Wild Card – and Toilet Bowl – Weekend!

Wild Card weekend in FLoF is underway, with a NFL game already played. 

Iron City Lagers @ N.Y. Hamburglers

The Lagers hit the road in a tough game against the Hamburglers. This has trap game written all over it. Fortunately (for me at least), I am writing this post-Denver game, so I know that the Lagers did not open well. Did this affect my prediction? You bet. I now think the Lagers are about to go down, despite a strong game from Stafford and Johnson.

Positional observations:

QB – Stafford (Lagers) vs. Luck (Hamburglers): Advantage – Lagers, barely. This one is a little tough to call. I like Stafford, the player, better, but his matchup is tough. Luck has an easier go of it in Houston.

RB – Ball (Lagers) vs. Charles (Hamburglers): Advantage – Hamburglers.  This was a pretty easy call. Charles has been one of the best RB’s in FLoF this year, while Ball has been just a guy. It helps knowing Ball did next to nothing already.

WR – C. Johnson, D. Thomas (Lagers) vs. S. Smith, Hilton (Hamburglers): Advantage – Lagers. This was yet another easy call. Johnson by himself is better than the combined WR’s of the Hamburglers. Thomas has been one of the best WR’s in FLoF in his own right, but didn’t help much last night.

K – Tucker (Lagers) vs. Bryant (Hamburglers): Advantage – Lagers. This is only a slight advantage for Lagers. Tucker has been averaging more points per game than Bryant.

DF – D. Johnson, Woodyard (Lagers) vs. Posluszny, Fletcher (Hamburglers): Advantage: Hamburglers. Woodyard disappointed last night and Posluszny has more points than any other DF in FLoF.

DB – Burnett, Jennings (Lagers) vs. Hall, A. Williams (Hamburglers): Advantage: Hamburglers. Hamburglers have the best DB in FLoF with Hall. Jennings is good, but too streaky.

Prediction: The Hamburglers look to be in a prime position to take advantage of a strong Lagers team, who suffered a rough start trotting out 3 Denver players (which, admittedly, was supposed to have been a shootout).

Hamburglers 38 – Lagers 34

 

Mighty Midtowne Mimes @ Dynasty

Neither team had anyone going last night, so I’m a little more on my own with this prediction. The Mimes take the last of the wild card spots and face a pretty good Dynasty team making a playoff appearance in their first year. Dynasty has been uneven at times, but I don’t see the Mimes getting in the way of higher stakes game next week.

Positional observations:

QB – Kaepernick (Mimes) vs. Flacco (Dynasty): Advantage – Push. Kaepernick hasn’t been great, but he is capable of putting together a really good game. Flacco hasn't been flashy, but steady. I do like the match up for Flacco better.

RB – Lacy (Mimes) vs. McCoy (Dynasty): Advantage – Dynasty. Although Lacy has been dependable for the Mimes, McCoy is the best RB in FLoF. The match up for McCoy is nice to boot. I wouldn’t be shocked if McCoy was the highest scoring player this week.

WR – Bowe, Shorts (Mimes) vs. A. Johnson, Davis (Dynasty): Advantage – Dynasty. This is another big advantage for Dynasty, although I do like the match up for Bowe this week.

K – Crosby (Mimes) vs. Bailey (Dynasty): Advantage – Mimes. Both kickers have slightly over 100 points. Crosby got there in 3 fewer games.

DF – Allen, Suggs (Mimes) vs. Burfict, David (Dynasty): Advantage – Dynasty. Dynasty has two of the top-10 DF’s in FLoF. Allen and Suggs have just been okay.

DB – Peterson, Byrd (Mimes) vs. Church, Wright (Dynasty): Advantage – Mimes. This side of the defense is where the Mimes even out from the big advantage from Dynasty’s DFs. I really like Peterson’s match up here.

Prediction: Dynasty has the advantage where they count and I fully expect them to be comfortably moving on to next week.

Dynasty 35 - Mimes 21

The Toilet:

Capo Di Tutti Capi @ Rednecks

The Rednecks finished the year strong, but way too late to salvage their season after a poor start. The Capo had a really good week 1 and 4, but the rest of the season was pretty much a nightmare. The Rednecks are making their first Toilet Bowl appearance, while this is the 2^nd consecutive appearance for Capo. The Rednecks actually have the 4^th position in terms of offensive power, and are #8 defensively, according to the Power Rankings. The Capo squad is ranked next to last for both. On paper, this appears to be a wipe out, but I don’t think it will be.

Positional observations:

QB – Brady (Capo) vs. Tannehill (Rednecks): Advantage – Capo. No brainer for this one. I like Brady better, even on Miami’s home field.

RB - Miller (Capo) vs. Tate (Rednecks): Advantage – Rednecks. Tate has been spotty the last few weeks, but I’d still rather have him going this week than the disappointment that has been Miller. Still, not exactly a ringing endorsement of Tate either.

WR – Boldin, Nicks (Capo) vs. Fitzgerald, Jeffery (Rednecks): Advantage – Rednecks.  Here is where the Rednecks look to have the biggest advantage. Boldin has been spotty and Nicks has been non-existent, while Fitzgerald has been dependable (but not spectacular) and Jeffery has looks like a future stud.

K – Nugent (Capo) vs. Dawson (Rednecks): Advantage – Push. Both kickers have 89 total points for the year. Matchups for kickers are hard to predict anyway.

DF- Jackson, Pierre-Paul (Capo) vs. Brown, Miller (Rednecks): Advantage – Rednecks. Jackson has been decent for Capo, but Pierre-Paul has been MIA. Brown has been fair for the Rednecks, while Miller has been on a tear after his early season ban.

DB – Barron, Rambo (Capo) vs. Vaccaro, Verner (Rednecks): Advantage – Rednecks. This is the other area where the Rednecks have a seemingly large advantage. The combo of Barron and Rambo are near the bottom of the positional rankings for Capo.

Prediction: The Rednecks look to be in a comfortable position this week. Although I do think it will be a respectable showing from Capo.

Rednecks 31 – Capo 22

Side note: That was likely way too much brain power spent on analyzing this particular game.