Early Playoffs Look

Inscrutable Drama Kings Division

MONKEYS. The Monkeys, despite a very up and down regular season, have locked up a slot for the playoffs. Partially helped by inexplicably poor season by Jon’s Dirty Birds and Lei’s Jammers, the Monkeys are now focused on taking the top spot this year. The Monkeys can ensure a much needed first week bye with either a win OR a loss by Buffy. The Monkeys have a tough matchup this week in their first matchup of the year against SMG leading Phreaks.

BUFFY. Buffy is on a 2 game slide but similar to the Monkeys, have benefitted from strange bifurcation in the division. Leading the division for much of the year, Buffy just gave up the top seed to the Monkeys last week after suffering their second straight loss. To overtake the top seed, Buffy needs to win against a fighting Fobster team but also need some help from the Phreaks.

ANTE UP. Jae’s Ante up team is locked into the 3rd slot. The team will be playing the Angels who have already been knocked out of contention. This match up could get worse ratings than MNF’s Cardinals and 49ers.

DIRTY BIRDS. A lineup with AP, Burner Turner, Larry Fitz, and Austin Miles somehow has a 4-8 record. We have no idea if it was terrible management, poor timing but with a talented roster, the Birds severely underperformed. Jon will need to begin the off-season tuning this week – it’ll be a long off season for the Dirtier than normal Birds.

JAMMERS. Another tough season for Lei’s team. Critical injuries to Ryan Grant (1st pick) and starting QB Tony Romo really hurt this team. Also, young talent including Beanie Wells, Percy Harvin, Michael Crabtree never really panned out (on a consistent basis). One redeeming light was the Jammers’ find in Mike Vick. Certainly a keeper for next year, the Jammers have a lot of potential pieces – they just need to find the right ones.

Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses Division

PHREAKS. Holy moly. The Phreaks are in the playoffs. Not only are theyin the playoffs, they have a very good shot at locking up the 1st slot in the SMG division. They need either a win over the Monkeys (easier said than done) or losses by both Jubas and Fobsters. While the second scenario is a bit more difficult, the key here is that the Phreaks control their own destiny. Even more importantly, the Phreaks are back in the playoffs!

FOBSTERS. Playoffs in – though the Fobsters also have an outside chance of nabbing a 1st week bye. They need a win and losses by both the Phreaks and Jubas to overtake the top position. This has been a good year for the Fobsters. Strong performances by Tom Brady and Megatron have anchored a roster that features young guns like Santonio Holmes, Dez Bryant and the ridiculous bowling ball known as Mike Tolbert.

JUBAS. The Jubas need a win and they are in the playoffs. A loss and a Gang Green win could put their playoffs hope in jeopardy and would come down to points scored. The Jubas have been really hampered by injury with yesterday’s revelation that Frank Gore will now be out of the year. Dallas Clark is also out on IR. After a strong 7-1 start, the Jubas have suffered an epic 4 game slide that has put their playoff position at risk.

GREEN. A .500 team that has an outside chance of making the playoffs. At first look, this is a team that is surprising in the fact that it even has a chance at making the playoffs. Their best players are Peyton Hillis, Brandon Lloyd and Steve Johnson. 3 players that prior to this year were fantasy bagels. Fast forward to this year and you realize that these 3 are 3 of the top fantasy playmakers of 2010. And to that, Green is the one team that no one wants to see in the playoffs. Green needs a win this week against the Jammers but also needs some help from the Jubas or Fobsters. There’s definitely a pulse here and its growing stronger by the week!

ANGELS. Powerhouse to the outhouse. Such is football. From the glories of the 2008 championship and division championship appearance in 2009, the Angels seem to be a cellar dwelling team at this point. Despite the presence of Brees, Andre Johnson and Greg Jennings … the key weakness for Vu was the lack of a run game. They had none. Cedric Benson is the only real mainstay and the rest of the roster is occupied by Keiland Williams, Clinton Portis, and DeAngelo Williams (out for the year). Yikes.