Week 10 was tough for a number of teams. And the teams that felt it most, oddly, were the teams with winning records.
Among the five teams with losing records in our league, four of them lost their matchups. That's predictable. The lone winner in that group was Christian McMingle who defeated Los Perros Locos to earn their first win in four weeks.
Also not surprising is the fact that five of the seven teams with winning records won their matchups. But, what is surprising is the level of scoring among those teams.
Four - count 'em, four - teams with 6-4 records failed to score more than 83 points this week. At this point, I recognize that you're waiting for me to throw out some stat about how that has only happened once before in our league, but the fact is that it's not worth my time to research. Just know that it's not common for the top teams in the league to synchronize their poor play.
The three teams with winning records that lived up to expectations were Thundabuddies (142 pts), Golden Tate Warriors (136 pts), and Who Is You (100 pts), though you might argue that You barely escaped being part of the other group.
It's also worth noting that the teams with losing records in our league outscored the teams with winning records - by the average, not the gross - 97.6 pts/gm to 93.3 pts/gm.
So whether you scored 120 points to pull within 2 games of .500, or only 62 points in a pathetic win, the important thing is to keep looking forward...to the playoffs.
Turning to the Sagebrush division first, the current leader, Golden Tate Warriors, have the best chance to make the playoffs. They're sitting alone in first place and the control their own destiny. And, with one of the easiest remaining schedules, they're task is to not blow it.
Of their remaining opponents, Golden Tate plays only one team with a winning record over the rest of the season; versus Jergoff Passout in week 14.
Trailing Tate, Jergoff Passout and Chief Sticky Balls have some interesting paths to the playoffs. For starters, they play each other this week in a match with real playoff seeding implications. Beyond this week, Passout will face two losing teams before playing Tate in a game that could decide the #1 seed in the Sagebrush division.
Chief Sticky Balls, will face another tough opponent in Who Is You next week before finishing out against bottom-feeders, Do Not Panic and Badazz Bri. If the Balls have any hopes of claiming a first round bye, they'll need to knock off Passout this week and get some help from others. Chances are, they're looking at a second seed.
And while they're not eliminated yet, Christian McMingle, Do Not Panic, and Badazz Bri all have uphill battles if they're going to hang onto their playoff hopes.
The loser of the matchup between Panic and Bri this week will be eliminated from playoff contention while the winner won't be safe either. If Christian McMingle can manage to defeat Golden Tate this week, that will likely be enough to eliminate the other as well.
Speaking of McMingle, they probably have the toughest road to hoe. If they do manage to beat Tate, they'll run up against Passout in week 12 and Dak in week 13 before finishing out against Panic. Ultimately, they'll need Chief Sticky Balls to beat Passout this week before they themselves have to accomplish the same next week.
No team in the league has a more challenging gauntlet ahead than Who Is You. Over the remaining four weeks, every team that You will face has a 6-4 record with three of them among the top 5 in the Power Rankings. An upcoming schedule this tough will certainly be a challenge and if they're going to get through it, they'll need to be careful to not look too far ahead to a week 14 contest against Thundabuddies that could decide the #1 seed in the Cactus division.
For the Chops, the aforementioned game against You will be just a crucial as week 13's matchup against Thundabuddies. And, the Thundabuddies have a pair of light games against Los Perros and Panic before they get to that contest.
The fourth 1st place team in the Cactus division - yes, I just typed that - Baby Got Dak, has the easiest path to reach the playoffs. Of their four remaining games, only one team has a winning record; Who Is You in week 13.
Rounding out the Cactus division, the Los Perros Locos and NH Bounty Hunters both have a lot of work to do as well as a lot of favors to ask from other. For either to make they playoffs, they'll not only need win out, they'll also need two of the top four teams to fail miserably. It appears likely the Bounty Hunters will exit the race this week while the Perros will probably exit next week...even with a win.
If you're as confused as I am, then I've done a good job of describing the playoff picture. With four weeks to go, it's still a bit of a mess. But, the bottom line is this: keep looking ahead, win, and let the chips fall where they may. You might just find yourself invited to the dance.
DEFEAT THE COMMISH
I've only received three submissions on the Defeat the Commish Survey feedback form. When you have a minute, please complete the form. Once I receive feedback from all league members, I'll share the responses and we can start to plan for the future of this contest.
SURVIVOR CHALLENGE
If you were going to have a low scoring week, this was the one to do it in. Who Is You finished with the high-score of 100 points in week 10. With only 70 points, Pork Chop Express escaped elimination thanks to a pitiful showing by Jergoff Passout. Although they won their matchup against Baby Got Dak, Passout's 62-point performance cost them the chance to win the Survivor Challenge.
The Survivor Challenge finale is set: Who Is You versus Pork Chop Express. The team that wins two of the next three weeks will be crowned the 2021 Survivor Champion. Good luck!
PIGSKIN PICK'EM
Kudos to the Golden Tate Warriors for being the only team that correctly picked the 49ers over the Rams on Monday night. That pick helped move them up to 8th place and 10 games off the lead. Probably not a lot of hope left for them to win.
The award for gutsy picks this week goes to Who Is You. You was the only team that chose the Saints, Eagles, and the Seahawks. Two of those picks paid off, but the Seahawks were crushed by the Packers costing You in the end.
For the rest of the league, it was a ho-hum type of week. Of the 14 games this round, four teams finished with seven correct picks leading to very little movement in the standings. In fact, the only mover this week was Who Is You who dropped out of their first-place tie with Christian McMingle. That leaves us with six teams within four picks of each other. And with eight weeks left of the contest, things could get interesting.
COMMISH'S PICKS
On the bright side, I did better than last week. However, I still only picked two games correctly and, once again, I did not pick the correct winner in the Matchup of the Week game. Not to worry! With four weeks remaining there's still time for me to turn things around. If I can manage a 4-2 record for the remainder of the season, I'll finish above .500.
Good luck in week 11!
-- Commish
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