Let’s Look At the Playoffs

Wow, what a giant clusterfuck we’ve got here. Headed into Week 13, there are ten teams with a record of 7-5, 6-6, or 5-7. The two outliers are Kaiser, who is the only one to officially have locked down a Playoff Spot, and Ryan, who is the only one eliminated from contention at this point. And in Week 13, the top six seeds just happen to be playing the bottom six seeds. How did that happen? Because of this schedule oddity, we could see 10 of the league’s teams sporting records of 7-6 or 6-7, which means the only game that means nothing – again, how did this happen – is Ryan vs Kaiser in the battle of the outliers.

Despite all the similar records, given the “Points For” rank for seeding, we can make some assumptions. Dave is likely not going to finish in the top six (sorry buddy) given that his six Dump of the Week awards have put him at a pretty devastating disadvantage. That said, if he can put up 3500 points in each of the next couple games, there is still a glimmer of hope. More realistically, Dave’s motivation moving forward will be crushing Trigger’s playoff hopes.

On the flip-side, Josh overcame a Week One Dump of epic proportions to sit atop the leaderboard as the highest-scoring team through 11 weeks. This means that even losing the next two games, which would result in a 7-7 record, would likely still get Josh into the postseason – assuming those losses aren’t epic dumps.

What kind of matchups are we looking at?

• CHRIS vs. Dave and Mark
• DAVE vs. Chris and Trigger
• JONES vs. Kyle and Tim
• JOSH vs. Trigger and Steve
• KRONNER vs. Tim and Ryan
• KYLE vs. Jones and Matt
• MATT vs. Steve and Kyle
• MARK vs. Ryan and Chris
• RYAN vs. Mark and Kronner
• STEVE vs. Matt and Josh
• TIMMY vs. Kronner and Jones
• TRIGGER vs. Josh and Dave

So what are everyone’s rooting interests over the next two weeks?

• CHRIS – Just win one of the remaining games, doesn’t matter which.
• DAVE – Beat Chris and Trigger by a buttload, score a shit ton of points, pray for chaos.
• JONES – Currently in 3rd place, one more win should do it. If he loses both games, he’ll want Chris, Matt, and Kronner to lose too.
• JOSH – Probably already in, one win would lock it in. Just take care of your business.
• KRONNER – In the 6th spot and coming off a game where 5 of my players put up season lows, I probably need to beat Timmy to have any shot here. Winning out should be enough, but any loss makes things real shaky, and should I drop both, it would likely be season over.
• KYLE – The Tim Bradys need some help. Unlike the teams in the Top Six who need just to win out, Kyle will need to beat both Jones and Matt AND probably for Matt and Kronner to lose out and open things up.
• MATT – Despite sitting in 2nd place for most of the year, Matt is actually 7th in points scored right now, and in 6th is Kyle, who he’ll play in Week 14. Should we end up with a bunch of teams tied, Matt could be out man out if he can’t win these last couple of games. That said, a win over either Steve or Kyle likely puts him in.
• MARK – #1 seed is already locked up and Mark doesn’t even need to look at his lineup again till Week 16.
• RYAN – Playing for pride, and with a chance to destroy all of Kronner’s dreams, watch Ryan win out…
• STEVE – Sanchez has had his share of dumps this year, so in addition to winning out, he’ll also need some help. The 2700 points he put up this week help, but he needs some more of that, and likely for Kyle, Tim and Trigger to all lose at least one, and Kronner to drop both.
• TIMMY – Win out and put up some points, there is a good chance Tim’s late-season surge ends him in 6th or 7th place. A win over Kronner in Week 13 opens the door for a few teams, and a sweep of Jones to secure a playoff spot could be a nice capper to return Timmy to the postseason. In addition to winning out, root for Matt to do the same.
• TRIGGER – With CMac gone for the year, and Swift not likely to play in Week 13 for his showdown with Josh, Trigger’s injuries might be too much to overcome. Still alive though thanks to some strong scoring performances early in the year, Trigger can’t afford another Dump or he’s done. He needs losses from Matt, Kronner, Kyle and Timmy as his clearest path in.

The way I see it, if Josh wins this week, he’s likely locked in and Trigs is done. That would leave 4 more spots for the remaining teams. Wins by Jones and Matt would probably tie up two more spots and eliminate Sanchez and Kyle. That would leave Chris, Kronner, Tim and Dave. Tan can officially knock Dave out with a win and tie up that 5th spot. Kronner would likely knock Tim out of the hunt with a win, but unlike the other teams mentioned, a Week 13 win isn’t gonna be enough to lock in a playoff spot on its own.

Should things go another way, so long as they don’t totally shit the bed, Josh, Jon and Chris still have a good chance of making it even if they lose out. That would just leave the 5 and 6 spots for Matt, Kronner, Kyle, Tim, Trigger, Steve and Dave to fight over. Of these teams the only one in total control of their destiny is Matt. Not only does he have the best record, but both of his games can eliminate competitors at the same time.