers (down 1)

Its been five weeks since Hamburglers scored 70 or more. The offense continues to sputter at the best of times.

12. Flannel (down 1)

Also have gone 5 straight weeks under 70. Here the defense is as much to blame as the O.

Week 10 Review

Malleus 27 - Beavers 24

Beavers thought they had this one but Ray Lewis came through on Monday night to pull out the win for Malleus. The victory kept Malleus on top in the Middle and kept Beavers at the bottom of the Left. This will be a game both teams may look back on by the end of the season.

Ramjets 36 - Hamburglers 24

Ramjets won this battle to stake a claim as CAPO's first rival for the Right Division title and pulled their record back up to .500. Even though Kyle Orton only staid upright for a half, he was the high scorer for Ramjets.

CAPO 42 - Flannel 25

Amazingly Flannel still have the very, very slimmest of chances to win the Right title. But I do not believe any team has ever won a division with a losing record. CAPO stay 1/2 game in front of Ramjets.

Bill 28 - Lagers 5

The Middle Division continues to beat up on everyone else going 3-1 this week. Bill keeps the pressure on Malleus only 1/2 game in front. Lagers don't really lose any ground in the division but do fall behind in the wild card race.

Rednecks 44 - Drow 0

Easily the worst outing of the year for Drow and the best outing in weeks for Rednecks equals blow out. Drow end their win streak and also lose first place in the Left to Mimes. Rednecks stay within spitting distance of Malleus and Bill at the top of the best division in FLOF.

Mimes 25 - Old No. 7 16

The whiskey bottle failed to make it a clean sweep for the Middle Division this week which puts them in a big whole in the division. Mimes take advantage and pull even with Drow. Their win in week 1 over Drow gives them the Division lead.

Week 10 Preview

Hamburglers (3-4-2) @ Ramjets (3-4-2)

You'd think we were running a soccer league with the number of ties we have in this game. Neither team is playing well right now but both have flashed some success earlier in the season and the winner would be .500 and no worse then alone in second in the division 1/2 game behind CAPO or possibly alone in first 1/2 game ahead of CAPO.

4-game trends give Hamburglers a 61% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Hamburglers 23 - Ramjets 4 (minus a QB to be named later?)

Flannel (2-7) @ CAPO (4-4-1)

While Flannel can not be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs after this week, CAPO has a chance to realistically deliver the coup d' grace. A loss this week would guarantee Flannel a losing record, however a win would allow them to crawl a little back into the Right Division race. The next two weeks are Right Division games so the division title race could either be a lot clearer or a lot muddier by week 12.

4-game trends give CAPO a 85% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Flannel 26 - CAPO 16

Lagers (4-4-1) @ Bill (5-3-1)

Both teams are playing real well right now and climbing their division standings. Lagers have won 4 of their last 5 and worked their way from deep in last to 3rd place in the Left while Bill has won 3 and tied 1 over their last 4 games -- moving from a last-place tie in the division to 1/2 game behind division leading Malleus.

4-game trends give Lagers a 54% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Lagers 34 - Bill 27

Drow (6-3) @ Rednecks (4-4-1)

An interesting game. Drow have won 5 in a row but last week they got away with a marginal performance. Rednecks have lost 2 in a row for the first time all season but played well in the loss last week. Rednecks sport a pretty balanced team while Drow have leaned heavily on their offense.

4-game trends give Drow a 61% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Rednecks 21 - Drow 17

Mimes (5-4) @ Old No. 7 (4-5)

Old No. 7 was playing really well but laid an egg last week. Mimes had been playing pretty poorly, especially on offense, but the offense exploded last week. Single game anomalies or the beginning of new trends?

4-game trends give Old No. 7 a 69% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Old No. 7 26 - Mimes 20

Beavers (4-5) @ Malleus (6-3)

Beavers bring the league's top defense to challenge the most consistent and balanced team in the league. The real question in this game will be Beavers' offense. It can put up big numbers but just hasn't done so very often. Hence the 4-game losing streak. Malleus have won 5 of their last 6.

4-game trends give Malleus a 77% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Beavers 20 - Malleus 19

By the by, Yahoo had a horrible week last week going 1-5 in their predictions while I struggled to a 3-3 record. Yahoo and I are now both 17-10 in our predictions.

Week 9 Rankings

Still Flying High

1. Drow (no change)

Last week was the team's worst performance since week 1 but this time it was the defense's fault. In fact the D is the worst in the league right now. So if the offense falls from recently superb highes, this team becomes average.

4-week means: Offense 72, Defense 17, Total 95

Cruising

2. Lagers (up 1)

Only Drow have a higher mean total score over the last 4 weeks and have scored 76 or more total points in 5 of their last 6 games.

4-week means: Offense 60, Defense 23, Total 85

3. Malleus (up 1)

Still consistently good on both sides of the ball. The only team with a top-4 mean on both offense and defense over the last 4 games.

4-week means: Offense 56, Defense 24, Total 79

4. Old No. 7 (down 2)

Last week was their first really bad game in a while. A similar team to Drow -- with the second best offense over the last 4 games and the second worst defense (both second to Drow).

4-week means: Offense 63, Defense 18, Total 82

5. Bill (up 2)

Bill has been climbing these rankings the last couple of weeks after 3 consecutive weeks of strong and improving scores. Last week, Bill put it all together and scored 112.

4-week means: Offense 53, Defense 27, Total 80

6. Rednecks (no change)

Rednecks get back on track after laying an egg in week 8. The defense had become the driving force of the team recently, but the offense performed well last week.

4-week means: Offense 48, Defense 28, Total 76

7. CAPO (up 2)

Speaking of climbing the charts. I had pretty much given CAPO up for dead after week 5's 3rd consecutive sub-50 pt game. They've scored above the mean 3 of their last 4 games.

4-week means: Offense 40, Defense 24, Total 71

Up and Down

8. Mimes (up 4)

They doubled their score from week 8 in week 9. Mimes hit rock bottom last week but responded with a huge game a la CAPO? Maybe there is hope that Mimes get their swagger back.

4-week means: Offense 38, Defense 19, Total 66

9. Beavers (down 4)

The defense has been really good, especially the last 3 weeks of 29 or more pts each. And last week the offense joined the party as well and things were looking up. Then week 9 showed the poor offense that Beavers' have sported more often then not this year.

4-week means: Offense 33, Defense 30, Total 64

Grounded

10. Hamburglers (down 2)

Defense isn't the problem here but the offense hasn't scored 40 pts in the last 4 weeks.

4-game means: Offense 33, Defense 24, Total 56

11. Flannel (no change)

Interestingly the bottom 3 teams have mirrored each other's progress over the last 6 weeks. Back in week 4 all three teams played really well. Week 5 saw a drop in production but they still were respectable. The 4 weeks since have been pretty bad for all three.

4-game means: Offense 36, Defense 22, Total 56

12. Ramjets (down 2)

Kind of the anti-Malleus, Ramjets are the only team in the bottom 4 in both offense and defense over the last 4 games.

4-game means: Offense 36, Defense 19, Total 53

Week 9 PoWs and Goats

Player of the Week

Randy Moss scored 15 and was the lone offensive stand-out for a CAPO team that barely scored 2 pts in a 2-0 win.

Offensive Player of the Week

Greg Olsen scored 21 pts -- 3rd highest score from a WR this season -- to drive Mime's win.

Defensive Player of the Week

Cortland Finnegan's 17 was easily the best defensive effort this week, even if in a losing effort for Rednecks.

Week 9 Review

Malleus 42 - Rednecks 36

This game did not disappoint. Both teams played solid games But Ben's 15 points Monday Night flipped the result from a Redneck lead to a Malleus win. Malleus retain the Middle Division lead while Rednecks fall to 3rd in the division, but would be the last wild card should the season end today.

Studs: DeAngelo Williams ( 23, Mal), Cortland Finnegan (17, Rdn), Stephen Gostkowski (14, Mal)

Duds: none

CAPO 2 - Beavers 0

Both teams had great defensive efforts nearly shut-out weak offensive efforts but CAPO got just enough offense to squeek out the win. And what a win this is for CAPO who have won 2 in a row while every other team in the division has lost 2 in a row -- handing the division lead to CAPO. During those same two weeks Beavers have now fallen from first in the Left to last.

Studs: Randy Moss (15, Cap), Shawne Merriman (13, Cap), Darren Sharper (10, Bvr)

Duds: CAPO Kicker (0), Robbie Gould (3, Bvr)

Bill 67 - Old No. 7 15

Bill's upward swing downed Old No. 7, who faltered this week. Chris Johnson blew up for the second week in a row... look out. Bill pulled into second in the Middle division while Old No. 7 stayed in last and fell just below .500.

Studs: Chris Johnson (25, Bil), Larry Fitzgerald (18, Bil), Olindo Mare (14, Bil), David Akers (13, no7), Jon Beason (12, Bil)

Duds: Old No. 7 Defensive Back (0)

Drow 45 - Ramjets 21

Neither defense showed up this week and neither did Ramjets' offense. Drow's offense was good if not great and that was clearly enough for their 5th win in a row and retention of first in the Left Division. Ramjets fell out of a share of first but stay close in the Right.

Studs: Vincent Jackson (13, Drw)

Duds: Nate Kaeding (3, Drw)

Mimes 68 - Hamburglers 24

Mimes' offense picked itself up off the mat and put together their best effort since week 2 by far. Hamburglers didn't play real well in any event and fall from first in the Right. Mimes stay a game behind Drow in the Left.

Studs: Greg Olsen (21, MM), Mike Sims-Walker (13, MM)

Duds: LaDainian Tomlinson (1, NY), Reggie Wayne (0, NY), Julius Peppers (0, MM), DeAngelo Hall (0, MM)

Lagers 41 - Flannel 0

The wheels have completely fallen off the Flannel bus. At the same time, Lagers continue to cruse and are a tie-breaker away from the playoffs after winning 4 of their last 5. Flannel can do no better than .500 this season, although CAPO currently leads the Right division with a .500 record...

Studs: Hines Ward (14, IC), John Carney (13, IC), Leon Hall (11, IC), Troy Polamalu (11, Fln)

Duds: Chad Ocho Cinco (0, Fln), Rey Maualuga (0, Fln)

Week 9 Preview

Malleus (5-3) at Rednecks (4-3-1)

The only game this week between teams with winning records is for the top spot in the Middle division. Malleus only leads Rednecks by half a game so the winner of this will be the top dog in that division. As an added bonus, both teams are playing well. Rednecks have won 3 of their last 4. Malleus have won 4 of their last 5.

4-game trends give Malleus a 50.5% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Rednecks 31 - Malleus 17

Bill (4-3-1) at Old No. 7 (4-4)

The Middle division has been tightly contested all season. Old No. 7 are 4th yet have a .500 record and only trail Malleus by 1.5 games. These two teams have been playing well lately too. Bill hasn't lost a game in 3 weeks (2-0-1) and Old No. 7 is 3-1 over their last 4.

4-game trends give Old No. 7 a 61% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Old No. 7 29 - Bill 28

Ramjets (3-3-2) at Drow (5-3)

Both teams have the best records in their division (although Ramjets are tied with Hamburglers). But Ramjets have not won in the last 3 weeks (0-2-1) while Drow have won 4 in a row. Obviously both want to stay on top of their divisions.

4-game trends give Drow a 79% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Drow 26 - Ramjets 14

Hamburglers (3-3-2) at Mimes (4-4)

Hamburglers lead the Right division and Mimes are only 1 game behind Drow in the Left, but both teams have struggled lately. Both have won only 1 of their last 4 games. This could be a serious candidate for the 0-0 tie as the worst offenses of recent weeks match up against two of the better defenses in the league.

4-game trends give Hamburglers a 54.5% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Hamburglers 26 - Mimes 24

CAPO (3-4-1) at Beavers (4-4)

Both teams are in third in their divisions but got here very different ways. CAPO has won 2 of their last 3 while Beavers have lost 4 of their last 5. The real question here is which of these teams can contend down the stretch.

4-game trends give Beavers a 59% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Beavers 25 - CAPO 4

Flannel (2-6) at Lagers (3-4-1)

Two teams that also occupy the same space in their division rankings that have very different trajectories. Lagers have been playing very well and have won 2 in a row while have played poor;y and lost their last 4. If Flannel lose this game they will be unable to secure a winning record this season.

4-game trends give Lagers a 65.5% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Flannel 24 - Lagers 23

Week 8 Rankings

On Fire

1. Drow (no change)

Drow run their win streak to 4 and have now scored 4 games in a row with 89 or more total points. Including 3 games with 70 or more on offense. And they have actually been getting hotter. Their last two games features offensive totals over 80 and total points over 100.

4-game means: Offense 78, Defense 22, Total 97

Hot

2. Old No. 7 (up 7)

They've scored 70 or more on offense two weeks in a row. They continue to score more total points every week since they hit bottom week 4 with 51: 63 - 75 - 88 - 91.

4-game means: Offense 63, Defense 20, Total 82

3. IC Lagers (down 1)

They bounced back from week 7's stumble pretty well scoring 80 total in week 8. Like the two teams above them, they've been all about the offense during this run.

4-game means: Offense 60, Defense 20, Total 79

4. Malleus (down 1)

Malleus took it up a notch this week. But just one notch. Scoring 73 instead of 71 or 72. This consistency is scary... and conducive to winning.

4-game means: Offense 48, Defense 24, Total 73

5. Beavers (up 4)

They may have just got swept by a division rival, but this week saw the team return to the kind of performances we've seen earlier in the season from this team. Consistent good results is the next goal.

4-game means: Offense 48, Defense 30, Total 78

6. Rednecks (down 1)

Rednecks are probably better then this but missing Brady this week killed them. Well. That and not starting MJD...

4-game means: Offense 45, Defense 31, Total 76

Luck-Warm

7. Bill (up 4)

Really strong effort in week 8 comes right after a solid effort in week 7. I wonder a little about the reliance on a RB who scores like crazy once every 4th game and does nothing the rest of the time...

4-game means: Offense 45, Defense 24, Total 69

8. Hamburglers (down 2)

Same old, same old for Ham. Defense was solid. Offense was marginal.

4-game means: Offense 34, Defense 24, Total 65

9. CAPO (up 3)

Lookee here. Instead of the constant badness CAPO had fallen into earlier. Now they are alternating bad with good. Week 8 same the defense score gads of points to compensate for an offense that was horrid.

4-game means: Offense 36, Defense 12, Total 62

10. Ramjets (down 3)

The offense is back to sputtering. They had two good weeks back-to-back weeks 4-5. But otherwise its been on and off at best. Week 8 was another off week.

4-game means: Offense 44, Defense 21, Total 66

11. Flannel (down 7)

I'm done propping this team up on the idea that Manning will return to his winning ways and they will bounce back to the dominant team we saw for a while earlier in the season. But its been 2 weeks since Peyton's bye and they still have not exploded. Mediocrity, sure.

4-game means: Offense 43, Defense 24, Total 65

Cold

12. Mimes (down 2)

40 pts is the best the offense has done for the last 4 weeks. Their 20 in week 8 was a low for the seaosn, but they've dipped into the 20s twice before. The defense just can't carry them. Can't.

4-game means: Offense 31, Defense 29, Total 57

Week 8 PoWs and Goat

Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week

Chris Johnson almost scored very nearly all the offense Bill needed this week. Bill needed only 2 more points from other offensive players to beat Flannel after CJs 37.

Defensive Player of the Week

Julius Peppers not only scored 22, he scored nearly 1/3 of Mimes' offensive output this game with his 1 TD.

Goat of the Week

Ronnie Brown. There were not a lot of close games this week. But Ramjets lost by 9 in the closest and Ronnie scored only 1 pt. He should be good for more then that.

Week 8 Review

Drow 54 - Beavers 42

Beavers played a really good game led by good games from McNabb and Darren Sharper and a solid effort from AP. But the Drow offense was hitting on pretty much every cylinder and just would not be caught today. Drow gain sole possession of first and Beavers fall a game back.

Studs: Aaron Rodgers (Drw, 29), Steven Jackson (Drw, 20), Robbie Gould (Bvr, 12), Darren Sharper (Bvr, 12), Roddy White (Drw, 11), Vincent Jackson (Drw, 11)

Duds: Quentin Jammer (Drw, 0)

CAPO 23 - Rednecks 0

CAPO's defense rode to the rescue this week. This game was a big one because every other game between the Middle and Right division went to the Middle division team this week so CAPO made up ground on everyone in their division and Rednecks lost ground -- falling out of first. Interestingly, the Middle Division went 6-1-1 against the Right over the last 2 weeks.

Studs: Percy Harvin (Rdn, 15), Shawne Merriman (11, CAPO)

Duds: Mario Manningham (CAPO, 0), David Garrard (Rdn, -1)

Lagers 40 - Mimes 0

Ouch. Julius Peppers tried... and that was it for Mimes. Mimes' QB, RB, and WRs scored a combined 8 pts. Brett Favre scored 28 for Lagers. The loss drops Mimes 1 game behind Drow in the Left and only 1/2 game ahead of Lagers.

Studs: Brett Favre (ICL, 28), Julius Peppers (MM, 22), Marques Colston (ICL, 10)

Duds: Steve Slaton (MM, -3), Mike Sims-Walker (MM, 0), Kerry Rhodes (MM, 0)

Malleus 9 - Ramjets 0

This was a tight game but Malleus' defense out-dueled Ramjets' offense. The win put Malleus in sole possession of first in the Middle and kept Ramjets in 2nd despite Hamburglers' loss this week.

Studs: Daniel Manning (Mal, 18), Richard Marshall (Rmj, 11), Kris Brown (Rmj, 12)

Duds: Rashean Mathis (Rmj, 0), Ronnie Brown (Rmj, 1)

Bill 41 - Hamburglers 14

Chris Johnson blew up for 37 and single-handedly carried Bill to victory over a game Hamburglers. Although, Hamburglers are now facing a tough RB situation. Last week LDT didn't get it done so James went to Sproles who promptly sucked while LDT scored twice. The win puts Bill a game over .500 even if he's still in 3rd in the division. Hamburglers fall to .500 but stay in first in the Right division.

Studs: Chris Johnson (Bil, 37), Jared Allen (NY, 14), Reggie Wayne (NY, 13)

Duds: Darren Sproles (NY, 1), Darrelle Revis (NY, 0)

Old No. 7 62 - Flannel 35

A good old barn-burner. No defense need participate. Miles Austin's 9 pts was the lowest player score on offense for Jason this week. Flannel just could not keep pace and their defense just did not get it done. A tough loss for Flannel who should start to get really desperate for a run next week.

Studs: Matt Forte (no7, 19), DeSean Jackson (no7, 10), Asante Samuel (no7, 12), Steven Hauschka (Fln, 13)

Duds: Mario Williams (no7, 0)

Week 8 Preview

Drow (4-3) at Beavers (4-3)

Drow won round 1 of this home-and-home series. The winner will own at least a share of first in the Left Division.

4-game trends give Drow a 68% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Beavers 23 - Drow 21

Mimes (4-3) at Lagers (2-4-1)

Mimes need another win to keep pace with whoever wins the game above. Lagers may be starting to feel some pressure. They've played themselves into contention lately but will need to win a lot more games then they lose in the second half to stay around .500 and a shot at a playoff spot.

4-game trends give Lagers a 62% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Lagers 26 - Mimes 11

Malleus (4-3) at Ramjets (3-2-2)

Ramjets are tied for first in the Right and Malleus are only 1/2 game behind Rednecks in the Middle.

4-game trends give Malleus a 57% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Malleus 30 - Ramjets 18

Bill (3-3-1) at Hamburglers (3-2-2)

The other team tied for first in the Right is Hamburglers. Bill is only 1 game behind Rednecks in the Middle.

4-game trends give Hamburglers a 68% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Hamburglers 24 - Bill 2

Old No. 7 (3-4) at Flannel (2-5)

This has been a snake-bit year for Flannel. Some of it was of their own making, but some of it was bad luck when they were playing well. If they can regain their stride on offense and rattle off a bunch of wins, they could get back in the hunt. But they have very little margin for error being 3 games below .500 already. Old No. 7 have a much better record but are still last in the very tight Middle Division.

4-game trends give Flannel a 51% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Old No. 7 31 - Flannel 13

Rednecks (4-2-1) at CAPO (2-4-1)

Rednecks have won their last 3 and are in first in the Middle. CAPO have won once since week 1 and are in third in the Right.

4-game trends give Rednecks a 64% chance to win

Yahoo predicts Rednecks 20 - CAPO 15