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Power Rankings

November 19, 2013

The playoff picture is a mess.  I'm not gonna try to understand it.  Here's how the formula ranks the teams.  Big note: Dane is second in power rankings but projected as the 8 seed.  He has the second most points scored but lost some key head-to-head matchups.

12. Black Angus - 8.166115702

11. Sandusky's Tight Ends - 8.901928375

10. Reynosa El Torro Loco - 9.483746556

9. Skittles Taste Dwayne Bowe - 10.58236915

8. Houston Heat - 10.8231405

7. NSL Knights - 11.24820937

6. Draft Champion - 11.29201102

5. Salt Lake Mountaineers - 11.9661157

4. The Ansah - 11.99779614

3. Auty 2 Hottie - 12.43526171

2. Little Chicago Criminals - 13.29008264

1. Attack of the Marshawns - 14.57107438

JFCS Power Rankings

The formula has been modified.  I think it's better.  Here are the new rankings:

12. Black Angus  - 7.396

There might be a new curse akin to the Madden or SI cover curse.  Being a running back owned by Spike.  Add Mike James to the long list of Spike’s RBs that have been injured this year.  With only 2 wins through 10 games in a season plagued by injuries, it’s time to start rebuilding for next year.  Hopefully at least one of his RBs will stay healthy.  Hey at least the Rams looked awesome on Sunday.

11. Reynosa El Torro Loco    9.092666667

Big win over Brady this week knocked Brady from 3^rd to 8^th in ESPNs playoff projection.  Matty B also improved from 11^th to 10^th in said rankings thanks to 18 points from the Giant’s D.  Andre Johnson seems to have turned it on lately, but it appears to be too little too late to rescue Reynosa’s playoff hopes.

10. Sandusky's Tight Ends   9.493333333

Steven Jackson sucks this year.  Injury to Aaron Rogers really hurts.  Randall Cobb’s been out for weeks.  Had to trade for Andy Dalton.  Unlucky year for Ty.  He had been putting up impressive wins, but this week fell from last-team-in to first-team-out.  Hope is not lost however, with a matchup against the worst team in the league this week.  The last week is an uphill battle, facing the second highest scoring team in the league: Little Chicago Criminals.

9. Skittles Taste Dwayne Bowe        10.01466667

Moved up from 10^th JFCS team last week.  This week’s loss was a huge one for Mike.  Jamal Charles’ (#1 RB in the league) bye week ended up being a wedding gift to Rosey Cheeks.  With Romo on bye this week, it’ll be tough to get a needed win against Brady.

8. Houston Heat         10.67

Still in the playoff hunt, but it’ll be a tough road through Mike and Austin.  Moved down 2 spots in the JFCS and 5 spots in ESPNs playoff projections.  The current two game losing streak is really hurting Brady’s playoff chances.  It seems fair though:  He has 8^th most points scored and just happens to come in 8^th in both the JFCS and playoff projections.

7. Salt Lake Mountaineers    11.43466667

Fourth most points scored.  Ninth in ESPN playoff projections.  Regretting keeping Trent Richardson.  Obviously looking ahead to next year.

6. The Ansah  11.97333333

Bounced from 2^nd to 6^th in the JFCS rankings after a win, but still a player in the playoff picture.  New formula must not like Nick’s stats.  Honestly, Nick’s 5-5 record is impressive, considering he has more points against than 9 other teams in the league.

5. NSL Knights           12.04266667

Matt sits in first place in the weaker division with only 2 games to go.  Could he miss playoffs?  It’s certainly possible.  In fact, even two wins doesn’t guarantee a playoff spot since Jared could overtake him for first in the division and the stronger division could have 3 teams make playoffs.  The bad news? Matt plays the seemingly unbeatable Taylor this week. The good news?  Matt finishes the season against Spike, the worst team in the league.  The worst news?  Spike almost always beats Matt in head to head matchups.

4. Draft Champion    12.17666667

Previous ranking 8^th.  Huge jump with the new formula.  Ranks second in the division but outranks Matt (the division leader) in the JFCS.  6-4 record is super impressive since Jared is the front runner for the pity award, by a lot.  His playoff hopes are very alive and there are a few scenarios that let him in.  He needs wins against Matty B and Mike for his best chance.

3. Auty 2 Hottie         12.90133333

Moved up two spots in the JFCS.  Huge win against Matt this week.  Good thing Matt’s QB threw all his TDs to Austin’s WR.  Ray Rice is bad, but it doesn’t matter with Zac Stacy and Stevan Ridley tearin it up.  Austin’s team is scary good going into the final two weeks of the season.

2.  Little Chicago Criminals   13.31166667

How is Dane 5-5?  How is he 7^th in the playoff projections?  Dane is outscoring the projected number 2 seed by over 100 points this season but he is 3 games out of first in his division.  He could miss playoffs as the second highest scoring team in the league.  Problem is: he also has second most points against.

1. Attack of the Marshawns 14.328

This week Taylor broke 100 for the 4^th time this season.  He is the only team that has clinched a playoff spot.  He has the most points for and the second fewest points against.  His lineup is ridiculously good.  With nothing left to play for in the regular season, and matchups against two desperate teams, it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.  Unless something drastic happens, my money’s on Taylor.

Playoff Hunt On - There are 5 teams with a 5-4 record! (Week 9 Review)

Overview
Did you guys see what happened to me this week?  I benched Stacy and he went off!  I would have destroyed Ty had he not been on my bench. Going into Monday I was sick.  I couldn't sleep Sunday Night because I was so pissed that I benched Stacy for Rice. But then something WILD happened that I will layout for you.

Going into the Monday Night Football (MNF) game, Ty had Rodgers and Boykin and only needed 25 points to win (which of course Rodgers could put up by himself).  And then IT happened.  I was sitting in a bar near my apartment (the same one that I took Taylor too, a great sports bar with $.50 wings for MNF).  Aaron Rodgers was driving down the field and I turn to my friend and said..."I hope Aaron Rodgers gets hurt."  Can you believe that?  I actually wished an injury upon this man and IT actually happened as I was saying IT.  I felt terrible, not just for Ty's fantasy hopes but for Aaron Rodgers.  As great as FF is, I would never wish that upon anyone.  I am sorry Aaron, I never meant to break your collarbone, please forgive me. 

More receivers this week had 3 TDs that I think I ever remember.  Do you know how many there where?   Guess......I want you to have a number in your head. Got it yet?.............ok, so there were four.  Ty Hilton, Andre the Giant, Riley Cooper and Jerricho Cotchery.  Also, did you see Nick Foles go off?  I told you the Eagles starting QB this year was going to be unreal. Some more high scoring surprises from players last week:

• Tom Brady finally showed up - 33 points
• So did CJ2K - 29 points (interesting fact - 3 of the 6 highest scoring players last week were on Matt B's team.  Could he make a late run this year?  His team is legit, they just haven't been playing that way this year)
• Case Keenum - 28 points, Nice backup you have there Matt E
• Aaron Dobson, Jerricho and Rashad Jennings all put up 23 or more points and were all unowned.  Jackpot.

NEW THIS WEEK!!!! - The Race for the Pity Award

• Austin - 745 Points Against
• Nick - 756 Points Against
• Jared - 763 Points Against

Week 9 Recap/Scoreboard

• Ty v Austin: See 1st paragraph...sorry for your misfortune Ty
• Matt v Nick:  TOM BRADY...it is about time.  Once again, Matt B's team had 3 of the highest scoring players this week and it showed.  I bet that feel pretty nice eh?
• Jake v Tay:  Jake's team has been really consistent this year but if you want to beat Taylor, your team needs to ball out!
• Dane v Brady: First off Brady, drop blackmon, he is done for the year (unless you are going to keep him for next year).  Secondly, has keenan not gained your trust?  He is a top 10 WR for the rest of the year. But, no matter which players you started this week it wouldn't have mattered.  Dane's team played really well this week.  Risky playing Marlon Brown but it paid off big time. Once you get your bye week players back, you are going to be scary again.
• Mike v Matt: That McFadden injury really changed this game.  Had Matt played Gio Bernard he would have handily won.  
• Spike v Jared...Ouch Spike. There are only two other teams this week that Jared would have beat. Consider yourself lucky JH.

Week 10 Forecasts

• Match-ups this week that I am watching and think will provide plenty of entertainment:
• Matt v Austin: Not trying to toot my own horn but I think this will be close and fun to track
• Dane v Jared: Two playoff hungry 5-4 teams showdown
• Boring Match-up of the Week Prediction:
• Whoever plays Taylor this week - just not fair

Week 9 Scoreboard

LITTLE CHICAGO CRIMINALS @ HOUSTON HEAT Little Chicago Criminals 96 Houston Heat 75 Full Box Score	REYNOSA EL TORRO LOCO @ THE ANSAH Reynosa El Torro Loco 99 The Ansah 77 Full Box Score
SKITTLES TASTE DWAYNE BOWE @ NSL KNIGHTS Skittles Taste Dwayne Bowe 74 NSL Knights 65 Full Box Score	ATTACK OF THE MARSHAWNS @ SALT LAKE MOUNTAINEERS Attack of the Marshawns 89 Salt Lake Mountaineers 74 Full Box Score
BLACK ANGUS @ DRAFT CHAMPION Black Angus 47 Draft Champion 71

SANDUSKY'S TIGHT ENDS @ Auty 2 Hottie Auty 2 Hottie 80 SANDUSKY'S TIGHT ENDS 58 Full Box Score

Worst Waiver Week Ever

Big week for waiver pickups as eight teams made pickups on Wednesday (including two people that I tried unsuccessfully to pick up), two more on Friday (One of which I was denied on), and then one on Sunday.  Let’s get right to the breakdown. In order from worst to first (According to the waiver order).

Spike: Dropped Joseph Randle to pick up Marvin Jones.  Because Spike has the worst record he gets to pick up all the hot items first.  This weeks pickup got him 6 points which is down from his unreal 36 the week before.  Spike only had to drop the 62 ranked RB to pick up a chance at a homerun.  It’s unclear as to why Randle was on Spike’s team in the first place, but the pickup was a good one.  Grade: B+

Matt B: Matt was busy this week.  First he dropped the Saints D/ST to pick up Jason Campbell.  Matt actually dropped someone to pick up a backup QB for the Cleveland Browns….Let’s let that sink in for a bit.  A backup…QB…for the CLEVELAND…BROWNS…  …With that being said Jason Campbell has somehow put two good weeks together.  Good pick up.  He later picked the Saints D back up to drop Eli Manning.  Eli’s had a down year so the drop is fine by me.  He also added Greg Jennings for Marques Colston.  Basically both players are having a down year, so it seems like an even pickup to me.  Grade: C+ (If for no other reason then he dropped then added the Saints defense in the same week.)

Jake: Dropped Jason Witten for somebody named Drew Davis.  Sounds like it could be a made up player when you autofill the names on NCAA.  I’m sure Jake had a Drew Davis who was his QB once and won him the Heisman and the National Championship, but this Drew Davis is not quite the same player as the electronic QB.  Jason Witten is a viable option at TE but Jake didn’t need that and presumably rolled the dice.  I don’t like the pickup, especially after a 1 point performance.  Grade: C-

Mike Kelly: Classic Reaction pick up.  Kenny Stills had a huge game two weeks ago and so Mike picked him up for someone who hasn’t been doing anything recently.  It didn’t turn out well this week, but the rookie might finish strong, so he gets another week and a wait and see.  He then Picked up Jason Witten as a possible backup for the rest of the season.  Grade: B-

Austin: Dropped Bernard Pierce for Andre Ellington.  Ellington had a bye, but ESPN seems to like him giving him an estimated 13 points for this week.  Like I said, we’ll wait and see how that turns out.  But Austin should be punished for breaking up his duo of Ravens backfield partners.  Grade: Wait and see

Nick: With many of Thompkins catches going to the Savior of the Patriots season (Austin Collie) this was a good pickup.  Wait, Collie has 3 catches on the season.  BYU fans everywhere might be wrong about his playing ability.  I don’t even know what to write about anymore.  My whole life is a lie.  A BYU player is not the best player on an NFL team?  Pick up Mike Tolbert got 9 points, so that was a decent pick up.  Grade: ?

Dane: Dropped a position player to add a Kicker.  Only caveat that saves Dane from open mocking this week is that the player is on the IR.  You’re lucky this week Dane.  Said kicker (because they aren’t players they just get the name kicker, unless they are Legatron, Janikowski, or a Gramatica brother) got 6 points so all the points this year will build up over 0 for Mike Williams.  Grade: B

Ty: Dropped said Austin Collie but presumably only because he is injured.  Probably would have held on to him til seasons end if not for the injury.  The only problem is that he picked up another injured player.  Jeremy Kerley is not out for the season, but out for a few weeks.  Ty needs wins so he needs to make pikups that will help him make the playoffs.  If Kerley can come back soon and help this pickup will be great.  But we’ll see how it turns out.  Also picked up the Eagles D to replace the 9ers on their off week.  They got 0 points in what might be the saddest starting lineup in recent history.  2 points combined from 4 players.  I’m sorry Ty.  Grade: C+

Matt E: Classic Good news/Bad news Pickup.  Good news first: Case Keenum scored 28 points and had a great week and helped make the game close while Peyton Manning had a BYE.  Bad news: I dropped Nick Foles and the second best fantasy performance of the season.  Oops.  This would have helped me stave off Mike and win in a week where my two best players weren’t playing.  Dang.  Somebody pick him up and watch him get 5 points for the rest of the season.  I dare you.  Grade: D

Spikes grade of B+ is the best of the week, but with a D, a few C's, a ?, and a wait and see it was not a pretty week on the waiver wire.  Better luck next week!

First Ever Jefferson’s Finest Power Rankings

Brought to you by the Jefferson’s Finest Championship Series

Special thanks to my research schedule for giving me down time with nothing to do today.

These official power rankings are calculated based on a standardized objective quantitative valuation equation as well as my own personal opinion.  The equation takes into account total points for, total points against, win/loss record, position rank of each player in starting lineup (accounting for bye week changes), and current standings.  My opinion takes into account whatever I want.  However, since this is the first installment of official power rankings, I will not alter any of the formula’s rankings with my own opinion this week.

And so… at this point in the season, power rankings are as follows:

#12 with a JFCS (Jefferson’s Finest Championship Series) score of -9.263157895: Black Angus.  No surprise here.  Doug Martin and CJ Spiller have really hurt Spike this year.  Too bad you didn’t keep Peyton (Lucky Matt).  You’ve done well on the waiver wire (Harry Douglas and others), but it seems to be too little too late.  You are almost mathematically eliminated from playoffs.

#11 with a JFCS score of -7.571915064: Reynosa el Torro Loco.  In his first year back from his mission, Matty B decided not to keep Peyton Manning and instead to draft Tom Brady.  To improve his QB he had to trade away Demarco Murray to get Andy Dalton.  Andre Johnson also didn’t pan out, leaving the Mexican Team Owner with the fewest points scored in the league to date.  Better luck next year bro.

#10 with a JFCS score of -1.001988636: Skittles Taste Dwayne Bowe.  Just 2 years removed from a championship, Mike struggles to put up points.  As noted by columnist Austin Hyde, Mike tends to play Fitzgerald on down weeks and bench him on big weeks.  You do have the best RB in the league and you rival Taylor for best team name.  Your QB is also 4^th best in the league.  But why do you have three TEs on your team?  And none of them are Jimmy Graham.

#9 with a JFCS score of 2.462191358: Sandusky’s Tight Ends.  Our first JFCS score that’s not a negative number.  Ty, you are pulling wins out of nowhere.  Keep it up.  Only Brady has had fewer points scored against him.  You must be intimidating your opponents or something, because your 536 Points For ranks as 9^th highest, but you are currently ranked 4^th in the league overall.

#8 with a JFCS score of 5.494940476: Draft Champion

At 4-4, Jared still has hope that the draft won’t be the only thing he won this year.  It’s an uphill battle however, considering Jared has had the most points scored against him. Julio Jones’ injury and J-rod’s replacement WR starters aren’t helping his cause.  I feel like stuff like this happens to Jared every year.

#7 with a JFCS score of 7.171744792: Salt Lake Mountaineers.  With a logo made by my cousin-in-law, the best thing about my performance might be that logo (and it’s not even as good as Taylor’s).  I’ve lost the past 2 weeks by a combined 5 points and have all but given up hope on playoffs. After trading away Andy Dalton for Demarco Murray I’m hoping he gives me the boost I need to win 4 straight and squeak into playoffs.

#6 with a JFCS score of 7.686848958: Houston Heat.  Fewest Points Against.  Interesting weeks for Brady: Week 2 loss by 1 point to Matt, who is leading his division.  Won week 3 while scoring only 44 points.  Scored just 55 against Taylor and only lost by 2.  You have the best defense in the league, Brady (fewest points against).  Even though you’re only 6^th in the JFCS, you’re currently third place in the league, thanks largely in part to Dez Bryant.

#5 with a JFCS score of 9.427573529: Auty 2 Hottie. Austin, you have been outscored by your opponents by 66 points, but you’re still 4-4.  That’s impressive.  Good thing you got Cam Newton, instead of relying on Mike “Mr. Glass” Vick.  Your playoff hopes are still alive, especially if you can get a WR for one or two of your RBs.

#4 with a JFCS score of 10.21180556: Little Chicago Criminals.  Chiefs D.  Undrafted.  Jimmy Graham is behind only Dez Bryant and Megatron in total scoring for the WR/TE category.  You took him in round 4.  Great keepers in Drew Brees and Frank Gore.  Welker’s been awesome too.  Your team is real good.  In fact, according to total points scored, your team is the best in the league.  But I think we all hope you don’t repeat as champion.

#3 with a JFCS score of 10.22853535: NSL Knights. Peyton Manning is leading all scorers with 215 points.  Next highest is 163.  How have you lost at all?  And how was one of your losses to Nick?

#2 with a JFCS score of 15.46153846: The Ansah.  Why is The Ansah number 2 in the power rankings?  Maybe my formula is flawed.  Maybe it’s cuz Jared Hatch changed his team name.  Or maybe you, Nick, really are just most improved.  In any case, you’ve come a long way since drafting three defenses in our inaugural season.  That was back when I was league manager.  Man am I gald it’s Austin now.

#1 with a JFCS score of 42.98425926: Attack of the Marshawns.  Somehow Taylors JFCS score is nearly 3 times better than the number 2 team.  His starting lineup includes the third best QB, the second and third best RBs, the number 1 and number 7 WRs, the third best D/ST, and a kicker (he is 6^th best at his position but who cares about kickers).  In summary, Tay Tay Money’s team is scary good.  This is your season to lose, Tay.  Pressure’s on.

So that’s it.  Power rankings have been released.  Feel free to debate them.