1. (02) Phoenix Uprising 8-2-0 2060.49 1689.40 W-1
The Uprising's trademarked carousel of doom has been in full swing this season, as the team has used eleven running backs to date and managed to trade off a whopping seven RBs (Deangelo Williams, Frank Gore, David Johnson, Isaiah Crowell, Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, and Jeremy Langford) throughout the season. Of course, they could have used any one of them in week ten, but they'll use Dev Freeman, Lamar Miller, and perhaps Eddie Lacy down the stretch. It remains to be seen how shuffling all that depth pays off in the playoffs. Both of the teams' losses are with multiple vacancies in their lineup. With byes coming to an end, a two game lead on the field, a head to head matchup with 9-1 New York in week thirteen, and a slim lead in overall points, Phoenix can control its own destiny.
2. (01) New York's Finest 9-1-0 2035.94 1614.87 L-1
New York's streak finally snaps by the slimmest of margins, but this is a team primed for a title defense. Their playoff spot clinched, their vaunted WR depth has been thinned by injuries, but still remains well above average. Likewise, Matt Forte's uncertain prognosis leaves the team to potentially pair Frank Gore with wunderkind Todd Gurley... not bad. With an excellent week to week defense, the team's mojo might come down to Aaron Rodgers getting his groove back. He's been excellent in terms of points in all but one contest, but the offense has not been the well oiled machine we're used to seeing him operate.
You look at the Pride's draft results, and you see a core of five players that have delivered or exceeded expectations: Odell Beckham, Mike Evans, Emmanuel Sanders, Mark Ingram, Doug Martin. Adding AJ Green and Gary Barnidge to the equation gives them a juggernaut of a lineup, probably the best six starters in the league down the stretch. Quarterback has been a revolving door, but that comes down to managerial prowess: If Pawnee makes the right call under center week after week, they are a playoff team, and one that can make some serious noise. A dud at signal caller, especially in the playoffs, could bring it all toppling down. Still; Nobody wants to face the pride in the final six weeks.
After leading the league for the bulk of 2014, 2015 has held more adversity for the Cows- but with three weeks left in the season, they're sitting in playoff position, and are ranked even better. They may have come into the year planning to play QB roulette again, but Carson Palmer made short work of that plan, grabbing the reins and dominating at every turn. Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry, and Brandin Cooks are a top quality trifecta, and even without a settled running back situation, South Park's mastery of the wire and defensive upside gives them the weapons to hang with anybody; the second hardest schedule hasn't buried them, and their final three games are against middling squads.
The Islanders had a chance to break away from the pack last week and get to seven wins, but could not defeat the Lead Farmers. This is a potentially great team with Ben Roethlisberger under center; He's struggled through a variety of ailments, but continues to be a force whenever he can take the field. Bruising high upside RBs (Beast Mode, Blount, Ivory) are the hammer here; The WRs are something of an underwhelming bunch. Amari Cooper has had a great rookie season, but Randall Cobb has disappeared at times, and the rest of the crew are boom/bust parts, not weekly stalwarts. A good defense keeps them in most games, and if they hang around long enough, they can challenge for a second title.
The season has been frustrating for the Sasquatch, who are putting up respectable points- just not enough of them to win more than half the time. They'll have a chance to make things right down the stretch, with matchups against South Park and the Islanders. Beating them both would be a huge boon to their playoff chances. Antonio Brown is the motor for this team- he's surrounded by a host of competency, but he is the only week to week difference maker here. They'll need him to continue to see ridiculous volume against the other top teams to make the playoffs and progress.
The Farmers are on the cusp of legitimacy, under .500 but with the points to make some noise in tiebreak. They'll need to push their winning streak to five to have a chance; They have a great opportunity to do that against three of the bottom four teams in the league (in terms of total points) down the stretch. Nobody expected DeMarco Murray to repeat last year's numbers in this system, but the early returns were rough; Lately, he has been back to his dynamic workhorse role, and paired with Charcandrick West, there's a one-two punch. Allen Robinson has seized the role of premier receiver this year, with nary a dud since the season opener; Greg Olsen is a plus tight end, with the volume and the red zone numbers to be a matchup nightmare for all but a few teams. The rest of the offense isn't really going to scare anybody, but with some good breaks, should be enough to supplement.
Maybe Toronto is fortunate to be in the position they are, considering the mediocre point total. But they've seen a reasonable amount of points against them, so perhaps it is less luck, and more excellent scheme: They're not overpowering anybody, but they're finding the right players in the right matchup to get the job done. Picking Danny Woodhead in the 19th round was a genius move (the only other 19th rounder to match his top flight production is HCM's Andy Dalton) and holding on to Tom Brady, moving Drew Brees for James Jones, and retaining Calvin Johnson were all shrewd decisions to put this team in playoff position. Is it a deep squad? Not particularly. But that doesn't matter if they keep making quality moves to optimize the starting lineup.
The Crew isn't in great position for a playoff spot, but they're not yet eliminated. Their lineup from top to bottom remains highly talented, with hall of fame caliber veterans at each position.Tony Romo returns this week, and if he can segue back into the offense quickly, he should buoy a team that features Adrian Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Marshall, Jimmy Graham, and Jason Witten. Having fringe add Danny Amendola's role blossom was great fortune- if they Cinderella this shit, he'll be a big reason why.
The Drivers were 3-2 once upon a time, a surprise contender. That was five weeks ago, and all they have done since then is lose, lose, lose no matter what. When Le'veon Bell went down, they made a shrewd move, sending the fated Edelman to Deputy for reinforcements. But the downfall of their season has been none other than the legendary Peyton Manning, who has been mediocre at best all season long: 9 TDs and 17 picks? Yikes. Just goes to show the pitfalls of drafting older players is perhaps even more pronounced than youth: Nobody is going to drop Peyton Manning, even when they ought to. Not until it is too late.
The McFlys have been hanging on to relevancy, despite the deck seemingly stacked against them. Injuries and ineffectiveness have the McFlys pinned at .500, and their paltry overall numbers will require them to win out to return to the playoffs after missing them for the first time in 2014. Cam Newton has been doing his part- it's up to the upper echelon talents int he WR corps: DT, Alshon, and Watkins, to game break if the team is going to go on a run here. Did I say run? Don't say run. This team's running back situation is a mess, though it's not really their fault. Jamaal Charles sitting on IR could have been the death knell, but they've soldiered on. To where? Parts unknown.
Deputy made some big moves in an attempt to salvage their season, but with the loss of Julian Edelman, their thin playoff hopes teeter on the edge of oblivion; Their depleted roster has been hassled by the promise of Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who put up a monster week one before being injured in week two and has yet to be cleared for contact. Edelman and Benjamin both cost a lot, for very little payoff. The team's best hope might be to ride their trio of competent running backs and Phil Rivers through the consolation bowl, and secure a quality draft slot.
The Head Trauma came into the season with a highly regarded RB squadron: Eddie Lacy, who has been much maligned; Lamar Miller who squeaked through the first month of the season and was traded, before a coaching change gave him new life; Arian Foster, a steal in the ninth round, who overcame injury to produce huge numbers before being felled by another injury; and CJ Spiller who was supposed to be the perfect fit for a new offense but uh, hasn't been. The team actively churned its roster, and has producers Jonathan Stewart and James Starks complimenting sudden superstar Stefon Diggs, a cool hand Drew Brees, and rumbling Travis Kelce, but the early season woes have them almost out of the race, and their overall points do them no favors in tie breakers. They've seen remarkably few points against, but have been unable to cash in on weak opponents.
Nothing went right for Savannah this year, and to top it all off, they've had the toughest run of opponents to date, everybody beating up on the Petes. Just go down their draft board and see the misery: Andrew Luck - Injured weeks 4, 5, 10 and on. Dez Bryant - Injured weeks 2-7 and traded. Deandre Hokpins... fucking awesome, but this is a tiny shining isle in a sea of despair. Luke Kuechly - Injured weeks 2-5 and traded. DeAndre Levy - Injured all year, tried coming back once and was immediately injured. Curtis Lofton - Just not a good pick at all. Stevie Johnson - Injured weeks 5 & 6 and traded. Shane Vereen - Inconsistent production. Carlos Hyde - Monster Week 1 followed by meh and traded. Julius Thomas - Injured weeks 1-4 and traded. Jadeveon Clowney - Ineffective, erroneous positioning, injured week 6 and dropped. Eric Weddle - Fine! The only other draft pick left on this team is kicker Josh Brown, who has been a really good kicker. So, yes, there are four draft picks left on the roster, and one is an injured QB and one is a kicker.
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