Fantasy Oompa Loompa: Week 9
Week 9 saw the league settle down a bit after the barrage of upsets in Week 8. The Nohr Division remains as unpredictable as ever, with its third leader in as many weeks. Meanwhile, the Top 4 teams in the Hoshido Division all won. As we move into the last two weeks of inter-divisional play, teams that aren't quite where they want to be yet in terms of playoff positioning are going to have to start making some moves to get close enough that they can take over spots with the last two games against close competition. And speaking of close competition...
Closest Game: Arch 78.54, Dongo's Gridiron Gamers 73.52
Angelus seems to be getting in the habit of barely squeaking out victories over Nohr Division leaders. The win by Arch snapped Dongo's 3 game winning streak and continued to highlight the gap between the two divisions; teams that led the Nohr Division at gametime are now 0-4 against the Hoshido Division. Angelus was bailed out by Jay Cutler of all people, with a 24 point performance on SNF that put him out of reach. Just think how good he could be if he actually started receivers who could put up more than one point. Meanwhile, Dongo had a couple solid games from Jacoby Brissett (20 points) and Demariyus Thomas (13), but he'll be kicking himself for starting Allen Hurns (3 points), who was easily outscored by his teammate, Marquis Lee (14 points), who Dongo had benched.
Biggest Blowout: The Longest Foot 120.34, HanginwithHernandez 76.12
Hernandez's playoff hopes were put on life support after getting trounced, while Seth put himself right back into the thick of the race. Foot had the highest point total of any team this week despite his TE recording negative points. Pretty much everyone who cost Seth the game last week came through big time this week: Jared Goff, T.Y. Hilton, and Alvin Kamara all recorded 25 or more points, and Carlos Hyde tacked on an additional 13. Meanwhile, Hernandez was let down by his RBs and perhaps spited by the football gods for attempting to trade me ASJ (2) for Todd Gurley.
Biggest Playoff Implications Not Mentioned Yet: It Ertz When Eifert 103.62, Arminillo 66.92
On the bright side for Dongo, he's still got a very clear path to the Nohr Division title thanks to this beatdown of a former Nohr Division leader provided by Ludicrous. Leonard Fournette's last second benching didn't help Arminillo, but it was hardly the only contributor; Kirk Cousins (8), Darren Fells (1), and Steven Kauschka (3) were all...less than incredible. On the flipside, Ludicrous' roster looks utterly stacked with Jay Ajayi's transition to Philadelphia, combined with Ezekiel Elliott, Robert Woods, Alex Smith, and...a fucking fifteen point performance by a kicker. I'm not usually a fan of the NFL in these things, but I think I might start rooting for Elliott's suspension to be enforced. The win keeps Ludicrous atop the Hoshido Division, while Arminillo is now a game out of the playoff picture.
The Rest:
Nohrian Scum 107.68, Alpha Males 73.16
Lousy Pack 104.60, The Loins 76.24
NobleTeam360 78.60, SCAB 50.22
Playoff Standings:
#1: It Ertz When Eifert (7-2, Hoshido Division Leader)
#2: Noble Team 360 (5-4, Nohr Division Leader)
#3: Arch (7-2)
#4: Nohrian Scum (6-3)
#5: Dongo's Gridiron Gamers (5-4)
#6: The Longest Foot (5-4)
In the Hunt: Lousy Pack (4-5), Arminillo (4-5)
Tiebreakers:
-Literally everything is a head to head tiebreaker this week. Whoever is on top with the same record beat the other team earlier in the season.
We're moving into the next to last week of interdivisional games, and the last four weeks of the regular season. Keep in mind that your record at the end of these two weeks will determine who you play for the final two games. What is currently stated on NFL.com is probably wrong, unless the two teams above and below you in the standings are the ones who you played in the first two weeks.
This week did a lot to eliminate realistic playoff contenders; if BlowoverKing, Hernandez, or Mike wants to make the playoffs, they pretty much have to win out. The nature of the last two weeks (matching you up against close competition) could be helpful for making up some lost ground, but any of the six loss teams will almost assuredly need to win the two upcoming games to be in a position where they can take advantage of that. More realistic is the 4-5 teams, who are only a game out of the playoffs. Rol in particular, is well set up, as he'll be playing Seth. You can probably guess how this goes by this point; the winner will be in the playoff picture come next week, and the loser will not.
The other 4-5 team, Arminillo, doesn't quite have the same level of control but basically gets a free win against SCAB anyway, so who cares.
On the flipside, we're at that time of the year where playoff spots start to get locked down. Three teams could potentially clinch as early as this week. LudicrousSpeed has the easiest path, and can clinch a playoff berth with either a victory or a loss by both Arminillo and Pack. Arch can clinch with a win and a loss by Pack, while I can clinch a berth with a win and losses by both Arminillo and Pack.
And speaking of me, I'll be playing Dongo in a matchup with some major playoff implications. Dongo can fall out of the playoff picture with a loss, while a 7th win would all but lock up my playoff spot given that I would be guaranteed to hold tiebreakers over every Nohr Division team with a realistic shot at the playoffs. Ertz will be up against Mike and Arch will play Hernandez in matchups of one team that can clinch vs. one team that can be eliminated.
The final game features the Nohr Division leader trying to win an interdivisional game for the first time this year; NobleTeam360 gets The Loins. Both teams have a couple of players on bye as well as some inconsistent quarterbacks, so this could go either way. BlowoverKing would move to 4-6 with a win and keep some very distant playoff hopes alive, while Noble can ensure that he'll remain atop the Nohr Division with a 6-4 record if he wins.
