It's time to weed out three more teams.
Rhode Island Drive (8-4) d. FIRST Force (8-4)
66-34
You'd figure the game between the weekly #3 & #4 teams would be a bit more exciting. As it stands though, the only remotely exciting things for either team were on Rhode Island's side. Willis McGahee did wonders almost beating the Patriots, DeMeco Ryans had 11 tackles, Minnesota & Derek Anderson both put up 9, & Jerious Norwood came back with 8. FIRST Force's best score was Terrence McGee's 8. That's not going to cut it in Week XIII. Not like this game really meant anything...
Koko's X-Cats (2-10) d. Dunedain (5-7)
80-45
The X-Cats sure picked a heck of time to hit the 80-point mark again (note that in all 3 of their wins, the X-Cats broke 80). Dunedain really needed Favre this week, and he bombed with a -3. Their receiving duo of Galloway & Ginn Jr. combined for 18, but the usual staples of Addai & Fitzgerald stayed quiet. Dunedain's defense didn't add much either, with a combined 21 between them. San Diego had 17 for the X-Cats, and Jason Taylor gave 9 of his own. And that's just the defense. On offense, the X-Cats got 15 from Dallas Clark, 11 for their faith in Travis Henry, & 10 from Gostkowski. So what seemed like a gimme for Dunedain ends up eliminating them from the postseason. The best laid plans of mice and men... (get it? men, Dunedain... ::crickets chirp:: I'll be quiet now)
Youngstown Hitmen (5-7) d. What Am I Doing Here (4-8)
81-79
What am I doing here? I'm cheering on the Hitmen, because with Dunedain losing, Youngstown could take their playoff spot with a victory. And oh what a game this was for both sides. WAIDH had LT's 22 as the high score between these two, a 17 from D.J. Williams, and 10 from Gould in the K slot. The Hitmen kept close with T.O.'s 14, Julian Peterson's 12 (no relation), and 10s from both Kris Brown & Greg Jennings. But where this game was won (or lost, if you're WAIDH) was at quarterback. Kurt Warner won his game with 9 fantasy points for the Hitmen. Jason Campbell lost to the Bills and put a -1 next to his name on WAIDH's fantasy scorecard. It's tough to believe that WAIDH was once 4-1. It's even tougher to believe that Youngstown was once 2-6, and now playoff-bound.
The XaulZans (6-6) d. Indiana Ironmen (6-6)
82-45
This game was "win and in". Other than that though, this game was about as exciting as the Drive/Force game up top, only with higher scores. Scores such as a 13 from the Ironmen's Roethlisberger, a 21 from the Zans' Romo, and 14s put up by Patrick Crayton, Jarred Allen, & Antonio Cromartie... all for the Zans. The "win and in" team was obvious; the Zans secured their spot in the playoffs. With Dunedain losing though, the Ironmen are safe as well due to their high overall fantasy score.
Team Jack (10-2) d. Nor Cal Crushers (4-9)
71-60
Team Jack had Brady; Nor Cal had Eli. As far as I'm concerned, that was the game breaker. Oh sure, Team Jack had Ward's 17 and Jones-Drew's 10 compared to Nor Cal having Westbrook's 15 and Jackson's 13. Defenses were even. Kicking stayed low. And yet, we have this 12-point difference in the QB spot in Tom Brady's, and therefore, Team Jack's favor. In the grand scheme, this game didn't mean much, though it did keep Team Jack alive in their quest for the #1 seed...
Silver Lobos (10-2) d. The Stud Man Clan (6-6)
128-41
...Which immediately went out the window once the Silver Lobos put up the highest score of the season. I'm just going to run down the list quickly: there was Peyton Manning's 21, Adrian Peterson's (of the Vikings) 18, Patrick Willis's 17, 14s from Reggie Wayne & Brian Urlacher, a 13 from Mason Crosby, Andre Johnson's 12, Adrian Peterson's (of the Bears) 7, and the twin 6s from Ellis Hobbs & Indianapolis. I'm not even sure that was a complete sentence, but to reiterate: everybody scored at least 6 points and seven players were in double digits. The Clan had an 8 and a pair of 7s. And in a close playoff race, a 41 in the last week of the regular season is shaky ground to stand on, at best...
Stevies Scapegoats (5-7) d. Isotopes (5-7)
92-54
...And said shaky ground was about to crumble. If the 'Topes won with 56 or more points, they'd take the final playoff spot. If the Scapegoats won with 39 or more points, they'd take the final playoff spot. If neither of those happened, the Clan would take the final playoff spot. The Isotopes set a decent mark of 54; Braylon Edwards's 14 and Earnest Graham's 13 helped a lot, but I can't help but notice two zeros in important spots of their lineup. The Scapegoats had to hit a lower mark than the 'Topes, but they still had to win. All their scores were up on the offensive half of the scoreboard; there were 15s from Burleson & Folk, 13s from Curtis & Holt, a 10 from Jamal Lewis, and 8 from Kitna. Even without the defense, it's still more than the Isotopes' 54, and even more important, breaks the 39 mark they needed to move ahead of the Clan and into eighth place. Stevies Scapegoats: welcome to the playoffs!
Code:
Rank Team W-L-T Pct. Pts. Streak F.Rank Change
1.y Silver Lobos 11-2-0 .846 1091 W-3 1 ±0
2.x Team Jack 11-2-0 .846 939 W-4 3 ±0
3.x Rhode Island Drive 9-4-0 .692 973 W-3 2 ±0
4.x FIRST Force 8-5-0 .615 868 L-1 7 ±0
5.x The XaulZans 7-6-0 .538 856 W-2 8 +1
6.x Youngstown Hitmen 6-7-0 .462 901 W-1 4 +3
7.x Indiana Ironmen 6-7-0 .462 897 L-1 5 -2
8.x Stevies Scapegoats 6-7-0 .462 792 W-1 11 +2
9.z The Stud Man Clan 6-7-0 .462 739 L-1 13 -2
10.z Dunedain 5-8-0 .385 890 L-2 6 -2
11.z Isotopes 5-8-0 .385 737 L-4 14 ±0
12.z What Am I Doing Here 4-9-0 .308 831 L-8 9 +1
13.z Nor Cal Crushers 4-9-0 .308 830 L-2 10 -1
14.z Koko's X-Cats 3-10-0 .231 748 W-1 12 ±0
x=Clinched Playoff Birth
y=Clinched #1 Seed
z=Mathematically Eliminated
Wow, those last three reviews look like one long run-on review. Anyhow, no more math! w00t! Our tangle of teams is finally undone, and we're down to 8. Which one will win at the Kamen Bowl? Here's a brief preview of the first round:
Silver Lobos (11-2) vs.
Stevies Scapegoats (6-7)
This matchup happened two weeks ago, and the Lobos absolutely totaled the Scapegoats. The Lobos have been pretty dominant throughout the season, and I don't see that changing against a team with a losing record. Then again, #1 seeds are notorious for not making it out of the first round in this league...
FIRST Force (8-5) vs.
The XaulZans (7-6)
The Force & Zans faced off in Week IX, with the Force getting the upper hand. The Force were never really in fear of missing the playoffs even then, but the Zans had to fight off a 5-game losing streak with wins in Week's XII & XIII to make it. While the Force has the edge, this one could go the way of the Zans' current "fighter's momentum".
Rhode Island Drive (9-4) vs.
Youngstown Hitmen (6-7)
This is another rematch from Week XII, and while not as dominant as the first one, Rhode Island still took that game rather convincingly. Rhode Island has lost once in their last eight games, but to Youngstown's credit, they were as far back as 13th, and managed to go 4-1 in the last weeks of the regular season to make it into sixth place.
Team Jack (11-2) vs.
Indiana Ironmen (6-7)
This match was previously fought in Week XII, and as the records indicate, Team Jack won. In fact, the Ironmen have a losing record in the second half of the season, including losing their regular-season finale and essentially "backing in" to the playoffs. Team Jack has lost once since Week I, putting even more pressure on Indiana.
This is a rather unusual playoffs as the bottom 4 are clearly separated from the top 4. But remember the old saying: "any given Sunday". I'll be back after this week's MNF game with a recap of the first round. Good luck to everyone still playing.