Playoff Picture

 The 2020 MFFL season has entered its 10th week, and the battle for playoff spots has been as heavily contested as ever! With 11 teams still mathematically alive for playoff contention, not a single team has officially clinched their spot in the Ballzac Tournament, although multiple teams are tantalizingly close. Yes, our analytics team ran the projections and GM August and the Nihilists can still technically make the playoffs with about 20 different scenarios. Now, more than ever, the Power Rankings can give us a glimpse into the potential playoff contenders as winning these last 4 weeks will be crucial for every team to cement their spot. Whichever teams get hot now will be dueling it out later, in the cold of December.

Power Rankings:

1. Mr. Nice Guy
2. Scoregasms
3. Belichick Yo Self
4. Top 2 Not 2
5. Tittsburgh Feelers
6. DTDB Irish Assassins
7. Romanian RAPOs
8. Fantasy Football Team
9. Bigpapihugetime
10. Action Jackson
11. Don't Even Schmatter

Notable Movements:

• GM Grafton and the Nice Guys have reclaimed their spot both at the top of the rankings and the standings while a red hot Scoregasms team is trailing not far behind thanks to WR Adams being on demigod mode. 
• Tittsburgh Feelers have been on a tear past few weeks with 3 straight weeks above 110 points, forcing their way back into a slim grasp of one of those wildcard playoff spots. However, another injury to RB CMC and RB Mostert still on the IR caps their current ranking at 5 as a change will need to be made to continue their late season playoff push.
• GM Connor has not surpassed 100 points in 4 straight weeks and have been outscored by Don't Even Schmatter during that same timeframe by over 20 points. Nonetheless, they have managed to scrape by with 2 wins out of those 4 poor performances and look to finally have a healthy RB duo Chubb and Jones once again. Their plummet down the rankings appears to have finally slowed and expect a potential climb back up to an upper echelon spot as the playoffs draw ever nearer. 
• Don't get it twisted, GM August's team still sucks. Low key, so does GM Kelly and Action Jackson. RB Zeke and Rojo going out sad...

While the Power Rankings can give us a hint at how teams have been performing recently and how they can be expected to perform in the near future, that is only part of the story at this point in the season. During the early portions of the fantasy season, Power Rankings can be argued to be more valuable than the actual standings due to the importance of building a solid team to get stronger as the season draws on, with time to string together wins later on. During these last few weeks however, one's current record really controls who can actually qualify for the playoffs, a great rank on the Power Rankings doesn't mean anything if the record doesn't match. With this in mind, a full look into the MFFL Playoff Picture will be provided with each weekly wrap up to fully examine each team's chances and what they need to happen.

Playoff Picture:

Bye Week Head Honchos:     Divisional Directors:          Wildcard Warriors:         Bubble Bros:

 1. Mr. Nice Guy                   3. DTDB Irish Assassins        5. Top 2 Not 2                  9. Action Jackson

 2. Belichick Yo Self             4. Scoregasms                         6. Romanian RAPOs       10. Bigpapihugetime

                                                                                              7. Tittsburgh Feelers

                                                                                              8. Fantasy Football Team 

* -  clinched Playoffs            x - clinched First Round Bye            y - clinched 1st Seed

Quest to Qualify: Our analytics team has provided a complete list of each team's playoff push situation, including remaining strength of schedules and most important matchups based on Power Rankings and current standings (10 being most difficult schedule possible, 1 being easiest schedule possible).

1. Mr. Nice Guy (7-2): 7.7 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Scoregasms (week 13)
• Crucial matchups vs fellow Head Honcho GM David and Divisional Director GM Brody will tell the tale on GM Grafton's bye week chances. In complete control of their fate, a single win will see a playoff clinch while the bye week will most likely have to wait until their season finale in a Bye Week Showdown against the (6-3) Scoregasms, with the winner getting the next week off.

2. Belichick Yo Self (7-2): 5.0 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Mr. Nice Guy (week 10)
• With an average remaining schedule, GM David can count on matchups against the Papis and Nihilists in the final 2 weeks of the season to punch their ticket on the playoff train. But in order to secure the Bye Week suit-style cabin on this playoff train, a win against top ranked GM Grafton will be crucial or else the Yo Self's could be riding in coach with the wildcards.

3. DTDB Irish Assassins (7-2): 3.0 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Scoregasms (week 10)
• Boasting the easiest remaining schedule in the quest for qualification, GM Connor could secure his team a playoff spot and establish a stronghold on the bye week seeds all with a win this upcoming week. An annual season finale against rival GM Darren looms overhead however, in what will most certainly be a must win game for the Football Team, promising yet more drama in the storied rivalry.

4. Scoregasms (6-3): 7.3 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Mr. Nice Guy (week 13)
• The only team that faces off against a current playoff seeded team in all 4 remaining weeks, GM Brody and the Scoregasms will have their work cut out for them on getting 2 wins for their ticket. While they are only a single game behind the Head Honchos, solid wins against GM Connor and GM Ian could leave them with a chance to steal one of the Bye Week seeds in the season finale against GM Grafton. 

5. Top 2 Not 2 (5-4): 3.3 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Romanian RAPOs (week 10)
• Currently holding onto a wildcard spot, GM Ian will need to hold off 2 teams in striking distance of overtaking him, GM Michael and GM Kelly. Needing 2 wins to have a good chance at hopping on the train, Ian and the Two Timers will most likely be heading into the season finale with a win and in scenario against the Jackies. An outside chance at challenging for a Bye Week seed could still present itself if they manage to upset GM Brody and the Scoregasms next week, but defeats in any of these top matchups could leave them watching the train whizz by while they are stuck at the station.

6. Romanian RAPOs (5-4): 7.7 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Top 2 Not 2 (week 10)
• GM Michael and the RAPOs will have to get off to a ROLLING start to their quest to qualify as the window for ticket claims is OPEN, but incredibly slim. An absolute must win matchup against the Two Timers will start them off before facing against the #1 and #2 ranked teams back to back against GM Grafton and GM Brody. Squeaking by with a win in one of these could leave them sitting pretty, already boarded, on their bye week in the season finale, but defeats could result in them anxiously watching the surrounding matchups.

7. Tittsburgh Feelers (4-5): 6.3 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Fantasy Football Team (week 10)
• GM Matt will need to beat fellow Wildcard Warrior GM Darren and emerge victorious over GM David or GM Grafton in order to be in a win and hope scenario in the season finale against the Papis. With no RBs currently available on the roster, the playoffs essentially start today for the Feelers, as they can all but feel a playoff ticket slipping through their hands. Although, with a great point total to their name, if they can manage a 3-1 closing record, the tiebreaker could swing their way when the conductor calls everyone aboard.

8. Fantasy Football Team (4-5): 3.3 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Tittsburgh Feelers (week 10)
• A single game behind the current playoff teams, GM Darren will first have to overcome the (4-5) Feelers who also are in chase mode. After this the schedule opens up with back to back games against GM Kurt and GM August for which GM Darren will hope his team already has their 7th win before the season finale. If they fall in a single game before that however, yet another heartbreak vs rival GM Connor could be how the season ends for GM Darren once again. 

9. Action Jackson (4-5): 3.7 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: Top 2 Not 2 (week 13)
• Despite the "easy" remaining schedule for the Jackies, GM Kelly is behind on points and in trouble at the RB position. Back to back wins are a must against the trailing Papis and Nihilists, before a daunting matchup against the rejuvenated Irish Assassins. Whichever way that 3rd matchup goes, if GM Kelly can claim those first 2 victories a win and hope scenario will present itself in the season finale against GM Ian in what could very likely be the battle for the last seat on the train. GM Kelly will just have to hope his team did enough on the points side of things to inch out the rest of the teams in the hunt.

10. Bigpapihugetime (3-6): 4.7 strength of schedule

• Most Important Matchup: all of them
• GM Kurt remains on the brink of playoff contention but will need to win out to force a point total tiebreaker at the usual (7-6) cut off. A single defeat will leave him and the Papis to instead prepare for a Huge Time matchup in the Dansky Bowl.  

11. Don't Even Schmatter (don't-schmatter): strength of schedule is all relative anyway

• Most Important Matchup: No single matchup is inherently more important than another, as that would imply matchups have importance in the first place.
• GM August needs a lot to happen in order to somehow qualify, as the best he and the Nihilists can do is (6-7). (A losing record qualifying for the playoffs? Connor would be so proud). Firstly, GM August needs to not trade Kelce away, then not trade up in the draft for RB Saquon and instead take RB Henry at pick 5. Then, after the time travelling and reality altering events are all completed, GM August will just need a few minor miracles to happen. This all could go to waste however as there is a very real chance that GM August manages to lose during his bye week this upcoming week.

Wait, there are only 11 teams in the quest to qualify? Could have swore this was a 12 team league...

Trade Talks: Is there a competition to beat out Kelly for the worst trade of all time that I haven't heard about?

GM Grafton steals WR Michael Thomas from the void, sacrifices committee RBs in the seance.

• Mr. Nice Guy acquires WR Michael Thomas
• RBs Fournette and Wilkins head to graveyard

WR Thomas' return from injury was not as successful as one would have hoped, resulting in a low ball trade to replace the star receiver with 2 RBs that have are in pass first offenses and stuck in a committee with more talented younger backs, a trade every great manager makes. GM Grafton gets an A for this trade, securing a top talent WR while sending away 2 depth RBs. RB Cook and Taylor will be left to run the RB room while RB Lindsay will be a fill in Flex play while Ridley recovers from injury. Now boasting arguably the greatest WR trio in the league, GM Grafton and Mr. Nice Guy will certainly be the team to avoid come playoff time. 

Weekly Awards:

• Oh Boy! Play of the Week:

GM Connor righted the ship this past week with a slim victory over GM Michael and the Romanian RAPOs. Minutes before kickoff, GM Connor switched out WR Gallup, giving WR Brown the start as he returned from injury. Brown saw 11 targets, catching 8 of them for 99 yards, outscoring Gallup 12-5, covering the 4 point victory that could have easily turned into a defeat had the switch not been made.

• Murphy Mixup:

As is usually the case with the murphy mixup, this week was a direct contrast to the play of the week; in which a last minute decision goes completely wrong. GM Michael picked up and had designated the starting QB spot to Lock once Stafford was placed on the Covid list. However, when QB Stafford was activated early Sunday morning, despite having missed all week of practice, GM Michael made the switch. Stafford got the start and totaled a horrific 10 points before going out with a late injury while QB Lock was left on the bench with a 33 point performance that would have easily covered the 4 point defeat.

• WTF Waiver Wire:

Stop me if you've heard this before: GM Kelly gets the Waiver Wire award for his completely nonsensical pick-ups and drops. Not even 4 days after dropping WR Kirk for RB Pollard, GM Kelly was seen scrambling back onto the Waiver Wire to reclaim his breakout WR. After Kirk's 20 point performance however, competition was fierce for the top bid, of which GM Kelly dropped $50, half of the total budget for the season, in order to get his guy back on the roster. Oh, and Kelly dropped Pollard already anyways. It is certainly a creative way to throw away $50 of FAAB so he deserves some credit for that I guess. 

• Crackhead of the Week:

If we had a 12th team in this league whose manager had made an awful trade to give away WR Thomas for a duo of committee RBs, that manager would certainly get this award.

• Defensive Coordinator of the Week:

Although the Murphy Mixup crippled what could have been a huge victory for the RAPOs, GM Michael's defensive scheme kept the game within striking distance. Opposing QB Allen erupted for 42 points on over 400 passing yards and 3 TDs which could have put the game far and well away for the Assassins. However, the perfectly executed Dime Defense from the RAPOs was able to limit Allen's production by 13 points, giving GM Michael a late Monday night chance to steal the victory. 

Week 10 is easily the most jam-packed week of the season so far, with every team facing off against an opponent who is either one spot above or below them in the standings. With massive playoff implications oozing from each of these matchups, this will for sure be an intense week as teams battle for control of the playoff bye weeks, while others fight to keep their playoff hopes alive. Even still, matchups to stay out of the Dansky Bye will be going on as well, ensuring that there will be excitement to be had from all managers and fans around the league this week. 

Wildcat Matchup of the Week:

Although all matchups have a justifiable claim to be the Wildcat Matchup of the Week, the one that stands out as the most influential on the playoffs is 5 vs 6 seed between Top 2 Not 2 (5-4) and Romanian RAPOs (5-4). Each manager was on a 3 game win streak before falling last week, leaving them both 1 win ahead of the trailing competition. This has all the makings of a must win matchup as both teams will be hoping to use this matchup as a springboard to further themselves from the rest of the Wildcard Warriors. With both RB CEH and WR Cooper on bye for GM Michael and the RAPOs, expect them to rely heavily on undrafted rookie sensation RB Robinson while hoping for a shootout performance from QB/WR stack Goff and Woods. GM Ian will be hoping for the healthy return of his own RBs Carson and Sanders as his WRs Evans and Thielen are both facing tough matchups. QB Herbert has been outstanding for the Two Timers so far this season, and they will certainly need him to double down this week in hopes of creating separation from their opponent. The passing play has been absolutely horrendous in contrast for the RAPOs, and the x factor in this one will certainly be QB Goff who will need to be a vast improvement off of last weeks 10 point disappointment from QB Stafford who was subsequently cut from the team. 

As we wrap up the playoff picture edition of the wrap up, we at MFFL studios would like to extend some good vibes over to all the teams in the league. While only 6 of the teams will end up in the playoff train, there will still be plenty to play for not only for the rest of the regular season, but in the Dansky Bowl as well! Not to mention the actually most important matchup of this season, me locking down star WR Grafton at Honeycutt before taking a nice vacation at Finn Island! Make sure to reserve your spot soon to see it all go down! May the Force be with you all.