Gang Green and Battle Angels combined for only nine wins, and their strength of schedule was a bit tougher than the rest of their division mates. Actually, Vu's team faced an uphill battle all the way as they faced the toughest schedule in the league, which worked out to 22.5 points more per opponent than Evan, who had the softest schedule. With four teams in playoff contention till the end, it wasn't until the last Sunday of the regular season that Eric leapfrogged Ping and Jimmy for a division title.
Philadelphia Phreaks (7-5-1) vs Fobsters (7-6)
Ping's lovable losers haven't been in the playoffs since 2006, but it feels like so much longer doesn't it? With only two previous playoff appearances in franchise history, the Phreaks had a break out season and are looking poised to be contenders for years to come behind a semi-Eagle powered attack.
Quarterback Kyle Orton has been a model of consistency all season long, and fended off the likes of Donovan McNabb, Jay Cutler, and Kevin Kolb (who never actually played a game for Phreaks this season). Orton has been the sixth best QB in the land, and hadn't scored less than fourteen points until an aberrant dud last weekend. He's been an underrated superstar this season and a contender for fantasy MVP.
Orton has a fine group of receivers to target, as DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Mike Wallace have proven to be great complements for each other. All three average about ten points a game and strictly speaking, Maclin and Wallace have been better than Jackson, but Jackson has had some injuries this year and is still a premier big play threat. The passing game has slowed a bit the past two weeks but Orton and his crew should pick it right back up for the playoffs. The quarterback that has the biggest effect on this team is actually not even on the roster. Michael Vick powers the real life Eagles and as long as he plays, Maclin and Jackson are prime time players.
Rumors swirled that star running back Maurice Jones-Drew was offered up for another Eagle, but so far no bites on that front. MJD was supposed to have injury issues heading into the season but he squashed those with a strong second half of the season. In fact, Jones-Drew is picking his game up at the exact right time with 25-24-13-18 in recent weeks. His running mate will probably be BenJarvis Green-Ellis, who was mostly an afterthought most of the year, until he started scoring touchdowns and getting better with each game the last four weeks. He's clearly displaced early season sensation Jahvid Best, who put up half of his points for the Phreaks in his first two weeks, and then promptly disappeared.
Aside from a weak WK13 performance, the Phreaks have scored 108-129-95-95 in previous weeks. They started the season off a bit unruly but powered through late and really picked up offensive steam and consistency. With a balanced roster all around, Ping's team has no weaknesses and if the receiving corps remains steady, the RBs will definitely do their part, and the Phreaks could be looking at their very first playoff win ever!
GM Jimmy must be proud that he's completely turned his franchise around. The moribund Skool franchise he took over was the absolute pits but since their epic 0-13 season in 2006, the Fobsters have made the playoffs in three of the following four years. They've lost to eventual champion Gang Green both of their recent trips to the post-season, so they're delighted to have eliminated the Greenies from playoff contention with a huge comeback win a few weeks ago, which gave them the tie-breaker and eventually sealed Greg's fate.
QB Tom Brady has been making his case for fantasy MVP as he's used three forty point games in four weeks to power himself to second best player in the league. After some ups and downs during the early part of the season, Brady and the Patriots are starting to flash their record breaking form again. For the Fobsters' opponents, that could be very frightening.
Brady's main target all season has been Calvin Johnson, who has justified his high ranking after a lackluster season last year by settling in and being explosive for a whole season. There's no question that Megatron has found his way back to elite status. Losing rookie sensation Dez Bryant for the playoff run is going to hurt though. Bryant had been having some really promising games before his injury. Now the receiving slack will have to be picked up by another rookie, Tampa Bay's Mike Williams, who's leading all first year receivers in yards and touchdowns. Jimmy also has Santonio Holmes, who has been very steady since his early season suspension, and has five straight double digit games.
The big hole on this team (as always) has been at running back. Bruising Mike Tolbert has been a fantastic find for the Fobsters, as he's stolen all the carries away from much ballyhooed youngster Ryan Mathews. Tolbert has been a rock with his tough running and touchdown production. Joseph Addai was looking like a steady presence until he went down in WK7 and hasn't returned. Addai was never a great option in the backfield but he had been doing great. With absolutely nothing behind Tolbert, GM Jimmy has been forced to go with Brian Westbrook, who could have some value as the back to replace Frank Gore. The Fobsters could also select to go with Tashard Choice, who had 100 yards last week but is mostly a complete unknown, or just run and shoot with Jason Witten as the fourth receiver.
Philadelphia Phreaks (7-5-1) vs Fobsters (7-6)
Ping's lovable losers haven't been in the playoffs since 2006, but it feels like so much longer doesn't it? With only two previous playoff appearances in franchise history, the Phreaks had a break out season and are looking poised to be contenders for years to come behind a semi-Eagle powered attack.Quarterback Kyle Orton has been a model of consistency all season long, and fended off the likes of Donovan McNabb, Jay Cutler, and Kevin Kolb (who never actually played a game for Phreaks this season). Orton has been the sixth best QB in the land, and hadn't scored less than fourteen points until an aberrant dud last weekend. He's been an underrated superstar this season and a contender for fantasy MVP.
Orton has a fine group of receivers to target, as DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Mike Wallace have proven to be great complements for each other. All three average about ten points a game and strictly speaking, Maclin and Wallace have been better than Jackson, but Jackson has had some injuries this year and is still a premier big play threat. The passing game has slowed a bit the past two weeks but Orton and his crew should pick it right back up for the playoffs. The quarterback that has the biggest effect on this team is actually not even on the roster. Michael Vick powers the real life Eagles and as long as he plays, Maclin and Jackson are prime time players.
Rumors swirled that star running back Maurice Jones-Drew was offered up for another Eagle, but so far no bites on that front. MJD was supposed to have injury issues heading into the season but he squashed those with a strong second half of the season. In fact, Jones-Drew is picking his game up at the exact right time with 25-24-13-18 in recent weeks. His running mate will probably be BenJarvis Green-Ellis, who was mostly an afterthought most of the year, until he started scoring touchdowns and getting better with each game the last four weeks. He's clearly displaced early season sensation Jahvid Best, who put up half of his points for the Phreaks in his first two weeks, and then promptly disappeared.
Aside from a weak WK13 performance, the Phreaks have scored 108-129-95-95 in previous weeks. They started the season off a bit unruly but powered through late and really picked up offensive steam and consistency. With a balanced roster all around, Ping's team has no weaknesses and if the receiving corps remains steady, the RBs will definitely do their part, and the Phreaks could be looking at their very first playoff win ever!
GM Jimmy must be proud that he's completely turned his franchise around. The moribund Skool franchise he took over was the absolute pits but since their epic 0-13 season in 2006, the Fobsters have made the playoffs in three of the following four years. They've lost to eventual champion Gang Green both of their recent trips to the post-season, so they're delighted to have eliminated the Greenies from playoff contention with a huge comeback win a few weeks ago, which gave them the tie-breaker and eventually sealed Greg's fate.QB Tom Brady has been making his case for fantasy MVP as he's used three forty point games in four weeks to power himself to second best player in the league. After some ups and downs during the early part of the season, Brady and the Patriots are starting to flash their record breaking form again. For the Fobsters' opponents, that could be very frightening.
Brady's main target all season has been Calvin Johnson, who has justified his high ranking after a lackluster season last year by settling in and being explosive for a whole season. There's no question that Megatron has found his way back to elite status. Losing rookie sensation Dez Bryant for the playoff run is going to hurt though. Bryant had been having some really promising games before his injury. Now the receiving slack will have to be picked up by another rookie, Tampa Bay's Mike Williams, who's leading all first year receivers in yards and touchdowns. Jimmy also has Santonio Holmes, who has been very steady since his early season suspension, and has five straight double digit games.
The big hole on this team (as always) has been at running back. Bruising Mike Tolbert has been a fantastic find for the Fobsters, as he's stolen all the carries away from much ballyhooed youngster Ryan Mathews. Tolbert has been a rock with his tough running and touchdown production. Joseph Addai was looking like a steady presence until he went down in WK7 and hasn't returned. Addai was never a great option in the backfield but he had been doing great. With absolutely nothing behind Tolbert, GM Jimmy has been forced to go with Brian Westbrook, who could have some value as the back to replace Frank Gore. The Fobsters could also select to go with Tashard Choice, who had 100 yards last week but is mostly a complete unknown, or just run and shoot with Jason Witten as the fourth receiver.
The Fobsters are peaking at the right time. They haven't had a terrible game since WK6 and have had three century games in their past four outings. Then again, go look at the Phreaks past few games. No shabbiness there either. While we said that the other division had the game of the week, these two teams are also evenly matched and we see some huge fireworks on display over here too. In fact, we might like the stakes here a bit more, as we have Ping fighting for his first post-season win, which would be cause for a celebration indeed in Philadelphia.
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