Hedgehog’s Power Rankings – Mid-Season Edition (Week Eight)
Introduction
Half the season’s done and Week 8’s just past us. There are a few good games this week in both the Western and Eastern Conference. Two teams remain unbeaten this season so far, the one in the West blowing out their competition while their Eastern counterpart squeaks by with another “W.” And two shockers in both conferences shakes the standings and these rankings.
As a reminder:
Originally posted by Hedgehog
This formulations/excel file used for these rankings are all based on the win/loss records for the 32 teams in Canada A6. Special thanks to sawedust, GM of the Geriatric Couch Potatoes in EEPL, for first creating the rankings/file and to Moontayle, GM of the Stalingrad Gryphon Army also of EEPL, for trimming and then supplying the rankings method I currently use.
The statistics are based on two criteria: “Overall Season Performance” which tracks a team’s performance in the entirety of the season so far and “Last Four Games” which factor in the recent team results and judges how a team is currently doing. Stats used are:
Win-Loss –Wins count a lot. Beat teams to move up.
Strength of Schedule – Last Four Games – Judges the strength of your last four opponents.
Margin of Victory – Last Four Games – No mercy – blowout good teams to get more points. Note that blowing out a great opponent is not equivalent to blowing out a cupcake (you will get more points for doing the latter).
Movers and Shakers:
Best Risers: Hillsburgh Hillbillies and Winnipeg Warriors (+4)
Biggest Drops: Portsmouth Cavaliers, Calgary Wrestlers, and Flint Tropics (-5)
Week Eight Power Rankings
The Contenders
1. (1/-) – Queen City Black Cats – (8-0)
-The Queen City Black Cats escape from the Sudbury Spartans with a 20-17 home win. One wild first half and a defensive grind in the next leaves this the grittiest win the Black Cats have as they become the sole unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. The win and their relatively tougher last four games again edge them past the Sasquatches for the top spot this week…but just barely.
2. (2/-) – Saskatchewan Sasquatches – (8-0)
-Their absolute annihilation of the Cold Lake Wolverines leaves the Sasquatches many things: the sole unbeaten in the Western Conference; retainer of the longest winning record in Canada A6 and one of the longest in GLB; and potentially ownership of the Western Conference. If they beat the Hillbillies and the Vindicators next…this team will be unbeaten by the playoffs: their last 6 opponents have a combined win-loss record of 11-37.
3. (3/+4) – Hillsburgh Hillbillies – (7-1)
-The Inbreds climb up four spots this week with a solid win against the Manitoba Icemen. With the easier half of the season done the Hillbillies head to the Saskatchewan Sasquatches in Week 9. Watch this game to see who can shoot down the other team’s aerial assault. The Hillsburgh Hillbillies have the #2 pass attack in terms of yards/game. The #1 pass attack belongs to the Sasquatches.
4. (6/+2) – Vancouver Vindicators – (7-1)
-The Vindicators has a schedule that is almost a copy of the Hillbillies, playing the Inbred’s opponents right behind them. The easy half of the season won and done – the second half will prove more difficult from the Icemen next all the way to Week 15 vs. the Cold Lake Wolverines. Interesting factoid: this team is punching up above their weight – unlike most contenders there’s only one player in the Vindicators roster over Lvl. 20.
5. (8/+3) – Cheyenne Mountain Air Force – (7-1)
-The Cheyenne Mountain Air Force rise up 3 slots to the #5 position as they make a statement with their win against the Halifax Hashishim, silencing their passing attack and offering up three 40+ yard TD passes. Now a team back as a top contender in the Eastern Conference, can the likes of Ryan Farsight, Champagne Room, Sooth Sayer, and Sweetness! do the same against the Nebraska Husker Maniacs next week and their formidable defense?
6. (6/-) – Nebraska Husker Maniacs – (7-1)
-The Nebraska Husker Maniacs end their cupcake vacation going 3-0 and now face the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force (who defeated the only team that beat the Husker Maniacs so far) in the Eastern Conference Game of the Week for Week 9. Will the Husker Maniacs #3 Rushing game beat pass happy Cheyenne Mountain Air Force? It’s looking like their next game won’t be won on the offense so much as who can stop the other team’s attack first.
7. (3/-4) – Halifax Hashishim – (7-1)
-The Hashishim go down four spots as the 7-1 team that lost this week. One stat in particular highlights the loss to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force: they were hobbled in the air w/ only 106 yards that game when they’ve been averaging around 210 yards/game. Their next opponents will be the inconsistent Canadiens and the lowly Iqaluit Arctic Wolves before visiting the Sudbury Spartans in a game to watch for.
8. (4/-4) – Sudbury Spartans – (6-2)
-Tough loss as the Spartans lose out by a field goal to the Queen City Black Cats in a game that should have gone to OT if they went for the FG instead of a failed late 4th quarter 4th down conversion. This is still a team that shouldn’t be discounted as they’ve always carry a good balance of attack/defense and pushed the Queen City Black cats up the wall in their loss.
The Dark Horses
9. (12/+3) – Montreal Canadiens – (6-2)
-Amongst the three 6-2 teams of the league the Canadiens are up here because they’ve just happen to go three-and-one in the last four games. A team that is a over-rated in these rankings, they need to figure out how to not get blown out by the Eastern Conference’s top five teams – the two they have faced have blown them out with a combined 87 points to the Canadiens’ none.
10. (10/0) – Vinland Vikings – (6-2)
-The losers of the biggest upset this week, the Vikings should be eating their collective shorts being outplayed from nowhere in a 4th quarter meltdown where, somehow, the Winnipeg Warriors clinically dismantled the Viking pass defense. It looks as if the Vikings’ Achilles heel has been found out and they better plug that hole in their defensive scheme as there a couple teams in the Viking’s next eight opponents that could capitalize on that.
11. (9/-2) – Cold Lake Wolverines – (6-2)
-The Wolverines drop two in a row as they get spanked-HARD-by the Sasquatches. A team that still has not beaten anyone with a winning record they’ll be facing a suddenly dangerous Winnipeg Warriors next week. Like most of the top teams in the Western Conference, their second half of the season will be a more challenging one over the first. Question is: are the Wolverines up for it?
12. (13/+1) – Calgary Thunder – (5-3)
-Definitive win against the Wrestlers sends them to the twelfth spot this week. A mid-tiered Western Conference team that is solid – they just haven’t found the right pieces to go into the next level. They, however, will be thrust right into that come next week as they start the toughest four-game stretch of their season: the Vikings, the Wolverines, the Hillbillies, and the Vindicators in that order.
On the Bubble
13. (11/-2) – Manitoba Icemen – (5-3)
-Good match against the Vindicators next week; win that and they’ll have an easier-than-most second half of the season.
14. (15/+1) – St. John’s Salty Dogs – (4-4)
-Safe to say that come Week 16 the Salty Dogs will be in the playoffs; great turnaround from Week 5.
15. (16/+1) – Saskatchewan Beavers – (4-4)
-Another turnaround team, they’ll be legit if they beat the Icemen.
16. (19/+3) – Red Deer Blue Elk – (4-4)
-Will easily crush the Preachers next week.
17. (20/+3) – Destruction Bay Dragons – (4-4)
-Expect them to go down against because of the Salty Dogs next week.
18. (21/+3) – Saskatoon Guerillaz – (4-4)
-Can they repeat what they did in the early part of the season against the Beavers?
The Longshots
19. (14/-5) – Calgary Wrestlers – (4-4)
-Good chance to pick-up a win against the Revolution next week; then comes a four-game onslaught.
20. (24/+4) – Winnipeg Warriors – (3-5)
-Amazing upset victory suddenly makes them team to watch out for.
21. (22/+1) – Iqaluit Arctic Wolves – (3-5)
-Same thing I said about them beating the Tropics, applies here too.
22. (17/-5) – Portsmouth Cavaliers – (3-5)
-Not a good sign that your only victories come from the cupcakes.
Better Luck Next Season
23. (18/-5) – Flint Tropics – (3-5)
-Will get outclassed next week; especially that defense.
24. (26/+2) – In San Jose Pimpin Ain’t Easy – (2-6)
-Having the top QB in passing yards finally pays off with a win against someone else that’s not the Crusaders.
25. (23/-2) – Revelstoke Revolution – (2-6)
-It’s going to be too little too late when this team figures it all out.
26. (25/-1) – Quebec Boreal – (2-6)
-Next win for this team: Week 15 against the Barkmere Bulldawgs.
27. (27/-) – Kelowna Outlaws – (1-7)
-Stays here despite the loss to the Beavers
28. (28/-) – Bloodweiser Bugle All Stars – (0-8)
-Better bet’s on the Barkmere Bulldawgs next week when the All Stars faces them.
The D-League – My bet for 0-16 this year: The Preachers.
29. (29/-) – Castlegar Crusaders – (0-8)
30. (30/-) – Toronto Smoke – (0-8)
31. (31/-) – Barkmere Bulldawgs – (0-8)
32. (32/-) – Peterborough Preachers – (0-8)
Introduction
Half the season’s done and Week 8’s just past us. There are a few good games this week in both the Western and Eastern Conference. Two teams remain unbeaten this season so far, the one in the West blowing out their competition while their Eastern counterpart squeaks by with another “W.” And two shockers in both conferences shakes the standings and these rankings.
As a reminder:
Originally posted by Hedgehog
This formulations/excel file used for these rankings are all based on the win/loss records for the 32 teams in Canada A6. Special thanks to sawedust, GM of the Geriatric Couch Potatoes in EEPL, for first creating the rankings/file and to Moontayle, GM of the Stalingrad Gryphon Army also of EEPL, for trimming and then supplying the rankings method I currently use.
The statistics are based on two criteria: “Overall Season Performance” which tracks a team’s performance in the entirety of the season so far and “Last Four Games” which factor in the recent team results and judges how a team is currently doing. Stats used are:
Win-Loss –Wins count a lot. Beat teams to move up.
Strength of Schedule – Last Four Games – Judges the strength of your last four opponents.
Margin of Victory – Last Four Games – No mercy – blowout good teams to get more points. Note that blowing out a great opponent is not equivalent to blowing out a cupcake (you will get more points for doing the latter).
Movers and Shakers:
Best Risers: Hillsburgh Hillbillies and Winnipeg Warriors (+4)
Biggest Drops: Portsmouth Cavaliers, Calgary Wrestlers, and Flint Tropics (-5)
Week Eight Power Rankings
The Contenders
1. (1/-) – Queen City Black Cats – (8-0)
-The Queen City Black Cats escape from the Sudbury Spartans with a 20-17 home win. One wild first half and a defensive grind in the next leaves this the grittiest win the Black Cats have as they become the sole unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. The win and their relatively tougher last four games again edge them past the Sasquatches for the top spot this week…but just barely.
2. (2/-) – Saskatchewan Sasquatches – (8-0)
-Their absolute annihilation of the Cold Lake Wolverines leaves the Sasquatches many things: the sole unbeaten in the Western Conference; retainer of the longest winning record in Canada A6 and one of the longest in GLB; and potentially ownership of the Western Conference. If they beat the Hillbillies and the Vindicators next…this team will be unbeaten by the playoffs: their last 6 opponents have a combined win-loss record of 11-37.
3. (3/+4) – Hillsburgh Hillbillies – (7-1)
-The Inbreds climb up four spots this week with a solid win against the Manitoba Icemen. With the easier half of the season done the Hillbillies head to the Saskatchewan Sasquatches in Week 9. Watch this game to see who can shoot down the other team’s aerial assault. The Hillsburgh Hillbillies have the #2 pass attack in terms of yards/game. The #1 pass attack belongs to the Sasquatches.
4. (6/+2) – Vancouver Vindicators – (7-1)
-The Vindicators has a schedule that is almost a copy of the Hillbillies, playing the Inbred’s opponents right behind them. The easy half of the season won and done – the second half will prove more difficult from the Icemen next all the way to Week 15 vs. the Cold Lake Wolverines. Interesting factoid: this team is punching up above their weight – unlike most contenders there’s only one player in the Vindicators roster over Lvl. 20.
5. (8/+3) – Cheyenne Mountain Air Force – (7-1)
-The Cheyenne Mountain Air Force rise up 3 slots to the #5 position as they make a statement with their win against the Halifax Hashishim, silencing their passing attack and offering up three 40+ yard TD passes. Now a team back as a top contender in the Eastern Conference, can the likes of Ryan Farsight, Champagne Room, Sooth Sayer, and Sweetness! do the same against the Nebraska Husker Maniacs next week and their formidable defense?
6. (6/-) – Nebraska Husker Maniacs – (7-1)
-The Nebraska Husker Maniacs end their cupcake vacation going 3-0 and now face the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force (who defeated the only team that beat the Husker Maniacs so far) in the Eastern Conference Game of the Week for Week 9. Will the Husker Maniacs #3 Rushing game beat pass happy Cheyenne Mountain Air Force? It’s looking like their next game won’t be won on the offense so much as who can stop the other team’s attack first.
7. (3/-4) – Halifax Hashishim – (7-1)
-The Hashishim go down four spots as the 7-1 team that lost this week. One stat in particular highlights the loss to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force: they were hobbled in the air w/ only 106 yards that game when they’ve been averaging around 210 yards/game. Their next opponents will be the inconsistent Canadiens and the lowly Iqaluit Arctic Wolves before visiting the Sudbury Spartans in a game to watch for.
8. (4/-4) – Sudbury Spartans – (6-2)
-Tough loss as the Spartans lose out by a field goal to the Queen City Black Cats in a game that should have gone to OT if they went for the FG instead of a failed late 4th quarter 4th down conversion. This is still a team that shouldn’t be discounted as they’ve always carry a good balance of attack/defense and pushed the Queen City Black cats up the wall in their loss.
The Dark Horses
9. (12/+3) – Montreal Canadiens – (6-2)
-Amongst the three 6-2 teams of the league the Canadiens are up here because they’ve just happen to go three-and-one in the last four games. A team that is a over-rated in these rankings, they need to figure out how to not get blown out by the Eastern Conference’s top five teams – the two they have faced have blown them out with a combined 87 points to the Canadiens’ none.
10. (10/0) – Vinland Vikings – (6-2)
-The losers of the biggest upset this week, the Vikings should be eating their collective shorts being outplayed from nowhere in a 4th quarter meltdown where, somehow, the Winnipeg Warriors clinically dismantled the Viking pass defense. It looks as if the Vikings’ Achilles heel has been found out and they better plug that hole in their defensive scheme as there a couple teams in the Viking’s next eight opponents that could capitalize on that.
11. (9/-2) – Cold Lake Wolverines – (6-2)
-The Wolverines drop two in a row as they get spanked-HARD-by the Sasquatches. A team that still has not beaten anyone with a winning record they’ll be facing a suddenly dangerous Winnipeg Warriors next week. Like most of the top teams in the Western Conference, their second half of the season will be a more challenging one over the first. Question is: are the Wolverines up for it?
12. (13/+1) – Calgary Thunder – (5-3)
-Definitive win against the Wrestlers sends them to the twelfth spot this week. A mid-tiered Western Conference team that is solid – they just haven’t found the right pieces to go into the next level. They, however, will be thrust right into that come next week as they start the toughest four-game stretch of their season: the Vikings, the Wolverines, the Hillbillies, and the Vindicators in that order.
On the Bubble
13. (11/-2) – Manitoba Icemen – (5-3)
-Good match against the Vindicators next week; win that and they’ll have an easier-than-most second half of the season.
14. (15/+1) – St. John’s Salty Dogs – (4-4)
-Safe to say that come Week 16 the Salty Dogs will be in the playoffs; great turnaround from Week 5.
15. (16/+1) – Saskatchewan Beavers – (4-4)
-Another turnaround team, they’ll be legit if they beat the Icemen.
16. (19/+3) – Red Deer Blue Elk – (4-4)
-Will easily crush the Preachers next week.
17. (20/+3) – Destruction Bay Dragons – (4-4)
-Expect them to go down against because of the Salty Dogs next week.
18. (21/+3) – Saskatoon Guerillaz – (4-4)
-Can they repeat what they did in the early part of the season against the Beavers?
The Longshots
19. (14/-5) – Calgary Wrestlers – (4-4)
-Good chance to pick-up a win against the Revolution next week; then comes a four-game onslaught.
20. (24/+4) – Winnipeg Warriors – (3-5)
-Amazing upset victory suddenly makes them team to watch out for.
21. (22/+1) – Iqaluit Arctic Wolves – (3-5)
-Same thing I said about them beating the Tropics, applies here too.
22. (17/-5) – Portsmouth Cavaliers – (3-5)
-Not a good sign that your only victories come from the cupcakes.
Better Luck Next Season
23. (18/-5) – Flint Tropics – (3-5)
-Will get outclassed next week; especially that defense.
24. (26/+2) – In San Jose Pimpin Ain’t Easy – (2-6)
-Having the top QB in passing yards finally pays off with a win against someone else that’s not the Crusaders.
25. (23/-2) – Revelstoke Revolution – (2-6)
-It’s going to be too little too late when this team figures it all out.
26. (25/-1) – Quebec Boreal – (2-6)
-Next win for this team: Week 15 against the Barkmere Bulldawgs.
27. (27/-) – Kelowna Outlaws – (1-7)
-Stays here despite the loss to the Beavers
28. (28/-) – Bloodweiser Bugle All Stars – (0-8)
-Better bet’s on the Barkmere Bulldawgs next week when the All Stars faces them.
The D-League – My bet for 0-16 this year: The Preachers.
29. (29/-) – Castlegar Crusaders – (0-8)
30. (30/-) – Toronto Smoke – (0-8)
31. (31/-) – Barkmere Bulldawgs – (0-8)
32. (32/-) – Peterborough Preachers – (0-8)
Last edited Aug 17, 2008 00:24:20
