Gentlemen and Gentlemen, what an interesting season we have on our hands!
Ten teams are within one game of 8th place – above or below. There have never been this many teams clustered together this late in the season. Half
are ranked 8 and above while half are ranked below. And of those ten shivering and nervous teams, six play amongst themselves this week – two 6-5
teams, two 5-6 teams and the two 4-7 teams face off. Next week could feature a much smaller cluster of teams.
An example of how tight the standings are: if Yahoo! gave 5SS the victory over fair trade 2 weeks ago, fair trade (currently in 6th place) would be in 11th
place! As already discussed: record trumps points!
Of the four teams not in that ten team huddle, three are already in the playoffs: Sherm and NJJ joined GG in the asterisk posse. Asterisk means you can
lose the remaining games. Just follow my lead. The other team left out in the cold is 5SS, officially eliminated last week at the hands of the Rookie.
Expect your car to be broken into next year in AC.
For the last two years, the 8th place team going into Week 12 was 6-5 and in neither year did a team ranked below 8 make the playoffs. Yikes. However,
in the first four years of the league, the 8th place team was 5-6 (as we have this year) and each of those years one and only one team ranked below 8th
made it into the post season. Each of those first four years, the team ranked below 8th that made it was a 4-7 team that won its two remaining games; two
of those four teams ended up winning the championship – Nick in ‘02 and Navid in ’04. This year, it will be more difficult for a 4-7 team to squeeze through,
since in no previous year had there been more than two 5-6 teams ranked below 8th; this year there are three.
Headlines
No team in first place going into Week 12 has finished lower than 5th: one winner, one second place, three 3rd place finishes and a 5th place finish.
Over the last 3 weeks:
2008 could be the first time the Toilet Bowl goes to a former ROFF Champion. If this happens should he have to turn in some of those plaques???
If any two of the following teams: Bday, Pigs or FBC, lose; 6-5 teams will qualify for post season with a victory this week.
GG, NJJ, fair trade and BDay are the only teams not to have a playoff appearance in the last two seasons. This streak could end this season as all teams
are in the top 8 and still alive for the playoffs.
Trades
I liked Rich’s post about how he regretted his trade with Nick less than 2 days after it went through. I thought I would take a look at how the five trades
have fared so far. Without a truly dominant team this year and a record number of teams treading water in the middle of the standings, a lot of teams
turned to the trading block to fix their team for a playoff run. Three trades happened prior to Week 10 – and none of them affected the outcome of their
games (for better or worse). In Week 11 – some trades did cause teams to win and lose when without the trade things would have worked out differently.
MJD for Colston cost me last week, hopefully never again. Had I owned and started MJD over Portis (who was hurt) and started Engram over Colston – I
would have scored 118.41 points vs 118.34 for the fair trade. Ironic name don’t you think? In fact the MJD-Colston trade has cost me points each of the
last 2 weeks and given C3 more points – but it would not have affected C3’s W/L record. MJD is now referred to as FMJD in my home.
The only other trade that affected an outcome was the TJ-Deanelgo trade. Last week, without TJ and his 28.61 points, fair trade would have lost. Kudos
to you! But we all know that your name is not indicative of the crooked deals you have been peddling.
Under the Microscope
Fighting Blue Crabs
Four teams in ROFF history have started 1-6, three won the toilet bowl; none have won more than four games at the end of their season. FBC already
has five wins with two left to play. Thank you Peyton Manning. After a slow start Manning is the #1 player for last 4 weeks (108.56, ahead of Warner and
Thigpen and Boldin; Favre is #15 with only 66pts). Before you pat yourself on the back, while a winning season is a possibility, FBC has the hardest
schedule remaining: GG this week and Nomads next. The lowest point total of all 5-6 teams means that in order to make some post-season bonus money
two more wins are key.
Colt 45 Bandits
Which team has the longest current losing streak? If you said Bandits, you are correct! They have lost the last four and five of their last six. Four straight
losses mean that this team was once 5-2. Some perspective: when the Colts were 5-2, they were in 4th place, BDay was 2-5 in 12th place, 5SS was 0-7
and Nose was at #7 with a 4-3 record. It was a loooong time ago! A game this week against C3 and next week against Born, Colts will be playing two
teams in competition for the remaining 5 playoff spots. The return of Sammy Morris combined with the loss of Earnest Graham could be catastrophic for
this team as they now must rely on The Daily Show and a backup. Colts will need to get at least one win in order to have a chance at making the playoffs.
B’Day
BDay has scored 105+ points six times this season, and only won three of those games. And it doesn’t get any easier as BDay is tied with FBC with the
hardest remaining schedule. NJJ and fair trade are on the docket. A last minute trade netted them Braylon Edwards but cost Stephen Jackson. At first
glance it seems that BDay may have given up too much, but if S-Jax continues to miss games and Quinn continues to throw effectively to Braylon, BDay
may have made another savvy move.
Toilet Bowl Derby
A loss this week, will assure that the Toilet Bowl will go to a former ROFF Champion for the first time in history. A 5SS win this week and the Toilet Bowl
Derby narrows to 2 teams: 5SS and the loser of Tools and Nose matchup. The Rookie is SAFE!!
Week 12 Matchups
Double G vs. Fighting Blue Crabs
- FBC will stay in 11th or fall to 12th – not eliminated from the playoffs
- GG already in playoffs, will remain in top 3
Maryland Tools vs. Nose
Five Second Stare vs. Soaring Pigs
- 5SS wins 2008 ROFF(L) Toilet Bowl
- Pigs will be guaranteed to have a losing season and a big match against GG in Week 13
Nomads of the Deep vs. fair trade
- Fair trade could fall as low as #12
- Nomads could fall as low as #6
B’Day vs. New Jersey Jacobins
- BDay will have their 6th straight losing season and will fall below 8th if Pigs or FBC win
- If BDay wins
Coffeeon3rd vs. Colt .45 Bandits
Born to Run my Mouth vs. Shermtanks
- Born could fall to 9th if fair trade, BDay and Pigs all win
- If Born wins
Sorry for the late article – hope you all get to read it. The season is almost over! Good Luck!
Ten teams are within one game of 8th place – above or below. There have never been this many teams clustered together this late in the season. Half
are ranked 8 and above while half are ranked below. And of those ten shivering and nervous teams, six play amongst themselves this week – two 6-5
teams, two 5-6 teams and the two 4-7 teams face off. Next week could feature a much smaller cluster of teams.
An example of how tight the standings are: if Yahoo! gave 5SS the victory over fair trade 2 weeks ago, fair trade (currently in 6th place) would be in 11th
place! As already discussed: record trumps points!
Of the four teams not in that ten team huddle, three are already in the playoffs: Sherm and NJJ joined GG in the asterisk posse. Asterisk means you can
lose the remaining games. Just follow my lead. The other team left out in the cold is 5SS, officially eliminated last week at the hands of the Rookie.
Expect your car to be broken into next year in AC.
For the last two years, the 8th place team going into Week 12 was 6-5 and in neither year did a team ranked below 8 make the playoffs. Yikes. However,
in the first four years of the league, the 8th place team was 5-6 (as we have this year) and each of those years one and only one team ranked below 8th
made it into the post season. Each of those first four years, the team ranked below 8th that made it was a 4-7 team that won its two remaining games; two
of those four teams ended up winning the championship – Nick in ‘02 and Navid in ’04. This year, it will be more difficult for a 4-7 team to squeeze through,
since in no previous year had there been more than two 5-6 teams ranked below 8th; this year there are three.
Headlines
No team in first place going into Week 12 has finished lower than 5th: one winner, one second place, three 3rd place finishes and a 5th place finish.
Over the last 3 weeks:
- Teams in #1-5 haven’t changed
- Teams in #5-8 all won at least their last game
- Teams in #9-#14 all lost last week, and most going back further – with one exception!
2008 could be the first time the Toilet Bowl goes to a former ROFF Champion. If this happens should he have to turn in some of those plaques???
If any two of the following teams: Bday, Pigs or FBC, lose; 6-5 teams will qualify for post season with a victory this week.
GG, NJJ, fair trade and BDay are the only teams not to have a playoff appearance in the last two seasons. This streak could end this season as all teams
are in the top 8 and still alive for the playoffs.
Trades
I liked Rich’s post about how he regretted his trade with Nick less than 2 days after it went through. I thought I would take a look at how the five trades
have fared so far. Without a truly dominant team this year and a record number of teams treading water in the middle of the standings, a lot of teams
turned to the trading block to fix their team for a playoff run. Three trades happened prior to Week 10 – and none of them affected the outcome of their
games (for better or worse). In Week 11 – some trades did cause teams to win and lose when without the trade things would have worked out differently.
MJD for Colston cost me last week, hopefully never again. Had I owned and started MJD over Portis (who was hurt) and started Engram over Colston – I
would have scored 118.41 points vs 118.34 for the fair trade. Ironic name don’t you think? In fact the MJD-Colston trade has cost me points each of the
last 2 weeks and given C3 more points – but it would not have affected C3’s W/L record. MJD is now referred to as FMJD in my home.
The only other trade that affected an outcome was the TJ-Deanelgo trade. Last week, without TJ and his 28.61 points, fair trade would have lost. Kudos
to you! But we all know that your name is not indicative of the crooked deals you have been peddling.
Under the Microscope
Fighting Blue Crabs
Four teams in ROFF history have started 1-6, three won the toilet bowl; none have won more than four games at the end of their season. FBC already
has five wins with two left to play. Thank you Peyton Manning. After a slow start Manning is the #1 player for last 4 weeks (108.56, ahead of Warner and
Thigpen and Boldin; Favre is #15 with only 66pts). Before you pat yourself on the back, while a winning season is a possibility, FBC has the hardest
schedule remaining: GG this week and Nomads next. The lowest point total of all 5-6 teams means that in order to make some post-season bonus money
two more wins are key.
Colt 45 Bandits
Which team has the longest current losing streak? If you said Bandits, you are correct! They have lost the last four and five of their last six. Four straight
losses mean that this team was once 5-2. Some perspective: when the Colts were 5-2, they were in 4th place, BDay was 2-5 in 12th place, 5SS was 0-7
and Nose was at #7 with a 4-3 record. It was a loooong time ago! A game this week against C3 and next week against Born, Colts will be playing two
teams in competition for the remaining 5 playoff spots. The return of Sammy Morris combined with the loss of Earnest Graham could be catastrophic for
this team as they now must rely on The Daily Show and a backup. Colts will need to get at least one win in order to have a chance at making the playoffs.
B’Day
BDay has scored 105+ points six times this season, and only won three of those games. And it doesn’t get any easier as BDay is tied with FBC with the
hardest remaining schedule. NJJ and fair trade are on the docket. A last minute trade netted them Braylon Edwards but cost Stephen Jackson. At first
glance it seems that BDay may have given up too much, but if S-Jax continues to miss games and Quinn continues to throw effectively to Braylon, BDay
may have made another savvy move.
Toilet Bowl Derby
A loss this week, will assure that the Toilet Bowl will go to a former ROFF Champion for the first time in history. A 5SS win this week and the Toilet Bowl
Derby narrows to 2 teams: 5SS and the loser of Tools and Nose matchup. The Rookie is SAFE!!
Week 12 Matchups
Double G vs. Fighting Blue Crabs
- What is at stake: Winner instantly becomes the #1 Redskins fan in the ROFF. Its Cooley vs. Portis. Captain Chaos vs. Sheriff Gonna Getcha
- If GG wins
- FBC will stay in 11th or fall to 12th – not eliminated from the playoffs
- If FBC wins:
- GG already in playoffs, will remain in top 3
Maryland Tools vs. Nose
- What is at stake: The loser is eliminated if B’Day, Pigs OR FBC win and at risk for Toilet Bowl if 5SS wins this week
- Winner eliminated from Toilet Bowl contention
- Loser eliminated from playoffs if FBC, BDay or Pigs win
- Rooting for: GG, 5SS and NJJ
Five Second Stare vs. Soaring Pigs
- What is at stake: Pride of the past two champions
- If Pigs win
- 5SS wins 2008 ROFF(L) Toilet Bowl
- If 5SS win
- Pigs will be guaranteed to have a losing season and a big match against GG in Week 13
Nomads of the Deep vs. fair trade
- What is at stake: Winner is guaranteed at least a 7-6 season
- If Nomads win
- Fair trade could fall as low as #12
- If fair trade wins
- Nomads could fall as low as #6
B’Day vs. New Jersey Jacobins
- What is at stake: Game can only help NJJ – much more is at stake for BDay
- If NJJ wins
- BDay will have their 6th straight losing season and will fall below 8th if Pigs or FBC win
- If BDay wins
- BDay could jump up to 5th place if fair trade and Born lose, leaving a big game against fair trade in Week 13
- NJJ is already in, will not fall below 3rd place this week
Coffeeon3rd vs. Colt .45 Bandits
- What is at stake: Biggest game of the week. Winner keeps hope alive for a winning season and the playoffs, the Loser will have a losing season
and faces a must win game next week - Winner will jump spots with each 6,7,8 team losing above them
- Loser will fall to 11th place with an FBC win, possibly 12th if Tools win
Born to Run my Mouth vs. Shermtanks
- What is at stake: Both teams will likely remain in the Top 8 after this week regardless of this game’s outcome
- If Sherm wins
- Born could fall to 9th if fair trade, BDay and Pigs all win
- If Born wins
- Born gets 2nd straight winning season and could move up to 4th if Nomads lose; will qualify for playoffs if two of the following teams lose: Pigs,
BDay, FBC - Sherm could fall as low as #3
Sorry for the late article – hope you all get to read it. The season is almost over! Good Luck!
