THE PLAYOFFS
Alpha Conference
1 International House of Pancakes 14-2
2 Corpus Christi Illegal Aliens 14-2
3 Northwood Trojans 14-2
4 La Cosa Nostra 13-3
5 Cult of Wu Dang in the Membrane 13-3
6 Baltimore Vortex 11-5
7 Barossa Grapestompers 11-5
8 Minnesota Skulls 9-7
Zeta Conference
1 King's Landing Dragons 15-1
2 Hamburg Hawks 14-2
3 Lisbon Goons 13-3
4 Fort Worth Texans 12-4
5 Tokyo Kamakazi 11-5
6 San Antonio Aztecs 11-5
7 Cornball Brothas 10-6
8 Dotball Intelligence Agency 10-6
9 Santorini Inferno 9-7
One of the big stories going into the playoffs is the dominance of Alpha over Zeta. The teams above are the ones that ended the season with winning records. And in games between these teams, Alpha is 3-0 over Zeta. The Dragons went undefeated in Zeta, with their only loss to the #7 playoff team in Alpha. Another notable story is that Inferno didn't make the playoffs, despite beating both Brothas and DIA; the difference was these other two teams got easy Alpha opponents in game 1 while Inferno faced a playoff quality Alpha opponent and lost. Looked at from one perspective it's kind of sad because Inferno is the #7 team in Zeta if the game 1 results are removed (or if they had faced comparable quality teams). However, from another perspective, had the Zeta playoff teams been in Alpha, most of them wouldn't have made the playoffs or even have a winning record. In fact, it's entirely possible that none of the Zeta teams would have made the playoffs in Alpha. And conversely, there could well be teams in Alpha that don't even have winning records that would have made the playoffs had they been in Zeta.
All that said, there are eight very impressive teams in Alpha who are very competitive with each other. What evidence we have suggests that even the top Zeta teams would struggle against any of these top 8 Alpha teams, but as a courtesy I'll go ahead and talk about the very best Zeta teams a bit, because one of them has to eventually lose the "gimme" league championship game to Alpha.
MATCHUPS
Alpha
14-2 Pancakes host 9-7 Skulls
Pancakes won the regular season matchup 17-0 and Pancakes cruised to 1st place with their only close games their two losses, one to Membrane and the other to Aliens. No conference opponent put up more than 20 points against Pancakes. Pancakes also beat Zeta playoff-quality team Inferno solidly, denying them a spot in the postseason. However Skulls has a defense that also should not be overlooked. They held conference opponents to a maximum of 31 points and held the Pancakes' offense to under 120 yards total in the regular season. Pancakes broke out on special teams with two punt return TDs but special teams in GLB tends to be hit or miss, not a reliable way to win. Skulls defeated Vortex and lost close battles to Aliens and Trojans; at the same time they are the only Alpha playoff team to drop a game to a non-playoff team. Prediction is Pancakes finds a way to win, but Skulls defense keeps it respectable.
14-2 Aliens hosts 11-5 Grapestompers
Aliens won the preseason game 13-3. Aliens is another Alpha team that boasts an impressive defense. They held Conference opponents to a maximum 23 points. They beat Zeta playoff team Kamakazi solidly. They lost games to Trojans and Nostra, while squeaking by Pancakes, Membrane and Skulls, and winning the rest solidly. Grapestompers bring yet another impressive defense to the playoff table. Conference opponents were limited to a maximum 21 points. They had a close win over Zeta #1 team Dragons, another close win over Membrane, and a close loss to Trojans. They defeated Skulls solidly. Prediction is Aliens in another hard fought battle.
14-2 Trojans host 11-5 Vortex
Trojans won the regular season matchup 3-0 which hardly settles the issue. Trojans are another Alpha playoff team running an impressive defense. They held all Conference opponents to 24 points or less. They lost to Pancakes and Membrane, and squeaked by Grapestompers and Skulls, while winning the rest solidly. Trojans had a couple of tight battles with lower ranked teams near the end of the season giving an impression that they are struggling a bit coming into the playoffs, but with the quality of the teams top to bottom in the Alpha playoff picture every game is a battle. Vortex has another Alpha defense that commands respect, limiting Conference opponents to 21 points. They defeated Grapestompers and had a close win over Nostra. Prediction is whichever team wants it more. Trojans probably are the slight favorites but too close to call.
13-3 Nostra hosts 13-3 Membrane
Nostra defeated Membrane 30-13 in the regular season, including 3 Nostra special teams TDs. Nostra has had an impressive season, losing only to Pancakes, Trojans, and a close loss to Vortex. Nostra has a very good defense, having limited Conference opponents to a maximum 29 points, but are more offensively focused than some Alpha playoff teams while still boasting a very respectable defense. I could describe Membrane very similarly. Their 30 points they gave up to Nostra was the most any Conference opponent put up all season. Their other two losses were close affairs with Aliens and Grapestompers, and they won a close game over Pancakes, while winning their other games handily. In predicting this game I'm looking beyond the blowout regular season win, because special teams won't show up the same way every game (though in fairness it shows up for Nostra more regularly than for most teams). I'll give Nostra the edge but put this one in the too close to call category.
ZETA
15-1 Dragons host 10-6 Agency.
Besides losing to Alpha #7 team Grapestompers, the Dragons had close calls against Aztecs, Agency and Inferno. Here's Agency back to try and get the upset 2nd time around. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha
14-2 Hawks host 10-6 Brothas
Hawks were demolished by Brothas in the regular season. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha.
13-3 Goons host 11-5 Aztecs
Regular season matchup was close and both teams are similarly capable. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha
12-4 Texans host 11-5 Kamakazi
Regular season matchup was close and both teams are similarly capable. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha
Alpha Conference
1 International House of Pancakes 14-2
2 Corpus Christi Illegal Aliens 14-2
3 Northwood Trojans 14-2
4 La Cosa Nostra 13-3
5 Cult of Wu Dang in the Membrane 13-3
6 Baltimore Vortex 11-5
7 Barossa Grapestompers 11-5
8 Minnesota Skulls 9-7
Zeta Conference
1 King's Landing Dragons 15-1
2 Hamburg Hawks 14-2
3 Lisbon Goons 13-3
4 Fort Worth Texans 12-4
5 Tokyo Kamakazi 11-5
6 San Antonio Aztecs 11-5
7 Cornball Brothas 10-6
8 Dotball Intelligence Agency 10-6
9 Santorini Inferno 9-7
One of the big stories going into the playoffs is the dominance of Alpha over Zeta. The teams above are the ones that ended the season with winning records. And in games between these teams, Alpha is 3-0 over Zeta. The Dragons went undefeated in Zeta, with their only loss to the #7 playoff team in Alpha. Another notable story is that Inferno didn't make the playoffs, despite beating both Brothas and DIA; the difference was these other two teams got easy Alpha opponents in game 1 while Inferno faced a playoff quality Alpha opponent and lost. Looked at from one perspective it's kind of sad because Inferno is the #7 team in Zeta if the game 1 results are removed (or if they had faced comparable quality teams). However, from another perspective, had the Zeta playoff teams been in Alpha, most of them wouldn't have made the playoffs or even have a winning record. In fact, it's entirely possible that none of the Zeta teams would have made the playoffs in Alpha. And conversely, there could well be teams in Alpha that don't even have winning records that would have made the playoffs had they been in Zeta.
All that said, there are eight very impressive teams in Alpha who are very competitive with each other. What evidence we have suggests that even the top Zeta teams would struggle against any of these top 8 Alpha teams, but as a courtesy I'll go ahead and talk about the very best Zeta teams a bit, because one of them has to eventually lose the "gimme" league championship game to Alpha.
MATCHUPS
Alpha
14-2 Pancakes host 9-7 Skulls
Pancakes won the regular season matchup 17-0 and Pancakes cruised to 1st place with their only close games their two losses, one to Membrane and the other to Aliens. No conference opponent put up more than 20 points against Pancakes. Pancakes also beat Zeta playoff-quality team Inferno solidly, denying them a spot in the postseason. However Skulls has a defense that also should not be overlooked. They held conference opponents to a maximum of 31 points and held the Pancakes' offense to under 120 yards total in the regular season. Pancakes broke out on special teams with two punt return TDs but special teams in GLB tends to be hit or miss, not a reliable way to win. Skulls defeated Vortex and lost close battles to Aliens and Trojans; at the same time they are the only Alpha playoff team to drop a game to a non-playoff team. Prediction is Pancakes finds a way to win, but Skulls defense keeps it respectable.
14-2 Aliens hosts 11-5 Grapestompers
Aliens won the preseason game 13-3. Aliens is another Alpha team that boasts an impressive defense. They held Conference opponents to a maximum 23 points. They beat Zeta playoff team Kamakazi solidly. They lost games to Trojans and Nostra, while squeaking by Pancakes, Membrane and Skulls, and winning the rest solidly. Grapestompers bring yet another impressive defense to the playoff table. Conference opponents were limited to a maximum 21 points. They had a close win over Zeta #1 team Dragons, another close win over Membrane, and a close loss to Trojans. They defeated Skulls solidly. Prediction is Aliens in another hard fought battle.
14-2 Trojans host 11-5 Vortex
Trojans won the regular season matchup 3-0 which hardly settles the issue. Trojans are another Alpha playoff team running an impressive defense. They held all Conference opponents to 24 points or less. They lost to Pancakes and Membrane, and squeaked by Grapestompers and Skulls, while winning the rest solidly. Trojans had a couple of tight battles with lower ranked teams near the end of the season giving an impression that they are struggling a bit coming into the playoffs, but with the quality of the teams top to bottom in the Alpha playoff picture every game is a battle. Vortex has another Alpha defense that commands respect, limiting Conference opponents to 21 points. They defeated Grapestompers and had a close win over Nostra. Prediction is whichever team wants it more. Trojans probably are the slight favorites but too close to call.
13-3 Nostra hosts 13-3 Membrane
Nostra defeated Membrane 30-13 in the regular season, including 3 Nostra special teams TDs. Nostra has had an impressive season, losing only to Pancakes, Trojans, and a close loss to Vortex. Nostra has a very good defense, having limited Conference opponents to a maximum 29 points, but are more offensively focused than some Alpha playoff teams while still boasting a very respectable defense. I could describe Membrane very similarly. Their 30 points they gave up to Nostra was the most any Conference opponent put up all season. Their other two losses were close affairs with Aliens and Grapestompers, and they won a close game over Pancakes, while winning their other games handily. In predicting this game I'm looking beyond the blowout regular season win, because special teams won't show up the same way every game (though in fairness it shows up for Nostra more regularly than for most teams). I'll give Nostra the edge but put this one in the too close to call category.
ZETA
15-1 Dragons host 10-6 Agency.
Besides losing to Alpha #7 team Grapestompers, the Dragons had close calls against Aztecs, Agency and Inferno. Here's Agency back to try and get the upset 2nd time around. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha
14-2 Hawks host 10-6 Brothas
Hawks were demolished by Brothas in the regular season. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha.
13-3 Goons host 11-5 Aztecs
Regular season matchup was close and both teams are similarly capable. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha
12-4 Texans host 11-5 Kamakazi
Regular season matchup was close and both teams are similarly capable. Prediction - either team would get whooped in Alpha
Edited by Sly on Oct 23, 2013 14:19:28
Edited by Sly on Oct 23, 2013 11:44:44
