Power Rankings: Week Nine

I changed some color schemes again, trying to pick things that differentiate teams without being an ugly assault on everyone's eyes. Week Nine Power Rankings:

1. Phoenix Uprising 7-2 1659.90 W-4
The Uprising have constructed a monstrous team, and have not suffered any severe losses. They are tied for the league's best record, have not lost for a month, and are nearly a hundred points better than their next closest rival. With a week remaining before the deadline, they hold the number two waiver claim. Unless tragedy hits, the 2010 and 2011 champions have to be considered the favorite going forward. Toot.
2. Toronto LTP 6-3 1566.77 L-1
Toronto has never had trouble scoring, and this year it is coming to fruition. Coming off of a loss to Flint, LTP has a very good chance of hanging a loss on Phoenix this week, coming out with guns blaring. If things hold, it could very well be a preview of the Larkspur Bowl. Their season's last month is a gauntlet, with matchups against Hill Valley, Chicago, and Pawnee rounding out their schedule; At worst, this team should split the final month, safely securing a slot in the dance.
3. Orgrimmar Horde 6-3 1517.42 L-2
After a rousing start, the Horde have lost three of four, their overall output in steep decline. With no more offensive byes and lots of friendly matchups on the docket, Orgrimmar has a good chance to bounce back to the championship form they showed during their five game march to begin the season. Any team sleeping on the 2009 champions is in for a rude awakening: All three of the Horde's losses have come to quality opponents with winning records.
4. Chicago BiPolarBears 5-4 1466.41 L-2
Chicago has lost back to back games to basement dwellers Oakwood and Atlanta, and narrowly avoided tanking their season when the league's competitiveness council rejected player wagering. The horrendous output came across the board, as eighteen of thirty players scored 7.5 or less during the nosedive. With one week left before the trade deadline, recent history shows that a major trade may be on the way- Perhaps addressing team wide depth by moving a stud like Jimmy Graham, Brandon Marshall, or Wes Welker for a cache of talented pieces. Conversely, Jay Cutler's return and a win this week, plus the number one waiver claim may help the team stick to its guns and stay the course.
5. Silver City FC 7-2 1447.23 W-3
Silver City has won three straight, and is tied for the best record in the LFL through nine games. Their mediocre power ranking is a product of two absolute clunkers, that appear to be more outliers than regression. The team's ceiling continues to be capped by its limited WR potential beyond Alshon Jeffrey- but TE Jordan Reed has been a godsend, replacing Jermichael Finley's production without skipping a beat. Projections like Silver City to split its final four games, which should put them in the conversation for a first round bye- they control their own destiny to that end.
6. New York's Finest 2-7 1432.09 L-4
The Finest are that team that just seems fated to despair, the only squad to have a record far worse than their scoring should indicate. Still putting up competitive numbers, they just cannot get an ounce of luck. They will finish under .500, and likely need a four game winning streak and a miracle to squeak into the playoffs. More likely, they're playing for next year, and with a solid core, its not inconceivable that they could get hot and dominate the consolation bowl, on a mission to clinch the number one pick in 2014.
7. Pawnee Pacey Joners 4-5 1399.46 L-1
Pawnee's transactions have turned the PJers from an afterthought into a competitive team that could make a deep run, as its pieces develop. Finally secure at the RB position after attaining RB Frank Gore, Pawnee can be content to just let their players trot onto the field and play, no longer scrambling to fill essential slots week after week. They need to secure a .500 record this week against Atlanta, as their final three games come against California, Orgrimmar, and Toronto- they must win at least two of three to secure a spot.
8. Hill Valley McFlys 5-4 1395.27 L-1
It's been a cursed season for the McFlys, with Reggie Wayne and Justin Blackmon out for the season, and Aaron Rodgers and Arian Foster perhaps joining them on injured reserve. Each loss came on the heels of upgrade trades that sapped Hill Valley's depth. And yet, shrewd moves keep the team on the cusp, hanging around and refusing to give up. It's the sort of survivor's story that can buoy a team and make them more than the sum of their parts- plenty of their young players have not yet reached their limits, and could push the parameters of their potential. Hill Valley needs that now.
9. Flint Aristocrats 5-4 1320.71 W-2
The midseason move from Teamville has reinvigorated the Aristocrats, winners of two straight. With clarified purpose and a roster on the upswing, Flint is capitalizing on the potential its roster retained throughout- RBs Zac Stacy and Ben Tate, acquired for Phil Rivers in week 5, are looking like diamonds in the rough, fermenting to perfection just in time for the stretch run. They have the look of a team of destiny.
10. Levee G-Men 4-5 1293.57 W-1
Never quite bad, never quite good, the G-Men just are- they straddle the line of competitiveness: They have not beaten a team with a winning record this season, and face four of them to finish off the season. On an optimistic note, they are coming off of their best game of the season, a 183 point dominating victory over Bristol. If they can string together some numbers like that, don't count them out. If they cannot maintain that form, they'll finish on the outside looking in for the fourth time in five years.
11. California Swag 4-5 1257.16 W-1
The Swag continue to linger, like they did last year before their championship run. Winning this week puts them one game closer to .500, and if they can take three of four, they will again finish 7-6 and likely take one of the final seeds. Their remaining schedule is not incredibly imposing: Chicago, Pawnee, Silver City, and New York. Two big trades with Hill Valley ended up shaping both of these franchises, with the Swag looking like it got the worst of the deals on paper. But the games are not played on paper- they're played on the internet the gridiron, and if the Swag can finish with a better record than the McFlys, they will be exonerated.
12. Bristol Executioners 2-7 1245.27 L-6
Bristol's roster has been ravaged by minor injuries, a bunch of players playing through aches and pains that haven't always kept them off the field, but have kept them operating below their typical output. The season is mostly lost, (six straight will do that) but a strong back end will give the executioners a nice shot at clinching a top draft pick for next year, perhaps luring them back to the draft table for a second time, after dodging it during their first several years in the league.
13. Atlanta Rage 3-6 1214.59 W-1
It's been one step forward and two steps back for Atlanta, unable to string two wins together. They've threatened to get their shit together just in time, and that time is now, backs to the wall, needing to win out to have a prayer. The kicker is that it might not all be bluster: The Rage are primed to pay their best ball right now- and three of their final four games are against teams with losing records. If they can Cinderella their way in, they won't have any obvious weaknesses to exploit.
14. Oakwood Drivers 3-6 1189.25 W-2
Don't look now, the Drivers have won two straight, and after Silver City this week, face three teams with losing records. If they go on a six game winning streak and get into the dance, it will be a credit to selling high on crippled RB Arian Foster, netting underperforming Hakeem Nicks and consistent veteran Fred Jackson. After a stumble out of the gates (with the worst draft since the abomination that was the 2010 Frisco Uglies) Oakwood has done a very solid job putting together a quietly competent team. If they fail to win six straight, they can still give themselves a good shot at a nice draft pick by blasting through the consolation bowl.