Week seven marks the season's halfway point; Verily, it is upon us.
We've seen injuries and emergence play a big role in the standings to date, as well as a boatload of roster turnover: We've combined to make 300 wire transactions, as well as seventeen trades- just two short of last year's record number, with twenty eight days left until the November 15th deadline. We've seen gambles pay off and fortunes faded, but there is still plenty of football left. Phoenix ran the table in the back six last year to turn a 2-5 start into an 8-5 finish. No one can be counted out just yet; This week's round of power rankings will focus on a player, or players, that will predicate their team's finish. Call it the X-factor if you want, but I'm not going to.
1.1 Orgrimmar 5-1-0 1069.57 951.75 L-1
-The Horde are no longer perfect, but they're still tops in the standings and in the power rankings. However, concern has to be creeping into their collective hive mind: Randall Cobb is on the IR, Maurice Jones-Drew is the 31st ranked RB and has yet to go on bye, and QB Colin Kaepernick has fallen dramatically back to earth since week one; Orgrimmar's hot start happened despite their QB struggles, if they are going to maintain pole position in the second half, they'll need Kaep to step up.
2.2 Toronto 4-2-0 1064.42 947.61 W-1
-Les Tres Petites are right on the cusp, licking Orgrimmar's heels in the power rankings after being the first to tarnish their record. This is a team without any obvious weakness in its starting lineup- this week should be a good test of their wherewithal, as their top seven offensive players have no prime matchups to exploit. Their WR carousel continues to roll, with six startable wideouts currently wearing Toronto's Cardinal and Silver; If Doug Martin kicks it into gear, look out.
3.3 Chicago 4-2-0 1038.56 846.07 W-1
-Da Bears got back on track this week, blowing out an up and down Silver City squad despite a goose egg from their MVP, Jimmy Graham. More worrisome is his health, which is very much in the air- this team has thrived due to the mismatches they exploit on the ends- Graham, Welker, and Marshall are an uncoverable trio, but they need all three to make up for their weak running backs. If Graham cannot recover during his well placed bye this week, Chicago will look far less potent going forward- and things will get tougher, as they've had the easiest schedule to date.
4.4 Phoenix 4-2-0 1014.64 944.33 W-1
-The Uprising breathe a sigh of relief after gutting out a win over Oakwood by MNF: Monday Night Fractions. They're the fourth team in four digits through six weeks, and look to have three startable RBs and four startable WRs to their cover byes and overcome injuries. However, the best laid plans can always go awry- Calvin Johnson's uncertain health might be the first thread to come loose.
5.5 SilverCity 4-2-0 989.71 965.68 L-1
-FC is as up and down as a team can be, scoring 153, 175, 193, and 240 (!) in its victories, but 128 and 97 (!!) in its defeats. A lot of that variance can be attributed directly to the team's WRs, who have all been of the boom or bust variety- Steve Smith, Alshon Jeffrey, Stevie Johnson, and Brian Hartline have all had single digit point totals at least three times- Emmanuel Sanders only twice, with two ten point efforts. It's a weekly game of slots, and when they don't line up cherries, the team is at a stark disadvantage, regardless of Peyton Manning.
6.10 New York 2-4-0 987.85 1048.14 L-1
-The Finest have faced the league's toughest onslaught this year, which has pinned them down to a 2-4 record despite a very competitive showing. After losing Julio Jones for the year, the team dealt its other stud WR, AJ Green, and laid its eggs in RG3's basket. If the young QB can recapture last year's highlight reel magic, New York has an opportunity to right the ship quickly and rumble back to the playoffs.
7.6 Pawnee 3-3-0 973.70 954.05 W-3
-The PJers are the hottest team in the LFL if you had not noticed; Their once ripe RB situation has soured, but they've shored it up again for the moment, and have done what they can to supplement Victor Crus and Julius Thomas, despite injuries. Their LBs put up solid tackle numbers along with a penchant for big time playmaking, and S Da'Norris Searcy has been dynamite. Also, Pete would like everyone to know that Matt Prater has been the best kicker in the NFL through six weeks, his 34 PATs trouncing the competition. I don't know how to project this team; I guess I can only say, that's why they play the game.
8.7 Hill Valley 3-3-0 959.01 1010.06 W-1
-The McFlys have faced adversity and had some bad luck, but they have battled back to .500 and have set themselves up for a big time second half. Upside runs deep on this team, and while everyone is healthy and off bye, their roster will have one or two players on the bench that would start for all thirteen other teams in a given week. Rest assured, that wealth will be turned into more front line talent, as the McFlys round into form. Josh Gordon and Justin Blackmon are the keys- if they maintain their early returns, this team is a juggernaut, bitch.
9.11 Bristol 2-4-0 904.11 966.94 L-3
-The Executioners have dropped three straight, their WRs letting them down in a big way. Larry Fitzgerald has been hobbled, Marques Colston has been nearly invisible, and recent departures Marlon Brown and Austin Pettis regressed after productive weeks. Tom Brady has not been able to play savior, and DeMarco Murray went down injured, leaving Jamaal Charles the only playmaker left. Obviously, he cannot produce on his own- If the team can grit it out and end the skid, their players are likely to return to form down the stretch. If not, they may look to shake things up and make some power moves.
10.8 Flint 3-3-0 891.48 919.77 W-1
-The Aristocrats inherit a team rich in talent, with above average starters at every offensive position. With some TLC and a few choice supplementary moves, this team is in position to make a run through the bulk of bye season. It will be interesting to see how the new regime puts their own stamp on the second half of the season: Do they move some of their talent, to hand select their own guys? Beyond Dez Bryant, there's no obvious MC Hammer candidates.
11.9 Levee 3-3-0 845.04 878.84 W-1
-The G-Men have had the second easiest slate of games to date, but have been unable to gain any traction with them. They've made a lot of reactive moves, but have been unable to be proactive, failing to pick up or trade for players prior to their breakout. While their bench is mostly spare parts, their starting lineup is strong, and their defensive players are consistent. This is a solid team that will probably finish a game above or below .500: Which way they break banks on the health of elder statesmen Frank Gore and Andre Johnson.
12.12 California 2-4-0 828.59 964.17 L-1
-The Swag are likely to be haunted by their early season trade with the McFlys, where they gave up burgeoning WRs Vincent Jackson and Josh Gordon for boom-bust enigma Mike Wallace and RB16 Bilal Powell. It's one of those trades that you rethink the moment it goes through, and then afterwards you spend every week thinking 'What if?" They retain QB1 Drew Brees, WR1 Pierre Garcon, and should (finally) have TE1 Rob Gronkowski. If they can move past their early season regrets (and figure out a RB2 solution) the defending champs cannot be counted out in 2013; Going 5-2 in the second half would likely makes them a scary bottom seed in the playoffs... again.
13.13 Atlanta 2-4-0 825.44 903.38 L-1
-The Rage have been bitten by Roddy White, who has not been productive once this season, and is out injured coming out of the bye week. If hypothetically, he and Percy Harvin come back full strength in the near immediate future, the team's biggest weakness might become its biggest strength. If that takes too long, the season might slip through their fingers- another three losses, and their playoff hopes are toast. If they were to say, bundle Lynch and Harvin together, they might be able to get a WR1, WR2, and RB2 from a resourceful team and reshape their identity. The team's fate hinges on whether it holds or sells.
14.14 Oakwood 1-5-0 812.91 904.24 L-1
-The Drivers can only afford one more loss if they want to nurse pitch black horse playoff aspirations; They've made some wholesale changes to pad out their team's lineup with respectable names. It's a long shot, but it was always going to be when the second and third RBs (Michael Turner and Mikel LeShoure) they drafted still don't have 1.0 fantasy points between them, and the fourth and fifth RBs they drafted (Danny Woodhead and Willis McGahee) didn't start scoring until they left Oakwood. Of Oakwood's top ten picks, only four are still with the team, only two are starting, and one of those is the kicker. Congratulations Eric Decker, team MVP.
Yahoo!'s projections going forward factor in the current optimum lineup going forward, as well as hashing out the matchups. They do not account for bye week fillers that are currently not rostered- which of course will have a major influence on how the next few weeks play out:
LTP would have been justified going with RB Roy Helu Jr in this spot- after all, he was coming off of a 20.1 point game in week 7, with plenty of hype supporting his role. Flip side, Ellington had only score 2.3 last week, although context predicted a bigger role this week, as his platoon-mate was out with injury; Toronto boldly started Ellington who went off, as Helu scored an afterthought 3.00 points on the bench. More brilliant tactics from the Northern squad, as the team continues to look like an elite competitor.
