Associated Fantasy

"Its fine to have ability, but the ability to find ability in others is the true test" -Lou Holtz

AFFL AFFL2022 

AFFL2022 Weeks 11, 12, 13: Down The Home Stretch

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It’s been an exciting two weeks as the franchises scratched and clawed their way around the final turn, jockeying for position and heading into the home straight. The final two weeks of the 2022 regular season and the race to the playoffs are upon us.  Let’s take a look at some quick highlights from weeks 11 and 12 before looking at playoff scenarios for the final 2 weeks

Week 11:

  • Ohio Federals scored 45 on special teams and the BC Blitz scored 65, but not to be outdone, the Italian Wranglers scored 87
  • Guatemala City Stars 247 Ohio Federals 242
  • The Stars played spoiler as Guatemala City’s offense exploded for 138 total points in an unexpected shootout with Ohio.  Federals scored 108 on offense, 86 on defense, and 45 on special teams but ultimately fell short 247-242 Those are 5 points that could ultimately cost the defending League Champs the division and even a playoff spot.
  • San Quintin Showboats 209 Sleeperville Outlaws 153
  • Paul Brown Division Captain Sleeperville Outlaws could only muster 66//67/17 on off/def/spt against their biggest rivals, falling to 2-2 in the all time series as the San Quintin Showboats cruise to a 209-153 victory, likely putting a nail in the Outlaws’ 2022 campaign
  • Italian Wranglers 235 Wisconsin Dells Invaders 118
  • The Wranglers offense stumbled in their week 11 match vs Wisconsin.  In the worst offensive performance of the season for Italy, they posted just 39 offensive points…..but, as usual with the Wranglers, the rest of the team stepped up with the defense adding 109 points and the special teams unit contributing an unbelievable 87 points.
  • Winston-Salem Express 114  AFFL Bandits 155
  • The amazing uncoached Bandits have knocked off the Gold, the Bulls, the Gunslingers the Generals, and now the Express, in a game that should have been an easy gimme for Winston-Salem, it could end up being the difference in winning or not winning the division title
  • Bicton Breakers 164  Tracy Bulls 190 
  • The Breakers and Express are racing with each other, and both missed an opportunity to gain ground; for the Bulls, though, it was a must win game and they did, keeping their playoff path open.
  • Miami Stallions 171  Tampa Bay Renegades 177 
  • The Renegades are now 3-0 in the Battle of Florida as they win a close one, largely on the strength of their 99 defensive points.  The Tampa’s Tomahawk Defense was led by Matt Milano’s 33 points and Micah Parsons’ 37.  Milano was a Free Agent Auction acquisition and they acquired Parsons via trade; both players have been instrumental in keeping the Renegades playoff hopes alive.
  • Prince George Generals 158   SoCal Gold 157 
  • This was a crazy game that ended in a tie before SoCal lost in fantasy overtime (I blame the fantasy gods, working on behalf of the Bandits)  Prince George’s defense (83 points) is helping to keep their narrow window of a wild card alive with this unlikely win.  The high scoring Gold’s 157 points scored in this one are the lowest they’ve posted all year, and were the #3 scoring team in the league going into this one. What makes the loss particularly hard to swallow are the 104 points sitting on the bench.  Their potential total in this one was 240 points.  The loss could end up costing them a homefield playoff game even if they are named Division Champ by default.
  • Ohio Federals climb from #5 into #4 in total scoring

Week 12:

  • Italian Wranglers  246   SoCal Gold  184 
  • In a preview of a potential playoff match-up, the SoCal Gold came up short and lost another chance to pull even with the autopilot Bandits.  Should the Gold eventually be named Division Champ, the loss could wind up costing them a home field advantage, and, ironically, could result in a rematch vs Italy.  The Wranglers look unstoppable as usual, posting a statline of 83/55/108.  With the win, the Italian Wranglers have clinched the Lombardi Division Championship and also clinch the #1 seed in the 2022 post season.
  • BC Blitz 205  Winston-Salem Express 164
  • In what could’ve been expected to serve as the Highlight Game of the week, this one turned out to be less than competitive as the Express rolled over and right off the tracks for the second week in a row.  The loss allows Bicton to take control of the division, and that not only makes the Landry Division race more exciting, but also adds variables to the points wild cards.  BC’s victory was their 9th of the season and with the win they have now clinched a playoff spot for the 2022 post season.
  • Sleeperville Outlaws 166  Bicton Breakers  230 
  • Not only does this victory give Bicton control of the Landry Division after Winston-Salem’s loss to Italy, but their 230 points puts them into 5th in total scoring. Breakers have now clinched their playoff spot as either the #2, #3, #6, #7, or #8 seed
  • Jefferson Panthers 146  Ohio Federals 228
  • Ohio cruised to another 200 point game and bounced back from last week’s tight loss to keep themselves alive in the division race.  Their 90/97/38 statline shows their scoring balance as they continue to climb up the rankings. It would be the right time for them to get hot, they need to sweep their final two against division opponents Tampa and San Quintin to win the division
  • Tracy Bulls 184  New Orleans Raiders 252
  • The Bulls needed a win in this one, hoping to match San Quintin’s 7 win record, but couldn’t get one, falling a game back.  The Showboats have a head to head sweep over Tracy, so the Bulls chances for the division rest on San Quintin stumbling.  Twice. New Orleans’ win is irrelevant to their playoff hopes, but their scoring – now #6 in the league – keep them in the conversation to slide into the post season with a Points Wild Card.
  • Tampa Bay Renegades  262  AFFL Bandits 217
  • The Renegades rolled in this one, making sure they weren’t the next favored challenger to fall to the headless Bandits.  They needed the added push as the fantasy gods tried their best to give the Bandits one more upset win, posting 217 points, a league high for them.  Tampa left the field with a statline of 118/56/88 – yes, that was 56 on special teams.  The win keeps them right in the pack for the Halas Division
  • San Quintin Showboats  229   Miami Stallions  167 
  • The Showboats secured another win to keep themselves a game ahead of the pack in their division. It’s their second 200 point game in a row, and they could be getting hot at the right time.  Once considered a dark horse to make the playoffs, San Quintin could have Cinderella riding on that horse.
  • SCORING
  • Ohio Federals move from #4 in total scoring to #3
  • Tampa Bay Renegades climb from #11 to #8

Playoff Race:

Italian Wranglers 

  • 11-1-0
  • League #1 
  • ESPN #1 
  • AP #1 
  • #1 Total Scoring
  • Wranglers have clinched the 2022 Vince Lombardi Division Championship
  • Wranglers have clinched the #1 seed and homefield advantage in both rounds

B.C. Blitz

  • 9-2-0
  • League #2
  • ESPN #2
  • AP #2
  • #2 Total Scoring
  • Blitz have clinched a playoff spot as either the 1st or 2nd Standings Wild Card
  • Because of the Bandits Playoff Rule, Blitz can clinch the 1st Standings WC AND a 1st round homefield game IF
    • Blitz stays ahead of Breakers and Express (whichever loses the division) AND
    • Bandits ‘win’ the Brown Division with a one or more game advantage

Bicton Breakers

  • 8-4-0
  • League #3
  • ESPN #5
  • AP #3
  • #5 Total Scoring
  • Breakers have clinched a playoff appearance
  • Breakers can clinch the Division with a win AND a Winston-Salem loss
  • Breakers can clinch the #2 seed with a win, and Express loss, AND a Showboats loss
  • Breakers and Express have split head to head, next tiebreaker is division record, then common opponents, then scoring ( the two are about 60 points apart)

San Quintin Showboats

  • 7-5-0
  • League #4
  • ESPN #6
  • AP #5
  • #7 Total Scoring
  • Showboats control their own destiny….mostly
  • Can clinch the Halas Division Championship with a win and a loss by the Federals, Bulls, and Renegades
  • Can clinch the championship with two wins
  • Can clinch the #2 seed with 2 wins and 2 Breakers losses
  • Owns tiebreaker vs Bulls
  • Owns tiebreaker vs Renegades
  • Has a loss vs Federals with a game scheduled in Week 14
    • If Federals win in week 13, this game will decide the championship
  • Should the Showboats lose the Division, they will be in contention for the 2nd Standings WC with the Express who holds the head to head tiebreaker

Winston-Salem Express

  • 7-5-0
  • League #5
  • ESPN #8
  • AP #9
  • #11 Total Scoring
  • Express can clinch the 2nd Standings WC with a win
  • They are 1 game back from the Breakers, BUT, if the Breakers lose either of their remaining games, it will give Winston-Salem the tiebreaker (division record)
  • 2 wins and 1 Breaker loss will clinch the division and #2 seed
  • If they lose even 1 of their final 2, they risk losing the 2nd Standings WC and are ranked #11 in scoring and would not get a Points WC

Ohio Federals

  • 6-6-0
  • League #7
  • ESPN #3
  • AP #4
  • #3 Total Scoring
  • Federals control their own destiny….also mostly
  • They can win the Halas Division with a win in week 13 vs Tampa AND a win in week 14 vs San Quintin
  • If they lose the division, they are currently #1 in the hunt for the 1st Points WC and 1 game back from the 2nd Standings WC

SoCal Gold

  • 6-6-0
  • League #8
  • ESPN #4
  • AP #6
  • #4 Total Scoring
  • SoCal owns the tiebreaker with the Gunslingers,  but have a loss vs the Bandits who they face in week 13
  • If the Bandits win in week 13, the eventual Brown Division Champion will receive the #5 seed and the Blitz will receive #4 and first round home field advantage
  • The Gold must win their last 2 AND have the Bandits lose theirs to claim the division outright and secure the #4 seed

TIEBREAKERS

  • Division Champion order of tiebreakers are head to head, then division record, then common opponent
  • Keep in mind, if there is a 3 or 4 way tie, then
    • Div record and common opponent tiebreakers are among all tied teams collectively
    • This means the tiebreaker scenarios shift based on which teams are part of the tie
    • Because so many teams are within 1 or 2 games of each other in two divisions, there are still literally dozens of potential common opponent scenarios
    • This is the same for the Standings WC

Halas Division

  • There are scenarios and tiebreaker combinations where ANY team but Pittsburgh can still win the division

Brown Division

  • There are scenarios and tiebreaker combinations where ALL 4 teams can still win the division

POINTS WILD CARDS

In The Hunt

  1. Ohio Federals 2369
  2. SoCal Gold 2365
  3. New Orleans Raiders 2284
  4. San Quintin Showboats 2255
  5. Tampa Bay Renegades 2229
  6. Tracy Bulls 2171