Just like that we're at the season's midpoint. Week Seven is the line of demarcation, after this we're zooming into the playoffs. We're also one month away from the trading deadline (Saturday 11:18pm at midnight) and in the midst of bye-season, so, this is a formative time for end-game rosters.
Lets recap the past two weeks of play:
Week 5 Matchups
NOTE: The Phoenix Uprising initially defeated the Jersey Sanitation Crew by less than a point, but a Thursday Morning stat correction reversed the result, delivering the slim margin W (.24!) to the LBXII champions.
WEEK FIVE TEAM OF THE WEEK:
- QB JUSTIN FIELDS (HVM) 34.98
- RB TRAVIS ETIENNE JR (MMC) 38.00
- WR DJ MOORE (MAL) 53.80
- TE GEORGE KITTLE (PAW) 27.10
- DL ED OLIVER (BIN) 24.5
- LB FRED WARNER (PHX) 27.6
- CB DARIOUS WILLIAMS (NYF) 22.5
- SS JASON PINNOCK (PAW) 31.10
- PK EVAN McPHERSON (PAW) 14.00
9/10 TRADE FIVE:
Pawnee acquires: WR Wan'Dale Robinson
Phoenix acquires: WR Odell Beckham Jr
In a depth move, these two teams exchange players who have had more injuries than big plays this season. Wan'Dale has seen healthy target volume when healthy and has the gadget skillset to break any play, but he hasn't yet. Beckham's best years are behind him, but he has shown the old playmaking ability still exists in short spurts over recent years. With byes piling up, both teams will hope for a flex touchdown or two in a pivotal spot from these change of scenery plays, not a ton riding on the deal
Week 6 Matchups
WEEK SIX TEAM OF THE WEEK:
- QB TUA TAGOVAILOIA (HCM) 25.18
- RB RAHEEM MOSTERT (SPC) 37.80
- WR TYREEK HILL (BIN) 33.10
- TE TRAVIS KELCE (MMC)21.70
- DL TREY HENDRICKSON (SAV) 17.00
- LB JORDAN HICKS (PAW) 31.55
- CB CAM TAYLOR-BRITT (SPC) 26.70
- SS TONY ADAMS (DVH) 22.75
- PK JUSTIN TUCKER (CAR) 18.00
Both South Park and Deputy are 6-0, with a week eight matchup looming; They'll both try to avoid the trap game, get to 7-0, and see who continues their quest for perfection. The Cows have looked utterly (I'm not saying udderly) dominant this year, but no team has ever run the table and gone 13-0. Deputy has been no slouch either, pulling all the right levers in the first half of the year.
Behind them, Binghamton (5-1) is having a terrific season despite a close loss to the Van Halens this past week, while Jersey and Hill Valley have both done what was needed, each sitting at 4-2. The last playoff spot is currently a three way battle between .500% teams: the return of New York, HCM City, and Phoenix; Going 5-2 the rest of the way would lock up a playoff berth for any of these three teams.
Down but not out? Philadelphia, Savannah, Pawnee, and our defending champions in Mar-A-Lago all share 2-4 records with plenty of time to right the ship over the next two months, but at the same time there's very little room for error.
The same cannot be said for hard luck Manitoba and Carmel; At 0-6, both teams would need to run the table to have an outside shot at the playoffs. Instead, they're playing for pride, and to get into the consolation bracket where they could angle for the first overall pick next season- a reminder that the 13th and 14th place teams after thirteen weeks are shut down and planted in those seven and eight slots in draft picking.
