Associated Fantasy

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

Legion of Defense 

Legion Playoff Picture Emerges

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LEGION – With three weeks of Regular Season Scheduling left to go in the Legion of Defense, teams will get one more shot at each of their division rivals in the final push for the post season.  The Association’s most unique league, the all defensive LoD, also has one of the most unique division and scheduling formats, with tiered divisions and a schedule that pits division rivals in near season long battle with each other.   The Legion also has a rather unique set-up for the post season, a playoff with room for five teams to qualify.  Each of the three Division Champions will make it to a round robin Championship Tournament (CT) that begins in Week 14, but there are also slots for two Wild Card teams, who will play a single elimination game in Week 13, with the winner advancing to the CT as well.

Chinese Bandits (7-2-0) the unexpected Legion #1

The Division Championship races are starting to take shape now, as the regular season careens toward its Week 12 finale.  In the Reserve Division, Sacks Fifth Avenue (5-4-0) has a 1 game lead on the field, AND a 2-win, head to head tiebreaker advantage over the number 2 team, Roxteady (4-5-0).  A Sacks win, and a Roxteady loss to BIGDOGINTEX in Week 10, will eliminate both Roxteady, and Sacks’ Week 10 opponent, Gotta Big Defense from contention, and then Sacks Fifth Avenue can clinch the division with a win against BIGDOG in Week 11.  Otherwise, if Sacks loses in Week 10 and Roxteady wins, it could go all the way down to a Week 12 head to head between Rox and Sacks in the season finale.

In the Reserve Division, the AF#15 Chinese Bandits have come out of nowhere this season as an unexpected powerhouse, fueled mainly by the 2017 success of Demarcus Lawrence.  The Bandits sit at #1 in the LoD with a 7-2-0 record and a one game lead on Gates of Delirium (6-3-0).   Perrenial powerhouse Battering Rams and 2016 rookie phenom The Cavalry can only play spoiler at this point, each with a 3-6-0 record.  Chinese Bandits and Gates of Delirium have split their head to heads so far this season, with one game a piece, so if Gates can keep pace win for win in Week 10 and 11, they’ll force a de facto Division Championship Game in the pair’s Week 12 meeting, but if the Bandits get a win combined with a Gates of Delirium loss in either Week 10 or 11, they’ll clinch the division title and a playoff spot.

Things get dicey when it comes down to the fianl playoff slot, the Points Wild Card, with everything dependant on which teams win the Divisions and which team nabs the premier Division Wild Card

Things get really interesting in the Premier Division, the LoD’s top tier, made up of last year’s CT teams.  The Legion 2016 Champion, Suspension Freaks (6-3-0) and the 2016 Runner-Up, Insane Clowney Posse (6-3-0) are all locked up at the tiop of the standings, but the Clowns have a 2-0 series record against the Freaks, giving them the tiebreaker, regardless of the outcome of their upcoming Week 10 game.  However, that game will have a big influenc on the overall standings.  Mighty Pats (5-4-0) is only a single game behind both of the front runners and has a 1-1 split against both of them head to head, making their matches in Weeks 11 and 12 against each of them super important.  Sleeper Agent (3-6-0) has double losses against both Premier Division leaders, so they’re left twisting in the wind for the Division Crown, but still has a chance to make it into the post season as a Wild Card.

The Legion of Defense awards the Premier Division Wild Card slot to the second place team in the Premier Division.  With the race for the Premier Division being so close, the second place team could end up being any of the current top 3.  Where things get really dicey, is the race for the final wild card slot, the Points Wild Card.  LoD awards the final playoff spot to the total points leader among the teams that remain after the first four playoff spots are filled, and all four Premier Division teams are in the running for that one.  With their lead of over a hundred points on the next closest teams, Suspension Freaks and their 607 to date season points is a near lock for this playoff spot IF they fail to win the Division.  But if the Freaks are named Premier Division Champs, the other points totals are so close, any of the 3 other teams could wind up being named the Points Wild Card, and you could throw Chinese Bandits and Sacks Fifth Avenue into that conversation as well should either of them fail to secure their Division.  At this point in the season, every point will matter.