
Word from the Mouth: Week 9 - It's Too Damn Hot Out Here edition!
Here we are coming into the last week of regulations (ed’s note: is that a thing you say?). Last week was so ridiculously hot and humid, don’t know how some guys were able to play 2 and 3 games. I was dying just refereeing all day. Good job for those who were able to. I know that moving forward when it is extremely hot out that the canopies that we have in the storage container need to be brought out and set up. Enough about how some of us couldn’t stand the heat and let’s move on to the games that were.
Week 9 Recap
Henchmen vs 4Simbas (17-25)
4Simbas might be eliminated from the playoffs, that doesn’t mean they needed to roll over and die. They are now in a position to play spoiler. They came out and played like they had nothing to lose and put a very big wrench in Henchmens plan to walk into the playoffs. I know that this was an early game and the heat shouldn’t have mattered that much except it forced Jon to throw with gloves on. We all know Jon doesn’t have the strongest arm. He is very accurate under 10 yards, but with the glove on it wasn’t the same feel on the ball. The Henchmen need to hope things go their way this week or they might be out of playoffs as well.
Revolucion vs Trollers (30-41)
Even with Raph and Revolucion having all those subs helping out they still couldn’t get the job done. I don’t know what is going on with Revolucion this season, but they have a good roster when they decide to show up. I just have to wonder is Revolucion going to win out and make the playoffs? Trollers played well enough to get the win, but they could have played better. Trollers finally got a big performance out of Josh this week. It was starting to look like he was the forgotten man on the roster. Trollers have locked up spot 1 or 2 for the playoffs.
Gros Coqs vs 4Simbas (39-15)
This one wasn’t even close and wasn’t really fair since it was 4Simbas second game of the day. I don’t really think it would have made much of a difference. Gros Coqs came out with their full roster and when they do that they are very hard to beat. I don’t think that 4Simbas are a bad team they just needed to come out every week with a full roster and use their athleticism to their advantage. I guess another season of learning and understanding the game can’t hurt either. Tommy was able to make an appearance this week for Gros Coqs and he looked very good, it just sucks that he wasn’t there for them all season. No matter what roster Gros Coqs show up with as long as Dom is there they will have a chance to win the game.
Bitter Boys vs Outlaws (39-27)
First and foremost thank you Bitter Boys for beating Outlaws and allowing my team a chance to take the first spot and not having to play the kids in round 1 of the playoffs. This was probably the biggest shocker of the season. Bitter Boys have been in a lot of close games, a few breaks here and there and they might be in the playoffs. I spoke to a few of the Outlaws after the game and this is what they had to say about the game. Bitter Boys beat them straight up. They made us pay for our mistakes and we couldn’t do the same. JS was on point all game making the right reads and the perfect throws. They also said they couldn’t slow down Guillaume all game long. I guess not since he scored 6 TDs. This game now brings up a bigger question. Are Outlaws just an average team when Smuda isn’t there or are Bitter Boys for real and making a statement before next season? My guess would be both are true.
Playoff Scenarios
4Simbas- Eliminated
They get to wrap up their season playing a rematch from last week against Gros Coqs.
Revolucion- still alive, but barely
They need to win 1 of their last 2 and hope Henchmen lose out, and Bitter Boys to lose this week. Revolucion will be playing Outlaws first then right after need to beat Henchmen to make it in.
Bitter Boys- Still alive, but need help
To make it in they will need to beat the Trollers and need plenty of help to get in. They will need Henchmen to lose out and Revolucion only win 1 of their 2 games. (ed’s note: which means Revolucion need to lose to the Outlaws since they would need to beat the Henchmen for them to lose out)
Henchmen- control their own playoff chances
If they win out they are in. They can also get in by just beating Revolucion. They hold tie breaker over Bitter Boys. (ed’s note: we’re also in if we beat the Trollers and Revolucion lose to the Outlaws)
Gros Coqs- In
They will finish 3 or 4. They are in since they hold tie breakers over Bitter Boys and Revolucion.
Outlaws- In
They will finish in 1 or 2 depending on if the win and Trollers loss a game.
Trollers- In
They will be 1 or 2. If they win out they are first or if they lose 1, but give up less than 38 points more than the Outlaws.
If there is a tie here is the tie breaker rules
- First Tie Breaker is number of games played
- Second tie breaker is Head to Head (ed’s note: to clarify this we use the NFL tie breaker rules, which means that if there are more than 2 teams tied in record then 2 team head to head records are ignored and a group head to head winning percentage is the tie breaker, so the order is determined by the teams that have the best record within the tied teams)
- Third Tie breaker is fewest points against
- Fourth should be a team relay (think about it Jon)
So now that you all know what needs to be done in order for your team to make the playoffs good luck with that.
GOTW (Game of the Week)
Revolucion vs Henchmen
QB- Both guys suck and have no real arm strength. They both started the season playing well and being able to put some zip on the ball. Those days are long gone for both of them, they now need to depend on their heads to make the right reads and proper throws. This will be the second game for both guys except Jon will have a break in between his games. (ed’s note: I’m playing between the games, so it’ll actually be my third game…) I think that will be a big advantage for Jon. Both guys are about the same caliber of a QB the difference is when they run Raph gets the advantage there. Since it could be hot again I don’t see too much running taking place in this game. Advantage goes to Henchmen.
WR- Henchmen have a better stable of WRs that actually show up to games more often than not. I like what Raph has put together for Revolucion, the guys just need to show up every week. If both teams came with all their players it could go either way but that doesn’t happen so I have to give the advantage to Revolucion. I thought going in that it was going to be Henchmen then you look at the stats and they have 3 guys in Kris, Dahic and Andrew. After those 3 there is a big drop to the next guy. Revolucion doesn’t have that big drop that is why they were given the advantage.
Defense- So I base a good defense on three things, the rusher, # of picks, and points against. Revolucion have a very good rusher in Eric. After that their defense is pretty weak they have only managed 8 picks and are giving up 29.3 points a game. You would think that with one of the better rushers in the division they would get more picks and give up less points. Henchmen on the other hand have 9 total sacks by three guys, top guy has 4. They have managed to get 13 picks, with 7 coming from Dahic alone. They have only given up 19.3 points a game which is great until you add in the shutout they were given by Gros Coqs not making it in time for the game to be played. I will take picks over sacks any day of the week and that is why Henchmen get the advantage.
This is the game that everyone should stick around and watch as it should determine the final playoff spot.
Predictions
Last week we ended up having 4 games and I picked 1 game correctly. Good Job Gros Coqs for being my only pick that won. On the season I sit at 14 out of 22 games. So even when I go perfect this week I will fall short of my goal of 75% by quite a bit. So now that you guys have all endured reading this far along here are my picks. They are in bold.
Trollers vs Henchmen NA
Outlaws vs Revolucion
Gros Coqs vs 4Simbas
Trollers vs Bitter Boys NA
Revolucion vs Henchmen
Power Rankings
So this is my last power rankings of the season. Playoffs will begin next week and only 4 teams will be left. Has your team done enough to make my final list of the year? Let’s take a look at who made it.
#1) Trollers
#2) Outlaws
#3) Gros Coqs
Trollers and Outlaws have been the best two teams all season long. This week we finally got to see a full roster from Gros Coqs and they didn’t disappoint. Henchmen stunk it up again and the rest of the teams have a below 500 record. I was tempted to switch my number 2 and 3 team except that Gros Coqs roster won’t be there next week for playoffs.
Final Thoughts
So I know all year I have been saying have fun play hard and it’s only a game. That still stands true, the difference now is that it is the last week of the season and you are all fighting to make it in. If you get hurt and don’t make it in then you have 2 weeks to get better before the fall season. So when you suit up on Saturday give it your all as some of you will be relaxing the next 2 weeks while some of us are going after the title. Good luck to everyone this week hope it turns out how you want it to.