Figure one big thread should do for all the playoffs. LT and Pete get Byes, so the matchups in round one are:
RG3scompany (8-5) vs. Dillon Panthers (8-5)
In general, Adam's team has a fair bit more firepower, but TONGO is Denver-heavy, which means when they have a good matchup he has the chance to put up some crooked numbers. And that's the case this week, with the Broncos playing Oakland. The Raiders give up the 2nd-most points to opposing QBs, and that Peyton Manning fellow is, as both Tongs and I believed, having a helluva year. Obviously, it makes a lot of difference whether or not Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno share in those spoils, but there's a good chance one of them will.
Adam's matchups are rough; middling for Marshall, and fairly bad (top 10 lowest points against at their respective positions) for RGIII, Mathews, Gore, and White. Most weeks he'd be a pretty clear favorite, I think, but a few things are working against him this time. And I think it'll be just enough:
PREDICTION: TONGO advances to the Semifinals.
Big Damn Heroes (8-5) vs. Wyld Stallyns (6-7)
Jay's the defending champ and the new league record holder for Points Scored in a season, and as I noted in another thread, he hasn't scored fewer than 123 points since Week 1. It's easy to see why: Heath Miller, Doug Martin, and A.J Green all had huge bust-out years where they've more than returned on their average draft position, Arian Foster's been Arian Foster, and while Cam Newton struggled somewhat, he's improved a lot lately, and Jay had an able backup in Big Ben anyway.
He's a little weak on the bench, though, and even without any injuries he's running Lance Moore out there, so he's not invulnerable. But I think, #3 seed aside, he has to be considered the favorite. Maybe not against The Field, but against any other single team.
On the other side of the ring is Sleezy, MoFo's first sub-.500 playoff team, the result of keeping the 6-team playoff structure while falling one owner short and having to roll with 12 teams. He's got some big names, though: Rodgers and Welker, most notably, and while the latter's got a tough matchup with Houston, the former should enjoy a shootout with Detroit.
Sleezy has the toughest choices of any of the four playoff teams going this week; he's got to pick between Michael Turner/Reggie Bush and Dwayne Bowe/Golden Tate. Earlier in the year both of these would be no-brainers, but KC's been a mess and Bush is suddenly both struggling and sharing time. And Amendola, though "back" in general, is out again this week.
Sleezy has the talent, but too many of those mid-round guys like Bush and Bowe are struggling. Hard to go up against the highest scoring team in the league with Hilton and Tate.
PREDICTION: Jay advances.
By the bye (get it?), we're using reseeding again this year, so don't let the bracket structure on the league site fool you. The only Semifinal matchup than can't occur is Jay; any other matchup is possible. If the predictions above hold, for example, it'd be LT/TONGO and Jay/Pete.
Nobody from the Jay/Sleezy matchup's going tonight, nor is anyone on Adam's team. But TONGO's got all three of his Denver guys. So we'll probably know a lot more about his chances after tonight.
RG3scompany (8-5) vs. Dillon Panthers (8-5)
In general, Adam's team has a fair bit more firepower, but TONGO is Denver-heavy, which means when they have a good matchup he has the chance to put up some crooked numbers. And that's the case this week, with the Broncos playing Oakland. The Raiders give up the 2nd-most points to opposing QBs, and that Peyton Manning fellow is, as both Tongs and I believed, having a helluva year. Obviously, it makes a lot of difference whether or not Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno share in those spoils, but there's a good chance one of them will.
Adam's matchups are rough; middling for Marshall, and fairly bad (top 10 lowest points against at their respective positions) for RGIII, Mathews, Gore, and White. Most weeks he'd be a pretty clear favorite, I think, but a few things are working against him this time. And I think it'll be just enough:
PREDICTION: TONGO advances to the Semifinals.
Big Damn Heroes (8-5) vs. Wyld Stallyns (6-7)
Jay's the defending champ and the new league record holder for Points Scored in a season, and as I noted in another thread, he hasn't scored fewer than 123 points since Week 1. It's easy to see why: Heath Miller, Doug Martin, and A.J Green all had huge bust-out years where they've more than returned on their average draft position, Arian Foster's been Arian Foster, and while Cam Newton struggled somewhat, he's improved a lot lately, and Jay had an able backup in Big Ben anyway.
He's a little weak on the bench, though, and even without any injuries he's running Lance Moore out there, so he's not invulnerable. But I think, #3 seed aside, he has to be considered the favorite. Maybe not against The Field, but against any other single team.
On the other side of the ring is Sleezy, MoFo's first sub-.500 playoff team, the result of keeping the 6-team playoff structure while falling one owner short and having to roll with 12 teams. He's got some big names, though: Rodgers and Welker, most notably, and while the latter's got a tough matchup with Houston, the former should enjoy a shootout with Detroit.
Sleezy has the toughest choices of any of the four playoff teams going this week; he's got to pick between Michael Turner/Reggie Bush and Dwayne Bowe/Golden Tate. Earlier in the year both of these would be no-brainers, but KC's been a mess and Bush is suddenly both struggling and sharing time. And Amendola, though "back" in general, is out again this week.
Sleezy has the talent, but too many of those mid-round guys like Bush and Bowe are struggling. Hard to go up against the highest scoring team in the league with Hilton and Tate.
PREDICTION: Jay advances.
By the bye (get it?), we're using reseeding again this year, so don't let the bracket structure on the league site fool you. The only Semifinal matchup than can't occur is Jay; any other matchup is possible. If the predictions above hold, for example, it'd be LT/TONGO and Jay/Pete.
Nobody from the Jay/Sleezy matchup's going tonight, nor is anyone on Adam's team. But TONGO's got all three of his Denver guys. So we'll probably know a lot more about his chances after tonight.