The GM’s Scouting Report: Division A & B
17-07-2014 12:00 AM
While the article comes out on Thursdays, I usually ignore the previous day’s games as they were not part of the week. However, with playoff implications with every game, I will talk about yesterday’s Division B game, as well as taking it into account for the playoff rankings.
Recap: Hastag Hustled
With Sean Avraam away this week and Carmine Pollice out with injury, there was a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Hustlers would be competitive in their Week 10 game and who would be throwing for them. The Hustlers dug deep, and found Rick Nincheri. Nincheri, who hadn’t thrown in the league since Winter 2013 (save subbing one game) came out with all cylinders firing. #NR had a rough outing, simply having trouble responding to the physicality and being frustrated having to battle back from behind. While this doesn’t mean much for the Hustlers (as in a two team tie, the tiebreaker is WINS, followed by head to head in which Legends have the tiebreaker and would finish second) it now means that #NR don’t have the stranglehold on first place in B. More on that in the playoff projection.
Award Winners:
Let’s go over who look like the frontrunners to win the season awards going into Week 10. As usual, what I mention is purely speculation and the final numbers will be decided not by me, and they are purely on statistical merit only. I’ve picked my eight (who we touched on in the Bomb & Khan podcast as well) and why I’ve made these picks.
Division A:
Quarterback of the Year – Kevin Wyeth
If Kevin’s quarterback rating is 99.7, what would he have to do to get that remaining 0.3%? With Kevin easily approaching a passing season of over 60 touchdowns and over 2000 yards, the choice could not be clearer. Completing just under 3 out of 4 of his passes, you can’t deny that Kevin’s contributions to this league take both it and him to another level.
Receiver of the Year – Mathieu Thuot
Honestly, it’s nice to see a great player and an all-around good guy like Mathieu Thuot getting credit like this, and being the frontrunner for this award. Thuot has been a reception machine, currently having not only the most touchdowns in Division A, but also is matching the output of some players who not only play in A but in B as well, as the receiving stats combine overall on the site!
Defensive Player of the Year – Jamil Springer
Just like in B, defensive player of the year seems to be one of the more contested positions. Jamil, however, has put up solid numbers and has been a consistent staple on a somewhat inconsistent team (and is only one of 3 players on his squad who has played in all of the games.) He calls the defense, and is one of the primary reasons his team is making stops this season.
Two-Way Player of the Year – Kishon Thompson
They say that the best leaders lead by example, and if you want an instance of that, look no further that Kishon Thompson. Not only is he one of the founding members of the Finest, he’s been dominating on both sides of the ball in one of their strongest seasons. He puts up the numbers to match, and is the frontrunner for this award by far.
Division B:
Quarterback of the Year – Phil Cutler
Six passing touchdowns ahead of the next closest contender in B, it’s safe to say that we can start putting Phil’s name on the trophy. Having moved up a division, it would have been safe to say that Phil might have struggled with the more elite defenses. However, it hasn’t been the case and he’s been more productive this season than any other season in the past
Receiver of the Year – Sean Brophy
Brophy’s numbers seem unparalleled this season. It also helps having the QB with the most passing touchdowns in the division throwing to him, but Sean is not simply a product of his environment or a system receiver. With deceptive speed and hands to match, Sean impresses with every passing season. No matter the coverage, Brophy is coming down with the ball.
Defensive Player of the Year – Theo Bekelis
Like in Division A, Defesive Player of the Year seems to be the award that’s the most contested. Currently, Theo only has one interception more that all of those nipping on his heels, however his plethora of tackles certainly helps his cause as well. If he can muster up a big game this week against the struggling Certified Flyguyz, the award will be all but his.
Two-Way Player of the Year – Travis Moses
I mentioned weeks and weeks ago that Travis would be my frontrunner for two-way player of the year, and he hasn’t disappointed. Lockdown has had a destructive season, and has made his presence felt against every team that he plays.
Random Thoughts:
– Serge Pilon Jr. is in contention for defensive player of the year if he has a solid game this week in Division A, despite only having played 5 games so far in A.
– There’s only one division which currently gets two articles a week, and it’s the one that has 30 teams in it. Go figure…a division that has 30 teams in it gets double the amount of articles as the other divisions which only have half of that.
– Huge props and respect to anyone who is following Ramadan and have games scheduled during daylight.
– The 4, 5 and 6 spots in A has a lot of hypotheticals. Thankfully the head-to-head rule ruled out many more possibilities, otherwise we would have many more scenarios depending on how each of the three games play out.
– KGP are a win away from winning out the last 4 games as I predicted.
Playoff Projections:
Division A:
1. DA Finest: There is no possible way that DA Finest will not finish first. Enjoy the bye week.
2. Roosters & Donkeys: With the head-to-head win over LGTMC, there is no way that LGTMC can overtake second, which means that R&D get the bye as well.
3. Les Grosses Tetes Molles de Chernobyl: Playing Gladiateurs, they will control their destiny as to whether they will definitely finish 3rd (win or tie) or if they will finish 4th (Loss with a spread of 40.) Safe to say that they’ll finish third.
4. Gladiateurs: Highly unlikely, but still possible that they can finish above 4th. With a win this week with a spread of 40 points or better, they move to 3rd. A win keeps them in 4th undisputed. If not, Rainmakers and Alkaholiks would both have to win, and then we have the possibility of having a three way tie for 4th. A two way tie is not possible, as the Glads have the head to head on both the Alkaholiks and Rainmakers.
5. Alkaholiks: With the head-to-head win over the Rainmakers, and the head-to-head loss to Gladiateurs, their movement is contingent on the others. If the Alks win and the Rainmakers win and the Glads lose, they go into a three-way tie as outlined above. If the Alks win and the Rainmakers lose, the status quo remains. If both Alks AND Rainmakers win or tie and the Glads win, they have the head-to-head on the Rainmakers.
6. Rainmakers: If the Rainmakers win and the Alkaholiks lose, they take 5th. If not, they will need to hope for the three-way tie in order to advance.
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7. Usual Suspects
Division B:
1. #NR: They will have to wait and see how KGP finish in order to know their fate. If Legends win, they keep first due to head-to-head.
2. Hustlers: If KGP and/or Legends win, they drop. They have the head-to-head on KGP but not on Legends for 3rd. In order for them to stay second, they need to hope that both Legends and KGP lose, which would put them in second due to the three-way tiebreaker criteria.
3. KGP Champs: With a win, they jump to first with the head-to-head on #NR. A loss would keep them third and Hustlers would drop, unless Legends also lose in the scenario listed above.
4. Legends: As with Hustlers and KGP Champs, the lowest that they will finish is 4th. See above for the other scenarios.
5. One Night Stands: A win and a Commission loss would keep them 5th. A loss and a Commission win put them in 6th. If both teams lose AND DWW and Wolverines lose, ONS finish 5th and Commission finish 6th.
6. The Commission: A win would put them in 5th if ONS also lose. Other than that, the other movement would come if there is a three way tie with them and another team. They have the individual head-to-head wins over both DWW and Wolverines, so a two-way tie keeps them in 6th.
7. Daron World Wide: Need to win and have both ONS and Commission lose in order to move up, as Commission hold the head-to-head as outlined above. If they win and Wolverines win, the Wolverines have the head-to-head tiebreaker and they finish 8th. Also are susceptible to dropping out if they lose to Darkside. They only make playoffs if they win this week.
8. Wolverines: Need to win, and have both ONS and Commission lose. They can also be involved in a three way or 4 way tie if ONS and The Commission lose, and they win (also if DWW wins as well.) In the playoffs even if they lose AND DWW loses, as they hold the head-to-head on them. Points against may come into play if they and Darkside both lose, as there is no head-to-head tiebreaker.
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9. Darkside: If they win, they’re in. If Wolverines win and they lose, they’re out. If Wolverines lose and they lose, it’ll come down to who has the better points against. Currently, Darkside have the better PA but that is also primed to change.
10. AMJ Campbell
11. Certified Flyguyz
Quick Picks:
Roosters & Donkeys vs. Alkaholiks: Alkaholiks
DA Finest vs. Rainmakers: DA Finest
Daron World Wide vs. Darkside: Daron World Wide
One Night Stands vs. Legends: One Night Stands
Wolverines vs. Certified Flyguyz: Wolverines
Les Grosses Tetes Molles de Chernobyl vs. Gladiateurs: Gladiateurs
AMJ Campbell vs. The Commission: AMJ Campbell
Usual Suspects vs. KGP Champs: KGP Champs