Late Monday Night Quarterback

Too close to call:

Levee 137.80 vs Chicago 118.88
Only one matchup is yet to be decided- a throwdown between two 5-7 teams jostling for consolation positioning. The teams that finish in seventh and eighth place are guaranteed a top four selection in next year's draft, and the winner of this game will claim that top spot as the only 6-7 team in the league- likewise, the loser will drop behind New York's Finest, who have clinched eighth place and the second consolation bye. Levee has a reasonably sized lead, but only a 48% chance of holding it- Chicago's best player TE Jimmy Graham, along with CB Richard Sherman, will do their best to close the gap, and give all three Grimes men bye weeks in their first round- Kevin in the championship bracket, Steve and Tom in the consolation tournament.

BEST START: S Morgan Burnett, New York (21.45 pts)

The Finest have started S Barry Church five times this year, but sat him in favor of Burnett, who delivered a huge stat line in New York's third straight win to close the season. The Finest might be the odds on favorite to clinch the top overall pick in next year's draft, as the only team rolling into the consolation bracket. They will enjoy a bye week next week. Burnett covered for Trumaine McBride's 0fer-McBride was benched. Starting low tier talents has an inherent risk factor, as they can be removed form the game plan without warning.

WORST SIT: WR Brian Hartline, Silver City (24.20 pts)
Playing Stevie Johnson over Brian Hartline did not prove to be too damaging, as FC won handily. This is more an opportunity to soapbox about their treatment of TE Jordan Reed, twice in the lineup despite being inactive; Last week he was ruled inactive early, and no replacement was found- SCFC had clinched a playoff spot and decided to rest players rather than shake up their roster to cover bye weeks. This week Reed was listed as questionable, but generally regarded as a good bet to play, before not actually playing. Concussions have unpredictable and long term repercussions, and a questionable tag is officially a 50/50 designation. Our rosters lock at 1pm on Sundays, giving teams the week to prepare, and eliminating any advantage of 'real timing' Sunday's action. A shrewd move would have been to add Brendan Myers, who was playing at the same time as Reed and had no injury status before 1pm, to be prepared if Reed was unable to go. Instead, SCFC gambled to protect the players on their roster, rather than assure themselves an auxiliary option.