+- International Simulation Football League (https://forums.sim-football.com)
+-- Forum: Community (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Media (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+---- Forum: Graded Articles (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: *Week 5 Power Rankings (/showthread.php?tid=14280)
Pages:
1
2
*Week 5 Power Rankings - contacts - 07-14-2019
The first four weeks of the season are in the books and as I predicted last week, it seems parity will be the rule this year as no team remains undefeated and there has been some surprising upsets along the way. The top four teams are each 3 - 1, the second four teams are 2 - 2, and the last two are both winless. So there is going to be some debate as to who is where. It’s certainly a wide open league, especially with the expanded playoffs, but we are beginning to see which teams are separating themselves from the chaff.
1. Baltimore Hawks (No Change) The Baltimore Hawks retain their spot atop the power rankings, however they certainly don’t look like the powerhouse that won the Ultimus last season. While they took care of the Yellowknife Wraiths, they had to hold on to barely beat league punching-bag the Colorado Yeti. Following that uninspiring win, they were dominated out of the gates by a Philadelphia Liberty team that handed them their first loss. The Hawks saved faced by beating the upstart Chicago Butchers at home and have an extremely favorable schedule on the horizon as their next three opponents have a combined record of 2 - 10. Corvo Havran is no Childish Gambino, that has been clear so far, but he has performed adequately and has allowed perennial stud Marquire Brown to showcase his talents, piling up 539 yards and 6 TDs. On defense, Horne leads the team in tackling, while putting up 4 sacks, 4 PDs, and 2 DPOTG through 4 weeks. With a cupcake schedule coming up, expect to see the Hawks still in this slot next week, but there are chinks beginning to show in the champions armor.
2. Chicago Butchers (Up Five)The expansion franchise out of Chicago had a hell of an inaugural week, going 3 - 1 and proving they not only have playoff hopes, but Ultimus hopes as well. In their franchise’s first game, they knocked off a quality Arizona Outlaws team in a close game, then showed they belonged by beating the Yellowknife Wraiths. After a win versus the Yeti, they finally fell to the reigning Ultimus Champions, the Baltimore Hawks. Rookie sensation Sam Torenson has been perhaps the best running back in the league thus far, piling up a league leading 6 rushing touchdowns to go along with 437 rushing yards. First year QB Rose Jenkins hasn’t been great by any stretch of the imagination, but she has been able to get the ball to Kazimir Oles enough to lead the team to three wins. As for the defense, they have only given up 84 points, which is good for second overall in the league - however they are close to the bottom in all other defensive counting stats. The Butchers play each of the bottom three teams in their division next week, so we will see if this is just an early outlier or they actually have an expansion team that can challenge for the Ultimus.
3. Arizona Outlaws (Up One)The Arizona Outlaws had high hopes for the season, but stumbled out of the gates by losing to the expansion Chicago Butchers. They beat the leagues other expansion team in the Austin Copperheads the following week, but failed to even score a single touchdown on offense. One might have thought the two disappointing opening games could have been an augury of a tough season ahead, but then they went ahead and crushed the New Orleans Second Line in a shutout, and had an enormous win over conference rival the Orange County Otters. At 3 - 1, the Outlaws have put themselves atop the AFSC and their defense has been the story of the season thus far. They have given up only 41 points through 4 games, which is better than half as much as the next defense (Chicago Butchers at 84), a truly remarkable start for the Ultimus hopefuls. Leading the way is MVP candidate Raymond Vans, who has compiled a staggering stat line through four games: 29 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, a league leading 8 sacks, 1 interception, 3 pass deflections and a defensive touchdowns. There is no rest for the Outlaws as they have a brutal schedule coming up, and if they regress to how they played the first two weeks of the season will they quickly fall behind.
4. Orange County Otters (Down 2)The Orange County Otters were most observers’ favorite coming out of the AFSC in the preseason, and they didn’t disappoint the first few weeks of the season by beating some quality teams including both San Jose and Philadelphia. However, they lost a crucial matchup in week four that cost them the conference lead when they failed to solve the juggernaut that has been the Arizona Outlaws defense. Prized free agent wide receiver Vinny Valentine has lived up to the hype, as he has been far and away the league's best at the position, accruing 441 yards and 5 touchdowns on 24 receptions. The Otters will start a two game road trip in which they will be heavily favored in each game, and then they return home for a huge rematch with the Outlaws that will give them the perfect opportunity to regain their spot at the top of the AFSC.
5. Yellowknife Wraiths (No Change)The Yellowknife Wraiths had a tough start to the season, as they dropped a pair of games to the Hawks and the Butchers. Those teams both sit atop my power rankings, so it was a tough draw, and then they had to deal with Ryan Leaf Jr. calling the GMs out for incompetence and lying, in the process thoroughly embarrassing himself. Honestly, the best way to deal with him is to give him a participation trophy and a bottle of warm milk - he is that soft. The Wraiths then rattled off two big wins against San Jose and conference rival Philadelphia, shaking off the early season missteps and putting themselves back in playoff position. Unfortunately for the Wraiths, they have a hell of a tough schedule coming up with rematches with both the Hawks and the Butchers. If they can steal just one of those games, their schedule lightens up enough for them to compete for a playoff berth.
6. Philadelphia Liberty (No Change)The Liberty are an intriguing team and although I have ranked them sixth they have the potential to prove me wrong, as a few breaks here or there and they could easily be undefeated at this point. They are the only team so far this year to take down the Hawks, in convincing fashion mind you, but also have lost two close games. Those two games were against quality opponents, in the Otters and the Wraiths. One reason I’m not counting this team out is they have the league’s most talented quarterback in Adriana Falconi, who through the first month of the season leads the league in passing yards with 1274 and passing touchdowns with 10. Unfortunately, she also leads the league in interceptions with 8 and periods with 1. Falconi and the Liberty have two tough matchups ahead against the Butchers and the Outlaws, but have the talent to come away with wins versus either team so they could see their ranking rise dramatically in the weeks to come.
7. San Jose SabreCats (Down 5)The San Jose SabreCats have not been impressive so far this season. After a pair of back to back Ultimus runs, they have started 2 -2 but have shown little of their previous swagger. Both of their wins have not only been against bottom feeders, but have also been extremely close - they only managed to beat New Orleans and Austin, each by just a field goal. They have lost convincingly to both of the quality opponents they have faced, the Otters and the Wraiths. One positive has been the emergence of sophomore tight end Cameron Olsen, who has proven not only to be one of the league's best tight ends, but one of the best receivers period. He is 4th overall in receiving yards with 357, to go along with a position best 3 touchdowns and a 13.2 YPC. The SabreCats have a three game homestand on the horizon, and if they can beat Arizona in the first game they have a shot at making up some serious ground.
8. New Orleans Second Line (No Change)The New Orleans Second Line has, by the grace of the schedule gods, quickly put a hammerlock on the position of being the best of the league’s worst. They beat both the Yeti and the Copperheads, and almost knocked off the SabreCats but also got spanked by the Outlaws. The good news is, they have already matched their win total from season 15, and have a nice core of young players led by war hero turned shrimp boat captain turned NSFL RB Forest Gump, who has been doing what he does best: score touchdowns. Tight end Stan Francisco has tried his luck at quarterback this season, and it has gone, it a word: dismally. The Second Line won’t be favored to get win number 3 in the next slate of games, but it wouldn’t surprise me either to see them knock off either San Jose or Philadelphia at home.
9. Colorado Yeti (No Change)This is where the going gets rough as we come to our first winless team. They dropped their first four games, however they did play the league best Hawks close. Terry Taffy is a young player the Yeti have utilized well, and he is having another good season with 384 rushing yards and 3 TDs. James Bishop is one of the most talented offensive players in the league, but even he is having trouble producing with true rookie Wolfie Mcdummy at quarterback, who is last in the league in both yards and touchdowns. It looks like another long season for the Yeti, who might not even match last seasons paltry 2 wins.
10. Austin Copperheads (No Change)The Austin Copperheads are the leagues second expansion team, and unlike the Chicago Butchers, they are not going to win many games this year. In fact, they are the only team that hasn’t even won a pre-season game yet. They missed a golden opportunity to start off with a win at home versus a weaker New Orleans squad, and then predictably dropped their next three games. Barring any huge upsets, they will probably drop their next slate of games as well. This team looks like it will be playing for that one win to avoid embarrassment. Tasked with that ...task, is running back Dick Wizardry, who will literally need to put the entire team on his back and carry them to victory. He’s the current league leader in rushing yards but that hasn’t proved nearly enough to eke out a W thus far.
*Week 5 Power Rankings - TomHanks - 07-14-2019
(07-14-2019, 04:20 AM)contacts Wrote:and then they had to deal with Ryan Leaf Jr. calling the GMs out for incompetence and lying, in the process thoroughly embarrassing himself. Honestly, the best way to deal with him is to give him a participation trophy and a bottle of warm milk - he is that soft.
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/1ofR3QioNy264/giphy.gif)
*Week 5 Power Rankings - ValorX77 - 07-14-2019
Dang, you decided to roast me, but in reality, I’m not soft. The media didn’t drink leaf-cola so they don’t understand.
*Week 5 Power Rankings - SwagSloth - 07-14-2019
Great analysis. As excited as I am to see the Outlaws competing for a playoff run again, I'm also excited by how much parity there is in the league right now. It's been a fun season so far.
*Week 5 Power Rankings - plantane - 07-14-2019
Quote:Unfortunately, she also leads the league in interceptions with 8 and periods with 1.
....are you claiming that Jenkins is pregnant?
*Week 5 Power Rankings - 37thchamber - 07-15-2019
Toughest schedule so far
Best offense so far
Combined loss margin of six points
2-2 record
...ranked 6th.
:thinking:
*Week 5 Power Rankings - Bigred1580 - 07-15-2019
(07-15-2019, 03:27 AM)37thchamber Wrote:Toughest schedule so far
Best offense so far
Combined loss margin of six points
2-2 record
...ranked 6th.
:thinking:
I get what you are saying. Philly has been much better than most probably expected this year. But it looks like the top 4 are the 3-1 teams. Then he put us above you cuz we just beat you. I personally am more interested in the end of the season rankings than week 4. You guys have plenty of time to move up.
*Week 5 Power Rankings - ValorX77 - 07-15-2019
(07-15-2019, 12:09 PM)Bigred1580 Wrote:I get what you are saying. Philly has been much better than most probably expected this year. But it looks like the top 4 are the 3-1 teams. Then he put us above you cuz we just beat you. I personally am more interested in the end of the season rankings than week 4. You guys have plenty of time to move up.I also agree with you, we still have plenty of games left, good time to bounce back.
*Week 5 Power Rankings - timeconsumer - 07-15-2019
(07-15-2019, 04:27 AM)37thchamber Wrote:Toughest schedule so far
Best offense so far
Combined loss margin of six points
2-2 record
...ranked 6th.
:thinking:
And he has the Otters ranked 4th....we'll see these move around a little bit after more games are simmed.
*Week 5 Power Rankings - contacts - 07-15-2019
(07-14-2019, 11:49 AM)ValorX77 Wrote:Dang, you decided to roast me, but in reality, I’m not soft. The media didn’t drink leaf-cola so they don’t understand.
Hey just like any NFL player that publicly rips his team - you gotta face that media backlash, it comes with the territory. Not a totally bad thing tho, keeps you relevant and gives us something to talk about
As for Philly, they definitely look better than six, as I noted, but close loses are still loses so they have to put up the Ws before they get power ranking love. I think they can