So, we hit the halfway point in the season, so why not throw together a quick rankings to see how the playoffs are going to shape up? A couple of questions for thought before we start:
1) Has anyone been watching MN? Throw the ball 60+ times and win in one game, then run the ball 50+ times and lose the next. What are you up to Melissa? Are you trying to confuse us, because you confused me and our DC....
2) Is Zambia a threat for the title?
3) What happened to ECT? I know they're 7-1, but they just don't seem to be the same dominant force they were the last 2-3 seasons.
4) Bye bye LU. It's been a fun ride, but its over now. Will any LU ever beat a boosting team again? I doubt it, but I'm still game-planning for UD.
And now for the rankings....
1) DN (5): I criticized you last time for SoS and it still sucks, but your wins over NHG and RB are nice. The RB was closer than I would have expected, but the NHG win is impressive. 1st in overall defense and a rocking ST unit is helping a lot. The one flaw I see is the -5 TO differential. DN isn't forcing ANY fumbles this season. I don't remember if this was a problem last season or not, but it should be addressed soon.
2) NHG (2): The early loss to Melissa is looking worse and worse. However, the win over RD is looking better by the day. The 12-6 loss to DN isn't bad though, especially considering you held them to negative rushing yards. They've had a few fumble problems, which could lead to an early exit in the playoffs, but other than that, this team is looking solid.
3) RD (7): Well, I asked what happened to this team after losing to HOOD, RMO, and NHG. How about 30ish straight wins until that MN game? They did lose to MN, but they also beat them. I'm not really sure how to rank these two, but RD won by a larger margin of victory. They also have a higher ranked O (2nd), D (7th), ST (currently 1st in MVP voting), and a larger TO differential (+6). Right now, the East goes through The Insane Circus Dome.
4) MN (1): After beating the shit out of Rome, NHG, and ECT, I was about to consider this Melissa's best team yet. However, they then lose to RD and RMO at HOME with completely different game-plans. One game has 43 rushes to 22 passes and the other has 18 rushes to 69 passes. How do you game-plan for that? I guess it doesn't matter since they lost both of those. It is important to note that they haven't lost a tournament game, so standard Melissa 14-2 or 13-3 before going 4-0 in the playoffs. We saw how well going 16-0 worked for them last season. They also sport the top ranked passing offense.
5) RR (3): They were overrated earlier because the ECT win isn't as impressive as I once thought. They make perfect sense here. Beat every team below them, and lost to every team above them. The negative 9 TO differential is terrible. They currently have the most fumbles and interceptions amongst playoff bound teams. The offense is atrocious and is rightfully ranked 21st in league. The only points are from the ST unit and the kicker. Although Rome Returner is ranked 2nd in ST MVP, I would be shocked if he doesn't end at 1st. He IS the MVP of this team without a doubt. The SoS has been brutal, but it's over now and the main question will be will Rome wake back up for the playoffs.
6) RMO (4): It's hard for me to rank this team. Beat RD and MN makes them look like they should be #1, but then what happened in that Rome game? They looked terrible. And the Week 1 win over ECT 10-3 is less than impressive. Maybe they are getting a bad rep for their usual shortfalls in the postseason, but I can't rank them any higher. Very balanced offense and defense, but the lack of ST is hurting them.
7) Zambia (9): Still rather unknown, but the close game to Rome makes me think that they upset someone. I'm just not sure who or how. Same problem they had 2 seasons ago when they were in elite. GREAT defense, terrible offense.
8) RB: They split with ECT, so its close. The loss to HOOD is unacceptable, but they played DN close. Top 10 in both O and D, but the most impressive thing is the +11 TO differential. I think you would expect RB to fall off a little with the sim being more passing favored. They are next to last in attempts ahead of UD.
9) ECT (6): So the regular season win over RB is nice, but what's their second best win? East Coast Smack Down? Panama City? HOOD? None of those are impressive and it's not like they haven't had chances with losses to RMO, MN, NHG, and RB.
10) ID (10): New to the top 10, I think ID needs a look. I'm not sure they are quite there yet, but they did sneak up on Rome in week 1 and almost came away with a win. They beat UD and HOOD, so I guess that makes them the logical candidate. I almost wanted to stop the rankings at 9, since those move around, but never really change.
1) Has anyone been watching MN? Throw the ball 60+ times and win in one game, then run the ball 50+ times and lose the next. What are you up to Melissa? Are you trying to confuse us, because you confused me and our DC....
2) Is Zambia a threat for the title?
3) What happened to ECT? I know they're 7-1, but they just don't seem to be the same dominant force they were the last 2-3 seasons.
4) Bye bye LU. It's been a fun ride, but its over now. Will any LU ever beat a boosting team again? I doubt it, but I'm still game-planning for UD.
And now for the rankings....
1) DN (5): I criticized you last time for SoS and it still sucks, but your wins over NHG and RB are nice. The RB was closer than I would have expected, but the NHG win is impressive. 1st in overall defense and a rocking ST unit is helping a lot. The one flaw I see is the -5 TO differential. DN isn't forcing ANY fumbles this season. I don't remember if this was a problem last season or not, but it should be addressed soon.
2) NHG (2): The early loss to Melissa is looking worse and worse. However, the win over RD is looking better by the day. The 12-6 loss to DN isn't bad though, especially considering you held them to negative rushing yards. They've had a few fumble problems, which could lead to an early exit in the playoffs, but other than that, this team is looking solid.
3) RD (7): Well, I asked what happened to this team after losing to HOOD, RMO, and NHG. How about 30ish straight wins until that MN game? They did lose to MN, but they also beat them. I'm not really sure how to rank these two, but RD won by a larger margin of victory. They also have a higher ranked O (2nd), D (7th), ST (currently 1st in MVP voting), and a larger TO differential (+6). Right now, the East goes through The Insane Circus Dome.
4) MN (1): After beating the shit out of Rome, NHG, and ECT, I was about to consider this Melissa's best team yet. However, they then lose to RD and RMO at HOME with completely different game-plans. One game has 43 rushes to 22 passes and the other has 18 rushes to 69 passes. How do you game-plan for that? I guess it doesn't matter since they lost both of those. It is important to note that they haven't lost a tournament game, so standard Melissa 14-2 or 13-3 before going 4-0 in the playoffs. We saw how well going 16-0 worked for them last season. They also sport the top ranked passing offense.
5) RR (3): They were overrated earlier because the ECT win isn't as impressive as I once thought. They make perfect sense here. Beat every team below them, and lost to every team above them. The negative 9 TO differential is terrible. They currently have the most fumbles and interceptions amongst playoff bound teams. The offense is atrocious and is rightfully ranked 21st in league. The only points are from the ST unit and the kicker. Although Rome Returner is ranked 2nd in ST MVP, I would be shocked if he doesn't end at 1st. He IS the MVP of this team without a doubt. The SoS has been brutal, but it's over now and the main question will be will Rome wake back up for the playoffs.
6) RMO (4): It's hard for me to rank this team. Beat RD and MN makes them look like they should be #1, but then what happened in that Rome game? They looked terrible. And the Week 1 win over ECT 10-3 is less than impressive. Maybe they are getting a bad rep for their usual shortfalls in the postseason, but I can't rank them any higher. Very balanced offense and defense, but the lack of ST is hurting them.
7) Zambia (9): Still rather unknown, but the close game to Rome makes me think that they upset someone. I'm just not sure who or how. Same problem they had 2 seasons ago when they were in elite. GREAT defense, terrible offense.
8) RB: They split with ECT, so its close. The loss to HOOD is unacceptable, but they played DN close. Top 10 in both O and D, but the most impressive thing is the +11 TO differential. I think you would expect RB to fall off a little with the sim being more passing favored. They are next to last in attempts ahead of UD.
9) ECT (6): So the regular season win over RB is nice, but what's their second best win? East Coast Smack Down? Panama City? HOOD? None of those are impressive and it's not like they haven't had chances with losses to RMO, MN, NHG, and RB.
10) ID (10): New to the top 10, I think ID needs a look. I'm not sure they are quite there yet, but they did sneak up on Rome in week 1 and almost came away with a win. They beat UD and HOOD, so I guess that makes them the logical candidate. I almost wanted to stop the rankings at 9, since those move around, but never really change.
Edited by Davis grizzard on Jan 13, 2012 12:19:17
Edited by Davis grizzard on Jan 13, 2012 12:15:04
