WEEK 8 RANKINGS
We just passed the halfway point and we are starting to get a little clarity on where each team ranks in our league. There are three distinct tiers that each team neatly fits into, 3 teams that look like locks for the playoffs, 2 teams that are already looking towards 2024 and the remaining 5 teams mired in mediocrity. Where does your team fit?
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The Contenders These teams are pretty much locks for the playoffs. Not only do they have strong W/L records, but all three are about 100 points clear of the 5th highest point total.
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Stick Rock - Not a lot of chirping coming from this guy lately. A couple of big injuries to Jefferson and Conner makes you realize that your team may not be as deep as you thought it was. They are still undefeated and are two games up in the Adams Division. They are also the 2nd highest points scorer and have a 169 point lead for the wild card spot.
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Wrath of Kahn - Jim's been riding the hot hands of Tyreek Kill, Travis Kelce and Justin Herbert to an impressive 6-1 record and they are currently 158 points clear of the 5th place point total. They should cruise to an easy regular season championship in a weak Patrick Division.
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Springfield Flanders - Flanders looks like the strongest team in this group average an insane 170 points/game. Strong play from his keepers and great value in the draft at QB and RB is going to make them tough to beat.
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The Pretenders
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Milford Football Team - They currently hold the 2nd wild card spot with a 19 point lead over Mel Kipers BA, but they are sinking fast. Josh Allen, CMC and Mark Andrews have been studs, but the rest of the lineup has been inconsistent (Garrett Wilson, Mike Evans) ineffective (Calvin Ridley, Geno Smith) or injured (David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert).
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Mel Kipers BA - This team has been fairly consistent this season, usually scoring between 140-165 on a weekly basis. They currently are 19 points out of a playoff spot but comfortably ahead of the rest of the teams in this group. After 2 years, Lamar Jackson looks to have regained his mojo. Sam Howell has offered a soft landing from the Deshaun Watson draft bust. They'll need to hold on until De'Von Achane returns from injury. The WRs (Lamb, Waddle, London, JSN) have been a disappointment.
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'69 Olds - Things are going south quickly for last year's Patrick Division Champions. The QB tandem is still the best the league has to offer, and the trade to bring in Pacheco and DJ Moore has provided a boost, but there's not a whole lot of other things to like about this roster. They are currently 109 points out of the last wild card spot. Christian Watson, Aaron Jones and Brandon Aiyuk will need to pick up their game after early season injuries.
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Peeping Tomlins - The Tomlins have scored 102-115-117 over the last three games and came within 2 points on Monday night of going 2-1 in that stretch. To say they are struggling to score is putting it mildly. Russell Wilson has had a nice bounce-back season and CJ Stroud was a 16th round steal. But more consistency is needed from KWIII, George Kittle and Mixon are going to be needed if they want to climb back in the mix. Jared is currently 119 points out of the playoffs.
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Black Ghostbusters - They are slowly showing signs of life with 2 straight wins, but this team still struggles to score. They currently average 130 points a week, which helps explain the 3-4 record. The RB's (Pollard, Taylor) need to start living up to their keeper designations and the QBs (Lawrence, Prescott, Love) need to score more. They are currently a staggering 179 points out of a playoff spot.
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The Offenders
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Dark Helmet - Tua, Saquon Barkley and Brandon Jacobs have been good, but I have a hard time finding anyone else that would crack another team's starting lineup on this roster. No other player is averaging more than 12 points a game. They currently are 165 points out of a playoff spot.
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Skoal Bandits - The QBs came alive this week which is astounding as they were both plucked from the waiver wire. There are some players on this roster that can help teams trying to make a playoff push. If you have an injured player, see if Craig would be willing to trade Olave, Pittman or Higgins to help the 2023 effort.
#1(Tie) - Big Rock 2X
Kirk Cousins (26) helped Rocky snatch victory out of the claws of defeat for a 119-117 victory over cousin Jared. The defending champs are starting to show some cracks in the lineup.
#2 - Springfield Flanders
Who is going to stop this runaway train? It's early, but Flanders is 5-0 since starting the season with a pair of losses. They are AVERAGING 189 points over their current streak!
# 3 - Wrath of Khan
Jimmy rolls to a 171 - 134 point victory this week and what does he get for his troubles? He drops 2 spots in the rankings. I don't make up the rankings, I just tabulate them. Travis Kelce (35), D'Onta Freeman (33) and Tyreek Hill (25) pretty much handled things on their own this week. Desmond Ridder (13.8) has crashed back to earth.
#4 Black Ghostbusters
The afternoon started fast for the Ghostbusters as Jerome Ford took the 2nd handoff of the day in for a 70 yard TD. Could this be the day that the Ghostbusters finally get multiple TD's from their non-QB players? ... No, it wasn't. As a matter of fact it was the only TD on the day.
#5 Mel Kipers Best Available
Pete played Grinch this week by eking out a 163-157 victory over the Bandits. Craig looked like he might be in a good spot to get his 2nd victory of the year, but TJ Hockenson (19.36) had other plans on Monday Night. Lamar Jackson (39) had another great outing for MKBA.
#6 - Milford Football Team
Josh Allen (28) had a nice bounce back week and CMC (22) recovered from an early fumble and slow start, but it was not enough to keep up with the buzzsaw called Flanders. Mike Evans (22) and Mark Andrews (22) also came up big this week.
#7 - '69 Olds
Patrick Mahomes (41) and Jalen Hurts (27) combined for 68 points. The other 8 players in his line up combined for 66. That formula is not going to win a lot of games.
#8 Peeping Tomlins
Another week, another injury. This time it's RB Kyren Williams who heads to the IR. Jordan Adisson nearly single-handedly willed them to victory this week with his 33 point outburst on Monday Night. Next up: A rematch of his week 5 102-100 victory over the Ghostbusters.
#9 - Dark Helmet
Helmet wasn't even able to crack 100 points this week. Dallas Goedert (18) was the only player over 15 points. Will this team win a game this year?
#10 Skoal Bandits
They scored a lot of points this week and looked to have a decent shot at a victory right up until the MNF game. Unfortunately TJ Hockenson put an end to that dream. Gardner Minshew (33), Tyrod Taylor (25) and Jahmyr Gibbs (27) looked good in this one as the Skoal Bandits are showing some signs of life.