2014 Power Rankings-Week 8

*Posted 10/23/14 at 6:57am*

The plot thickens! While the top two teams further asserted their dominance, the bottom two teams asserted their ability to suck and all the teams in the middle sort of just shifted about awkwardly, but that leads us up to a big week 8 lineup of games.

THE GAMES:
Winter Soldiers vs. Becky the Icebox: If WS doesn’t win this one, they might not win.

The Shotti Bunch vs. The Show Offs: The battle for a top 6 spot. Must win for both teams. Whoever comes out on top will sit in the upper echelon for at least a week. The loser is in big trouble.

PeytoninthePlayoffs vs. ma ma momma said: 5 game losing streak vs. 5 game winning streak but PITP has never lost to MMMS in the history of the league.

Flag On The Play vs. IAMGROOT: Serious bye implications in this one and the winner will have some serious space between them and the 7th place team. One of this huge win streaks is about to end.

Papa’s Posse vs. Money Manziel: Another matchup of contending teams. A PP upset keeps them in the race and might cost MM a bye, while a PP loss might drop them to 7th and secure a playoff spot for MM.

KICKER WATCH:
Your commish vowed last week to keep a close eye on kickers to see if any matchups would have gone the other way if the new rules that were proposed had been taken seriously and enacted. I regret to inform the league that this was the case between Shotti Bunch and ma ma momma said. Winning by less than one point, ma ma momma said’s kicker was awarded four points for a field goal between 20-29 yards. Under the commish’s proposed reform, that kick would have only been worth three points and thus Shotti Bunch would have won the matchup.
THE RANKINGS\*

\*Commish note: Many may think I decide the rankings. In fact, the rankings are passed down to me from the Fantasy Gods. Any problems you may have should be taken up with them, but be careful. Chances are if you’re unhappy with your ranking it’s because they’re unhappy with you.

1(+1). Flags on the Play: FOTP unseats MMMS at #1 despite both teams winning (more on that later). FOTP may have had a cake walk matchup but they have played smart and intensely all season and they are projected to go 7-0 the rest of the way.

2(-1). Ma ma momma said: MMMS drops from the number one spot after squeaking out a win against a much more prepared Shotti Bunch. MMMS angered the Fantasy Gods when he decided to fly down to Dallas to watch his star RB, neglecting his roster and allowing Percy Harvin to start. They will have to defy history this week against PeytonInThePlayoffs to get back in the good graces of the Holy Ones.

3(0). Money Manziel: This is bad for MM. Last week they lost Victor Cruz, this week it’s CJ Spiller. Luckily the Schedule God’s (only loosely affiliated with the Fantasy Gods) were in his favor and gave him a soft matchup while he decides how to make up for the loss of two key players.

4(0). IAMGROOT: The Cinderella story continues. At 5-2, chances are pretty good we see them in the post-season, but the clock might strike midnight this week as they go up against a buzz saw. In what I consider the best sort of matchup, IAMGROOT’s Rodgers and Flags on the Play’s Brees are playing against each other in primetime Sunday night. Talk about marquee.

5(+1). The Shotti Bunch: A win is a win and a loss is a loss. The Shotti Bunch, who is defending their title like the Seattle Seahawks, has now gone 3-0 with AJ Green and 0-4 without him. Let’s get that star back on the field, and quick!

6(-1). Papa’s Posse: Knowing this week was probably a bust, Papa’s Posse made some risky but smart roster decisions, including benching Frank Gore (2.5 points) and San Fran defense (2 points). Unfortunately, the team had an off week and didn’t come close. Maybe they got it out of their system because there’s another tough matchup this week.

7(+2). The Show Offs: Baby steps. My theory of how to succeed in the NFL is the same for Fantasy Football. Beat the bad teams, and get lucky in a couple of close matchups. The Patriots have lived and died by this one for years. They rarely get upset by a bad team, and when they do it’s usually to an AFC East team that brings their A game. And so here we have The Show Offs. They are 1-3 against above .500 teams and 2-1 against below .500 teams. That one loss could come back to haunt them. They only have 3 more games all season against below .500 teams. They need to win them all.

8(-1). PeytoninthePlayoffs: I think this team name is way too accurate. They have played like Peyton in the playoffs all season long. But the situation is not all bad. They are still within striking distance. A win this week would be a huge shock and change the power structure of the season for the whole league.

9(-1). Becky The Icebox: Back to their losing ways. At one point this weekend Yahoo had them projected to finish with under 100 points. That would have been a record low. But they still fought hard and anything is possible now that they are facing Winter Soldier’s in the Battle for 10th.

10(0). Stupid dumb Winter fucking Soldiers: Writing about my team every week is what keeps me from getting Power Rankings done on Mondays. I hate it. I hate how potentially good my team could be. I hate that 2 of my matchups have been decided on whether or not I started or sat NYJ Running backs named Chris (I would’ve beat Nate if I sat Chris Johnson, I would’ve beat Pat if I’d started Chris Ivory). I hate that I traded Brady a day before he turned it on for the season. The bad news for Becky the Icebox is that this is the one game I have a legitimate chance of winning and my players are going to give their best efforts this weekend.

Game of the Week: If it aint broke don’t fix it. Going with IAMGROOT’s matchup yet again. Do they have what it takes to overthrow this week’s #1, Flags on the Play? My prediction; No. Nothing against them but FOTP is a team on a mission and that 40 point projected margin of victory might be tough to overcome. But I've been wrong about IAMGROOT all season so don't listen to me.